Month: September 2022

LOS ANGELES -- “Abbott Elementary” creator-star Quinta Brunson said she'd rather focus on the show than Jimmy Kimmel's comedy bit that overshadowed her Emmy acceptance speech and prompted criticism. But Sheryl Lee Ralph, who received her own Emm y for the sitcom with a rousing song and speech, didn't duck the matter during a Q&A panel discussion Wednesday with TV critics. “I was like, ‘Oh, the disrespect, Jimmy,'" Ralph recalled. She sarcastically referred to it as “lovely that he was lying on the floor during her wonderful acceptance speech. “I told him too, to his face, and he understood,” said Ralph, who was honored at Monday's ceremony as best supporting comedy actress for her role in the warm-hearted comedy set in a Philadelphia school. Brunson won the best comedy seri...

LONDON -- The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II left Buckingham Palace for the last time Wednesday, borne on a horse-drawn carriage and saluted by cannons and the tolling of Big Ben, in a solemn procession through the flag-draped, crowd-lined streets of London to Westminster Hall. There, a steady stream of mourners paid their respects to Britain's longest-reigning monarch. As the cortege left the palace, her son, King Charles III, and his siblings and sons marched behind the coffin, which was topped by a wreath of white roses and her crown resting on a purple velvet pillow. The military procession underscored Elizabeth’s seven decades as head of state as the national mourning process shifted to the grand boulevards and historic landmarks of the U.K. capital. At 900-year-old Westminster Hall,...

BRUSSELS -- European Union lawmakers on Wednesday adopted new legislation aimed at guaranteeing “decent” minimum wages for workers across the 27-nation bloc. The vote — with 505 in favor, 92 against and 44 abstentions — came as inflation and skyrocketing energy bills have left many households struggling to make ends meet. Minimum wages across the EU vary widely, and setting a minimum remains a competence of member countries. The highest minimum wages are in Luxembourg, Ireland and Germany, the lowest in Bulgaria, Latvia and Estonia, according to EU data. Under the new law, member countries will have to guarantee “that their national minimum wages allow workers to lead a decent life, taking into Running Shoes account the cost of living and wider pay levels," the Parliament said. The leg...

BRUSSELS -- A top European Union official unveiled a plan Wednesday to cap the revenue of electricity producers that are making extraordinary profits because of the effects of Russia's war in Ukraine and climate change, saying the proposal could raise $140 billion to help people hit by spiraling energy prices. It's one of several proposals aimed at containing an energy crisis in Europe that could lead to rolling blackouts, shuttered factories and a deep recession this winter. Others include slashing energy use and reforming the electricity market, which all need approval by the 27 EU countries. As the bloc supports Ukraine, Russia has reduced or cut off natural gas to 13 member nations, surging gas and electricity prices that are expected to go higher as demand peaks during the cold month...

BEIRUT -- A woman accompanied by activists and brandishing what she said was a toy pistol broke into a Beirut bank branch on Wednesday, taking $13,000 from her trapped savings. Sali Hafez told the local Al-Jadeed TV that she needed the money to fund her sister’s cancer treatment. She said she had repeatedly visited the bank to ask for her money and was told she could only receive $200 a month in Lebanese pounds. Hafez said the toy pistol belonged to her nephew. “I had begged the branch manager before for my money, and I told him my sister was dying, didn’t have much time left,” she said in the interview. “I reached a point where I had nothing else to lose.” Lebanon’s cash-strapped banks have imposed strict limits on withdrawals of foreign currency since 2019, tying up the savings of mil...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- A right-wing bloc that includes a nationalist anti-immigration party won a narrow majority in Sweden’s parliament Wednesday. It was a major political shift in the Scandinavian country that had a decades-long history of welcoming refugees, but is grappling with a crime wave linked with immigration. Center-left Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson conceded defeat with 99.9% of the vote from the weekend elections counted Wednesday. She said she would step down Thursday. Populist Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson declared victory for the four-party bloc. He said his party would be “a constructive and driving force” in the work of rebuilding safety in Sweden. He said it was “time to put Sweden first.” The bloc that includes the Sweden Democrats — Alegria Shoes the c...