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Sunak is under pressure to act as the UK’s net migration figures for 2022 hit a record high

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:23 GMT

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced heavy pressure from his own Conservatives to take swift action to bring down migration, as new data published Thursday showed net migration numbers were higher than previously thought.The Office for National Statistics revised its estimates for net migration to the U.K. — meaning the number of people arriving minus those leaving — in the year to December 2022 to 745,000. That is a new record and significantly higher than the previous estimate of 606,000 for the same period.The more hard-line wing of the Tories called for Sunak to “act now” as a general election looms next year. “The word ‘existential’ has been used a lot in recent days but this really is ‘do or die’ for our party,” said a statement by a group of lawmakers known as the “New Conservatives.” “Each of us made a promise to the electorate. We don’t believe that such promises can be ignored.”The Conservatives were reelected in 2019 on the back of a manifesto to “tak...

German police arrest two men accused of smuggling as many as 200 migrants into the European Union

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:23 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German police arrested two men Thursday following raids targeting organized migrant smuggling in the country’s capital and the northern state of Lower Saxony. About 260 officers took part in the raids and searches at eight properties in Lower Saxony and another six in Berlin. The suspects are accused of smuggling more than 200 migrants, most of them Syrians, into the European Union, German news agency dpa reported.One of the suspects, a 23-year-old man from Berlin, was arrested in Garbsen near Hannover. The other, a 40-year-old man, was placed in custody in Lehrte near Hanover on the basis of an Austrian arrest warrant.Authorities did not identify the suspects. But security officials alleged the two were part of a group of smugglers, most of them Iraqis, that allegedly brought at least 208 migrants into the EU during a dozen trips between August 2022 and June 2023. The men are suspected of transporting the migrants in extreme heat and “unsuitable vehicles” and did not ...

Thrifting, regifting and bargain hunting: The etiquette of gift-giving on a budget

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:23 GMT

Five years ago, Julie Blais Comeau received a present. Then she learned the Christmas-themed apron and dish towel weren’t for her — originally.“I got a gift from somebody that was intended for someone else,” she said, laughing. The gift tag hadn’t even been swapped for one with her name.Regiftingremains one of many fraught areas of trading presents with family, friends and colleagues, a holiday dance as delicate as a Christmas ornament. And as consumers grapple withhigher interest rates and inflation, questions about how to juggle second-hand items, bargain hunting and personal expectations loom larger than ever.An Equifax survey found that some 68 per cent of respondents plan to budget for holiday shopping this year, up from 57 per cent in 2022.One starting point is simply talking frankly with loved ones or co-workers to lay out ground rules — guardrails, hard or soft, that aim to accommodate everyone’s financial situation.“Have that family meeting,” said Blais Comeau, an etiquette...

Chicago excited for 89th annual Thanksgiving parade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:23 GMT

CHICAGO — Before thousands sit down for a great meal, residents will be able enjoy the 89th annual Chicago Thanksgiving Parade downtown.The route proceeds down State Street from Congress to Randolph and kicked off at 8:40 a.m.A favorite of paradegoers, the giant, five-story tall helium balloons make a return this year.Some favorites that will be featured will be Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the Tasmanian Devil and Tweety Bird. Mostly sunny Thanksgiving for Chicago area It's the 89th annual parade and Reyna Roberts, Tayler Holder, avery r. young, the Poet Laureate of Chicago and the Chicago Korean Dance Company are scheduled to perform.

Why are turkeys associated with Thanksgiving?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:23 GMT

(WHTM) -- As people across the country prepare their holiday meals, here's some food for thought: Why are turkeys associated with Thanksgiving?According to Britannica, many people believe that the pilgrims ate turkey during the very first Thanksgiving in 1621. But there is no real proof that turkey was served. The only bird mentioned by the pilgrims during that time was the "wild fowl." If your frozen turkey weighs this much, take it out of the freezer today Fowl could mean turkeys, geese, or ducks were served on the first Thanksgiving. Turkeys may have been served, but the Old Farmer's Almanac states that back in that time, turkey was not a typical food.By the turn of the 19th century, turkey had become a popular protein on holidays. Britannica said there are a few reasons why. One reason is that turkeys were common, with roughly 10 million being in America at the time of European contact. Another reason is that a turkey can feed a family. Ashley Rose Young, a historian at the Sm...

How should you put out a grease fire?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:23 GMT

(WHTM) -- With many people in the kitchen cooking Thanksgiving meals, there is always a risk of fires. Most types of fires can be put out with water, but there is one type of fire that you should always keep away from water. Grease fires occur when cooking oil becomes too hot. According to Brigade Fire Protection, when cooking with oil, first it will boil and then smoke. If you do not then take it off the heat, the oil will catch fire. It can take less than 30 seconds for smoking oil to catch fire.But why can't you use water to put out that fire? That's because the molecules in water and oil do not mix. According to ADT, water can cause flaming oil to spread. Oil has less density than water, so when the water comes into contact with a grease fire, the water sinks under the grease, which pushes the oil to the surface. Pennsylvania officials offer tips to avoid holiday cooking accidents The water will rapidly heat and vaporize. Since the water is under the oil, the vaporized water c...

Qatar says Gaza cease-fire will begin Friday morning, with aid to follow 'as soon as possible'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:23 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A four-day cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will began Friday morning, Qatar said, a day later than originally announced, as negotiators worked out final details of the deal, which is to lead to the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.The diplomatic breakthrough promised some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, as well as families in Israel fearful for the fate of their loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.The deal appeared to hit a last-minute snag when Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, announced a one-day delay late Wednesday, without providing a reason. The cease-fire was originally set to begin Thursday morning.On Thursday, Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which played a key role in mediating with Hamas, announced the cease-fire will start at...

Thomas Friedman: The rescuers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:23 GMT

RAHAT, Israel — I confess that as a longtime observer of the Arab-Israeli conflict, I aggressively avoid both the “From the river to the sea” activists on the pro-Palestinian left and the similarly partisan zealots on the “Greater Israel” Zionist right — not just because I find their exclusivist visions for the future abhorrent but also because the reporter in me finds them so blind to the complexities of the present.They aren’t thinking about the Jewish mother in Jerusalem who told me in one breath how she just got a gun license to protect her kids from Hamas, and in the next about how much she trusted her kids’ Palestinian Arab teacher, who rushed her children to the school bomb shelter during a recent Hamas air raid. They aren’t thinking about Alaa Amara, the Israeli Arab shop owner from Taibe, who donated 50 bicycles to Jewish kids who survived the Hamas attack on their border communities on Oct. 7, only to see his shop torched, apparently by hard-line nationalist Israeli Arab y...

Readers share why they are thankful for their pets — and why their pets are thankful for them

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:23 GMT

Every weekday in the Morning Report, our free newsletter, we summarize the local news of the day and sign off with photos of our readers’ pets.While the photos are mostly of cats and dogs, we also have shared pictures and stories of bunnies, guinea pigs, parakeets, Betta fish, miniature donkeys and many other creatures great and small.Recently, as Thanksgiving approached, we asked newsletter readers to tell us why they are thankful for their pets — and to consider why their pets might be thankful for them.Sarah and Eric Walburg with their dog Penny, a terrier mix, while on a walk in their Como Park neighborhood in St. Paul on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. Adopted from Happy Tails Rescue in Fridley, Sarah writes “I am thankful for Penny because she helps my husband and I get outside every day for walks, which has led to meeting lots of wonderful people around the neighborhood.” (John Autey / Pioneer Press)Sarah Walburg of St. Paul responded with a shoutout to Penny, the dog s...

Qatar says Gaza cease-fire will begin Friday morning, with aid to follow ‘as soon as possible’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:23 GMT

By WAFAA SHURAFA and KAREEM CHEHAYEB (Associated Press)DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A four-day cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will began Friday morning, Qatar said, a day later than originally announced, as negotiators worked out final details of the deal, which is to lead to the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.The diplomatic breakthrough promised some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, as well as families in Israel fearful for the fate of their loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.The deal appeared to hit a last-minute snag when Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, announced a one-day delay late Wednesday, without providing a reason. The cease-fire was originally set to begin Thursday morning.On Thursday, Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which played a key role in media...