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France's Le Maire pledges renewed push to cut public spending

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire (pictured) will take a more stringent approach to public finances, he told the Financial Times ahead of a 19 June conference expected to unveil large cuts in public expenditures.In an interview published on Wednesday (14 June), Le Maire promised a renewed push to cut public spending, saying France needed to stick to its debt reduction program after narrowly avoiding a downgrade by ratings agency S&P this month.Although S&P retained its AA rating for France's sovereign debt, it stayed cautious about the outlook on account of strained public finances."The decision by S&P is an incentive to do more and to do better," Le Maire said. "We need to stick to our debt reduction program and to cut public expenditures."France, its debt among Europe's highest, at nearly 110% of economic output, said last month it planned to freeze 1% of the budget of each ministry, following an earlier decision to cut 5%, in a bid to make good on deficit reducti...

Belarus has started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country has started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons, some of which he said were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.The deployment is Moscow's first move of such warheads - shorter-range less powerful nuclear weapons that could potentially be used on the battlefield - outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.The step is being watched closely by the United States and its allies as well as by China, which has repeatedly cautioned against the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war."We have missiles and bombs that we have received from Russia," Lukashenko said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 Russian state TV channel which was posted on the Belarusian Belta state news agency's Telegram channel."The bombs are three times more powerful than those (dropped on) Hiroshima and Nagasaki," he said.Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vlad...

Mayor of Leipzig elected new Eurocities president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

The Mayor of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung (pictured), will represent major European cities in the coming two years as president of Eurocities. He succeeds the Mayor of Florence, Dario Nordella, and is joined by the Mayor of Ghent, Mathias De Clercq, who will become the network’s vice president.Jung, who was elected by delegates from more than 200 major European cities, wants to strengthen the relationship between cities and the EU and reinforce European democratic values.He stressed: “Now more than ever, the future of Europe and its prosperity depends on the involvement of local governments and local communities. Cities have been hit particularly hard by global challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. People are dealing with energy poverty and rising inflation, and cities have led emergency efforts to receive Ukrainian refugees.”Jung calls for EU solidarity at all levels of government and demands that cities are involved in the development of future EU policie...

Germany to unveil first-ever National Security Strategy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's (pictured) government was set to unveil Germany's first National Security Strategy on Wednesday (14 June) which aims to provide an overview of the country's foreign policy and ensure a cohesive cross-ministry approach to security.Germany has had policy documents in the past addressing security but Scholz's three-way coalition agreed it wanted a more comprehensive strategy in its pact in November 2021.That idea gained a new urgency following Russia's invasion of Ukraine which exposed the poor state of the German military, Germany's over-reliance on Russia for energy and insufficient protection of critical infrastructure such as gas pipelines.Germany had been too complacent in light of new threats including increasingly assertive authoritarian states such as Russia and China in the decades of peace and prosperity following the end of the Cold War, analysts said.The Ukraine war, however, heralded a "Zeitenwende" or "turn of era", as Scholz said in a landmark sp...

Word Game: June 15, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — AGGREGATE (AGGREGATE: AG-rih-git: Amounting to a whole; total.)Average mark 22 wordsTime limit 35 minutesCan you find 28 or more words in AGGREGATE? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — INTEGER inert inter teeing teen tern tier tiger tine ting tinge tire tree trig trine egret enter entire erne gene genie genre gent green greet grin grit regent reign rein rent retie ring riteTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe at ...

Horoscopes June 15, 2023: Neil Patrick Harris, expand your circle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Neil Patrick Harris, 50; Ice Cube, 54; Courteney Cox, 59; Helen Hunt, 60.Happy Birthday: Your witty demeanor will shine through and attract attention this year. Share more with the people you love, and concentrate on building a home that offers plenty of comfort and convenience for everyone. Connecting with people of interest and using your space to entertain and expand your circle of friends will lead to new beginnings and personal growth. Your numbers are 8, 12, 24, 27, 35, 38, 44.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Stick to what’s doable; if you overload your schedule, you’ll fall short and miss an opportunity. It’s better to have something concrete to offer than to share tidbits of unfinished ideas. Finish what you start, and you’ll gain respect and confidence. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Emotions will be difficult to control, causing problems when you try to get things done. Problems will escalate at home if you or someone close...

Ask Amy: He won’t take photos of me on our outings, and it bothers me

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

Dear Amy: My husband and I have been married for 12 years. We have done a lot of traveling and other fun things together.He is a kind and good person, but there is one thing that is a recurring problem for me: He frequently “forgets” to take photos of me.I take numerous photos of him, which he seems to enjoy, but he will not take a photo of me unless prompted to do so.We have photos of our travels and exploits, but there is very little evidence that I was also there!We have talked about this, and he says that he no longer likes to take photos because photos are too prevalent on social media.I agree that many people share way too much, and I personally don’t care for the whole selfie obsession. But the fact that he will not reciprocate in taking photos really bothers me.Am I being unreasonable or insecure?– PhotophobicDear Photophobic: Your husband does reciprocate taking photos of you, but he needs to be prompted to do so. So – prompt him.You are simply more oriented toward this sor...

Harriette Cole: I feel terrible that I hurt their feelings on social media

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: Recently, I took the step of completely purging my social media accounts of people I don’t feel particularly close to anymore.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: I wonder if they think I’m trying to poach their men Advice | Harriette Cole: Three of my friends are dead, and I’m freaking out Advice | Harriette Cole: Anytime I complain, she implies I’m a coward Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m afraid her fashion choice is dangerous Advice | Harriette Cole: Was committing to this Midwestern university a mistake? Most of these people are not friends of mine, and I don’t think it makes sense for us to continue following each other on social media.Unfortunately, some of these people have taken this personally.I feel terrible about hurting their feelings, but at the same time, I don’t know if I owe them an explanation. After all, it’s my account an...

Popular outdoor dining in Arlington shifting from temporary to permanent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

Outdoor dining helped save some restaurant businesses during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, when community health regulations prohibited indoor dining. Now, Virginia’s Arlington County is among the D.C.-area jurisdictions moving to make outdoor seating permanent.There are about 100 restaurants in the county with temporary outdoor seating areas, developed during the pandemic — some occupy sidewalk space, others spill into parking lots.Permits for the temporary outdoor spaces will expire Aug. 15, but at an Arlington Committee of 100 meeting on Wednesday evening, the group said the county is committed to helping restaurants smoothly transition from temporary to permanent outdoor dining areas.“We want to create a clear pathway forward for outdoor cafes and current permit holders to transition from the TOSA (temporary outdoor seating area) era into a more permanent outdoor cafe program,” said Brett Wallace of the Arlington County Planning Division.While the tempo...

Encuentran muertos a dos turistas estadounidenses en un hotel en México

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:44 GMT

Dos estadounidenses fueron encontrados muertos en su habitación de hotel en Baja California Sur, México, según autoridades.La policía dijo que las muertes ocurrieron el martes en la comunidad de El Pescadero. El pueblo está ubicado entre Todos Santos y el balneario de Los Cabos, en el estado de Baja California Sur. Por ahora se desconocen los nombres de las víctimas y sus ciudades de origen. Los estadounidenses estaban muertos cuando llegaron los paramédicos, informó la policía.La presunta causa de muerte fue la inhalación de gas, según información preliminar. Ha habido varios casos de este tipo de muertes en México debido a intoxicaciones por monóxido de carbono u otros gases. Dichos gases a menudo son producidos por calentadores de agua y estufas mal ventiladas o con fugas.Funcionarios estadounidenses dijeron que estaban al tanto del caso, pero que no podían comentar al respecto por cuestiones de privacidad.En México, es común que las propiedades estén adecuadas de tuberías de gas...