- BBC Urged To Fire UK Eurovision Entrant Olly Alexander After He Signed Letter Accusing “Apartheid” State Israel Of Genocide Deadline
- BBC criticized for selecting Eurovision contestant who accused Israel of ‘genocide’ The Times of Israel
- BBC urged to drop Olly Alexander from Eurovision after Israel comments Euronews
- Ex-Mumford and Sons star blasts Olly Alexander’s ‘abhorrent’ Israel views – But says he SHOULDN’T be kicked off Eurovision GB News
- UK Eurovision act Olly Alexander criticised for signing statement calling Israel an ‘apartheid state’ and accusing it of genocide Sky News
Tag Archives: urged
TikTok Urged by Jewish Celebs to Address Antisemitism, Misinformation – Variety
- TikTok Urged by Jewish Celebs to Address Antisemitism, Misinformation Variety
- Jewish Celebrities and Influencers Confront TikTok Executives in Private Call The New York Times
- Sacha Baron Cohen Slams TikTok: “Creating Biggest Antisemitic Movement Since the Nazis” Hollywood Reporter
- ‘Shame on you’: Sacha Baron Cohen accuses TikTok of ‘creating the biggest antisemitic movement since the Nazis’ New York Post
- ‘Shame on you’: Jewish actor slams TikTok as videos on Osama letter go viral India Today
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Israelis urged to reconsider overseas travel amid rising antisemitism worldwide – The Times of Israel
- Israelis urged to reconsider overseas travel amid rising antisemitism worldwide The Times of Israel
- Israel issues global travel warning, telling citizens ‘to avoid displaying any outward signs of their Israeli or Jewish identity when traveling’ Yahoo News
- Israel Warns Citizens About Traveling Abroad Amid Growing Antisemitism The Wall Street Journal
- Israel warns citizens to downplay signs of Judaism while abroad amid antisemitism uptick The Times of Israel
- Israel tells citizens to reconsider travel abroad amid hostility Reuters
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Windows Users Urged To Update As Microsoft Confirms New Zero-Day Exploits – Forbes
- Windows Users Urged To Update As Microsoft Confirms New Zero-Day Exploits Forbes
- Microsoft Patch Tuesday Fixes 132 Vulnerabilities, Addresses 6 Zero-Days ExtremeTech
- CISA gives US civilian agencies until August 1 to resolve four Microsoft vulnerabilities The Record from Recorded Future News
- Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issues warning of critical vulnerability in Microsoft products, posing security risk OnMSFT.com
- Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday addresses 6 actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities TechSpot
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Taylor Swift Urged Fans Not To Troll Her Ex John Mayer & Now He’s Being Trolled Even More – BuzzFeed News
- Taylor Swift Urged Fans Not To Troll Her Ex John Mayer & Now He’s Being Trolled Even More BuzzFeed News
- This Woman Frantically Interrupted a Wedding Reception When Taylor Swift Played “Dear John” — in Another State Yahoo Life
- Taylor Swift asks fans to show ‘kindness’ around ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ GMA
- Taylor Swift calls halt to Swiftie aggression, grants John Mayer reprieve The A.V. Club
- Taylor Swift performed “Dear John”, which is about John Mayer, and told her fans to be kinder to her song targ LaineyGossip
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Netflix Shareholders Reject Executive Pay Packages in Symbolic Move; WGA Had Urged Investors to Vote Against Them – Variety
- Netflix Shareholders Reject Executive Pay Packages in Symbolic Move; WGA Had Urged Investors to Vote Against Them Variety
- Netflix Shareholders Decline To Back Executive Compensation Packages After WGA Urged Rejection Of “Inappropriate” Pay During Strike Deadline
- The top Hollywood exec made $498 million in the last 5 years—384 times as much as the average writer CNBC
- Netflix Shareholders Reject Exec Pay Packages, Days After Writers Guild Urged “No” Vote Hollywood Reporter
- Netflix shareholders withhold support for executive pay package Yahoo Finance
- View Full Coverage on Google News
SoCalGas: Worried about your sky-high gas bill? Customers urged to voice concerns to California Public Utilities Commission
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — As Californians struggle to pay sky-high natural gas bills, utility access activists are encouraging people to contact state regulators.
Mark Toney is the executive director of The Utilities Reform Network, a nonprofit also known as TURN that is working to ensure utilities are clean, safe and affordable.
He said people who are upset about the sudden jump in their SoCalGas bills need to call in to Thursday’s upcoming California Public Utilities Commission meeting and voice their anger.
“We’re just very concerned that this is out of control and something needs to be done to moderate these type of price spikes,” he told Eyewitness News.
SoCalGas said the wholesale price of natural gas has skyrocketed this winter, now up 128% just from December to January. The company is warning customers that if their peak winter bill was around $130 last year, it will most likely jump to roughly $315 this year.
Crestline resident Dennis Duvall is recovering from triple bypass surgery and suffers from Lupus. Those health issues keep him in the house around the clock with the thermostat set at about 75 degrees.
His latest bill was $918.75.
READ ALSO | Residents fear SoCalGas customers will ‘freeze to death’ trying to save money to pay sky-high bills
“I’ve got to pay it,” he said. “I’ve got to keep the heat on. It’s going to be very hard.”
Dave Miner of Crestline just saw his gas bill shoot up to $700.
“It’s taking money away from my kids, it’s taking money away from my grocery bill,” Miner said.
Toney said many California residents with medical problems qualify for programs like Medical Baseline to help bring utility costs down.
“They can sign up for Medical Baseline for the gas and get a reduced price and additional protections against shut-off if you fall behind on your bill,” said Toney.
Other tips to save gas?
“Turn down the thermostat if your health and your family’s health allows it, rely a little bit more on sweaters, blankets, closing off the vents in rooms that you’re not using,” Toney advises.
Copyright © 2023 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
Brussels urged to rein in Ukraine’s ‘unrealistic’ EU hopes
EU member states have warned Brussels against giving Ukraine an unrealistic expectation of rapidly joining the bloc, ahead of a summit in Kyiv where Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pressing for progress on accession and reconstruction.
Zelenskyy is due to host his EU counterparts Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel this week, where he is expected to lobby for the country’s EU membership, the use of frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction and a legal mechanism to prosecute Russians for war crimes.
Senior diplomats from EU capitals are concerned that unfeasible Ukrainian expectations — including EU accession by 2026 — have been encouraged rather than tempered by Brussels’ top officials.
“No political leader wants to be on the wrong side of history . . . Nobody wants to be blamed for not doing enough,” said one senior EU diplomat. “So they tell them it’s all possible.”
In response to Russia’s invasion last February, the EU scrambled to support Ukraine through military, humanitarian and financial packages, including sanctions against Russia that have hit the bloc’s own economies. The EU also took the unprecedented step of making Ukraine an official membership candidate, despite it falling short of the standard requirements.
But while some central and eastern European member states have championed Ukraine’s demands, other northern and western capitals worry about how its large, poor population and vast agricultural sector could be integrated with the EU.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron has been notably cautious about the speed of Ukraine’s accession, warning in May, before the country was formally made a candidate, that the process could take “several decades”.
The EU’s leadership has struck an optimistic tone. European Commission president von der Leyen said on a visit to Kyiv in September that the “accession process is well on track”. “It’s impressive to see the speed, the determination, the preciseness with which you are progressing,” she added.
European Council president Michel said this month that “no effort” should be spared to “turn this promise into a reality as fast as we can”. “Ukraine is the EU and the EU is Ukraine,” he told Ukraine’s parliament.
That rhetoric has created expectations in Kyiv that it deserves special privileges and a rapid entry into the bloc. Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal has said he envisages a two-year timetable.
“There is not going to be a fast-track path for Ukraine’s EU membership,” said a second EU diplomat. “There is a risk that rhetoric clashes with reality.”
Multiple member state officials told the Financial Times the commission needed to make clear to Ukraine that there were huge hurdles ahead of beginning formal accession negotiations, which themselves can take a decade or more.
“That gap [between promises and reality] has been growing for some time. And we are getting to the point where it’s too wide,” said a third EU diplomat. “They appear to believe that they can just become a member tomorrow. And that’s obviously not the case.”
Von der Leyen and other commissioners will meet Ukrainian government officials as part of the trip, with the commission president and Michel, who represents the 27 member states, due to hold a summit with Zelenskyy on Friday.
“We have all noted the reform momentum that is ongoing in Ukraine,” said one senior EU official ahead of the meetings, pointing for example to work on the rule of law and anti-corruption efforts. The discussions in Kyiv will highlight the need for further reforms, while also touching on economic co-operation and reducing trade barriers with the EU.
Michel and von der Leyen have also been prominent in calling for member states to explore ways to use the proceeds of Russian central bank assets frozen in European banks in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
“Von der Leyen and Michel might be outcompeting each other on who can show themselves to be more pro-Ukrainian,” said one of the EU diplomats.
The cost of reconstruction and recovery was estimated at nearly €350bn by Ukraine, Brussels and the World Bank last September, and the price tag has only mounted since then as weekly Russian missile and drone attacks have damaged critical infrastructure.
But those calls to deploy the assets have been made despite big questions within the commission itself over how feasible such a route would be.
Didier Reynders, the EU justice commissioner, told the FT this week that the idea of using Russian government assets was “a very complex issue”. “I would say not only on the legal side but also for the good functioning of the monetary system,” he said.
The EU is also divided over the format of a potential tribunal to investigate and seek to prosecute Russians for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Millions are urged to change their settings on Google Maps to keep themselves safe
Millions are urged to change their settings on Google Maps to keep themselves safe
- Police have previously warned that online mapping tools are ‘useful’ to criminals
- But Google Maps offers two key options to improve personal safety online
- This include blurring out private details and location sharing with loved ones
From navigating cities to finding local restaurants, many of us have become dependent on Google Maps for getting around in daily life.
But despite its handiness, the platform’s panoramic street views may risk revealing private information about your home that might not be wanted online.
In the past, publicly accessible mapping tools have been deemed ‘useful’ to criminals planning attacks – from burglary to terrorism.
Google Maps itself also pixelated the home of Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook last year following stalking concerns.
But some may be pleased to know that blurring out what’s not wanted online is easily accessible to all using the Google Maps website.
Google Maps provides the option to blur out faces, your home, cars and other personal details
To do this, users can search for their home address on the computer using Google Maps.
A photograph of your home should then appear, which can be clicked on to present a close-up street view of the area.
If there are details that you would like to be blurred, click the three small dots that should be in the top left corner of the Google view.
This gives the option to ‘Report a Problem’ which, when clicked on, allows users to record an inappropriate street view.
Requests can be put forward to blur faces, homes, cars, license plates or different objects.
It also gives the chance to tell Google if there are any issues with image quality.
The only details required to put in about yourself is an email address.
For many of us, Google Maps is essential for getting around in day-to-day life
For those concerned about walking alone in the dark, Google Maps also allows users to share their location with loved ones.
To access this, click on the three lines at the left of the search bar which will provide view of a menu.
This provides a location sharing option where users can select the amount of time they want this tracking information made available to selected personal contacts.
Russia-Ukraine war live: Kyiv residents urged to shelter in late-night drone attack targeting infrastructure | Ukraine
Explosions heard in Kyiv
Residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were urged to head to air raid shelters early on Friday as sirens wailed across the city, a day after Russia carried out the biggest aerial assault since it started the war in February, Reuters reports.
Shortly after 2:00 am Kyiv’s city government issued an alert on its Telegram messaging app channel about the air raid sirens and called on residents to proceed to shelters. A Reuters witness 20 km (12 miles) south of Kyiv heard several explosions and the sound of anti-aircraft fire.
Olekskiy Kuleba, governor of Kyiv region, said on Telegram that an “attack by drones” was under way. A few hours later, he said that the attack had targeted infrastructure and that there were no casualties.
Kuleba wrote on Telegram: “Night attack by martyr drones. Russia once again targeted our infrastructure facilities. Air defence forces repelled drones. Previously, there are no hits. Emergency services are working at the crash site.”
European gas prices have dipped to a level last seen before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, after warmer weather across the continent eased concerns over shortages.
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The month-ahead European gas future contract dropped as low as €76.78 per megawatt hour on Wednesday, the lowest level in 10 months, before closing higher at €83.70, according to Refinitiv, a data company.
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The invasion roiled global energy markets and forced European countries, including industrial powerhouse Germany, to look for alternative suppliers to those funding the Kremlin. Europe had continued to rely on Russian gas even after its 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
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Britain said on Friday it has given Ukraine more than 1,000 metal detectors and 100 kits to deactivate bombs to help clear minefields in the latest instance of military support.
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“Russia’s use of landmines and targeting of civilian infrastructure underline the shocking cruelty of Putin’s invasion,” British defence minister Ben Wallace said in a statement.
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“This latest package of UK support will help Ukraine safely clear land and buildings as it reclaims its rightful territory.”
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The metal detectors, made by German firm Vallon, can help troops clear safe routes on roads and paths by helping to remove explosive hazards, the defence ministry said, while the kits can de-arm the fuse from unexploded bombs.
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The Kyiv City Military Administration has just posted its preliminary information about the attack.
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It said on Telegram that five Shahed drones entered Kyiv’s airspice and that all were destroyed by Ukrainian air defence, but barrage munitions from one of the drones hit an administrative building in Holosiiv, partially destroying the building and damaging the windows of a nearby residential building.
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Residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were urged to head to air raid shelters early on Friday as sirens wailed across the city, a day after Russia carried out the biggest aerial assault since it started the war in February, Reuters reports.
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Shortly after 2:00 am Kyiv’s city government issued an alert on its Telegram messaging app channel about the air raid sirens and called on residents to proceed to shelters. A Reuters witness 20 km (12 miles) south of Kyiv heard several explosions and the sound of anti-aircraft fire.
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Olekskiy Kuleba, governor of Kyiv region, said on Telegram that an “attack by drones” was under way. A few hours later, he said that the attack had targeted infrastructure and that there were no casualties.
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Kuleba wrote on Telegram: “Night attack by martyr drones. Russia once again targeted our infrastructure facilities. Air defence forces repelled drones. Previously, there are no hits. Emergency services are working at the crash site.”
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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. In the very early hours of Friday morning, air raid alarms sounded in Kyiv, barely a day after Russia unleashed a massive missile strike on cities across the country. Several explosions were heard on Friday morning as residents were urged to remain in shelters.
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In a post at 5am, Kyiv governor Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram that the attack targeted infrastructure and that there were no casualties.
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My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments as they happen.
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Here is a summary of the news from the last 24 hours:
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The state-run Belarus news agency BelTA reported that a Ukrainian S-300 missile had fallen on to the territory of Belarus during one of Russia’s largest missile attacks against Ukraine since the start of the war.
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The Ukrainian ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Minsk to receive a formal protest after the spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs said the missile landing on Belarussian soil was “extremely serious”.
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Russia launched a wave of missile attacks across Ukraine on Thursday morning, with Ukraine’s air force claiming it shot down 54 Russian winged cruise missiles out of 69 launched into Ukraine from Rostov in Russia, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
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The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, stated that three people were known to have been injured in the capital, including a 14-year-old girl. Two people had been rescued from a private house that had been struck by debris. Klitschko said 40% of the capital’s consumers were without electricity after the missile attack.
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Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, pledged that Rome would continue to help Kyiv’s war effort and that she would visit before the end of February.
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The UK will commit £2.3bn in aid to Ukraine in 2023, said the UK’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace.
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Kazakhstan was preparing to deport a Russian security officer who fled his country because he objected to the invasion of Ukraine and hoped to find refuge in the west, his wife said on Thursday. As an officer of the Federal Protective Service (FSO), tasked with protecting the Russian president, Major Mikhail Zhilin, 36, was barred from leaving Russia and illegally crossed into Kazakhstan in September when it became clear he could be sent to Ukraine.
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Key events
Shaun Walker
Here is the full story from Russia’s barrage of missiles on Thursday:
Russia launched a large round of missile attacks across Ukraine on Thursday morning, as Moscow rejected a Ukrainian peace plan and kept up its attacks on the country’s infrastructure.
Targets from Lviv in the west to Kharkiv in the east came under fire on Thursday morning. The Ukrainian army command said Russia launched 69 missiles from land, sea and air, 54 of which it said were shot down by Ukrainian air defences.
The Ukrainian defence ministry wrote on Twitter that the strikes constituted “one of the most massive missile attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion”.
European gas prices fall to pre-Ukraine war level
Jasper Jolly
European gas prices have dipped to a level last seen before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, after warmer weather across the continent eased concerns over shortages.
The month-ahead European gas future contract dropped as low as €76.78 per megawatt hour on Wednesday, the lowest level in 10 months, before closing higher at €83.70, according to Refinitiv, a data company.
The invasion roiled global energy markets and forced European countries, including industrial powerhouse Germany, to look for alternative suppliers to those funding the Kremlin. Europe had continued to rely on Russian gas even after its 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a video address on Thursday night, said air commands in central, southern, eastern and western Ukraine repelled 54 Russian missiles and 11 drones on Thursday.
Zelenskiy acknowledged that most regions were suffering power outages. The areas where loss of power was “especially difficult” included the capital Kyiv, Odesa and Kherson in the south and surrounding regions, and the region around Lviv near the western border with Poland, Zelenskiy said.
“But this is nothing compared with what could have happened if it were not for our heroic anti-aircraft gunners and air defence,” he said.
Reuters footage on Thursday showed emergency workers searching through the smouldering wreckage of homes in Kyiv destroyed by a blast and smoke trails of missiles in the sky. Officials had earlier said more than 120 missiles were fired during Thursday’s assault.
More than 18 residential buildings and 10 critical infrastructure installations were destroyed in the latest attacks, the defence ministry said in a statement.
Britain sending metal detectors and bomb de-activation kits to Ukraine
Britain said on Friday it has given Ukraine more than 1,000 metal detectors and 100 kits to deactivate bombs to help clear minefields in the latest instance of military support.
“Russia’s use of landmines and targeting of civilian infrastructure underline the shocking cruelty of Putin’s invasion,” British defence minister Ben Wallace said in a statement.
“This latest package of UK support will help Ukraine safely clear land and buildings as it reclaims its rightful territory.”
The metal detectors, made by German firm Vallon, can help troops clear safe routes on roads and paths by helping to remove explosive hazards, the defence ministry said, while the kits can de-arm the fuse from unexploded bombs.
President Maia Sandu, elected in 2020 on a pro-European and anti-corruption platform, expressed hopes on Thursday that crisis-hit Moldova would join the European Union before 2030.
“My wishes are very ambitious,” Sandu said in remarks carried on the Moldova-1 public television channel. “I think we must become a member of the European Union by the end of this decade.”
The EU accepted Moldova as a membership candidate in June, when it extended the same status to neighbouring Ukraine. It was a diplomatic triumph for Sandu, whose country is one of Europe’s poorest and facing numerous economic struggles.
Moldova has been striving to wean itself off Russian gas as it deals with power cuts partly caused by Moscow’s attacks on neighboring Ukraine’s power infrastructure. It also faces protests over soaring inflation.
In a sign of progress Wednesday, Moldovan state utilities firm Energocom announced a deal for Romania’s Nuclearelectrica to supply enough electricity to make up 80% of anticipated shortfalls in January 2023.
Romanian power producers have been granted permission to sell electricity to Moldova at 450 lei per megawatt hour, under a special cap due to the war in Ukraine.
Five drones recorded in late-night attack on Kyiv – Kyiv City Military Administration
The Kyiv City Military Administration has just posted its preliminary information about the attack.
It said on Telegram that five Shahed drones entered Kyiv’s airspice and that all were destroyed by Ukrainian air defence, but barrage munitions from one of the drones hit an administrative building in Holosiiv, partially destroying the building and damaging the windows of a nearby residential building.
Explosions heard in Kyiv
Residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were urged to head to air raid shelters early on Friday as sirens wailed across the city, a day after Russia carried out the biggest aerial assault since it started the war in February, Reuters reports.
Shortly after 2:00 am Kyiv’s city government issued an alert on its Telegram messaging app channel about the air raid sirens and called on residents to proceed to shelters. A Reuters witness 20 km (12 miles) south of Kyiv heard several explosions and the sound of anti-aircraft fire.
Olekskiy Kuleba, governor of Kyiv region, said on Telegram that an “attack by drones” was under way. A few hours later, he said that the attack had targeted infrastructure and that there were no casualties.
Kuleba wrote on Telegram: “Night attack by martyr drones. Russia once again targeted our infrastructure facilities. Air defence forces repelled drones. Previously, there are no hits. Emergency services are working at the crash site.”
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. In the very early hours of Friday morning, air raid alarms sounded in Kyiv, barely a day after Russia unleashed a massive missile strike on cities across the country. Several explosions were heard on Friday morning as residents were urged to remain in shelters.
In a post at 5am, Kyiv governor Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram that the attack targeted infrastructure and that there were no casualties.
My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments as they happen.
Here is a summary of the news from the last 24 hours:
-
The state-run Belarus news agency BelTA reported that a Ukrainian S-300 missile had fallen on to the territory of Belarus during one of Russia’s largest missile attacks against Ukraine since the start of the war.
-
The Ukrainian ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Minsk to receive a formal protest after the spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs said the missile landing on Belarussian soil was “extremely serious”.
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Russia launched a wave of missile attacks across Ukraine on Thursday morning, with Ukraine’s air force claiming it shot down 54 Russian winged cruise missiles out of 69 launched into Ukraine from Rostov in Russia, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
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The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, stated that three people were known to have been injured in the capital, including a 14-year-old girl. Two people had been rescued from a private house that had been struck by debris. Klitschko said 40% of the capital’s consumers were without electricity after the missile attack.
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Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, pledged that Rome would continue to help Kyiv’s war effort and that she would visit before the end of February.
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The UK will commit £2.3bn in aid to Ukraine in 2023, said the UK’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace.
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Kazakhstan was preparing to deport a Russian security officer who fled his country because he objected to the invasion of Ukraine and hoped to find refuge in the west, his wife said on Thursday. As an officer of the Federal Protective Service (FSO), tasked with protecting the Russian president, Major Mikhail Zhilin, 36, was barred from leaving Russia and illegally crossed into Kazakhstan in September when it became clear he could be sent to Ukraine.