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PMQs scorecard: Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer strike a somber tone amid Israel-Hamas conflict

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:41:57 GMT

Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from today’s session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through.What they didn’t spar about: It was a somber atmosphere in the Commons, thanks to events in the Middle East. Acutely aware that the usual PMQs squabbling would be a bad look, Labour’s Keir Starmer instead asked simple, non-partisan questions about the government’s investigation into the “incredibly distressing” Gaza hospital strike, rising antisemitism in the U.K. and work to prevent a humanitarian crisis.It was all very reminiscent … Of the parliamentary exchanges between Starmer and ex-PM Boris Johnson at the beginning of the pandemic, when the Labour man had pledged to provide “constructive opposition” at a time of crisis. For PMQs, this kind of session remains a rarity. News line I: On the hospital strike, Sunak said the international community “m...

Don’t let Israel-Hamas war distract from Ukraine, Grant Shapps tells US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:41:57 GMT

British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps issued a warning to U.S. lawmakers not to take their eyes off Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with POLITICO during a visit to Washington, Shapps made the point — diplomatically, but clearly — that it would be a disaster if the “fast-moving” crisis in the Middle East allowed the West to lose focus on the need to support Kyiv. “Let’s not forget about Ukraine,” Shapps said. “It’s really important that we keep the world’s focus there as well. We can do this. We can focus on both Europe and the Middle East at the same time and I just wanted to be here to work on some of that coordination.”The question of ongoing American support for Ukraine was already fraught before Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, which have dominated Western political debate ever since. A new package of U.S. aid to Ukraine was put on hold after the ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a fact that freaked out Kyiv earlier this month. Shapps ...

Olaf Scholz condemns firebomb attack on Berlin synagogue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:41:57 GMT

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned antisemitic attacks after Molotov cocktails were thrown at a synagogue in Berlin in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Two masked people escaped without being caught, according to German media reports, after throwing firebombs at the building — and missing their target. “Fortunately, persons and buildings remained unharmed,” the synagogue announced Wednesday, adding that a criminal investigation has started. Scholz — who is currently in Egypt, after visiting Israel on Tuesday — condemned the attacks against Jewish institutions, calling them “inhuman, abhorrent and not to be tolerated. Antisemitism has no place in Germany,” he said.“My thanks go to the security forces, especially in this situation,” Scholz added. However, German news outlet Tagesspiegel reported that the security officers protecting the building were present at the time of the attack, but failed both to prevent it happening and arrest...

Xi hails Putin friendship at China summit, ignores Israel-Hamas war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:41:57 GMT

China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday hailed his “strong personal friendship” with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as the two leaders met in Beijing on the margins of a forum on China’s global infrastructure program, the Belt and Road Initiative.The two leaders, who maintained a close relationship even after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, focused on boosting economic ties between the two countries, and shied away from mentioning the worsening international situation, with conflicts in the Caucasus and the Middle East — as well as Putin’s war in Ukraine.Despite recent efforts by the West to re-engage with Beijing, which has strong business ties with several European countries, including Germany, Xi highlighted the “close and effective strategic coordination” with Russia.“Political mutual trust is steadily deepening,” the Chinese leader said, according to a Russian readout of the meeting. For his secon...

Grant Shapps slams BBC’s John Simpson over ‘shameful’ Nazi comment 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:41:57 GMT

U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has sharply criticized one of the BBC’s most senior journalists for defending the broadcaster’s refusal to describe Hamas as “terrorists.” John Simpson, a veteran war correspondent, wrote a blog setting out why the BBC was right to resist pressure to call Hamas terrorists, arguing that the corporation’s official policy even in World War II was not to describe the Nazis as “evil.”“John Simpson, who’s a journalist who I hugely have always admired, must know as well as anyone else does that when you start to cite the Nazis in any argument you’ve basically lost it,” Shapps told POLITICO in an interview. Shapps, who is Jewish, was among the first politicians to attack the BBC over its editorial guidelines, which prevent journalists calling Hamas “terrorists.” He said media regulator Ofcom had made clear the broadcaster was not barred from using the term. “I think it’s sad, and once you start invoking the Nazis, rather shameful, too,” Sha...

Biden pledges solidarity with Israelis and suggests ‘other team’ to blame for Gaza hospital blast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:41:57 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — President Joe Biden vowed to show the world that the U.S. stands in solidarity with Israelis during his visit there Wednesday, and offered an assessment that the deadly explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital apparently was not carried out by the Israeli military.“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting. But Biden said there were “a lot of people out there” who weren’t sure what caused the blast.Biden didn’t offer details on why he believed the blast was not caused by the Israelis. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike caused the destruction and hundreds of deaths. The Israeli military denied involvement and blamed a misfired rocket from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group. However, that organization also rejected responsibility.Biden had been scheduled to visit Jordan to ...

Treasures from Rothschild family collection fetch over $62 million at unprecedented auction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:41:57 GMT

(CNN) — A vast collection of art, furniture, silver, ceramics, and jewelry long held in the private collection of the Rothschild banking dynasty sold for more than $62.6 million over several auctions at Christie’s New York.The sales, which concluded on Tuesday, marked the first dedicated auction in North America of works from the French branch of the long-time banking family. Most of the lots were acquired in the 19th century by Baron James Mayer de Rothschild, his wife Betty and their son Alphonse, and have remained in their descendants’ collection since.The collection included art acquired by the family, particularly work by Old Masters, led by Gerrit Dou’s painting “A young woman holding a hare with a boy at a window,” which dates back to the 17th century and sold for over $7 million.Among the oldest items in the sale is a first-century AD Roman Sardonyx cameo portrait of the Roman emperor Claudius, which fetched almost $116,000. Coincidentally, the cameo last came...

‘World’s best’ bar for 2023 is revealed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:41:57 GMT

Singapore (CNN) — Barcelona has retained its grip on the World’s 50 Best Bars list as intimate cocktail joint Sips claimed the top spot at 2023’s awards.With the coveted title long-dominated by London and New York establishments, Tuesday’s announcement marked the second consecutive victory for the cosmopolitan city in Spain. Trendy speakeasy Paradiso, which took home last year’s top prize, slipped to fourth this year.Held at a decommissioned 1950s power plant in Singapore, Tuesday’s ceremony was the first to be hosted outside Europe in the awards’ 14-year history. The list has also become increasingly diverse in recent years: Mexico City has four bars on 2023’s list, including the third-placed Handshake Speakeasy, while Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires and host city Singapore are both home to three top 50 bars.Several Asian countries saw establishments featured for the first time, including Seoul’s sustainability-focused Zest — the highest new entry at 18th. Bangkok’s burg...

A wrongfully convicted man who was exonerated after 16 years is shot and killed during traffic stop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:41:57 GMT

(CNN) — A Florida man who was exonerated after serving more than 16 years for a crime he did not commit has been shot and killed by a deputy in Georgia during a traffic stop, according to a news release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.The GBI said a Camden County deputy made a traffic stop on Interstate 95 in Camden County, Georgia, on Monday at about 7:30 a.m., according to a statement.No information was provided on the reason that police pulled over Leonard Allan Cure, 53, or what lead up to the traffic stop.The GBI didn’t immediately identify the driver, and in a news release said the driver of the car got out of the vehicle at the deputy’s request and “complied with the officer’s commands until learning that he was under arrest,” said a GBI news release.Cure had been exonerated and released from prison in April of 2020 after serving more than 16 years for a 2003 robbery in Broward County, Florida, court documents show.“After not complying with the deputy’s request...

Real estate transfer fee finds support in Healey’s $4 billion housing production proposal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:41:57 GMT

The Healey administration is due to release a $4 billion borrowing bill today aimed at spurring housing production and boosting affordable home ownership in a state starved for inexpensive options.The legislation is packed with policy proposals that have long floated on Beacon Hill, including granting municipalities the option of imposing a real estate transaction fee, an initiative that Mayor Michelle Wu and several other cities and towns have pushed at the state level this year.Gov. Maura Healey said the proposal — which will need approval from and likely undergo rewrites by the House and Senate — supports the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of more than 85,000 homes statewide.“It’s the largest housing investment in Massachusetts history. Together, we’re going to make our state a place where people can afford to move to and stay to build their future,” Healey said in a statement.Healey proposed a real estate transaction fee of 0.5% to 2% on the portion of ...