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3 years after Britain left the EU, net migration has never been higher

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:36 GMT

LONDON — It’s official: net migration to the U.K. is at an all-time high.New figures published Thursday show migration added 606,000 people to the U.K.’s population in 2022 — the highest number on record.The figures from the Office for National Statistics are likely to prompt fresh criticism of the governing Conservatives, who promised in their 2019 election manifesto to ensure “overall numbers come down” at a time when net migration stood at 226,000.The rise also comes three years after Britain left the EU touting more control over arrivals through a “points-based” system in place of the bloc’s free movement of people.Jay Lindop, director of the Centre for International Migration at the ONS, said the “record levels of international immigration” to the U.K. had been driven by a “series of unprecedented world events,” including the end of COVID-19 lockdowns and British help for people fleeing Ukraine and Hong Kong.R...

Police investigating after person found shot in car following crash in Stoughton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:36 GMT

Several people taken to the hospital, including one person who was found to be suffering from a gunshot wound, after a crash in Stoughton Wednesday night, police said.Stoughton police said the crash happened at the intersection of Plain Street and West Street,Police said the person with the gunshot wound was taken to a hospital. Four other people were also taken to the hospital with unknown injuries, according to police.The intersection was closed to all traffic as of around 11 p.m. Wednesday and is expected to remain closed until further notice. Three vehicles were seen stopped in the intersection. In an update, though, police said only two of the vehicles were involved in the crash.While an investigation was ongoing, police said they did not believe there was an exchange of gunfire. Instead, police said they believed someone in one of the cars in the crash fired shots into the third car, a white SUV, which was not involved in the crash. A man was then found with a gunshot wou...

Lawrence triple-decker fire displaces 14

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:36 GMT

Fire officials are investigating the cause of a triple-decker fire overnight in Lawrence that left 14 people displaced.Crews responding to a reported structure fire on Bradford Street found flames shooting through the roof of the multi-family home, according to Lawrence fire officials.There were no reported injuries.The cause of the fire remains under investigation.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Grayson Rodriguez was tipping his pitches. The Orioles rookie’s adjustment paid off quickly.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:36 GMT

Grayson Rodriguez had pitched the same way out of the stretch since 2019. But like many aspects of the young Orioles right-hander’s game, the majors have prompted an adjustment.After allowing at least six runs while failing to get out of the fourth inning twice in a three-start span, Rodriguez altered his stance with runners on base, crediting the Orioles’ pitching department for identifying ways he was tipping his pitches.“There were some things that I was doing that were a little obvious to the other teams,” Rodriguez said. “Without getting in-depth into too many things, just a minor mechanical adjustment, just to help me conceal the baseball more, keep a consistent delivery. Just keep guys on edge.”When the 23-year-old came set in his old stance, he had his glove near his head, holding it atop the ball in his right hand. In limiting the Toronto Blue Jays to two runs and five base runners in five innings Saturday, Rodriguez lowered his glove to ...

Japan nuclear watchdog ask Fukushima plant operator to assess risk from reactor damage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:36 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A nuclear watchdog has asked the operator of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant to assess potential risks from damage found in a key supporting structure inside the worst-hit of the three melted reactors.A robotic probe inside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s Unit 1 primary containment chamber found its pedestal — a main supporting structure right underneath the core — was largely damaged. The thick concrete exterior was missing almost all the way around, exposing the internal steel reinforcement.About 880 tons of highly radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside the plant’s three reactors. Robotic probes have provided some information, but the status of the melted debris is still largely unknown. Based on data collected from earlier probes and simulations, experts have said most of the melted fuel inside Unit 1, believed to be the worst hit, fell to the bottom of the primary containment chamber, but some might have fallen through in...

South Korea, US troops hold large live-fire drills near border with North Korea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:36 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean and U.S. militaries conducted large live-fire drills near the border with North Korea on Thursday, despite the North’s warning that it won’t tolerate what it calls an invasion rehearsal on its doorstep.The drills, the first of five rounds of live-fire exercises through mid-June, mark 70 years since the establishment of the military alliance between Seoul and Washington. North Korea typically reacts to such major South Korean-U.S. exercises with missile and other weapons tests.Since the start of 2022, North Korea has test-launched more than 100 missiles, but none since it fired a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile in mid-April. It says the tests are a response to expanded military drills between the U.S. and South Korea, but observers say North Korea aims to advance its weapons development and then wrest greater concessions from its rivals in eventual diplomacy.The U.S.-South Korean firing exercises, called “Combined annihilation ...

War and economy push immigration to Britain to record high in 2022

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:36 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The number of people moving to Britain reached a record high of more than 600,000 in 2022, government figures showed Thursday.Net migration – the difference between the number of people arriving and those leaving – was 606,000 for the year, according to the Office for National Statistics. A total of 1.2 million people moved to the U.K. in 2022, while 557,000 left.The net figure is up from just under 500,000 in 2021.The statistics office said the record level was due to a “series of unprecedented world events throughout 2022 and the lifting of restrictions following the coronavirus pandemic.”As well as people coming to Britain to work, the figure includes tens of thousands of international students and almost 200,000 people who have arrived under special programs for people fleeing war in Ukraine and China’s clampdown in Hong Kong.The high figure will renew debate about Britain’s departure from the European Union, which was motivated in part by the arrival of hundreds o...

Head of Russian private army Wagner says his forces are handing control of Bakhmut to Moscow

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:36 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner claimed Thursday that his forces have started pulling out of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, and handing over control to the Russian military, days after he said Wagner troops had captured the ruined city.Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s millionaire owner with longtime links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a video published on Telegram that the handover would be completed by June 1. There was no immediate comment from the Russian defense ministry.It was not possible to independently verify whether Wagner’s pullout from the bombed-out city has begun, and the Ukrainian General Staff said Wednesday that heavy fighting was continuing inside the eastern city after a nine-month battle that killed tens of thousands of people.Prigozhin’s Bakhmut triumph delivered a badly needed victory for Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has lost momentum and now faces the possibility of a Ukrainian counte...

Germany economy shrinks in first quarter, signaling one definition of recession

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:36 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The German economy shrank unexpectedly in the first three months of this year, marking the second quarter of contraction that is one definition of recession.Data released Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office shows Germany’s gross domestic product, or GDP, declined by 0.3% in the period from January to March. This follows a drop of 0.5% in Europe’s biggest economy during the last quarter of 2022. Two consecutive quarters of contraction is a common definition of recession, though economists on the euro area business cycle dating committee use a broader set of data, including employment figures. Germany is one of the 20 countries that use the euro currency.Employment in the country rose in the first quarter and inflation has eased, but higher interest rates will keeping weighing on spending and investment, said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist for Capital Economics. “Germany has experienced a technical recession and has been by far the worst per...

Five takeaways from Ron DeSantis’s glitch-ridden campaign launch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:36 GMT

(The Hill) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) finally launched his campaign for the presidency on Wednesday.His declaration, keenly anticipated for months, turned into a debacle — at least regarding its most highly-publicized element, a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk.The glitch-ridden Twitter event must have left DeSantis furious and his key aides embarrassed.The misfire also happened at a crucial moment, with former President Trump well ahead of the rest of the GOP field, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) just getting into the race on Monday, other contenders searching for traction — and speculation mounting about a possible surprise entry by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).Here are the key takeaways from one of the 2024 campaign’s biggest nights to date.Twitter’s tech misfire undermines DeSantis’s central case.The keystone of DeSantis’s launch was intended to be the Twitter Spaces event.Praised beforehand as innovative, it turned out to be disastrous.It was beset with technical difficult...