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Polish central bank weighs first rate cut as crucial poll nears

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:54 GMT

Poland’s central bank is set to cut interest rates for the first time in over three years on Wednesday, bringing succor to a government in the middle of a tight and bitter election campaign. The National Bank of Poland is expected to cut its key lending rate by 0.25 percent to 6.50 percent, responding to a sharp fall in inflation in recent months from a peak of 18.4 percent. That may not have enough of an immediate impact on the Polish economy but could certainly change the mood music ahead of one of the key elections in Europe this year, by reassuring hard-pressed households and businesses that their borrowing costs are set to fall further in the near future. Governor Adam Glapiński — reappointed by President Andrzej Duda in 2022 for a second six-year term — had said at his last press conference that the bank could start cutting rates if inflation dropped into single digits and was on a clear downward trend. With a preliminary reading of 10.1 percent in August, a fif...

Move over, Mannekin Pis! Belgian minister ordered to explain birthday party peeing scandal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:54 GMT

Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne will appear in front of a parliamentary committee on Thursday to answer questions about a peeing incident that took place at his birthday party last month.During the celebrations for Van Quickenborne’s 50th birthday on August 14, two guests urinated against a police van, parked near the minister’s home, while another guest took photos.Van Quickenborne’s office initially released a statement saying the minister “disapproves of this behavior,” and that he was not “present” at the time of the incident or aware that it had happened.But video footage obtained by VRT on Monday shows Van Quickenborne might have known about the incident after all.In the footage, the minister can be seen walking outside at around 4 a.m., hours after his guests had urinated on the police vehicle. He then stands on the sidewalk, leans back and “pretends to pee,” according to VRT.The incident — dubbed “Pipigate” online — triggered a wave of criticism from ...

Stolen car believed to be carjacked involved in crash in Lynn, sources say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:54 GMT

An investigation got underway in Lynn Tuesday after a crash left one car upside down in the middle of a local street and badly damaged another car. Lynn police said the two-car crash happened at the intersection of Essex Street and Chestnut Street around 7:15 a.m. 7NEWS sources later said a stolen car believed to be carjacked caused the crash. Sources said two people were taken into custody and one victim was in the hospital as of Tuesday afternoon.Sources said police initially tried to pull over the stolen car. The driver instead took off before crashing.Sources said the victim was flown by helicopter to a hospital. Sources also said the carjacking suspects are a female and a juvenile, who was also hospitalized as of early Tuesday afternoon.Video shared with 7NEWS showed one car resting on its roof in the street after the crash. The other car was seen with front-end damage in a parking area outside Tony Tipico Restaurant close to the crash site, where a sign appeared to h...

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows pleads not guilty in Georgia case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:54 GMT

(CNN) — Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and five other defendants charged in the election interference case in Fulton County pleaded not guilty Tuesday and waived their arraignments in new court filings.Eighteen of the 19 defendants charged in the case have entered not guilty pleas. The remaining holdout – former Coffee County election official Misty Hampton – will have to enter a plea or appear in person for arraignment on Wednesday.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, charged Meadows with two state crimes: violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering RICO law and soliciting a public official to violate their oath. The charges mostly revolve around the infamous January 2021 phone call where Trump and Meadows pressed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to flip the election results in Trump’s favor.Meadows is trying to move his case out of state court and into federal court, where he could...

Patriots OC Bill O’Brien sizes up QBs Matt Corral, Bailey Zappe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:54 GMT

Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien has a lesser known title that figures to be equally as important this season: quarterbacks coach.Based on Mac Jones’ performance in training camp and preseason, O’Brien has put Jones’ development back on track. Jones ran away with the Patriots’ starting job this summer. His backups, however, are another story.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Steve Belichick gives hilarious, insightful answer on Bill Belichick’s approach with Patriots New England Patriots | The Patriots traded for a former 310-pound tight end. How will they use him? New England Patriots | How Tom Brady is feeling ahead of return to Gillette Stadium for Patriots season opener New England Patriots | Patriots lose potential starter to injured reserve for four weeks New England Patriots | Patriots practice: Roster move incoming; DeVante Parker returns The Pa...

Sen. McConnell’s health episodes show no evidence of stroke or seizure disorder, Capitol doctor says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:54 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s health episodes show “no evidence” of being a stroke or seizure disorder, the Capitol physician said in a letter on Tuesday, offering little further explanation for the apparent freeze-ups that have drawn concerns about the 81-year-old’s situation.McConnell’s office released the letter from attending physician Brian P. Monahan as the Senate returns from an extended summer break and questions mount over the long-serving Republican leader’s health. The GOP leader froze up last week during a press conference in Kentucky, unable to respond to a question, the second such episode in a month.“There is no evidence that you have a seizure disorder or that you experienced a stroke, TIA or movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease,” Monahan wrote, using the acronym for a transient ischemic attack, a brief stroke.The doctor said the assessments entailed several medical eval...

Steve Belichick gives hilarious, insightful answer on Bill Belichick’s approach with Patriots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:54 GMT

Steve Belichick took the opportunity to make light of his dad’s age and experience and ran with it.The younger Belichick was asked Tuesday about how Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s approach has changed, if at all, at 71 years old in his 49th season coaching.“I mean, he’s obviously old,” Steve Belichick deadpanned on a video conference call. “He’s definitely old.”But then the Patriots linebackers coach gave an insightful and complimentary answer about his father’s adaptability despite Bill Belichick being more than twice as old as some of his staff members and widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches in sports history.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | The Patriots traded for a former 310-pound tight end. How will they use him? New England Patriots | How Tom Brady is feeling ahead of return to Gillette Stadium for Patriots season opener New England Patriots | Patriots lose potential starter ...

Africa Climate Summit links ‘unfair’ debt burden with calls to make continent’s green assets pay off

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:54 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Climate change is “relentlessly eating away” at Africa’s economic progress and it’s time to have a global conversation about a carbon tax on polluters, Kenya’s president declared Tuesday as the first Africa Climate Summit got underway. “Those who produce the garbage refuse to pay their bills,” President William Ruto, a host of the summit, said to an audience that included senior officials from China, the United States and the European Union — some of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases.The rapidly growing African continent of more than 1.3 billion people is losing 5% to 15% of its gross domestic product growth every year to the widespread impacts of climate change, according to Ruto. It’s a source of deep frustration in the resource-rich region that contributes by far the least to global warming.He and other leaders urged reforms to the global financial structures that have left African nations paying about five times more to borrow mon...

Pier collapses on University of Wisconsin campus. One hospitalized, 20 others slightly injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:54 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Part of a pier where dozens of University of Wisconsin students and others were celebrating Labor Day collapsed into a lake, leaving one person hospitalized and slightly injuring about 20 others, officials said.Video shot from Lake Mendota’s shoreline shows that a part of the metal pier just east of the Union Terrace stage on the Madison campus collapsed Monday afternoon, sending some people falling into the water.The Madison Fire Department said one person was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and five others were treated at the scene for minor injuries. UW-Madison Police Officer Jeff Kirchman told the Wisconsin State Journal that “20 or so” had minor injuries, in addition to the person who was hospitalized.“There were way too many kids on the piers. They were packed. There was no warning. All of a sudden it went down and people were in the water,” said Debra Drewek, a retired nurse who was taking pictures at the terrace when th...

Students head back to school as heat warnings blanket Central Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:54 GMT

TORONTO — While Tuesday marked the first day of school for many students across the country, summer certainly didn’t feel like it was over as heat warnings blanketed much of Central Canada.One school board in Quebec closed all elementary and high schools on Tuesday due to the heat, while other districts in that province and Ontario said they would put measures in place to adapt to the high temperatures. Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville, speaking to reporters at a high school inauguration in Gatineau, said Tuesday that the high temperatures — expected to reach 33 Celsius Tuesday with a humidex of 41 — were exceptional.“I trust that teams in the schools will well manage the (heat) situation, I don’t have any doubt,” he said. The province intends to build 150 new schools in the coming years, but they won’t be air conditioned.“In newly built schools, we will install mechanical ventilation systems, which isn’t air conditio...