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Ryanair rages at ‘Soviet’ Italy as EU eyes Meloni’s move to curb flight prices

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:38 GMT

The European Commission has asked Rome for more information on its measure to combat high flight prices between Italy’s islands and the mainland after airlines argued the move breached EU rules. Giorgia Meloni’s Italian government on Monday approved the measure which targets the use of flight-pricing algorithms by airlines and bans their use for internal flights between the Italian mainland and Sicily and Sardinia, apart from in rare exceptions.In practice, the measure would forbid airlines from raising the price of flights between the mainland and Sicily or Sardinia by more than 200 percent of the average price of the flight — although it’s not clear what would count as an “average price.” It comes after low-cost carrier airfares to both islands have soared.Airlines reacted furiously to Rome’s move, with Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson branding it “illegal.”“It’s ridiculous, illegal and interferes with the free market, according to European law,” Wilson told Italian newsw...

Founder of Russia’s Google slams Putin’s ‘barbaric’ Ukraine war

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:38 GMT

Arkady Volozh, one of the founders of Yandex — Russia’s version of Google — is “categorically against” the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the entrepreneur said Thursday in a rare public admission from a leading Russian business figure.“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it,” Volozh said in a written statement shared with POLITICO, adding he was “horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine.”Volozh, who co-founded Yandex in 1997 and has been living in Israel since 2014, stepped down as Yandex’s CEO in June 2022 after he was sanctioned by the EU for “materially or financially” supporting Russia’s war.He said he realized that his “role in the Yandex story had come to an end” after the Kremlin’s aggression ramped up in February 2022, but had chosen to “stay silent” since then to focus on “support[ing] the talented Russian engineers...

State police investigating South Boston hit-and-run that left pedestrian seriously injured

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:38 GMT

State police are investigating a hit-and-run pedestrian crash in South Boston early Thursday morning that left a man with serious, potentially life-threatening injuries, officials said.Troopers responding to a report of a pedestrian struck on Columbia Road at the Exit 14 ramp from Route 93 north in South Boston found a man suffering from serious injuries, according to state police. The driver of the vehicle that hit him fled the scene.The man was transported to Boston Medical Center. His condition was not immediately available.The crash is under investigation by Troop H of the Massachusetts State Police, the State Police-South Boston Barracks, the State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section. No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Police investigating double stabbing in Dorchester

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:38 GMT

Boston police are investigating an early morning double stabbing in Dorchester on Thursday.Officers responding to a reported stabbing in the area of 8 Ellsworth Street found two people suffering from stab wounds, according to police.They were both transported to nearby hospitals. Their conditions were not immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Animal Rescue League of Boston hosting Small Animal Adopt-a-thon

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:38 GMT

Thinking of adding a small animal to your family?The Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) is inviting area residents to attend a small animal Adopt-a-thon across the organization’s three Animal Care & Adoption Centers this weekend.From Aug. 10 through Aug. 13, from guinea pigs to rabbits, mice, rats, among others, ARL’s small animal adoption fees will be waived.In a statement, the organization wrote, “they may be small, but they will hold a big place in your heart!”ARL’s Adoption Forward process will remain the same and prospective adopters must bring a photo of the cage their pet will live in to ensure it meets our requirements.The organization has locations in Boston, Dedham, and Brewster.Learn more here.

At least 36 people killed in Hawaii’s Lahaina fire

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:38 GMT

WAILUKU, Hawaii  — Thousands of Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town and killing at least 36 people in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years.The fire took the island by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets and smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings had stood in Lahaina Town, which dates to the 1700s and has long been a favorite destination of tourists. Crews battled blazes in several places on the island Wednesday, and the flames forced some adults and children to flee into the ocean.At least 36 people have died, according to a statement from Maui County late Wednesday that said no other details were available. Officials said earlier that 271 structures were damaged or destroyed and dozens of people injured. The 2018 Camp Fire in California killed at least 85 people and virtually razed the town of Paradise.Officials warned that the death toll in Hawa...

Homicide investigation underway in East Village

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:38 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A homicide investigation is underway on the 600 block of 14th Street in the East Village, the San Diego Police Department confirmed to FOX 5 around 5 a.m.There is little information at this time. The scene remains active. FOX 5 is working to gather more information.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

US inflation rises for the first time in a year to 3.2% rate, but underlying measures remain mild

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation in the United States rose in July after 12 straight months of declines, boosted by costlier housing. But excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation matched the smallest monthly increase in nearly two years. The inflation figure the government reported Thursday showed that consumer prices increased 3.2% from a year earlier. That was up from a 3% annual rise in June, which was the lowest rate in more than two years. The July inflation figure remained far below last year’s peak of 9.1%, though still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.The Fed, economists and investors, though, pay particular attention to the core inflation figures for signs of where inflationary pressures might be headed. From June to July, core inflation remained a tame 0.2%.Thursday’s price data will be among the key barometers the Fed will weigh in deciding whether to continue raising interest rates. In its drive to tame inflation, the Fed has raised its benchma...

Safety standards weren’t met at French vacation home housing disabled adults where a fire killed 11

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:38 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Required safety standards weren’t met at a vacation home housing adults with disabilities at which a fire killed 11 people in eastern France, a deputy prosecutor said Thursday. A day earlier, the fire killed 10 adults with slight intellectual disabilities and one person accompanying them. Nathalie Kielwasser, the deputy prosecutor of Colmar, said the first phase of the investigation showed that a mandatory safety inspection for such accommodations had not been done. Speaking on French news broadcaster BFM TV, she said the fire started from the upper floor, but its cause has not been determined. The large vacation house in the Alsacian town of Wintzenheim was equipped for 28 people, including 12 on the ground floor and 16 on the upper floor, with smoke detectors, she added.The building was rented to groups of people by a private owner, who was not identified. It was not specifically dedicated to disabled people.The disabled adults were on a vacation sponsored by tw...

Number of Americans applying for jobless aid rises, but not enough to cause concern

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:44:38 GMT

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits jumped last week, but not enough to raise concern about the consistently strong U.S. labor market.U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose by 21,000 to 248,000 for the week ending August 5, from 227,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most in five weeks.The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile reading, ticked up by 2,750 to 228,250.Jobless claim applications are viewed as broadly representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.Overall, 1.68 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended July 29, about 8,000 fewer than the previous week.Matt Ott, The Associated Press