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Switching smokers to vaping central to UK public health

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:00 GMT

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has stressed the importance of his government’s ‘swap to stop’ programme for improving public health. It promotes vaping as a much safer alternative to smoking cigarettes and is part of a strategy that encourages adults to make informed choices rather than imposing bans that leave them with limited options, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.When Prime Minister Sunak was challenged at Westminster on how the UK’s National Health Service could be relieved of ever-growing pressures, he put anti-smoking policy at the centre of his reply. In the UK, it’s recognised that long-term adult smokers are unlikely to quit without being offered a safer alternative that satisfies their craving for nicotine.“On smoking, the ‘swap to stop’ programme is trying something quite proactive … quite innovative”, he said. “There is such persuasive evidence from that programme and the schemes that we have done on a smaller scale that if you can help existing adult smokers to sw...

Miss Manners: I’m fed up with being told I’m using offensive words

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:00 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I’m a politically liberal person with like-minded friends. Occasionally, in the course of a conversation, a friend advises me that my use of a word or phrase is unacceptable.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I drove three days, then she said there was no room for me Advice | Miss Manners: She’s supposed to be a friend, but she drops innuendo about my marriage Advice | Miss Manners: Is it tacky to bring pastries when I turn in my son’s school application? Advice | Miss Manners: Is it your hair? Or is it because you’re kinda mean? Advice | Miss Manners: I was smacked down for complaining about the gauche bachelor party Apparently, terms I should no longer use include previously neutral terms such as “depressing,” “battle,” “minefield,” “the poor,” “the disabled” and also “field,” as in ac...

Dear Abby: My wife says I’m too sensitive about her lovers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:00 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have been together more than 20 years. Our relationship grew stale over time, and a couple of years ago, she decided to leave me. However, over the few years, even though she has had several lovers, we have started to get close again.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: What can I do about my husband’s embarrassing sneeze? Advice | Dear Abby: My ex-wife says these kids are my grandchildren. I’m not so sure. Advice | Dear Abby: My brother has cut all ties, and I don’t even know what I did Advice | Dear Abby: I don’t want to make my husband jealous but I’m excited about this new hobby Advice | Dear Abby: I don’t want to live like this, but there’s that ‘for better or worse’ thing The problem is, I really love her and want her back as my girlfriend, but she sees this as a casual relationship, which leaves me feeling hurt. For exam...

Police investigation underway after fatal shooting unfolds in Miami Gardens as bystanders watch

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:00 GMT

A fatal shooting left bystanders in a state of shock and disbelief after they witnessed the deadly encounter. Law enforcement sources have initiated an investigation, treating the incident as a potential road rage case. Video obtained by 7News on Tuesday night revealed the sequence of events leading up to the deadly encounter. It begins with the gunman approaching the victim, who is seen holding a skateboard. As the tension escalated, the situation quickly turns violent.In the footage, a woman inside a nearby vehicle gasps in disbelief as the driver exclaims, “They just shot him?” The gravity of the situation leaves onlookers stunned, desperately attempting to distance themselves from the scene. “Back up! Back up!” the woman pleaded as she urged the driver to retreat. The unidentified shooter, holding the gun he had just discharged, remains visible in the video. The video also captured a stopped white car that had a driver’s side door open.Following the...

Man undergoes facial reconstruction surgery after brutal beating in Coconut Grove; police searching for 2 suspects

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:00 GMT

A South Florida man was forced to undergo surgery after suffering a brutal beating in Coconut Grove, which he said was an attack motivated by hate.Gregory Breidenbach suffered a black eye and broken bones, but that wasn’t all. He remains in pain emotionally and physically. “I’m going through a big wave of a rollercoaster of emotions from everything that happened,” Breidenbach said. The victim was walking home in Coconut Grove on Saturday just after midnight when all of a sudden two men jumped him. They called him an offensive slur for a gay man, while punching and kicking him repeatedly and left him for dead.“My brain has blocked it all out, I do know I was cognizant enough when the cops found me and they said I was lying in the street and that I didn’t have my clothes on.”7News spoke to Breidenbach just before his preparation for surgery.“All of my face has to be redone, everything is busted, from nasal cavity, nasal and sinus is sepa...

‘My house has been an island’: Northeastern communities face a long road to recovery after devastating floods put neighborhoods under water

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:00 GMT

(CNN) — Crews across the Northeast are surveying the destruction and beginning clean-up efforts as sunshine briefly returns after devastating floods put towns under water, damaging homes and washing out roads.As the water begins to recede, revealing mud-covered streets and buckled homes, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott says the impact has been catastrophic – and the threat isn’t over yet.“Even though the sun may shine later today and tomorrow, we expect more rain later this week which will have nowhere to go in the over-saturated ground,” Scott said. “We’re not out of the woods – this is nowhere near over.”And while the state shifts into recovery phase, and braces for even more potential flooding, it’s already clear that the months ahead will be difficult, the governor said.“I know thousands of Vermonters have lost homes, businesses and more,” Scott said. “The devastation is far reaching.”In Vermont’s capital, Montpelier, streets turned into rivers and water spilled into businesses in the d...

Brace for Rishi Sunak’s next 5 pledges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:00 GMT

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s finding it hard to make good on the five big promises he made to British voters — but that won’t stop him from making a whole lot more.British Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the center-right Onward think tank Tuesday that, not only does his boss Sunak still think he’ll achieve his five pledges, but that “the next five” could well be on the way.“I have enormous confidence not just that we will meet his five pledges, but in meeting them we will restore the trust of the British people that we lost last year,” Hunt said Tuesday.“And then we will be able to make another set of pledges going into the election. And we’ll be able to say to them ‘you can listen to us — because we delivered the last five, and here are the next five, and we’re a party that delivers.’”Sunak took over as British prime minister late last year following the short and tumultuous tenure of fellow Tory Liz Truss.In a bid to turn things around...

Germany will adopt China strategy to reduce reliance on Beijing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:00 GMT

VILNIUS — Germany’s government will Thursday unveil its first China strategy as part of an effort to ramp up pressure on companies to “de-risk” and reduce dependencies on Beijing.The strategy, which is planned to be adopted by Cabinet and presented to the public on Thursday, is eagerly awaited as politicians and businesses across Europe and beyond are keen to see how the EU’s biggest economy is re-positioning itself regarding the economically important but increasingly assertive China.The strategy will send out a signal “that we are not naive,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius.Baerbock’s ministry and other government departments including Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s office discussed last details of the strategy until late Tuesday before agreeing on a final text, according to two people familiar with the discussions, who were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of th...

EU Parliament ethics fight muddies Qatargate reforms

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:00 GMT

STRASBOURG — The body positivity movement has definitely not reached the European Parliament — relating to the ethics body, that is.When it comes to the European Commission’s proposal for an ethics body to boost integrity standards and enforcement across all EU institutions, the European Parliament can’t figure out where it stands. Left-leaning members of European Parliament want the body to be stronger. Conservatives want to rename it — but otherwise stick with the EU executive’s idea. And centrists are so disappointed they don’t even want to work on it.These persistent divisions have now crashed into a Parliament vote on Wednesday, intended ostensibly to strengthen its hand in talks with other EU institutions about the ethics panel. Instead, disunity and partisanship are expected, marring the EU’s broader reform ambitions after the Qatargate cash-for-influence scandal shocked Brussels.The catch: Both sides of the left-right divide are trying to claim cr...

Bank of England finds UK lenders strong enough to withstand worse economic conditions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:00 GMT

LONDON — The Bank of England Wednesday found U.K. banks can withstand a dire economic scenario of much higher interest rates, persistent inflation and recessions in both Britain and around the world as part of its stress-testing regime for the financial sector.The BoE said it “continues to judge that the U.K. banking system is resilient, and has the capacity to support households and businesses through a period of higher interest rates, even if economic and financial conditions were to be substantially worse than expected.”All banks remained above key capital thresholds and no bank will have to strengthen its capital position as a result of the test.The findings are the first public health check of British lenders since turmoil ripped the global banking system in March, after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the U.S. highlighted potential losses lurking on banks’ books from rising rates. The BoE’s hypothetical scenario tested the banks against a 5 perce...