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Inside the King’s Speech: The British parliament’s weirdest tradition

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

Does anyone understand what’s going on with the King’s Speech? We certainly don’t. POLITICO commissioned our legendary constitutional expert to explain … As usual, they asked not to be named for this piece.LONDON — A person unschooled in the peculiarities of the state opening of the British parliament might assume that King Charles III was a powerful head of state.Central London — and even the airspace above Westminster — is closed off for the day so the king can ride to parliament in a grand horse-drawn carriage. Once he has changed into his ceremonial robes and imperial state crown, he and Queen Camilla will proceed through the royal gallery to the ornate House of Lords chamber. Finally, the king sits on a gleaming golden throne, surrounded by peers (members of the Lords) wearing ermine robes.If all this pomp and ceremony appears to place the king at the top of the power pyramid, with peers situated just below, humble members of parliament — the only elected part...

Biggest source of money laundering in Gaza hides in plain sight

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

Isabel Oakeshott is international editor at Britain’s Talk TV.A little over a fortnight after the Hamas attacks on October 7, global money-laundering experts gathered in Paris to discuss how to disrupt the flow of money to terrorists.Among the delegates were representatives from Interpol, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations and the World Bank. Top of the agenda was the Middle East, with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — which monitors 40 countries’ efforts to tackle dirty money — at pains to highlight the challenges faced by those responsible for identifying and disrupting the increasingly complex and opaque structures and systems used to hide money by extremists.Orchestrating even small-scale atrocities and suicide bombings takes money; killing and maiming on the scale of October 7 costs millions. And against this backdrop, the global campaign to tackle illicit money flows has taken on new urgency. The stakes could not be higher, but when it comes...

Israel has only weeks to defeat Hamas as global opinion sours, former PM Ehud Barak says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be digging in for a “long and difficult war” but former leader Ehud Barak fears Israel has only weeks left to eliminate Hamas, as public opinion — most significantly in the U.S. — rapidly swings against its attacks on Gaza. In an exclusive interview with POLITICO, the former prime minister and chief of the Israel Defense Forces also suggested a multinational Arab force could have to take control of Gaza after the military campaign, to help usher in a return of Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority to take over from Hamas. Even with that change of the political order in Gaza, however, Barak stressed the return to diplomacy aimed at the creation of a Palestinian state was a very remote prospect. Barak, who led Israel between 1999 and 2001, observed the rhetoric of U.S. officials had shifted in recent days with a mounting chorus of calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting. The sympathy generated toward Is...

Macron faces make or break moment on immigration bill

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

PARIS — A highly contentious immigration bill is putting Macron’s governing coalition to a test — and might as well blow it up.The bill includes measures to legalize undocumented workers in some cases and speed up the removal of failed asylum seekers and migrants who have committed crimes on French soil.French senators started debating legislation that has been carefully tailored to embody “toughness and simplicity,” with measures that are both “tough against [foreign] delinquents” and inspired by “humanity,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said in his opening remarks at the Senate on Monday. The stakes are high for Macron’s troops, as a victory on the emotive topic of immigration would put Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally on the back foot ahead of European elections next year. But a defeat would give a boost to the opposition and fuel speculation that the French president has become a lame-duck president.Immigrati...

Why Charles III will hate every word of his first King’s Speech

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

LONDON — You’re an eco-warrior royal who’s waited 74 years to deliver his big speech to parliament. Then your prime minister spoils it all by throwing his anti-green agenda right in the middle of it.Expect an awkward moment for King Charles III Tuesday as he opens a new British parliamentary session by reading out Rishi Sunak’s legislative program for the year — complete with a big boost for the fossil fuel industry. The King’s Speech — Charles’ first as head of state — is a fixture of the U.K. political calendar, and a moment of high pomp starring a monarch who is constitutionally obliged to remain above the fray.But with a general election looming and Sunak struggling in the polls, this year’s speech offers the PM an irresistible opportunity to set out clear differences with the opposition Labour Party and show his deflated Conservative MPs he’s got a plan to turn things around.That means Charles — who has spent a lifetime warning about cl...

Europe takes one small step toward astronaut spaceflight

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

SEVILLE, Spain — European capitals agreed on Monday to take only one very cautious step toward a human space program.Financial prudence and a lack of German enthusiasm has forced keener countries like France, Spain, Italy and Belgium to leash their hopes.Instead, at a European Space Agency meeting held in Spain, countries agreed to spend just €75 million for a program that aims to launch a return cargo mission to the International Space Station by the end of 2028. “The Germans are not pushing for a very bold agenda on exploration, that’s clear,” said Thomas Dermine, Belgium’s state secretary responsible for space, adding that it’s been difficult to press Berlin to agree on an ambitious — and potentially pricey — human spaceflight program.Leading up to the meeting, space officials said Germany has long been agnostic on investing heavily in new exploration programs, especially as many of Europe’s aerospace clusters are in France. Instead, it wants Europe ...

Seizing Russian cash to rebuild Ukraine won’t be so easy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

The European Union’s aim to use billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine is running into trouble. Last month EU leaders backed unprecedented moves to use profits generated from Moscow’s state assets for reconstruction — and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised over the weekend to deliver firm plans by the end of this year. But some European governments are privately worried about the risks to financial markets from such a move. Those fears now threaten to complicate von der Leyen’s initiative. Belgium sits on the majority of Russian state assets frozen in the EU at the onset of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. The Belgian government is reluctant to agree to raiding the funds for Ukrainian reconstruction without the rest of the G7 moving with the EU at the same time. “We are looking with the G7 countries and the European Commission to have a structural solution for the frozen assets which does...

Jeremy Swayman lifts Bruins to 3-2 win in Dallas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

Some of the details of how the Bruins can manufacture wins will change from night to night, and on Monday night in Dallas, they got solid performances from their fourth line and youngsters.But one thing they’ve needed every night is tremendous goaltending. Jeremy Swayman had that covered for them on Monday. He made 34 saves, many of them of the danger variety, to backstop the B’s to a solid – if white-knuckle – win, 3-2, over a very good Dallas Stars team at American Airlines Center.As they did in Detroit, the B’s took a 2-0 lead in the first period, this time doing it on the strength of a pair NHL first goals.The fourth line had an excellent first period and was on the ice for both goals. Johnny Beecher scored the first goal at 10:21. The rookie collected a big rebound out high on the right side and, with no one in front of him, he took it down to the circle and flicked a beauty of a wrist shot over standout goalie Jake Oettinger’s glove.“I was just trying t...

5 numbers that explain the Chicago Bulls’ slow start to the season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

The Chicago Bulls are mired in their slowest start of the last three years, dropping to 2-5 in the first two weeks of the season.Early losses dropped the Bulls to the bottom of the Eastern Conference, where they only sit ahead of the 1-4 Washington Wizards. Only three other teams in the league have five or more losses — the Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz, who the Bulls play Monday night.A quick glance at league statistics makes it clear why the Bulls have struggled in the early weeks of the season. Here are five numbers defining the team’s first two weeks:Assists per game: 21The Bulls offense has been stagnant to start the season, averaging the second-lowest volume of assists in the league. Their assist-to-field goal ratio is the third-lowest in the league (15.7) as the offense continues to sink into isolation ball, which has been a comfort blanket for at-will scorers like Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.This was the main area of focus for coach Billy Don...

Red Sox pass on Qualifying Offers but make several roster moves

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:42 GMT

As expected, the Red Sox didn’t extend any Qualifying Offers before Monday’s deadline, so Adam Duvall and James Paxton are officially on the free agent market with no strings attached.The Qualifying Offer is a one-year contract specifically for a team’s free agents, but only those who spent the entire season on said team’s roster. The accompanying salary is calculated by averaging the league’s 125 highest-paid players, and this year’s rings up at $20.5 million. It’s the first time the QO salary has cleared $20 million.Extending a QO is typically just a formality. Players who merit receiving one are likely to do better on the open market. Jacob Ellsbury, for example, rejected Boston’s in November 2013 and signed a seven-year deal with the New York Yankees barely two weeks later.It’s largely strategic. If a player rejects the QO and signs elsewhere, their original team receives compensation in the form of an additional draft pick. When Eduardo Rodriguez rejected the Red Sox in N...