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France faces fresh strikes after failed talks with unions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:56 GMT

PARIS — France will be hit Thursday by fresh strike action and protests against Emmanuel Macron’s flagship pensions reform while the French leader is on a three-day visit to China. A meeting between trade union representatives and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Wednesday failed to avert further protests against the government’s plans to raise the retirement age from to 64 from 62 and increase the number of years of contributions required to receive a full pension.Union chiefs walked out of the meeting with Borne in less than an hour, saying the government was not ready to make concessions, and called for protests to continue.“The prime minister replied that she wished to maintain her bill [pension reform]. A seriously bad decision. This reform is rejected by almost the entire population. It must be withdrawn,” major unions said in a joint statement after the meeting. “We will not come back to the negotiation table as if nothing had happened,” t...

Battle of Waterlooville: Arch-Brexiteer Suella Braverman’s tricky selection battle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:56 GMT

LONDON — Suella Braverman might be finally facing her Waterlooville. The arch-Brexiteer MP and home secretary faces a tough selection battle in the newly created Fareham and Waterlooville constituency in Hampshire, following changes to the U.K.’s parliamentary boundary system. The showdown has been dubbed “the battle of Waterlooville” by locals. As part of those changes, Braverman’s Fareham constituency is absorbing the nearby seat of Meon Valley, currently held by fellow Tory MP Flick Drummond, leading to a straight fight between the two.In one corner is Braverman, a Brexit-backing, culture war-fighting darling of the Conservative Party’s right-wing and one of Rishi Sunak’s most senior ministers. As the party attempts to reverse its dire standing in the polls, Braverman as home secretary has been in the spotlight spearheading tough new efforts to crack down on cross-Channel migration. In the “Wet” corner is Drummond, an unabashed Euro...

Far-right Finns Party moves to ECR group in EU Parliament

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:56 GMT

BRUSSELS — The far-right Finns Party has decided to leave the nationalist Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament to join the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the party announced Wednesday.The “radical change in Finland’s security policy” caused by the Russia’s war on Ukraine led the party to “reexamine international cooperation networks,” the party’s statement reads. The war prompted Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, to join the NATO military alliance in a historic move for the traditionally nonaligned country.The Finns party leadership “unanimously decided” to join a group “whose member parties are united by the uncompromising defense of Western civilization and the European security policy architecture” — a goal which can be “best promote[d] through the EU Parliament as a member of the ECR group.” In February, ECR Chairman Ryszard Leg...

UK proposes lighter touch approach to post-Brexit border checks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:56 GMT

LONDON — British goods imports from the EU will be subject to new red tape from October, after the U.K. government today released its new post-Brexit border proposals.The new plans will see a more streamlined process than previously announced, after a series of delays on more stringent checks on goods coming from the EU to the U.K.Imports of plant and animal products considered to be a “medium risk” — including meat, dairy and fish — and foods of a non-animal origin considered to be “high risk” will need to have health certificates from October.Phytosanitary certificates will also be required for phytosanitary goods — items like fruits, vegetables, seeds and grains — imported from the EU.New physical checks will be implemented at the U.K. border from January, before further security and safety checks for all EU imports are introduced in October 2024.However, the level of physical checks required on many goods will be less stringent than previously planned.Britain’s Cabinet Office sa...

The creator of the Catan board game has died

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:56 GMT

(CNN) — Klaus Teuber, creator of the blockbuster board game Catan, has passed away.“It is with profound sadness that we at Catan Studio acknowledge the passing of Klaus Teuber, legendary game designer and creator of the beloved board game Catan,” the game publisher’s said in a statement posted to Facebook and other social media platforms Tuesday. “Our hearts go out to Klaus’ family during this incredibly difficult time.”Teuber, born 1952, was “a kind and selfless human being, an inspirational leader,” the statement reads, adding that his “contributions to the board gaming industry are immeasurable.”The German designer first started developing games in the 1980s, according to the Catan website. Catan, originally called Settlers of Catan, came out in 1995.In the multi-player game, competitors have to settle the island of Catan using resources like grain and lumber to build their societies. Over the years, Cata...

How your phone learned to see in the dark

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:56 GMT

(CNN) — Open up Instagram at any given moment and it probably won’t take long to find crisp pictures of the night sky, a skyline after dark or a dimly lit restaurant. While shots like these used to require advanced cameras, they’re now often possible from the phone you already carry around in your pocket.Tech companies such as Apple, Samsung and Google are investing resources to improve their night photography options at a time when camera features have increasingly become a key selling point for smartphones that otherwise largely all look and feel the same from one year to the next.Earlier this month, Google brought a faster version of its Night Sight mode, which uses AI algorithms to lighten or brighten images in dark environments, to more of its Pixel models. Apple’s Night mode, which is available on models as far back as the iPhone 11, was touted as a premier feature on its iPhone 14 lineup last year thanks to its improved ca...

Latino empowerment council to advise Massachusetts governor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:56 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is planning to sign an executive order Wednesday creating a Governor’s Council on Latino Empowerment.The 40-member panel will be made up of Latino leaders from across the state and will be charged with advising Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll on strategies to expand economic opportunities for Massachusetts’ Latino communities and to improve their overall wellbeing.The panel will hold its first meeting Wednesday.Healey said the state’s Latino community helps strengthen Massachusetts.“Together, we can break down systemic barriers and expand access to opportunity by prioritizing education, job training, entrepreneurship and affordability,” the Democrat said in a written statement.Josiane Martinez — former executive director of the Office for Refugees and Immigrants, and founder and CEO of the Archipelago Strategies Group, a marketing agency — will serve as chair of the new council.“The Latinx community, one of the youngest and fastes...

Ram electric pickup truck can go 500 miles on a charge, says Stellantis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:56 GMT

(CNN) — Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares has said in the past that the company’s electric Ram pickup truck, while being later to the market than trucks from major competitors, would surpass them in range and capability. On Wednesday, the company put some specific numbers behind the CEO’s claims.While final figures have yet to be announced, Stellantis expects the fully electric Ram 1500 REV pickup will be able to drive 500 miles on a single charge, much farther than either the Ford F-150 Lightning or General Motors’ Chevrolet Silverado 1500 EV and GMC Sierra EV. GM expects to get 400 miles of range from its electric trucks. Long-range versions of Ford’s Lightning can go up to 320 miles on a charge, according to EPA estimates. Tesla claims its Cybertruck will also have a maximum 500 miles of range, however.The Ram REV will also be able to tow as much 14,000 pounds, according to Stellantis, a figure that matches Tesla...

Stocks dip, yields drop on latest signs of slowing economy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:56 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are dipping on Wall Street Wednesday, and Treasury yields are dropping following the latest signals that the U.S. economy is slowing under the weight of much higher interest rates.The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower in morning trading, a day after it broke a four-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 34 points, or 0.1%, at 33,436, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1% lower. The moves were sharper in the bond market, where yields sank following weaker-than-expected reports on the health of U.S. services industries and the job market. They’re the latest signs that the economy is slowing following a feverish set of hikes to interest rates by the Federal Reserve meant to get inflation under control. One report from the Institute for Supply Management said that growth in the U.S. services sector slowed last month by more than economists expected, as the pace of new orders coo...

Stormy Daniels must pay more to Trump’s lawyers, court says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:56 GMT

At roughly the same time that former President Donald Trump plead not guilty to criminal charges Tuesday afternoon in a Manhattan courtroom, he notched a win in a federal appeals court in California against the adult film star at the heart of the New York indictment.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued a six-page order directing Stormy Daniels to pay nearly $122,000 in legal fees to Trump’s attorneys. That sum is in addition to the more than $293,000 that Daniels had been ordered to pay after losing a libel case against the former president in federal district court and $245,000 for unsuccessfully pursuing an earlier appeal.The New York and California cases aren’t directly related, but the timing was striking since they involve the same underlying events: Daniels’ claim that she had an affair with Trump — which he has denied — and efforts by Trump’s former longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen to stop her story from becoming public ahead of ...