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Macron pitches non-punitive green transition with new package

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:10 GMT

France is betting on the carrot rather than the stick to meet its climate goals. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said that green transition should focus on providing incentives rather than imposing outright obligations as he presented a plan to halve carbon emissions by 2030, the so-called planification écologique package. “We want an ecology that is accessible and fair, an ecology that leaves no one without a solution,” Macron said at the end of a meeting with key ministers involved in the plan at the Elysée palace. The French president stressed that France’s green policy should not be punitive.The plan comes as other nations wrestle with similar choices, with the U.K. rolling back on its climate goals for electoral reasons and Germany increasingly questioning the EU’s environmental agenda. Macron wants to show that he is committed to emissions-reduction goals while not burdening citizens through costly obligations — a perfect example of the centrist pre...

Tensions rise between Germany and Poland as Scholz mulls border checks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:10 GMT

BERLIN — The German government is weighing whether to impose checks on the border with Poland in order to stem an influx of asylum seekers, but tense relations between the two countries — and now an open diplomatic row — may complicate those plans.Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is under heightened pressure to crack down on rising levels of irregular migration, with many asylum seekers now coming into the country over the Polish and Czech borders. Officials in Berlin say the government is now in discussions with Poland and the Czech Republic over introducing temporary border checks.But at a political rally over the weekend, Scholz linked the current border crisis with an alleged visas-for-bribes scandal that has rocked Poland’s anti-immigrant government just weeks ahead of a national election in that country.“I don’t want Poland to simply wave people through and then have a discussion about our asylum policy afterwards,” Scholz told a crowd during a polit...

Serbian president turns to Russia amid rising tensions with Kosovo after monastery gun battle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:10 GMT

Serbia has turned to its longtime ally Russia after Kosovo accused it of orchestrating an attack in an ethnic Serbian-majority region of northern Kosovo on Sunday.Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić met with Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko on Monday to discuss the fallout from a deadly stand-off at a Serbian Orthodox monastery between ethnic Serb gunmen who stormed the village and Kosovo police. One policeman and three of the approximately 30 gunmen were killed, according to Kosovo forces.Kosovo’s leaders, who declared Monday a day of mourning, described it as a terrorist attack and blamed Serbia for seeking to destabilize their country.“Afrim Bunjaku was killed during an attack on Kosovo policemen and on our state itself, by a group of highly armed and heavily equipped, professionally trained and planned, politically supported, materially financed and logistically supported by Serbia,” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said during a ceremony in honor of the polic...

UK police open investigation after allegations of sexual offenses against Russell Brand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:10 GMT

London (CNN) — London’s Metropolitan Police said it has launched an investigation into allegations of “non-recent” sexual offenses in the United Kingdom, after a joint investigation by British media outlets revealed the comedian Russell Brand was accused of rape and sexual assault.“Following an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times, the Met has received a number of allegations of sexual offences in London,” the force said in a statement Monday.“We have also received a number of allegations of sexual offences committed elsewhere in the country and will investigate these. The offences are all non-recent,” it added.Brand has publicly denied the allegations and accused the UK government of trying to censor him.Detectives from the Met’s Central Specialist Crime Command, led by Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, will carry out the investigation, according to the Met’s statement.“We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have b...

Venice to impose tourist tax for day-trippers in spring of 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:10 GMT

Patrick Clarke | (TNS) TravelPulseThe popular Italian tourist destination of Venice will soon trial a tourist tax that was originally supposed to take effect in the summer of 2022.In an ongoing effort to combat overcrowding during the city’s peak visitor days, officials will charge a €5 or $5.35 tax to day-trippers visiting Venice’s Old City starting in the spring of 2024.Overnight travelers with hotel stays, commuters and those with properties in Venice will be exempt.Visitors will pay the tax via an online booking system that has yet to be introduced. Those who are exempt from the fee will still need to register their trip in the online booking system.UNESCO recently recommended adding Venice to its endangered list amid overtourism compounded by cruise ships and a surge of day-trippers during its busiest periods._____©2023 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Mayo Clinic Q&A: Is erythritol a safe and healthy sugar substitute?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:10 GMT

By Mayo Clinic News NetworkDEAR MAYO CLINIC: A friend has a family history of diabetes and obesity. She is diligent about eating healthfully and enjoys sharing new recipes and information about food. Recently she mentioned a sugar substitute called erythritol. I’m not familiar with this product. Can you explain what it is and if it is healthy?ANSWER: Sugar is one of those ingredients that always seems to be in the news.Eating and drinking too much sugar can negatively affect one’s health. Sugar found naturally in food, such as whole fruits, is not associated with increased health issues. But added sugar has been shown to contribute to dental cavities and is associated with multiple chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, fatty liver disease and Type 2 diabetes.Sugar has many forms. Most people are familiar with sucrose, the white granulated sugar found most often in kitchens, and raw sugar, also called turbinado sugar, which is crystalized and light brown. Other...

Is it time for playoff-bound Orioles to finally leave ‘Country Boy’ behind? | STAFF COMMENTARY

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:10 GMT

A letter to the editor from Mike Heaps of Forest Hill suggests that John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” deserves a replacement at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the song has long been played during the seventh-inning stretch — the brief interlude when the visitors have finished their at-bats in the seventh inning and the home team Orioles are about to take their swings. It is traditionally a moment when fans are encouraged to stand and “stretch” (hence the name) as many have likely been sitting for two hours or so, and, let’s face it, can start to feel a bit drowsy, especially at a night game with requisite hot dogs and beer consumed. You want the Orioles to win? We need ticket holders in loud, energized, foot-stomping, hand-clapping form.The letter writer thinks the Birds deserve something new and more reflective of Baltimore, which is not exactly a country town — and he’s got a point. Still, the history here i...

How family meals offer mental and physical health benefits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:10 GMT

September is National Family Meals Month, a movement started by the Food Marketing Institute Foundation in September 2015. Now with 35 years of global research on the topic, we know that family meals offer mental and physical health benefits and more.With summer travel winding down and back-to-school routines established, September is an opportune time to focus on family meals. To start, family meals create togetherness and foster relationships and communication. Some of the mental and social benefits of eating together include improved performance at school and at work, improved cognition and lower risk of depression and eating disorders. Youth who eat dinner with their parents are less likely to use substances. They are also at lower risk for teen pregnancy, bullying, suicide and violence.Furthermore, engaging in regular family meals helps children build confidence, self-esteem and resilience while promoting better communication skills. Mealtime conversations help build children’s...

Mayo Clinic Minute: What Black men need to know about prostate cancer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:10 GMT

Sonya Goins | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkSeptember is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. It’s one of the leading causes of cancer death among all men. However, Black men are disproportionately hit hard by the disease. One in 6 Black men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime — compared to 1 in 8 in other men. They are also more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer.Dr. Cassandra Moore, a Mayo Clinic oncologist, explains what Black men need to know to reverse the disturbing trend.Black men harshly impacted by prostate cancerMen often don’t talk about health issues that occur below the belt, but maybe they should.“It is the most common cancer in men outside of skin cancer, and it’s the second most common cause of cancer deaths in men,” says Dr. Moore.It’s unclear why Black men are harshly impacted by prostate cancer. There are likely many contributing factors, such as genetics, diet, environment, access to care and racial bias.R...

UK police open sexual offenses investigation after allegations about Russell Brand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:02:10 GMT

By JILL LAWLESS (Associated Press)LONDON (AP) — British police have opened a sex crimes investigation triggered by news reports about comedian Russell Brand.London’s Metropolitan Police force said Monday that it had “received a number of allegations of sexual offences” after a television documentary and newspaper investigations. It said there have been no arrests.Brand, 48, denies allegations of sexual assault made by four women in a Channel 4 television documentary and The Times and Sunday Times newspapers. The accusers, who have not been named, include one who said she was sexually assaulted during a relationship with him when she was 16. Another woman says Brand raped her in Los Angeles in 2012.The police force did not name Brand in its statement, but referred to the recent articles and documentary. It said detectives were investigating allegations of “non-recent” sexual offenses, both in London and elsewhere.“We continue to encourage any...