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Ignoring the evidence: Is ‘conventional wisdom’ hindering the fight against smoking?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:10 GMT

It’s a question that the European Commission seems unable to answer. Is the campaign to stop people from smoking cigarettes being held back by an impulse to ban all tobacco products? The evidence suggests that nicotine-based alternatives to smoking, such as e-cigarettes have an important part to play, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.The big argument about cigarette smoking is in effect over. No one still suggests that smoking is not an extremely harmful activity and everyone agrees that anyone who still smokes should stop. People who have never smoked should certainly not start and this especially applies to youngsters, who shouldn’t acquire a taste for nicotine from e-cigarettes and other substitutes.Unfortunately, there’s a temptation in some quarters to make a leap from that consensus and make an argument that amounts to saying ‘It’s all bad, so let’s ban it’ or at least make it massively expensive through taxation. That creates a business opportunity for tobacco smugglers, e...

Empowering the people: MEPs hear about constitutional transformation in Kazakhstan and Mongolia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:10 GMT

Two of Asia’s largest countries, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, have recently embarked on major constitutional reforms. A joint event at the European Parliament gave MEPs the chance to hear how both countries are strengthening the voice of the people in their political processes, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.“Constitutional reform can be difficult, it can be slow”, observed the European Union’s Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, reflecting on the human rights reforms that came only slowly and after a long struggle in his native Ireland. He was one of the keynote speakers at a European Parliament Round Table that discussed how the pace of change in both Kazakhstan and Mongolia has accelerated.The Ambassador of Kazakhstan, Margulan Baimukhan, described how “a systematic transformation of the political system has been carried out, creating a new, more democratic model of government”. The changes that have taken place in little more than a year have strengthened th...

1 dead, 2 children injured in rollover crash in San Bernardino

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:10 GMT

One person died and five others were injured, including two children, after a car crash involving a flatbed truck in San Bernardino early Sunday morning. Fire and emergency crews responded to the northbound 215 Freeway just south of University Parkway around 2:11 a.m. When they arrived on the scene, they found seven victims involved in the crash, one of who was dead at the scene. Video shows fire crews attempting to free a woman who was trapped inside a sedan with major damage. Fatal car crash in San Bernardino (Source: Onscene TV)Fatal car crash in San Bernardino (Source: Onscene TV)Fatal car crash in San Bernardino (Source: Onscene TV)Fatal car crash in San Bernardino (Source: Onscene TV)Fatal car crash involving a flatbed truck with pallets in San Bernardino (Source: Onscene TV)The entire front of the car was crushed and the windshield was shattered and had caved in. After a few unsuccessful attempts to release the woman trapped inside, fire crews began removing and adj...

Could you be a victim of a gift card scam? Police say most people never realize they are

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:10 GMT

Police are warning residents about a gift card scam making its way across California, after an investigation found nearly $6,000 worth of fraudulent gift cards in Alameda alone.“We found that the same scam is happening here in the Bay Area, with the majority of these incidents going UNREPORTED,” said the Alameda Police Department in a Facebook post on Thursday. “Often, the customer (the victim) never realized they had fallen victim to a scam.”After stealing gift cards in bulk, scammers scratch off the cards’ information and copy down the numbers, the police department said. They then repackage the cards with a fake scratch-off label, making the cards seem new. They then return the cards to the store – and the people who buy the gift cards receive a product with a zero dollar balance.“Often the customer does not realize the card has been tampered with. Especially if it was given as a gift to another person. If the gift recipient doesn’t know where the card was originally purchased fr...

San Mateo: Man arrested on suspicion of two flower shop burglaries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:10 GMT

An Oakland man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of breaking into two flower shops on El Camino Real in San Mateo to steal cash registers, police said.At around 3 a.m. on Saturday, officers heard an alarm bell sounding at Ah Sam Floral Co. at 2645 South El Camino Real. They spotted the man standing in front of the store, and he ran across the street to a nearby parking lot, where officers detained him.Two cash registers were found on the sidewalk in front of the store. Security footage showed the man shot out the shop’s front glass doors with a BB gun and tried to steal the registers, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Could you be a victim of a gift card scam? Police say most people never realize they are Crime and Public Safety | Dublin man charged with altering computer data of former employer after losing his job Crime and Public Safety | Woman robbed at gunpoint Friday night near UC Berkeley campus Crime ...

Feinstein, back in the Senate, relies heavily on staff to function

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:10 GMT

WASHINGTON — When Sen. Dianne Feinstein entered a hearing room this month to reclaim her seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee after a monthslong absence, she was accompanied by a phalanx of aides.Two staff members settled the 89-year-old California Democrat into a chair at the dais as the assembled senators greeted their ailing colleague with a round of applause. When Feinstein spoke — during a vote on one of several of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees whose approval had awaited her return — she appeared to read from a piece of paper handed to her by a female aide seated behind her.“I ask to be recorded as voting in person on the three nominees considered earlier, Mr. Chairman, and I vote aye now,” she said.The aide knelt next to her and whispered into her ear in between votes — popping up repeatedly from her seat to confer with the senator, at one point clearing away the paper Feinstein had read from and presenting her with a folder that appeared to contain background info...

Right-wing populist Javier Milei gains support in Argentina by blasting ‘political caste’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:10 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — He believes selling human organs should be legal, climate change is a “socialist lie,” sex education is a ploy to destroy the family and that the Central Bank should be abolished. He also could be Argentina’s next president.Javier Milei, an admirer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, is the latest example of how right-wing populists are making inroads in Latin America, appealing to a citizenry angry with politics as usual and eager for outsiders to shake up the system.A libertarian economist and self-described “anarcho capitalist,” Milei made a name for himself by shouting against the “political caste” on television. His presidential candidacy looked like a sideshow until recently. Polls show his popularity rising, and his proposals dominate discussions ahead of October elections.“Today no one can say that Milei isn’t someone who could get to the presidency,” said Luis Tonelli, a political scientist at University of Buenos Aires.Milei jumped from ta...

Erdogan takes lead in unofficial count in Turkey’s presidential runoff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:10 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Preliminary, unofficial results from Turkish news agencies showed incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead with 88% of ballot boxes counted in a presidential runoff that will decide whether the country’s longtime leader stretches his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade.The state Anadolu news agency showed Erdogan at 53%, and his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, at 47%.Meanwhile, the ANKA news agency, close to the opposition, showed the results at 51% for Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu at 49%.The outcome could have implications far beyond Ankara. Turkey stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO.Erdogan’s government vetoed Sweden’s bid to join NATO and purchased Russian missile-defense systems, which prompted the United States to oust Turkey from a U.S.-led fighter-jet project. But it also helped broker a crucial deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments and averted a global food crisis.The competing news agenci...

PSG goalkeeper Sergio Rico hospitalized after horse-riding accident in Spain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:10 GMT

SEVILLE, Spain (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Sergio Rico has been hospitalized with a head injury after a horse-riding accident in Spain.French champion PSG said it “learned of the accident involving its player Sergio Rico on Sunday and remains in constant contact with his loved ones.”Spanish media said the accident happened near the southern Spanish city of Seville — where Rico used to play for Sevilla — with Radio Cope reporting that Rico’s condition was serious. Information about his condition could not be immediately confirmed with the hospital.Several clubs and players sent messages of support for the 29-year-old Spanish keeper.PSG won the French league on Saturday.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

F1 Monaco Grand Prix Results

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:10 GMT

SundayAt Circuit de MonacoMonte Carlo, Monaco.Lap length: 3.00 kilometers(Start position in parentheses)1. (1) Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing, 78 laps, 1:48:51.980, 25 points.2. (2) Fernando Alonso, Spain, Aston Martin, 78, +27.921 seconds, 18.3. (3) Esteban Ocon, France, Alpine, 78, +36.990, 15.4. (5) Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 78, +39.062, 13.5. (8) George Russell, Great Britain, Mercedes, 78, +56.284, 10.6. (6) Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 78, +1:01.890, 8.7. (7) Pierre Gasly, France, Alpine, 78, +1:02.362, 6.8. (4) Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, Ferrari, 78, +1:03.391, 4.9. (10) Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren, 77, +1 lap, 2.10. (11) Oscar Piastri, Australia, McLaren, 77, +1 lap, 1.11. (15) Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing, 77, +1 lap.12. (12) Nyck De Vries, Netherlands, Alphatauri, 77, +1 lap.13. (19) Guanyu Zhou, China, Alfa Romeo Racing, 77, +1 lap.14. (13) Alexander Albon, Thailand, Williams, 77, +1 lap.15. (9) Yuki Tsunoda, Japan, A...