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Scottish National Party treasurer arrested amid party finances probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:50 GMT

LONDON — Colin Beattie, the Scottish National Party’s treasurer, has been arrested as the fallout continues from the police probe into the party’s finances.In a statement released Tuesday morning, Police Scotland said a 71-year-old man was arrested “as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.” The man is Beattie, who has responsibility for the party’s accounts and represents Midlothian North and Musselburgh as a Scottish parliament lawmaker for the pro-independence SNP.The force added: “The man is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.”Beattie is the second person to be arrested in connection with the finances probe, which has been ongoing for almost two years. The former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was taken into custody earlier in April, after officers turned up at the house he shares with his wife, the former SNP leader, Nicola Stu...

Police: Suspect in custody following Quincy home invasion that left multiple people injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:50 GMT

A suspect is in custody and expected to face charges after three people were injured in a home invasion in Quincy Sunday night, according to police.7NEWS later spoke with a victim who asked that his name and face not be shown and who described the moment he said a gunman barged into the house. “We don’t know who he was,” the man said. “This was completely random. It’s terrifying.”Officers responded to 400 Block of Granite Street just after 8:30 p.m. after receiving reports that gunshots were fired and multiple people were stabbed.Upon arrival, police said officers located four people, three of whom were suffering from non-life-threatening stab wounds. The three victims were taken to the hospital for treatment and were later released.The victim said he and his roommates had been getting ready for dinner when they heard a knock at their door. What they thought was their food delivery, the man said, soon took a terrifying turn.“He asked for someone’s name that didn’t live her...

NFL Draft 2023: Christian Gonzalez and 8 potential Patriots CB picks to watch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:50 GMT

Welcome to Potential Patriots!Each day leading up to the NFL Draft on April 27, the Herald will introduce prospects the Patriots are likely targeting position by position. The Pats have 11 picks this year, starting at 14th overall, their highest selection in more than a decade. As for their other picks, the Patriots could pad their depth at virtually any position.Below is a breakdown of the Patriots’ best prospect fits at cornerback:Day 1Christian Gonzalez, OregonHt/Wt: 6-1, 192Projected round: 1stScouting report: He is one of the best quarterbacks in a deep draft for the position. And with Jalen Mills making the transition back to safety following Devin McCourty’s retirement, the Patriots need a corner who can step in right away and make an impact.Gonzalez, who rates as the top corner by many draft pundits, fits the bill. He’s an explosive athlete who has the tools to be a No. 1 corner and defend the bigger wide receivers. Man coverage is his forte, but he should play well in...

PSAC says strike will begin Wednesday if no deal reached with federal government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:50 GMT

The country’s largest federal public service union says if a deal isn’t reached with the federal government by 9 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday, it will strike this Wednesday.The Public Service Alliance of Canada says some 155,000 employees are prepared to walk off the job, including 35,000 workers from the Canada Revenue Agency.Mediated contract negotiations between the union and the Treasury Board continued over the weekend in what the union described as the government’s final chance to reach a deal.The biggest sticking point in the talks appears to be pay increases, as the union is calling for raises to keep up with the rising cost of living and historic inflation.The government offered a roughly two per cent average wage increase each year over a five-year period, while the union has pushed for annual raises of 4.5 per cent.The union also wants to put greater limits on contract work, more anti-racism training and provisions for remote work on the table.

Clinton optimistic Northern Ireland govt will be revived

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:50 GMT

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said Tuesday he was optimistic that one of Northern Ireland’s main political parties would soon end a boycott that has kept the regional government on ice for more than a year. Clinton said he had met with Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson on Monday, and “I left that meeting more optimistic than I entered it.”Clinton is in Belfast this week to mark 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement ended decades of sectarian bloodshed. The deal established a Northern Ireland government with power shared between British unionist and Irish nationalist parties.The DUP walked out more than a year ago to protest post-Brexit trade rules that imposed a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. It has refused to return, despite a deal reached by the U.K. and the EU in February to remove many of the border checks.Clinton said the deal, known as the Windsor Framework, had gone a long way to resol...

Scottish National Party treasurer arrested in finance probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:50 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The treasurer of the Scottish National Party was arrested Tuesday, police said, in a party finance probe that previously saw its executive director — the husband of former Scottish first minister and party leader Nicola Sturgeon — taken into custody.Colin Beattie, 71, was arrested two weeks after the SNP’s former former longtime executive, Peter Murrell, was questioned for nearly 11 hours before being released without charges.Police at the time said the investigation would continue and officers returned to Murrell and Sturgeon’s house in Glasgow the following day to continue their search for evidence.Scottish police have been investigating how 600,000 pounds ($745,000) designated for a Scottish independence campaign was spent. The arrests followed Strurgeon’s abrupt resignation earlier this year after eight years as party leader and first minister of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government. She said that it was the right time for her, her party and her ...

Syria, Tunisia reestablish diplomatic relations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:50 GMT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Syria’s chief diplomat is on a three-day official visit to Tunisia meant to restore diplomatic relations that have been cut off since 2012 during the civil war that followed President Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown on mass protests against his rule. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad had a meeting with Tunisian counterpart Nabil Ammar shortly after his arrival on Monday evening. No details were disclosed about the talks and Mikdad’s schedule for Tuesday or Wednesday.The visit is meant to help restore bilateral relations, the Tunisian Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.The move is a glaring example of how things have changed in the region over the past decade: Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring pro-democracy movements that spread as far as Syria in 2011, and was long among Assad’s strongest critics. But today, Tunisia’s leadership is swinging back toward authoritarianism, and is allying anew with Assad’s Syria.Earlier this month, Tu...

UN says leaving Afghanistan would be ‘heartbreaking’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:50 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations is ready to take the “heartbreaking” decision to pull out of Afghanistan in May if it can’t persuade the Taliban to let local women work for the organization, the head of the U.N. Development Program said.U.N. officials are negotiating with the Islamist government in the hope that it will make exceptions to an edict this month barring local women from working for the organization, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner told The Associated Press.“It is fair to say that where we are right now is the entire United Nations system having to take a step back and reevaluating its ability to operate there,” Steiner said. “But it’s not about negotiating fundamental principles, human rights.” The Taliban have allowed Afghan women to engage in some work, Steiner said, and a U.N. report released Tuesday shows that the country desperately needs more women working, with its economy flailing.The Taliban takeover has been accompanied by some very modest sign...

Stock market today: Shares mixed following China growth data

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:50 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mixed Tuesday as pessimism over economic and political uncertainties remained even as China reported better-than-expected growth data.France’s CAC 40 added 0.3% in early trading to 7,517.90. Germany’s DAX rose nearly 0.1% to 15,804.68. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.2% to 7,897.45. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up almost 0.1% at 34,160.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% to 4,181.75. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to finish at 28,658.83. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 7,360.20. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2% to 2,571.09. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.6% to 20,650.51, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,393.33. Oil prices fell.Traders have been focused on data out of China as the region’s chief engine for growth, and trading was muted until the release of its gross domestic product figures. China’s 2023 growth target is 5%. China’s first-quarter GDP, which measures the value of ...

Lebanon’s parliament votes to postpone municipal elections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:50 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s parliament on Tuesday postponed municipal elections for up to a year for a second time amid concerns the government would not be able to secure the needed funding in time for the polling.The delay comes as Lebanon’s economy and infrastructure continue to crumble, with legislators in the deeply divided parliament unable to reach a settlement to end a presidential vacuum for almost six months. Lebanon has also been without a fully functioning government for nearly a year as Prime Minister Najib Mikati is heading a caretaker Cabinet with limited functions. The country has also been in a severe economic crisis since late 2019, with three-quarters of the population now living in poverty.Lebanon’s municipality elections were originally slated for May 2022 but were postponed for a year because they coincided with parliamentary elections, which brought in a dozen reformist lawmakers running on anti-establishment platforms.Earlier this month, caretaker Interior Minist...