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NatWest Bank CEO ousted after furor over politician Nigel Farage’s bank account

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:55 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The chief executive of one of NatWest, one of Britain’s biggest banks, left her job on Wednesday after discussing personal details of a client — the populist politician Nigel Farage — with a journalist.The bank said Alison Rose was leaving “by mutual consent.” The surprise early-morning statement came just hours after NatWest had expressed full confidence in the CEO.“It is a sad moment,” said the bank’s chairman, Howard Davies.Rose’s departure came after days of news stories sparked when Farage complained that his bank account had been shut down because the banking group didn’t agree with his political views.Farage, a right-wing talk show presenter and former leader of the pro-Brexit U.K. Independence Party, said his account with the private bank Coutts, owned by NatWest Group, had been closed down unfairly.The BBC ran a story, based on an anonymous source at the bank, saying the account was closed because Farage did not meet Coutts’...

Stock market today: Asian markets are mixed ahead of what traders hope will be a final Fed rate hike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:55 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street hit a 15-month high ahead of what traders hope will be the Federal Reserve’s final increase in this interest rate cycle.Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul declined. Tokyo and Sydney advanced. Oil prices retreated.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.3% on Tuesday after companies reported bigger profits than expected.On Wednesday, investors expect the Fed to raise its key lending rate by 0.25 percentage points to a 22-year high. They hope the U.S. central bank can manage a “soft landing,” extinguishing inflation while avoiding a recession.“This could be the last rate hike for the Fed” as inflation pressures ease, Brad Bernstein of UBS Wealth Management said in a report. Bernstein said central banks in Europe and Japan also are “near their pivot points” on their own rate hike cycles.Meanwhile, traders waited to see how China’s ruling Communist Party will carry out its promise to shore up...

Crew member dead and others hurt as a cargo ship burns in the North Sea, Dutch coast guard says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:55 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — One crew member died and others were injured as a fire burned Wednesday on a freight ship in the North Sea, the Dutch coast guard said. Boats and helicopters were used to get the 23 crew members off the ship early Wednesday after they tried unsuccessfully to put out the blaze, the coast guard said in a statement. The Fremantle Highway is a vehicle carrier that was sailing from the German port of Bremen to Port Said in Egypt. It was still burning some 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland. Images taken from shore showed a long plume of gray smoke drifting over the sea from the stricken ship.Further details were not immediately available. The Associated Press

Volunteers working to save nearly 100 beached whales in Australia, but more than half have died

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:55 GMT

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Volunteers worked frantically on a second day Wednesday to save dozens of pilot whales that have stranded themselves on a beach in Western Australia, but more than 50 have already died.Nearly 100 long-finned pilot whales, stranded themselves Tuesday on the beach by the city of Albany, on the southern tip of Western Australia, south of Perth. They were first spotted swimming Tuesday morning near Cheynes Beach east of Albany. As the day progressed, the pod began moving closer to the beach, sparking the concern of conservation officers. By 4 p.m., a large stretch of the shoreline was covered in beached whales.Reece Whitby, Western Australia’s environment minister, said it was particularly frustrating because it’s not known why the phenomenon occurs. “What we’re seeing is utterly heartbreaking and distressing,” he told reporters. “It’s just a terrible, terrible tragedy to see these dead pilot whales on the beach.”Fifty-two whales had peris...

Rival Koreas mark armistice anniversary in two different ways that highlight rising tensions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:55 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The truce that stopped the bloodshed in the Korean War turns 70 years old on Thursday and the two Koreas are marking the anniversary in starkly different ways, underscoring their deepening nuclear tensions.North Korea has invited delegations from China and Russia as it prepares to stage huge celebrations with thousands of citizens who have rehearsed for months to commemorate the armistice it sees as a victory in the “Grand Fatherland Liberation War.” The festivities are likely to be capped by a giant military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, where leader Kim Jong Un could showcase his most powerful, nuclear-capable missiles designed to target neighboring rivals and the U.S. mainland.The mood is more somber in South Korea, where President Yoon Suk Yeol has invited dozens of foreign war veterans to honor the fallen soldiers of the 1950-53 conflict, which killed and injured millions and set the stage for decades of animosity among the Koreas and the United St...

Saudi Arabia is spending billions to become a global gaming hub. Some fans don’t want to play

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:55 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia, the new home of some of soccer’s biggest stars and a co-owner of professional golf, is proving to be no less ambitious when it comes to another global pastime – the $180 billion-a-year video game industry.Last September, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund earmarked nearly $40 billion for a new conglomerate aimed at transforming the kingdom into the “ultimate global hub” for games and esports by 2030. In February, the Saudi fund became the biggest outside investor in Nintendo, and just this month the kingdom hosted a major gaming tournament with a record $45 million prize pool.That’s made Saudi Arabia an increasingly important player in the industry and contributed to its breakneck transformation from an insular kingdom best known for oil and ultraconservative Islam into an emerging sports and entertainment powerhouse.The move into gaming has sparked the same kind of backlash seen in soccer and golf, where critics accuse the Saudis of “sp...

EU braces for possible loss of two climate change leaders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:55 GMT

The European Union could lose two of its most effective climate change negotiators ahead of this year's COP28 UN summit, with the possible departures of the EU's own green policy chief and Spain's climate minister.Frans Timmermans (pictured), the European Commissioner in charge of climate and environment policies, is running to be a candidate in Dutch national elections. If successful, he may need to leave his EU post as early as next month.That would cost the EU its figurehead in international climate negotiations and the politician who drove through Europe's toughest measures yet to cut planet-warming emissions."We achieved, in terms of laws and legislation in the last three years, something that we didn't achieve in 10, 15 years before," EU Green lawmaker Michael Bloss said of the EU's track record under Timmermans.The prospect of losing Timmermans - a former Dutch foreign affairs minister - months ahead of this year's UN climate negotiations in November, has some EU officials wo...

Speed cameras may soon be installed in 3 SoCal cities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:55 GMT

A new program to slow drivers down and curb street racing using speed cameras could soon go into effect in three Southern California cities. The devices would photograph the license plates of drivers going 11 miles per hour or more over the speed limit in any given area.  While speed cameras are currently illegal in the state, a proposed bill could change all that. If it becomes law, a pilot program using speed cameras would kick off in Los Angeles, Glendale and Long Beach in January.  “They’re putting people’s lives in danger, so I think enough is enough. Stop speeding, please,” said Joshua Mora, a victim of a hit-and-run accident.  Mora, 13, had his leg amputated after a motorcycle rider hit him in Boyle Heights as he was crossing the street. While Mora has said he’s grateful to have escaped death, others have not been as lucky.  “According to the National Transportation Safety Board, speeding is a factor in 31% of all traffic fatalities,” California Assemblymember ...

Meet Carol Spencer, the woman behind Barbie’s iconic fashion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:55 GMT

The iconic Barbie doll has provided generations of entertainment for families across the globe. Fans, however, may not be as familiar with the mastermind behind Barbie’s unforgettable looks.Meet Carol Spencer, the creative mind behind all of Barbie’s most iconic fashions.For years, the identity of Barbie’s stylist was kept a secret by Mattel under lock and key. Now, however, Spencer is enjoying her time in the spotlight.At 90 years old, Spencer still maintains her fashion and loves dressing in her favorite shades of pink.“I’ve always worn a certain amount of pink and now with Barbiecore in fashion, I’ve got pink on!” Spencer said.Spencer’s story with Barbie first began when she drove out to Los Angeles from the Midwest in the 1950s and applied for a job at Mattel.Carol Spencer, the fashion designer behind Barbie's iconic looks. (KTLA)Carol Spencer, the fashion designer behind Barbie's iconic looks. (KTLA)Carol Spencer in a personal photo.The one-of-a-kind Carol Spencer Barbie doll. ...

Ron Rivera says he has a lot to prove to the new Commanders ownership group

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:55 GMT

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — When Ron Rivera met with new boss Josh Harris after the Washington Commanders sale became official, the message was simple.It wasn’t quite as clear and direct as “Just win, baby.” But there’s no doubt new ownership expects Rivera and the Commanders to win more than they have in recent years.Rivera goes into his fourth training camp as Washington’s coach and director of football operations and first since Harris’ group that includes Magic Johnson bought the Commanders from longtime owner Dan Snyder, firmly under the microscope — and he knows it.“I’ve got a lot to prove because I really do think we’ve put ourselves in a really good position,” Rivera said Tuesday at his annual camp-opening news conference. “We’re a good, young football team with some key veterans at key positions, and now is the opportunity to go. And, yeah, I do feel that I do want to prove some stuff.”Rivera understands he needs to prove himself all over again, ...