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UK minister denies barge housing asylum seekers is a ‘potential death trap’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:52 GMT

LONDON — Cabinet minister Grant Shapps rejected claims Wednesday that the Bibby Stockholm, a barge the U.K. government is planning to use to house asylum seekers, represents a fire safety “death trap.” The stark warning over the 222-bedroom ship — currently moored at Portland Port in Dorset — came from the Fire Brigades’ Union, which has written to the U.K. Home Office outlining its safety concerns over the vessel.The ship is part of U.K. government plans to reduce its reliance on temporary hotel accommodation for asylum seekers, which currently costs the government £2.3 billion a year. But the FBU’s assistant general secretary Ben Selby told the Guardian Tuesday that “firefighters believe the Bibby Stockholm to be a potential deathtrap,” and warned that the barge, which can accommodate 500 people, has “not been properly risk assessed.” Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Selby said the union’s “main concerns are focused around thos...

Beset by fire and heat, Meloni’s government flirts with climate denial

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:52 GMT

On the world stage, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni talks up the dangers of climate change. But at home, even in the face of record heat, fires and floods, her government is far from convinced.“It’s hot, yes, without a doubt. In summer it’s hot, in winter it’s cold,” Transport Minister Matteo Salvini joked on Sunday evening in response to a question about mounting climate anxiety among young people.  Last week, Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said “if the climate is changing, it is because of the climate … I do not know how much climate change is due to man and how much to the Earth’s [natural] climate change.”Fratin on Wednesday addressed accusations of climate denial against the government, explaining Italy was “in favor of achieving environmental objectives” but opposes “bombastic and inapplicable rules” handed down from Brussels to “penalize Italy.” The country has the right to “defend its national interests,̶...

Howie Carr: It’s a Bizarro World in Massachusetts now

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:52 GMT

On Monday afternoon, the Legislature approved yet another handout for the illegals swarming into Massachusetts for a free ride forever – in-state tuition at public colleges, which after all the scams will in fact amount to free tuition.This latest boondoggle will cost the working-class, law-abiding citizens of this state millions of dollars, on top of the billions in welfare that we already lavish on the ungrateful, vacationing Third World freeloaders.But hey, we can afford it, right? Just make the “millionaires” pay!A few hours later, after this latest welfare bonanza for foreign criminals, the official religious tract of the Massachusetts Democrat party, the Boston Globe, ran a lead editorial with this headline:“Massachusetts can’t handle the influx of migrants on its own.”Huh?!? Surely some mistake here. You mean we’re running out of pesos for our new undocumented Democrats?If there’s a burden somehow with providing upwards of five billion dollars a year to import hundreds of tho...

Mass & Cass runoff triggers appeal to CDC to test Fort Point Channel water

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:52 GMT

Concerns that untreated stormwater runoff from the needle-strewn Mass and Cass is polluting the Harbor has prompted the city to apply for a grant from the CDC to monitor for communicable diseases.Catch basins in that notorious encampment drain into the Fort Point Channel where fishing and kayaking remain popular right across from the Children’s Museum — a sobering fact that has lawmakers and advocates alarmed.“We have recently learned that catch basins in the area known as Mass & Cass dump right out into Boston Harbor via the Fort Point Channel without any filtration,” a group of lawmakers said in a letter sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.That letter, obtained by the Herald, adds: “Due to the public health concerns that illicit narcotics, including fentanyl, and infectious disease (pose) we believe this grant is an essential part of understanding how severe the public health and environmental impact and risks are.”Both th...

Patirots extra points: Potential cause for Hunter Henry’s training camp breakout

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:52 GMT

FOXBORO — Tight end Hunter Henry has been a favorite target of Patriots quarterback Mac Jones this summer overall but especially within the red zone.Henry caught another touchdown pass from Jones in practice Tuesday. It’s been a return to form this summer for that red-zone connection between Jones and Henry. They combined for nine touchdowns in 2021, their first season playing together. They connected for just one touchdown last season.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots training camp Day 7: Mac Jones’ best practice yet, a rising linebacker and more WR woes New England Patriots | Patriots claim rookie wide receiver from Bears, place Jalen Hurd on retired list New England Patriots | Patriots must get creative replicating Devin McCourty’s range at free safety New England Patriots | Patriots’ O-line already dealing with injuries, load management early in training camp New England Patriots | ...

Edmunds: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS vs. 2023 BMW i7

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:52 GMT

BMW and Mercedes-Benz are well known for their 7 Series and S-Class flagship sedans. But now you should get familiar with their electric counterparts: the BMW i7 and Mercedes EQS sedan. These two all-electric sedans are among the most expensive, technologically advanced and luxurious electric vehicles on the market. But which one most successfully represents the pinnacle of EV design? Edmunds compared the i7 and EQS to find out.DRIVING RANGE AND CHARGINGThe EQS ’ most efficient 450+ trim level boasts an impressive EPA-estimated driving range of 350 miles on a full charge. Even better, it easily surpassed that estimate by driving 422 miles on Edmunds’ real-world range test. Edmunds has tested other EQS versions and found they all can go farther than their EPA estimates.For 2023, the i7 comes in just one version: the xDrive60. It has an EPA-estimated driving range of up to 318 miles. Edmunds’ test car had an estimated range of 308 miles and managed to go 320 miles in the real-world te...

The US is concerned with blacklisted Chinese firm’s hand in island-building near its Manila embassy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:52 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States has expressed concerns over major land reclamation projects in Manila Bay near its heavily secured embassy due to the involvement of a Washington-blacklisted Chinese company, the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday. American Embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay said the U.S. also expressed its concerns over the potential environmental impact of the ongoing reclamations in Manila Bay in discussions with Philippine government officials.Environmental groups have staged protests against the yearslong government-approved reclamations, mostly by real estate companies seeking to build islands on which to anchor upscale hotels, casinos, restaurants and entertainment centers in a bay long notorious for pollution. Others worry that high-rise buildings built on reclaimed land would block ordinary folks’ view of Manila Bay’s famous sunset. “We have expressed concerns about the potential negative long-term and irreversible impacts to the env...

Pope hopes to inspire at World Youth Day in Portugal as the church reckons with a sex abuse fallout

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:52 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis arrived in Portugal on Wednesday to open the first edition of World Youth Day since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of large gatherings, as he hopes to inspire the next generation of Catholics while coping with the church’s ongoing clergy sexual abuse scandal.More than 1 million young people from around the world were expected to attend the gathering in Lisbon, which takes place over several days. Francis’ plane arrived on a dull, warm day in the Portuguese capital, though the skies were forecast to clear and temperatures were expected to hit 35 C (95 F) by the weekend’s final papal Mass. The pontiff, in a wheelchair, was met on the tarmac by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa accompanied by two young children.Busloads of pilgrims started arriving before Tuesday and braced for the high summer temperatures at the open-air events. “Stay hydrated!” read a slogan promoted by Portuguese health authorities for the ev...

Man seriously injured after being shot in leg in North York

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:52 GMT

A man is in hospital with serious injuries after police say he was shot in the leg in North York on Tuesday night.Police were called to the area of Driftwood Avenue and Grandravine Drive around 10:10 p.m. for reports of gunshots.Officers located a man with a gunshot wound to the leg. He was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.The investigation is ongoing and no suspect information has been made available.SOUND OF GUNSHOTS:(UPDATE)Driftwood Ave & Grandravine Dr– man has been located with gunshot to the leg– @TorontoMedics transporting patient to hospital with serious injuriesROAD CLOSURES– closures on Grandravine Dr & on Driftwood Ave– ongoing investigation#GO1792301^sc— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) August 2, 2023

Climate change made July hotter for 4 of 5 humans on Earth, scientists find

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:52 GMT

Human-caused global warming made July hotter for four out of five people on Earth, with more than 2 billion people feeling climate change-boosted warmth daily, according to a flash study.More than 6.5 billion people, or 81% of the world’s population, sweated through at least one day where climate change had a significant effect on the average daily temperature, according to a new report issued Wednesday by Climate Central, a science nonprofit that has figured a way to calculate how much climate change has affected daily weather. “We really are experiencing climate change just about everywhere,” said Climate Central Vice President for Science Andrew Pershing.Researchers looked at 4,711 cities and found climate change fingerprints in 4,019 of them for July, which other scientists said is the hottest month on record. The new study calculated that the burning of coal, oil and natural gas had made it three times more likely to be hotter on at least one day in those cities. In the U.S., w...