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NatWest bank chief quits over Nigel Farage ‘debanking’ saga

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:29 GMT

LONDON — NatWest Chief Executive Alison Rose stepped down in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after she confessed to being the source for an inaccurate BBC story about why Nigel Farage was dropped as a client by NatWest-owned Coutts bank.Rose fell on her sword in a late-night summit of the bank’s board — less than eight hours after it pledged “full confidence” in her — when she lost the support of Downing Street and the Treasury. Farage’s account with Coutts was closed earlier this year, and internal bank documents show his political views were a factor.Rose admitted she was the source of the BBC story on Tuesday afternoon, after which the board said it had “full confidence” in her. But she faced pressure to resign, with the Sun reporting Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had “serious concerns” over her handling of the “debanking” controversy, and the Times reporting Number 10 wanted her to quit. NatWest later said that Rose had “agreed by m...

Spain election: Conservative boss Feijóo’s numbers don’t add up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:29 GMT

MADRID — Alberto Núñez Feijóo may not want to admit it but his hope of being Spain’s next prime minister may have to be lowered. On Monday night, the leader of the center-right Popular Party, which won the most votes in last Sunday’s national election in Spain but fell short of securing a governing majority, was left without options to form a government after two key regional parties rejected his overtures.To become Spain’s prime minister, a candidate whose party has not secured a governing majority needs to either get the backing of 176 of the total 350 MPs in an initial vote in parliament or wait for a second round of voting to secure a simple majority. MPs can also abstain, which means it can be difficult to determine the exact number of seats needed for a successful bid to form a government.In a speech after a meeting of the Popular Party’s executive committee, Feijóo reaffirmed his determination to gather the support needed to advance with his candidacy,...

Pete Alonso, Mets too much to bear as Justin Verlander blanks Bombers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:29 GMT

After splitting two games at Citi Field in June, the Mets opened the Subway Series’ sequel at Yankee Stadium with a 9-3 win on Tuesday.Pete Alonso fueled the Mets offense with his first two home runs since July 6. The first, a three-run blast in the third inning, came after Francisco Lindor doubled on a ball that hung in the air for a while before falling in front of a sliding Billy McKinney. The play had an expected batting average of .030, but it nonetheless led to a hit before Jeff McNeil walked and Alonso went deep.Alonso, who hit a solo home run in the sixth, also picked up an RBI single in the first inning on a ball that dropped between McKinney and Harrison Bader. That play had an expected batting average of .050.The Mets added to their lead when Daniel Vogelbach followed Alonso’s second dinger with one of his own. McNeil then drove one home with a single in the seventh and two more with a double in the ninth.While Domingo Germán surrendered six earned runs o...

Chula Vista one step closer in converting local motel into long-term housing solution

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:29 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. - A hotel for the homeless is soon coming to the South Bay after City Council voted unanimously to take one step closer in buying the property. Millions of dollars from the State of California Homekey Program will help fund the project, and in total, the 31-unit property will become permanent supportive housing for homeless residents. This follows the opening of the city's temporary emergency shelter that opened this May with hopes of taking the initiative a step further, providing the 318 people experiencing homelessness per the latest point-in-time count, a long-term housing solution. The city is now setting its sights on the now vacant Palomar Motel with hopes of converting the rustic 31-room site to 30 long-term housing units including a bathroom and kitchenette. However, it's not just a roof over their heads, the city also hopes to provide both mental and physical health resources. “You know…a variety of tools need to be used to secure people with the things...

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

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:29 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:29 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:29 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:29 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:29 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:29 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...