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Don’t burn coal, burn your ideals! Europe’s plan to rival Chinese industry

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:23:47 GMT

Here’s a new bumper sticker idea for European Union officials: Don’t burn fossil fuels, set fire to your principles instead. The European Commission is preparing to ditch a raft of long-held free-market ideals in order to compete in a global clean energy arms race with China and the U.S. Targets, quotas and state subsidies are back, in a big way. That’s left some Brussels grandees reeling.“This direction is quite dangerous,” said Günther Oettinger, Germany’s former European commissioner. “It’s not a single market, it’s a planned economy more and more: a centralized, planned economy. Planwirtschaft as we say in German.”On Thursday, the European Commission will propose a Net-Zero Industry Act, setting a target for 40 percent of the EU’s clean tech to be built inside the bloc by 2030. Leaked drafts have galled liberals, who accused Brussels of 1960s-style central planning. Alongside that, the Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will announce a new law aimed at cutting Europe’s d...

‘It’s a sad day’: Grafton home destroyed after car crashes into it, causing major damage

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:23:47 GMT

A home in Grafton has been deemed “a total loss” after an SUV crashed into the back of the structure Wednesday afternoon. Half of the home was torn down Wednesday night as crews remained on scene to secure what was left behind. “It’s a sad day,” homeowner John McNamara said as his home of 15 years came down. “[A] lot of people remember certain days like your wedding or your kids or whatever,” McNamara said. “Well, I’m going to remember this day when I’m getting forced out of my house and I got to start all over again.” First responders were seen working earlier in the day at the home at the intersection of Millbury Street and Providence Road just after 4 p.m.McNamara said he had just arrived home from work to greet his wife when the car hit their house. He said he and his wife heard a loud bang “like a bomb went off.” McNamara said he then went to the side of the house and saw the car. Firefighters had to cut one woman out of the Lexus SUV. Another wo...

Crumbled debris from ceiling found on platform at Forest Hills MBTA station

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:23:47 GMT

Crews were on scene at the MBTA’s Forest Hills station in Jamaica Plain on Wednesday after crumbled debris was found on the station’s Commuter Rail platform.The T said Wednesday night that the debris were padding used around ceiling joints. The T said the debris weighed less than one pound. The broken debris looked to have fallen from the station’s ceiling area above the platform during Wednesday’s morning commute. The T said both the MBTA and Keolis, which operates and maintains the Commuter Rail system, sent crews to the platform to investigate what happened. This incident happened just a matter of weeks after a ceiling tile fell at the Harvard MBTA station in Cambridge earlier this month.Video showed the tile barely missing a woman walking nearby. The incident resulted in additional tiles being inspected and removed. After this incident at Forest Hills, riders reacted.“The whole system should have some sort of overhaul — a systems check,” Jason Kava...

Bruins beat: Issues arising for B’s

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:23:47 GMT

The time to panic has not yet arrived, Bruins fans. But a healthy concern is not out of line.The B’s have lost three out of four and for the first time this year, two straight in regulation. In the last two losses, they allowed 11 goals to non-playoff teams (Chicago and Detroit). In the last four games, it could be argued the B’s have been outplayed in the first period, even in the game in which they held a 2-0 lead against the Edmonton Oilers.That very well could be a sign of a true contender’s early spring fever, when the team knows it is going to the playoffs and is just going through the motions. And truth be told, the B’s have been able to flip the switch and dominate the game at certain stretches.Showing up on time should be easily remedied once the games start to matter again.What’s more troublesome is the number of turnovers and odd-man rushes that are being allowed. Prior to the Chicago game, coach Jim Montgomery said his goalies’ stellar...

Japan, South Korea renew ties at Tokyo summit

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:23:47 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan and South Korea agreed to resume regular visits between their leaders and took steps to resolve a trade dispute as a highly anticipated summit began Thursday, a sign that the two countries are rebuilding their nations’ security and economic ties as they try to overcome a century of difficult history.The summit could revise the strategic map of northeast Asia. The two U.S. allies, who have long often been at odds over their history, are seeking to form a united front, driven by shared concerns about a restive North Korea and a more powerful China.Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol both stressed the importance of improved ties as they opened Thursday’s summit, hours after a North Korean missile launch and encounters between Japanese and Chinese vessels in disputed waters.“I’m delighted that a chance has come for us to open a new chapter of Japan-South Korea relations together,” Kishida said in his opening remar...

Lebanon’s Central Bank chief attends corruption questioning

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:23:47 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s embattled Central Bank chief appeared Thursday for questioning for the first time before a European legal team visiting Beirut in a money-laundering probe linked to the governor. Several European countries are investigating Riad Salameh, who in recent years has been charged with a handful of corruption-related crimes. Salameh has been Lebanon’s central bank governor since 1993.The questioning was originally scheduled for Wednesday. Salameh did not show up.Judicial officials told The Associated Press that Judge Helena Iskandar, who is representing the Lebanese state at the questioning in the European probe, charged Salameh, his brother Raja and associate Marianne Hoayek with corruption and ordered detained after the Central Bank chief did not show up. Their assets were also frozen. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press. In addition to the European probe, there are other legal proceedings aga...

Credit Suisse shares soar after central bank aid announced

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:23:47 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Credit Suisse’s shares soared 30% on Thursday after it announced it will move to shore up its finances by borrowing up to nearly $54 billion from the Swiss central bank, bolstering confidence as fears about the banking system moved from the U.S. to Europe.It was a massive swing from a day earlier, when shares of Switzerland’s second-largest commercial bank plunged 30% on the SIX stock exchange after its biggest shareholder said it would not put more money into Credit Suisse.That dragged down other European banks after the collapse of some U.S. banks stirred fears about the health of the global banks. Shares of France’s Societe Generale SA and BNP Paribas as well as Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Britain’s Barclays Bank all were up Thursday after big drops a day earlier.Credit Suisse, which was beset by problems long before the U.S. bank failures, said Thursday that it would exercise an option to borrow up to 50 billion francs ($53.7 billion) from the Swi...

Pakistani court extends pause in arresting ex-premier Khan

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:23:47 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani court on Thursday extended a pause in the effort to arrest former premier Imran Khan, a sign of easing tension in the country’s cultural capital after clashes erupted this week when police tried to detain him. The decision is a reprieve for Khan, who was due to be arrested a few hours earlier. The Lahore High Court ordered police to suspend the plan to arrest the 70-year-old opposition leader until Friday. It also asked Khan’s legal team for talks to resolve the issue.Thursday’s order sent a wave of relief through Khan’s stick-wielding supporters, who were prepared to prevent police from reaching Khan’s house in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province. Despite the order, however, police and paramilitary rangers deployed for Khan’s arrest were not immediately withdrawn.Usman Anwar, the police chief in the Punjab province, said the violence in Lahore began Tuesday when officers went to comply with the court order and arr...

Asian stocks fall, Europe gains after Credit Suisse jitters

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:23:47 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — European shares advanced Thursday following a retreat in Asia after Credit Suisse said it would borrow up to $54 billion from Switzerland’s central bank to shore up its finances, possibly easing worries about a bank crisis following the failure of two U.S. lenders.London, Frankfurt and Wall Street futures gained. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong declined as Asian bank stocks slid, reversing Wednesday’s gains. Oil prices rose.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 lost 0.7% on Wednesday after Credit Suisse shares fell 30%. That fueled jitters about global banks that are under strain following interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to cool inflation.“Expect confidence to remain fragile,” Chris Turner, Francesco Pesole and Frantisek Taborsky of ING said in a report.The turmoil over banks will complicate a European Central Bank decision due to be announced Thursday about another possible interest rate hike, they said. It is “casting...

China says US spreading disinformation, suppressing TikTok

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:23:47 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China accused the United States on Thursday of spreading disinformation and suppressing TikTok following reports that the Biden administration was calling for its Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the popular video-sharing app. The U.S. has yet to present evidence that TikTok threatens its national security and was using the excuse of data security to abuse its power to suppress foreign companies, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters at a daily briefing. “The U.S. should stop spreading disinformation about data security, stop suppressing the relevant company, and provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for foreign businesses to invest and operate in the U.S.,” Wang said. TikTok was dismissive Wednesday of a report in The Wall Street Journal that said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., part of the Treasury Department, was threatening a U.S. ban on the app unless its owners, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., divested. ...