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Commission funds 171 new LIFE projects in environment and climate across Europe with over €396 million

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:21:07 GMT

The European Commission has approved 171 new projects across Europe under the LIFE Programme for environment and climate action, worth more than €396 million. Thanks to the programme's co-funding requirements, it will mobilise a total investment of more than €722m, which represents a 28.5 % increase compared to last year. Projects from almost all EU countries will benefit from EU support under the following sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity; circular economy and quality of life; climate change mitigation and adaptation; and clean energy transition.LIFE projects contribute to reaching the European Green Deal's broad range of climate, energy and environmental goals, including the EU's aim to become climate-neutral by 2050. They support biodiversity and nature restoration, improve the quality of life of Europeans by reducing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, increase circularity in the economy and climate resilience, and accelerate the transition to clean energy across Eur...

Dear Abby: After decades of gaslighting me, my mother refuses to admit what she did

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:21:07 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I was born 40 years ago and raised by my mother to believe that her husband was my birth father.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: The co-worker who was supposed to leave is still here, and things are not getting better Advice | Dear Abby: I don’t know what’s in my husband’s trailer, but I want it gone Advice | Dear Abby: I brought up my moral issue with the restaurant, and this man exploded at me Advice | Dear Abby: These men hijacked our sentimental lunch. Am I wrong to be upset? Advice | Dear Abby: The bride is my best friend, but I’m not comfortable with her plan She divorced him and raised me while receiving court-awarded child support, based on her insistence to all involved that she had not had an affair.As the years went on, it became increasingly evident this wasn’t true, so I took a genetic test. The result came back with a 99% likelihood that I had a d...

Four-bedroom home in Los Gatos sells for $2.3 million

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:21:07 GMT

220 Mary Alice Drive – Google Street ViewA 1,579-square-foot house built in 1961 has changed hands. The property located in the 200 block of Mary Alice Drive in Los Gatos was sold on Nov. 3, 2023, for $2,280,000, or $1,444 per square foot. This single-story home provides a generous living space with its four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. Additionally, the house includes a two-car garage, offering generous space for vehicles and storage requirements.Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby:A 1,598-square-foot home on the 200 block of Jo Drive in Los Gatos sold in May 2023, for $2,111,000, a price per square foot of $1,321. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In March 2023, a 1,357-square-foot home on National Avenue in Los Gatos sold for $1,700,000, a price per square foot of $1,253. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On National Avenue, Los Gatos, in November 2022, a 2,386-square-foot home was sold for $2,600,000, ...

International summit in Fort Lauderdale addresses alarming rise in antisemitism

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:21:07 GMT

In a historic move, an international summit addressing antisemitism is taking place for the first time in the United States, right here in South Florida. As leaders gather to discuss this pressing issue, heartbreaking stories emerge from the recent Hamas attacks on Israel.On Oct. 7, the world witnessed the terrifying moments as 239 hostages were kidnapped from Israel and taken to Gaza during what was supposed to be a music festival for peace. For Natalia Casarotti and Diego Engelbert, these are the moments that changed their lives forever. “People cannot go to dance and be killed because they go to dance,” Casarotti said.Casarotti’s son, Keshet, was missing for four and a half days after attending the Supernova Festival. The murder of her son, whose name means “rainbow” in English, has given her the strength to share his legacy. “The day after the funeral of my son, I felt inside, kind of a commitment to tell the story to make something meaningful...

Voting begins in Madagascar presidential election boycotted by most opposition leaders

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:21:07 GMT

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — People in Madagascar trickled to polling stations Thursday as voting opened in a presidential election boycotted by the majority of candidates following weeks of unrest and court battles.In the capital of Antananarivo, where a night-time curfew ended two hours before voting started, many people said they were heeding calls by a collective of 10 candidates to stay away from voting booths. Opposition leaders and civil society groups had also called for a postponement of the election.The situation was calm in the capital despite weeks of unrest, but tension was palpable at some polling stations where some people refused to talk to journalists. At one polling station, people warned each other against making comments after being approached by an Associated Press journalist.Voters’ choices were limited to three men after 10 candidates announced they were pulling out of the election this week, alleging that conditions for a legitimate and fair vote haven’t b...

Long-haul carrier Emirates orders 15 Airbus A350 after engine dispute during Dubai Air Show

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:21:07 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Long-haul carrier Emirates said Thursday it will purchase 15 additional Airbus A350-900s worth $6 billion after a spat between the airline and the European manufacturer went unusually public during this week’s Dubai Air Show. The Emirates’ order, far smaller than initially expected, came after the airline and its sister carrier FlyDubai purchased $63 billion worth of aircraft from Boeing Co. at the start of the weeklong show, which comes as international travel has rebounded following the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, Emirates President Tim Clark signaled the carrier would hold off on a major purchase of Airbus A350 aircraft over concerns about their Rolls-Royce engines. Rolls-Royce vigorously disputed Clark’s comments about what he described as the additional maintenance required for them.Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press

Xi-Biden meeting seen as putting relations back on course, even as issues remain unresolved

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:21:07 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Perhaps just shaking hands and sitting down together can be enough sometimes. At their meeting Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping didn’t resolve any of the major geopolitical issues dividing the world’s two largest economies and chief rivals for influence, particularly among developing nations. But it did seem to put a floor beneath a relationship that had been in free-fall over issues from trade to investment to U.S. support for Taiwan, along with human rights in regions from Tibet to Sichuan and the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong, which China administers as a semi-autonomous region while gutting its civil liberties handed over from the former British administration.The two leaders spent four hours together at a northern California country estate, holding meetings, lunching and taking a garden stroll that seemed intent on showing the world that while they are global competitors they’re not locked in a winne...

In The News for today: No Canadians on Gaza list and Trudeau at APEC

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:21:07 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed tobring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Canadians absent from Gaza exit list todayThere are no Canadians mentioned in an updated list of foreign nationals who are being allowed to leave the Gaza Strip today. The General Authority for Crossings and Borders published the latest document on its Facebook page early this morning.Global Affairs Canada said Wednesday that a total of 367 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and family members have been able to get out, including nine people who left without the Canadian government’s help.Two more people were able to travel to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday, and 10 made the trip on Monday. The Canadian government says it cannot determine when or how many people can cross each day, but 386 more people connected to Canada are looking to leave the besieged Palestinian territory.Men detained in Syria want Supreme Court hearingThe country&...

Live updates | Palestinians in parts of southern Gaza receive notices to evacuate

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:21:07 GMT

Palestinians in parts of southern Gaza said they received evacuation notices Thursday. The signal that fighting is about to expand in the south comes a day after Israeli forces began searching a north Gaza hospital where they claimed Hamas militants operate — a claim that Hamas and hospital staff deny.On Thursday, Saudi Arabia condemned the raid on Shifa Hospital, which has become a symbol of the widespread suffering of Palestinian civilians since Israel vowed to wipe out Hamas after the militant group launched its Oct. 7 incursion. Some 1,200 people have died in Israel, mostly during the initial attack, and around 240 were taken captive.The Israeli military displayed what it said were Hamas weapons and military equipment it uncovered in Shifa Hospital. But so far, its search showed no signs of tunnels or a sophisticated command center. The Associated Press could not independently verify the Israeli claims that the weapons were found inside the hospital.Only a quarter of Gaza’s hosp...

German railway runs much-reduced schedule as drivers’ union stages a 20-hour strike

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:21:07 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s national railway operator ran a drastically reduced schedule on Thursday as a union called a 20-hour strike aimed at increasing the pressure in a bitter dispute over pay and working hours.The strike by drivers and other workers in the GDL union began at 10 p.m. on Wednesday and was scheduled to end at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Limited “warning strikes” are a common tactic in German pay negotiations.The main national railway operator, state-owned Deutsche Bahn, expected to run about 20% of its normal long-distance service. Regional and local services also were affected, though to varying degrees because some are run by private operators and not all of those were targeted by the strike.The dispute between Deutsche Bahn and GDL is in its early stages, but already is looking unusually difficult. A central issue is the union’s call for shift workers’ hours to be reduced from 38 to 35 hours per week without a pay reduction, a demand at which the company...