(308,'The Senegal man on a mission to plant five million trees','BBC NEWS','Lifestyle',8,68,'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64022938','By Jo Hollis','A man in southern Senegal has set himself the ambitious task of planting five million trees over the next five years.\r\n\r\nThis visionary project came to Adama Diémé when he returned home to the Casamance region in 2020 after a few years working in Europe.\r\n\r\nThe 48-year-old was shocked that in villages that were populated with hundreds of gigantic trees in his youth, only a handful, if any, now remained.\r\n\r\n\"In some villages, you can\'t find one tree. They cut them but they don\'t think about planting again,\" he told the BBC.\r\n\r\nAcross Africa desertification is one of the reasons blamed for deforestation but, in this area, along the sweeping expanse of the Casamance River, the trees are more likely to have been cut down for construction purposes like building houses, or to make charcoal.\r\n\r\nMr Diémé, who now works as a project manager for a Spanish non-governmental organisation in Casamance and also volunteers as an agricultural trainer, is determined to change all that.\r\n\r\nWith no great reserves of wealth, he began to raise money to make his dream a reality - and has used $5,000 (£4,100) from his own pocket to kick-start the initiative.\r\n\r\nFlexing female power\r\nHe has been working hard to engage with communities across the region and to reach out to women, who he knew would be able to rise to the challenge of organising the mass planting of seedlings.\r\n\r\nFemale farmers in Casamance, Senegal, holding fruit\r\nIMAGE SOURCE,JO HOLLIS/BBC\r\nImage caption,\r\nThe women who plant the trees are able to harvest fruits to sell\r\n\"You go into a village and there\'s no women, it\'s a disaster,\" Mr Diémé said.\r\n\r\n\"But if you go to a village with only women, it\'s paradise - they are hardworking and work all day every day.\r\n\r\n\"If you want to lead a good project start with women,\" Mr Diémé added.\r\n\r\nWhat he has done is to couple his passion to plant trees by helping women gain skills to become small-scale farmers and sell their produce at local markets.\r\n\r\n\"At first, we didn\'t know how to plant the seeds and what to do to grow the crops,\" one of the women, Safi Yetou, said.\r\n\r\n\"Now we have all sorts of fruits to sell at the market and we are not dependent on anyone. We all have an account in the bank now and no-one can tell me what I can and can\'t do. It\'s brilliant.\"\r\n\r\nAdama Diémé (C) by some tamarind seedlings\r\nIMAGE SOURCE,JO HOLLIS/BBC\r\nImage caption,\r\nAdama Diémé (C), seen here with tamarind seedlings, says each community decides which trees to plant\r\nMr Diémé\'s project is known as Ununukolaal, which in the local language Jola means \"Our Trees\".\r\n\r\nUp to 12 kinds are being planted, from palms and tamarinds to kapoks and lemon trees - the varieties depend on the needs of the community and the terrain.\r\n\r\nOver the last three years more than 142,000 seedlings have been tended and have taken root.\r\n\r\nIt means a staggering amount of planting still needs to be done if Mr Diémé is to reach his goal within the next five years - but he and his partner Yolanda Pereñiguez are not daunted.\r\n\r\nMs Pereñiguez works as a tailor and has been key in helping organise funds by designing a T-shirt that is mainly sold abroad for $15 (£13).\r\n\r\nAlong with her colleague Raymonde Coly, they work in a tiny workshop with two sewing machines to make them from local cloth, with a distinctive baobab image stitched on. Each one sold can pay for 15 tree seedlings.\r\n\r\n\"I chose the baobab as it\'s the symbol of an African tree,\" said Ms Periniguiz. \"It\'s great to know that these T-shirts are going all over the world, to Europe and even Canada to help with the tree project.\"\r\n\r\nBaobabs to save homes\r\nAs we ventured further into Casamance by dug-out canoe, itself built from a single piece of wood hewn from the roots of a kapok tree, the true value of the project was brought into focus.\r\n\r\nOn a small village island in the middle of the river, water encroached right up to the outlying buildings - and in some cases even underneath others perched on stilts.\r\n\r\nWater seen beneath houses on an island on the Casamance River in Senegal\r\nIMAGE SOURCE,JO HOLLIS/BBC\r\nImage caption,\r\nWater is now lapping beneath houses on this island in the Casamance River\r\nTen years ago, the water levels meant the water\'s edge was much further away and would hardly even reach the village, except at the height of the rainy season.\r\n\r\nNow it is a desperate situation and if it gets worse it could mean leaving residents homeless.\r\n\r\n\"We\'ve lived on this island for hundreds of years - but if the water comes much further we will have to leave and be dispersed all over the place,\" said Conakry Bassene, one of the village leaders.\r\n\r\nBaobab trees, which can live on land and in salty or fresh water, have now been planted along the shoreline as a barrier. The saplings flap in the breeze, with the promise, one day of fruits and even shade.\r\n\r\n\"The trees can save us,\" said Mr Bassene.\r\n\r\n\"The trees, they are our hope for life.\"','2023-01-03','',0,1),(309,'‘This made us all unemployable’: Trump White House aides respond to January 6 in angry text exchange','CNN','Politics',1,68,'https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/02/politics/january-6-text-messages/index.html',' By Katelyn Polantz, Annie Grayer and Whitney Wild,','A text exchange between Ivanka Trump’s chief of staff Julie Radford and White House aide Hope Hicks reveals their anger over then-President Donald Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021, hurting them professionally, according to newly released documents collected by the House select committee investigating the Capitol Hill insurrection.\r\n\r\n“In one day he ended every future opportunity that doesn’t include speaking engagements at the local Proud Boys chapter,” Hicks wrote to Radford on January 6, 2021. “And all of us that didn’t have jobs lined up will be perpetually unemployed. I’m so mad and upset. We all look like domestic terrorists now.”\r\n\r\nHicks added: “This made us all unemployable. Like untouchable. God I’m so f***ing mad.”\r\n\r\nRadford responded by texting, “I know, like there isn’t a chance of finding a job,” and indicating she already lost a job opportunity from Visa, which sent her a “blow off email.”\r\n\r\nThe new release is part of a steady stream of documents from the committee, complementing the release of its sweeping 845-page report. The latest comes as the panel winds down its work with the House majority set to change hands from Democrats to Republicans on Tuesday at the start of the new Congress.\r\n\r\nIn the text messages, Hicks then says “Alyssa looks like a genius,” an apparent reference to Alyssa Farah Griffin resigning from her post as a White House aide one month before the attack on the US Capitol.\r\n\r\n\r\nAd Feedback\r\nHicks and Radford then discuss Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s in-law Karlie Kloss, the supermodel, tweeting that Trump’s response to the election was anti-American.\r\n\r\n“Unreal,” Radford texted.\r\n\r\nWhite House call logs provide fuller picture of who Trump spoke to in the days leading to January 6\r\nThe committee also released call logs from the days leading up to January 6, 2021 painting a fuller picture of who the former president was speaking to as he and his allies were plotting for him to stay in office, the first time the panel is releasing White House call logs in their entirety.\r\n\r\nThe logs have been crucial to the panel’s investigation in piecing together a timeline of events. While the log for January 6 has a seven-hour gap, the committee has gone to great lengths to fill in that part of the timeline through witness interviews and other records.\r\n\r\nThe day before the US Capitol attack, Trump spoke to then-Vice President Mike Pence. After that conversation, Trump spoke with Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who helped fuel Trump’s election lies in the state, and then the switchboard operator left a note “that Senator Douglas Mastriano will be calling in for the Vice President.”\r\n\r\nTrump also talked to a number of members of Congress on January 5, including Sens. Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Trump and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri tried calling each other many times but could not connect. Trump also spoke with John Eastman, who helped Trump create the fake elector scheme that day.\r\n\r\nThe January 2 call log shows what happened in the immediate aftermath of the infamous hour-long call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger when Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” votes for him to win the state. Once the call with Raffensperger wrapped, Trump had a zoom with his then-lawyer Rudy Giuliani and spoke on the phone with his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and later Steve Bannon.\r\n\r\nOn January 3, Trump had multiple calls with former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark and GOP Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, as the former President tried and ultimately failed to install Clark as the acting head of DOJ. The call logs reflect a flurry of calls with DOJ officials, including then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and his deputy Richard Donoghue.\r\n\r\nAt 4:22 p.m. ET that day, Clark is listed as acting attorney general, but earlier in the day he was not.\r\n\r\nSecret Service sent security to Capitol in direct response to Trump saying he planned to march on January 6\r\nNewly released documents also show the Secret Service dispatched a security team to the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, just a few minutes after Trump announced unexpectedly during his Ellipse speech that he would join marchers headed there.\r\n\r\nAt about 1:10 p.m. ET, Trump called for supports to “walk down Pennsylvania Avenue” with him to the Capitol. Internal communications released by the House select committee show the Secret Service Joint Operations Center Counter Surveillance Unit sent an email around 1:15 p.m. ET, alerting that Trump had announced “on LIVE TV that he plans head to the Capitol with the crowd,” although his name is redacted.\r\n\r\n“Per the announcement of (redacted) to the Capitol, a response team is being dedicated to the capitol,” agents wrote in the email. Publicly released internal communications frequently redact the code name agents use to refer to the president.\r\n\r\nThe newly released documents provide fresh insight into how the Secret Service scrambled to respond to the chaos that unfolded that day. The email from the joint operations center shows the agency rushed to provide more security to the Capitol as a direct result of the former president’s comments.\r\n\r\nSecret Service leadership was concerned about Trump’s sudden plan to go to the Capitol, and the head of his detail was told the idea was “not advisable,” the documents released by the committee show. They also detail how the agency ran into technical difficulties and confiscated dozens of weapons on January 6, and had warned about the Proud Boys’ violent intentions as early as December 27.\r\n\r\nMultiple units within the Secret Service were reporting technical problems, and agents were warned “not to rely” on their technology, according to an email. A timeline provided to the committee by the Secret Service shows some Secret Service radios died at the height of the chaos, but it’s not clear which protective teams were most affected.\r\n\r\nAnother document details how the Secret Service confiscated hundreds of cans of pepper spray, body armor, and hundreds of weapons such as knives and blunt weapons from the roughly 28,000 people who poured through the magnetometers on the way to the Ellipse.\r\n\r\nTrump’s social media guru said the former president ‘does do his own’ tweets\r\nIn the wake of January 6, 2021, Dan Scavino, the former deputy chief of staff and social media director in Trump’s White House, texted a rally organizer that Trump “does do his own tweets” after discussing the now infamous “will be wild” tweet on December 19, according to documents released by the select committee.\r\n\r\nThe panel and security experts have pointed to that tweet from Trump’s account, which promoted a big protest planned for January 6, as a catalyst for the violence that day.\r\n\r\nIn a text exchange between Scavino and Katrina Pierson, who helped organize the Ellipse rally that preceded the US Capitol attack, the pair were discussing a news article connecting right-wing rally organizer Alexander Ali to the former president.\r\n\r\n“I never spoke with Ali. … He is a fraud, and the DJT tweet on December 19 had absolutely nothing to do with Ali, or any of his people,” Scavino texted, before adding: “He does do his own tweets.”','2023-01-02','',0,1),(310,'France\'s controversial pension reform, in detail','Le Monde with AP, AFP and Reuters','Politics',1,69,'https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2023/01/10/pension-reform-france-to-raise-minimum-retirement-age-to-64-by-2030_6011092_5.html','Le Monde with AP, AFP and Reuters','1 - France\'s controversial pension reform, in detail\r\nFrench Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne unveiled on Tuesday a highly anticipated pension overhaul, announcing an increase in the retirement age to 64. \r\nLe Monde with AP, AFP and Reuters.Published on January 10, 2023 at 17h51, updated at 20h55 on January 10, 2023 \r\n\r\nFrench Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne delivers her speech during a press conference in Paris, Tuesday, January 10, 2023. Borne has unveiled a contentious pension overhaul aimed at raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030 that has prompted vigorous criticism and calls for protests from leftist opponents and worker unions.\r\nHere is what was proposed:\r\nRaising the retirement age\r\n\r\nSpeaking at a news conference in Paris, Ms. Borne said the minimum retirement age to be entitled to a full pension will be gradually increased by three months every year, starting this year, in line with a longstanding pledge by President Emmanuel Macron.\r\nIn addition, people will need to have worked for at least 43 years to get a full pension, starting from 2027, she said. \"Working more will allow future retirees to get higher pensions,\" Ms. Borne said. \"By 2030, our system will be financially balanced,\" she added.\r\nThose who started working before the age of 20 will be able to get early retirement, Ms. Borne added. Specific categories of workers such as police officers and firefighters will also be able to retire earlier.\r\n\r\nThe government argues that French people live longer than they used to and therefore need to work longer to make the pension system financially sustainable. All French workers receive a state pension.\r\nHowever, the minimum retirement age applies to people who have worked enough years to qualify. Those who do not fulfill the conditions, like many women who interrupt their careers to raise their children and people who did long studies and started their careers late, must work until 67 to retire without penalty.\r\nMinimum state pension\r\n\r\nAnother key measure that the government is counting on to get the reform accepted is the increase of the minimum pension for low-income workers who have a full career to 85% of the net minimum wage, i.e. nearly €1,200 at present. A measure extended to current pensioners. \"Nearly two million small pensions will be increased,\" said Elisabeth Borne.\r\nThe prime minister said she had also decided to include in the overhaul, \"the revaluation of the pensions of current retirees who have had a full career at the level of the Smic [minimum wage],\" that is to say, \"nearly two million small pensions.\" Specifying that this measure would be discussed with parliamentarians, \"in particular\" with the center-right Les Républicains party. Ms. Borne said that her \"objective\" was to see it included in the bill to be presented to the Council of Ministers on January 23.\r\n\r\nPhased retirement\r\nMore than ten years after the abolition of the gradual cessation of activity, the government announced the return of a system of gradual retirement in the civil service, \"on the same principles as the existing system for employees and the self-employed,\" according to a government press kit.\r\nWe will allow civil servants \"to go part-time two years before the retirement age\", i.e. from the age of 62, said Ms. Borne.\r\n\r\nLong careers\r\nThe long career system, which allows people who worked five quarters before their 20th birthday to leave two years before the legal age, will be maintained. This age will therefore be raised to 62 with the reform.\r\nPeople who started working before the age of 16 will be able to continue to retire from the age of 58, provided they have contributed the required insurance period, increased by one year and not two years as at present. Meanwhile, people who started working between the ages of 16 and 18 will be able to retire at the age of 60, provided they have also worked the required insurance period, plus one year.\r\nAs at present, people who are disabled or unfit for work will be able to retire at the full age of 62, and disabled workers from the age of 55. Employees who have suffered an accident at work or an occupational disease will be able to retire two years earlier than the legal age under certain conditions.\r\n\r\nBacklash\r\nFrance\'s eight main trade unions called for a day of strikes and protests on January 19 against pension reform announced by the government of President Emmanuel Macron.\r\nThe strikes aim to \"kick off a powerful movement for pensions in the long term,\" said a joint statement from the unions whose leaders met on Tuesday evening in Paris to plan their next steps.\r\n','2023-01-31','',0,1),(311,'North Korea issues \'extreme cold\' weather alert',' BBC News','Politics',1,69,'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64383442','By Kelly Ng','North Korea issues \'extreme cold\' weather alert\r\nMedia caption,\r\nCold air spreads across East Asia\r\nBy Kelly Ng\r\nBBC News\r\n\r\nNorth Korean authorities have warned of extreme weather conditions in the country as a cold wave sweeps the Korean peninsula.\r\n\r\nTemperatures are likely to dip below -30C in the northern regions, which are also the poorest part of the country, the state radio broadcaster said.\r\nCoastal areas are also expected to see high winds, according to state media.\r\nSouth Korea too has issued a cold wave warning and northern China has been experiencing record low temperatures.\r\n\r\nTemperatures are also expected to drop to their lowest in a decade in Japan this week.\r\nWhile North Korea has been affected by extreme or adverse weather much like other places, little is known about the impact of this on its people.\r\nRyanggang, North Hamgyong and South Hamgyong, the country\'s poorest provinces and those expected to be most vulnerable to climate shocks, are all located in the north.\r\n\r\nElectricity is uncommon outside the capital Pyongyang, and households in these places burn wood, and dried plants for warmth during the winter, NK News has reported.\r\n\r\nIt also says many merely use plastic wrap around their doors and windows for insulation.\r\nRadio Free Asia reported in December that \"large numbers\" of people in the country had gone missing late last year during another extremely cold spell.\r\nMany are thought to have starved or frozen to death, as the mercury dipped below freezing and food became scarce.\r\n\r\nFood insecurity in North Korea is said to be at its worst since a widespread famine in the 1990s, according to Lucas Rengifo-Keller, a research analyst at Peterson Institute for International Economics in the US.\r\nScientists say extreme weather, including cold waves, is becoming more common because of climate change.\r\nTuesday\'s cold wave alerts come as Pyongyang prepares to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Korean People\'s Army next week.\r\n\r\n\r\n','2023-01-24','',0,1),(312,'Cabbage and Christmas: What the French and Germans really think of each other','The Local FR','Art & Culture',7,69,'https://www.thelocal.fr/20230118/cabbage-and-christmas-what-the-french-and-germans-really-think-of-each-other/','by AFP','From baguettes to Birkenstocks, clichés on France and Germany die hard, even as the two countries celebrate 60 years since the post-war treaty establishing friendship between the two European giants after decades of rivalries and conflict.\r\nPublished: 18 January 2023 09:38 CET\r\n \r\nOn the occasion of six decades marking the signing of the Elysée Treaty, AFP spoke to some Franco-German couples about their culture clashes on everything from food to Christmas.\r\nBread and cheese\r\nThe French national obsession with the baguette – recently elevated to UNESCO world heritage status – can be hard for Germans to comprehend.    \r\nThe omnipresence of the elongated bread at mealtimes is a source of consternation for Verena von Derschau, born in Germany and married to a Frenchman.\r\n“It doesn’t even get eaten! It just ends up as crumbs by the plate,” she says.\r\n\r\nBy contrast, pungent cheese and other sources of French gastronomic pride can lead to a certain hauteur vis-a-vis other cuisines, with fingers pointed notably at Germany’s love of potatoes and cabbage.\r\nFrançois Dumas, a Parisian who lives with his German partner, winces at the idea of some Teutonic preparations such as Maultaschen, a meat-filled dumpling usually served with broth.\r\n“I give up there!” he says.\r\nComfortable shoes\r\nWhile Birkenstocks now belong to the same stable of luxury brands as Louis Vuitton, the cork-soled sandals – on occasion sported with socks – remain emblematic of the German love of practical clothing.\r\n“Germans dress like sacks, always comfort first,” says Roland, a Frenchman in a bi-national couple for years.\r\nSchools\r\nMeanwhile, in France it is children who suffer discomfort in the country’s strict school system. “I feel sorry for them, they have such long days,” in contrast to the German pupils who often have the afternoon free, Julika Herzog says.\r\nTechnology and trains\r\nWhen the family is on holiday in Germany, it is her husband’s turn to complain. “There’s nowhere you can pay with card,” François Dumas says.\r\n“And the trains are always late,” he says, the opposite of the German efficiency many expect.\r\nBells and bunnies\r\nFestivals reveal yet more differences. The relative absence of the Easter Bunny in France was a surprise to Verena von Derschau. Instead, “they have bells”, she says, puzzled by the images of a winged bell bringing goodies to children during the spring holiday.\r\nChristmas follows a different rhythm on either side of the border, too, with the French dressing up their trees early in December, while many Germans wait until Christmas Eve.\r\nGermans also lean towards a more sober tree decoration, says Verena von Derschau, who has banned blinking fairy lights in her household.\r\n','2023-01-18','',0,1),(313,'How widespread could the four-day workweek really be?','BBC NEWS','Society',4,69,'https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230125-how-widespread-could-the-four-day-workweek-really-be','By Joanna York','Many trials of the shortened workweek have shown positive results. It’s an increasingly viable solution for some firms – but for others, this new set-up won’t be on the table.\r\nThe idea of a four-day workweek used to be such a pipedream that it was barely on the radar for most workers and firms. But in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies around the world have given this this set-up a go – and gathered promising results.\r\nIn the US and Ireland, a six-month trial among 33 volunteer companies in 2022 showed a positive impact on company performance, productivity and employee wellbeing. Employees working the shortened week reported less stress and fatigue, plus improved work-life balance and satisfaction. The 27 companies that submitted a final survey rated the trial a nine out of 10.\r\nIn a 2022 UK trial of 70 firms, 86% of companies said the four-day week was such a success, they planned to keep it in place after the pilot ended. They cited benefits such as increased productivity and significant financial savings for employees on transport and childcare. Similar trials in Belgium, Spain, Japan, Australia and New Zealand have thrown up equally promising results for companies. And – unsurprisingly – employees seem especially keen to make shorter working weeks the norm.\r\nYet despite the overwhelmingly positive data, a four-day workweek still seems out of reach for many workers. Tech workers in agile, forward-thinking companies might hope for such a benefit in the near future, but it is harder to envisage the same change for schoolteachers or office workers in more traditional companies. Ultimately, some industries and deeply entrenched work cultures mean the four-day workweek may not be realistic for all employees – at least for now.\r\nFinding the right fit\r\nTechnology and office-based industries have made the greatest inroads into reducing work hours so far. \r\n“It is really taking off as a notable trend in areas like tech, software, ICT [internet communication technology], finance and professional services – knowledge-based roles that used to be primarily office-based, but are now in many cases are hybrid or remote,” says Joe O’Connor, director and co-founder of the Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence, based in Toronto. \r\nWhile a mindset of agility and innovation is often baked into such companies, they also have an advantage in terms of easy, time-saving solutions. Measures such as introducing meeting-free days can enable employees to focus purely on productivity and radically reduce work hours, while concurrently maintaining output – something far easier to do in nimbleorganisations.\r\n\r\nWe have seen very successful examples everywhere, from non-profits to manufacturing companies, to even hospitality – Joe O’Connor\r\n\r\nIn other sectors, shortening the working week is possible, but requires re-thinking long-established norms. Consulting and law, for instance, are often organised around the concept of the billable hour – meaning less work automatically equals less income. But such cultures can change, believes O’Connor: “We\'re starting to see examples of law firms moving to four-day weeks by switching from billing by the hour to billing by project value, or by reducing their non-billable overheads so that their teams are more focused on client work.” \r\nThe viability of this shortened workweek for companies in these less-flexible industries may also look different than what other, more nimble firms and sectors are able to do.\r\nFor instance, “if [these firms] close on Friday and give everyone the same day off, that makes coordination with clients, suppliers and the rest of the economy harder”, says Pedro Gomes, author of Friday is the new Saturday, and coordinator of an upcoming Portuguese government trial of the four-day workweek. “The alternative is to give different people different days off, so you maintain working five days, but then you need communication processes in teams to be able to deal with days when colleagues are not there.” \r\nAs such, while collaborative workplaces like advertising agencies might choose for all employees to take the same day off to better enable team coordination, industries that rely on trade throughout the week, like hospitality and service, may establish processes for salaried, non-shift workers to take off different days. In this way, many experts believe the four-day workweek can adapt to suit most industries. “We have seen very successful examples everywhere,” adds O’Connor, “from non-profits to manufacturing companies, to even hospitality.”\r\n\r\nEntrenched culture \r\nIn the current workplace, some important predictors of whether an organisation is likely to successfully implement a shorter working week may be company size and culture. So far, few major international companies have run trials of the four-day workweek.\r\nDespite positive results from a trial by Microsoft in Japan and Unilever in New Zealand, other major corporations have been slow to follow suit. “Large companies have the financial capacity to make the change, but much more rigid structures,” says Gomes. “In practice, what we see is more small- and medium companiestrialling the four-day workweek because they are more agile, and they usually have a CEO or a founder that has a very good picture of how it would impact the whole business.”\r\nIn other words, leaders of smaller firms may have less red tape to deal with, and find it easier to forecast how widespread change will impact the company overall than leaders in sprawling global organisations with more labyrinthian, layered structures. \r\nBut in companies of all sizes, a certain type of manager could also be resistant changing entrenched norms – a significant barrier to the implantation of shorter weeks. Although the global movement in support of the four-day week is gathering pace, it is not yet a mainstream work practice, and undertaking such progressive change requires a high level of trust between leaders and workers. If managers don\'t trust that employees can make a success of the change, they are unlikely to want to even test it. (Notably, productivity-related trust issues have been a major problem for managers throughout the pandemic.) \r\n“The biggest barrier to companies introducing four-day workweeks is likely a combination of entrenched culture and resistant bosses,” says Benjamin Laker, professor at Henley Business School, in Reading, UK. “Some managers may view the shorter workweek as reducing their control, or making it more difficult to manage employees.” In other words, risk-averse managers might question why they would shake up a system that’s already working.\r\nIn cases where four-day workweeks have proven unpopular among employees, a common issue has been reports of managers intensifying performance measurement, monitoring and productivity pressures. So, although many workers cite better wellbeing in some areas, the result of these added elements can spike worker stress levels. “If an organisation culturally doesn\'t have that trust but instead has a very top down, centralised decision-making structure, they would probably struggle to make this work,” adds O’Connor.\r\n\r\nAlthough the global movement in support of the four-day week is gathering pace, it is not yet a mainstream work practice, and undertaking such progressive change requires a high level of trust between leaders and workers\r\n\r\nOther organisations for which four-day workweeks are likely off the table are hourly- and service-based – like restaurants, retail and healthcare – where a shorter workweek and subsequently fewer shifts ultimately means lower compensation. Although workers in these industries would likely experience similar benefits from reduced workloads, creating a pathway to less labour may be impossible, if it means losing out on pay.\r\nThe new normal\r\nEven facing resistance from some leaders, experts say it is likely the four-day week will become more mainstream. \r\nIn sectors that are already welcoming the shift, the 32-hour week is emerging as “a as a tool for competitive advantage in terms of talent, attraction and retention”, says O’Connor. “You could see a scenario in tech where by 2026, not offering a four-day week is almost a competitive disadvantage.”\r\nAnd the more companies that make the switch, the more others who have not yet made the move may feel pressure to do so. “It’s hard to implement a four-day week when the rest of the economy is organized in a five-day week,” says Gomes, “but the moment you have the job market coordinating on a four-day week, then it forces the rest of the economy.” \r\nEven so, such widespread societal change would take “many years”, he says, and some industries will inevitably be left until last. Schools, for example, might struggle to implement a four-day week for full-time staff unless parents were already working such arrangements en masse.\r\nThere is also the possibility that companies will turn to other less drastic measures than a four-day week. “I predict that no-meeting days, flexible work hours and other innovative approaches to work-life balance will become standard practice in the near future,” says Laker.\r\nFor now, the shorter workweek may not be widespread, but there’s momentum around the globe to keep the experiment going. In 2023, trials of the four-day workweek are planned or ongoing in Australia, Spain, Scotland and more.\r\n“There\'s an element of ‘the genie’s out of the bottle’. We\'re not going back to the way we were working pre-pandemic,” says O’Connor. “The four-day week is not going to be 100% of the economy, much like the five-day week is not wholly representative of the economy now, but it certainly could become the new normal.”\r\n','2023-01-26','',0,1),(314,'France brings in new tax declaration for property-owners','AFP','Society',4,69,'https://www.thelocal.fr/20230125/france-brings-in-new-tax-declaration-for-property-owners/','Philippe HUGUEN /','People living in France already have to complete a yearly tax declaration, but if you own property here, you will also have to complete an extra declaration this year after changes to the tax system.\r\nWho?\r\nThis applies to anyone who owns property in France – whether it is their main residence or a second home – including those who live in another country. If you do not own property and only rent your home, then this does not concern you.\r\nWhat?\r\nThis isn’t an extra tax, it’s simply an extra piece of paperwork that has to be filled in, known as a Déclarationd’occupation, and this declaration is concerned with whether the property is your main residence or a second home.\r\nWhy?\r\nThis is because of recent changes to the property tax system. There are two types of property tax in France; taxefoncière which is paid by the property owner and taxed’habitation which is paid by the property occupier. If you own your home home, traditionally you paid both.\r\nHowever, taxed’habitation is in the process of being scrapped for most people, and now only high-earners and second-home owners pay it. The problem is that the tax office don’t have a record of whether a property is used as a main home or a second home and therefore don’t know who to send bills to – hence the new declaration.\r\nHow?\r\nIf you live in France and already make your annual tax declaration online then this process should be fairly easy – head to impots.gouv.fr, log in and then click on Biensimmobiliers (real estate) in the menu bar along the top of the website.\r\nThe site will then list the property or properties in your name, and you can fill out the déclarationd’occupation for each, stating whether it is your main residence or a second home.\r\nIf you’re not already registered on the impots.gouv site then you have two choices – register and set yourself up an account which will allow you to make the declaration online, or make the declaration on paper.\r\nIn order to register on the site you will need your numérofiscale (tax number) which you should be able to find on previous correspondence from the tax office such as your annual tax bills.\r\nIf you would prefer to make the declaration on paper, then the easiest option is to head to your local tax office and ask for a Déclarationd’occupation – you can find the tax office that serves your area by googling ‘Centre des finances publique‘ plus the name of your commune.\r\nYou do not need an appointment, as tax offices deal with queries on a walk-in basis, but make sure you check the opening times in advance as some offices, especially in small towns, have unusual opening hours. \r\nWhen?\r\nThe deadline to have completed the declaration is June 30th, and people who have a property registered should receive notification from the tax office. \r\nYou will then receive your property tax bill in the autumn as usual. \r\nThis is a one-off declaration so you won’t have to do it every year – only when your situation changes, so for example if you sell the property, buy a new one or change from it being a second-home to your main residence. \r\n','2023-01-29','',0,1),(315,'Turkey earthquake: How survivors cope with trauma','BBC NEWS','Society',4,70,'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-64720622','By Selin Girit','Turkey earthquake: How survivors cope with trauma\r\n\r\n•	Turkey–Syriaearthquakes 2023\r\n\r\nThe death toll from the devastating earthquakes that recently struck Turkey and Syria has climbed beyond 50,000 - and left many more people homeless. It has taken a terrible toll on mental health for those caught up in the tragedy, both directly and indirectly. The BBC has spoken with survivors, search and rescue teams, and experts.\r\n\r\nIt was past midnight when we arrived in Antakya, walking through darkness in a city left completely in ruins.\r\nOur car had broken down and the replacement driver refused to take us to the city centre.\r\nIt was the third day after the earthquakes hit south-east Turkey. Our team had come from Maras, the epicentre of the quakes. Already thousands of people were confirmed dead and that number has continued to rise ever since.\r\n\r\nAs we advanced down the main road into Antakya, the constant siren of ambulances echoed through the rubble. Aid trucks, bulldozers and volunteers were all stuck in queues of traffic that stretched for miles. It was a state of utter chaos in the freezing cold.\r\nBurakGalipAkkurt and his team from Turkey\'s voluntary rescue association, Akut, were working on a four-storey building. They suspected there were 10 people alive under the rubble, five of them children.\r\n\r\nThey waited in complete silence, hoping for the faintest voice to call back or even to hear the sound of a simple movement, a tap of a finger, a click.\r\n\"When you hear a voice coming from under the rubble, how does that make you feel?\" I asked Burak in a quiet moment.\r\n\r\nHe needed to be detached from his feelings in order to carry on with the rescuing effort, he explained, but it would hit him once the mission was over and he would seek psychological help to cope with everything he had witnessed.\r\n\"It is not very easy to recover from the things you have seen. It is traumatic and very dramatic as well.\"\r\n\r\nNo-one survived from under the rubble of the apartment block they were working on that night.\r\nThe next day I met Dilek Eger. She was rescued from a building in the neighbouring town of Iskenderun, after being trapped for eight hours.\r\n\"The tremor was incredibly strong. I immediately got up from bed and ran to my parents\' room. I was screaming my lungs out. But my mother, father, brother, they were all silent. I thought I was going to lose my mind,\" she told me.\r\n\r\nHomes were devastated in the port city of Iskenderun in Turkey\'s Hatay province\r\nDilek\'s parents and brother lost their lives under the rubble. She was stuck, surrounded by broken glass, with only the top of her head showing. A family friend was able to recognise and rescue her with his bare hands and a knife.\r\nShe couldn\'t cry at all for the first two days, but as she lay on the sofa in her grandmother\'s living room, talking me softly through her ordeal, she visibly started to go through all the emotions.\r\nAs she kissed and caressed a photograph of her mother and herself hugging, she began sobbing.\r\n\"My mother gave her last breath in my arms,\" she said. \"Even when dying, she saved me, as she was on top of me. I couldn\'t do anything for her.\r\n\"My brother was stuck in the other room, and my dad was suffering in pain. This is when the whole world collapses. You are witnessing the death of everyone you love. I don\'t feel anger or revenge. I just feel so empty.\"\r\nDilek is one of tens of thousands of people to have survived the earthquake, but she now faces a life that may be scarred forever.\r\nThis week I received a text message from another survivor. He wrote: \"Those of us who are now alive will stay under the rubble until the day we die.\"\r\nPsychologists say the survivors of such a traumatic event will be going through phases: the initial shock, anxiety and fear will soon be replaced by a state of denial.\r\n\r\nCagayDuru from the Turkish Psychologists Association said it was not easy to cope with a trauma on this scale, but talking about it, expressing feelings and thoughts about what has been experienced should be the first step towards healing.\r\nHe warned that if psycho-social support was not in place for those in need during this grief process, then many people could end up with serious disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression or substance abuse.\r\n\r\n\"We all have to ask each other: How are you? Is there anything I can do for you?\r\n\"We have to say: I am here for you. We must give the message that we are in solidarity with those in need and we are trying to understand their experience, we are there to listen to them, help them and share all these emotions.\"\r\n\r\nNormality would not mean returning to how life was before the earthquake, it would be a new normal, he warned. That new normal would need to be built up and it would take time.\r\nBut the difficulty of that task was underlined when a new set of earthquakes hit the already devastated town of Hatay.\r\n\r\nThese were not as strong as the initial two, but still panic-stricken people were on the streets, crying in despair, wondering whether they were facing a nightmare without end. Some were furious, asking what more could have been done to save lives.\r\nNow in Istanbul, I have left the disaster zone, but I am still surrounded by trauma; glued to my TV screen and mobile phone like millions of others.\r\n\r\nAs Turkey\'s biggest city lies on a major fault line, people here cannot help but ask: Will they be going through the same tragedy in the future? What can they do to prevent it?\r\nAs grief sets in, mass trauma and how to respond to it has become another of Turkey\'s big challenges\r\n\r\n\r\n','2023-02-26','',0,1),(316,'China and the Ukraine war: The real reason for Beijing\'s charm offensive','BBC NEWS','Politics',1,70,'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64754510','By Tessa Wong','Over the past year, leaders in the West have tried to cajole China to help them end the Ukraine war. Now Beijing has given its firmest response yet - and it\'s not something many in the West would like.\n\nIn recent days, China has launched an assertive charm offensive, kicking off with top diplomat Wang Yi\'s tour of Europe, which culminated in a warm welcome by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.\nBeijing has released not one but two position papers - the first offering the Chinese solution to the war, and the other outlining a plan for world peace. These largely retread China\'s talking points from the past year, calling for respect for sovereignty (for Ukraine) and the protection of national security interests (for Russia), while opposing the use of unilateral sanctions (by the US).\nThe West may come away unimpressed - but convincing them was never likely the main goal for Beijing.\n\nChina\'s goal: send a clear message to US\nFirstly, it clearly seeks to position itself as a global peacemaker. An obvious clue about who it\'s really trying to charm lies in one of its papers, where it mentions engaging South East Asia, Africa and South America - the so-called Global South.\nIn preaching an alternative vision to a US-led world order, it is wooing the rest of the globe, which is watching to see how the West handles the Ukraine crisis.\n\nBut another goal is to send a clear message to the US.\n\"There is an element of defiance,\" said Alexander Korolev, an expert in Sino-Russian ties at the University of New South Wales. \"It is signalling: \'If things get ugly between us, I have someone to go to. Russia is not alone, which means that I will not be alone when there is a confrontation… don\'t get comfortable in bullying me.\'\"\nThe timing, say observers, is a giveaway. Relations between the US and China have hit a new low, exacerbated by the spy balloon saga. Some have also questioned why China - if its intention is to help end the war - is only just now making its big diplomatic push for Ukraine peace.\n\n\"China had ample opportunities to display leadership, it was invited early on to contribute to ending the war… If the goal was to truly display the image of a global leader, you don\'t have to sit on the fence for one year and try to perform a diplomatic dance,\" said DrKorolev.\nThere was a third goal, and it could be seen in Mr Wang\'s itinerary.\nBy visiting France, Germany, Italy and Hungary, whose leaders China perceives as taking less of a hardline stance on Russia, Mr Wang may have been testing the waters to see if China could lure some of Europe into China\'s orbit.\n\nBeijing sees a \"logical convergence of interests\" with these countries, said Zhang Xin, an international political economy expert with the East China Normal University in Shanghai. \"It believes the US has hegemonic power, and that a large part of the Transatlantic world could benefit from detaching from that system.\"\nBut whether China will succeed in that particular goal is questionable. Mr Wang\'s speech at the Munich Security Conference, where he criticised the US, did not play well in a roomful of America\'s staunchest allies and, according to diplomats, only spawned greater distrust of China\'s true motives.\nHis tour \"was a very overt push to say: \'We don\'t have problems with Europe, we have problems with the US, we can fix things with you Europeans and you need to understand that the US is leading you down a problematic road\'\", said Andrew Small, a senior fellow specialising in Europe-China relations at the German Marshall Fund think tank.\n\n\"But I think in most places in Europe, this message doesn\'t have much traction.\"\n•	Zelensky wants to meet Xi Jinping to discuss peace plan\nThe key question now is whether Beijing will live up to its word of making peace as it tightens its embrace of Russia.\nThe US has warned this week that China was considering supplying lethal weapons to Russia, and that Chinese firms had already been supplying non-lethal dual-use technology - items which could have both civilian and military uses, such as drones and semi-conductors.\nPublicly China has reacted with angry rhetoric. But behind closed doors, Mr Wang made it clear to top EU official JosepBorrell that it will not provide weapons to Russia.\n\nAccording to MrBorrell, Mr Wang had also asked: \"Why do you show concern for me maybe providing arms to Russia when you are providing arms to Ukraine?\"\nIt is a revealing line, say observers, showing that Beijing still truly believes the West is to blame for fuelling the war.\n\"Sending weapons to any warring party is considered as further escalation - that is the position of the Chinese state so far,\" said Dr Zhang.\nThere is scepticism that Beijing would supply weapons to Moscow, given how it runs counter to Chinese interests.\nSuch a move would be seen by others as a clear escalation of the war, and would lead to sanctions and disruption of trade with the West - hugely damaging for China, as the EU and US are among its top trading partners.\nIt would also raise global tensions significantly and likely push US allies further into Washington\'s embrace, stymieing Beijing\'s plan to woo some of them away.\nWhat is more likely to happen, say observers, is that Beijing will continue or even step up indirect support to Russia, such as boosting economic trade - which has provided a financial lifeline to Moscow - and abstaining from sanctions on Russia.\n•	What support is China giving Russia?\n•	What weapons are being supplied to Ukraine?\nThey may even supply more dual-use technology through third party states such as Iran or North Korea, according to Dr Small, so that they can lend support \"as deniably as possible\".\nBut as the war drags on, the issue of giving lethal weapons will resurface, he warned.\n\"There hasn\'t been a question yet on what kind of significant things China could be asked to do, because previously Russia didn\'t need to resupply,\" said Dr Small. \"But they are hitting that juncture. How long is China willing to say to Russia it will not do it?\"\nDays before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin declared they had a \"friendship without limits\".\nA year on, China will have to answer the question of how far it would go for its special friend.\n','2023-02-24','',0,1),(317,'How Italy\'s generous green homes scheme turned \'wicked\'','livenews','Society',4,70,'https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230226-how-italy-s-generous-green-homes-scheme-turned-wicked','2023 AFP','How Italy\'s generous green homes scheme turned \'wicked\'\r\nRome (AFP) – An Italian scheme to make homes more energy efficient has been wildly popular, but the government is seeking to rein in its \"out of control\" costs amid fears it could send the deficit soaring.\r\nThe \"superbonus\" scheme, which can be used for anything from insulation to solar panels, new boilers and windows, was introduced in May 2020 to boost the economy after the coronavirus lockdown.\r\nEnvironmentalists were sceptical about its benefits but Italians rushed to take advantage of the programme, in which the state paid 110 percent of the cost of making homes greener, with the subsidy delivered via a tax credit or tax reduction.\r\nAs intended, it boosted the construction sector -- but it has so far cost the state 61.2 billion euros ($64.8 billion), according to the finance ministry.\r\nPrime Minister GiorgiaMeloni, whose coalition government took office in October, said last weekend the situation was \"out of control\".\r\nShe said the scheme had led to fraud worth nine billion euros, while the tradeable nature of the tax credits had \"generated a sort of parallel currency, and that parallel currency risks having a devastating impact on the budget\".\r\nFinance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti went further, describing it as a \"wicked policy\".\r\nLorenzo Codogno, a former chief economist at the Treasury, told AFP that attempts now to quantify the impact of the scheme on Italy\'s strained public finances could be \"a wake-up moment for financial markets\".\r\nHe warned Italy\'s deficit could be revised up substantially, while both the construction sector and the government \"could have liquidity problems\".\r\nItaly\'s deficit was an estimated 5.6 percent of GDP last year and set to fall to 4.5 percent in 2023, but revised figures potentially incorporating the superbonus scheme are due out on March 1.\r\nConstruction boom\r\nThe superbonus scheme was introduced by former premier Giuseppe Conte, whose populist, environmentalist Five Star Movement led the coalition government at the time.\r\nIt allowed homeowners to either deduct the cost of work from their taxes over several years or sell the tax credit to their builder, who would sell it to a bank, which would then claim the money from the state.\r\nAngelica Donati, the president of national constructors\' association ANCE, told AFP the bonus had been \"fundamental in the aftermath of Covid-19, both for reviving the Italian economy as well as restarting the construction industry\".\r\nThe construction sector grew by 21.6 percent in 2021, helping fuel Italy\'s post-pandemic boom.\r\nBut the scheme generated much more work than originally forecast and banks stopped buying credits last year, leaving some construction companies in the lurch.\r\nMeloni\'s government has already sought to restrict the subsidies, reducing the superbonus from 110 percent to 90` percent last year.\r\nThen last week it put a sudden stop to the use of the tax credits as it tries to work out how to unfreeze existing credits for an estimated 19 billion euros\' worth of work that has been carried out but not yet paid for.\r\nANCE said some 25,000 construction companies were at risk of folding.\r\nSuperbonus users can now only receive money back from the state via tax breaks -- but that mostly benefits those on higher incomes.\r\nWasted opportunity\r\nThe government is looking into possible alternatives to the credit system. Climate campaigners hope it will also change the bonus\' scope.\r\nExperts have lamented what they see as a wasted opportunity to engineer a cultural shift towards properly green housing.\r\nIn a study last year, the Bank of Italy said the superbonus was \"not a cost-effective way\" to tackle climate change.\r\nMatteo Leonardi, co-founder of Italian climate change think tank ECCO, said it lacked \"ambition\".\r\n\"It has not been linked to climate targets, which is what would have justified the costs,\" he told AFP, adding that renovations had only to boost efficiency by two energy classes.\r\nIt also did not sufficiently promote innovative but less familiar technologies, such as heat pumps.\r\nBut Leonardi said for all its faults, the superbonus had value if radically revised to meet more ambitious targets.\r\nWith the tax credits gone, the government is now \"just giving a lot of money to high-income families to install gas boilers\".\r\n','2023-02-26','',0,1),(318,'EU nations demand tougher borders to prevent ‘migration crisis’','The Local L','Business & Economy',3,70,'https://www.thelocal.com/20230207/eu-nations-demand-tougher-borders-to-prevent-migration-crisis/','AFP','Eight EU nations called on Brussels to significantly toughen the bloc\'s borders to \"prevent another large-scale migration crisis,\" according to a letter seen by AFP ahead of a key summit.\r\nThe overall tone on migration has hardened in Europe since 2015-2016, when it took in over a million asylum-seekers, most of them Syrians fleeing the war in their country.\r\nAustria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia sent the letter dated Monday to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel.\r\nThey said it was “high time” for a “comprehensive European… approach for all relevant migratory routes” to tackle irregular migration.\r\nThe letter called for “additional financial support” within the existing budget to enhance “relevant operational and technical measures for effective border control”.\r\nIt also urged “significantly increasing swift returns of third country nationals” and concluding new partnerships and safe third country arrangements.   \r\nSome member states are facing “levels of arrivals and applications equivalent to, or higher than, those seen during the migration crisis in 2015 and 2016,” the letter added.\r\nAt the end of January, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said she was confident that asylum reform — under discussion since September 2020 — would be adopted before the European elections in 2024.\r\nThe EU has earmarked six billion euros to protect its borders for the 2021-2027 period.\r\nSeveral countries, including Austria, have called for EU funding to strengthen fences along the bloc’s external borders to reduce the flow of asylum-seekers.\r\nBut the commission has so far been reluctant, saying that “building walls and barbed wire” is not the right solution.\r\nEU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said last month that member states could sign up to a pilot scheme over the first half of this year to speed up screening and asylum procedures for eligible migrants — and “immediate return” for those not deemed to qualify.\r\nVon der Leyen said she wanted the EU to draw up a list of “safe countries of origin”, and for the bloc to strengthen border monitoring on the Mediterranean and Western Balkans routes migrants use to get to Europe.\r\n','2023-02-02','',0,1),(319,'Is air pollution causing us to lose our sense of smell?','BBC FUTURE','Health',2,70,'https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230220-is-air-pollution-causing-us-to-lose-our-sense-of-smell','By Tim Smedley','Our sense of smell is one of our richest and wide-ranging windows into the world around us, playing a vital role in what we taste, our social interactions and even helping us detect potential dangers. But a threat in the air we breathe may be eroding our olfactory powers.\r\nFor many people, a bout of Covid-19 gave a first taste (or rather a lack of it) of what it is like to lose their sense of smell. Known as \"anosmia\", loss of smell can have a substantial effect on our overall wellbeing and quality of life. But while a sudden respiratory infection might lead to a temporary loss of this important sense, your sense of smell may well have been gradually eroding away for years due to something else – air pollution.\r\nExposure to PM2.5 – the collective name for small airborne pollution particles, largely from the combustion of fuels in vehicles, power stations and our homes – has previously been linked with \"olfactory dysfunction\", but typically only in occupational or industrial settings. But new research is now starting to reveal the true scale – and the potential damage caused by – the pollution we breathe in every day. And their findings have relevance for us all.\r\nOn the underside of our brains, just above our nasal cavities, lies the olfactory bulb. This sensitive bit of tissue bristles with nerve endings and is essential for the enormously varied picture of the world we get from our sense of smell. It\'s also our first line of defence against viruses and pollutants entering the brain. But, with repeated exposure, these defences slowly get worn down – or breached.\r\n\"Our data show there\'s a 1.6 to 1.7-fold increased [risk of] developing anosmia with sustained particulate pollution,\" says MurugappanRamanathan Jr, a rhinologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore. He has become one of the few experts in this field after he started to wonder if there was a link between the large numbers of patients he was seeing with anosmia and the environmental conditions where they lived.\r\nThe simple question he wanted to answer was this: were a disproportionate number of anosmia patients living in areas of higher PM2.5 pollution? Until recently, the little scientific research on this topic included one Mexican study in 2006, which used strong coffee and orange odours to show that residents of Mexico City – which often struggles with air pollution – tended to have a poorer sense of smell on average than people living in rural areas of the country.\r\nWith the help of colleagues – including environmental epidemiologist Zhenyu Zhang who created a map of historic air pollution data in the Baltimore area – Ramanathan set up a case-control study of data from 2,690 patients who had attended Johns Hopkins Hospital over a four year period. Around 20% had anosmia and most didn\'t smoke – a habit that is known to affect the sense of smell.\r\nSENSORY OVERLOAD\r\nFrom the microplastics sprayed on farmland to the noxiousodours released by sewage plants and the noise harming marine life, pollutants are seeping into every aspect of our existence. Sensory Overload explores the impact of pollution on all our senses and the long-term harm it is inflicting on humans and the natural world. Read some of the other stories from the series here:\r\n•	How plastic is getting into our food as it grows\r\n•	The underwater sounds that can kill\r\n•	The race to reclaim the dark\r\n•	How pesticides impair oursenses\r\nSure enough, the levels of PM2.5 were found to be \"significantly higher\" in the neighbourhoods where patients with anosmia lived compared to healthy control participants. Even when adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, body mass index, alcohol or tobacco use, the findings came up the same: \"Even small increases in ambient PM2.5 exposure may be associated with anosmia\".\r\nThe finding has been echoed in other parts of the world in studies published this year. One recent study in Brescia, northern Italy, for example, found the noses of teenagers and young adults became less sensitive to smells the more nitrogen dioxide – another pollutant produced when fossil fuels are burned, in particular from vehicle engines – they were exposed to. Another year-long study in São Paulo, Brazil, also indicated that people living in areas with higher particulate pollution had an impaired sense of smell.\r\nBut exactly how is pollution wrecking our ability to smell?\r\nAccording to Ramanathan there are two potential routes. One is that some of the pollution particles are passing through the olfactory bulb and getting directly into the brain, causing inflammation. \"Olfactory nerves are in the brain but they have little holes at the base of skull where little fibres go into the nose, [looking] almost like little pieces of angel hair pasta,\" says Ramanathan. \"They are exposed.\"\r\nIn 2016, a team of British researchers found tiny metal particles in human brain tissue that appeared to have passed through the olfactory bulb. Barbara Maher, a professor of environmental science at Lancaster University in the UK who led the study, said at the time that the particles were \"strikingly similar\" to those found in airborne pollution next to busy roads (domestic fireplaces and log stoves were another possible source). Maher\'s study suggests that these nanoscale metal particles could, once in the brain, become toxic, contributing to oxidative brain damage that damages the neural pathways, although it still remains a theory.\r\nThe other potential mechanism, says Ramanathan, may not even require pollution particles getting into the brain. By hitting the olfactory bulb on an almost daily basis, they cause inflammation and damage to the nerves directly, slowly wearing them away. Think of it almost like coastal erosion, where sandy, salty waves eat away at the shoreline; substitute waves with pollution-filled air, and shoreline with our nasal nerves.\r\nModern combustion methods can create nanoparticles so fine that they are small enough to directly enter our bloodstream and brain tissue\r\nUnsurprisingly then, anosmia disproportionately affects older people, whose noses have been assaulted by air pollution for longer. More surprisingly, none of the Johns Hopkins patients lived in areas with excessively high air pollution – many lived in leafy areas of Maryland, and none were from pollution hotspots. It suggests that even low levels of air pollution could cause problems over a long enough period.\r\nA similar recent study has separately been carried out by the Aging Research Center at the Karolinska Institute, in Stockholm. Postdoctoral researcher Ingrid Ekström was puzzled by findings from the early 2000s that showed more than 5.8% of adults in Sweden had anosmia, and 19.1% had some form of olfactory dysfunction. Knowing that anosmia rates were higher in older people, Ekström and colleagues designed a study using 3,363 patients aged 60 and over. Using strongly scented \"sniffing sticks\" of 16 common household smells, participants received a score depending on the number they could correctly identify. As with the Baltimore study, the participants\' home addresses were mapped and analysed according to municipal air pollution readings. And as in Baltimore, there was a strong correlation between higher pollution levels and poorer smelling ability. \r\n\"They have been subjected to pollution throughout their lives,\" says Ekström. \"We don\'t know exactly when their olfactory impairments started to decline.” But she is “confident” that long-term exposure to pollution was the cause, even at low levels.  \r\nHow dirty air is polluting our minds\r\nIn 2021, The World Health Organization (WHO) changed its health-based guidelines for a maximum annual average exposure to PM2.5, reducing it from 10 to 5 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3). Stockholm, Sweden\'s capital, is one of the few major cities in the world that manages to stay below this level with an annual average of 4.2µg/m3. By comparison, Islamabad, in Pakistan, has an annual average PM2.5 levels of 41.1µg/m3 while it is 42.3µg/m3 in Bloemfontein, South Africa.\r\nThis arguably makes the Stockholm findings even more relevant – if even Stockholm residents are having their senses eroded by low levels of pollution, then how much worse will it be in regions with high levels?\r\nIt is also a reminder of how highly localised pollution can be, both outdoors and indoors. People\'s cooking methods and heating choices may be exposing them to higher levels than their neighbours. (Listen to learn how effective air purifiers are.)\r\nMeanwhile modern combustion methods from vehicle engines to the latest \'eco\' wood stoves can create nanoparticles so fine that they barely register on PM2.5 readings, but are small enough to directly enter our bloodstream and brain tissue.\r\nAir pollution is known to cause a quarter of all deaths from heart disease and stroke, and nearly half of all deaths from lung disease. By comparison, perhaps, our sense of smell seems low down the list of concerns. But both Ramanathan and Ekström warn that we underestimate the importance of smell at our peril.\r\nEkström\'s research speciality is dementia. And anosmia may be an early warning sign.\r\n\"With dementia and especially with Alzheimer\'s Disease, we assume that [the] disease progression is actually starting several decades before we can see the first symptoms,\" says Ekström. \r\nAnosmia is one of the first symptoms. By the time Alzheimer\'s is diagnosed, \"almost 90% of patients have anosmia\", says Ekström. The exact link remains unknown, but one theory is that \"environmental toxins enter the central nervous system via the olfactory bulb and cause damage, triggering this cascade effect that may ultimately lead to neuro-degeneration\". The Maher Lancaster study, for example, found that metal nanoparticles were directly associated with the formation of \'senile plaques\' – lesions on the brain and one of the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer\'s disease and dementia.\r\nDespite such strong links, Ekström argues it is only recently that researchers have \"opened their eyes to the olfactory sense\" and its role in disease.\r\n\r\nLoss of smell has been linked to increased likelihood of depression and anxiety in various studies, and is known to play a role in obesity, weight loss, malnutrition and cases of food poisoning. The reasons are perhaps obvious – our noses play a key role in our experience of the world around us, affect our ability to taste food and help us avoid meals that have gone off.\r\nA poor sense of smell may mean that sufferers are likely to seek out stronger tasting food, which is very often salty and fatty. By contrast, a total loss of smell can put people off food and lose enjoyment from it, ultimately becoming underweight – a particular problem amongst the elderly.   \r\nRamanathan has seen many patients who \"can\'t taste food, can\'t smell their wine, the things that gave them pleasure in life\". He recalls one patient who was a professional sommelier, for whom developing anosmia was both personally and professionally devastating.\r\nSmell and taste are also linked to memory. \"People don\'t remember what that pastry looked like that they ate in France, but they remember what the shop smelled like\", says Ramanathan. Re-experiencing a particular smell can transport our memories straight back to that moment in pastry shop. This raises the question – albeit yet to be properly studied – whether the inverse could also true, and no longer being able to smell could impair our ability to create new memories in the same way.\r\nAnosmia could also be an indicator of other, wider health issues. Numerous studies, typically of smokers – for whom smell impairment persists even 15 years after quitting – have shown that olfactory dysfunction is significantly associated with increased mortality among older adults. One particular study even hypothesised that anosmia could be used as a predicator for greater likelihood to die – from any cause – amongst older adults over a five-year-period. In a study of 3,005 US adults aged 57 to 85, those with anosmia were found to be four times more likely to die than their peers five years later. The researchers concluded that deteriorating sense of smell could be a \"bellwether\" for the accumulation of toxins from the environment or slowed regeneration of cells.\r\nSo, should we care that air pollution – to which we are all exposed – is impairing our sense of smell and causing anosmia? Clearly, the answer lies somewhere between \"yes\" and \"hell yes\".\r\nRamanathan, for whom traffic pollution and waste incinerators top the local pollution concerns in Baltimore, says \"air quality matters\". \"I think we need tight regulations and control,\" he says. Many people may not even realise the pollution they are exposed to, so they rely on politicians regulating it to protect the populations in the surrounding areas.\r\n\"This is one of many [pollution-related] conditions,\" adds Ramanathan. \"But this is kind of a special one, right? If you have COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] you could probably still enjoy your glass of wine. But not with this one.\"\r\nEkström says tackling air pollution is not simple. World events can also cause unexpected shifts in behaviour – Ekström mentions anecdotally that winter wood burning has been on the rise in Stockholm as worried residents wean themselves off Russian gas. But even the every-day, low-level air pollution we are exposed to  “should be taken more seriously\", she says. And what\'s more, “olfactory impairment should definitely be taken more seriously”, too.\r\n','2023-02-21','',0,1),(320,'World\'s first 3D-printed rocket launches but fails to reach orbit','BBC NEWS','Lifestyle',8,71,'https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/65087684','BBC NEWS','Relativity Space has launched what they describe as the world\'s first 3D printed rocket.\r\n85% of the 33 metre tall rocket - called Terran 1 - was created using the world\'s largest 3D printer.\r\nIt lifted off for the first time in Florida on 22 March but failed to get high enough to be able to circle the earth, which is called orbiting.\r\nIt\'s still a massive milestone for the technology though because it proved this method of construction was durable enough to survive blast off.\r\n\r\nIts lower segment, or first stage, burned for just over two-and-a-half minutes.\r\nThe second stage should then have taken over to complete the journey to orbit but, after a few flickers, it died.\r\nThe upper part of the rocket would have come down in the Atlantic Ocean.\r\n\r\nTerran 1 is a prototype for a much larger rocket the company would like to create called Terran R which will be used for satellite launches in the future.\r\nThe company said its eventual goal was to have more than 95% of the rocket 3D printed.\r\n3D printing is when a physical object is created from a computer model usually printing lots of layers of a material on top of each other.\r\nThe technique has never been used to make something as big as this and Relativity Space had to make some really big printers to be able to do it.\r\n\r\nAlthough the full mission had a few hiccups, it\'s quite common for a first flight like this to experience some problems.\r\nScientists will be now be looking back at the data produced during the launch to see where it went wrong and fix it for future launches.\r\nRelativity Space says the launch is still a big achievement because it shows the 3D printed model can withstand blast off.\r\n\r\nTerran 1 was also fuelled by liquid methane rather than the usual choice of something like kerosene.\r\nIt\'s a fuel expected to be used by more rockets in the future because it burns more cleanly than other propellants and therefore it\'s better for the planet.\r\nRelativity Space said:\r\n\"Today is a huge win, with many historic firsts. We also progressed through main-engine cut-off and stage separation. We will assess flight data and provide public updates over the coming days.\"\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n','2023-03-29','',0,1),(321,'Abusive working conditions endemic in Spain’s strawberry farms, report claims','The Guardian','Lifestyle',8,71,'https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/mar/31/abusive-working-conditions-endemic-in-spains-strawberry-farms-report-claims','Ashifa Kassam and Brenda Chavez in Huelva','UK supermarkets heavily reliant on strawberries from southern Spain, where workers allege they are regularly underpaid, have passports withheld and are forced to live in unsanitary shacks\r\n\r\nAbusive conditions are endemicin parts of Spain’s fruit sector, a new report alleges, with workers telling the Guardian they have been regularly underpaid and forced to live in dilapidated shacks.\r\nDuring the winter, at least 60% of strawberries eaten in the UK are likely to be from vast farms across the south-west Spanish province of Huelva. In 2020, the UK imported €310m (£272m) worth of the fruit from the Andalucia region, of which 91% is believed to be grown in Huelva.\r\nBut the fruit-picking workforce in the region – dominated by migrants from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa – are frequently paid less than the minimum wage and required to work overtime without pay, according to a new report from the organisation Ethical Consumer.\r\nSome workers also allege that they are docked up to three days’ pay if they do not meet employers’ demands, are prevented from using the toilet, and have their passports or wages withheld to keep them working.\r\n\r\n“It’s not the one-off farm, it’s not the occasional supplier – it’s widespread across the major exporting areas,” said Jasmine Owens, one of the authors of the report.\r\nIn a recent visit to the Huelva region, the Guardian spoke to 10 workers and two former farm workers. Nine of the workers claimed they were being paid less than the legal minimum daily, which now stands at €51.15 (£45).\r\n\r\nEach morning Aziza, a 53-year-old undocumented worker from Morocco, walks from farm to farm, in hopes of landing a day’s work. Last year she did find work, earning about €40 a day – under the legal daily wage. “Since I don’t have any papers, I don’t have the right to file a complaint,” she said\r\nThousands of workers live next to the polytunnels in which the strawberries are grown, in shacks cobbled together out of scrap and plastic sheets foraged from greenhouses, with no sanitation, running water or electricity.\r\n\r\nThe workforce in Huelva also includes those who are part of a bilateral programme, launched by Spain and Morocco in 2001, which brings thousands of Moroccans to Huelva for up to nine months a year to work on the strawberry harvest.\r\nDespite reports linking the scheme to sexual violence and reports of employers withholding identity documents or wages, Spanish officials announced in September that the programme would be expanded to bring as many as 15,350 temporary workers to Huelva this year – an increase of 5,000 people over last year.\r\n\r\n“You would work the entire month and they might pay you for 16 days,” said Soumia, a Moroccan who spent 14 years working in the bilateral programme. Her evenings were limited by her employer’s 10pm curfew, enforced by docking one day’s work for anyone who showed up late, she claimed. Still, she returned year after year, leaving her two daughters behind in Morocco.\r\n\r\n“We need these jobs in order to put food on the table. Everyone takes advantage of our situation,” she said.\r\nTrade unions and rights organisations have long documented the programme’s preference for mothers between 25 and 45 years of age, as they are considered more likely to return to their home country after their contract ends.\r\nAs the government scheme contractually ties the worker to an employer, and requires officials’ authorisation to change jobs, the organisations allege that it creates the conditions for forced labour.\r\n\r\nThe result is that the women were highly vulnerable to exploitation and less likely to report abusive situations, said SilvinaGorsky, a sociologist who works with a group of lawyers in Andalusia that provides legal assistance to workers. “It’s not that they happen to be vulnerable,” she said. “It’s that they are specifically chosen that way.”\r\n\r\nWhile there were companies in Huelva’s strawberry fields that paid their workers fairly, these companies were a minority, said José Antonio Brazo, of Soc-Sat, a local farmworkers’ union that fielded more than 1,000 complaints in Huelva related to exploitation and working conditions in 2019.\r\nIn a statement to the Guardian, Spain’s labour ministry said it was “fully committed” to resolving the issue, adding that it was in constant contact with workers’ unions and other “affected groups” in the sector.\r\n\r\nLast year the ministry carried out 4,245 inspections on farms in Huelva, it added. A total of 189 violations were detected – involving more than 2,800 people – resulting in fines of €1.6m.\r\nInterfresa, a trade association representing 1,300 producers in Andalusia’s strawberry industry, said that it “had not seen any evidence of inappropriate practices by employers”. Companies were required to comply with the law, it added, and no workers could be paid below the minimum wage.\r\n\r\nRegarding contracting temporary workers from Morocco, it said: “Farm work requires labourers of a certain fitness level for tasks involved in harvesting. This is precisely why women between the ages of 25 and 45 are a commonly found profile.”\r\nThe British Retail Consortium, which represents the UK’s major supermarkets, said that retailers were committed to upholding the rights of all workers in the supply chain.\r\n\r\n“Retailers are concerned by these reports and take these allegations very seriously,” said Sophie De Salis, a policy adviser with the BRC. “Once those behind the original report share the evidence, retailers will be in a position to thoroughly investigate and take any necessary action.”\r\n','2023-03-31','',0,1),(322,'UK joins trans-Pacific trade bloc in a deal likely to boost GDP by less than 0.1%','CNN','Politics',1,71,'https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/31/business/uk-joins-cptpp-trade-agreement-intl-hnk/index.html#:~:text=Although%20the%20government%20called%20the,or%20over%20approximately%2015%20years.','By Michael Rios and Michelle Toh','Britain has reached an agreement to join a major free trade bloc in the Pacific region.\r\nThe country will become the first new member, and the first in Europe, to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) since it came into force in 2018.\r\nAlthough the government called the agreement its “biggest trade deal since Brexit,” its own estimates show that joining the CPTPP will increase UK economic output by less than 0.1% in the long run, or over approximately 15 years.\r\n“We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Friday.\r\nThe bloc is home to more 500 million people and will be worth 15% of global GDP once the United Kingdom joins, Sunak’s office said.\r\nThe CPTPP is a free trade agreement with 11 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam. It succeeded the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the United States withdrew under former President Donald Trump in 2017.\r\nThe UK agreement comes almost two years after it began talks to join the pact.\r\nJoining the CPTPP is unlikely to be transformational for the UK economy. Britain already has trade deals in place with nine of the 11 current members.\r\nThe agreement also won’t make up for the knock to GDP from leaving the European Union. The UK Office for Budget Responsibility, which produces economic forecasts for the government, expects Brexit to reduce Britain’s output by 4% over 15 years compared with remaining in the bloc.\r\nBecoming a CPTPP member means that more than 99% of UK exports to the 11 other countries will now be eligible for tariff-free trade. That includes major exports, such as cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whisky.\r\nIn the year through September 2022, the United Kingdom exported £60.5 billion ($75 billion) worth of goods to CPTPP countries, Sunak’s office said in a statement.\r\nDairy farmers, for example, sent £23.9 million ($29.6 million) worth of products such as cheese and butter to Canada, Chile, Japan and Mexico last year, and were set to “benefit from lower tariffs,” it added.\r\nThe deal also aims to cut red tape for British businesses, which will no longer be required to set up local offices or be residents of the pact’s member countries to provide services there.\r\nServices made up a huge chunk — 43% — of overall UK trade with CPTPP members last year, according to Sunak’s office.\r\n“As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation,” Sunak said.\r\nSeveral businesses expressed their support for the deal in the government statement, including global bank Standard Chartered (SCBFF) and spirits maker Pernod Ricard (PDRDF).\r\nJoining the pact “is a big opportunity for our Scotch whisky business,” said AnishkaJelicich, Pernod Ricard’s UK director of public affairs.\r\n“Five of our top 20 export markets are CPTPP members. We expect tariff cuts and smoother access to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies to increase exports and secure jobs and investment in the UK, with sales doubling in some markets.”\r\nHowever, the UK Trade and Business Commission criticized the deal.\r\n“When it comes to trade, distance matters. Not only will joining this bloc fail to replace trade we have lost with our closest neighbors, stretching supply chains makes a mockery of our climate commitments and will undercut environmental and food standards in the UK,” Caroline Lucas, parliamentarian and a member of the Commission, said in a statement\r\n','2023-03-31','',0,1),(323,'Donald Trump Was Just Indicted. Here’s What to Know About the Charges and the Case','TIME','Politics',1,71,'https://time.com/6261993/donald-trump-indictment-updates/','BY ERIC CORTELLESSA AND ANISHA KOHLI','For the first time in American history, a former President has been criminally indicted. A Manhattan grand jury voted on Thursday to indict Donald Trump on charges related to paying hush money to a former porn star, setting upa complicated and explosive legal battle as Trump vies for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.\r\nAt the heart of the inquiry is whether Trump is criminally responsible for payments made to Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, following allegations from Trump’s former lawyer that Trump knowingly approved the deal and falsified payment records. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office invited Trump to testify before a grand jury earlier this month in the case. Trump declined the offer.\r\nThe indictment, which has not yet been made public, comes after Trump claimed on March 18 that he would be arrested by Bragg the following Tuesday, telling his supporters on his social media platform Truth Social to “protest, take our nation back.” Trump’s entreaty galvanizedmany in the conservative movement to rush to his defense, with House Republican lawmakers vowing to investigate Bragg.\r\nWhen the DA did not charge Trump last week, some pundits and legal analysts began to speculate that Bragg had gotten cold feet. That conjecture was amplified Wednesday when Politico reported the grand jury was set to take a weeks-long hiatus.\r\nYet on Thursday, the grand jury voted to indict Trump, meaning he will have to travel to New York in the coming days to face the charges. Shortly after the news broke, the former president called the indictment “political persecution” in a statement.\r\n“From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats—the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country—have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement.” Trump’s statement said, referring to Bragg as a “disgrace” who was “hand-picked and funded by George Soros.” Trump went on to suggest the charges would have a boomerang effect in the next election: “The Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden.”\r\nThe Daniels case comes amid multiple other criminal and civil inquiries into alleged misconduct, including Trump’s unauthorized removal of classified material from the White House and attempts to overturn the 2020 election. This is Trump’s first indictment after half a century of tangles with federal law enforcement. The case is sure to become a dominant story line in American politics in the months ahead, spurring an unprecedented legal spectacle.\r\nHere’s what to know.\r\nWhat is the Stormy Daniels case?\r\nThe inquiry began nearly five years ago after Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to illegal campaign contributions. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for organizing payments leading up to the 2016 election to Clifford and another woman, Karen McDougal. Both of them, in return, agreed not to publicly disclose their personal relationships with Trump.\r\nClifford has said she and Trump had a sexual relationship in 2006; the former President has denied the affair. Clifford reached out to National Enquirer in 2016, proposing exclusive rights to her story, but rather than buying it, executives at the Enquirer connected Clifford with Cohen to organize a payout.\r\nCohen admitted to paying Clifford $130,000 in the final days of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. He was later reimbursed in monthly installments, which the Justice Department noted were disguised as payments for legal services that never existed. The former Trump attorney is expected to testify before the grand jury.\r\nWhat are the charges Bragg is pursuing?\r\nBragg has declined to comment on inviting Trump to testify, but according to former prosecutors and legal scholars, the District Attorney could potentially pursue charges for falsifying business records, which would hinge on Trump’s allegedly improper payments to Cohen. Cohen himself has claimed that Trump knew about the falsely labeled payments, making that a possible basis for the charge.\r\nIf the prosecution can prove that Trump intended to conceal another crime via falsified records, the DA could potentially charge Trump with a felony; the other alleged crime would likely relate to campaign finance violations, as prosecutors could argue that the payout to Clifford was an improper campaign donation engineered to help his presidential prospects.\r\nBringing an indictment would be an “aggressive move,” says Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor. “They’re bringing a case that is out of the ordinary. It’s rare for payments of this type to be the subject of criminal charges. There is a risk that not only they will potentially lose at trial, but there’s also a risk on appeal, that the New York courts could decide that this is not properly charged.”\r\nWhat happens now that Trump has been charged?\r\nHe will have his day in court. Trump will likely be asked to come to Manhattan to turn himself in. He would be booked into jail. A mug shot will be taken and he will be fingerprinted. Given Trump’s substantial ties to the community and his ongoing 2024 presidential campaign, the judge is unlikely to deem him a flight risk and will probably immediately release him on bond, Mariotti says.\r\nTrump is likely to plead not guilty, setting off an arduous legal battle.\r\nMariotti predicts that Cohen would be a key factual witness, given his central role in the transaction. But he’s also likely to be attacked by Trump’s attorneys. Cohen served prison time on multiple charges, including tax evasion, campaign finance violations, and lying to Congress. “The defense is going to criticize him and point the finger at him,” Mariotti says.\r\nWhat does this mean for the other investigations into Trump?\r\nIt’s not clear this will have a material effect on the other main probes into the former president, such as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s investigation into whether Trump criminally disrupted the 2020 election; the Department of Justice probe into his removal of classified documents and alleged obstruction of federal efforts to retrieve them; and special counsel Jack Smith’s inquiry into Trump’s alleged efforts to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in 2020.\r\nTrump will likely use any indictments to gin up grievance among the MAGA faithful over a shared sense of persecution. “It is surely a unique political context,” says Harry Litman, a former federal prosecutor. “Trump’s essential promise that he’s going to turn it around into a big ‘I am your warrior, I’m your justice’ campaign issue.”\r\nMariotti says that hiccups in one case could serve as fuel for Trump to discredit any of the others. “You don’t just have to consider its impact on that one case,” he emphasizes. “You have to consider the impact and all the cases. So it’slikeplaying 3-D chess.”\r\n','2023-03-30','',0,1),(324,'China-Russia Arms Race Brewing Over Western Nuclear Pact—Report','Newsweek','Politics',1,71,'https://www.newsweek.com/china-russia-arms-race-aukus-alliance-uk-us-australia-1791543','BY ISABEL VAN BRUGEN ','Cooperation between Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. on nuclear submarines might spark an arms race, Tan Kefei, a spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said during a press briefing on Thursday.\r\n\"AUKUS is all harm no benefit,\" he said, referring to the pact signed among the three nations aimed at countering China\'s influence in the Pacific, with the end goal of acquiring a fleet of up to eight nuclear-powered submarines.\r\n\"Once \'Pandora\'s box\' is opened, the regional strategic balance will be disrupted, regional security will be seriously threatened. This kind of small circle dominated by the Cold War mentality is of no benefit and extremely harmful.\"\r\nThe three countries announced the AUKUS deal in September 2021 for the U.S. and Britain to provide Australia with nuclear maritime technology capable of covert, long-range missions. Under the tripartite deal, the nations share classified military capabilities, cyber and artificial intelligence, and other undersea capabilities. Beginning in 2032, the U.S. will sell Australia three to five Virginia-class submarines.\r\n\r\nThe pact \"risks nuclear proliferation,\" Tan said. He warned it might \"trigger\" an arms race and \"escalate regional tensions.\r\n\"Such cooperation is an extension of the nuclear deterrence policy of individual countries, and it is a game tool for them to build an \'Asia-Pacific version of NATO\' and maintain their own hegemony. It has seriously impacted the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region, and many countries in the region are deeply worried about this.\"\r\nHe urged the three nations to \"recognize the general trend of the times, abandon selfish distractions that harm others and benefit themselves, listen to the voice of the international community with an open mind, earnestly fulfill their international responsibilities and obligations, and do more things that are conducive to regional peace and stability.\"\r\nAccording to Russian state-run news agency Tass, Russia and China expressed concern over plans by Washington, London and Canberra to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, and urged them to strictly adhere to their obligations on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.\r\n\"We firmly oppose relevant countries using \'China\'s military threat\' as an excuse to increase military budgets,\" Tan said.\r\nHe added that China is \"committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.\"\r\n\"For a period of time, some countries have adhered to the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game concept and used the so-called \'China coercion\' and \'China military threat\' to engage in \'small courtyards and high walls\' and military expansion,\" he said. \"Wefirmly oppose this.\"\r\n','2023-03-30','',0,1),(325,'Disney v DeSantis: Why the happiest place on Earth is suing Florida\'s governor','BBC NEWS','Politics',1,72,'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65407134','By Anthony Zurcher','Like an old-fashioned bar room brawl, the back-and-forth public relations, political and legal battle between Ron DeSantis and Walt Disney World began with a few sharp words.\r\n\r\nNow it has spilled out into the street and is crashing through neighbouring shops and homes.\r\nIn its latest salvo, Disney has filed suit against Mr DeSantis, alleging that he had \"weaponised government power\" to punish its theme parks division for exercising its constitutionally protected free speech rights.\r\n\"In America,\" Disney said in its legal filing, \"the government cannot punish you for speaking your mind\".\r\n\r\nThe fight began in March 2022, when the Florida governor bristled at Disney criticism of his state law limiting public school instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation - the so-called \"don\'t say gay\" bill.\r\nThat began an escalating series of action and response. The state revoked Disney\'s self-governing pact for the 40 square miles of land occupied by the Walt Disney World theme parks and associated enterprises.\r\nDisney countered by enacting a provision that preserved its interests in the land until \"21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England living as of the date of this declaration\".\r\nMr DeSantis - who exchanged vows at Disney\'s wedding pavilion - pledged to push the state legislature to retroactively invalidate that move and possibly tack on a few more punitive tax and policy measures.\r\nNow Disney has deployed its army of lawyers in the courts to ensure that does not happen.\r\n\r\nEach move - in the moment - may have seemed like a logical response by each side.\r\nBut as the months go by, the notion that the governor of a major state could end up in such a dogfight with a corporation that employs about 80,000 of his constituents and brings tens of millions of tourists to what otherwise would be a flat, nondescript stretch of landlocked real estate becomes increasingly astounding.\r\n\r\nIt is the kind of escalation where no one is likely to come out a winner, the price for backing down becomes too high to contemplate and everyone ends up diminished - a World War One scenario played out on a sun-scorched, swamp-filled peninsula.\r\nMr DeSantis\'s political opponents now appear to sense vulnerability on an issue that the governor once made a bullet point on a culture war resume he hopes to tout during all-but-announced 2024 presidential bid.\r\n\r\n\r\n\"DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney,\" former president Donald Trump posted on social media, using one of his preferred nicknames for the Florida governor. \"His original PR plan fizzled, so now he\'s going back with a new one in order to save face.\"\r\nFormer New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley - all current or possible Republican presidential candidates - are among the others who have joined the DeSantis pile on.\r\n\"If Disney would like to move their hundreds of thousands of jobs to South Carolina,\" Ms Haley said, \"I\'ll be happy to meet them in South Carolina and introduce them to the governor and the legislature.\"\r\n\r\nFor his part, Mr DeSantis is pledging to fight on, even as he appears to be vigorously defending the use of big government power against a private entity exercising what it claims to be constitutional liberties - a peculiar position for a conservative politician to take.\r\n\"Come hell or high water, we\'re going to make sure that that policy of Florida carries the day,\" he said. \"And so they can keep trying to do things, but we\'re going to win on every single issue involving Disney, I can tell you that.\"\r\nA World War One general planning the next guaranteed-to-win-the-war offensive could not have put it any better.\r\n','2023-04-26','',0,1),(326,'The classic Mediterranean vacation spot that sits over a live volcano','CNN','Travel',6,72,'https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/santorini-volcano-kolumbo-scn/index.html','Elinda Labropoulou','Editor’s Note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations opening, inspiration for future adventures, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, where to stay and other travel developments.\r\nCNN — \r\nEverywhere you look on Santorini, you’re reminded that you’re on a volcano. The lunar landscapes, the black and red beaches, the pebbles made of solidified lava. The Greek island’s transfixing beauty is a result of the area’s violent volcanic history.\r\nSantorini is of course famous for its breathtaking crescent-shaped caldera, half of which is submerged – making it the only sunken caldera in the world. It was created by one of the largest known eruptions around 3,600 years ago. The explosion was so powerful that it wrecked Santorini’s ancient city of Akrotiri and dealt a fatal blow to the seafaring Minoan civilization, which had settled on the island at the time.\r\n\r\nToday, Santorini – also known as Thira – is Greece’s foremost romantic playground with luxurious villas and resorts providing pampered getaways for A-listers and dreamlike settings for lavish weddings and photoshoots alike. The island’s steep volcanic cliffs, perched about 1,000 feet above sea level, create an impressive geological canvas with whitewashed houses balanced on the edge. No wonder it’s one of the most photographed locations on the planet.\r\nEvery evening, the island comes to a grinding halt for Santorini’s world-famous sunsets. The blue and white domed village of Oia gets packed as the golden hour draws in. As the sun begins to set behind the caldera’s cliffs, the sky transforms into a vivid display of red, orange, and pink hues. Thousands gasp as the last rays disappear in the sea.\r\nFew realize that beneath the hypnotic kaleidoscope of colors lies an active volcano.\r\nSantorini is part of the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, one of the most important volcanic fields in Europe which has seen over 100 eruptions over the past 400,000 years. The East Mediterranean’s most active underwater, and potentially dangerous, volcano, Kolumbo, is five miles northeast of Santorini and part of the same volcanic system\r\nSubmerged in the Aegean Sea, Kolumbo has been quiet for nearly 400 years – but it is not asleep. The last time it erupted, in 1650, it killed 70 people and triggered a 40 foot tsunami. Strong earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded, along with toxic gas and plumes of smoke.\r\nScientists know Kolumbo exploding could cause great havoc. Some of the world’s biggest oceanographical expeditions have paid it a visit and monitoring has increased in the last 20 years. One of the largest US research vessels, the JOIDES Resolution deep drilling ship, traveled to Santorini for its first Mediterranean mission between December 2022 and February 2023.\r\nThe formidable ship brought “an entire floating lab to the area,” says volcanologist and expedition co-chief Tim Druitt. Able to drill at over 8,000 meters (26,000 feet) beneath the surface of the sea, researchers collected previously unreached sediments to try and reconstruct the history of volcanism in the area.\r\nThe results – initial reports are expected later this year – should help scientists not only predict future eruptions, but also to reveal the behavior of other active volcanoes around the world that pose a threat to millions who live in their vicinity. The links between earthquakes and volcanoes are also being studied.\r\n\r\nEviNomikou, a geological oceanographer at the University of Athens, has taken part in every expedition on her native Santorini for the last 20 years. “We are gradually putting together a geopuzzle [showing] which parts were [originally] land, which parts were water,” she says.\r\n“If we can better understand past eruptions and their impact, we have a roadmap to better address future challenges.”\r\n\r\nAn extraterrestrial ocean\r\nThe JOIDES Resolution expedition isn’t the first major study of the area. Nomikou says that the long-studied extreme conditions found at Kolumbo led NASA to fund a groundbreaking expedition in 2019. “At the bottom of its crater there is an extra-terrestrial ocean with life forms that can be found on other planets.”\r\nThe hostile environment, with its active hydrothermal vents spewing hot water and minerals, served as an ideal testing ground for new state-of-the-art technologies using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. NASA tested submersibles that one day, it hopes, will be exploring alien oceans on moons of Jupiter and Saturn.\r\nAnother recent study also uncovered a previously undetected magma chamber beneath Kolumbo. Scientists believe that the chamber may also be key to understanding the seismic activity in this region.\r\n\r\nFuming volcanoes and bubbling craters also fired the imagination of Hollywood producers who chose Santorini as the opening location of adrenaline-pumped 2003 Hollywood blockbuster “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life.” Using Santorini’s dramatic cliffs as a backdrop, Angelina Jolie found herself in hazardous situations in mysterious waters while looking for underwater treasure.\r\nJolie and then-husband Brad Pitt spent vacation time on Santorini following the shoot, and they’re not the only ones. The Kardashians, Lady Gaga and Shakira are among the celebrities who have splashed in Santorini’s crystal-clear waters. Every summer, mega yachts cruise back and forth between Santorini and Greece’s other celebrity magnet, the party island of Mykonos, their VIP passengers revealing their exclusive surroundings in glitzy posts.\r\nCraterhikes and thermal springs\r\nBrangelina’s romance may be over, but Lara Croft’s adventurous spirit lives on in tourist boat excursions. They include a visit to the volcano of NeaKameni: one of five islands that form the Santorini volcanic complex, and a national geological park in itself.\r\n“The last eruption on NeaKameni was in the 1950s,” says MariosFytros, CEO of travel agency Santorini View. “Visitors love the thrill of hiking up to the crater of a volcano. It is one of our most popular excursions.” Boat tours continue with a swim at volcanic hot springs on nearby PaleaKameniisland, followed by sundowners on deck facing Santorini’s cliffs.\r\nAnother popular tour, to the magnificent archaeological site of Akrotiri, serves as a sober reminder of volcanic force. The thriving Bronze Age city was destroyed by the eruption 3,600 years ago, which spewed out a nearly 20-mile high column of ash and rock, entombing the city. Some 1,700 years later, a similar disaster would destroy Pompeii.\r\nWith the ashes and lava removed, Akrotiri’s vividly colored frescoes today stand beautifully preserved.\r\nA simmering volcano\r\nThanks to its global fame, Santorini has seen some the biggest tourism investments in the country. Hilton and Nobu are among the brands to have arrived on the island in the past few years, and property prices are among the highest in Greece.\r\nYet geologists – who are closely monitoring Kolumbo – warn that it’s just a matter of time before a big eruption hits again.\r\nHowever, “time” in geology years can be ultra-slow. So much so that one real estate agent on the island, who declined to be named, says that “volcanic activity never enters the conversation” when selling a property.\r\nWhen it does erupt, Kolumbo is capable of producing an eruption column tens of miles high and is also liable to trigger a tsunami. Increased activity about 10 years ago raised concerns but it has since subsided.\r\n“If we start seeing increased activity in Kolumbo then we need to be alert, says Druitt. “The good news is that volcanoes do give plenty of warning.”\r\nMeanwhile, in 2020, Greece’s Civil Protection Agency unveiled a 185-page plan for addressing the consequences of a possible activation of Santorini’s volcanic group.\r\nVolcanic food and wine\r\nIn their everyday life, locals have little time to think about the volcano beyond excursions. In summer, the island is packed. Overtourism remains one of the biggest challenges as Santorini’s unique morphology continues to bring in the crowds. Last year the International Union of Geological Sciences, in collaboration with UNESCO, included the caldera of Santorini in its first list of top 100 Geological World Heritage Sites.\r\nBeyond hotels and restaurants, all business on the island is linked to the volcano. Locally made cosmetics are packed with minerals, and premium food ingredients are grown in unique soil. There is a museum dedicated to the Santorini cherry tomato, a Protected Designation of Origin product since 2006, and the island’s fava beans are considered the best in Greece.\r\nThen there is Santorini’s most famous export after tourism: wine. Islanders say there’s more wine than water on Santorini.\r\nAbout a fifth of the nearly 30 square mile island is taken up by vineyards, most of which grow assyrtiko, a native grape which produces white wines that are crisp, dry and – unsurprisingly – mineral.\r\nThe traditional “cave” houses dug into the volcanic rocks, called yposkafa, are prime nesting grounds for honeymooners seeking their dream vacation. But for Nomikou, who grew up on Santorini, it was Kolumbo that featured in her childhood dreams.\r\n“I was greatly influenced by my grandfather’s and great grandfather’s stories. They remembered the smaller explosions at NeaKameni,” she says.\r\n“But they insisted that the one to worry about is ‘the one you can’t see’.”\r\n“Gradually I realized there was another volcano, under water. A volcano more powerful, mysterious and dangerous. It is impossible to know if any of us will live through a big eruption but, at some point, there will be one.”\r\nSantorini could one day be buried under a layer of ash once more. But for now – as visitors enjoy another stunning sunset over a glass of assyrtiko – the volcano keeps quiet.\r\n','2023-04-27','',0,1),(327,'Paris 2024 Olympics: Welcome to the industrial military/sports vortex','rfi','Politics',1,72,'https://www.rfi.fr/en/sports/20230429-paris-2024-olympics-welcome-to-the-industrial-military-sports-vortex','rfi','Suggestions to the bigwigs at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have a way of not going down very well. \nIn the prelude to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, as part of the tussle to avoid a boycott of the Games due to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, the US president Jimmy Carter proffered the idea of locating the games in Athens – neutral territory and historically significant as the ancient home of the Olympic Games.\nPiqued, the IOC rejected the proposal. The US led a 66-nation snub of the event.\nA plethora of reasons fired Carter’s actions; a yearning to show strength with an election year looming as well as the gridlock in the attempts to release the 52 American hostages held in the US embassy in Iran.\nJust over four decades later and similar geo-realpolitikingtravails the world anew. Ukraine has replaced the United States as the orchestrator of the outrage.\nVolodymyrZelensky, Ukraine’s president, says he does not want Russian or Belarusian athletes at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 if fighting is still raging in Ukraine with Russia and its ally Belarus.\n\nThreat\nAnd he has threatened that his country will boycott the Paris event even if the athletes from Russia and Belarus compete under a neutral flag.\nSeveral eastern European countries – notably Poland and Latvia – are firmly behind Zelensky.\nOn Tuesday, their campaign received a boost – albeit symbolic. European lawmakers at the Council of Europe urged the IOC to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions such as the Olympics rather than seeking ways to allow them in.\nThe 46-nation Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace) held a two-hour session in Strasbourg of its panel for sports issues.\nThe powwow was to help draft a report on the question of barring the two countries’ athletes and officials.\n“Imposing a war has to have a clear consequence,” said Mogens Jensen, a member of Denmark\'s Social Democratic party.\n“Sport also has to take its responsibility and the only one clear message to send is to exclude the athletes.”\nFairness\nThe IOC said last month that it would be unfair to penalise Russian and Belarusian athletes on the basis of their passports. And, the IOC added, so long as they were happy to compete without any of the nationalist paraphernalia such as flags and anthems and had not expressed support for the invasion, Russian and Belarusians could test their mettle in Paris.\nTeams, though, will not be allowed.\nThe views during the Pace session would not have been a shock for the IOC delegation of veteran sports administrator Francesco Ricci Bitti, the Armenian wrestler ArsenJulfalakyan and the Namibian shooter Gaby Ahrens.\nTheir canon? That sports events cannot only gather nations in a happy-clappy communion and that governments deciding which athletes can compete would effectively end international sports.\nAhrens, who chairs the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa Athletes’ Commission, said: \"Unfortunately in Africa, we are very familiar with the issue of armed conflict between countries and within countries.\"\nDesire\nAnd referring to the talks emanating from the Africa Athletes’ Forum in Algiers last month, she added: “Athletes should never pay the price of a conflict whatever it is and wherever it is.\n\"Politics should not put pressure on sport to withdraw from its fundamental values of solidarity and unity.\"\nBut try espousing that line in a meeting in certain parts of eastern Europe.\n“That’s no explanation at all,” fumed the veteran British politician George Foulkes. “We’re here defending democracy. I found the special pleading for sportsmen quite sickening.”\n\'Twas ever thus. The IOC’s attempts to pitch sports guys and gals together has often been a sacrifice of values.\nSurely someone in the IOC movement had an inkling that the National Socialists in 1936 in Berlin were building for something dodgy?\n\nCommunion\nNearly 90 years on from the triumphs of the black athlete Jesse Owens over the local white will, the IOC’s stance of trying to bring everybody together looks increasingly surreal.\nRather like its reluctance to delay the Tokyo Games as the coronavirus ravaged the world in 2020. The IOC bosses eventually yielded to that killer.\n\nAlexandra Xanthaki, a United Nations-recognized human rights adviser, told the Strasbourg session that exclusion from sport based on an athlete’s passport is discrimination.\n“Blanket retribution against athletes actually undermines peace,” she added during her intervention.\nPerhaps. But it would take otherworldly optimists to believe Russia would end the war because its athletes take part in an Olympic Games\nDecision\n“The IOC’s heavy reliance on alleged human rights violations [against Russian athletes] is unjustified and without legal merit,” said Ukraine’s deputy minister for sport, AndriyChesnokov, in a speech delivered online.\nFrance’s sports minister, AmélieOudéa-Castéra, told the session that the close links between sport and political power in Russia were very much alive. The IOC, she insisted, had to decide its definitive stance.\nA right old mess 15 months from the spectacular river ride launch of the Paris extravaganza.\nWere the war in Ukraine to end, the Olympic marketing teams could promote \"Goodwill Games\". Former foes could feast on friendliness and Paris could become amity ville without the horror. Sweet dream sequences would be made of this.\nPower\nBut if the fighting continues and the IOC maintains its push for inclusion, France could still deny entry visas for Russian and Belarusian athletes.\nThat decision would come from the French leader President Emmanuel Macron. Such a move would go down well in Kyiv, Warsaw and Riga but it wouldn’t be greeted with merriment in the IOC’s corridors of power in Lausanne.\nSo what? Why would Macron risk a prestige-damaging boycott of an event that is supposed to embellish his legend all because of 500 Russian and Belarusian athletes?\nBack in 1980, Carter was seeking a second term as president. In 2024, Macron will be midway through his second and final term as French supremo.\nThe IOC has work to do.\n\n','2023-04-29','',0,1),(328,'Why Countries Are Trying to Ban TikTok','The NewyorkTimes','Society',4,72,'https://www.nytimes.com/article/tiktok-ban.html','The NewyorkTimes','Governments have expressed concerns that TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, may endanger sensitive user data.\r\nIn recent months, lawmakers in the United States, Europe and Canada have escalated efforts to restrict access to TikTok, the massively popular short-form video app that is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, citing security threats.\r\nThe White House told federal agencies on Feb. 27 that they had 30 days to delete the app from government devices. A growing number of other countries and government bodies — including Britain and its Parliament, Canada, the executive arm of the European Union, France and New Zealand’s Parliament — have also recently banned the app from official devices. On April 4, Australia became the latest country to announce that it was prohibiting the TikTok app on government devices on advice from intelligence and security agencies.\r\nOn March 1, a House committee backed an even more extreme step, voting to advance legislation that would allow President Biden to ban TikTok from all devices nationwide. On March 23, TikTok’s chief executive, Shou Chew, was grilled about the app’s relationship to its parent company and China’s potential influence over the platform in roughly five hours of testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.\r\nHere’s why the pressure has been ratcheted up on TikTok, which has said that it is used by more than 100 million Americans.\r\n\r\nWhy are governments banning TikTok?\r\nIt all comes down to China.\r\nLawmakers and regulators in the West have increasingly expressed concern that TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, may put sensitive user data, like location information, into the hands of the Chinese government. They have pointed to laws that allow the Chinese government to secretly demand data from Chinese companies and citizens for intelligence-gathering operations. They are also worried that China could use TikTok’s content recommendations for misinformation.\r\nTikTok has long denied such allegations and has tried to distance itself from ByteDance.\r\nHave any countries banned TikTok?\r\nIndia banned the platform in mid-2020, costing ByteDance one of its biggest markets, as the government cracked down on 59 Chinese-owned apps, claiming that they were secretly transmitting users’ data to servers outside India.\r\n\r\nWhat’s happening with bans in the United States?\r\nSince November, more than two dozen states have banned TikTok on government-issued devices and many colleges — like the University of Texas at Austin, Auburn University, and Boise State University — have blocked it from campus Wi-Fi networks.\r\nMontana legislators this month approved a bill to block TikTok in the state, a first-of-its-kind prohibition.\r\n\r\nThe app has already been banned for three years on U.S. government devices used by the Army, the Marine Corps, the Air Force and the Coast Guard. But the bans typically don’t extend to personal devices. And students often just switch to cellular data to use the app.\r\nIs Congress trying to ban TikTok?\r\nSome members would like to. In early March, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to approve a bill that could grant a president the authority to ban the platform entirely. (Courts previously stopped a Trump administration effort to do this.)\r\nIn January, a Republican senator, Josh Hawley of Missouri, introduced a bill to ban TikTok for all Americans after pushing for a measure, which passed in December as part of a spending package, that banned TikTok on all devices issued by the federal government. A separate bipartisan bill, introduced in December, also sought to ban TikTok and target any similar social media companies from countries like Russia and Iran.\r\nWhat is the Biden administration doing?\r\nTikTok said recently that the Biden administration wants its Chinese ownership to sell the app or face a possible ban. The administration has been largely quiet, though the White House recently pointed to an ongoing review, in response to questions about TikTok. TikTok has been in yearslong confidential talks with the administration’s review panel, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, to address questions about TikTok and ByteDance’s relationship with the Chinese government and the handling of user data.\r\nTikTok said that in August it submitted a 90-page proposal detailing how it planned to operate in the United States while addressing national security concerns. On March 23, a spokeswoman for China’s commerce ministry said China would “firmly oppose” the sale of the app.\r\nThe Justice Department has also been investigating TikTok’s surveillance of American journalists, according to three people familiar with the matter. ByteDance said in December that its employees had inappropriately obtained the data of two U.S. TikTok users who were reporters and a few of their associates.\r\nCan the government ban an app?\r\nMost of the existing TikTok bans have been implemented at governments and universities that have the power to keep an app off their devices or networks.\r\nA broader, government-imposed ban that stops Americans from using an app that allows them to share their views and art could face legal challenges on First Amendment grounds, said Caitlin Chin, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. After all, large numbers of Americans, including elected officials and major news organizations like The New York Times and The Washington Post now produce videos on TikTok.\r\n“In democratic governments, the government can’t just ban free speech or expression without very strong and tailored grounds to do so and it’s just not clear that we have that yet,” said Ms. Chin.\r\nWhat if I already have TikTok on my phone when a ban is issued?\r\nThe exact mechanism for banning an app on privately owned phones is unclear.\r\nMs. Chin said that the United States could block TikTok from selling advertisements or making updates to its systems, essentially making it nonfunctional.\r\n\r\nApple and other companies that operate app stores do block downloads of apps that no longer work. They also ban apps that carry inappropriate or illegal content, said Justin Cappos, a professor at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering.\r\nThey also have the ability to remove apps installed on a user’s phone. “That usually doesn’t happen,” he said.\r\nDetermined users might also be able to fight a ban by refusing to update their phones, “which is a bad idea,” Professor Cappos said\r\n\r\nWhat has TikTok’s response been?\r\nTikTok has referred to the bans as “political theater” and criticized lawmakers for attempting to censor Americans.\r\n“The swiftest and most thorough way to address any national security concerns about TikTok is for CFIUS to adopt the proposed agreement that we worked with them on for nearly two years,” Brooke Oberwetter, a spokeswoman for TikTok, said in a statement.\r\nSeparately, TikTok has been trying to win allies, recently making an uncharacteristic push in Washington to meet with influential think tanks, public interest groups and lawmakers to promote the plan it submitted to the government.\r\nHow are TikTok’s privacy and security issues different from Instagram’s, Facebook’s or Twitter’s?\r\nChinese ownership seems to be the main issue.\r\nCritics of the efforts to ban the platform have pointed out that all social media networks engage in rampant collection of their users’ data.\r\nFight for the Future, a nonprofit digital rights group, recently waged a #DontBanTikTok campaign with the goal of redirecting lawmakers’ attention on TikTok to creating data and privacy laws that would apply to all Big Tech companies.\r\n“The general consensus from the privacy community is that TikTok collects a lot of data, but it’s not out of step with the amount of data collected by other apps,” said Robyn Caplan, a senior researcher at Data & Society Research Institute.\r\n\r\nWho else opposes a ban?\r\nThe American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter in late February to the House Foreign Affairs Committee to protest its bill, saying that the legislation would violate Americans’ First Amendment rights.\r\nOf course, millions of Americans, digital creators and marketers would hate to see the platform go away, and blocking a popular app could create a political backlash among young people.\r\nWhat can I do right now to protect my data if I use TikTok?\r\nTo protect your privacy on TikTok, you can employ the same practices used to protect yourself on other social media platforms. That includes not giving apps permission to access your location or contacts.\r\nYou can also watch TikTok videos without opening an account.\r\nWhat are other approaches besides a ban?\r\nThe administration could approve TikTok’s plan for operating in the United States. There is also a chance that lawmakers would force ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American company — which almost happened in 2020.\r\n\r\nTikTokUnder Scrutiny\r\nThe popular app is under pressure amid concerns over the handling of users’ data.\r\n________________________________________\r\n•	Efforts to Ban TikTok: In recent months, lawmakers in the United States, Canada and Europe have escalated efforts to restrict access to the app, citing security threats. Hereiswhat to know.\r\n•	Growing Worries: The Biden administration wants ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to sell the app or face a possible ban over national security concerns. Here is how the app came to be seen as a threat. \r\n•	The Stakes: Even as U.S. officials are focused on the dangers of TikTok, many users disagree with those concerns. We spoke with nine young Americans about how a ban would change their lives.\r\n•	China’s Information Push: When members of Congress grilled TikTok’s chief executive on Capitol Hill in March, Chinese officials and state media organizations sprang to its defense on Twitter.\r\n•	Possible Spying: As fears grow that China might be using TikTok to gather data about Americans, the Justice Department is investigating the surveillance of several U.S. citizens by ByteDance.\r\n•	An Outright Ban: Montana’s House of Representatives approved a total ban on TikTok inside the state, setting up Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, to sign the first-of-its-kind prohibition into law.\r\n','2023-04-30','',0,1),(329,'China ‘barring thousands of citizens and foreigners from leaving country’','The Guardian','Politics',1,72,'https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/02/china-barring-thousands-of-citizens-and-foreigners-from-leaving-country','Reuters','Analysis of Chinese court records shows eightfold increase in cases mentioning exit bans between 2016 and 2022\r\nChina is increasingly barring people, including foreign executives, from leaving the country, according to a report and research.\r\n\r\nScores of Chinese nationals and foreigners have been ensnared by exit bans, according to the report from the rights group Safeguard Defenders, while a Reuters analysis has found an apparent surge in court cases involving such bans in recent years.\r\n\r\nForeign business lobby groups are voicing concern about the trend, calling it a jarring message as the authorities say the country is open for business after three years of tight Covid-19 restrictions.\r\n\r\nZeng Da-fu runs a bookshop in southern Taipei and is a major investor in Gusa Publishing, whose editor-in-chief has been arrested in China.\r\n‘Publishing these books is a risk’: Taiwan’s booksellers stand up for democracy\r\nRead more\r\n“Since Xi Jinping took power in 2012, China has expanded the legal landscape for exit bans and increasingly used them, sometimes outside legal justification,” the Safeguard Defenders report says.\r\nThe group estimates “tens of thousands” of Chinese citizens are banned from leaving at any one time. It also cites a 2022 academic paper that found 128 cases of foreigners being exit-banned between 1995 and 2019, including 29 Americans and 44 Canadians.\r\n\r\nFocus on the exit bans comes as China-US tensions have risen over trade and security disputes and contrasts with China’s message that it is opening up to overseas investment and travel after the isolation of its Covid curbs.\r\n\r\nThe Reuters analysis of records on exit bans, from China’s supreme court database, shows an eightfold increase in cases mentioning bans between 2016 and 2022.\r\n\r\nChina last week beefed up its counter-espionage law, allowing exit bans to be imposed on anyone, Chinese or foreign, who is under investigation.\r\n\r\nMost of the cases in the database referring to exit bans are civil, not criminal. Reuters did not find any involving foreigners or politically sensitive subversion or national security issues. By comparison, the US and EU impose travel bans on some criminal suspects but generally not for civil claims.\r\n\r\nChina’s ministry of public security did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on exit bans, including inquiries on how many individuals, including foreigners, are subject to them.\r\n\r\nOne person prevented from leaving China this year is a Singaporean executive at the US due-diligence firm Mintz Group, according to three people familiar with the matter. The company, the executive and China’s public security bureau did not respond to requests for comment.\r\n\r\n\r\nMintz said in late March that authorities had raided the firm’s China office and detained five local staff. The foreign ministry said at the time Mintz was suspected of engaging in unlawful business operations.\r\n\r\n“Because of rising tensions between the US and China, the salience of this [exit ban] risk has risen,” said Lester Ross, a veteran lawyer in China who has handled exit ban cases.\r\n\r\n“I’ve seen a rise in companies and entities being concerned about this and asking for our advice on how to prepare and reduce risks” of exit bans, said Ross, the head of the American chamber of commerce’s China policy committee.\r\n\r\nForeign businesses are concerned about the heightened scrutiny and the vague wording of the counter-espionage legislation, which says exit bans can be imposed on those who cause “harm to the national security or significant damage to national interests”.\r\n\r\nIn recent weeks, a number of foreign businesses have been inspected by Chinese authorities. In April, the authorities visited the offices of Bain, a US management consultancy, in Shanghai.\r\n\r\nThe EU chamber told Reuters in a statement: “At a time when China is proactively trying to restore business confidence to attract foreign investment, the exit bans send a very mixed signal.”\r\n\r\nPeople barred from leaving China include Chinese people embroiled in financial disputes as well as rights defenders, activists and lawyers, and ethnic minorities such as Uyghurs in China’s north-western Xinjiang region, according to the Safeguard Defenders report.\r\n\r\nAccording to a Chinese judicial report, 34,000 people were placed under exit bans in 2018, a 55% rise on the year before.\r\n\r\nSome activists say the wider use of exit bans reflects tighter security measures under President Xi.\r\n\r\n“They can find any reason to stop you from leaving the country,” said Xiang Li, a Chinese rights activist who was denied exit for two years before escaping from China in 2017 and later receiving asylum in the US.\r\n\r\n“China doesn’t have the rule of law,” she told Reuters. “The law is used to serve the purposes of the Chinese Communist party. It’s very effective.”\r\n\r\n','2023-05-02','',0,1),(330,'Germany falls into recession as inflation, higher interest rates curb demand','France 24','Politics',1,73,'https://www.france24.com/en/economy/20230525-germany-falls-into-recession-as-inflation-higher-interest-rates-curb-demand','NEWS WIRES','Germany falls into recession as inflation, higher interest rates curb demand\r\nGermany fell into a recession around the turn of the year, official figures published Thursday showed, as inflation and higher interest rates curbed demand in Europe\'s largest economy.\r\nOver the first three months of 2023, the economy shrank by 0.3 percent, the federal statistics agency Destatis said, downgrading an initial estimate of zero percent. Following a 0.5-percent contraction in the last three months of 2022, it was Germany\'s second consecutive quarter of negative growth -- the threshold for a \"technical recession\".\r\nThe slump came as Germany battled a surge in energy prices in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which weighed on households and businesses. But the government shrugged off fears of a prolonged recession.\r\n\"We continue to expect a significant improvement over the course of the year,\" an economy ministry spokesman told AFP. \r\n\'Danger zone\'\r\nInflation, which reached 7.2 percent in Germany in April, has been fuelled by the increased cost of energy. Consumer prices have come down only slightly from their peak towards the end of 2022.\r\n\"The persistence of high price increases continued to be a burden on the German economy at the start of the year,\" Destatis said in a statement. The impact was felt particularly by consumers who reined in their spending on items such as food and clothing.\r\nGermany, which had long been heavily reliant on Russian energy imports, was left particularly exposed following the Russian invasion in February last year. The curtailment of gas supplies in particular left Berlin scrambling to find new sources of energy and fill reserves ahead of what was anticipated to be a harsh winter at the end of 2022\r\nThe slump was \"not the worst-case scenario of a severe recession\" predicted by some following the Russian invasion, said Carsten Brzeski, head of macro at the ING bank. But mild temperatures, a rebound in key market China and the easing of supply chain problems following the coronavirus pandemic were \"not enough to get the economy out of the recessionary danger zone\", Brzeski said.\r\n\"A drop in purchasing power, thinned-out industrial order books as well as the impact of the most aggressive monetary policy tightening in decades\" were likely to drag on the economy further, he said, referring to the European Central Bank\'s interest rate hikes against inflation. An anticipated slowdown in the US economy and the continuation of the war in Ukraine would also weigh on output, he said.\r\n\r\n\'Consumer spending rebound?\'\r\nThe weak growth figures contrast the optimism showed by policymakers in Berlin who in April raised their forecast for economic growth in 2023 to 0.4 percent.\r\nGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz had previously signalled confidence that Germany had done enough to fend off a painful economic contraction.\r\nThe negative revision to the growth figure was no surprise following a string of weak economic indicators, LBBW bank analyst Jens-Oliver Niklasch said.\r\n\"The early indicators suggest that things will continue to be similarly weak in the second quarter\" of 2023, Niklasch said.\r\nIndustrial orders, which give a foretaste of factory output, plummeted in March when compared with the same month last year.\r\nBy contrast, consumer confidence in Germany had continued its upward trend \"amid all the negative news\", Citi bank analyst Christian Schulz noted.\r\nA rebound in consumer spending could fuel an economic recovery later in the year, Schulz said.\r\nGermany\'s last recession came as the coronavirus pandemic swept through Europe at the start of 2020, prompting governments to effectively shut down large swathes of the economy.\r\n','2023-05-25','',0,1),(331,'French Olympic Committee head resigns during run-up to Paris 2024 Summer Games','France 24','Politics',1,73,'https://www.france24.com/en/sport/20230525-head-of-french-olympic-committee-steps-down-ahead-of-paris-2024-summer-games','NEWS WIRES','Sports Minister Amelie Oudea Castera on Thursday called on the French National Olympic Committee (CNOSF) to rally together after their president Brigitte Henriques quit her post only 14 months before Paris hosts the Olympic Games. \r\nHenriques\' dramatic resignation at the committee\'s general assembly comes after a year-and-a-half of internal squabbling and a very public disagreement with her predecessor Denis Masseglia.\r\nHer resignation will not affect the organising of the Games which is handled by the Paris Olympics organising committee headed by France\'s three-time canoeing gold medalist Tony Estanguet.\r\nHenriques had insisted prior to the assembly she had no intention of resigning but to the astonishment of the attendees she said she would step down on June 29. \r\nShe had taken a few weeks off at the end of 2022 to recover after her right hand man Dider Seminet had been cast aside in September but the atmosphere had not improved when she returned to her post. \r\nThe CNOSF general secretary Astrid Guyart will act in a caretaker role till a new president is elected \"in the next three months\", the body said in a statement. \"There have been no winners today,\" Oudea-Castera told AFP. She added, however, there could be \"a victory, that of ethics and democracy.\"\r\nOudea-Castera added she had summoned the board of the CNOSF to meet with her next Tuesday to clear the air and plot the way forward. Henriques\'s resignation was broadly welcomed by the presidents of the French sports federations.\r\n\"It is a courageous decision which will certainly diminish the ongoing conflicts as we were spiralling out of control,\" handball federation president Philippe Bana told AFP. The resignation of Henriques -- a former vice-president of the French Football Federation -- is just the latest drama to affect French sports in the past year.\r\nSeveral federations -- football, rugby, gymnastics and tennis -- have become embroiled in scandals. There have been two high profile resignations as a result -- football\'s octogenarian president Noel Le Graet went in February following accusations of sexual and psychological harassment.\r\nFormer sports minister and French rugby coach Bernard Laporte also quit his role as president of the French Rugby Federation in January after being convicted of corruption -- months away from France hosting the men\'s Rugby World Cup.\r\n','2023-05-25','',0,1),(332,'Parisian metro users exposed to excessive pollution, study warns','RFI','Health',2,73,'https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20230524-parisian-metro-users-exposed-to-excessive-pollution-study-warns','RFI','Commuters using Paris\'s underground system risk being exposed to high levels of fine particle pollution, a study has found. Transport company RATP contests the findings.\r\nCarried out for the TV program Vert de Rage (Green with Rage) on France\'s Channel 5, the study claims that Paris\'s metro system is suffering from excessive fine particle pollution, with levels that far exceed recommended standards.\r\nFor eight months volunteers surveyed a total of 435 platforms – 392 of them underground – belonging to the metro network as well as the suburban railway network (RER) for pollution.\r\nMeasurements took place on weekdays between 6pm and 8pm for a duration of five to 10 minutes.\r\nThe study found the average concentration of fine particles in the underground network was 24µg/m3, nearly five times higher than the WHO-recommended level of 5µg/m3.\r\nBelleville station in the north east of Paris was found to have the most polluted air with fine particle levels of up to 60µg/m3.\r\nMetro line number 5 was the worst affected with 34µg/m3, closely followed by the suburban RER A, the busiest line in the network.\r\nRATP\'s director of strategy and innovation, Marie-Claude Dupuis, rejected the conclusions of the report saying that circumstantial measurements were compared with general WHO standards, noting that these were tailored for outdoor air. \r\n\r\nCriminal investigation\r\nBut the RATP was already under fire over the pollution issue. \r\nEarlier this year, prosecutors in Paris opened a criminal investigation into allegations that pollution in the capital\'s metro system had been deliberately under-reported and was putting lives at risk.\r\nStink as Paris metro operator suspected of lying about pollution levels\r\nThe RATP is being investigated for fraud and causing involuntary injuries following claims that it deliberately under-reports pollution levels and fails to inform passengers about the dangers.\r\n\"It\'s time to lift the veil of silence and that the RATP tells the truth to users,\" the head of the Respire (Breathe) campaign group, Tony Renucci, said in a statement in April, when a criminal probe was opened.\r\nThe organisation, which lobbies for clean air, filed a legal complaint in 2021 after carrying out two separate monitoring investigations.\r\n','2023-05-24','',0,1),(333,'France unveils plan to radically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions','RFI','Business & Economy',3,73,'https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20230523-france-unveils-plan-to-radically-reduce-its-greenhouse-gas-emissions','RFI','The French government has unveiled an ambitious plan to accelerate cuts to its greenhouse gas emissions, targeting a reduction of 50 percent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.\r\nThe roadmap – presented by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne – includes detailed figures for reductions for individual sectors of the economy, ranging from the transport industry to households.\r\nThe objectives – from speeding up the transition to electric cars or switching freight from road to rivers – are aimed at bringing France’s ambitions for slashing carbon pollution into line with the EU\'s target for 2030.\r\nFrance has so far cut its emissions by 25 percent compared with 1990 levels, requiring significant fresh efforts if it is to hit the new 50 percent target.\r\nThe centrist government of President Emmanuel Macron is wary of provoking consumers with costly initiatives, with memories still fresh of an increase in fuel taxes and vehicle emissions restrictions in 2018 which sparked nationwide protests\r\nThe so-called \"Yellow Vest\" revolt against Macron began in small and medium-sized towns and the countryside where locals felt they were being penalised for using their cars when no other forms of transport were available.\r\n\"We\'re asking for a bit from the smallest (polluters) and a lot from the biggest,\" an aide to Borne told reporters, meaning around half of efforts would be for companies, a quarter for households and a quarter for local administrations.\r\nConcern about climate change has leapt up the political agenda in the last 12 months, with the country experiencing its hottest year since records began last year which left rivers dry, crops withered and widespread water shortages.\r\nA record nationwide winter drought during January and February has also led to fears about water supplies this summer.\r\nMacron and climate change\r\nMacron, who has admitted to grasping the scale of the planet\'s environmental problems late, promised to put climate change at the heart of his second term in office which began in May 2022.\r\nHe pledged to make France the first major nation to abandon fossil fuels and gave Borne an extra job title for planning the ecological transition.\r\nBut the 45-year-old former investment banker has been derided by environmental groups and Greens lawmakers for going too slow and he sparked criticism on 11 by calling for a \"pause\" on EU environmental legislation.\r\nAmong other developed countries, the United Kingdom has the most ambitious short-term goals of any major economy, with an objective of 2030 emissions being 68 percent below 1990 levels.\r\nThe United States has committed to cut greenhouse gases 50-52 percent by 2030 below 2005 levels, while Germany has set a 65 percent reduction target compared to 1990.\r\nThe UN\'s climate science panel has said the world must slash emissions 43 percent this decade to keep within the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C global warming limit.\r\n','2023-05-23','',0,1),(334,'British Museum ends BP sponsorship deal after 27 years','The Guardian','Art & Culture',7,73,'https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/jun/02/british-museum-ends-bp-sponsorship-deal-after-27-years','Esther Addley','Campaigners hail split as a ‘massive victory’ , which marks a retreat of the fossil fuel giant from the British arts world\r\nBP’s sponsorship of the British Museum has ended after 27 years, new disclosures make clear, bringing to a close one of the highest-profile and most controversial of such deals in recent years, and marking the almost complete retreat of the fossil fuel giant from the British arts world.\r\nIn its most frank admission to date, obtained through freedom of information requests and seen by the Guardian, the museum confirmed that no further exhibitions or other activities are being sponsored by BP, and “there are no other contracts or agreements in effect between the museum and BP”.\r\nCampaigners hailed the development as a “massive victory”, after years in which the museum’s Great Court has been the scene of noisy and disruptive environmental protests.\r\nIt marks a dramatic retreat from the arts for BP, which was one of the leading arts sponsors in the UK until recently. The Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Shakespeare Company, Scottish Ballet and Royal Opera House have all ended funding partnerships of many decades with the energy giant in recent years.\r\nAmong major national museums and arts companies, only the Science Museum is still supported by BP, which funds its educational academy.\r\nBP has been a sponsor of the British Museum since 1996. On paper, the most recent five-year contract between the two expired in February, but the British Museum and BP have repeatedly resisted being explicit that their partnership was over, leading to concerns of an ongoing relationship behind the scenes.\r\nCampaigners feared the oil giant could be lined up as a potential funder for the radical £1bn rebuilding scheme currently being planned by the museum.\r\nIn the new disclosures, obtained by lawyers acting for the campaign group Culture Unstained, the museum said that “certain terms” of the deal remain in effect, because it has verbally agreed to let BP exercise its “supporter benefits” until the end of 2023.\r\nIt will not specify the supporter benefits, but these are likely to include hospitality privileges, such as use of the museum’s spaces for corporate entertaining. However, this does not relate to any funding of the museum’s activities.\r\nAsked to comment on the disclosures this week, the museum only repeated a previous statement, saying: “BP is a valued long term supporter of the museum, and our current partnership runs until this year.” BP did not respond to a request for comment.\r\nChris Garrard, Culture Unstained’s co-director, said the news represented a “massive victory”. He added: “If it is serious about responding to the climate crisis, the museum must now confirm that there will be no future relationships with fossil fuel producers, take down BP’s name from its lecture theatre and roundly reject the climate-wrecking business it represents.”\r\nThe British-Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif, who resigned as a trustee of the museum in 2019, partly in protest at the BP deal, said: “It is important that institutions like the British Museum do not give Big Oil the opportunity to look like a force for good in society; denying them this platform is important.”\r\nShe said the institution was “enormously important” and influential – especially among children. She added: “At this time of global crisis, which particularly impacts the young, the museum should be directing its weight, its creativity and its resources to helping to create the world the coming generations need to live in.”\r\nDespite the museum’s repeated insistence of the value of the partnership with BP, there have been hints of embarrassment behind the scenes, as protests over the relationship have grown.\r\nLouise Jolly, a former regular visitor from Hove, wrote to the museum last month saying she was reluctant to bring her children while it was sponsored by BP. She received a reply saying: “Now is a really great time for you and your children to visit us. These exhibitions are not sponsored by BP and we do not currently have any other exhibitions sponsored by BP.”\r\nSpeaking last November, the museum’s chair, George Osborne, announced a “complete reimagination” of the museum and said he wanted it to become a net zero institution.\r\n','2023-06-02','',0,1),(335,'Paris museums prepare for the Olympic Games','Le Monde','Art & Culture',7,74,'https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2023/06/27/paris-museums-prepare-for-the-olympic-games_6038311_30.html','By Miléna Rossi','Paris museums prepare for the Olympic Games\r\nThe capital\'s 14 museums presented their projects for the Olympics and unveiled exhibitions for September.\r\nBy 2022, the 14 City of Paris museums had returned to their pre-Covid-19 attendance levels. In fact, the number of visitors increased to 4.5 million – a \"historic\" peak, according to a report by Carine Rolland, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of culture, and Anne-Sophie de Gasquet, executive director of the public institution Paris Musées, at a press presentation on June 20.\r\nIn 2021, after two years marked by the pandemic and its hindrance to cultural life, exhibitions and collections received 2.2 million visitors. Several establishments – museums like the Musée Carnavalet, the Musée Bourdelle and the Palais Galliera – benefited from major renovations, which have had a positive effect on the number of visitors.\r\nIn the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games, expected to bring to Paris a large number of foreign visitors, Paris Musées has planned either a specific tour or an exhibition for each of its establishments revolving around the theme of \"Art and Sport.\" The Palais Galliera will offer a presentation entitled \"Fashion in Motion.\" The Musée de la Vie Romantique will devote an exhibit to horses painted by Théodore Géricault. And equestrianism will also be given pride of place at the Musée Cernuschi, with a tour focusing on equestrian art in China.\r\n\r\nAthletes involved in the Resistance\r\nThe Musée Carnavalet, dedicated to the history of Paris, will take visitors back to the 1924 Olympic Games, while the Maison Victor-Hugo will look at fencing in the writer\'s family. Meanwhile, the Musée Bourdelle has decided to combine art and archery through encounters, drawings and gouaches on the theme of combat. Finally, the Musée de la Libération de Paris will be highlighting great athletes who took part in the Resistance during the Second World War.\r\nBefore the sports exhibits begin, an attractive line-up is being prepared for September. At the Musée d\'Art Moderne, art lovers will be able to discover a major retrospective of the work of Nicolas de Staël and his private collections, never before unveiled, as well as an exhibition devoted to contemporary American artist Dana Schutz.\r\nThe Musée Carnavalet will focus on La Régence in Paris (1715-1723) and stories from the Fontaine des Innocents (\"Fountain of Innocents\"). The Petit Palais will present prints by great masters such as Rembrandt, Goya, Van Dyck and Toulouse-Lautrec, before Paris at the time of the Belle Epoque and the Roaring Twenties takes center stage in November.\r\nThe Musée Cernuschi will be showcasing the immense Asian art collection of industrialist and art lover Henri Cernuschi, brought back from his trip to Asia in 1873. As for sculpture, the Musée Zadkine will trace the career of Ukrainian artist Chana Orloff. Last but not least, the Palais Galliera will be exhibiting the heritage collections of fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa, never before seen by the public.\r\n','2023-07-11','',0,1),(336,'Crisis-hit Pakistan strikes $3bn IMF bailout deal','bbc ','Politics',1,74,'https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66062429','By Annabelle Liang & Peter Hoskins','Crisis-hit Pakistan has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over $3bn (£2.4bn) of funding.\r\n\r\nThe deal, which still needs to be approved by the global lender\'s board, comes after an eight-month delay.\r\nThe South Asian nation is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1947.\r\nTo help secure the deal, Pakistan\'s central bank raised its main interest rate to a record high of 22% on Monday.\r\nPakistan\'s economy, which was already struggling after years of financial mismanagement, has been pushed to the brink by a global energy crisis and devastating floods that hit the country last year.\r\n\"The economy has faced several external shocks such as the catastrophic floods in 2022 that impacted the lives of millions of Pakistanis and an international commodity price spike in the wake of Russia\'s war in Ukraine,\" Nathan Porter, IMF\'s mission chief for Pakistan said.\r\n\"As a result of these shocks as well as some policy missteps... economic growth has stalled,\" he added.\r\nOnce agreed at staff level such deals are usually granted by the IMF\'s Executive Board. The board is expected to consider the agreement in the coming weeks.\r\n\"This deal gives Pakistan the economic breathing room that it so badly needs,\" Michael Kugelman from the US-based Wilson Center think tank told the BBC.\r\n\"The question is if it can use this IMF deal as an opportunity to pivot from immediate relief to a long-term recovery,\" he added.\r\n\r\nKatrina Ell, a senior economist at Moody\'s Analytics, said: \"High inflation coupled with limited foreign reserves and lacking macroeconomic stability take time and sustained fiscal discipline to overcome.\"\r\nPakistan\'s annual inflation rate hit a fresh record high in May of almost 38%.\r\nThe $3bn of funding, which will be spread over nine months, is higher than expected.\r\nPakistan was awaiting the release of the remaining $2.5bn from a $6.5bn bailout package agreed in 2019, which expired on Friday.\r\nThe nation of more than 230 million people has been struggling for years to stabilise its economy.\r\nThis year the country\'s foreign exchange reserves fell to a level that covered less than three weeks of imports.\r\nDeadly clashes between supporters of Pakistan\'s former prime minister Imran Khan and police have also rattled financial markets.\r\nIn May, Mr Khan was arrested on corruption charges, in a move that has since been ruled as illegal by the country\'s Supreme Court.\r\nOver the last year the Pakistan rupee has fallen by around 40% against the US dollar.\r\nSeparately, donors from around the world have pledged more than $9bn to help Pakistan recover from devastating floods that hit the country in 2022.\r\nIt had been estimated that it needed more than $16bn to recover from the disaster.\r\n','2023-06-30','',0,1),(337,'Wagner still recruiting despite mutiny, BBC finds','bbc ','Politics',1,74,'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66060392','By Sarah Rainsford','The Wagner Group is still recruiting fighters across Russia, days after staging a mutiny that led Vladimir Putin to raise fears of civil war.\r\nUsing a Russian phone number, we called more than a dozen recruitment centres saying, if asked, that we were inquiring on behalf of a brother.\r\nAll those who replied confirmed that it was business as usual.\r\nFrom Kaliningrad in the west to Krasnodar in the south, no-one believed the group was being disbanded.\r\nIn the Arctic city of Murmansk, a woman at the Viking sports club confirmed that she was still signing up fighters for Ukraine.\r\n\"That\'s where we are recruiting for, yes. If someone wants to go, they just have to call me and we\'ll set a day.\"\r\nWagner\'s long list of contact points are mostly based at fight clubs, including martial arts schools and boxing clubs.\r\nSeveral people who picked up the phone stressed that new members were signing contracts with the mercenary group itself, not the Russian defence ministry.\r\n\"It\'s absolutely nothing to do with the defence ministry,\" a man at the Sparta sports club in Volgograd was adamant. \"Nothing has stopped, we\'re still recruiting.\"\r\nThe demand for the mercenaries to transfer to the defence ministry, thus bringing the Wagner Group and its boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to heel, was at the root of the fierce feud that exploded into last weekend\'s armed uprising.\r\nIt was the biggest challenge to President Putin\'s authority in his more than 20-year rule, despite the Kremlin\'s scrambling ever since to redefine his response as strong and decisive.\r\nAnd yet the criminal case against the mutineers has been dropped, in a country where multiple opposition activists are serving long prison sentences just for speaking out against Russia\'s war on Ukraine.\r\nEven Wagner\'s leader has been allowed to go free, apparently moving to Belarus - although Prigozhin\'s private jet was tracked flying back to Russia on Tuesday night.\r\nAnd his army, which marched on Moscow and shot helicopters and a plane out of the sky, has still not been disbanded.\r\n\"We are working. If something had changed, they\'d have told us. But there\'s nothing,\" a female recruiter in Krasnodar, southern Russia, was clear.\r\nA Wagner fighter\'s salary remains a generous 240,000 roubles (£2,175) a month; the contracts are for six months.\r\nOn Thursday, the chair of the defence committee in Russia\'s parliament said that Prigozhin had been warned earlier that the deadline for Wagner to be subsumed by the defence ministry was non-negotiable.\r\n\"The defence ministry said all groups…must sign contracts, and they all began doing that. Everyone except Mr Prigozhin,\" Andrei Kartapolov commented, referring to his mutiny as an act of treason.\r\n\"He was informed that Wagner would not participate in the Special Military Operation,\" he used Russia\'s euphemism for its war on Ukraine. \"It also would get no financing or material resources.\"\r\nVladimir Putin, who has spent years denying any official link to Wagner, made a sudden U-turn in the wake of this weekend\'s mutiny. Apparently trying to cut Yevgeny Prigozhin down to size, he claimed that the group was 100% funded by the Russian state.\r\nThe practicalities of Wagner\'s survival, then, are unclear.\r\nOn Saturday, Mr Putin signed a law which means only the defence ministry can now recruit in Russian prisons, previously a key source of fighters for Ukraine for Wagner.\r\nBut the group\'s broader recruitment drive continues.\r\nIn Volgograd, the man we spoke to said that if someone signed up today, \"I could deploy him tomorrow,\" and confirmed that Belarus was now a possible destination.\r\nEarlier this week, Belarus\'s long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko - who has relished describing his role mediating an end to Saturday\'s uprising - said that Wagner fighters were welcome there.\r\nHe suggested the Belarusian army had much to learn from them.\r\nA Belarusian member of Wagner who goes by the call-sign \"Brest\" hinted that the group would be good protection for Mr Lukashenko ahead of next year\'s parliamentary elections, in case there were more mass protests at his authoritarian rule.\r\nIn a video posted on Telegram and filmed in an unknown location, \"Brest\" also reminded subscribers that the Belarusian border was \"less than 300km from Kyiv\". It was a thinly veiled threat.\r\nThere is still no sign that Wagner fighters are moving to Belarus, though.\r\n\"Everything\'s the same as before, for now. Nothing\'s changed,\" said a woman in Saratov, central Russia, confirming that she was still recruiting men to fight in Ukraine.\r\n\"Everyone goes to Molkino, as usual. To the training centre. They get all the information there,\" she added, apparently referring to a shooting range previously linked to Wagner in southern Russia.\r\nSo will anything change after 1 July, I wondered? \"I hope not. I don\'t know. But people are still contacting us, of course.\"\r\n','2023-06-29','',0,1),(338,'Crocodile ramen is Taiwan’s latest food fad','cnn travel','Travel',6,74,':https://edition.cnn.com/travel/crocodile-ramen-taiwan-intl-hnk/index.html','By Lilit Marcus and Wayne Chang, CNN','Crocodile ramen is Taiwan’s latest food fad\r\n — \r\nA noodle shop in southern Taiwan has upped the ante by creating “Godzilla Ramen,” where it looks like the famous Japanese movie icon is about to crawl out of the bowl and grab you.\r\nThe dish, served at Witch Cat Kwai, a restaurant in Douliu City in southern Taiwan, features crocodile meal\r\nThe restaurant’s owner, who asked to be identified only by his surname, Chien, told CNN Travel that the soup is comprised of quail eggs, pork, baby corn, dried bamboo shoots, black fungus and cubes of fish paste, topped with a crocodile leg – specifically, a front one.\r\nChien adds that due to the challenge of getting crocodile legs and the difficulty of making the dish, only two bowls of Godzilla Ramen can be served per day. He charges NTD 1,500 ($50) per bowl.\r\nPart of the cost comes from the amount of work required to create the dish.\r\nAfter the crocodile leg is cleaned, it is rubbed with alcohol and a mix of spices (ginger, garlic and spring onion). Subsequently, it needs to be braised in the restaurant’s signature broth for two hours. Altogether, the whole process takes about three hours.\r\n“A lot of (customers) say crocodile meat tastes like that of chicken but is more springy, soft and elastic,” Chien said. “I think it tastes like braised chicken feet.”\r\nChien’s attention-getting concoction comes just one month after a Taipei restaurant went viral for serving ramen topped with a giant isopod, a 14-legged crustacean.\r\nIn that case, though, the dish preparation was much simpler – the chef reported that he steamed the isopod for ten minutes before adding it to the top of the steaming bowl of ramen.\r\nGuests who want to make the trek to Witch Chat Kwai and try the dish themselves will need to join the waiting list. Currently, Chien says, bookings are full through late August.\r\nIn Taiwan, it’s legal to farm and eat crocodiles that are not designated as protected species\r\n','2023-06-30','',0,1),(339,'Ghanaian photographer Paul Ninson on how he was able to visit the ‘village with no men’','cnn travel','Travel',6,74,'https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/05/travel/paul-ninson-photography-umoja-village-no-men-dikan-center-spc-intl/index.html','By Lamide Akintobi and Ayanda Ntuli, ','Ghanaian photographer Paul Ninson on how he was able to visit the ‘village with no men’\r\n\r\nA place for women, by women: that’s what Umoja, a village in Samburu County, northern Kenya, represents. It looks much like other tribal settlements or manyattas – with surrounding grasslands and huts, where communal living is the norm – except for one thing.\r\n\r\nIt’s void of men.\r\n\r\nUmoja is the Kiswahili word for unity, and it’s evident that this concept is at the core of this community. Founded in 1990 as a sanctuary for women of Samburu escaping gender-based violence, Umoja is home to females of all ages. Men are prohibited from entry to create a safe space for girls and women who are survivors of sexual violence and abuse, ostracized by their families, as well as those escaping child marriage or female genital mutilation (FGM).\r\n\r\nGhanaian photographer Paul Ninson first found out about the Umoja women from a blog post and decided to go to Kenya to photograph this village in 2017, partly because, he said, he felt these stories “needed to be told from (an African) perspective.” With no prior contact with the women, he took the trip blind, knowing only the general location of the village.\r\n\r\nThe first few members of Umoja were from remote Samburu villages scattered across the Rift Valley. Exact numbers ebb and flow, but at its largest, this self-sustained village has been home to about 50 families made up of women and their children, and continues to educate its residents on women’s rights and gender-based violence. Any male children of the women are permitted to live in the village until they turn 18.\r\n\r\nHe says gaining access was very difficult, and he was only welcomed by the women after explaining the purpose behind his visit, adding that they were “very, very happy” when he showed them the pictures he took.\r\n\r\nThe lifestyle of those who live there is modest, with the women working to earn income for food and educational resources for the village’s children and some of the women themselves. Located about a kilometer away from Umoja is a campsite where many tourists stay when visiting the region to explore the famous Maasai Mara wildlife reserve. Tourists who wish to visit Umoja are charged a small entrance fee, and can buy elaborate beaded jewellery and other crafts handmade by the Samburu women.\r\n\r\n“Community storytelling”\r\n“Village with no men” is one of several photography series by Ninson, who said he aims to capture images that “raise awareness about social, environmental, or political issues and inspire people to take action, provoke thought and discussion about important topics.”\r\n\r\nHe decided to travel to other African countries to share “undertold or untold stories of people of the continent” – an element of what he calls “community storytelling.”\r\n\r\n“We [Africa] have narrative problems; how we’ve been depicted over and over again,” Ninson said. This, he added, is a consequence of Africa’s stories being told by outsiders.\r\n\r\nAfter expanding his portfolio with images he shot around Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia, Ninson went to New York to study at the International Center of Photography in 2019, where he worked closely with a friend and mentor, Brandon Stanton, of the storytelling platform “Humans of New York.”\r\n\r\nIn an email to CNN, Stanton said he’s been inspired by Ninson’s talent and drive since the pair first met in Ghana in 2016, when Ninson shared his desire to become a professional photographer. While Ninson says he learned a lot from working with Stanton during that period, Stanton added that Ninson’s faith has been a strong example for him, describing him as his “spiritual advisor of sorts.”\r\n\r\nAfrica’s largest photography library\r\nIt was while exploring New York as a student that Ninson started accumulating photobooks written by and about Africans – books that Africans didn’t have access to back home, he said.\r\n\r\nNinson resolved to buy as many as possible to send to Ghana, keeping them in his apartment until he ran out of space and had to get a storage unit. Eventually, with the support of Stanton and the Humans of New York platform, he raised over $1 million to fund the first stage of the Dikan Center in Ghana’s capital of Accra – Africa’s largest photography library and visual education space, which opened in December 2022.\r\n\r\nStanton, who attended Dikan’s opening, said watching Ninson build the center was “surreal.”\r\n\r\n“He has stepped into a leadership role so effortlessly and intuitively. So many people who meet him walk away feeling as if they have met a future leader of Ghana,” Stanton said, adding that “(Ninson) has been so successful in launching the Dikan Center that it is often overlooked that he is an elite photographer.”\r\n\r\nNinson said Dikan, which means “take the lead” in the Twi language, is a space that has already started to teach other storytellers on the continent through workshops and classes, offering free use of the vast library of photobooks, and putting on photo exhibitions.\r\n\r\nHis goal, Ninson said, is “to connect people with each other and with the world around them,” and plans to return to Umoja within the next year.\r\n\r\n“I believe in the power of storytelling,” he added. “It has the power to bring people together and to help us see the world in new and unexpected ways.”\r\n','2023-07-05','',0,1),(340,'Simone Biles wins record eighth US all-around title as comeback continues','BBC SPORT','Sport',5,75,'https://www.bbc.com/sport/gymnastics/66636944','BBC SPORT ','Simone Biles broke a 90-year record by winning her eighth all-around title at the US Gymnastics Championships.\n\nHer win comes less than a month after the four-time Olympic champion returned to competition, following a two-year break to work on her mental health.The 26-year-old\'s floor routine earned a score of 15.400, giving her an all-around total of 118.450, with Shilese Jones 3.9 points back in second.Biles moves ahead of Alfred Jochim, who claimed his seventh US title in 1933.She was the only competitor to finish the two days of competition in San Jose with two scores of 15 or higher, having taken control of the event with 15.700 on the vault on Friday.Biles first became US all-around champion in 2013 and matched Jochim\'s record in 2021.Later that year she took a break from gymnastics after pulling out of five of her six finals at the delayed Tokyo Olympics.She later explained she had been experiencing \'the twisties\' - a kind of mental block where gymnasts can lose their sense of space in the air.Biles, who did manage to win a balance beam bronze and a team silver in Tokyo, is yet to indicate whether she will aim to compete at next year\'s Olympics in Paris.But she is expected to take part in the World Championships in Antwerp from 30 September to 8 October, where she would have the chance to add to her tally of 25 world medals, including 19 golds.\n','2023-08-28','',0,1),(341,'Japan: IAEA monitoring treated water release from Fukushima nuclear plant','UN News','Health',2,75,'https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/08/1140037','UN News','Japan has begun discharging treated radioactive wastewater from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the Pacific Ocean, 12 years on from the major meltdown there, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on Thursday. \nExperts from the UN nuclear watchdog were present to monitor and assess that all relevant international safety standards were applied, as part of a multiyear review of a process that could last for decades.\nThe decision to release the water into the sea has sparked criticism in Japan and the region.\nLong-term commitment\nThe IAEA has been providing real-time data on the controlled release of the treated water, including on water flow rates and radiation monitoring.\n“The IAEA has committed to be present before, during and after this process,” Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a video statement.\nThe Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station suffered major damage during an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.  \nSince then, water has continually been pumped in to cool the plant\'s reactors. Groundwater also seeps into the site, and rainwater falls into the damaged reactor and turbine building.\n‘Negligible radiological impact’\nThe water came in contact with melted fuel, fuel debris and other radioactive substances, resulting in contamination.                                       \nIt was treated and diluted through a filtration process called Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and stored in specially prepared tanks.\nAs of June, there were some 1,000 of these tanks holding more than a million cubic meters of treated water.\nAn IAEA report issued last month said Japan’s approach and activities to discharge the treated water were “consistent with relevant international safety standards”.  \nFurthermore, the “controlled, gradual discharges” of the treated water would have a “negligible radiological impact” on people and the environment.\n','2023-08-24','',0,1),(342,'What Happened at Burning Man','New York times ','Politics',1,75,'https://www.nytimes.com/article/burning-man-mud-trapped.html ','New York times ','Thousands of people were hoping to leave the festival’s remote desert site in Nevada on Monday after being stranded over the weekend because of rain and mud.\nThousands of attendees of the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert were stranded over the weekend after heavy rain on Friday night led officials to close the road that leads in and out of the makeshift town.\nAttendees were at one point told to conserve food and water, and the festival’s main event, the burning of a towering manlike sculpture, was postponed for a second time until Monday night.\nThe police were also investigating the death of one person at the festival, although they said it did not appear related to the weather.\nHere is what is known so far about this year’s Burning Man.\nHow did people get trapped at Burning Man?\nThe festival is held each year in Black Rock City, a temporary community created in the middle of the Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada.\nEach year, it hosts more than 70,000 people who travel from around the world to the desolate, arid landscape. Those people typically have to contend with fine dust, not mud and rain.\nIt is far from major cities — the nearest is Reno, Nev., which is more than 100 miles away.                                                                                                                                                                          \nTo get to Burning Man, people must either travel the two-lane rural highway that leads to the festival’s gate or fly into its small, temporary airport.\nThe rain prompted the closure of the route in and out of Burning Man, but the event’s organizers were expected to announce on Monday morning whether it was safe to reopen. Alternative routes may also be available.\nThe muddy conditions also obstructed the ability of event organizers to move heavy equipment, including for fire safety to the site of the Man Burn, which was twice postponed, according to a social media account affiliated with The Burning Man Project. It is now scheduled for Monday night.\nHow are people getting out?\nSome people walked from the festival to the main roads and hitchhiked.\nIn a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Diplo, the D.J. and producer, said he and Chris Rock had “walked 5 miles in the mud” to get out.\nSome vehicles with four-wheel drive have been able to get through the mud and leave, Burning Man organizers said.\nOrganizers cautioned that other vehicles were getting stuck in the mud, making it more difficult for everyone to leave. Burning Man organizers urged people to avoid driving on Sunday.\nWhat will they do about the mud?\nSteven Adelman, the vice president of the Event Safety Alliance, which recommends safety practices for live events, said he had dealt with unexpected mud at music festivals.\n“You basically have to mobilize every backhoe, tow truck and other types of vehicles within hundreds of miles, and that’s probably what they’ll have to do,” Mr. Adelman said. “And they will have to come from hundreds of miles away because Black Rock City’s nearest metropolitan area is Reno.”\nWhat is the weather forecast?\nWeather conditions were expected to improve on Monday, with clearing skies and warmer temperatures.\nHowever, forecasters with the National Weather Service warned that a low pressure system may bring a chance of light rain showers by nightfall into Tuesday morning.\nThe festival site had been slammed with rain since Friday. Other parts of Nevada were also walloped with fast-moving thunderstorms and flash flooding over the weekend. Heavy flooding was also reported on the Las Vegas Strip.\n\n','2023-09-04','',0,1),(343,'Tourists are flocking to New York City to go on rat tours to see the iconic \'mascots\' of the metropolis, says report','New York times ','Travel',6,75,'https://www.insider.com/nyc-tourists-rat-tours-see-citys-mascots-2023-8 ','Alia Shoaib','Tourists are flocking to New York City to go on rat tours to see the iconic \'mascots\' of the metropolis, says report\nTourists visiting New York City are going on rat tours to get an authentic Big Apple experience, according to a report by The New York Post.\nKenny Bollwerk leads free walking late-night rat tours, taking routes near Rockefeller Center and in Flushing and Sunnyside, Queens.\n\"Rats are like a New York City mascot,\" Bollwerk told the outlet. \"People want to see it for themselves.\"\nHe also live streams on TikTok as he explores rat-infested parts of the city, with up to 10,000 people tuning in at a time.\nHe is not the only one to capitalize on his fascination with the rodents. Luke Miller, the owner of Real New York Tours, also stops near Chinatown for tourists to see the creatures scurrying about.\n\"They are like the new celebs in New York City with all the press they are getting,\" Miller told The Post.\nThe outlet spoke to several rat tour customers, some of whom specifically came to the city to catch a glimpse of the rodents. \n\"It\'s one of those things you just have to see,\" Aaron Lidwell and his wife, from Altoona, PA, who visited the city hoping to see rats, told The Post.                                                                                                                                                                                                            \nLidwell was so thrilled to see a few rat tails poking out at a construction site that he even reached down and gently pinched some — causing Bollwek\'s TikTok livestream to go \"nuts,\" Lidwell said.\nOne man, Patrick Norris of St. Louis, traveled to the city after becoming a fan of \"RatTok\" videos on TikTok.\n\"It made me want to go there and actually see the setting and the scenery and, you know, \'What\'s behind this corner? What\'s behind that corner?\'\" he told the outlet.\nNot just tourists love to see the rats — David Fraticelli and his 12-year-old daughter Noelia from the Bronx regularly attend the tours, with the girl becoming a regular in Bollwek\'s TikTok videos, per The Post.\nRats have long been an iconic fixture of the city, but the population surged during the pandemic.\nReported rat sightings doubled in 2022, with city health inspectors documenting about 60,000 instances of rodent activity, compared to about 30,000 the previous year.\nEarlier this year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams appointed a \"rat czar\" to help eliminate rodents in the city.\n','2023-08-27','',0,1),(344,'Africa can become new global supply chain force: UNCTAD','UN News','Politics',1,75,'https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/08/1139782','UN News','African economies should seize the opportunity to better integrate into technology-intensive global supply chains and boost prosperity, but this depends on their ability to harness key market and investment trends, the UN’s trade and development body UNCTAD said on Wednesday.\nIn a new report, UNCTAD shows that Africa can become a major exporter of higher value-added goods, creating growth and jobs, and fuelling a rise in productivity and wages.\nLaunching the report in Nairobi, UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan insisted it would offer a better future for the continent’s economies.\nDiversifying trade “builds resilience and enhances innovation”, Ms. Grynspan said, adding that diversifaction was “key” for private sector development and employment opportunities for Africa’s growing population.\nAfrica’s competitive advantage\nMs. Grynspan highlighted three factors driving the “huge” opportunity for the continent. From a geopolitical point of view, countries and businesses are seeking to diversify their suppliers and thus reduce risk. Africa is well placed to tap into this trend, Ms. Grynspan said, which together with the African Continental Free Trade Area offers “great synergies” for participating in global supply chains.                                                                                                                                                                                                          \nAfrica also has a unique advantage amid the rise of the renewable energy market, as it is a vital source of raw materials for technology-intensive industries – for instance lithium, essential to the production of electric car batteries. It has the possibility to become a destination for manufacturing and should seek to export more complex finished goods rather than just commodities, Ms. Grynspan said. \nAs for demographics, Africa boasts not only a dynamic, young workforce, but also a “burgeoning” middle class offering local consumer markets for hi-tech goods. \n‘Untapped potential’\nThe report analyses “untapped potential” for African countries to strengthen their position in the automobile, solar energy and pharmaceutical industries.\nEncouragingly, Ms. Grynspan noted that Africa’s tech ecosystem growth has already proven impressive, as “hubs in artificial intelligence, 3D printing, blockchain, fintech [financial technology] and e-commerce are thriving” in countries such as Kenya, fostering innovation and strengthening Africa’s chance to capture technology-intensive global supply chains. \nHigher wages and resilience\nCreating an environment conducive to technology-intensive industries will raise wages, the UNCTAD chief said, underscoring that the average wage on the continent is $220 per month while in the Americas, in comparison, it is nearly $670.\nAccording to UNCTAD, deeper integration into global supply chains would also diversify African economies, boosting their resilience to future shocks.\nAttract investment\nHowever, for this to happen, more investment will be needed, Ms. Grynspan said. The report highlights the fact that currently, only about two per cent of global investments in renewable energy go to Africa.\nPaul Akiwumi, Director of UNCTAD’s Division on Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes, said that in order to drive more large-scale private investment, regulatory barriers will have to be removed and regional industrial development plans put in place.\nMr. Akiwumi cited the example of a regional agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, allowing for the creation of an industrial zone for the production of electric car batteries. He also highlighted the importance of product registration and intellectual property in order to attract investors. \nUrgent debt relief needed\nMs. Grynspan stressed that in order for Africa to be able to seize its competitive advantage, the continent’s economies need debt relief to create fiscal space so that countries can invest in strengthening supply chains and in education for their workforce.\nShe recalled that African countries pay four times more for borrowing than the United States and eight times more than European nations, as shown in UNCTAD’s recent “World of Debt” report.\n‘Change the rules’\n“This must change if Africa is to achieve its full economic potential and be a major actor in global supply chains,” the UNCTAD chief insisted, pledging the UN’s unwavering support to nations across the continent.\nMs. Grynspan highlighted UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ advocacy to “change the rules that reproduce these asymmetries” and fix the “distorted” perception of risk which international investors hold in relation to developing economies.','2023-08-16','',0,1),(345,'\'This could be the holy grail to replace palm oil\' - research team','BBC Scotland News','Lifestyle',8,76,'https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-66842496 ','By Paul McLaren','\'This could be the holy grail to replace palm oil\' - research team\r\n\r\nA Scottish research team believe they may have produced the \'holy grail\' alternative to palm oil.\r\n\r\nIt is estimated that almost half of all food and cosmetic products on supermarket shelves contain palm oil.\r\n\r\nThe huge demand has led to significant deforestation in areas where oil palm trees can grow near the equator.\r\n\r\nFood experts at Queen Margaret University (QMU) in Edinburgh say their new 100% plant-based ingredient is 70% better for the environment.\r\n\r\nAnd with 80% less saturated fat and 30% fewer calories, they are also hailing PALM-ALT as a significantly healthier option.\r\n\r\nCatriona Liddle, one of the lead developers on the QMU team, said: \'It\'s the holy grail to replace it and still have exactly the same end result in product - to taste the same and have the texture the same - and we\'ve done that.\r\n\r\n\'We\'ve put it through some special sensory testing to see if a panel can tell the difference between our product and traditional palm shortening, and they can\'t.\'\r\n\r\nThe new PALM-ALT product is described as having a mayonnaise-style consistency.\r\n\r\nIt is palm and coconut-free and has no added flavourings, sugar, sweeteners, preservatives or colourings.\r\n\r\nIt is made from a by-product from the linseed industry, plus natural fibre and rapeseed oil.\r\n\r\nPalm oil remains the world\'s most-produced vegetable oil, accounting for 40% of the total, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).\r\n\r\nIt is hugely popular with food and cosmetics firms because it is so useful. Odourless, tasteless and colourless, it does not alter the smell, taste or look of products.\r\n\r\nInstead, it adds a smooth texture, and works as a natural preservative. And it maintains its properties under high temperatures, also making it ideal for cooking with.\r\n\r\nIt is used in everything from chocolate to shampoo, pizza, toothpaste and deodorant.\r\n\r\nThe use of the land for palm oil cultivation, 85% of which is in Indonesia and Malaysia, has increased almost nine-fold from 3.3 million hectares (eight million acres) in 1970 to 28.7 million hectares in 2020.\r\n\r\nIn financial terms, one report valued the worldwide palm oil industry at $62.3bn (£51.2bn) in 2021. And such is the continuing growth in demand, this figure is expected to increase to $75.7bn by 2028.\r\n\r\nCatriona Liddle told BBC Radio\'s Good Morning Scotland programme: \'For the food industry, palm oil is used as a fat but it gives you texture and good shelf-life.\r\n\r\n\'Particularly in baking products, it\'s almost an irreplaceable ingredient because it\'s so functional.\'\r\n\r\nIrreplaceable until now?\r\nBut could that be about to the change, with the QMU team having an international patent application for PALM-ALT and discussions set to begin with prospective manufacturers.\r\n\r\n\'We\'ve started off with bakery products - bread, cakes, biscuits - all the things that everybody loves to eat but are not terribly healthy for us,\' Ms Liddle said.\r\n\r\n\'We\'ve created a product that is over 80% less saturated fat and 30% less calories, so it\'s a significantly healthier product than palm oil itself.\r\n\r\n\'It\'s also about 70% better for the environment in terms of carbon emissions.\r\n\r\n\'Now we\'re looking at having discussions with people to manufacture the product, so it\'s really exciting for us.\'\r\n\r\nWhat is palm oil and why is it thought to be bad?\r\n\r\nIt is cheap to make and there are lots of other reasons it is used in food and other products instead of alternative oils.\r\n\r\nBut the way some palm oil is made is causing serious damage to the environment.\r\n\r\nPalm oil comes from the fruit of the African oil palm. It is in lots of products we use - from toiletries such as shampoos and soap, to cereals and biscuits.\r\n\r\nEnvironmentalists argue that the farming of oil palm trees is extremely bad for the planet.\r\n\r\nDeforestation is when forests and trees are cut down to clear the land to use it for something else.\r\n\r\nPalm oil production is said to have been responsible for about 8% of the world\'s deforestation between 1990 and 2008.\r\n\r\nThis is because forests are burned to clear areas where people can grow oil palms - even if it is illegal.\r\n\r\nBurning forests like this destroys the places where plants and wildlife live, meaning the area has less biodiversity.\r\n\r\nSpecies such as orangutans, rhinos, elephants and tigers can be affected.\r\n','2023-09-18','',2,1),(346,'Electric car rules could cost carmakers billions','By Theo Leggett','Society',4,76,'https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66889029 ','By Theo Leggett','New Brexit trade rules covering electric vehicles could cost European manufacturers £3.75bn over the next three years, an industry body has said.\r\n\r\nThe rules are meant to ensure that EU-produced electric cars are largely made from locally sourced parts.\r\n\r\nBut manufacturers on both sides of the Channel say they are not ready.\r\n\r\nThe European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) also warned the measures could reduce output from EU factories by 480,000 vehicles.\r\n\r\nAnd they said customers would pay the price.\r\n\r\nThe main problem lies in so-called \"rules of origin\" which come into force in January. They apply to shipments of cars across the Channel under the terms of the Brexit deal, the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.\r\n\r\nThey will effectively ensure that electric vehicles will need to have batteries produced in either the UK or the EU.\r\n\r\nCars that do not meet the criteria will face 10% tariffs - or taxes - when transported across the Channel, in either direction.\r\n\r\nThe rules were designed to protect the European industry from cheap imports.\r\n\r\nBut because battery production in Europe has not ramped up as quickly as expected, carmakers are struggling to meet the new criteria.\r\n\r\nIt is a serious problem for European manufacturers. The UK is by far their largest export market, with 1.2 million vehicles arriving at UK ports last year. Likewise more cars built in the UK are transported to the EU than any other region.\r\n\r\nSteep tariffs could make electric cars more expensive to produce, and potentially push up prices.\r\n\r\nThe ACEA wants the new rules to be delayed for three years, and it is appealing to the European Commission to take action.\r\n\r\n\"Driving up consumer prices of European electric vehicles, at the very time when we need to fight for market share in the face of fierce international competition, is not the right move,\" said Renault chief executive Luca de Meo, who is also acting as ACEA\'s president.\r\n\r\n\"We will effectively be handing a chunk of the market to global manufacturers,\" he added.\r\nFor the rules to be pushed back, an agreement would need to be reached between the UK and the EU.\r\n\r\nThe UK\'s Business Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, said last week she was \"optimistic\" such a deal could be reached.\r\n\r\nBut in an interview with the Guardian on Friday, the EU\'s internal market commissioner Thierry Breton was much less forthcoming.\r\n\r\nHe said it would be wrong to re-open the Brexit deal to satisfy the motor industry.\r\n\r\n\"If something has been negotiated, it shouldn\'t be changed,\" he told the newspaper.\r\n\r\nThe European Commission said: \"Brexit has changed the trade relationship between the UK and the EU, among other things.\"\r\n\r\nIt noted that the Brexit trade deal - the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement - \"is the outcome of a negotiation in which both sides agreed to an overall balance of commitments\".\r\n\r\nIt added that the rules of origin aim to develop a \"strong and resilient battery value chain in the EU\".\r\n\r\nSigrid de Vries, the secretary general of ACEA, said it was unsurprising that the industry\'s appeals were meeting resistance.\r\n\r\n\"The European Commission doesn\'t want to change anything, it seems, when it comes to Brexit-related topics. It\'s politically very sensitive,\" she told the BBC.\r\n\r\n\"We do understand it, and we are not asking to change any of these arrangements in any fundamental way.\"\r\n\r\nMeanwhile the chief executive of the UK\'s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Mike Hawes, told reporters last week that he thought a deal would be done - but it could be a last-minute affair.\r\n\r\n\"We are still optimistic an agreement can be reached. It makes common sense,\" he said.\r\n\r\n\"But I can see this going down, like with Brexit, to Christmas Eve, or something like that.\"\r\n\r\nTrade officials from the EU and the UK are due to meet this week in London. It is not yet known whether the new rules will be on the agenda.','2023-09-25','',2,1),(347,'The newest work perk? Companies are paying employees\' vacations so they can take a proper break','bbc ','Politics',1,76,'https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230918-the-companies-doling-out-thousands-for-workers-holidays ','By Elizabeth Bennett','The companies doling out thousands for workers\' holidays\r\n\r\nThe newest work perk? Companies are paying employees\' vacations so they can take a proper break.\r\n\r\nLazing on the beach, drink in hand. Hiking with friends, a spectacular view at the summit. Exploring a foreign city, eating the most incredible food you\'ve ever tasted. But the best part? You\'ve barely spent a dime of your own money for these experiences.\r\n\r\nPerks have changed in the pandemic era. One emerging incentive stands out: handing out four-figure budgets for employees to see the world.\r\n\r\nThese programmes largely originated at travel-related companies. Airbnb employees receive $2,000 (£1,600) in travel credit each year, and Expedia reimburses staffers between $1,250 to $1,750 annually for travel expenses. Now, more firms across industries are following suit. Scheduling app Calendly offers an annual $1,000 vacation stipend for hotels, flights or rental cars; software company Bamboo HR offers what they call \"paid paid vacations\" via a $2,000 annual stipend to use towards travel.\r\n\r\nMichael König, senior lecturer at the department of strategy and innovation, Vienna University of Economics and Business, attributes this rising trend to the state of labour, which is largely still \"a seller\'s market\" across the world, even amid an uncertain economy.\r\n\r\nFirms that go the extra mile with these unusual perks can attract and retain the talent their companies need, often counteracting decreasing employee loyalty. \"Employers can use this intelligently in their employer-branding strategy,\" says König. \"The message is that employers really care for the wellbeing of their workforce, beyond superficial measures. That certainly pays off in the long run.\"\r\n\r\nThis is especially true for companies trying to recruit and retain workers, says Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at UK-based Alliance Manchester Business School. \"In the UK, for example, with the loss of so many people to Eastern Europe as a result of Brexit, employers are finding it difficult to recruit unskilled and skilled staff in some sectors, and they may look at a variety of incentives like this or other approaches to attract staff.\"\r\n\r\nAnd while this is a global trend, travel perks may be particularly attractive to workers in the US, where paid holiday isn\'t a legal requirement, and 46% of workers who receive paid time off do not take all of it. \"Many organisations have very limited allowable holiday time in the first place, so they could attract and retain staff by lengthening their paid holiday time. In the context of the US, these expenses are likely to be aimed at \'needed\' professional staff, as one perk among others,” says Cooper.\r\n\r\nPlus, in the current economic climate, this travel-budget incentive is more valuable than ever.\r\n\r\n\"The steep increase in the cost of living and rising inflation rates worldwide make holidays a true luxury. Companies that offer paid holiday expenses are addressing this directly,\" says König. For employers, it also makes smart financial sense. \"In many countries, these costs are also tax deductible, and the net benefit might then be even bigger than a pay rise, for both, the employee and the employer.\"\r\n\r\nThese incentives may seem like a win-win for both employers and employees, yet Paula Allen, global leader and senior vice president of research and total wellbeing at TELUS Health, a Toronto-based wellbeing benefits provider, says these perks may be more valuable to some workers than others.\r\n\r\n\"For employees such as working parents or caregivers, travelling might not be feasible. In that case, organisations should consider alternatives, so employees don\'t feel they\'re getting preferential perks over another,\" she says. As the sustainability concerns of air travel also become more pertinent, Allen says companies will also have to think about how they balance offering free travel perks while also considering their climate footprints.\r\n\r\nAllen also says financial incentives shouldn\'t be used as a bandage to address larger issue. \"These perks don\'t replace the need for health and wellbeing support and a strong and effective workplace culture. If a workplace is not psychologically safe, then added financial support does not erase this negative impact,\" she says.\r\n\r\nHowever, moving forward, Allen thinks we\'ll continue to see companies jump on this trend in some form. \"With the rise in nomad workers and work-away policies within companies that enable employees to work from different parts of the world, there\'s clearly an appetite among the workforce to travel,\" she says. Broadly, she adds, \"employers will increasingly focus on support for financial wellbeing, and will increasingly connect financial and mental wellbeing\". \r\n\r\nKönig agrees. \"The whole idea of the contents of a pay package is set to change,\" he says. \"Paid vacation expenses, healthcare support, lifelong upskilling, etc., will become much more important.\"\r\n','2023-09-20','',2,1),(348,'Hollywood studios, WGA reach tentative deal that could end writers strike','Washington Post ','Politics',1,76,'https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2023/09/24/writers-strike-agreement-wga-amptp/ ','By Samantha Chery and Michael Cavna','Hollywood studios, WGA reach tentative deal that could end writers strike\r\n\r\nNegotiators for Hollywood studios and the Writers Guild of America reached a breakthrough agreement after five straight days of negotiations — a tentative deal to end a strike that has halted most TV and film scriptwriting in the country.\r\n\r\nThe terms of the agreement were not immediately shared by the WGA, which said in a statement Sunday night that the deal was “exceptional,” adding that it included “meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership.”\r\n\r\nThe union said it was immediately suspending picketing, though its more than 11,000 members were warned not to return to work until the deal is put into the language of a contract, then approved by WGA leaders and general membership in coming days. “We are still on strike until then,” the statement said.\r\n\r\nBut the deal still marks the most hopeful sign of progress since May, when the WGA and a consortium of major studios and streaming services failed to renew their old contract. The sides were divided over issues such as pay for writers and the use of artificial intelligence to create scripts. The WGA strike has lasted nearly 150 days, making it one of Hollywood’s longest labor-strike disputes.\r\n\r\n“I am so proud of the hard work and dedication, not only at the negotiating committee, but of all of the members of the WGA who showed incredible unity in fighting for a fair deal,” said WGA member Gloria Calderón Kellett, co-creator of “One Day at a Time.”\r\n\r\nEven if writers return to work in the coming days, that won’t end Hollywood’s labor crisis by itself. After inking a new contract with the writers, the studios will have to restart the negotiation process with another union that represents tens of thousands of TV and film actors who went on strike themselves over the summer.\r\n\r\n“Hopefully, a precedent has been established, the actors can get a fair deal, as well, and we can all get back to work very soon,” said WGA member Michael Jamin (“King of the Hill,” “Just Shoot Me”), whose strike-commentary updates have 160,000 followers on Instagram.\r\n\r\nWhat’s ahead\r\nWhatever agreement the two sides have struck has not been put into the language of a final contract, according to Sunday’s statement. “Though we are eager to share the details of what has been achieved with you, we cannot do that until the last ‘i’ is dotted,” it read. “To do so would complicate our ability to finish the job.”\r\n\r\nOnce the contract has been completed, the WGA’s negotiating committee will need to approve it, followed by the board of directors for the union’s eastern and western branches — votes tentatively scheduled to take place by Tuesday.\r\n\r\nIf the contract is approved by leadership, the WGA would make the contract language public and hold meetings about it for the union’s approximately 11,500 members. Those members would hold a ratification vote, and if a majority of them approved the deal, the union would presumably send them back to work.\r\n\r\nWGA members have overwhelmingly voted in favor of new contracts in recent negotiating cycles, which take place every three years. More than 97 percent of WGA voters ratified the 2020 contract, which expired in May and precipitated the current strike, and the 2017 contract before it.\r\n\r\nThe contract that ended the WGA’s last strike in 2008 was only slightly less popular, with 93.6 percent of more than 4,000 voting members approving its ratification.\r\n\r\nUnion leaders don’t have to wait for the ratification vote to end the strike, necessarily. In 2008, WGA board members voted to let writers return to work two weeks before the new contract was ratified. In Sunday’s statement, WGA negotiators said union leaders could decide to do the same thing this time: “This would allow writers to return to work during the ratification vote, but would not affect the membership’s right to make a final determination on contract approval.”\r\n\r\nSettling the WGA strike means the writers can resume writing scripts, which should help ease the growing backlog of delayed TV and film projects that have piled up since May. Many reality shows and other projects that don’t rely on striking actors may be able to resume production immediately.\r\n\r\nBut the studios won’t be able to film the bulk of their scripted projects, including franchise movies and sitcoms, until they settle a dispute with a much larger union: the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which ordered tens of thousands of TV and film performers to withhold their work in July.\r\n\r\nThe actors struck for many of the same reasons as the writers — they want better pay and benefits, higher residual payments and transparency from streaming projects and protections against being replaced by artificial intelligence. But SAG-AFTRA’s specific demands are different from the WGA’s, and it has different leaders and negotiators.\r\n\r\nThat’s why the crisis in Hollywood could linger for weeks or months. It took the studios nearly two months to reach a tentative deal with the WGA after the two sides resumed negotiations in early August. The renewed talks began haltingly, with little progress and mutual finger-pointing, before concluding in an extended stretch of closed-door meetings this past week that included chief executives from Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal and Netflix — a sign of how badly the studios want the writers back on the job.\r\n\r\nIn contrast, the studios haven’t yet requested a meeting with SAG-AFTRA negotiators, the actors union’s executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said before the WGA deal was announced, though the union said it’s ready to talk.\r\n\r\nOnce SAG-AFTRA does meet with studios and hammers out a tentative contract, the process is very similar to the WGA’s: The board of directors must approve the deal first, and then the actors must vote to ratify it, and then they’ll return to their jobs.\r\n\r\n','2023-09-24','',3,1),(349,'Money, power and an ecosystem are all at stake in Canada-U.S. negotiations over a massive river','CBC','Politics',1,76,'https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/columbia-river-treaty-negotiation-1.6975849','Christian Paas-Lang','Money, power and an ecosystem are all at stake in Canada-U.S. negotiations over a massive river\r\n\r\nControl of hydroelectic dams creating some static during Columbia River Treaty talks\r\nWalk along the banks of the Columbia River in B.C. and you might be forgiven for thinking it\'s like any of the province\'s other big waterways. You might spot a sturgeon, or glimpse one of the more than 60 dams in the Columbia\'s watershed.\r\n\r\nBut the Columbia is not like other rivers. For one, it crosses the U.S. border to empty into the Pacific in Oregon. The Columbia River basin is also a vital source of electricity, providing about 40 per cent of all U.S. hydroelectric power, while B.C. draws almost half of its total electrical generation from the region.\r\n\r\nThose dams also provide flood control, in an effort to avoid a repeat of the massive 1948 floods that left about 50 people dead and 46,000 without homes.\r\n\r\nBut what makes the river truly special is the unique treaty that governs those dams.\r\n\r\nHammered out between Canada and the United States and ratified in 1964, the treaty outlines control of the river\'s water flow and benefits from that bonanza of hydroelectric power, including the tens of millions of dollars a year that come with it.\r\n\r\nThe Columbia River Treaty is being negotiated again — a process that has already lasted years — and the potential deal could have profound consequences both for the electrical output of the river and the people and wildlife that depend on it.\r\n\r\nIn an interview on CBC Radio\'s The House that aired Saturday, B.C.\'s chief negotiator, Kathy Eichenberger, said the Canadian government had a few key priorities, including retaining greater flexibility over water flows in Canada and adding considerations around the river ecosystem \"as a third leg of the stool of the treaty that is based on power generation and flood control.\"\r\n\r\nNegotiators have been locked in round after round of talks, with the 19th round scheduled for October in Portland, Ore. \r\n\r\nSome provisions of the treaty are set to expire in September 2024, after which Canada could provide flood control services to the United States on an ad hoc basis.\r\n\r\n\"We need to take the time to improve a treaty that\'s in dire need of renewal and incorporating things like ecosystems, salmon, adaptive management, climate change,\" Eichenberger told host Catherine Cullen. \r\n\r\n\"These are all new concepts that weren\'t discussed in the original treaty,\" she said.\r\n\r\nValue of the \'Canadian Entitlement\'\r\nThe Americans have their own concerns for the revised treaty, with the value of hydroelectric power going back to Canada perhaps first and foremost.\r\n\r\nThat share of the power is called the \"Canadian Entitlement\" \r\n\r\n\"We\'re giving Canada a giant power plant\'s worth of output every year,\" Scott Simms, chair of the Columbia River Treaty Power Group, told The Seattle Times in August. \"It might be transactionally easier to push wheelbarrows of cash up and dump them at the Canadian border.\"\r\n\r\nEichenberger countered that Canada believed it could prove that what it receives is half of the incremental benefit of power generation.\r\n\r\n\"How we manage flows in Canada really increases [the Americans\'] ability to generate more electricity to meet their citizens and industrial needs,\" Eichenberger said. \r\n\r\n\"That\'s the fundamental principle of the treaty … creating a benefit and sharing it equitably. And that\'s our North Star,\" she said.\r\n\r\nSeeking protection for the ecosystem\r\nEven though Columbia River region ecosystems were not a primary concern in the original negotiations, they have long been a concern of Indigenous groups, who are now a prominent part of the Canadian negotiating team.\r\n\r\nFish stocks, particularly around salmon, are a major concern.\r\n\r\n\"[Salmon is] beyond just important for our people,\" Penticton Indian Band elder Chad Eneas told Bob Keating, a freelance journalist who spoke with people around the valley as part of a documentary for The House.\r\n\r\n\"I think it\'s important in terms of it being a keystone species in the Columbia.\"\r\n\r\nOthers who live or work alongside the river have different concerns, such as the impact of lands lost when dams and reservoirs were built along the river.\r\n\r\nTwin sisters Janet and Crystal Spicer were raised in a Nakusp, B.C., family that farmed near the Arrow Lakes, which is part of the Columbia River system. The farm was lost when the Hugh Keenleyside Dam was constructed in 1968.\r\n\r\n\"The whole thing is so short-sighted. And it\'s irrecoverable. That\'s the thing. It\'s not like it can be put back. It can\'t. I think it was a shocking act of violence and cruelty to just drown us out,\" said Janet Spicer, who still grows on what\'s left of a property farmed by her father.  \r\n\r\n\"The farmland won\'t come back, but people want a living river,\" added her sister Crystal Spicer.\r\n\r\nCanadians along the river have been advocating for Canada to retain greater control of water flows to make the fluctuation less dramatic and less destructive to ecosystems.\r\n\r\nAuthor Eileen Delahanty Pearkes said it\'s key that the river\'s ecosystem and residents are kept in mind at the negotiating table.\r\n\r\n\"All of the health of the land and water in this region depends on flow. The details of it are less important — Canada getting this or the U.S. getting that,\" she said. \r\n\r\n\"I love the words of one Indigenous advocate: \'One river for the benefit of all.\'\"\r\n','2023-09-24','',3,1),(350,'Companies in Mexico need more electricity – level 2','News in Level','Business & Economy',3,76,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/companies-in-mexico-need-more-electricity-level-2/ ','News in Level','Industrial parks and warehouse operators in Mexico need a lot of electricity for their growing businesses. They want to finance the construction of solar panels themselves, but the government controls the energy sector.\r\n\r\nMexico already has problems with the power grid, and experts say that big companies like Tesla, which will start their business in the north of the country, will need a lot more electricity.\r\n\r\nCurrently, there is a limit on self-generated renewable energy to 500 kilowatts, but several organizations asked the government to raise this limit. While the world is turning away from fossil fuels, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador supports using fossil fuels, and he doesn’t support renewable projects.\r\n','2023-09-15','',1,1),(351,'Exxon buys Pioneer – level 2',' World News for Students of English','Politics',1,77,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/exxon-buys-pioneer-level-2/',' World News for Students of English','Exxon Mobil agreed to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources, another big US company, in a deal worth 59.5 billion dollars.\r\n\r\nThis deal will make Exxon the largest producer in the Permian Basin, which is one of the most important oilfields in the United States. The deal has a value of 253 dollars per share. It unites the largest US oil company with Pioneer, an important player in the market.\r\n\r\nThe merged company has big plans to increase its oil and gas production and add 700,000 barrels per day within four years after the deal is ready. It would mean a total of 2 million barrels per day. Also, the company wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.\r\n\r\nExperts think that the deal will be ready in early 2024.','2023-10-16','',1,1),(352,'Women\'s Days off','Breaking News English','Society',4,77,'https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2310/231026-womens-day-off-2.html ','Breaking News English','Women in Iceland went on strike on Tuesday. The strike was for greater gender equality in the country. Prime minister Katrin Jakobsdottir also took part in the strike. She told reporters about the \"Women\'s Day Off\". She said: \"We have not yet reached our goals of full gender equality and we are still tackling the gender-based wage gap, which is unacceptable in 2023.\" All women in Iceland were encouraged to stop both paid and unpaid work. For the whole day, women went on strike to show how important they are to society.\"\r\n\r\nThe strike was the seventh in Iceland\'s history. It was the first in nearly 50 years. The last strike was in 1975. Then, 90 per cent of women did not go to work or do housework. The following year, Iceland passed an equal pay law. In 1980, Iceland became the first country in Europe to have a woman as head of state. Iceland has had the smallest gender gap of any country for 14 years. Despite this, Ms Jakobsdottir, said there is still a long way to go. She wants to lower gender-based violence. She said this was a \"priority\" for her government.','2023-10-23','',1,1),(353,'Foodbank reveals Australia’s growing food insecurity crisis','news.com.au','Politics',1,77,'https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/eat/foodbank-reveals-australias-growing-food-insecurity-crisis/news-story/35f96fb5257178c3d7083a5570040d64 ','Duncan Evans','The staggering amount of Australian households at risk of going hungry have been revealed in a new report from one of the country’s leading charities.\r\n\r\nSome 3.7 million Australian households are going hungry or on the edge of falling into hunger according to a shocking new report from one of the country’s leading social charities.\r\n\r\nFoodbank Australia’s 2023 Hunger Report says more than a third of all households suffered from food insecurity in the past 12 months and 48 per cent of the public now struggles to consistently access adequate food.\r\n\r\n“Food insecurity is waking early and sending your child off to school with a rumbling tummy and empty lunch box because you’ve been forced into an impossible choice between paying the rent or buying food that week,” Foodbank Australia chief executive Brianna Casey said.\r\n\r\n“Food insecurity is living at home alone as a pensioner, convincing yourself that three meals a day is a luxury and that two – or even one – will suffice.”\r\n\r\nThe report also states 77 per cent of those households experienced food insecurity for the first time, with some three million falling from the food secure to food insecure category.\r\n\r\nThe number of households suffering through chronic food insecurity remains stable at 750,000, Ms Casey said.\r\n\r\nThe report goes on to state by the end of the year, a full half of the country could experience “some level of difficulty” in accessing enough food.\r\n\r\nAccording to the report, rising interest rates and cost-of-living pressures are the key factors pushing Australians into insecurity, with 79 per cent of respondents singling out cost increases as the greatest challenge.\r\n\r\n“The last time I couldn’t afford enough food for the family, I just got creative in the kitchen for the kids and didn’t eat myself,” one respondent stated.\r\n\r\n“I ate Milo and bickies from the work staffroom to tide me over.”\r\n\r\nAnother respondent said the family resorted to tinned foods after running out of basic foodstuffs like bread, fruit and milk.\r\n\r\nInflation shocks from the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have pushed up prices around the world and central banks have responded by raising interest rates to prevent price spirals.\r\n\r\nBoth forces tend to reduce the average spending power of consumers.\r\n\r\nThe report states 94 per cent of affected Australians altered their spending on groceries in the past 12 months to cope with the pressure, while 62 per cent shifted their spending on housing and 58 per cent altered their spending on energy.','2023-10-23','',2,1),(354,'Guinness World Records crowns new hottest pepper','BBC NEWS','Society',4,77,'https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67136085','By Chloe Kim','The Guinness World Records has crowned Pepper X as the hottest chili pepper in the world, dethroning the Carolina Reaper chili pepper after 10 years.\r\n\r\nFor comparison, a habanero pepper typically hits 100,000 Scoville heat units, but Pepper X registers at 2.69 million units.\r\n\r\nBreeder and grower Ed Currie created both record-breaking peppers.\r\n\r\nAs a proprietary pepper, Pepper X pods and seeds will not be sold.\r\n\r\nMr Currie cultivated Pepper X for a decade on his South Carolina farm, but remained tight lipped about his project to protect his intellectual property.\r\n\r\n\"This was a team effort,\" Mr Currie said in a statement. \"We knew we had something special, so I only let a few of my closest family and friends know what was really going on.\"\r\n\r\nIn lab tests at Winthrop University in South Carolina, Pepper X registered an average of 2,693,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), which is more than one million units hotter than Mr Currie\'s previous innovation, the Carolina Reaper which averaged 1,641,183 SHU.\r\n\r\nIn 1912 pharmacist Wilbur Scoville invented the Scoville Scale, which measures how many times capsaicin needs to be diluted.\r\n\r\nCapsaicin is the chemical that gives humans that burning sensation of peppers - which can release dopamine and endorphins into the body.\r\n\r\nAfter overcoming drug and alcohol addictions, Mr Currie started growing peppers as a hobby and says peppers act as a natural high.\r\n\r\nThough people tend to believe the spice of a pepper comes from its seeds, capsaicin is contained in the placenta, the tissue which holds the seeds. Because of Pepper X\'s curves and ridges there is more surface area for the placenta to grow, according to the Guinness World Records.\r\n\r\nMr Currie is one of only five people who has eaten an entire Pepper X.\r\n\r\n\"I was feeling the heat for three and a half hours. Then the cramps came,\" Mr Currie told the Associated Press.\r\n\r\n\"Those cramps are horrible. I was laid out flat on a marble wall for approximately an hour in the rain, groaning in pain.\"\r\n\r\nMr Currie said Pepper X is a crossbreed of a Carolina Reaper and a \"pepper that a friend of mine sent me from Michigan that was brutally hot\".\r\n\r\nMr Currie\'s lawyer said 10,000 products used the Carolina Reaper name, without permission.\r\n\r\nIn an effort to protect his intellectual property and see profits this time, Pepper X pods and seeds will not be released.\r\n\r\nThe only way to taste Pepper X will be through sold hot sauces. ','2023-10-17','',2,1),(355,'Push for vapes to be regulated like alcohol and tobacco in Australia','news.com.au','Lifestyle',8,77,'https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/push-for-vapes-to-be-regulated-like-alcohol-and-tobacco-in-australia/news-story/f36a4d1df5eb4757b646cb8ba8807f9a ','Ally Foster','Young people are helping create a \'booming black market\' in Australia, and it is all so they can get their hands on a controversial $20 item.\r\nAustralians are calling for regulations around vaping to be stripped back, saying the country should follow the lead of New Zealand and the UK.\r\nA whopping 20 per cent of young people and nine per cent of adults now vape on a regular basis, according to the Australian Department of Health.\r\nIn a bid to reduce these figures, the Albanese government announced in May it would outlaw the importation of non-prescription vaping products as part of the biggest smoking reforms in a decade.\r\nUnder current laws, vapes with nicotine can only be legally bought with a prescription from a chemist.\r\nState leaders have also joined the fight against vapes, with NSW Premier Chris Minns recently announcing a $6.8 million crackdown, branding the rise of illegal vapes a \'significant public health challenge\'.\r\nBut this hasn’t deterred Australians, with many – particularly young people – resorting to \'black market\' channels to get their hands on the products.\r\nOnline, vapes can be purchased from anywhere between $20 and $150, depending on the type of product a buyer wants.                                                                                                                                                                                                            \r\nA poll has revealed the vast amount of Aussies that want the government to change the way they are dealing with the rise in vaping, with the overwhelming majority of those surveyed saying they want it regulated the way as alcohol and tobacco.\r\nThe poll from RedBridge, found that almost 90 per cent of the 1500 people surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that regulated nicotine vaping products should be available for sale to adults aged 18 and older through licensed retail outlets.\r\nThis would bring Australia into line with the laws introduced in New Zealand in 2020, which banned the sale of vapes to people under 18. The country also banned vaping at schools and early childhood centres and prohibited vape advertising and sponsorship.\r\nNew legislation was also introduced in August which banned the sale of cheap, disposable vapes and not allowing new vape shops within 300m of any schools.\r\nIn the UK a person must also be over the age of 18 to buy and use a vape. The cartridges in the vapes must also hold no more than two millimetres of liquid and cannot contain more than 20 milligrams of nicotine per millilitre.\r\nThe polling into Australia’s vaping restrictions was commissioned by The Australian. Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), with the company’s CEO, Theo Foukkare, saying there was major support for regulation changes from voters on all sides of politics.\r\n\'It found 88 per cent of Coalition voters, 90 per cent of Labor supporters and 93 per cent of Greens voters either agree, or strongly agree, that nicotine vapes should be strictly regulated and sold the same way that alcohol and tobacco are,\' he said.\r\n\'Whether its parents dealing with the harsh reality of the youth vaping crisis, or adults who want access to strictly regulated products with ingredient standards, there is overwhelming support across all demographics to fix Australia’s black market vaping crisis by adopting the commonsense solution of regulating vapes in the same way as tobacco.\'\r\nNearly 70 per cent of the people surveyed rated the government’s current efforts to regulate vaping as either \'poor\' or \'very poor\'.\r\n\'Just 15 per cent rated it as acceptable and only one per cent said the government’s efforts were ‘very good’. The RedBridge poll also found low confidence among voters in the current ‘prescription only’ policy,\' Mr Foukkare said.\r\n\'Just two per cent of Aussies say they are very confident in the current rules that force anyone who wants to access a vape as a quit smoking aid to go to the GP and get a prescription.\'\r\nThe poll also found that 61 per cent of voters surveyed would consider voting for a political party that had a policy to regulate vaping products in the same way as alcohol and tobacco.\r\nMr Foukkare claimed the poll should be a \'big wakeup call\' to all politicians, noting that Australians want our leaders to \'fix this mess now\'.\r\n\'All we have seen is a booming black market – littered with dangerous, poorly manufactured vapes that continue to fall into the hands of unsuspecting Australians,\' he said.\r\n\'The continued failure to strictly regulate the sale of vapes that are manufactured to a specific code and sold as an 18-and-over product is becoming a major political issue for voters and it is time for all politicians from across the divide to heed that message.\'\r\n\r\n','2023-10-23','',3,1),(356,'South China Sea: Why the Philippines and China are on a collision course','BBC NEWS','Business & Economy',3,77,'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67191205','By Rupert Wingfield-Hayes','Take a close look at a video of Sunday\'s \'collision\' between a Philippine coastguard ship and a Chinese maritime militia vessel in the South China Sea.\nAs the stern of one bumps the deck of the other, right in the middle of the frame is a Filipino television crew scrambling to get what in the business is called an \'action piece to camera\'.\nThe confrontation between Manila and Beijing over submerged shoals in the South China Sea has been going on for decades.\nBut in recent months something has changed. The spats at sea are now unfolding in the full glare of the television media. This is the second time in weeks Philippine journalists have filmed a close encounter near a particularly sensitive reef known variously as Second Thomas Shoal, Ayungin Shoal or Ren Ai Reef.\nThis is no accident. It is part of a deliberate policy by the Philippine government to shine a spotlight on what it has called China\'s \'brute force\' in asserting control over what Manila says are its waters.\n\'I think we\'ve seen a significant change this year. It\'s what I call an assertive transparency campaign,\' says retired Colonel Raymond Powell of Stanford University\'s Gordian Knot Centre.\nStarting in January, the Philippine government began feeding more video of the encounters to local media. By summer it was taking more and more journalists, including the BBC, aboard its boats and aircraft heading out into the disputed waters.\n\'It\'s been like turning on a light to show China\'s grey zone operations,\' Col Powell says.\nChina appears to have been taken aback by these new tactics.\nFor a while it looked like the strategy was working, says Oriana Skylar Mastro of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies: \'We saw a bit of a lull in China\'s activities.\'\nBeijing eased off and Manila was able to make several re-supply runs to an outpost it has on Second Thomas Shoal - an aged World War II-era landing ship called the Sierra Madre.\nIt was deliberately grounded on the reef in 1999. Since then, a tiny contingent of Philippine marines has kept lonely watch aboard the rusting hulk as it has gradually begun to fall apart. In 2014 a BBC team went aboard the ship. Even then it was in terrible condition with huge holes in its sides, and waves splashing through the structure.\nMost analysts believe China has been content to play the long game. When relations between Beijing and Manila have been good China\'s coastguard has allowed resupplies to the Sierra Madre to go ahead. When relations have turned sour, they have moved to block the resupply ships.\nBut Beijing\'s overall assessment is that the Sierra Madre cannot last forever, and at some point, the Philippines will be forced to evacuate the marines, as the ship crumbles into the sea.\nDuring the six years under former president Rodrigo Duterte that assumption appeared well-founded. But since the election of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr last year, the Philippines\' foreign policy has turned 180 degrees.\nNot only has President Marcos reversed Mr Duterte\'s policy of cosying up to Beijing, he has fully re-embraced the alliance with the United States and begun shouting loudly about China\'s incursions into Manila\'s 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone.\nThere\'s more. Sources in Manila say food and water is not the only thing the Philippines has been taking out to the Sierra Madre on resupply runs. They say it has quietly been shipping construction materials, including cement and scaffolding. The aim: to shore up the rusting ship.\n\'It\'s very hard to see how they could extend the life of the ship,\' Col Powell says. \'I think we\'re coming to a crisis point. The end is near for the Sierra Madre. It could break up very soon.\'\nPerhaps it is this new sense of urgency that is pushing both Manila and Beijing to greater assertiveness. The Philippines is desperate to cling to its presence on Ayungen Shoal. And Beijing is once again reiterating its power, determined that the Sierra Madre will not survive.\nBut if the Sierra Madre does finally crumble into the aquamarine waters of the South China Sea - or West Philippine Sea as it’s called in Manila - what happens then?\nWill Beijing swoop in and attempt to seize control of the reef as it has done elsewhere in the South China Sea? Will Manila attempt to ground another vessel on Ayungin Shoal? And how will Washington react?\nNo-one knows but that day is coming, perhaps quite soon.','2023-10-23','',3,1),(357,'Factor X','Breaking News English','Society',4,78,'https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2311/231116-factor-x-1.html','Breaking News English','Old bacteria under the ground could contain many deadly diseases. The bacteria have been trapped in permafrost for thousands of years. Permafrost is long-frozen ground. It is common in mountains and near the North and South Poles. It is melting because of climate change. This could release unknown, harmful viruses. Scientists are calling these \'Factor X\'. An infectious diseases professor said we know little about Factor X.\r\n\r\nThere are viruses in the permafrost that are up to a million years old. A virologist said these unknown, \"ancient viruses\" could be terrifying because we have never seen them before. He also said deadly diseases like smallpox could be released worldwide. Factor X could be an even bigger problem. However, scientists say the release of methane is a bigger danger from melting permafrost. Methane is 80 times more harmful than CO2.','2023-11-23','',1,1),(358,'Starship spacecraft explodes – level 2','World News for Students of English','Travel',6,78,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/starship-spacecraft-explodes-level-2/','World News for Students of English','Company SpaceX developed Starship for missions to the moon and other planets. Last week, Starship took off from a launch site in Texas.\r\n\r\nThe plan was a flight that would last 90 minutes and then the rocket would land in Hawaii. But shortly after the take-off, the spacecraft exploded. 2.5 minutes into the flight, the spacecraft broke apart, and SpaceX reported a lost signal. This is probably the reason why the rocket destructed itself.\r\n\r\nFor SpaceX, the test was important for improving Starship. The company has a 4-billion contract with NASA and it still believes in future missions to the moon and Mars using reusable rockets. It was the craft’s second test following an explosion in April.','2023-11-30','',1,1),(359,'LEADERSHIP 35-year-old CEO of $100 million company: I ‘don’t remember’ anything I learned in college—here’s why it was valuable anyway','CNBC','Politics',1,78,'https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/14/slutty-vegan-ceo-pinky-cole-on-the-value-of-college-networking.html ','Ashton Jackson','College prepared Pinky Cole well to be the CEO of a $100 million company, she says — just not in the way you might think.\r\nCole, 35, runs Slutty Vegan, an Atlanta-based vegan burger chain with 11 locations across Georgia, New York and Texas. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mass media arts from Clark Atlanta University, one of the city’s historically Black colleges and universities, in 2009 — and says the classes she took don’t really help her in her day job.\r\nBut that didn’t make college worthless, she says.\r\n“I’m going to be totally transparent with you. When I went to college, all the stuff that I learned, I don’t remember [any] of it,” Cole tells CNBC Make It. “What I do remember is the relationships that I built along the way.”\r\nHer sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, for example, taught her leadership skills and professionalism, and gave her relationships with people she “still connects with to this day,” she says. When she happens to see former classmates at conferences or business meetings, finding avenues for potential partnerships is easier because “we’ve already built a rapport.”\r\n“The people who I went to school with are now executives and CEOs of some of the biggest companies in the country, but I’ve been able to build those relationships before they became these big-time executives,”     says Cole. “So the relationship is organic, it’s authentic.”\r\nIndeed, Clark Atlanta’s alumni range from pop stars to politicians. Chance encounters at homecoming events can lead to business opportunities — which is likely the case for many schools, not just Cole’s alma mater.\r\nThat’s valuable: Networking can result in higher quality job offers and help you climb the corporate ladder faster, according to 2016 research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. And while it’s certainly possible to connect with high-powered people without a shared academic experience, college graduates tend to have better career prospects and financial outcomes than high school-only graduates.\r\nCollege graduates earned 75% more last year, on average, according to the San Francisco Fed, a research nonprofit. College graduates also reported a 2% unemployment rate last year, compared with 7% for their counterparts, the National Center for Education Statistics reported.\r\nCole’s own college experience was worth every penny, purely due to those connections she’s made, she says.\r\n“If I could turn back the hands of time, I would do it all over again ... spend $200,000 to go to school, to make some relationships and network with those people,” she says. “Because guess what, your network is your net worth.”\r\nHer advice to anyone on the fence, she adds: “By all means, I believe that you should go, because the relationships, if nothing else, will be the thing that will support and carry you [on your career journey].”','2023-11-14','',2,1),(360,'India to launch two more space probes this year - media','Big News Network','Politics',1,78,'https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/274032221/india-to-launch-two-more-space-probes-this-year---media ','RT.COM','The ISRO is conducting several tests in the run-up to Gaganyaan, the nation\'s first manned mission\r\nIndia\'s national space agency is looking to launch at least two more missions in 2023 as a part of the country\'s ambitious effort to set up its own space station by 2035 and send its first manned mission to the Moon by 2040. The targets were set by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. \r\nIn the next two months, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) space observatory and the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM), a platform that will help perform experiments in orbit using the discarded stage of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) as an orbital platform, the agency\'s chairman, S Somanath, told the Times of India. \r\nXPoSat is India\'s first polarimetry mission; it seeks to study the dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions and is designed to have a mission life of at least five years.\r\nThe ISRO will also launch an INSAT-3DS satellite built for meteorological studies from another indigenously-developed launch system, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark II. It is crucial, according to the outlet, as India is preparing to launch the $1.5 billion NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), a Low Earth Orbit observatory that is being developed by NASA and the ISRO.                                                                                                                    \r\nEncouraged by the success of its missions to the Moon (Chandrayaan-3) and Sun (Aditya-L1), the ISRO is planning several crucial missions in the coming years. These include an in-orbit servicer mission, a lunar sample return mission, docking in space, a Mars lander, and Gaganyaan - a manned space mission set for 2025.\r\nIn October, the ISRO launched the first of a series of test flights in preparation for the Gaganyaan mission. The basic crew module in the mission turned upside down while being recovered by naval divers in the sea.\r\nIn 2024, the space agency will conduct an experiment in a crew module to ensure it remains upright after splashing down. The astronauts for the mission, who were initially being trained in Russia, are undergoing further training in India to prepare for takeoff. \r\nLunar sample return missions are also considered critical as they will lay the groundwork for India to launch a manned mission to the Moon. The \'lunar hop\' performed by the Chandrayaan-3 launched earlier this year is considered the precursor to the upcoming mission. It demonstrated the Chandrayaan-3\'s ability to lift off from the surface of the Moon, meaning it could return with samples in the future. \r\nThe progress of the country\'s first human spaceflight mission was discussed last month at a high-level meeting chaired by Modi. The Indian leader said that the ISRO should aim to set up a space station by 2035 and send the first Indian to the Moon by 2040. In the follow-up, the space agency has formed specific committees overseeing various missions, Somanath said.\r\n\r\n','2023-11-14','',2,1),(362,'China’s property sector needs more government support as crisis deepens','CNBC','Politics',1,78,'https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/21/chinas-property-troubles-are-getting-worse-and-need-beijings-support.html ','Evelyn Cheng','BEIJING — China’s property market, which makes up a substantial chunk of the country’s economy, needs more government support to prevent it from deteriorating further, analysts said.\r\nExisting home prices fell in October by the most since 2014, while outstanding property loans fell for the first time in history, Larry Hu, chief economist at Macquarie, said in a note Friday.\r\nThat indicates increased drags on both the demand and the supply side.\r\nPolicy so far has focused on boosting demand. But the government hasn’t “addressed the most important issue: credit risk related to developers,” according to a Macquarie report.\r\n“Without a lender of last resort, a self-fulfilled confidence crisis could easily happen as falling sales and rising default risks reinforce each other,” the report said. “Indeed, some large developers have recently seen their credit risks rising rapidly.”\r\nBeijing has sought to reduce real estate developers’ high reliance on debt to fuel growth, while tamping down on a surge in home prices that has made buying an apartment in major cities prohibitively expensive for many young Chinese households.\r\nUBS analysts estimated that real estate and related sectors now account for about 22% of China’s gross domestic product, down from around 25% levels seen in recent years.                                              \r\nSince November 2022, Chinese authorities have rolled out a raft of measures aimed at improving developers’ access to financing and reducing mortgage rates.\r\nHowever, real estate behemoth Country Garden still ended up defaulting on a U.S. dollar bond last month, according to Bloomberg News.\r\nOn the homebuyers side, Nomura analysts last week estimated about 20 million units across China have been sold — but not yet completed.\r\nApartments are typically sold ahead of completion in China. Developers’ inability to finish construction on pre-sold properties prompted many homebuyers last year to stop mortgage payments on homes they had already bought but had yet to receive.\r\nMarkets ‘too optimistic’?\r\nRecent figures indicate that property sector troubles are only worsening.\r\nThe average price for existing homes across 70 major cities fell by 0.6% in October from the prior month, compared with a 0.5% drop in September, with China’s largest cities leading declines, Nomura analysts said in a report last week citing official data.\r\nThat’s concerning since larger cities are expected to have a more sustained demand for homes due to the availability of jobs.\r\n“China’s property sector has yet to bottom out,” the report said. “Markets appear to have been a bit too optimistic about the property stimulus policies over the past two months.”\r\nMore high-level signals\r\nPolicymakers in the last few days have made an effort to signal more support.\r\nThe People’s Bank of China late Friday announced it held a meeting with other financial regulators to allow lending to real estate developers that are “operating normally”, among other signals of support. The authorities also called for developing affordable housing, according to the readout.\r\n“The meeting should help avoid an undesirable contraction of credit extension in the final two months of the year, as financial institutions try to time new loan deals to the new year to engineer a strong start,” Citi analysts said in a report Monday.\r\n“The continued emphasis on supporting real estate financing and LGFV debt resolution will continue [to help] prevent risks [from] escalating,” the report said. “As fragile growth continues to call for an accommodative monetary environment, the meeting is moving along the needed direction while more supports are still needed to boost private sentiment.”\r\nShares of several major property companies closed higher on Monday, with developer Sunac rising 5.9% in Hong Kong trading.','2023-11-20','',3,1),(363,'Waves of waste: The harsh truth about ocean plastic','DW','Politics',1,78,'https://www.dw.com/en/waves-of-waste-the-harsh-truth-about-ocean-plastic/a-67370326 ','Alistair Walsh','From the depths of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to global shorelines, recycling and cleanup crusades are in full swing. But do they stand a chance against the plastic deluge?\r\nJust below the surface of the world\'s largest ocean, toothbrushes, children\'s toys, fishing nets and food packaging all coalesce into a thick soup of oil and gas-based waste, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.\r\nAt least 14 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year, according to the IUCN, an international nature conservation organization. There, it is being ingested by animals, entering the food chain and damaging ecosystems.\r\nHowever phenomenal the volume, nonprofit The Ocean Cleanup believes it can deal with the bulk of the mess by dragging massive u-shaped nets through rubbish hotspots at sea and using floating barriers to intercept trash from about 1,000 polluted rivers.\r\nIn the decade since it began, The Ocean Cleanup says it has removed about 7.5 million tons of plastic, and with sufficient funding believes it can clear away 90% of plastic floating on the surface.\r\nBut the organization, which has received funding from the likes of Coca Cola and polymer producer SABIC owned by oil company Saudi Aramco, has been criticized for helping to greenwash companies linked to plastic pollution.\r\nIs it worth it?                                                                                                         \r\nNonprofits Oceancare in Switzerland and the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency see such ocean cleanup technologies as a distraction from stemming the flow of mismanaged plastic waste in the first place.\r\n\"It\'s like sticking a Band Aid on a broken leg,\" said Christina Dixon, ocean campaign leader at the Environmental Investigation Agency. \"It sounds good on paper, but it\'s not really addressing the actual big impact of plastic pollution on the environment.\"\r\nShe said a focus on expensive cleanup operations is misdirecting resources to the wrong end of the problem, and that such technologies are emissions intensive. They can also inadvertently harm marine life in the process of catching plastic, though The Ocean Cleanup disputes this.\r\nDixon spoke to DW from Kenya\'s capital Nairobi, where international delegates are meeting this week to try piece together an ambitious global treaty to end plastic pollution, similar to the Paris Agreement on climate change.\r\nAs fossil fuel companies such as ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco invest heavily in plastic production to hedge against the renewable energy transition, mismanaged plastic waste will double by 2060 globally, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Without significant action, there may be more plastic than fish in the ocean, by weight, by 2050.\r\n\"If the bath is filling and overflowing, you can try and put a pump in and start pumping it out. But really, we\'ve got to go to the source to turn the tap off,\" said Marcus Gover, the plastics initiative director at Australian non-profit Minderoo Foundation.\r\nHow to stop the tide of plastic\r\nGover said negotiators in Nairobi have a choice of options in front of them to address plastic pollution, much like a restaurant menu.\r\n\"If we make the right choices, we could come up with a meal that\'s really good for us. But equally, if we make the wrong choices and go for the fast food options on there, then it\'s not going to be healthy,\" Gover said.\r\nModeling of potential agreements suggests that a robust treaty could reduce mismanaged plastic waste up to 95% by 2040 compared to a business-as-usual scenario.\r\nThis approach would require globally binding rules to reduce plastic production, eliminate problematic and avoidable plastics, expand circularity, and improve disposal methods.\r\nFelix Cornehl, a former UK government advisor involved in the modeling said it would require a seven-fold increase in global recycling rates and would still leave room for even more robust action.\r\n\"If we have limited resources available, stopping that flow from the beginning and going upstream — reducing unnecessary production of plastic and keeping produced plastic in the system as long as possible are cheaper, but I think there is still a place for helping communities deal with the waste that is currently in the system,\" Cornehl said.\r\nVested interests at play\r\nBut addressing upstream production might prove difficult, given the influence of plastic producers in the talks, according to a group of scientists who are advising delegates in Nairobi.\r\nBethanie Carney Almroth, a professor of ecotoxicology at Sweden\'s University of Gothenburg, said pro-plastic lobbyists are working to stall progress on capping production, sowing doubt with techniques similar to Big Tobacco\'s efforts to block smoking regulation.\r\nAlmroth said all scientific evidence shows that capping the production of plastic was essential to ending plastic pollution, but that lobbyists were seizing on end-of-life technologies such as ocean cleanups and chemical recycling to divert action.\r\n\"It\'s a way for companies to sort of buy themselves free,\" Almroth said. \"It\'s like a \'Get Out of Jail Free\' card.\"\r\nBut the people doing the dirty cleanup work don\'t see it as a binary choice.\r\n\"We need to do something about production, we need to change our behavior when it comes to plastic usage, but we also need to take out the stuff that is already out there,\" said The Ocean Cleanup\'s director of communications, Joost Dubois.\r\n\"The cleanup is just one element of what will lead to the end of plastic pollution. We mop the floor, but somebody will also have to work on closing the tap.\"','2023-11-13','',3,1),(364,'Beverly Hills of Dubai – level 2','News in level','Business & Economy',3,79,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/beverly-hills-of-dubai-level-2/','News in LEVEL','In Emirates Hills, known as the Beverly Hills of Dubai, rich Indians are surpassing China’s rich in contributing to global wealth.\r\n\r\nThe area is popular among Indian businessmen. They live in mansions, like the 2,400-square-meter villa of Dano Group’s founder. Despite Dano’s strong position in the UAE for three decades, its growing prosperity is heavily influenced by money from India.  Rich Indians are an important part of the company’s customers.\r\n\r\nThe UAE is very attractive for Indians because of its easy visa policies, low taxes, and proximity. Experts expect that the UAE will become the top destination for migrating rich Indians.','2024-01-07','',1,1),(365,'Early Risers','Breaking News English','Lifestyle',8,79,'https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2312/231221-early-risers-1.html','Breaking News English','Early risers naturally wake up early because of their body clock. Most people are still in deep sleep. Researchers said early risers share DNA with Neanderthals – our ancestors from 40,000 years ago. They lived in northern Europe and Asia. They woke up earlier to gather food as the sun rose. A researcher said our body clock can change with the light of different seasons. He said a \"faster\" body clock makes people \"more likely to rise early\".\r\n\r\nThe researchers looked at genetic information to find out why some people are early birds and others are night owls. The early birds shared DNA with Neanderthals. However, the effect of the Neanderthal DNA may be weakening as time passes. Our modern lifestyles mean many of us prefer to sleep in and not get up. Nevertheless, it may still be true that the early bird catches the worm.','2024-01-07','',1,1),(366,'Caterpillar invests in tech startup Nth Cycle to boost recycling','Reuters','Business & Economy',3,79,'https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/caterpillar-invests-tech-startup-nth-cycle-boost-recycling-2023-12-04/','Reuters',' Caterpillar (CAT.N) is investing in recycling technology developer Nth Cycle as part of a push to boost the reuse of metals used to make batteries and construction equipment.\r\nThe investment, announced on Monday, comes as part of a $44 million Series B round of financing in privately-held Nth Cycle, which is among a crop of firms racing to commercialize recycling methods for the green energy transition.\r\nMassachusetts-based Nth Cycle\'s technology, designed to be used in a portable system it has branded \'Oyster,\' utilizes an electrochemical process to selectively extract nickel and cobalt from scrap, batteries or mined rock.\r\nExecutives are marketing that versatility to mining companies and the electric vehicle industry.\r\nEach Oyster facility is able to process 3,000 metric tons per year of material and produce 300 to 500 metric tons per year of nickel or cobalt, depending on the source material.\r\n\"The beauty of our system is that it\'s truly modular,\" Megan O\'Connor, Nth Cycle\'s co-founder and CEO, said in an interview. \"We want our customers to have options.\"\r\nThe first Oyster is being built in Ohio and expected to open in 2024. The company says that its process produces a lithium and graphite waste byproduct that it plans to sell, but reuses water and some acids.                                                                                                                     \r\nThe company\'s name is meant to evoke the mathematical term \"nth\" and point to the potential for metals to the continuously recycled.\r\nTexas-based Caterpillar, which makes heavy machinery emblazoned with its iconic yellow paint, said Nth\'s Cycle\'s technology can \"help get valuable materials\" back into circulation.\r\n\"Caterpillar\'s collaboration with Nth Cycle supports our commitment to helping our customers achieve their climate-related objectives and establishing a circular value chain,\" said Rod Shurman, Caterpillar\'s senior vice president of electrification and energy solutions, in a statement released by Nth Cycle.\r\nNorwegian oil giant Equinor (EQNR.OL), VoLo Earth Ventures, and MM Catalyst Fund I also participated in the Series B funding round. Equinor had invested in Nth Cycle\'s last funding round, announced in 2022.\r\n','2023-12-04','',2,1),(367,'Pint-sized bottles of wine to be sold after Brexit review','BBC NEWS','Lifestyle',8,79,'https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67795075 ','By Paul Seddon','Pint-sized bottles of still and sparkling wine are to appear on shelves in the UK, the government has said.\r\nThe new 568ml size will offer more choice for customers, according to the Department for Business and Trade.\r\nIt also said it will not introduce new rules on selling in imperial measures.\r\nLegislation to be tabled in the new year will see the pint-sized bottles sold in supermarkets, pubs, clubs and restaurants.\r\nAfter Brexit, ministers had looked at changing laws inherited from the EU that mean traders can use Britain\'s traditional weighing system only alongside the metric one.\r\nThe new legislation will also allow still wine to be sold in 200ml containers, potentially paving the way for an expansion in the canned wine market.\r\nWhile sparkling wines will be allowed to be sold in 500ml bottles, between a standard full (750ml) and half (375ml) size.\r\nCurrently, still wine cannot be sold in 200ml quantities and sparkling wine cannot be sold in 500ml amounts.\r\nHowever, it remains to be seen what the demand will be for pint-sized wine bottles among producers and bottlers.\r\nPint-sized bottles for champagne were said to be the favourite size of British wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill, and were on shelves until 1973 when the UK joined the European Common Market.                                                                                                       \r\nThe government has confirmed it is not planning to change the rules on selling in imperial measures after Brexit.\r\nMinisters looked at changing laws inherited from the EU that mean traders can use Britain\'s traditional weighing system only alongside the metric one.\r\nEU rules meant traders could display imperial measurements - such as pounds and ounces - only alongside metric, and they could not be more prominent.\r\nThey hit the headlines in 2001 following the prosecution of the \"metric martyrs\", a group of market traders convicted of selling goods using only imperial, although they were not enforced rigorously afterwards.\r\nThe rules were initially copied over after Brexit, but Boris Johnson\'s government subsequently announced they would be reviewed as part of a plan to \"capitalise on the benefits of Brexit\".\r\nThe then-prime minister pledged to change the rules ahead of the 2019 election, calling imperial measurements an \"ancient liberty\" and adding he saw \"no reason why people should be prosecuted\" for using them.\r\nBut the government has now said it will not change the rules, after 98.7% of respondents to a consultation favoured using metric as the main measurement unit for sales, as now, or as the only unit.\r\n','2023-12-27','',2,1),(368,'How Britain\'s taste for tea may have been a life saver','BBC NEWS','Lifestyle',8,79,'https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231215-how-britains-taste-for-tea-may-have-been-a-life-saver ','Veronique Greenwood','Tea quickly became one of the British Empire\'s most prized resources in the 18th Century. But it may have also had an unintended effect on the British population – reducing mortality rates.\r\nTea has been many things in its time – a global commodity, a comforting beverage, and even, in the eyes of some Bostonians 250 years ago this week, a symbol of oppressive politics. But one role you might not have attributed to tea is that of a life-saving health intervention.\r\nIn a recent paper in the Review of Statistics and Economics, economist Francisca Antman of the University of Colorado, Boulder, makes a convincing case that the explosion of tea as an everyman\'s drink in late 1700s England saved many lives. This would not have been because of any antioxidants or other substances inherent to the lauded leaf.\r\nInstead, the simple practice of boiling water for tea, in an era before people understood that illness could be caused by water-borne pathogens, may have been enough to keep many from an early grave.\r\nEnglish demographics from this era have long contained a puzzle for historians. Between 1761 and 1834, the annual death rate declined substantially, from 28 to 25 per 1,000 people. But at the same time, wages do not seem to have risen much and standards of living arguably did not increase. In fact, with the rise of the industrial revolution,more and more people were crowding into towns whose sanitation left much to be desired. \"I would say it\'s not a settled debate,\" says Antman.\r\nThe idea that tea might be the missing link here, thanks to the need to boil water for a proper brew, had been floated by historians in the past. Boiling water kills bacteria that cause diarrheal diseases like dysentery, which was often called \"flux\" or \"bloody flux\" in death records.\r\n\"With people coming into cities to work, you would expect, given the level of sanitation they have, that the big killer is water,\" says Antman. But it remained a somewhat fuzzy idea, interesting in theory but difficult to prove.\r\nAntman developed a way to test it, using detailed geographical information about more than 400 parishes across England. There is a simple assumption at the heart of her study: more water sources in an area likely means cleaner water. If one source was contaminated, the inhabitants of a parish could go to another. What\'s more, if people were closer to the sources of rivers – something Antman infers from parishes\' elevation – that water was likely safer than in parishes further downstream.\r\nThere were many things already to recommend tea as a drink of the masses.\r\nBy assigning parishes an inferred level of water quality, Antman could see whether areas with worse water quality saw a bigger decline in mortality than those with good water.\r\nIn terms of testing this hypothesis, the key date is 1785, the moment when tea suddenly became affordable for the vast majority of Britons. There were many things already to recommend tea as a drink of the masses: you could make a satisfying brew with just a small amount of leaves, the leaves could be reused for multiple pots, and tea was potentially cheaper than beer, which was rendered expensive both by the complex process required to make it and by a tax on malt.\r\nBut when 1784\'s Tea and Windows Act went into effect, the tax on tea went from 119% to just 12.5% and tea consumption exploded. By the end of the 18th Century, even very poor peasants were having tea twice a day, tea historian Alan Macfarlane writes.\r\nTo see if this change correlated with decreased mortality, Antman compared death rates before and after this watershed moment. For this she drew on the remarkable work of demographers E A Wrigley and R S Schofield, who in the mid-20th Century collected parish records from all over England spanning 1541 to 1871, including deaths.\r\nAs expected, Antman found that death rates declined in both parishes with good water and those with bad – but there was a significant difference in the size of the decline. Parishes with bad water saw death rates drop 18% more than those with good water.\r\nWhat\'s more, she looked to see whether deaths in London from waterborne diseases like \"bloody flux\", and deaths from airborne pathogens like tuberculosis, or \"consumption\", were linked to levels of tea imports. Indeed, flux deaths declined when tea imports went up, while TB deaths remained about the time.\r\nSometimes people\'s existing behaviours can make more of a difference to their health than an explicit intervention might\r\nShe also checked to see whether deaths in children – not known, in this age or any other, for being major consumers of tea – changed in London with tea imports, and found that there did not seem to be a decline in deaths of those ages two to five.\r\nInterestingly, there was a slight decline in infant deaths, perhaps reflecting the fact that if tea-drinking parents had less diarrheal disease, their very young children might have been protected a bit as well – though Antman points out there is no way to know for sure.\r\nFor Antman, who primarily works on issues related to developing nations, this natural experiment in England all those years ago reflects a fundamental truth: sometimes people\'s existing behaviours can make more of a difference to their health than an explicit intervention might.\r\nBuilding more privies, developing better plumbing and sewage systems, and teaching people to keep drinking water and wastewater scrupulously separate all might have extended people\'s lives, had such interventions been widely understood and available.\r\nBut with relatively little change to their habits, merely an increase in a behavior they already enjoyed, people seem to have protected themselves. All part of the pleasure of a simple cup of tea.\r\n','2023-12-17','',3,1),(369,'AI Breakthroughs In 2024: First-Of-Their-Kind Use Cases','Forbes','Business & Economy',3,79,'https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilsahota/2023/12/27/ai-breakthroughs-in-2024-first-of-their-kind-use-cases/?sh=2bc4399650b8','Neil Sahota','In 2024, we will mark a new era of technological innovation with AI. What will make the biggest impact? There are three first-of-their-kind uses cases that will become a reality in the upcoming year.\r\n1) AI in Environmental Restoration: Reviving Coral Reefs\r\nCoral reefs, vital to marine ecosystems, have been facing severe threats due to climate change and pollution. While humanity has been employing a variety of solutions for coral restoration, AI will become a transformative force in helping us aid in the restoration of these essential marine habitats.\r\nThe AI Solution\r\nResearchers will develop an AI system that can analyze vast amounts of oceanographic data to identify optimal coral restoration sites. This AI platform will use machine learning algorithms to assess factors like water temperature, acidity, and existing marine life to predict the survival rate of coral in various locations. Already, in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, which has suffered significant damage, became the testing ground for this AI technology. Drones equipped with AI capabilities were used to map the reef and gather data. The AI system then processed this information to guide restoration efforts, identifying key areas where coral transplantation would be most effective.\r\nThe Impact                                                                                                                                                                                                                        \r\nThe results will be remarkable. The AI-guided restoration will achieve a success rate previously thought unattainable, leading to a significant increase in healthy coral coverage. This pioneering application of AI not only aids in conserving marine biodiversity but also serves as a model for environmental restoration projects worldwide.\r\n2) AI-Powered Personalized Education\r\nEducation has long been a one-size-fits-all model, often failing to address individual learning needs. In 2024, AI will foster a breakthrough in precision education.\r\nThe AI Solution\r\nAn AI system, equipped with advanced natural language processing and machine learning, will be launched to create personalized learning experiences. Some of the pieces exist as organic, function specific platforms. Today, we have AI tools like Cerebry, an AI math teaching assistant, and Khanmigo, an AI tutor. However, 2024 will mark the consolidation, integration, and gap fulfillment to develop true end-to-end AI educational systems. These AI platforms will analyze a student’s learning style, pace, and comprehension level to tailor educational content accordingly and create an individually customized curriculum for each student.\r\nThe Impact\r\nThe introduction of these AI-powered precision education tools will lead to a significant improvement in student engagement, conceptual understanding, and knowledge application. It will bridge learning gaps, particularly benefiting students who traditionally struggled in a conventional classroom setting. This application of AI in education will set a new standard for personalized learning, paving the way for a more inclusive and effective educational system.\r\n3) AI in Predictive Healthcare: Personalized Treatment Plans\r\nThe healthcare industry has always sought ways to provide more accurate and personalized care. In 2024, AI will make a substantial contribution in this area by enabling the creation of predictive, personalized treatment plans.\r\nThe AI Solution\r\nLeveraging AI algorithms capable of processing and analyzing vast amounts of medical data, including genetic information, lifestyle factors, and environmental influences, we will develop a new AI system focused on individual care. This AI platform will predict an individual’s risk of developing certain diseases and suggest personalized prevention or treatment plans that the person is most likely to commit to and implement. Today, we are already seeing breakthrough cases emerging with the application of this AI system in oncology. A clinic in Europe used the AI platform to analyze patients\' genetic data and lifestyle factors, successfully predicting their susceptibility to specific types of cancer. The system then recommended personalized lifestyle changes and medical interventions to mitigate these risks. Making the leap to broader health issues is not the far off, and we have the data but lack the models. Thus, in 2024, we will make great strides into developing these health models for healthcare use.\r\nThe Impact\r\nThis AI-driven approach in healthcare will revolutionize preventative medicine and personalized treatment strategies. AI assistance will help health practitioners generate significantly improved patient outcomes, particularly in the early detection and prevention of diseases. This innovation will also accelerate new avenues for research in predictive healthcare, offering hope for more effective disease management and treatment.\r\nThe year 2024 will mark a turning point in AI applications, with innovations spanning environmental restoration, education, and healthcare. These first-of-their-kind use cases demonstrate AI\'s potential to address complex global challenges, offering solutions that are both innovative and impactful. As AI continues to evolve, its transformative power is bound to unlock even more possibilities, reshaping the future in ways we are just beginning to imagine.\r\nThese groundbreaking opportunities not only highlight the advancements in AI technology but also underscore the importance of ethical considerations and responsible AI deployment. As we embrace these new possibilities, it is crucial to ensure that AI is used to enhance human welfare and protect our planet, setting a precedent for future technological developments. The journey of AI in 2024 will be a testament to human ingenuity and a beacon of hope for a better, more sustainable future.\r\n','2023-12-27','',3,1),(370,'Breaking News English Lesson: Fire Ants','Breaking News English','Environment',9,80,'Breaking News English Lesson: Fire Ants','Breaking News English','Australia\'s ecosystems are under threat from one of the world\'s most invasive species – the red fire ant. The tiny ant is native to South America, but has spread worldwide. It causes huge damage to crops and farms. It also kills indigenous insects and other animals, including livestock. The ant\'s painful and venomous sting can cause allergic reactions in humans. It is deadly and can cause fatal anaphylactic shock. The Minister for Agriculture called the ants a \"super-pest, which cause serious social, economic and environmental harm\".\r\n\r\nRed fire ants were first found in Australia in 2001. They were only in the state of Queensland, until now. Australia\'s Invasive Species Council (ISC) says the ants are spreading because of flood waters. They are clinging to each other to create \"rafts\" on the water. An ISC statement said: \"Fire ants are more active before or after rainfall and can form large floating rafts, which move with water currents to establish footholds in new areas.\" It warned that the fire ants will reach \"every corner of Australia\" if the current outbreak is not kept in check.','2024-02-03','',1,1),(371,'Why people in Sweden do not smoke – level 2','News in level','Health',2,80,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/why-people-in-sweden-do-not-smoke-level-2/','News in LEVEL','Meet Morton, a 20-year-old in Stockholm. During his lunch break, he picks up fresh snus, a popular smokeless tobacco product in Sweden.\r\n\r\nSnus is a small bag of tobacco, which you place under your lip. It contains nicotine.  Some people believe that Sweden’s low smoking rates, 5.6% in 2022, are thanks to snus.  But there is a problem with these nicotine bags. While fewer people smoke, snus and nicotine pouch use increases, especially among women. Nicotine bags, without tobacco, are a recent addiction.\r\n\r\nExperts expect the global nicotine pouch market to reach 17.6 billion dollars by 2029. Some people say that snus became popular in Sweden thanks to anti-smoking measures from the 1990s.\r\n\r\n','2024-02-03','',1,1),(372,'World\'s richest men \'double their wealth\' in three years - as Oxfam warns of first trillionaire','Sky News','Business & Economy',3,80,'https://news.sky.com/story/worlds-richest-men-double-their-wealth-in-three-years-as-oxfam-warns-of-first-trillionaire-13048652','Sky News','World\'s richest men \'double their wealth\' in three years - as Oxfam warns of first trillionaire\r\nOxfam\'s boss says it\'s \"totally unacceptable\" one person could soon be so extremely rich while many around the world still live in terrible poverty.\r\nThe world\'s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes to £688bn in three years - while the wealth of the poorest 60% has fallen, according to Oxfam.\r\nIt says the first trillionaire could emerge within a decade but that poverty won\'t be eradicated for 229 years.\r\nThe charity\'s report, Inequality Inc, comes as business and political leaders meet for the World Economic Forum in the upmarket Swiss ski resort of Davos.\r\nIt\'s traditionally used the occasion to highlight the divide between rich and poor, but this year says the gap has been \"supercharged\" since the pandemic.\r\nThe fortunes of Tesla boss Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault - owner of luxury goods firm LVMH, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle\'s Larry Ellison and investment guru Warren Buffet, have increased 114% in real terms since 2020, says Oxfam.\r\nTheir collective wealth is said to have grown from £321bn to £688bn.\r\nMusk alone is estimated to be worth about £180bn, according to the real-time Forbes list Oxfam used for its calculations.\r\nHowever, the 4.7 billion people who make up the world\'s poorest 60% have become 0.2% poorer         in real terms, Oxfam says, with many countries unable to give the COVID financial support of richer nations.\r\nThe charity\'s interim boss says the prospect of a trillionaire in the next 10 years - while poverty could take 200-plus years to resolve - was \"totally unacceptable\"\r\n\"This ever-widening gulf between the rich and the rest isn\'t accidental, nor is it inevitable,\" said Aleema Shivji.\r\n\"Governments worldwide are making deliberate political choices that enable and encourage this distorted concentration of wealth, while hundreds of millions of people live in poverty.\r\n\"A fairer economy is possible, one that works for us all. What\'s needed are concerted policies that deliver fairer taxation and support for everyone, not just the privileged.\"\r\nOxfam is hoping its report can help pressurise policymakers in Davos for the 15-19 January summit.\r\nAmong those attending are Ukraine\'s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Argentina\'s new president Javier Milei, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.\r\nOxfam wants governments to reduce corporate power by measures such as breaking up monopolies, capping bosses\' pay and bringing in higher taxes on excess profit and wealth.\r\nIt\'s also pushing for alternatives to the shareholder model, such as forms of employee ownership, and more fair-trade businesses.','2024-01-15','',2,1),(373,'North Korea: Rare footage shows teens sentenced to hard labour over K-drama','BBC NEWS Seoul','Society',4,80,'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68015652','By Sangmi Han','Rare footage obtained by BBC Korean shows North Korea publicly sentencing two teenage boys to 12 years of hard labour for watching K-dramas.\r\nThe footage, which appears to have been filmed in 2022, shows two 16-year-old boys handcuffed in front of hundreds of students at an outdoor stadium.\r\nIt also shows uniformed officers reprimanding the boys for not \"deeply reflecting on their mistakes\".\r\nSouth Korean entertainment, including TV, is banned in the North.\r\nDespite that, some are prepared to risk severe punishment to access K-dramas, which have a huge global audience.\r\nFootage such as this is rare, because North Korea forbids photos, videos and other evidence of life in the country from being leaked to the outside world.\r\nThis video was provided to the BBC by the South and North Development (Sand), a research institute that works with defectors from the North.\r\nIt suggests authorities are coming down harder on such incidents. The clip has reportedly been distributed in North Korea for ideology education and to warn citizens not to watch \"decadent recordings\".\r\nThe video includes a narrator who is repeating state propaganda. \"The rotten puppet regime\'s culture has spread even to teenagers,\" says the voice, in an apparent reference to South Korea. \"They are just 16 years old, but they ruined their own future,\" it adds.                    \r\nThe boys were also named by officers and had their addresses revealed.\r\nIn the past, minors who broke the law in this way would be sent to youth labour camps rather than put behind bars, and the punishment was usually less than five years.\r\nIn 2020, however, Pyongyang enacted a law to make watching or distributing South Korean entertainment punishable by death.\r\nA defector previously told the BBC that he was forced to watch a 22-year-old man shot to death. He said the man was accused of listening to South Korean music and had shared films from the South with his friend.\r\nSand CEO Choi Kyong-hui said Pyongyang sees the spread of K-dramas and K-pop as a danger to its ideology.\r\n\"Admiration for South Korean society can soon lead to a weakening of the system... This goes against the monolithic ideology that makes North Koreans revere the Kim family,\" she said.\r\nNorth Koreans started getting a taste of South Korean entertainment in the 2000s, during the years of the South\'s \"sunshine policy\" which saw it offering unconditional economic and humanitarian aid to the North.\r\nSeoul ended the policy in 2010, saying it found the aid did not reach the ordinary North Koreans it was intended for, and that it had not resulted in any \"positive changes\" to Pyongyang\'s behaviour.\r\nBut South Korean entertainment continued to reach North Korea through China.\r\n\"If you get caught watching an American drama, you can get away with a bribe, but if you watch a Korean drama, you get shot,\" a North Korean defector told BBC Korean on Thursday.\r\n\"For North Korean people, Korean dramas are a \'drug\' that helps them forget their difficult reality,\" the defector said.\r\n\"In North Korea, we learn that South Korea lives much worse than us, but when you watch South Korean dramas, it\'s a completely different world. It seems like the North Korean authorities are wary of that,\" said another North Korean defector in her 20s.','2024-01-18','',2,1),(374,'Researchers develop eco-friendly material from mushrooms, coffee grounds and natural pineapple fibers','by Tsinghua University Press','Technology',10,80,'https://phys.org/news/2024-01-eco-friendly-material-mushrooms-coffee.html','by Tsinghua University Press','Researchers have developed a novel eco-friendly material, dubbed \"mycelium-based composites (MBCs).\" Mycelium-based composites (MBCs) are renowned for their unique properties, making them an increasingly popular choice in various industries, particularly for applications where sustainability and environmental impact are key considerations.\r\nThe study, \"Fabrication of mycelium (oyster mushroom)-based composites derived from spent coffee grounds with pineapple fibre reinforcement,\" has been published in Mycology.\r\nOne of the standout features of MBCs is their biodegradability. Unlike many synthetic materials, MBCs can be composted at the end of their lifecycle, breaking down into harmless, natural substances, thereby significantly reducing waste and lessening their environmental footprint.\r\nThe production process of MBCs is inherently sustainable. These composites are derived from renewable resources, as mycelium—the root structure of fungi—can be grown on various organic waste materials. This approach not only repurposes waste but also ensures that the production of MBCs is eco-friendly, consuming less energy compared to traditional plastics and synthetic materials.\r\nIn terms of physical properties, MBCs are highly versatile. Their strength and density can be customized to suit a range of applications, from lightweight packaging solutions to more robust building materials.                                            This flexibility is a key advantage, allowing for a wide range of uses in different contexts.\r\nMoreover, MBCs possess excellent natural insulation properties, both thermal and acoustic, which makes them an attractive option in the construction sector, particularly for insulation panels. Additionally, certain treatments and growth conditions can render these composites fire-resistant, enhancing their safety profile and expanding their applicability in scenarios where fire resistance is crucial.\r\nThis innovative study, spearheaded by Dr. Nattawut Boonyuen, a mycologist from the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) at the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), and Dr. Pitak Laoratanakul from the National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC), also at NSTDA, marks a significant advancement in sustainable material sciences.\r\nCollaborating with other researchers from King Mongkut\'s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) and King Mongkut\'s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), this innovative research led by Dr. Nattawut Boonyuen resulted in the creation of a novel material that merges oyster mushroom mycelia with used coffee grounds, and marks a significant advancement in the domains of packaging and construction.\r\nThis unique blend, further enriched with natural pineapple fibers, signifies a substantial breakthrough in the development of sustainable materials. By adjusting the proportion of pineapple fibers incorporated into the composite, its characteristics can be modified, ranging from increased strength to improved water resistance. This adaptability allows for its application across a diverse array of uses, showcasing its versatility.\r\nThe MBCs\' fire-resistant nature further underscores their practicality, merging environmental sustainability with safety. This aspect of the composites is particularly noteworthy in the material sciences domain, where such a combination is rare.\r\nThis development is more than just an innovation in eco-friendly materials; it symbolizes a significant move towards sustainable living. It exemplifies the extraordinary potential that lies in the confluence of natural elements and scientific ingenuity. As we delve deeper into the exploration of such materials, the use of mushrooms and coffee grounds may well be the harbinger of a broader environmental revolution.\r\n\r\n','2024-01-15','',3,1),(375,'Maersk reroutes Red Sea ships ‘for foreseeable future’ as container rates shoot higher','Financial times','Business & Economy',3,80,'https://www.ft.com/content/418aae65-9dd6-4812-a83d-3ef9a76564af','Financial times','Maersk reroutes Red Sea ships ‘for foreseeable future’ as container rates shoot higher\r\nShipping company says security risk ‘significantly elevated’ while economists warn of inflationary threat from disruption\r\nShipping giant AP Møller-Maersk will reroute ships from the Red Sea around Africa “for the foreseeable future”, after Houthi militants in Yemen escalated their attacks in the region.\r\nThe move by Maersk came as container shipping rates shot higher this week and economists warned that the global economy would come under fresh inflationary pressure if the disruption continued.\r\n“The situation is constantly evolving and remains highly volatile, and all available intelligence at hand confirms that the security risk continues to be at a significantly elevated level,” said Maersk in a statement.\r\n“We have therefore decided that all Maersk vessels due to transit the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden will be diverted south around the Cape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future.”\r\nThe world’s largest shippers have been abandoning the Suez Canal route connecting Asia and Europe despite US-led efforts to bolster maritime security in the region, following a swath of attacks by the Iranian-backed militants.\r\nThe Houthis have launched at least 20 attacks on ships off Yemen’s coast in recent weeks and have vowed to continue targeting vessels in response to Israel’s war in Gaza. Maersk’s announcement illustrates how shippers are now preparing for a prolonged disruption.\r\nThe longer distances container vessels are sailing around Africa have tightened the availability of ships and led to rates more than doubling since mid-December on the key Shanghai to Rotterdam route, rising to $3,100 per standard 40-foot container from $1,400, according to Xeneta.\r\n“This confirms that there are no quick solutions to this crisis,” said Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, a container market intelligence company. “Maersk and other shipping companies will now be thinking in months and quarters rather than days and weeks.”\r\nEconomists warned that if the problems persisted it would slow the pace at which global price pressures subside and could delay the timing of expected interest rate cuts by central banks.\r\nInvestors expect the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank to start cutting borrowing costs as early as March in response to a rapid cooling of price pressures. But markets have scaled back these bets in the past week after a rise in eurozone inflation and signals that Fed officials want to keep borrowing costs high for longer.\r\nBen May, director of global macro research at consultants Oxford Economics, said that based on IMF research the recent rise in shipping costs could add about 0.6 percentage points to global inflation if it was sustained for the rest of this year.\r\nThis would slow the speed of disinflation and “could be another reason to believe that market expectations for the extent of policy loosening by the Fed this year have gone too far”, he said.\r\nThomas McGarrity, head of equities at RBC Wealth Management, said: “If the Red Sea disruption persists, the knock-on impact will likely be felt by industries such as clothing retail, with negative implications for margins due to higher freight costs.”\r\nWestern powers have deployed a number of naval vessels to the region to help provide protection for commercial shipping. But they have so far avoided a more robust response, such as targeting Houthi military facilities in Yemen, for fear of expanding the conflict.\r\nShipping companies are widely seen as beneficiaries from the Red Sea problems as freight rates increase and investors bet that what is bad news for the global economy and retailers could bring better profits for the biggest container groups.\r\nShares in Denmark’s Maersk are up almost 40 per cent since December 12 while those in German rival Hapag-Lloyd have increased two-thirds in the same period.\r\nOil markets have been less affected by the disruptions, with many companies still willing to traverse the Red Sea route, according to Vortexa, despite facing higher insurance costs. Brent crude has risen only slightly this week from $77 to $78 a barrel. BP said its vessels will avoid the route.\r\nA tanker with an $85mn diesel cargo now costs about $5mn for a voyage from the Middle East to Europe, up from $3.2mn before the Houthi attacks began, according to estimates by Braemar.\r\nEconomists pointed out that global stocks of manufactured goods were relatively high while demand was weak, making shortages less likely, while reducing companies’ ability to pass on higher shipping costs to consumers. \r\nSimon MacAdam, senior global economist at consultants Capital Economics, said the bigger risk remained an expansion of the conflict that could hit energy supplies.\r\n\r\n','2024-01-18','',3,1),(376,'AI helps women in Kenya – level 1','News in level','Politics',1,81,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/ai-helps-women-in-kenya-level-1/ ','News in LEVEL','Many pregnant women die. Some have problems during pregnancy. Some die when they give birth.\r\n\r\nIn Africa, a pregnant woman dies every two minutes. It happens mainly in places like Kenya. Many people there live far from hospitals. They don’t get good care and it is difficult to get to hospitals. But now, there is a new device. It shows pictures of babies inside their moms. It is easy to use it. Even people who are not experts can do it. The device use AI to analyze scans and detect problems early, which can save lives.\r\n\r\nExperts are still testing the device which could greatly improve maternal healthcare in Keny','2024-02-26','',1,1),(377,'Japan relaxes haircut rules to attract army recruits','Breaking News English','Politics',1,81,'https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2402/240219-army-haircuts-4.html','Breaking News English','Very short haircuts are common among soldiers and sailors worldwide. Japan has said it will relax rules for military recruits to have short hair. This is to attract more young people. Japan\'s army and companies are experiencing staff shortages. From April, recruits to Japan\'s Self Defence Forces (SDF) will be allowed to have longer hair. Women can have long hair, as long as they can wear a helmet or it is not below the shoulders.\r\n\r\nRecruitment experts discussed how to increase troop numbers. There is a decreasing number of young people to recruit from. Japan\'s Defence Minister said: \"As our nation faces a serious workforce shortage, we recognize competition with others, including the private sector, to secure talent has been intensifying.\" He said the new haircut rules are more rational. Japan might also allow people with tattoos to join the SDF.','2024-02-26','',1,1),(378,'Julian Assange in final High Court bid for appeal against extradition','Independent ','Politics',1,81,'https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/julian-assange-high-court-united-states-wikileaks-royal-courts-of-justice-b2498899.html ','Jess Glass','The WikiLeaks founder is wanted in the United States over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.\r\nJulian Assange is set to make his final bid for a domestic appeal against a judge’s ruling over his extradition to the United States.\r\nThe WikiLeaks founder is wanted in the US over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.\r\nIn a January 2021 ruling, then-district judge Vanessa Baraitser said that Assange should not be sent to the US, citing a real and “oppressive” risk of suicide, while ruling against the 52-year-old on all other issues.\r\nUS authorities subsequently brought a successful challenge against this decision, paving the way for Assange’s extradition.\r\nLawyers for Assange, who has been held in Belmarsh prison in south-east London, will now ask the High Court in London for the go-ahead to challenge the original judge’s dismissal of other parts of his case against extradition.\r\nThe hearing comes after High Court judge Mr Justice Swift first refused to give Assange the green light to appeal – without a hearing – last June.\r\nA two-day hearing is now set to begin on Tuesday, which is expected to be Assange’s final chance to be granted an appeal in a UK court.                                                                                                                                 \r\nSpeaking at a press conference last week, his wife Stella Assange said that if the appeal bid is unsuccessful, Assange would apply to the European Court of Human Rights for a Rule 39 order to stop extradition while it considers his case.\r\nHis supporters say the Australian national faces 175 years in prison if he is extradited.\r\nDuring their earlier successful challenge, lawyers for the US authorities said Judge Baraitser’s decision risked becoming a “trump card” for anyone who wanted to oppose their extradition.\r\nThey also said that four “binding” diplomatic assurances had been made, including that the US would consent to Assange being transferred to Australia, where he was born, to serve any prison sentence he may be given.\r\nThe two-day hearing before Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson is due to begin at 10.30am on Tuesday.','2024-02-20','',2,1),(379,'Enhanced Games: Olympic athletes have expressed interest, says event\'s founder','BBC NEWS','Politics',1,81,'https://www.bbc.com/sport/68341142 ','BBC NEWS','Athletes scheduled to participate at this summer\'s Paris Olympics have expressed an interest in competing in the Enhanced Games, where doping is allowed, says the event\'s founder.\r\nAron D\'Souza says athletes who have contacted him are keen to \"make some real money\" during non-Olympic years.\r\nThe Enhanced Games, founded by D\'Souza in 2023, would not be subject to World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) rules.\r\n\"Excellence deserves to be rewarded,\" said the Australian businessman.\r\nWada has called the Enhanced Games \"a dangerous and irresponsible concept\".\r\nSpeaking to BBC World Service Sport, D\'Souza said: \"It is unfortunate that our Olympians earn so little.\r\n\"There are a lot of athletes who are going to compete at the Paris Olympics, including some of the top Team USA track and field athletes who have reached out to me. Because, let\'s be honest, they\'re flipping burgers to provide for themselves, and financially it just doesn\'t work for them.\r\n\"So they\'re very excited to compete at the Enhanced Games to make some real money and have an opportunity to grow their fame, to monetise and practise their sport in the three years that the Olympics won\'t be happening.\"\r\nThe Enhanced Games are planned to include athletics, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics and combat sports, though no date or venue for the event has yet been set.                                                                                                              \r\nWada, in criticising the Games, has said that \"athletes serve as role models and we believe this proposed event would send the wrong signal to young people around the world\".\r\nD\'Souza has defended the proposed event, saying steps will be taken to minimise risks to athletes\' health.\r\n\"There\'s of course concern about health and safety, and I always underline the fact that everything will be done under clinical supervision,\" he said.\r\n\"The best thing to do is to enhance yourself with clinical advice, with clinical supervision, and that is much safer.\"\r\nEarlier this month, former champion James Magnussen agreed to come out of retirement to compete in the Games and attempt to swim faster than the 50m freestyle record in return for $1m (£792,000).\r\nEven if Magnussen did swim faster than the world record it would not be official because there would be no drug-testing regime.\r\n\'It goes against what the Olympics stand for\'\r\nBritish former Olympic 200m butterfly bronze medallist Steve Parry is critical of the concept of the Enhanced Games and the message it sends out to young athletes.\r\n\"I really don\'t like it at all. It goes against virtually every fibre of what I stood for and what I think the Olympics stand for,\" he told BBC World Service Sport.\r\n\"I think the Olympics is there to inspire children primarily to want to do really good things in sport, but we exist in a society today that is about cutting corners.\r\n\"It takes a long time to win Olympic medals and I\'m concerned around the message that this might send around.\"\r\nParry, who retired from swimming in 2005, says he shares D\'Souza\'s concerns about athletes\' pay but believes money is not their primary motivation.\r\n\"I think if you ask Olympians and why they do what they do, money wouldn\'t really factor into it,\" added the 46-year-old.\r\n\"The endeavour of the Olympic Games is one of the purest things that we have left and I think that\'s a concept that\'s worth fighting for.\"\r\nAron D\'Souza says athletes who have contacted him are keen to \"make some real money\" during non-Olympic years.\r\nThe Enhanced Games, founded by D\'Souza in 2023, would not be subject to World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) rules.\r\n\"Excellence deserves to be rewarded,\" said the Australian businessman.\r\nWada has called the Enhanced Games \"a dangerous and irresponsible concept\".\r\nSpeaking to BBC World Service Sport, D\'Souza said: \"It is unfortunate that our Olympians earn so little.\r\n\"There are a lot of athletes who are going to compete at the Paris Olympics, including some of the top Team USA track and field athletes who have reached out to me. Because, let\'s be honest, they\'re flipping burgers to provide for themselves, and financially it just doesn\'t work for them.\r\n\"So they\'re very excited to compete at the Enhanced Games to make some real money and have an opportunity to grow their fame, to monetise and practise their sport in the three years that the Olympics won\'t be happening.\"\r\nThe Enhanced Games are planned to include athletics, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics and combat sports, though no date or venue for the event has yet been set.\r\nWada, in criticising the Games, has said that \"athletes serve as role models and we believe this proposed event would send the wrong signal to young people around the world\".\r\nD\'Souza has defended the proposed event, saying steps will be taken to minimise risks to athletes\' health.\r\n\"There\'s of course concern about health and safety, and I always underline the fact that everything will be done under clinical supervision,\" he said.\r\n\"The best thing to do is to enhance yourself with clinical advice, with clinical supervision, and that is much safer.\"\r\nEarlier this month, former champion James Magnussen agreed to come out of retirement to compete in the Games and attempt to swim faster than the 50m freestyle record in return for $1m (£792,000).\r\nEven if Magnussen did swim faster than the world record it would not be official because there would be no drug-testing regime.\r\n\'It goes against what the Olympics stand for\'\r\nBritish former Olympic 200m butterfly bronze medallist Steve Parry is critical of the concept of the Enhanced Games and the message it sends out to young athletes.\r\n\"I really don\'t like it at all. It goes against virtually every fibre of what I stood for and what I think the Olympics stand for,\" he told BBC World Service Sport.\r\n\"I think the Olympics is there to inspire children primarily to want to do really good things in sport, but we exist in a society today that is about cutting corners.\r\n\"It takes a long time to win Olympic medals and I\'m concerned around the message that this might send around.\"\r\nParry, who retired from swimming in 2005, says he shares D\'Souza\'s concerns about athletes\' pay but believes money is not their primary motivation.\r\n\"I think if you ask Olympians and why they do what they do, money wouldn\'t really factor into it,\" added the 46-year-old.\r\n\"The endeavour of the Olympic Games is one of the purest things that we have left and I think that\'s a concept that\'s worth fighting for.\"\r\n','2024-02-19','',2,1),(380,'Airline held liable for its chatbot giving passenger bad advice - what this means for travellers','BBC NEWS','Business & Economy',3,81,'https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240222-air-canada-chatbot-misinformation-what-travellers-should-know','By Maria Yagoda ','When Air Canada\'s chatbot gave incorrect information to a traveller, the airline argued its chatbot is \"responsible for its own actions\".\r\nArtificial intelligence is having a growing impact on the way we travel, and a remarkable new case shows what AI-powered chatbots can get wrong – and who should pay. In 2022, Air Canada\'s chatbot promised a discount that wasn\'t available to passenger Jake Moffatt, who was assured that he could book a full-fare flight for his grandmother\'s funeral and then apply for a bereavement fare after the fact. \r\nAccording to a civil-resolutions tribunal decision last Wednesday, when Moffatt applied for the discount, the airline said the chatbot had been wrong – the request needed to be submitted before the flight – and it wouldn\'t offer the discount. Instead, the airline said the chatbot was a \"separate legal entity that is responsible for its own actions\". Air Canada argued that Moffatt should have gone to the link provided by the chatbot, where he would have seen the correct policy. \r\nThe British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal rejected that argument, ruling that Air Canada had to pay Moffatt $812.02 (£642.64) in damages and tribunal fees. \"It should be obvious to Air Canada that it is responsible for all the information on its website,\" read tribunal member Christopher Rivers\' written response.                                                                                                     \"It makes no difference whether the information comes from a static page or a chatbot.\" The BBC reached out to Air Canada for additional comment and will update this article if and when we receive a response.\r\nGabor Lukacs, president of the Air Passenger Rights consumer advocacy group based in Nova Scotia, told BBC Travel that the case is being considered a landmark one that potentially sets a precedent for airline and travel companies that are increasingly relying on AI and chatbots for customer interactions: Yes, companies are liable for what their tech says and does. \r\n\"It establishes a common sense principle: If you are handing over part of your business to AI, you are responsible for what it does,\" Lukacs said. \"What this decision confirms is that airlines cannot hide behind chatbots.\"\r\nAir Canada is hardly the only airline to dive head-first into AI – or to have a chatbot go off the rails. In 2018, a WestJet chatbot sent a passenger a link to a suicide prevention hotline, for no obvious reason. This type of mistake, in which generative AI tools present inaccurate or nonsensical information, is known as \"AI hallucination\". Beyond airlines, more major travel companies have embraced AI technology, ChatGPT specifically: In 2023, Expedia launched a ChatGPT plug-in to help with trip planning.\r\nLukacs expects the recent tribunal ruling will have broader implications for what airlines can get away with – and highlights the risks for businesses leaning too heavily on AI. \r\nHow air travellers can protect themselves\r\nIn the meantime, how can passengers stand guard against potentially wrong information or \"hallucinations\" fed to them by AI? Should they be fact-checking everything a chatbot says? Experts say: Yes, and no.\r\n\"For passengers, the only lesson is that they cannot fully rely on the information provided by airline chatbots. But, it’s not really passengers\' responsibility to know that,\" says Marisa Garcia, an aviation industry expert and senior contributor at Forbes. \"Airlines will need to refine these tools further [and] make them far more reliable if they intend for them to ease the workload on human staff or ultimately replace human staff.\"\r\nGarcia expects that, over time, chatbots and their accuracy will improve, \"but in the meantime airlines will need to ensure they put their customers first and make amends quickly when their chatbots get it wrong,\" she says – rather than let the case get to small claims court and balloon into a PR disaster. \r\nTravellers may want to consider the benefits of old-fashioned human help when trip-planning or navigating fares. \"AI has advanced rapidly, but a regulatory framework for guiding the technology has yet to catch up,\" said Erika Richter of the American Society of Travel Advisors. \"Passengers need to be aware that when it comes to AI, the travel industry is building the plane as they\'re flying it. We\'re still far off from chatbots replacing the level of customer service required – and expected – for the travel industry.\"\r\nGlobally, protections for airline passengers are not uniform, meaning different countries have different regulations and consumer protections. Lukacs notes that Canadian passenger regulations are particularly weak, while the UK, for example, inherited the Civil Aviation Authority and regulations from the 2004 European Council Directive. \r\n\"It\'s important to understand that this is not simply about the airlines,\" he said. Lukacs recommends passengers who fall victim to chatbot errors take their cases to small claims court. \"They may not be perfect, but overall a passenger has a chance of getting a fair trial.\"\r\n\r\n\r\n','2024-02-23','',3,1),(381,'US returns to lunar surface for first time in over 50 years: ‘Welcome to the moon’','The Guardians','Travel',6,81,'https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/feb/22/us-moon-landing-odysseus-intuitive-machines ','Richard Luscombe','Intuitive Machines’ spacecraft Odysseus lands after a 73-minute descent, touching down near moon’s south pole\r\nThe United States has returned to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years after a privately-built spacecraft named Odysseus capped a nail-biting 73-minute descent from orbit with a touchdown near the moon’s south pole.\r\nAmid celebrations of what Nasa hailed “a giant leap forward”, there was no immediate confirmation of the status or condition of the lander, other than it had reached its planned landing site at crater Malapert A.\r\nBut later Intuitive Machines, the Texas-based company that built the first commercial craft to land on the moon, said the craft was “upright and starting to send data”.\r\nThe statement on X said mission managers were “working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface”.\r\nThe so-called “soft landing” on Thursday, which Steve Altemus, the company’s founder, had given only an 80% chance of succeeding, was designed to open a new era of lunar exploration as Nasa works towards a scheduled late-2026 mission to send humans back there.\r\n“Welcome to the moon,” Altemus said when touchdown when the 5.23pm touchdown was eventually confirmed, after about 10 minutes in which Odysseus was out of contact.                                                                                                                  \r\nIt was the first time any US-built spacecraft had landed on the moon since Nasa’s most recent crewed visit, the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, and the first visit by commercial vehicle following last month’s failure of Peregrine One, another partnership between the space agency and a private company, Astrobotic.\r\n“Today, for the first time in more than a half century, the US has returned to the moon. Today, for the first time in the history of humanity, a commercial company, an American company, launched and led the voyage up there,” Bill Nelson, the Nasa administrator, said.\r\n“What a triumph. Odysseus has taken the moon. This feat is a giant leap forward for all of humanity.”\r\nThere was no video of Odysseus’s fully autonomous descent, which slowed to about 2.2mph at 33ft above the surface. But a camera built by students at Florida’s Embry-Riddle aeronautical university was designed to fall and take pictures immediately before touchdown, and Nasa cameras were set to photograph the ground from the spacecraft.\r\nThe 14ft (4.3 metres) hexagonal, six-legged Nova-C lander, affectionately nicknamed Odie by Intuitive Machines employees, is part of Nasa’s commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) initiative, in which the agency awards contracts to private partners, largely to support the Artemis program.\r\nNasa contributed $118m to get it off the ground, with Intuitive Machines funding a further $130m ahead of its 15 February launch from Florida’s Kennedy space center on a Falcon 9 rocket from Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.\r\nThe IM-1 mission, like the doomed Peregrine effort, is carrying a payload of scientific equipment designed to gather data about the lunar environment, specifically in the rocky region chosen as the landing site for Nasa’s crewed Artemis III mission planned for two years’ time.\r\nIt is a hazardous area – “pockmarked with all of these craters”, according to Nelson – but chosen because it is believed to be rich in frozen water that could help sustain a permanent lunar base crucial to future human missions to Mars.\r\nScientists announced last year that they believed tiny glass beads strewn across the moon’s surface contained potentially “billions of tonnes of water” that could be extracted and used on future missions.\r\nThe risks are worth it, Nelson told CNN on Thursday, “to see if there is water in abundance. Because if there’s water, there’s rocket fuel: hydrogen, and oxygen. And we could have a gas station on the south pole of the moon.”\r\nThe planned operational life of the solar powered lander is only seven days, before the landing site about 186 miles from the moon’s south pole moves into the shadow of lunar night. But Nasa hopes that will be long enough for analysis of how soil there reacted to the impact of the landing.\r\nOther instruments will focus on space weather effects on the lunar surface, while a network of markers for communication and navigation will be deployed.\r\n“Odysseus, powered by a company called Intuitive Machines, launched upon a SpaceX rocket, carrying a bounty of Nasa scientific instruments, is bearing the dream of a new adventure in science, innovation, and American leadership in space,” Nelson said.\r\nThrough Artemis, Nasa’s return-to-the-moon program that also has longer-term visions of crewed missions to Mars within the next two decades, the US seeks to stay ahead of Russia and China, both of which are planning their own human lunar landings.\r\nOnly the US has previously landed astronauts, in six Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972, while five countries have placed uncrewed spacecraft there. Japan joined the US, Russia, China and India last month when its Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon (Slim) made a successful, if awkward touchdown after a three-month flight.\r\nTwo further Intuitive Machines launches are scheduled for later this year, including an ice drill to extract ingredients for rocket fuel, and another Nova-C lander containing a small Nasa rover and four small robots that will explore surface conditions. ','2024-02-23','',3,1),(382,'U.S. government sues Apple for smartphone antitrust violations','CBC','Business & Economy',3,82,'https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/us-justice-dept-apple-1.7150800','CBC','Justice Dept. accuses tech giant of limiting choices and unnecessary fees for consumers, developers\r\nThe U.S. Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of \"unlawful exclusionary behaviour\" by engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that boxes out competitors and stifles innovation.\r\nThe lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, alleges that Apple has monopoly power in the smartphone market and uses its control over the iPhone to \"engage in a broad, sustained, and illegal course of conduct.\"\r\nThe lawsuit — which was also filed with attorneys general from 15 states as well as D.C. — takes direct aim at the digital fortress that Apple Inc., based in Cupertino, Calif., has assiduously built around the iPhone and other popular products such as the iPad, Mac and Apple Watch to create what is often referred to as a \"walled garden.\"\r\nApple has defended the walled garden — meticulously designed hardware and software that can seamlessly flourish together while requiring consumers to do little more than turn on the devices — as an indispensable feature prized by consumers who want the best protection available for their personal information.                                                                                                                                                                                  \r\nIt has described the barrier as a way for the iPhone to distinguish itself from devices running on Google\'s Android software, which isn\'t as restrictive and is licensed to a wide range of manufacturers.\r\nAntitrust regulators made it clear in their complaint that they see Apple\'s walled garden most as a weapon to ward off competition, creating market conditions that enable it to charge higher prices that have propelled its lofty profit margins while stifling innovation.\r\n\"Apple undermines apps, products, and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone, promote interoperability, and lower costs for consumers and developers,\" the Justice Department said in a statement. \"Apple exercises its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others.\r\n\"If left unchallenged, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly,\" Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference on Thursday.\r\nApple called the lawsuit \"wrong on the facts and the law\" and said it \"will vigorously defend against it.\" The company said it would \"set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people\'s technology.\"\r\n\"At Apple, we innovate every day to make technology people love — designing products that work seamlessly together, protect people\'s privacy and security, and create a magical experience for our users,\" the company said in a statement. \"This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets.\"\r\nTech giants under the microscope\r\nU.S. President Joe Biden has called for the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to vigorously enforce antitrust statutes. The administration has already triggered lawsuits against Google and Amazon, accusing them of engaging in illegal tactics to thwart competition.\r\nApple is the world\'s most prosperous company, with annual revenue of nearly $400 billion US and, until recently, a market value of more than $3 trillion. Apple\'s shares have fallen by seven per cent this year even as most of the stock market has climbed to new highs.\r\nApple\'s business interests are also entangled in the Justice Department\'s case against Google, which went to trial last fall and is headed toward final arguments scheduled to begin May 1 in Washington, D.C. In that case, regulators are alleging Google has stymied competition by paying for the rights for its already dominant online search engine to be the automatic place to handle queries on the iPhone and a variety of web browsers in an arrangement that generates an estimated $15 billion to $20 billion US annually.\r\nThe Justice Department is following up on other recent attempts to force Apple to change the way it runs the iPhone and other parts of its business.\r\nEpic Games, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in 2020 in an effort to break down the barriers protecting the iPhone App Store and a lucrative payment system operating within it.\r\nApple has long collected commissions ranging from 15 per cent to 30 per cent on digital transactions completed within apps, a setup that Epic alleged was enabled by an illegal monopoly that drives up prices for consumers.\r\nAfter a month-long trial in 2021, in which Apple CEO Tim Cook testified, a federal judge ruled mostly in favour of Apple, with the exception of deciding that links to competing payment options should be permitted inside of iPhone apps. Apple unsuccessfully resisted that portion of the ruling until the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal in January, forcing the company to relent. But the concessions that Apple made to comply with the ruling are still facing a \"bad faith\" challenge from Epic, which is seeking an April 30 hearing to ask for more changes.\r\nEuropean Union regulators have already vowed to crack down on Apple if they find the company\'s tactics continue to thwart true consumer choice. European regulators slapped a $2 billion US (1.8 billion euro) fine on Apple earlier this month after concluding that the company had undermined competition in the music streaming through the iPhone, despite Spotify being the leader in that market.\r\nIn Canada, the B.C. Supreme Court recently approved a $14.4-million settlement from Apple over a class-action lawsuit accusing it of deliberately providing software updates that slowed iPhone 6 and 7 models.','2024-03-21','',3,1),(383,'\'Gen X has had to learn or die\': Mid-career workers are facing ageism in the job market','BBC NEWS','Politics',1,82,'https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240320-gen-x-workplace-ageism ','By Rebecca M Knight','Gen X workers are being passed over for roles of all kinds, especially as employers see young people as more malleable. The timing couldn\'t be worse.\r\nSince his layoff last May, Nick, a 49-year-old HR executive based in the US, estimates he\'s applied for hundreds of jobs. He secured interviews at 10 companies, and made it to the final round at four of them. Each time, the position went to a younger candidate.\r\n\"It\'s tough not to take it personally,\" he says. \"I have an excellent track record and lots of experience. A company should be lucky to have me, right?\"\r\nThroughout his search, Nick has received lots of advice on how to position himself as a job candidate in his demographic. One head-hunter suggested he remove his education dates from his LinkedIn profile to prevent employers from calculating his age. A recent encounter with a hiring manager, however, was not as subtle. \"He said to me, \'You can\'t make many more pivots in your career at this point\',\" says Nick. \"The implication was that my prior job might have been my last. It was blatant ageism.\" \r\nAgeism has long been a concern in the job market, but the confluence of mass layoffs, post-pandemic economic uncertainty and rapid technological change – including the emergence of AI – is hitting Gen Xers particularly hard.                                                                                                                                                                 According to a 2022 AARP survey, roughly 80% of workers between the ages of 40 and 65 reported having either witnessed or personally faced age discrimination at work. This percentage represents the highest recorded by the organisation since it began conducting polls on the issue among older adults in 2003.\r\nGen Xers, largely defined as people in the 44-to-59 age group, are struggling to get jobs. First, the leadership roles they would normally ascend to aren\'t open, as many Boomers are delaying retirement and clinging to their jobs. But when roles have opened, ageism is a key factor: the accelerated pace of technological advancements has led managers to prioritise digital natives for open roles, believing they are more adaptable than Gen Xers – even though experts say these judgments are unfounded, if not entirely false. \r\nIt\'s a particularly bad time for mid-career workers to be grappling with age bias, according to Christina Matz, associate professor at the Boston College School of Social Work, and director of the Center on Aging and Work. Many Gen Xers are navigating the \"sandwich\" phase of life, juggling responsibilities like childcare and support for aging parents, she says. They have burdens on both their time and their money – and most are not ready to stop working, whether because they have pressing bills to pay, retirement to save for or because they don\'t want to lose career momentum.\r\nThese factors, combined with the perception that Gen Xers don\'t quite fit into either the tech-savvy digital native or highly experienced worker categories, leave them in a uniquely vulnerable position, says Matz. \"Gen X is caught in the middle. And where does that leave them?\"\r\n\'Doddering but dear\'\r\nAge discrimination is illegal in many countries. And not only is it often difficult to prove, but its impact on people\'s careers is also very real. In some cases, like Nick\'s, older workers will be turned down for jobs; other times, they\'ll be passed over for leadership positions or overlooked for training and development opportunities.\r\nStudies show that older workers (broadly defined as those aged 55 to 64) and mid-career employees (aged 45 to 54) face a variety of stereotypes and misconceptions. Members of Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980, straddle both these age groups. \r\nAmong these biases, older workers are sometimes perceived as \"doddering but dear\". Matz says, \"They\'re labelled as slower and set in their ways, well-meaning on one hand and incompetent on the other. People of a certain age are considered out-of-touch, and not seen as progressive and innovative.\" Women face additional hurdles. Women in their 40s are often perceived as being preoccupied with family responsibilities. \"Being a woman and being older is a double whammy,\" adds Matz. \r\nAssumptions like these are not only potentially discriminatory and often inaccurate, they\'re also at odds with today\'s workforce realities, says Anne Burmeister, an Academy of Management Scholar and professor in the faculty of management, economics and social sciences at the University of Cologne, Germany. The workforce in many industrialised economies is aging and perpetuating age-based biases makes \"no business sense\", she says.\r\n\"Very few organisations recognise this external demographic trend, and even the ones that do seem to not see the urgency to act,\" she says. Instead, argues Burmeister, \"what organisations should be doing is putting in place policies that leverage older workers\' skills, expertise and experience\".\r\n\'Too experienced\' to get hired\r\nMatt Hearnden, a former executive recruiter turned career coach in London, says he\'s observed many instances of ageism second-hand while coaching his Gen X clients though their job searches. \"There\'s a perception among some hiring managers that older workers aren\'t up to date on the latest technologies,\" he says. \"For whatever reason, there\'s a sense that younger candidates are more open-minded and more easily mouldable.\"\r\nHe recently coached a software engineer in his late 40s who was struggling to land a job and support his family after being laid off at a cybersecurity firm. He says his client had received \"some coded feedback from hiring managers\" that he was \"overqualified\" and \"too experienced\" for the roles he was applying for, and therefore undesirable as a candidate.\r\nHearnden advised the engineer to emphasise his willingness to learn, teamwork abilities and overall versatility. By shifting the focus from his age and experience to his transferable skills and adaptability, the engineer was able to present himself as a more attractive potential employee. \"He ended up with a job offer, but he was stressed throughout the whole process,\" he says.\r\nEmployers\' age biases may be blinding them to talent they want and need. Older and middle-aged employees tend to have a strong work ethic and lower rates of absenteeism. Research also suggests they exhibit better emotional stability compared to their younger colleagues, and they\'re generally more adept at handling social situations in the workplace, including conflict resolution.\r\nAdrion Porter, a US-based age-inclusion advocate who consults with organisations on mid-career development and career longevity, argues that Gen Xers are more adaptable than commonly perceived. Employers often wrongly equate youth and exuberance with digital skills, says Porter, who is a Gen Xer himself. \r\nAlthough it\'s true Gen Z and millennials grew up with technology, members of Gen X have had to master many emerging technologies throughout their careers. \"We entered the workforce when email was just being introduced. First, we had to learn the internet, then Web 2.0, and now AI. Gen X has had to learn or die,\" he says.\r\n\'We\'re all getting older\'\r\nThe cruel twist of ageism in the workplace, says Porter, is that it preys upon our fears of irrelevance, and ignores the fundamental truth that ageing is universal. He says that ageism is the one \'ism\' that remains widely tolerated, \"but it\'s one dimension that everyone experiences\". After all, he says, \"We\'re all getting older.\"\r\nOne approach to addressing ageism in the workplace is through inclusivity programmes. Yet notably, in companies\' diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies, \"age has been left behind\", says Boston College\'s Matz. A January 2023 report from PwC Netherlands showed that across Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands, only 8% of companies\' DEI agendas address age. \r\nBurmeister contends organisations are not only holding back mid-career workers, but also missing out on the opportunity to establish age-inclusive practices, particularly in light of the demographic shifts.\r\nNick, having experienced these challenges during his 10-month job search, wholeheartedly agrees with this assessment. \"A job doesn\'t define you. I know this. But when months go by, and I\'m not getting traction, it gets hard,\" he says. \"I have to constantly remind myself that it\'s not me.\"\r\nNick has more interviews lined up in the coming weeks and remains hopeful that the next hiring manager he meets will appreciate what he brings to the table. \"Some people have this idea that 50 is old,\" he says. \"But 50 is prime.\"','2024-03-21','',3,1),(384,'Home  Industry  Construction Saudi’s Qiddiya City to build world-first Dragon Ball theme park','Gulf Business ','Art & Culture',7,82,'https://gulfbusiness.com/dragon-ball-theme-park-qiddiya-city/ ','BY GARETH VAN ZYL','The unveiling of the theme park follows the launch of Qiddiya City’s gaming and esports district\r\nQiddiya City, which is 40 minutes outside Riyadh, will be the destination for the world’s first and only theme park dedicated to the popular Japanese anime series Dragon Ball. \r\nOver the weekend, Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) and Japan’s Toei Animation announced plans for the 500,000 square metre project which will feature rides and attractions in seven areas, inspired by the anime series’ “seven Dragon Balls”.\r\nVisitors will be able to experience the “historic journey from the first Dragon Ball series to the latest Dragon Ball Super”, the companies said in a joint statement. The unveiling of the theme park follows the launch of Qiddiya City’s gaming and esports district.\r\n“We are pleased to be partnering with Toei Animation, bringing their rich legacy of pioneering contributions to the anime industry to Qiddiya City. Dragon Ball theme park is a celebration of the diverse and vibrant world of anime, offering a unique blend of thrills, family-friendly attractions, and immersive entertainment for everyone,” said Abdullah Aldawood, managing director of Qiddiya Investment Company. \r\nKatsuhiro Takagi, the president of Toei Animation, further added that the “Dragon Ball theme park is a testament to the timeless legacy of the Dragon Ball franchise.”                                                            \r\nToei Animation’s Dragon Ball has become one of the most successful manga and anime series of all time, with the television series having been broadcast in more than 80 countries since it started in 1984.\r\nThe series follows the adventures of Goku, a young boy with a monkey tail and exceptional strength who battles evil-doers in hand-to-hand combat.\r\nNestled within Qiddiya City, just 40 minutes from Riyadh, this never-seen-before anime theme park is set to become a jaw-dropping spectacle, spanning more than half a million square metres, bringing to life the most iconic storylines, moments, and characters across all sagas.\r\nInspired by the 7 legendary Dragon Balls, visitors can navigate 7 distinctively themed zones within the park, catapulting guests into the heart of the anime action to experience the historic journey from the first Dragon Ball series to the latest Dragon Ball Super. \r\nFounded in 1956, Toei Animation has produced more than 13,700 episodes of TV series (among 236 titles) in addition to 268 long feature films.\r\nFuture Qiddiya City attraction\r\nIt’s not clear when construction will start on the development as Qiddiya City and Toei Animation have not revealed timelines. However, the companies have said that upon completion of the project “park-goers can embark on a journey and immerse themselves in interactive and explorable landmarks from the Dragon Ball sagas, such as ‘Kame House’, ‘Capsule Corporation’ and ‘Beerus’ Planet’.”\r\nMoreover, the theme park is set to offer over 30 rides. Visitors will also be able to stay at in-park hotels. \r\nQiddiya is one of Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects part of its Vision 2030 ambitions. Qiddiya’s first development will be Qiddiya City, which will be “dedicated to play and an epicentre of entertainment, sports and culture, welcoming Saudi nationals, residents, and tourists alike”.','2024-03-25','',2,1),(385,'Japan to sell fighter jets in latest break from post-war pacifist ideals','BBC NEWS','Politics',1,82,'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68662465 ','By Kelly Ng','Japan\'s cabinet has approved the export of new fighter jets it is developing with the UK and Italy, in the latest move away from its pacifist policies.\r\nIt eased arms export rules to allow the jets to be sold to countries that Japan has signed defence pacts with, and where there is no ongoing conflict.\r\nJapan has pledged to double military spending by 2027, citing threats posed by China and North Korea.\r\nEach fighter jet sale will require cabinet approval, authorities said.\r\nIn December 2022, Japan came on board a UK-Italy collaboration, dubbed the Tempest, to develop this new fighter jet that will use artificial intelligence and advanced sensors to assist pilots.\r\nThe jets are expected to be deployed by 2035 - in what is Tokyo\'s first defence equipment development partnership with a country other than the US.\r\nThe latest move comes ahead of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida\'s official visit to the US in April, where he is expected to stress Tokyo\'s alliance with Washington and his country\'s readiness to be more involved in defence partnerships.\r\nMr Kishida had also said that allowing the export of warplanes to third countries is \"necessary\" to maintain Tokyo\'s credibility as a partner in other future international defence projects.                                                                                                                                                                       \r\n\"The plan to make fighter jets with capabilities essential for the security of our nation must be realised to ensure that our nation\'s defences     won\'t be compromised,\" government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Tuesday.\r\nBut Japan\'s Defence Minister Minoru Kihara clarified that that Japan would still remain committed to the \"basic philosophy of a pacifist nation\" by going through \"strict decision processes\" for exports.\r\nAfter World War Two, the US-occupied Japan adopted a constitution which says the country renounces war and the use of force to settle international disputes. The constitution does not officially recognise the military and limits it to self-defence capabilities.\r\nIt also imposed an arms export ban, which was eased for the first time in 2014 under then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.\r\nIn December 2023, Japan eased the rules further to allow the sale of lethal weapons it makes under foreign licenses to be exported to the country where the licenser is based.\r\nThis paved the way for Tokyo to send Patriot air defence missiles to the US. Patriot missiles are among the most advanced weapons supplied by the US to Ukraine','2024-03-26','',2,1),(386,'US fentanyl crisis – level 2','News in level','Health',2,82,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/us-fentanyl-crisis-level-2/ ','News in LEVEL','The fentanyl crisis in the US is serious. There were over 100,000 deaths reported last year, mostly due to opioids like fentanyl. They are much stronger than heroin.\r\n\r\nBrian comes from San Francisco and he was addicted to fentanyl. He was homeless for three years. He needed drugs so badly that he stole things to have money for them. He saw many people die from overdoses.\r\n\r\nBrian’s health got worse and his legs got infected. He was lucky to survive and stopped taking drugs almost one year ago. His story tells us about the troubles of addicted people and about how dangerous opioids can be.\r\n\r\nDifficult words:, addicted (when a person is not able to stop taking drugs or doing something), overdose (taking too much of a drug).','2024-03-22','',1,1),(387,'Airline starts to weigh luggage AND passengers','Breaking News English','Business & Economy',3,82,'https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2403/240304-weighing-airline-passengers-4.html ','Breaking News English','Finland\'s national airline is weighing passengers on flights from its capital city. The weigh-ins are voluntary and anonymous. They are to ensure safety standards on flights are met. Airplanes should not exceed the maximum weight for safe take-offs and landings. This weight is made up of the aircraft, the fuel, baggage, cargo, food, water, and passengers. Airlines never know the exact weight of passengers. They rely on estimates given by aviation officials.\r\nVolunteers are stepping on scales at Helsinki Airport\'s departure gates. Finnair was concerned about a customer backlash because weight is a personal topic. However, more than 1,000 passengers agreed to be weighed. The company said: \"We hope to have a good sample…so that we can get the most accurate information possible for important balance calculations.\" It said travelers could have \"peace of mind\" about their personal information.\r\n','2024-03-24','',1,1),(392,'The scavengers stalking the world\'s citie','By BBC Future Planet Team',NULL,NULL,83,'https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240423-the-scavengers-stalking-the-worlds-cities ','By BBC Future Planet Team','From ibis to hyenas, a surprising variety of scavengers have been drawn to urban life. Here\'s how they\'re thriving in cities across the globe.\r\nOn the road to Cape Point Nature Reserve, on the outskirts of the South African city of Cape Town, each day people must run the gauntlet of a gang with a habit of \"car-jacking\". \r\nThe culprits are notorious – perhaps known as much for the occasional vehicle break-in, as they are for their potently smelly breath. They are, in fact, baboons. And they have taken to life among people with surprising zeal. Further into the city, marauding troops of the primates have learned to raid bins and even invade homes, in the search for an easy meal. The scavengers have become so prolific, there is now a 24-hour baboon hotline, where residents can report offences, as well as welfare concerns. \r\nOf course, baboons are not the only wildlife that has been drawn to humanity\'s urban sprawl. Across the planet, the original inhabitants of areas now occupied by cities have been standing their ground and learning to thrive, alongside millions of people. Here are some of the extraordinary transformations that have been unfolding.  \r\n\r\nFoxes\r\nEach night, as dusk settles over cities throughout Europe, red foxes emerge from their hiding places and begin stalking the streets. Sometimes they saunter confidently along, mingling seamlessly with human pedestrians.                       Occasionally it\'s just possible to glimpse the whip of a fluffy tail, as one dives into a bin. These adaptable omnivores will forage for wild foods such as berries and insects, supplementing this with freshly-caught pigeons and scraps found in rubbish. \r\nThere are at least ten different kinds of \"true\" fox scattered throughout the planet, from the strange bat-eared fennec fox, to the charismatic Tibetan sand fox. And they have been living among people for millennia – in 1991, researchers unearthed the ancient bones of an individual in Argentina, which recent research has revealed may have been a pet. Today, foxes are thriving in urban areas, with 18 per square kilometre (45 per square mile) in London alone. They\'re also found in cities in the US, particularly in the northern and eastern parts of the country.\r\n\r\nCoyotes\r\nCoyotes have become ubiquitous in US cities in recent decades. The canines are opportunistic scavengers; they will eat whatever is available, including mice, rabbits, frogs, lizards and food waste extracted from people\'s bins. A 2022 study analysing the diet of coyotes in New York City found that they consumed large mammals such as deer and raccoons as well as human foods such as chicken, pork and beef. Their flexible diets make them highly adept at urban living. But scientists warn that their consumption of junk food may pose a risk to humans, as urban coyotes tend to carry more parasites and have unhealthier microbiomes – a trait which has been linked to aggressive behaviour. \r\n\r\nSea Gulls\r\nMany a stroll in a seaside town has been derailed by a passing seagull\'s brazen food grab. In coastal cities, it can feel like these birds are ruthless opportunists, invading towns in order to pilfer the rich pickings of picnics, barbecues, and even firmly gripped street-food snacks. In fact, it is we who have been invading the birds\' habitat. Declining fish stocks and loss of their natural habitat are thought to have contributed to city gulls\' search for food elsewhere, including cities and landfills. \r\n\"Over time, they\'ll build a repertoire of quite skilled behaviours which enables them to liberate food either from your bins or from humans directly,\" Paul Graham of the University of Sussex in the UK tells BBC News. \"I think we need to learn how to live with them.\"\r\nNext time your food is snatched by a voracious gull, perhaps consider whether we snatched their fish first.\r\n\r\nWild boar\r\nAlthough reclusive by nature, the lure of suburban life is bringing wild pigs into the lamplight. From the hills of Hong Kong to the beaches of Mediterranean Marbella, where once feral pigs rooted through soil and leaf litter, now they rummage through rubbish. In Berlin, they doze in paddling pools. In Spain, a pair snatched the Colombian pop star Shakira\'s bag. And, wherever they are, run-ins with local authorities or culling teams are often soon to follow.\r\nIn the US, where boar are non-native, they are also considered an invasive pest. With populations counted at around six million and rising, at least 35 states now report wild pig populations. The result is an estimated annual $2.5bn (£2.1bn) in damage to US crops, such as peanuts and corn.\r\nBut just because they are invasive, doesn\'t necessarily mean their impacts are all bad. In fact, new research is exploring the ways in which their rooting noses and pawing hooves might actually have benefits for local ecosystems; off-setting the grip of dominant plants and potentially mimicking the effects of ancient mega-fauna.\r\n\r\nHyenas\r\nHyenas are the infamous villains of the animal kingdom. But these scavengers are not all bad. Hyenas provide significant health and economic benefits to the African cities they stalk, according to a 2021 study by the University of Michigan. Collectively, hyenas remove 207 tonnes (456,000lb) of animal carcass waste annually in Mekelle, northern Ethiopia, preventing an estimated five infections of anthrax and bovine tuberculosis among residents and 140 infections in cattle, sheep and goats annually. In the city of Harar in eastern Ethiopia, the animals even venture inside the city\'s walls at night, where they feed on scraps and entrails left out by the city\'s butchers. Small openings in the city\'s 13th Century walls – known as hyena gates – allow the animals to pass through freely. \r\nCommunities on the fringes of Ethiopian cities value hyenas as they \"understand the sanitation services they provide,\" Chinmay Sonawane, a biologist from Stanford University in California, tells BBC Future.\r\n\r\nElephants\r\nThe animals can often be seen snuffling through reeking piles of rubbish on the outskirts of Kotdwar, a city in the Uttarakhand district of northern India. They probe the waste with their noses, occasionally pausing to gulp down any tasty morsels they discover. But these creatures are not rats or feral dogs feasting on the discarded spoils of human habitation – they are among the biggest land animals on the planet, Asian elephants.\r\nKotdwar – a rapidly growing city of estimated to have 45,000 people living there – sits on the fringes of the forest habitats where the elephants are normally found.\r\nAs human urban populations have grown close to the forests, it has presented the elephants with some novel and surprising sources for food. One study of elephant dung found in and around the forests of Uttarakhand found tell-tale signs that the animals have been foraging in human rubbish dumps for food.\r\nAnd it appears that elephants living near Kotdwar have particularly taken to this dumpster-diving lifestyle. Sadly, all samples of their dung from around Kotdwar held plastic packaging, bags, food containers and even disposable cutlery that they had eaten while seeking out leftover food, according to the researchers from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.\r\nIt is a habit that has also been observed among Asian elephants in Sri Lanka, where garbage dumps provide an easy food source for the animals. One study of elephants feeding on waste at a dump in southern Sri Lanka found the animals were in\"better body condition\" than those that did not forage from human rubbish. But there have also been reports of elephants dying after eating large amounts of plastic waste at dumps.\r\nThere are also concerns that, as human urban populations grow in areas where wild elephants are normally found, the risk of dangerous encounters between our species will increase. Human-elephant conflicts can often have fatal results for both sides.\r\n\r\nVultures\r\nSince ancient times, vultures have been viewed as symbols of bad luck and harbingers of death. But these scavenging birds, which exclusively eat the carcasses of dead animals, play a vital role in preventing pathogens from spreading to humans and wildlife and contaminants from leaching into the environment. Vultures are disappearing at an alarming rate in South Asia and Africa. Widespread poisoning by the veterinary painkiller diclofenac in the 1990s and 2000s led to a 99% decline in the populations of India\'s three most common vulture species. This has now stopped due to a ban on the use of the drug. In Africa, many vultures are killed because of religious beliefs, with their heads sold as good luck charms or ground up and used in traditional medicines. \r\n\r\nBears\r\nIn the US, you\'re more likely to be killed by a bee than a bear, but incidents of bears encroaching on human areas are becoming more common. Or, is it the other way around? Grizzly bears used to inhabit most of the western US, while black bears were common in forested areas throughout the country. Today, 2,000 grizzlies occupy just 6% of their historical range, while 300,000 black bears live in 50% of theirs. They\'re highly intelligent and inquisitive creatures, and their powerful noses and voracious appetite mean they\'ll go to great lengths to find food.\r\n\r\nMost bear conflicts happen when human food – like rubbish, dog food, or fruit trees – is readily available. Bears have been captured on camera breaking into homes to steal food, earning one 500lb (226kg) bear burglar the moniker \"Hank the Tank\".\r\nAlthough bear hunting is still permitted in some states, government wildlife agencies are educating the public how to peacefully coexist with bears.\r\n\r\nIbis\r\nWith plump white bodies and long leathery necks and feet, the Australian white ibis is sometimes described as graceful and elegant – at least when it is in its natural wetland habitat. In Australia\'s cities, it is a different matter. The \"bin chicken\" or \"tip turkey\", as the bird is often not-so-affectionately named, can often be found loitering around sewage treatment plants or pecking through rubbish. But though urban communities of this bird tend to be viewed more as pests than national treasures, research suggests that they might provide a vital reservoir of genetic diversity that could help to replenish wild populations elsewhere.  \r\n\r\nWasps\r\nWasps enjoy a reputation as the perennial picnic party pooper, winging in to gorge on jam sandwiches, fruit salad and other treats. But their sweet tooth may be overplayed; in the wild they will feed on carrion just as happily as they will on rotting fruit.\r\n\r\nIn areas where European wasps have made a relatively recent entrance – such as in Australia and New Zealand – scientists have been able to observe their dramatic impact on other scavenging species. A 2020 study, conducted in Australia, showed that wasps quickly arrived to feed on fresh carcasses and aggressively attacked competing blowflies – to the point where the flies were not able to lay eggs. Larger vertebrate scavengers such as dingoes were also attacked.\r\nAnd there is evidence that wasps are adapting to city life at a genetic level, too. As temperatures rise due to global climate change, one recent study found that hotter urban areas with less vegetation tend to be home to smaller wasps. This may provide an evolutionary advantage because their lighter bodies need to use less energy to stay in the air.','2024-04-24','',3,1),(393,'Switzerland says UBS may need more cash. The bank is fuming','CNN',NULL,NULL,83,'https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/24/investing/ubs-switzerland-too-big-to-fail/index.html','By Hanna Ziady, CNN','London CNN — A year after the failure of Credit Suisse, the Swiss government says UBS may have to find as much as $27 billion to absorb potential losses and protect taxpayers from ever having to bail out a major bank.\r\nNow, the giant Swiss lender is hitting back, saying its finances are robust and warning that the proposal could harm Switzerland’s standing as a global financial center.\r\nSpeaking at the bank’s annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, UBS chairman Colm Kelleher said he was “seriously concerned” about current discussions that could force the bank to hold much more cash and other liquid assets. “Additional capital is the wrong remedy,” he said.\r\n“There can be no regulatory solution for a broken business model,” he continued, referring to Credit Suisse. UBS bought its stricken rival last March in a government-orchestrated rescue aimed at preventing a global financial crisis.\r\nThe deal has proved controversial in Switzerland, which is now home to a bank with assets almost double the size of its annual economic output.\r\nKelleher argued the deal “reinforced Switzerland’s position as a leader in wealth management.”\r\nHe emphasized that UBS was “not too big to fail” and was “one of the best-capitalized banks in Europe,” with financial resources to absorb losses in excess of $200 billion.                                                 \r\n“Trust cannot be regulated. It was not too-low capital requirements that forced Credit Suisse into the historic weekend rescue,” he added.\r\nThe regulatory proposals, unveiled earlier this month, give analysts and shareholders reason to reconsider the potential benefits that UBS will derive from the biggest banking deal in history. Shares in the lender closed almost 3% lower in Zurich Wednesday.\r\nThe stock has tumbled 10% since the Swiss government published its recommendations as part of a report on banking sector stability, trimming some of the extraordinary gains notched since the deal was announced a year ago.\r\nAsked whether the proposed measures would require UBS to hold additional capital of between 15 billion and 25 billion Swiss francs ($16.4 billion-$27.3 billion), Swiss finance minister Karin Keller-Keller Sutter told the country’s Tages-Anzeiger newspaper this month that such estimates were “plausible.”\r\nThe Swiss government will publish more detailed proposals in the first quarter of next year.\r\nIn a note Tuesday, Anke Reingen, a banking analyst at RBC Capital Markets, wrote that UBS shareholders’ concerns were “justified.”\r\nInvestors are anxious because, in general, the more capital a bank has to hold in reserve the less it can return to shareholders or deploy to boost earnings.\r\nUBS is enjoying a lofty market valuation, with its shares up almost 40% over the past year. But that leaves the stock more vulnerable to declines as a result of “execution risk in the Credit Suisse integration,” suggested Citi analyst Andrew Coombs. He added that the new regulatory proposals injected “greater uncertainty” over the stock’s value.\r\nKelleher on Wednesday again highlighted the merits of the deal, while acknowledging that there was still “a long way to go” to make it a success.\r\nHe noted that the transaction added client assets equivalent to seven to 10 years of organic growth and “cements” UBS’s status as the “pre-eminent global wealth manager.”\r\n“However, to maintain this competitive edge, it is imperative that our regulatory policies ensure a level playing field,” he added. “In other words, Switzerland’s regulation must remain broadly aligned with global standards.”\r\nKelleher also defended UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti’s pay package for 2023, which drew considerable criticism from shareholders. “He arguably has the toughest job in the financial services industry globally and he has delivered,” he said.\r\nErmotti earned 14.4 million Swiss francs ($15.9 million) in 2023, making him the highest-paid bank CEO in Europe, according to Reuters.','2024-04-24','',3,1),(394,'Seafood could have higher levels of \'forever chemicals\'','Breaking News English',NULL,NULL,83,'https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2404/240418-seafood-forever-chemicals-1.html  ','Breaking News English','A study says high levels of \"forever chemicals\" may be in seafood. Forever chemicals are man-made toxins. They stay in our blood and lead to health issues. These include cancer and kidney problems. Researchers said we need safety guidelines for these chemicals in seafood, especially for marine creatures like prawns and lobster. People who love sushi and prawn cocktails may have to change their diet and eat less seafood.\r\n\r\nForever chemicals were created in the 1930s. Today, they are found in food packaging, food wrappers, and food containers. Over the decades, the chemicals have entered our food chain. A professor wants people to enjoy seafood, but also to be aware of the risks. She said: \"Our recommendation isn\'t to not eat seafood.\" She thinks it is important for us to understand more about what is in the food we eat.\r\n','2024-04-30','',1,1),(395,'Buses without drivers – level 2','News in level',NULL,NULL,83,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/buses-without-drivers-level-2/ ','News in LEVEL','Commuters in Seoul are using the world’s first driverless night bus.\r\n\r\nSelf-driving taxis are not so unusual anymore, but autonomous public transport in city centers is a new thing. A BBC reporter took a late-night ride on the Seoul autonomous bus. The vehicle uses modern technology which costs millions. The bus operates smoothly, but a driver is present for emergencies.\r\n\r\nSome people believe that autonomous buses will solve problems with public transport in the city, especially for late-night travelers. South Korea spends a lot of money on autonomous vehicles, but there are still troubles with it. It is expensive and it is not possible to use it everywhere.\r\n','2024-04-30','',1,1),(396,'BHP offers $39 billion for Anglo American in mining shake-up','Reuteurs',NULL,NULL,83,'https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/bhp-considering-potential-buyout-offer-anglo-american-bloomberg-reports-2024-04-24/ ','By Melanie Burton, Scott Murdoch and Anousha Sakoui','MELBOURNE/LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - BHP Group (BHP.AX) bid $38.8 billion for Anglo American (AAL.L) on Thursday, offering a deal to forge the world\'s biggest copper miner and sending its smaller rival\'s shares 13% higher.\r\nBHP said it will offer Anglo\'s shareholders 25.08 pounds ($31.39) per share, a premium of 31%, and carve out the London-listed group\'s iron ore and platinum assets in South Africa, where BHP, the world\'s largest listed miner, has no activities.\r\nShares in Anglo were trading at 24.95 pounds at 0900 GMT.\r\nAnglo, which owns mines in countries including Chile, South Africa, Brazil and Australia, said its board was reviewing BHP\'s unsolicited, non-binding and highly conditional proposal. Under UK takeover rules, BHP has until May 22 to make a firm offer. \r\nIf agreed, a combination would create a copper mining group with around 10% of global output. It could also trigger further transactions in the sector, which has seen a rush of mergers and acquisitions as companies review portfolios to raise exposure to metals deemed critical to the global energy transition.\r\n\"This is all about copper,\" said Ben Cleary, portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners.\r\n\"It\'s a good deal for BHP. Anglo is obviously very much in play now and there\'s probably room for others to interlope. This is going to set the whole sector on fire,\" said Cleary, whose firm holds shares in both companies. \r\nThe bid comes after Anglo, which had a market value of $37.7 billion at Wednesday\'s close, began a review of its assets in February in response to a 94% fall in annual profit and a series of writedowns due to a drop in demand for most of its metals.\r\nBHP, best-known for mining iron ore, copper, coking coal, potash and nickel, was valued at about $149 billion.\r\nAn Anglo deal would be the second major acquisition by BHP in about a year after its 2023 purchase of copper miner Oz Minerals. Its bid adds to a frenzy of global M&A activity, including gold giant Newmont\'s (NEM.N), opens new tab $16.8 billion buyout of Australia-based Newcrest Mining late last year.\r\nA takeover of Anglo by BHP would likely be among the 10 biggest-ever mining deals by value and has the potential to delist Anglo from the London market, a fresh blow to an exchange that is struggling to retain big companies and attract IPOs.\r\nBut some said BHP would need to offer more to get a deal.\r\n\"There is ... almost no way, in our minds, that the premium being offered by BHP is going to be enough to entice Anglo management to transact,\" said Mark Kelly at advisory firm MKP.\r\n\r\n','2024-04-25','',2,1),(397,'\'Lost\' Gustav Klimt painting sells for €30m','BBC NEWS',NULL,NULL,83,'https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68886196 ','By Bethany Bell,','A painting by the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt that was believed lost for the past 100 years has been sold at auction in Vienna.\r\nThe unfinished work, Portrait of Fraulein Lieser, fetched €30m (£26m; $32m).\r\nIt was commissioned by a family of Jewish industrialists in 1917, a year before Klimt\'s death.\r\nHowever, there are many unanswered questions about the painting and debates about who the woman in the portrait is, as well as what happened to the painting during the Nazi era.\r\nIt is believed to depict one of the daughters of either Adolf or Justus Lieser, who were brothers from a wealthy family of Jewish industrialists.\r\nArt historians Tobias Natter and Alfred Weidinger say the painting is of Margarethe Constance Lieser, the daughter of Adolf Lieser.\r\nBut the im Kinsky auction house in Vienna, which auctioned the artwork, suggests the painting could also depict one of the two daughters of Justus Lieser and his wife Henriette.\r\nHenriette, who was known as Lilly, was a patron of modern art. She was deported by the Nazis and died in the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust.\r\nHer daughters, Helene and Annie, both survived the Second World War.\r\nThe auction house said in a statement that the exact fate of the painting after 1925 was \"unclear\".                                                                                                                   \r\n\"What is known is that it was acquired by a legal predecessor of the consignor in the 1960s and went to the current owner through three successive inheritances.\"\r\nThe identity of the current Austrian owners has not been made public.\r\nThe painting was sold on behalf of these owners and the legal successors of Adolf and Henriette Lieser, based on the Washington Principles - an international agreement to return Nazi-looted art to the descendants of the people the pieces were taken from.\r\nErnst Ploil from im Kinsky told the BBC: \"We have an an agreement, according to the Washington principles, with the whole family\".\r\nThe im Kinsky catalogue described this agreement as \"a fair and just solution\".\r\nHowever Erika Jakubovits, the executive director of the Presidency of the Austrian Jewish Community, said there were still \"many unanswered questions\".\r\nShe has called for the case to be researched by \"an independent party\".\r\n\"Art restitution is a very sensitive issue, all research must be carried out accurately and in detail, and the result must be comprehensible and transparent,\" Ms Jakubovits said.\r\n\"It must be ensured that there is also a state-of-the-art procedure for future private restitutions.\"\r\nKlimt\'s art has fetched huge sums at auction in the past.\r\nHis Lady with a Fan piece sold for £85.3m at Sotheby\'s in June 2023, making it the most valuable work of art ever sold at auction in Europe.','2024-04-24','',2,1),(398,'Anti-oil protestors try to damage the Magna Carta','Breaking News English',NULL,NULL,84,'https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2405/240513-magna-carta-5.html ','Breaking News English','Climate protestors tried to damage one of the world\'s most famous documents – the Magna Carta. Two women in their 80s went to the British Library in London and attacked the case that contained the Magna Carta. The women damaged the glass using a hammer and a chisel. Police charged them with criminal damage. The British Library said security staff prevented the women from doing further damage.  The Magna Carta stayed safe. The women are from the Just Stop Oil protest group. They held up a sign that read: \"The government is breaking the law.\"\r\n\r\nThe Magna Carta Magna Carta is a royal charter that was agreed to in 1215. It states that everyone is equal under the law. It guarantees that everyone should have a fair trial, with a jury. Historians say the document influenced the development of Western democracy, and the U.S. Constitution. The two protestors said: \"The Magna Carta is…of great importance…to our freedoms and to our laws. But, there will be no freedom, no lawfulness, no rights, if we allow climate breakdown to become the catastrophe that is now threatened.\"','2024-05-24','',1,1),(399,'Red ants in Italy','Breaking News English',NULL,NULL,84,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/red-ants-in-italy-level-2/','Breaking News English','Last year, scientists saw red fire ants in Europe for the first time. Now, they found red fire ant nests in Sicily, Italy.\r\n\r\nThese ants come from South America and are very dangerous and aggressive. The ants can damage plants by eating their roots, and they attack helpful insects. The EU considers these ants a serious problem. The ants probably came to Sicily from Brazil, but no one knows how.\r\n\r\nCountries like Brazil, China, and the US spend billions trying to manage these ants; however, they still cause significant damage.\r\n\r\nThe ants thrive in places with water, like gardens and playgrounds. The Sicilian government is taking action, appointing foresters to handle the situation. They use steam machines to destroy ant nests. The goal is to kill the queens to stop the colonies.\r\n','2024-05-24','',1,1),(400,'BMW and Jaguar used banned China parts - US probe','BBC NEWS',NULL,NULL,84,'https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv2237rplg8o','Peter Hoskins,','BMW, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Volkswagen (VW) used parts made by a supplier on a list of firms banned over alleged links to Chinese forced labour, a US congressional report has said.\r\nAt least 8,000 BMW Mini Cooper cars were imported into the US with components from banned Chinese firm Sichuan Jingweida Technology Group (JWD), according to the report by Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden\'s staff.\r\n\"Automakers’ self-policing is clearly not doing the job,\" the Democrat Senator said.\r\nBMW said it had \"strict standards and policies regarding employment practices, human rights, and working conditions, which all our direct suppliers must follow\".\r\nIt added it had taken steps to \"halt the importation of affected products and will be conducting a service action with customer and dealer notification for affected motor vehicles\".\r\nJaguar Land Rover told the BBC it \"takes human rights and forced labour issues seriously and has an active ongoing programme of human rights protection and anti-slavery measures\".\r\nVW did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\r\nMr Wyden also urged the US Customs and Border Protection agency to \"supercharge enforcement and crack down on companies that fuel the shameful use of forced labour in China\".                                                                                                                                      \r\nThe report added Jaguar Land Rover had imported spare parts which included components from JWD after the company was put on the banned list.\r\nJLR said it has now identified and is destroying any stock it holds around the world that include this component.\r\nIn February, VW said thousands of its vehicles, including Porsches and Bentleys, had been held by authorities because they had a component in them that breached America\'s anti-forced labour laws.\r\nVW had voluntarily informed customs officials about the issue, the report said.\r\nCongress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) into law in 2021.\r\nThe legislation is intended to prevent the import of goods from China\'s north-western Xinjiang region that are believed to have been made by people from the Uyghur minority group in forced labour conditions.\r\nJWD was added to the UFLPA Entity List in December 2023, which means its products are presumed to be made with forced labour.\r\nChina has been accused of detaining more than one million Uyghurs in Xinjiang against their will over the past few years.\r\nAuthorities have denied all allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.\r\n“The so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act by the US is not about forced labor but about creating unemployment. It does not protect human rights but, under the guise of human rights, harms the survival and employment rights of the people in Xinjiang,\" Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.\r\n\"China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this. We will take measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.”\r\n','2024-05-21','',2,1),(401,'Parched Philippine dam reveals centuries-old town, luring tourists','NBC News',NULL,NULL,84,'https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/parched-philippine-dam-reveals-centuries-old-town-luring-tourists-rcna150540','By Reuters','NUEVA ECIJA, Philippines — Ruins of a centuries-old town have emerged at a dam parched by drought in the northern Philippines, giving residents a rare spectacle and an extra source of income in a region dependent on rice-growing.\r\n\r\nFollowing a prolonged spell with little rain, the dried-up dam has revealed parts of a sunken church and foundations of old structures from the old town in Nueva Ecija province in recent weeks.\r\n\r\n“When I heard about the sunken church of old Pantabangan town resurfacing, I got excited and wanted to see it,” said 61-year-old retired nurse Aurea Delos Santos.\r\n\r\nSome locals have cashed in on the attraction, ferrying tourists to the island. “Back then, I was only earning 200 pesos ($3.50) from fishing, but when the tourists arrived, I’m earning 1,500 to 1,800 per day,” said fisherman Nelson Dellera.\r\n\r\nThe old town was relocated in the 1970s during the construction of a dam, which now serves as the main irrigation and water source for Nueva Ecija and nearby provinces, according to the local government.\r\n\r\nThe Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia have been grappling with extreme heat, prompting schools to suspend classes and governments to urge people to stay indoors to prevent heat stroke.','2024-05-03','',2,1),(402,'Like to bike? Your knees will thank you and you may live longer, too','NPE ILLINOIS',NULL,NULL,84,'https://www.nprillinois.org/2024-05-20/like-to-bike-your-knees-will-thank-you-and-you-may-live-longer-too','By Allison Aubrey','We are in the middle of National Bike Month, and cycling enthusiasts love to talk up the benefits of their favorite activity.\r\n\"It\'s definitely my longevity drug,\" says Brooks Boliek, 65, an avid cyclist of many decades, who used to commute to his office on a bicycle.\r\nA substantial body of evidence supports the health benefits of cycling, everything from strengthening the immune system to boosting the likelihood of living longer. Now, a new study finds people who are in the habit of riding a bike are significantly less likely to have osteoarthritis and experience pain in their knees by age 65, compared to people who don\'t bike.\r\nThe study, which was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, and published in the American College of Sports Medicine\'s flagship peer-reviewed journal, included about 2,600 men and women, with an average age of 64 years old. They were surveyed about their physical activity over their lifetime. As part of the study, researchers took X-ray images to evaluate signs of arthritis in their knee joints. \"Bicyclers were 21% less likely to have X-ray evidence and symptoms of osteoarthritis compared to those who did not have a history of bicycling,\" explains study author Dr. Grace Lo of Baylor College of Medicine.                                                                                                                                                                             \r\n\"I was surprised to see how very strong the benefit was,\" Lo says given the profile of the participants. The people enrolled in the study were not competitive athletes, but rather \"average\" people, ranging from their mid-40\'s up to 80 years old. All of them had elevated risks of developing knee arthritis due to weight, family history or former injuries.\r\nThe study cannot prove cause and effect, given it was an observational study that assessed osteoarthritis at one point in time. But the findings, which are published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, validate the advice many health care providers give to patients about the benefits of cycling and other non weight-bearing exercises.\r\n\"Cycling is very low impact,\" says musculoskeletal researcher Matt Harkey, an assistant professor at Michigan State University and a co-author of the study. Cycling also helps to build strength in the muscles around the knee which can help protect the joint. In addition, the rhythmic motion of pedaling on a bicycle can move synovial fluid, the viscous, egg white -like liquid in joints that helps reduce friction and absorb shock. \"What it does is help to circulate the synovial fluid throughout the joint to help to kind of lubricate [the joint] and provide nutrient delivery to the cartilage,\" Harkey says.\r\nOf course, there are many types of exercise that are good for health, though cycling seems to have a leg up when it comes to protecting joints. Oftentimes, people give up contact sports such as basketball, as they age, given the risk of injury.\r\n\"It can be expected that physical activity in which there is little weight-bearing on joints will be more beneficial than those that need constant stamping,\" such as running, says Norman Lazarus, a professor emeritus at King\'s College London, who is in his late 80\'s and is still cycling. (NPR profiled his cycling research in 2018.)\r\nLazarus says the results of the new study – pointing to a benefit – are not surprising, though he points out that biking does bring risk of injury. He says it\'s important for cyclists to understand the risk of overuse injuries as well as the importance of technique and getting a proper fitting bike. Each year, thousands of bicyclists are injured in motor vehicle crashes, and older adults are at higher risk of serious injury. Research shows it\'s safer to bike on trails or paths separated from traffic.\r\nRisks aside, research shows biking is good for longevity. \"There\'s good data to support that people live longer when they bicycle,\" says Lo. She points to a study that found people who cycled one hour per week were about 22% less likely to die prematurely. This was a study of people with diabetes, so it\'s possible that the benefits are greater for people without the disease.\r\n\"This is an exercise [people] can participate in over a lifetime,\" Lo says, and it can also be done indoors on a stationary bike. \"I think that it is a great preventative strategy for many things, including arthritis,\" she says.\r\nBiking enthusiast Brooks Boliek says cycling brings him joy and a sense of accomplishment. \"I\'m very goal oriented,\" he says, and a daily ride gives him something to focus on. \"It gives me something to live for.\"\r\nA sense of purpose that keeps his heart pumping and his muscles strong. He says he\'d love to keep riding until the day he dies.','2024-05-20','',3,1),(403,'National Sorry Day – May 26, 2024','National today',NULL,NULL,84,'https://nationaltoday.com/national-sorry-day/','Nathional today','Every May 26 in Australia, National Sorry Day reminds the colonist-descended people of the nation to remember the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Why? During the 20th century, Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families to be “assimilated” into white Australian culture. They are known as the “Stolen Generations.” It took several Australian government administrations coming and going before an apology was officially offered to the Indigenous Australians, but it finally was made official, and actions are still being undertaken to this day to repair the damage caused by tearing native families apart.\r\nHISTORY OF NATIONAL SORRY DAY\r\nThe first National Sorry Day was observed in 1998, a year after the first “Bringing Them Home” report — the result of a government inquiry into the child-stealing of the 20th century — was brought before the Australian Parliament. Among that report’s recommendations was the idea of an unreserved apology and the proposition that a portion of the national budget should be put towards reparations.\r\nThe formal apology came in 2008 when Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister. The best former Prime Minister John Howard had done, in 1999, was to put forth a “Motion of Reconciliation” that expressed regret and sympathy, but no admission of culpability.                                                                                                    In the meantime, there was a motion to rename the day “The National Day of Healing,” which passed in 2005.\r\nIt was really Prime Minister Rudd’s unreserved apology that really struck a chord in the hearts of Australians. It was his Parliament that adopted the goals of the “Closing the Gap” movement, which focused on the health and equality of indigenous peoples of all generations. Closing the Gap was run by Oxfam Australia between 2009 and 2019, and then was handed over to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR), who still produce an annual report.\r\nNational Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how Australians can all play a part in the healing process for the people and nation. While this date carries great significance for the Stolen Generations and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it is also commemorated by Australians right around the country.\r\n','2024-05-26','',3,1),(404,'Scotland after Brexit – level 2','News in level',NULL,NULL,85,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/scotland-after-brexit-level-2/ ','News in LEVEL','The island of Skye in Europe is feeling the negative impact of Brexit.\r\n\r\nThree generations of the McKinnon family worked in fishing, and they supported Brexit because of catch quotas. But they are now disappointed because they didn’t get much benefit. They sell langoustines, crabs, and lobsters mostly to Europe, but prices are falling, and there is more paperwork.  The Scottish salmon industry is important for jobs on Skye. It loses up to 100 million pounds a year because of Brexit. The island also lost European Union benefits and now depends on less helpful aid from Westminster.\r\n\r\nThe British government promised new markets, but Skye’s people didn’t see any benefits. Finding workers is hard, and that affects tourism and building.  Local people say that Brexit made things more expensive and harder. Some hope that Scotland will become independent and join the EU.\r\n\r\n','2024-06-11','',1,1),(405,'Cocoa farmers grow rubber – level 2','News in level',NULL,NULL,85,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/cocoa-farmers-grow-rubber-level-2/ ','News in LEVEL','Ivory Coast is the biggest cocoa producer, but many farmers now grow rubber instead.\r\n\r\nThey say that rubber farming is cheaper and easier. They harvest cocoa only once or twice a year, while rubber gives them money every month. Rubber production in Ivory Coast grew from 170,000 tons to 1.5 million tons in three years. Climate change and high costs make more farmers switch to rubber. Rubber trees take time to produce but need less work and have stable prices.\r\n\r\nThis change worries the cocoa industry because 90% of cocoa comes from small farmers. The cocoa industry must help poor farmers. Without help, fewer farmers will grow cocoa, which could raise chocolate prices.\r\n','2024-06-17','',1,1),(406,'Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as war in Ukraine rages on','Reuters',NULL,NULL,85,'https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/ukraine/2024/06/17/vladimir-putin-kim-jong-un-russia/74122000007/  ','Guy Faulconbridge and Josh Smith','MOSCOW/SEOUL, June 17 (Reuters) ? Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Kremlin said, a rare trip that underscores Moscow\'s burgeoning partnership with the reclusive nuclear-armed state.\r\n\r\nNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un extended an invitation to Putin during a visit to Russia\'s Far East last September. Putin last visited Pyongyang in July 2000.\r\n\r\n\"At the invitation of the Chairman of State Affairs of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin will pay a friendly state visit to the Democratic People\'s Republic of Korea on June 18-19,\" the Kremlin said.\r\n\r\nPutin will then visit Vietnam on June 19-20, the Kremlin said. Both visits had been expected, although the dates had not previously been announced.\r\n\r\nRussia has gone out of its way to publicize the renaissance of its relationship with North Korea since the start of the war in Ukraine, sparking alarm among the United States and its allies in Europe and Asia.\r\nWashington says North Korea has supplied weapons to Russia to help it fight in Ukraine, though Pyongyang has repeatedly denied this.\r\n\r\nFor Putin, who says Russia is locked in an existential battle with the West over Ukraine, courting Kim allows him to needle Washington and its Asian allies.\r\n\r\nUnited Nations monitors concluded that at least one ballistic missile fired from Russia at a city in Ukraine in January was made in North Korea. Ukrainian officials say they have counted about 50 such missiles delivered to Russia by North Korea.\r\n\r\n\"The list of countries willing to welcome Putin is shorter than ever, but for Kim Jong Un, this visit is a victory,\" said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.\r\n\r\n\"Not only does the summit upgrade North Korea’s status among countries standing against the U.S.-led international order, it also helps bolster Kim’s domestic legitimacy.\"\r\n\r\nSouth Korea\'s vice foreign minister, Kim Hong-kyun, discussed Putin\'s planned visit to the north in an emergency phone call with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on Friday, Seoul\'s foreign ministry said.\r\n\r\nThe visit should not result in more military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow in violation of U.N. resolutions, the South Korean ministry said.\r\n\r\nRussia says it will cooperate with North Korea and develop relations in the manner it chooses and that it will not be told what to do by any country, least of all the United States.\r\n\r\n','2024-06-17','',2,1),(407,'AI frenzy makes Nvidia the world\'s most valuable company','BBC NEWS',NULL,NULL,85,'https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyrr40x0z2mo ','By Mitchell Labiak','Chip-maker Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company after its share price climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday.\r\nIt is now worth $3.34tn (£2.63tn), with the price having nearly doubled since the start of this year.\r\nThe stock ended the trading day at nearly $136, up 3.5%, making it more valuable than fellow tech giant Microsoft. It overtook Apple earlier this month.\r\nThe Californian company\'s meteoric rise has been fuelled by its dominance of what analysts call the \"new gold or oil in the tech sector\" - the chips needed for artificial intelligence (AI).\r\nSpeaking at an event in Copenhagen, Chris Penrose, global head of business development for telco at Nvidia, predicted further growth in the sector.\r\n“The generative AI journey is really transforming businesses and telcos around the world,\" he said.\r\n“We’re just at the beginning.”\r\nAnalysts Wedbush Securities agreed.\r\n\"We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and centre between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft,\" it said in a note earlier this week.\r\nOther commentators though have questioned whether there will be big future gains, given the increasing competition Nvidia faces.\r\nRise and rise\r\nWhat is not in doubt though is how spectacularly it has grown.\r\nEight years ago, the stock was worth less than 1% of its current price.\r\nBack then, Nvidia\'s value came from its competition with rival AMD, in a race to make the best graphics cards.\r\nIn recent years though it has benefited from a boom in demand for chips that train and run generative AI models, the most well-known of which being OpenAI\'s ChatGPT.\r\nThe firm also benefitted significantly from a rush to mine Bitcoin in 2020, which saw a sharp uptick in sales of its graphics cards.\r\nThe rise and rise of the tech giant has been mirrored by the increasingly high profile of its boss, Jensen Huang.\r\nMeta boss Mark Zuckerberg even called the 61-year-old electrical engineer - known for his signature leather jacket - the \"Taylor Swift of tech\" for the celebrity status he has achieved.\r\nHe\'s become well-known thanks in part to his popularity in his native Taiwan, where fans treat him as a rock star - posing for photos and even asking him to sign body parts.\r\nCompetition among AI developers is fierce. Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet, Meta and Apple are just some of the tech heavyweights battling to create a world-beating product.\r\nThis competition benefits Nvidia, which as well as developing AI tech of its own, dominates the vast majority of the AI chip market.\r\nNvidia’s sales and profit figures have surpassed many analyst expectations in recent years.\r\nIn May, after its latest set of financial results were published, Quilter Cheviot technology analyst Ben Barringer said the company had \"once again cleared a very high hurdle\".\r\n\"Demand is showing no signs of switching off either,\" he added.\r\nHowever, a minority are more cautious.\r\nIn February, Barclays credit analyst Sandeep Gupta argued that Nvidia’s large market share would be hard to maintain given the increasing number of rivals and questioned how Nvidia’s customers would monetise AI software.\r\n','2024-06-19','',2,1),(408,'King and world leaders attend emotional D-Day events','BBC NEWS',NULL,NULL,85,'https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn44ed7yelzo','By Robert Plummer','King Charles and the Prince of Wales joined world leaders and veterans at a series of events to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.\r\nBoth royals made speeches in France on Thursday, praising the \"bravery and sacrifice\" of those who \"served at that critical time\".\r\nThe King laid a wreath at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, near Gold Beach, with a note attached touching on the sacrifices made on D-Day.\r\nLater in the day, Prince William joined heads of state at Omaha Beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer for the final event of the two-day commemorations.\r\nIn a speech at the British war memorial in France, the King said the lesson to learn was that free nations must stand together to oppose tyranny.\r\n\"Our obligation to remember them, what they stood for, and what they achieved for us all, can never diminish,\" the King told the delegation at a sombre and emotional commemoration.\r\nUK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer attended the same ceremony as the King, in what may be one of few remaining anniversaries that D-Day veterans will attend.\r\nOn 6 June 1944, tens of thousands of soldiers landed on five beaches in Normandy in northern France.\r\nThe landings were the start of the campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied north-western Europe.\r\nFive years ago, 225 British veterans travelled to Normandy for commemorations. This year, there were 23, including some centenarians.\r\nOne US Navy veteran travelling to France, Robert \"Al\" Persichitti from Rochester, New York, died on his way to the event, a veteran organisation has confirmed.\r\nHe was airlifted to a hospital in Germany on 30 May after suffering a medical emergency aboard a ship heading to Europe. He died the following day, aged 102.\r\nThursday\'s commemorations began early in the day with a military piper at Gold Beach in Arromanches, who played a lament at sea at 07:26, marking the exact moment when the invasion began.\r\nThat heralded a series of re-enactments, military flyovers and memorial services in several locations.\r\nThose present at Thursday\'s events also included US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - the leaders of the other main powers involved in the landings.\r\nPrince William was at the Canadian commemorative ceremony at Juno Beach, where he thanked Canadian veterans for their \"extraordinary acts of bravery and sacrifice\".\r\n\"We continue to honour every Canadian, who gave so much, every Canadian family who lost a loved one,\" he said.\r\nHe ended his speech by saying in French: \"Thank you for our freedom, and thank you for your service.\"\r\nMr Trudeau also paid tribute, saying: \"We must all continue to stand for democracy day in day out, we owe it for future generations.\"\r\nPrince William sat alongside world leaders at the final event of the commemorations, the international memorial ceremony at Omaha Beach.\r\nWilliam spoke to President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the event.\r\nMr Sunak did not attend the Omaha Beach ceremony, but UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Mr Starmer were both present.\r\nDuring the event, President Biden said that what happened 80 years ago in Normandy did not absolve modern generations from doing what had to be done today.\r\n\"Democracy is never guaranteed,\" he said. It had to be preserved and fought for, he added.\r\nMr Biden said the struggle of Ukrainians in the face of Russian aggression captured the spirit of D-Day.\r\nHe described the conflict as being part of an unending struggle between dictatorship and freedom.\r\n\'Heroes in the shadows\'\r\nAt the Gold Beach ceremony, President Macron honoured the bravery and sacrifice of those who fought.\r\n\"France will never forget the British troops who landed on D-Day and all their brothers-in-arms,\" he said.\r\n\"That faith in freedom which you have never lost, that constant selflessness and devotion both guide us and serve as a duty to us.\"\r\nMr Macron awarded Légion d\'Honneur medals to veterans including Christian Lamb, now 103, who spent the war as an officer in the Women\'s Royal Naval Service.\r\nIn 1944, she helped plan the D-Day landings from Churchill\'s secret war rooms in London.\r\n\"You were one of the heroes in the shadows,\" the French president told her.\r\nOther veterans present included 99-year-old Joe Mines, who landed on Gold Beach 80 years ago.\r\nIn words read by actor Martin Freeman, Mr Mines said he had come back \"to pay my respect to those who didn\'t make it\".\r\nRoy Hayward, now 99, took part in the landings as a trooper in the Sherwood Rangers and was badly wounded in the assault.\r\n\"The tank was hit and I was so badly damaged they had to amputate both legs below the knee,\" he told the BBC. \"I always consider myself one of the lucky ones that survived, because so many of us didn’t.\"\r\nAlso taking part in the day of tributes were President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. No Russian official was invited.\r\nMeanwhile, American actor Tom Hanks and film director Steven Spielberg joined the commemorations in Normandy.\r\nTheir 1998 film Saving Private Ryan depicted the US landings on Omaha Beach in its famed opening battle scene.\r\nThe film is being shown in around 300 French cinemas on Thursday to mark D-Day.','2024-06-06','',3,1),(409,'Burkina Faso named most neglected crisis for second year in a row','CNN',NULL,NULL,85,'https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/03/africa/burkina-faso-most-neglected-crisis-intl/','By Eve Brennan','Burkina Faso has been named the world’s most neglected displacement crisis by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) for the second year.\r\n\r\nIn its annual report, released Monday, the NRC said the West African country saw a record-high 707,000 new displacements in 2023, driven by escalating violence and a worsening humanitarian crisis.\r\n\r\nNine out of the 10 most neglected crises outlined in the report were in Africa, with Cameroon, Central African Republic, Mali, and Niger holding the second to fifth positions respectively.\r\n\r\nThe NRC said in a press release Monday its criteria for neglected displacement crises are: “lack of humanitarian funding, lack of media attention, and a lack of international political and diplomatic initiatives compared to the number of people in need.”\r\n\r\nThe NCR report said 2023 saw a record-breaking shortfall in aid budgets of around $32 billion, leaving more than half of humanitarian needs worldwide unmet.\r\n\r\nNeglect now ‘the new normal’\r\nThe report said media coverage of the displacement crisis in Burkina Faso and international political engagement with the crisis were “negligible” in 2023, adding that only 37% of requested humanitarian funding had been received by the country, leaving a significant gap in aid.\r\n\r\n“The utter neglect of displaced people has become the new normal,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of NRC.\r\n\r\n“The local political and military elites disregard the suffering they cause, and the world is neither shocked nor compelled to act by stories of desperation and record-breaking statistics. We need a global reboot of solidarity and a refocus on where needs are greatest.”\r\n\r\nThe report added that media coverage in Burkina Faso also declined as “access became more difficult for both journalists and humanitarian organizations.”\r\n\r\nBurkina Faso is currently under military rule after a junta staged a coup d’état in July 2022. Its junta, headed by acting president Captain Ibrahim Traore, has prioritized security due to the multiple lives claimed by attacks.\r\n\r\nBut in April this year, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report found that more than 200 people were killed by the country’s military in a campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with armed groups, alleging these could amount to war crimes.\r\n\r\nBurkina Faso said it “firmly rejects and condemns such unfounded accusations,” in a government press release.\r\n\r\nThe country’s media regulatory body, the Superior Council for Communication, announced in the following days it was temporarily suspending broadcasting and access to websites of some western news organizations including the French TV5 Monde and Le Monde, the Guardian, as well as BBC Africa and VOA.\r\n\r\nThe Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remained one of the most neglected crises for the eighth consecutive year, with around 6.9 million people displaced by the end of 2023, mainly in the eastern provinces, the report said.\r\n\r\nA lack of aid forced people to resort to negative coping mechanisms, including exchanging sexual favors for food, money, and other survival needs, the report stated.\r\n\r\nSudan came in at number ten. Although the war which broke out in April last year has resulted in a death toll in the tens of thousands, more than eight million people internally displaced and nearly 25 million people in need of aid, the NRC remarked the crisis has been “grossly neglected.”\r\n\r\nRecurrent attacks\r\nViolence-related deaths in Burkina Faso doubled in 2023, according to the NRC. The country faces recurrent attacks often blamed on “terrorists.”\r\n\r\nIn February last year, the murder of two Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) aid workers led the organization to suspend activities in the region. By the end of the year, up to two million people were trapped in 36 blockaded towns, with over 40,000 facing catastrophic food insecurity, according to the report.\r\n\r\nA displaced mother in northern Burkina Faso, Asseta, shared her struggle with NRC researchers: “When we have nothing to cook, I pick leaves and boil them in water,” she said, as quoted in the organization’s release.\r\n\r\n\r\nEgeland emphasized the growing difficulty in reaching those in need due to dangerous roads and the prohibitively expensive minimal air services.\r\n\r\n“Donors and humanitarians must prioritize areas that are out-of-sight to ensure they do not become out-of-mind,” he urged.\r\n\r\nThe NRC says around 6.3 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2024, with over two million remaining internally displaced.\r\n\r\nHundreds of civilians have already been killed in attacks this year, including around 170 in three villages in March, and approximately 30 in separate mosque and church attacks in February.\r\n\r\nThe NRC’s report noted that many neglected crises are interconnected, with ripple effects beyond borders affecting neighboring countries and sometimes causing broader regional impacts.\r\n\r\nCompetition over resources between refugees and local communities, driven by a lack of funds, can also cause tension.\r\n','2024-06-04','',3,1),(410,'A robot makes fries – level 2','News in level',NULL,NULL,86,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/a-robot-makes-fries-level-2/','News in LEVEL','In California, US, Miso Robotics, an automation company, developed a robot which works in fast food restaurants.\r\n\r\nAt first, the robot only turned burgers, but workers soon realized that it could do more tasks. Now, the robot does several tasks at once. For example, it prepares French fries or onion rings.\r\n\r\nWhen an order comes, the robot automatically receives instructions, it takes a frozen product, fries it for the precise amount of time, and puts the finished product in a box. The robot uses special arms that look similar to those in car factories. The advantage is that the robot can do many tasks at the same time, which saves a lot of time and work.\r\n\r\nThe robot uses AI and cameras and is faster than humans. It prepares meals for the right amount of time, and people are happy that they don’t have to do the work, especially at night.','2024-08-14','',1,1),(411,'Mac and cheese for life! Philippines’ heartfelt gifts to Carlos Yulo after double Olympic gold','The Guardians',NULL,NULL,86,'https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/05/paris-olympics-2024-carlos-yulo-artistic-gymnastics-floor-vault-philippines-gifts-gold','Rebecca Ratcliffe ','Pledges of pesos, property and pasta as ‘Caloy’ makes history for his country with floor exercise and vault victories in artistic gymnastics\r\n\r\nThe Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo’s historic double gold medal win at the Paris Olympics has been celebrated across the Philippines, with businesses showering the athlete with gifts – from cash and a new home, to a lifetime supply of mac and cheese.\r\n\r\nFerdinand Marcos, the president, said the Philippines had “witnessed history” when Yulo became the first Filipino man to win an Olympic gold medal after competing in the artistic gymnastic floor exercise on Saturday. He is only the second Filipino athlete to win an Olympic gold, after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz in 2020. On Sunday, Yulo soared to the top of the podium again in the vault, thus becoming the first Filipino to win two golds – and at a single Olympics.\r\n\r\n“No words can express how proud we are of you,” Marcos said. “Filipinos all over the world stood united, cheering and rooting for you.”\r\n\r\nCarlos was described as a “sports hero” and “national treasure” by the speaker of the lower house, Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. Yulo will be given 6m Philippines pesos (£81,319/US$103,676) and a congressional medal, and is due to receive 10m pesos under a law that promises incentives to athletes.\r\n\r\nPrivate sector companies, big and small, announced a flurry of gifts, including a fully furnished three-bedroom unit worth 32m pesos (£433,444/US$552,802) in Taguig City, Metro Manila. Yulo was also offered lifetime supplies of free buffets, baked mac and cheese, and chicken inasal, a grilled chicken dish, by various chain restaurants.\r\n\r\nA car lights specialist offered him a free set of headlights and fog lights for his vehicle, while a wedding photographer pledged free services to the 24-year-old and another business offered a lifetime supply of phone cases. A Filipino doctor pledged free consultation and endoscopic procedures for Yulo when he turned 45, as well as to any patients in need whom Yulo would like to endorse.\r\n\r\nYulo collapsed to the ground in tears when he realised he had secured the gold on Saturday. “I don’t know what to say,” he said. “We are a really small country … So to be able to get a gold medal for us is big for us, huge. I dedicate this to the Filipino people who supported me.”\r\n\r\nYulo has been offered franchises for a coffee and a lemon drink business, and a P10m brand ambassadorship contract for a beauty clinic, according to company announcements on social media.\r\n\r\nThose who share the same name as Yulo are also in luck, as celebrations sweep the country. Cafes and restaurants have offered free meals or milkshakes to anyone named Carlos, Caloy (his nickname) or Edriel (his middle name), while a music venue offered free entry over the weekend to anyone whose name began with C.\r\n','2024-08-05','',2,1),(412,'Trump and Harris battle over election’s biggest issue','BBC NEWS',NULL,NULL,86,'https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgl2xjxlz3xo ','Sarah Smith','After almost a year off the platform, Donald Trump returned to X this week and asked his 89 million followers: “Are you better off now than you were when I was president?”\r\nIt was a clear echo of the famous quote from Ronald Reagan during his victorious 1980 presidential campaign, when he asked: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”\r\nThis messaging isn’t surprising. It seems like an obvious strategy for Trump to focus on the economy.\r\nThat’s because polls consistently suggest it’s the issue American voters care about the most. One such poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov in recent days listed “inflation/prices” and “jobs and the economy” among voters’ top concerns.\r\nPerhaps more importantly, polls also indicate voters are deeply unhappy with the current state of affairs.\r\nThat seems like a perfect situation for any presidential challenger.\r\nBut in an election that’s been transformed by Kamala Harris taking over from Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate, Trump seems to be struggling to land his simple message on the economy.\r\nIt is less than a month since he was on stage at the Republican National Convention looking unbeatable, having survived an assassination attempt and riding high in the opinion polls.\r\nNow, he has lost that lead and seems to have lost his way. Meanwhile, in the opposition corner, Ms Harris is riding a wave of excitement and enthusiasm that he is finding difficult to counter.\r\nThe easiest way to burst her bubble would be to remind voters how unhappy they are about high prices and blame her for the inflation that has pushed up the cost of living during the time she has been beside President Biden in the White House.\r\nOne of the reasons Trump is failing to land that message is the Harris campaign’s strategy of putting proposals to try to lower the cost of living at the heart of her pitch.\r\nIn a speech in North Carolina on Friday, Ms Harris promised to expand child tax credits, help people to purchase their first homes, and to encourage the building of more affordable housing.\r\nShe also said she hoped to tackle the persistently high price of food and groceries by banning “price gouging” or excessive corporate profiteering.\r\n\"By any measure, our economy is the strongest in the world,” she said. “Many Americans don\'t yet feel that progress in their daily lives.\"\r\nJoe Biden and Kamala Harris ought to be able to boast about some very good economic indicators. There is strong growth, record levels of job creation, and this week the inflation rate fell below 3% for the first time during Mr Biden’s presidency.\r\nBut because prices are still high, voters don’t feel any better off. Voters don’t care about the rate of inflation – they care about the level of prices.\r\n“A central banker wants inflation to get back to target. A shopper wants his or her old price back,\" Jared Bernstein, the chair of President Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in a July speech.\r\nWhen it comes to the economy, “the vibes are off”.\r\n“Vibes matter,” Mr Bernstein said.\r\nSo will the bad economic vibes hurt the Harris campaign?\r\nThat is what I asked voters over lunch at a crab shack on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.\r\nJeff Tester, who works in a nearby marina, said high prices are really hurting him.\r\n“I get paid by the hour. I get up to go to work every day. I think you have to do that to get the American dream,” he said. “But I just know it\'s getting harder.”\r\nAnd he is very clear about who he sees as responsible. “I blame the Democrats. I believe their policies are hurting the working man,” he said.\r\nEvery diner I met complained about inflation, but not everyone held Mr Biden or Ms Harris responsible.\r\nDan Nardo, a retired boat broker, said he believed the pandemic, oil prices, foreign wars and supply chain issues have more to do with price rises than the US president.\r\nHis friend Randy Turk, a retired lawyer, told me that he felt a new administration is likely to follow a similar path to try to reduce inflation, regardless of who wins.\r\n“It\'s not like a different president can really make that much of a difference,” he said.\r\nMs Harris struggled for prominence and media coverage during most of her time as vice-president. Previously that was seen as a weakness. But if it means she can emerge untainted by “Bidenomics”, it could be one of her greatest strengths.\r\nRuth Igielnik, polling editor at the New York Times, says the latest data she has collected suggests “voters very much tied their negative feelings about the economy to Joe Biden”.\r\nTalking to me on the BBC’s Americast podcast, she explained that in her polling Trump is still favoured on the economy, but where he once had an 18-point lead over Mr Biden he now leads Ms Harris by only about 8 points.\r\n“That makes me think voters aren’t necessarily attaching their feelings about the economy to her,” she said.\r\nA separate poll this week conducted for the Financial Times and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business indicated Ms Harris holds a narrow lead over Trump on who Americans trust to handle the economy.\r\nNo wonder Republicans are publicly begging Trump to focus on the issues, the economy in particular, and stop launching personal attacks against Ms Harris.\r\nIn a speech this week, Trump told supporters he was going to talk about the economy but struggled to stay on topic.\r\n“They say it’s the most important subject,” he said, \"they\" referring to his advisers and strategists who believe this is his strongest line of attack.\r\n“I’m not sure it is. But they say it’s the most important,” he added, before going on to list immigration, crime and the way Ms Harris laughs as top issues. You could practically hear his campaign managers pulling their hair out.\r\n“Voters don’t care about personalities or who is drawing larger crowd sizes,” said Matt Terrill, former chief of staff for Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign.\r\n“Independent, undecided, swing voters in key states care about the economy and inflation so just focus on those core issues,” he said.\r\n“Stay focused on talking about how you are going to make the lives of Americans better over the next four years.”\r\nIt was back in 1992 that the Democrat Jim Carville coined the slogan “It’s the economy, stupid” while he was working on Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign.\r\nIt’s advice that every campaign since has clung to. But Trump, this time around, seems to be finding it uncommonly difficult to stick with.\r\nIt ought to be a winner for him. After all, according to the Financial Times poll, in answer to his question “Are you better off now than you were when I was president?” only 19% of voters say they are.','2024-08-17','',3,1),(413,'DR Congo prison break – level 2','News in level',NULL,NULL,86,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/dr-congo-prison-break-level-2/','News in LEVEL','In the Democratic Republic of Congo, an attempted prison escape at Makala prison in Kinshasa \r\nled to at least 129 deaths.\r\nPeople living nearby heard gunfire early on Monday morning. The prison had other escapes, like \r\nin 2017, when over 4,000 prisoners ran away. This time, the prisoners set the prison’s office \r\nbuilding on fire, and the situation became very dangerous. Some women prisoners were also hurt \r\nduring the event.\r\nAt first, the government said only two people died, but later they claimed many more. They \r\npromised to find out who was responsible. The prison is very overcrowded. It currently holds\r\nabout 15,000 people, though it should hold only 1,500.','2024-09-06','',1,1),(414,'X blocked in Brazil after supreme court panel upholds suspension order','CNBC',NULL,NULL,86,'https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/02/x-blocked-in-brazil-after-court-majority-upholdssuspension-order.html?msockid=277208f843906bbc23581a53423e6a92','Lora Kolodny','A panel of Brazil’s federal supreme court justices voted unanimously to uphold orders\r\nsuspending the use of Elon Musk’s social network X nationwide.\r\nOne justice, Luiz Fux, voted to uphold but expressed “reservations” about a measure of the order \r\nthat allows the court to fine individuals or businesses that engage in “subterfuge,” for example \r\nusing VPNs, to use X while it is blocked.\r\nThe court’s top justice, Alexandre de Moraes, had issued the controversial suspension orders late \r\nFriday after warning on Wednesday that Musk and X had 24 hours to appoint a legal \r\nrepresentative for their business in Brazil or face “penalty of suspension of activities.” X had \r\nearlier defied court requests to take down accounts or posts that it said violated Brazil’s laws on \r\npolitical misinformation and hate speech online.\r\nThe court also froze the financial assets of another Musk-led business, satellite internet service \r\nStarlink, in Brazil to ensure his social network would pay its fines.\r\nBrazil’s telecoms regulator Anatel instructed internet service providers including Starlink to \r\nblock access to X in the country until it complies with the court orders. However, Brazil-based\r\nUOL reported, Starlink has informed the regulator it does not intend to comply with the orders, \r\nand now faces the possibility of Brazil revoking its licenses to operate there.\r\nBrazil’s suspension of X was in effect by early Saturday, making the app and website mostly \r\ninaccessible to users in the country, a major non-NATO ally to the U.S. with a highly online \r\npopulation.\r\nMusk and his companies have said they view de Moraes actions as “illegal,” and the court’s \r\norders as having been issued without due process. The tech billionaire has been ramping up\r\ninsults and calls to impeach de Moraes throughout the week. Musk escalated his rhetoric over the \r\nLabor Day weekend in the U.S.\r\nHe called for ending U.S. foreign aid to Brazil, adding that “there will be reciprocal confiscation \r\nof assets of those who support the current regime in Brazil to pay for their illegal actions,” \r\nwithout providing any evidence to support his statement.\r\nOn Monday, Musk called de Moraes a “criminal” and wrote in another post on X, “Unless the \r\nBrazilian government returns the illegally seized property of and SpaceX, we will seek reciprocal \r\nseizure of government assets too.”\r\nThe Associated Press reported the blocking of X in Brazil had “divided users and politicians over \r\nthe legitimacy of the ban,” and that many Brazilians “had difficulty and doubts over navigating \r\nother social media in its absence.”\r\nHowever, some social media users in Brazil are moving to other social networks. Bluesky on \r\nAug. 30 disclosed “new all-time-highs for activity” from users in Brazil.\r\nSpaceX and Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.\r\nMusk has billed himself as a free speech proponent, but his track record is inconsistent. While he \r\nhas resisted orders to remove accounts or content from authorities in Brazil and Australia, under \r\nhis management, X has removed content critical of ruling parties in Turkey and India','2024-09-02','',2,1),(415,'Athletes who have competed in multiple Paralympics say reaching equality will take more  work','apnews',NULL,NULL,86,'https://apnews.com/article/paralympics-impact-culture-discrimination-stutzman- 9a39614601a0b4d99bf04eb5d97404ac','By  AMANDA VOGT','Before 2012, Matt Stutzman couldn’t get a job. Then, he became a Paralympian.\r\nIt changed his life for the better, as it has for other veterans of the Games. But he, like other \r\nathletes who have experienced the growth of the Paralympics, still thinks it will take years more \r\nof promotion and hard work by athletes with disabilities to get something like equal footing with \r\nable-bodied athletes.\r\n“People would see that I had no arms, and they just wouldn’t give me the chance to prove that I \r\ncould work,” Stutzman, the compound open archer, says in an interview at Team USA House. \r\n“They literally would be like, ‘If you had prosthetic arms, I would hire you.’ and I was like \r\n‘What?’”\r\nIt’s not an unusual story. In interviews with more than a half-dozen longtime Paralympians this \r\nweek, they all noted that, as much as they want to see greater acceptance of disabled athletes, it \r\nstill has come a long way.\r\nAmerica’s most decorated wheelchair racer, Tatyana McFadden, experienced a very different \r\nscene from Paris when she debuted in Athens in 2004. She and her teammates didn’t even have \r\nmatching uniforms, she recalled.\r\n“When I tell the young ones, I’m like, ‘So many people before you paved the way so you can all \r\nhave the same kits!’” she said. “So, yeah, it’s changed for the better.’”\r\nSeveral veteran para-athletes reflected on stories told by their predecessors about how, during the \r\n1996 Atlanta Paralympics, they could count the fans in the stands. Crowds started arriving in \r\nLondon, the Paralympics that holds the record for ticket sales at 2.7 million. In Rio de Janeiro, \r\nfans could use an app to purchase tickets, while in Paris, venues are reaching near capacity and \r\ncrowds are enthusiastic.\r\n“It didn’t kind of have the credibility that it has now,” says Aaron Phipps, who’s been a member \r\nof Britain’s wheelchair rugby team since 2012.\r\nAltering perception\r\nThe Paralympic movement isn’t limited to the Games played every four years. It’s also about \r\neducating people around the world regarding what it means to live with a disability. It varies \r\ndepending on the person, but experienced Paralympians often see themselves as advocates as \r\nwell as athletes.\r\nSports like wheelchair rugby, where players crash into one another, sometimes shocks those new \r\nto the Paralympic scene. But there’s nothing to be afraid of, Phipps says, Paralympians don’t \r\nwant to be viewed differently. Once that shock disappears, disability becomes normalized.\r\nThe growth of social media has only helped. The Paralympics TikTok account has nearly five \r\nmillion followers — going viral is getting people interested and curious.\r\nVeterans say there’s less staring at them on the streets of Paris than in previous host cities, yet \r\nlingering skepticism about what these athletes are capable of remains.\r\nThe same venues are used for the Olympics and Paralympics, including the triathlon route. On \r\nMonday, the Seine’s current was strong, and Lauren Steadman — a British veteran who \r\ncompeted in her first Paralympics in Beijing in 2008 and won bronze in the PTS5 class for people \r\nwith an issue in both forearms along with leg and ankle impairments — had no doubt every \r\ncompetitor was equipped to handle the conditions.\r\n“Many would’ve been like, ‘You’re doing that to Paralympians? You’re putting them on a tough \r\ncourse?’ Actually, yeah. We don’t need it to be easier,” Steadman says. “You’re just asking us to \r\nfind a way and we did.”\r\nMeanwhile, for events and media interviews, Team USA House is open for Paralympians just as \r\nit was for Olympians.\r\nGender disparity\r\nLike McFadden, swimming star Jessica Long’s first Paralympics was the 2004 Athens Games. \r\nTogether, they were two of 1,149 females competing, representing just over 30% of all athletes.\r\nWomen make up 45% in Paris, and the U.S. veterans are two of nearly 2,000.\r\nScout Bassett, who competed in Rio and is the president of the Women’s Sports Foundation, says \r\nthe lower percentage of female athletes in para sports links to how women with disabilities are \r\npresented in mainstream media and entertainment.\r\n“The disability becomes the deficiency, the imperfection, because she doesn’t measure up to the \r\nideal version of what a beautiful woman is,” Bassett says at Team Great Britain’s House during \r\nan event hosted by CitiBank.\r\nBassett created a fund that’s dedicated to investing in female athletes. Grant recipients Jaleen \r\nRoberts and Julia Gaffney have already medaled in Paris.\r\nGrowing para sports for women sometimes fall on the veterans. They’re the ones up-and-coming \r\npara stars are looking to.\r\n“I don’t want to be inspirational for going to the grocery store or putting on my shoes,” Long \r\nsays. “If you can be inspired by my true talent in the pool and if you understand what I’m doing \r\nto navigate my body, then I think that is amazing, right?”\r\nLong later won the S8 400-meter freestyle for swimmers with the absence of limbs for her 30th \r\noverall medal and 17th gold.\r\nPlatform with a purpose\r\nWhile medals are what they compete for, many Paralympians strive to leave a legacy of impact. \r\nThey’ve witnessed what the Games were, are experiencing how it is now, and have visions for \r\nwhat they want it to become.\r\n“If you don’t use your platforms, it’s going to stop with you,” Stutzman says. And if the next \r\nathletes “don’t do what I did, as ffar as just promoting and pushing and inspiring the world, we’re \r\ngonna go steps backwards.”\r\n','2024-09-02','',3,1),(416,'Digital parenting – level 2','News in level',NULL,NULL,87,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/digital-parenting-level-2/ ','News in LEVEL','Many parents now check their children’s locations and online activities to keep them safe.\r\n\r\nSome children feel okay with this, as it makes them feel safe. But others feel their parents control them too much which impacts their social lives or schoolwork. Some teenagers find ways to get around these controls and to hide what they do.\r\n\r\nExperts say that when parents are too strict, kids may rebel and break the rules. It is better to talk with children openly about technology and teach them to choose carefully what they do. As children grow older, they should learn to be responsible online, and parents should stop monitoring them. Some teens think they should stop being tracked by the time they are 16.','2024-09-23','',1,1),(417,'Swiss voters reject biodiversity initiative, dismaying conservationists','By Reuters',NULL,NULL,87,'https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/swiss-voters-reject-biodiversity-initiative-dismaying-conservationists-2024-09-22/ ','By Reuters','ZURICH, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Voters in Switzerland on Sunday rejected a proposal to make authorities do more to protect natural habitats from pollution and development, preliminary results of a referendum showed.\r\nThe so-called \"biodiversity initiative\", which the government and parliament had already rebuffed, envisaged changing the law to set aside more land for conservation beyond areas that are already protected in the Alpine republic.\r\n\r\nThe initiative has been closely watched by conservationists outside the country at a time when concerns over global biodiversity loss are growing.\r\nIn one of Switzerland\'s traditional exercises of direct democracy, well over 60% of voters rejected the plan, according to a projected result published by national broadcaster SRF.\r\nThe proposal also intended to increase protections for endangered ecosystems in a country renowned for its sparkling lakes and snow-capped mountains.\r\n\r\nBy mid-afternoon, the initiative had been rejected by too many cantons to pass, an official partial tally showed.\r\nThe Swiss Green party expressed disappointment at the results and said more needed to be done to protect the environment, warning that a third of all species and half of all habitats in Switzerland are under threat.\r\n\"This problem will remain regardless of the outcome of the vote,\" the party said in a statement.\r\n\r\nTo opponents, which included the country\'s main farming lobby, the initiative was too extreme, and posed risks to business development. Switzerland\'s current laws already take into account conservation needs, they said.\r\nInitial support in opinion polls for the biodiversity scheme had in recent weeks given way to greater skepticism as opponents mobilized arguments against it.\r\nEarlier this year, Europe\'s top human rights court ruled that Switzerland was not doing enough to arrest the impact of climate change. The Swiss government denies this.\r\n','2024-09-22','',2,1),(418,'Gen Z and millennials are increasingly ‘doom spending.’ Here’s what it is and how to stop it','CNBC',NULL,NULL,87,'https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/23/young-people-are-doom-spending-heres-what-it-is-and-how-to-stop-it.html ','Sawdah Bhaimiya','Some young people are splashing out on luxuries like travel and designer clothes instead of saving, in a trend that’s being characterized as “doom spending” on social media.\r\n\r\nDoom spending is when a person mindlessly shops to self-soothe because they feel pessimistic about the economy and their future, according to Psychology Today.\r\n\r\nThe practice is both “unhealthy and fatalistic,” Ylva Baeckström, a senior lecturer in finance at King’s Business School and a former banker, told CNBC Make It.\r\n\r\nIt’s happening because young people are chronically online and feel like they’re constantly receiving “bad news,” she said. “It makes them feel like Armageddon.”\r\n\r\nThese young people are then translating these bad feelings into bad spending habits, Baeckström added.\r\n\r\nIn fact, 96% of Americans are concerned about the current state of the economy and more than a quarter are doom spending to deal with the stress, an Intuit Credit Karma survey of over 1,000 Americans found in November 2023.\r\n\r\nAnd the phenomenon is not exclusive to America.\r\n\r\nStefania Troncoso Fernández, a 28-year-old publicist based in Colombia who lives with her parents, told CNBC Make It that she’s a recovered doom spender, but that high levels of inflation and political uncertainty make it very difficult to rationalize saving money.\r\n\r\n“I know for a fact that food [costs] are getting higher and higher every day, and in my house we can’t afford to eat the same way we did maybe a year ago because things are getting more expensive,” Fernández said.\r\n\r\nTwo years ago, Fernández said she was spending carelessly on clothes and travel despite the fact that she was earning less money than she does now. It was largely because she felt like she couldn’t afford to buy a house.\r\n\r\n“We used to have this program by the government that would lend us money to invest in real estate and at a really low rate, but with the change of government, that is not available for us anymore so we will need to pay more,” she said.\r\n\r\nAnd Fernández said she’s not alone in doom spending. “It’s not just me. It’s something that is happening within my circle.”\r\n\r\n‘First generation that’s going to be poorer’\r\nOnly 36.5% of adults globally feel like they’re doing better than their parents financially while 42.8% think they’re actually worse off than their parents, according to CNBC’s International Your Money Financial Security Survey, conducted by Survey Monkey which questioned 4,342 adults globally.\r\n\r\n“The generation growing up now is the first generation that’s going to be poorer than its parents for a very long time,” Baeckström said. “There’s that feeling that you might never be able to achieve what your parents achieved.”\r\n\r\nAs a result, doom spending creates the illusion of control in what feels like an out-of-control world, according to Baeckström.\r\n\r\n“But what happens really, is that it gives you less control in the future, because if you save that money instead and invest it and do all of those things, you might actually be able to buy a house,” she said.\r\n\r\n‘The sense of trying to escape’\r\nDaivik Goel, a 25-year-old startup founder living in Silicon Valley, said he was a doom spender when he worked as a product manager at a biotech startup.\r\n\r\nThe habit originated from a sense of dissatisfaction with his work as well as peer pressure, he said. “It’s just all the sense of trying to escape.”\r\n\r\nGoel, who used to spend lavishly on designer clothes, the latest technology products and going out for drinks, says doom spending is very common in Silicon Valley.\r\n\r\nHe said people will buy two or three brand-new cars, “and the reason why is because they realize that saving up for a house is going to take a very long time ... so they will spend on other different items instead.”\r\n\r\nSan Francisco has some of the highest property prices in the U.S., according to a 2023 analysis by real estate website Point2. It found that 62% of properties listed in San Francisco cost over $1 million.  \r\n\r\nGoel says that since starting his fintech company Intrepid in 2023, his doom spending habit has “completely gone” because he’s found happiness in his work. “My whole mindset shifted.”\r\n\r\nGet to know your relationship with money\r\nFinance lecturer Baeckström stressed the importance of understanding your relationship with money if you want to overcome doom spending.\r\n\r\nShe said a relationship with money is like a relationship with people: it starts during childhood and sees people form different types of attachments.\r\n\r\n“If you feel like you have a secure attachment with money, you can make a sound evaluation of something. You gather knowledge and you can evaluate [it] ... But if you are insecure, or if you’re avoidant, then you’re more likely to get lured into this unhealthy spending behavior.”\r\n\r\nThese attitudes stem from a person’s upbringing: whether they were rich or poor, for example, how their family managed money, and who controlled it, Baeckström said.\r\n\r\nFernández said part of the reason she had felt compelled to doom spend was a lack of financial literacy. She said her dad grew up poor and nobody had ever encouraged her to save.\r\n\r\n‘Increase the pain of paying’\r\nMaking a transaction more visceral and difficult can make people think twice about doom spending, Samantha Rosenberg, co-founder and COO of Belong, a wealth-building platform, told CNBC Make It.\r\n\r\nRosenberg explained that online shopping aggravates the doom spending issue, but looking at items in-person may prevent impulse purchases.\r\n\r\n“The extra decision points like choosing the store, traveling there, evaluating the item in the flesh, and then having to stand in line to buy it will help you slow down and think more critically about your purchases,” she said.\r\n\r\nAdditionally setting up mobile banking notifications creates an “extra pinch of pain” when you see the transaction authorizations coming through.\r\n\r\nRosenberg also recommended maybe going back to using cash. Seamless payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay “increase the risk of mindless spending,” she said, because it’s so quick and easy.  \r\n\r\n“They bypass the emotion associated with the purchasing decision process. They also eliminate the pain of handing over money,” Rosenberg said. You have to “increase the pain of paying,” she added.','2024-09-24','',3,1),(419,'Mexico’s first ever woman president – level 2','News in level',NULL,NULL,87,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/mexicos-first-ever-woman-president-level-2/','News in LEVEL','Claudia Sheinbaum is Mexico’s new president. She is the first woman to have this job.\r\n\r\nShe was sworn in during a ceremony in Mexico City. She has pledged to continue the policies of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. She won the election easily but has some big challenges to solve. One of these problems is ongoing gang violence, which causes insecurity for many citizens.\r\n\r\nBefore she became president, Sheinbaum was the mayor of Mexico City. She lowered the city’s murder rate but many people go missing. Now, she will also try to reduce Mexico’s budget deficit but maintain social welfare programs at the same time.\r\n','2024-10-07','',1,1),(420,'Author to go on trial in France for downplaying Rwanda genocide','BBC NEWS',NULL,NULL,87,'https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0m0k78v9pgo ','Grant Ferrett','A French-Cameroonian writer, Charles Onana, is due to go on trial in Paris accused of complicity in contesting the 1994 Rwandan genocide.\r\n\r\nAbout 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed within 100 days.\r\n\r\nIn a book published five years ago, Mr Onana described the idea that the Hutu government had planned a genocide in Rwanda as \"one of the biggest scams\" of the last century.\r\n\r\nHis lawyer, Emmanuel Pire, insists that Mr Onana does not question that genocide took place, or that Tutsis were particularly targeted.\r\n\r\nMr Pire told the AFP news agency that the book in question was \"the work of a political scientist based on 10 years of research to understand the mechanisms of the genocide before, during and after\".\r\n\r\nMr Onana, now 60, and his publishing director at Editions du Toucan, Damien Serieyx, were sued four years ago over the same book.\r\n\r\nThat case was brought by the NGO Survie, and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) for \"publicly contesting a crime against humanity\".\r\n\r\nMonday\'s trial is only the second case of denying the Rwandan genocide to come to trial in France.\r\n\r\nUnder French law, it is an offence to deny or \"minimise\" the fact of any genocide that is officially recognised by France.\r\n\r\nMr Onana\'s trial will be \"historic, since there is not yet any case law strictly speaking related to Rwanda\" on questions of Holocaust denial, Camille Lesaffre, campaign manager for Survie, told AFP.\r\n\r\n\"We will mainly base ourselves on case law related to the Holocaust.\"\r\n\r\nIn 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron asked Rwandans to forgive France for its role in the Rwandan genocide.\r\n\r\nHe said France had not heeded warnings of impending carnage and had for too long \"valued silence over examination of the truth\", but said his country had not been an accomplice in the killings.\r\n\r\n','2024-10-08','',2,1),(421,'‘Hotel in nature’: Inside the world’s best new skyscraper','CNN',NULL,NULL,87,'https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/06/style/singapore-pan-pacific-orchard-hotel-intl-hnk/index.html ','By Oscar Holland,','Tropical plants creep up vast structural columns and dangle from ledges, hundreds of feet above the ground. Guests lounge around a lagoon-like swimming pool nestled away from the scorching midday sun. A series of soaring terraces sit within the tower’s frame, like caverns carved into a mountainside.\r\n\r\nThis is Singapore’s Pan Pacific Orchard, which has just been named the world’s best new tall building by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Announcing the award in a press release Wednesday, the industry group described the tower as a “hotel in nature” that demonstrated a “groundbreaking approach to high-density urbanism.”\r\n\r\nThe ground-level “Forest Terrace,” the only one accessible to passersby, features a cascading water feature and dozens of plant species, many of which are native to the island nation. Phua said it was designed as a public gesture that set the design apart from more conventional “podium and tower” high-rise hotels.\r\n\r\n“Instead of arriving at a podium — into an internalized space, or a labyrinth of rooms and passages — you enter into a forest space,” he said, describing it as an “oasis away from the hustle and bustle” of Orchard, Singapore’s famously busy shopping district.\r\n\r\nMoving up through the building, the elevated “Beach Terrace” contains a pool surrounded by palms; the “Garden Terrace” offers walking paths around a rectangular lawn; and the “Cloud Terrace,” in the building’s upper reaches, serves as a verdant event space overlooking the city.\r\n\r\nCovered yet open-air (an essential quality in the country’s warm, humid and frequently stormy climate), each stratum acts as a giant sunshade, or rain shield, for the one below.\r\n\r\nMany of the hotel’s 347 rooms include balconies overlooking the landscaped areas. Owned and operated by Singaporean real estate giant UOL Group, the hotel also features a 400-seat ballroom, two restaurants and a “canopy” of rooftop solar panels.\r\n\r\nFor buildings of this stature, wind load could also put stress on the structure. To battle this, the design of the structure will change every few floors.\r\n\r\nSingapore has developed a reputation for nature-inspired (or “biophilic”) architecture in recent years, and was famously dubbed the “garden city” by the country’s founding father and former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in the 1960s. Greenery is often seen spilling out from skyscrapers, crawling over urban facades or integrated into public infrastructure, and the 6-million-person city-state is now home to Asia’s largest timber building.\r\n\r\nIn some areas, Singapore’s strict building codes even require property developers to include large amounts of greenery when constructing new towers. In densely populated neighborhoods, like Orchard, these spaces — usually a combination of sky terraces, planter boxes, gardens and plant-covered walls — must be equivalent to the gross area of the entire site.\r\n\r\nCombined, the green spaces at Pan Pacific Orchard amount to around three times more than this legal minimum.\r\n\r\nFor WOHA, which has designed several other biophilic buildings in Singapore (as well as a housing complex for senior citizens named “World Building of the Year” in 2018), providing green space is not just about satisfying planning regulations. In a press release acknowledging the CTBUH award, the firm’s founding director Mun Summ Wong said he believes “skyscrapers can serve as green lungs within dense urban environments.”\r\n\r\nFounded in 2002, the CTBUH Awards recognize the best high-rise buildings and their architects. Other recent winners of the Best Tall Building Worldwide prize include One Vanderbilt Avenue, in New York City, and Australia’s Quay Quarter Tower, a building dubbed the world’s first “upcycled” skyscraper after architects 3XN retained more than two-thirds of the 1970s tower previously on the site.\r\n\r\n“Pan Pacific Orchard represents the best in responsible vertical urbanism today,” said CTBUH’s CEO, Javier Quintana de Uña, in a statement.\r\n','2024-10-08','',3,1),(422,'Airlines Qatar Airways partners with Elon Musk’s Starlink for high-speed Wi-Fi milestone','CNBC',NULL,NULL,88,'https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/22/qatar-airways-partners-with-elon-musks-starlink-for-high-speed-wi-fi.html','Natasha Turak/ Dan Murphy','Qatar Airways launched Tuesday its inaugural Boeing 777 flight equipped with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet, paving the way for a new era of in-flight connectivity across its entire fleet by next year. \r\n\r\nTo demonstrate the milestone, Qatar Airways CEO Badr Al Meer held a video call with Starlink founder Musk while flying at 35,000 feet from Doha to London.\r\n\r\n“We’re literally just talking over Starlink right now - that’s super cool,” Musk said on the call from his home, which was filmed and released by the Qatari airline. “It’s Starlink across the laser links of the satellites all the way to your aircraft.”\r\n\r\nQatar Airways’ move to introduce free high-speed internet across its fleet is a direct challenge to competitor airlines who typically offer lower-speed and often patchy paid services, or status-restricted wi-fi access to the flying public. \r\n\r\n“It’s going to get better. We launched new satellites and keep improving the software. Over time I think you’ll find it just gets better and better,” Musk said before Al Meer gave him a video tour of the cockpit. \r\n\r\n“Think of this as the minimum. It only gets better from here,” Musk said to Qatar Tourism Chairman Saad bin Ali Al-Kharji, who was sitting next to Badr Al Meer on board the flight. \r\n\r\nThe Qatari state carrier plans to deliver 12 Boeing 777-300s equipped with the service by the end of 2024, with coverage for the entire Boeing 777 fleet in 2025 and its Airbus A350 fleet following in the summer of 2025.\r\n\r\nRegional First\r\nStarlink, which operates as a satellite internet constellation, provides high-speed and low-latency internet via some 6,000 satellites, allowing passengers to stream videos, send messages and hold calls over wi-fi on multiple devices. Qatar Airways, which is undertaking a major strategic overhaul under its new leadership, added that the service will be free of charge and will be operative from gate to gate.\r\n\r\nThe Gulf airline will be the first in the Middle East and North Africa region to offer Starlink-supplied wi-fi to its passengers, it said in a company statement. But it’s certainly not alone in its aims – earlier in October, Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran told CNBC that reliable and speedy wi-fi on full-service carriers will become “ubiquitous” as airlines compete to provide enhanced services for travelers.\r\n\r\nFor its part, Air New Zealand announced in late 2023 that Starlink would be launched on two of its domestic aircraft by late 2024.\r\n\r\nRising Competition \r\nQatar Airways told CNBC in March that it was developing a First Class concept and pursuing aircraft orders from aviation giants Boeing and Airbus, as part of its “Qatar Airways 2.0” strategic overhaul.\r\n\r\nIt comes as new IATA data shows global passenger demand continued to soar in August, rising 8.6% compared to August 2023. Middle Eastern carriers saw a 4.9% year-on-year increase in demand.\r\n','2024-10-22','',2,1),(423,'Mega meteorite tore up seabed and boiled Earth\'s oceans','BBC NEWS',NULL,NULL,88,'https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g4g455p8lo ','Georgina Rannard','A huge meteorite first discovered in 2014 caused a tsunami bigger than any in known human history and boiled the oceans, scientists have discovered.\r\n\r\nThe space rock, which was 200 times the size of the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, smashed into Earth when our planet was in its infancy three billion years ago.\r\n\r\nCarrying sledge hammers, scientists hiked to the impact site in South Africa to chisel off chunks of rock to understand the crash.\r\n\r\nThe team also found evidence that massive asteroid impacts did not bring only destruction to Earth - they helped early life thrive.\r\n\r\n“We know that after Earth first formed there was still a lot of debris flying around space that would be smashing into Earth,” says Prof Nadja Drabon from Harvard university, lead author of the new research.\r\n\r\n“But now we have found that life was really resilient in the wake of some of these giant impacts, and that it actually bloomed and thrived,” she says.\r\n\r\nThe meteorite S2 was much larger than the space rock we are most familiar with. The one that led to the dinosaurs’ extinction 66 million years ago was about 10km wide, or almost the height of Mount Everest.\r\n\r\nBut S2 was 40-60km wide and its mass was 50-200 times greater.\r\n\r\nIt struck when Earth was still in its early years and looked very different. It was a water world with just a few continents sticking out of the sea. Life was very simple - microorganisms composed of single cells.\r\n\r\nThe impact site in Eastern Barberton Greenbelt is one of the oldest places on Earth with remnants of a meteorite crash.\r\n\r\nProf Drabon travelled there three times with her colleagues, driving as far as possible into the remote mountains before hiking the rest of the way with backpacks.\r\n\r\nRangers accompanied them with machine guns to protect them against wild animals like elephants or rhinos, or even poachers in the national park.\r\n\r\nThey were looking for spherule particles, or tiny fragments of rock, left behind by impact. Using sledge hammers, they collected hundreds of kilograms of rock and took them back to labs for analysis.\r\n\r\nProf Drabon stowed the most precious pieces in her luggage.\r\n\r\n\"I usually get stopped by security, but I give them a big spiel about how exciting the science is and then they get really bored and let me through,\" she says.\r\n\r\nThe team have now re-constructed just what the S2 meteorite did when it violently careened into Earth. It gouged out a 500km crater and pulverised rocks that ejected at incredibly fast speeds to form a cloud that circled around the globe.\r\n\r\n“Imagine a rain cloud, but instead of water droplets coming down, it\'s like molten rock droplets raining out of the sky,” says Prof Drabon.\r\n\r\nA huge tsunami would have swept across the globe, ripped up the sea floor, and flooded coastlines.\r\n\r\nThe 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami would have paled in comparison, suggests Prof Drabon.\r\n\r\nAll that energy would have generated massive amounts of heat that boiled the oceans causing up to tens of metres of water to evaporate. It would also have increased air temperatures by up to 100C.\r\n\r\nThe skies would have turned black, choked with dust and particles. Without sunlight penetrating the darkness, simple life on land or in shallow water that relied on photosynthesis would have been wiped out.\r\n\r\n','2024-10-22','',3,1),(424,'Tesla Cybercab – level 2','News in level',NULL,NULL,88,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/tesla-cybercab-level-2/','News in LEVEL','Elon Musk showed off Tesla’s new robotaxi, the Cybercab, at a big event in Los Angeles.\r\n\r\nThe Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals, and it opens with two wing doors. It will cost less than 30,000 dollars, and production will start in 2026. Musk also revealed a robovan: this van can carry up to 20 people. Tesla is now focusing more on robotics than just making cars.\r\n\r\nMusk believes these self-driving cars will be much safer than human drivers, but there are still problems with safety and laws. The Cybercab will cost 20 cents per mile to operate, while the robovan will cost only 5 cents per mile.\r\n\r\nMusk also talked about Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot. But some investors were disappointed that there were not clear production details or timelines for the robotaxi.\r\n\r\n','2024-10-17','',1,1),(425,'Asphalt from cashew shells – level 1','News in level',NULL,NULL,88,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/asphalt-from-cashew-shells-level-1/','News in LEVEL','Frankfurt Airport in Germany is trying a new type of road material. It comes from cashew shells.\r\n\r\nThis eco-friendly asphalt, called bio-bitumen, is better for the natural world. Regular asphalt comes from oil. The airport says that this new asphalt will help it lower its pollution. The airport wants to reach no emissions by 2045. Bio-bitumen is also stronger and lasts longer than regular asphalt.\r\n\r\nTo test it, the airport uses bio-bitumen on one side of the road and regular asphalt on the other. If it works well, they plan to use more bio-bitumen in the future.','2024-11-05','',1,1),(426,'2024 US elections takeaways: how female voters broke for Harris and Trump','The Guardians',NULL,NULL,88,'https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/06/election-trump-harris-women-voters ','Carter Sherman','Preliminary exit polling shows Harris won women, but in smaller numbers than her Democratic predecessors\r\n\r\nGender had promised to be one of the biggest stories of the 2024 election. With abortion one of voters’ top issues, Donald Trump’s well-documented history of misogyny and a female presidential candidate of color on the ballot, Democrats banked on women showing up in force to defeat him. But Trump’s stunning victory in both the electoral college and the popular vote dashed those hopes – and scrambled the narrative around how gender, race and other markers of identity informed Americans’ votes.\r\n\r\nBased on available exit polling, which remains preliminary, here are five early takeaways on how gender shaped the 2024 elections.\r\n\r\n1. Women voted for the Democratic candidate, but by smaller margins\r\nWomen did indeed show up to support Kamala Harris, but in smaller numbers than her Democratic predecessors. While Hillary Clinton won women by 13 points in 2016 and Joe Biden by 15 in 2020, Harris secured them by just 10 points, CNN found.\r\n\r\n2. White women are still voting for the Republican candidate\r\nAlthough women as a whole have historically voted for Democrats, white women have not. Instead, over the last 72 years, a plurality of white women have voted for the Democratic candidate only twice, in 1964 and 1996. On Tuesday, they once again went for Trump – just as they did in 2016 and 2020. But Harris made inroads with the group; she lost them by only 5 points, according to CNN. (In 2020, they broke for Trump by 11.) More surprisingly, Trump’s lead among white men also shrank, from 23 points in 2020 to 20 in 2024.\r\n\r\n3. Trump did better with young women than he did in 2020\r\nThe Trump campaign leaned into targeting young men, as the former president publicly palled around with male YouTubers and podcasters, such as Joe Rogan, who make little space for women. This effort paid off: exit polling indicates that there was a canyon-wide 16-point gender gap between young men and women, which is an increase from 2020. While women between the ages of 18 and 29 preferred Harris 58% to 40%, their male peers chose Trump 56% to 42%. However, compared to his last run, Trump did better with both young men (41% of them voted for him four years ago) and young women (33% in 2020).\r\n\r\n4. Harris suffered significant losses among both Latino women and men\r\nLatino men, in particular, veered hard to the right. In 2016, Clinton won Latino men by 31 points; by 2020, their support for Democrats had cooled somewhat, as Biden won them by 23 points. On Tuesday, Trump won this group handily, by 10 points, according to exit polling performed for the Washington Post and other outlets. Meanwhile, Harris won Latina women by 24 points, a victory that pales in comparison to Clinton’s 44-point lead in 2024.\r\n\r\n5. Black women are the most reliable Democratic voters\r\nLong the Democrats’ most stalwart supporters, Black women are still the backbone of the Democratic party. Harris won them by 85 points – a bigger lead than any other gendered and racial group measured by CNN. Apart from the contest for president, Delaware and Maryland both elected Black women, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Angela Alsobrooks, to the Senate – making the next Senate the first one in which two Black women will simultaneously serve together.','2024-11-06','',2,1),(427,'‘Swicy’ items take over restaurant menus as Gen Z seeks heat','CNBC',NULL,NULL,88,'https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/22/swicy-items-take-over-restaurant-menus-as-gen-z-seeks-heat.html ','Amelia Lucas','The hottest food and drink trend this year isn’t just spicy — it’s also sweet.\r\n\r\n“Swicy,” a portmanteau of sweet and spicy, has taken over restaurant marketing. While the term hasn’t actually appeared on menus, the shorthand has become a popular way to describe the resurgence of foods and drinks marrying sweet and spicy flavors. The Food Institute even dubbed it the “Summer of Swicy” this year.\r\n\r\nNearly 10% of restaurant menus have “sweet and spicy” items, up 1.8% over the last 12 months, according to market research firm Datassential. Over the next four years, its menu penetration is expected to rise 9.6%.\r\n\r\nA slew of restaurant chains have embraced the trend, from Shake Shack’s swicy menu to Burger King’s Fiery Strawberry & Sprite to Starbucks’ Spicy Lemonade Refreshers. Common menu items have paired fruity flavors and chili powder, or used sauces like hot honey and gochujang, a red chili paste that’s a popular Korean condiment.\r\n\r\nAlthough the menu items were largely only available for a limited time, culinary experts think that the swicy trend has staying power.\r\n\r\nBuzzy, trendy menu items are more important now to restaurants, which are leaning on both discounts and innovation to attract diners and reverse declining sales. In August, traffic to U.S. restaurants fell 3.6%, the industry’s second-worst monthly performance this year since January, according to Black Box Intelligence. Limited-time menu items are particularly attractive to Gen Z customers, a key demographic because they account for roughly a fifth of Americans.\r\n\r\nThe ‘swicy’ story\r\nWhile the swicy portmanteau might be new, the flavor pairings have been around for decades, according to trendologist Kara Nielsen. The one element that might have changed over time are the spice levels.\r\n\r\n“I’m sure food is hotter now than it was 20 years ago,” Nielsen said.\r\n\r\nShe remembers when Jeffrey Saad opened a fast-casual Mexican restaurant in San Francisco called Sweet Heat in 1993, before he became a celebrity chef and Food Network star.\r\n\r\nThe second coming of the sweet heat trend started when Mike’s Hot Honey started blowing up around 2010, according to Nielsen. Korean cuisine, especially its sweet and spicy gochujang sauces have become more popular, too, helping to drive more people to the flavor combination.\r\n\r\nThe pandemic also led more consumers to return to classic comfort foods: burgers, fried chicken sandwiches and pizza. But the desire for familiar favorites has faded, and now diners are once again seeking novelty — or at least a twist.\r\n\r\n“Now, four years on, we’re moving out of this and adding more spicy flavors,” Nielsen said.\r\n\r\nExperts at McCormick first called out the reemerging trend in its 2022 flavor forecast report, according to Hadar Cohen Aviram, executive chef for the spice and flavoring company’s U.S. consumer division.\r\n\r\nMcCormick highlighted “plus sweet,” when sweetness acts as a flavor enhancer rather than being the star of the show. The forecasters were even considering naming the trend “swicy” in their report but went with “plus sweet” because it was broader, she said.\r\n\r\nThe following year, McCormick, which owns Frank’s RedHot and Cholula, called out “beyond heat,” or using other flavors to bring out more flavor in addition to the spiciness.\r\n\r\n“We see lots of different people wanting to add some heat to their plates, but they do want to make sure that there’s something for everyone,” Cohen Aviram said.\r\n\r\nGen Zwicy?\r\nOne reason why so many U.S. consumers are seeking out spicy foods and drinks? Increasing diversity.\r\n\r\n“The reason that sweet heat or swicy is sort of everlasting is that it’s a key component of traditional global cuisines like Mexican, like Thai, like Korean, that a lot of people of those ancestries and heritages are familiar with it. Then it gets introduced and repackaged,” Nielsen said.\r\n\r\nFor example, Shake Shack’s culinary team was inspired to make Korean-inspired items for a limited-time menu, according to John Karangis, the company’s executive chef and vice president of culinary innovation.\r\n\r\nOne of the menu items was a Korean fried chicken sandwich, coated in a sweet and spicy gochujang glaze. After it created the limited-time menu, Shake Shack’s marketing team pitted the chicken sandwich against the Korean BBQ burger, with savory and salty flavors. It told customers to pick a side: team swicy or team umami.\r\n\r\nThe swicy trend also appeals to Gen Z, the cohort born between 1997 and 2012.\r\n\r\n“We have a new generation, Generation Z, that’s really excited about complex flavor profiles — but there’s only so many you can taste: sweet, salty, bitter, umami,” Nielsen said.\r\n\r\nHere’s one example of the generation’s heat-seeking behavior: over half of Gen Z consumers identify as “hot sauce connoisseurs,” according to a survey conducted by NCSolutions.\r\n\r\nAnd with swicy, achieving the perfect ratio can be tough because it’s so personal, McCormick’s Cohen Aviram said.\r\n\r\nFeedback from Shake Shack’s customers reflects that, too.\r\n\r\n“Of course, we hear a lot of great feedback from guests, and we also heard other feedback like ‘Hey, you could have punched it up a little bit,’” Karangis said.\r\n\r\nCohen Aviram prefers about 40% sweet, 60% spicy when she’s creating swicy concoctions, like a Frank’s RedHot ice cream bar.\r\n\r\n“The thing with sweetness if that it kind of hijacks your palate, so if you use too much of it, you’re just not going to sense the nuance,” she said.\r\n\r\nWhen Burger King released its Fiery menu this summer, it ranked the items on a scale of spiciness. At one – meaning the least spicy – was its Fiery Strawberry & Sprite drink. The swicy menu item was inspired by another trend: “dirty sodas,” the combination of soda, creamers and syrups started in Utah, according to Pat O’Toole, Burger King North America’s chief marketing officer.\r\n\r\nThe drink marked the first time that Burger King tweaked a classic fountain beverage, but it previously introduced a Frozen Fanta Kickin’ Mango, with a similar swicy flavor profile.\r\n\r\n“Guests can easily and accessibly try a ‘swicy’ beverage offering and work their way up the spice scale with other food items, if they so choose,” O’Toole said, adding that the chain saw strong interest across its focus groups for a spicy take on Sprite.\r\n\r\nOf course, not all swicy profiles resonate with customers. For example, Coca-Cola in September discontinued its spiced Coke just six months after it hit shelves, after it initially intended it as a permanent offering.\r\n\r\nBut despite some missteps, the swicy pairing is likely here to stay – at least for a while.\r\n\r\n“The flavors will stick around, for sure. I think the name will get tiresome. ... It probably still has a couple of years to go,” Nielsen said.\r\n','2024-10-22','',3,1),(428,'Corpse  Flower','News in level',NULL,NULL,89,'https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2411/241114-corpse-flower-2.html  ','News in LEVEL','People who like bad smells were in luck this week. They could smell the corpse flower – the world\'s smelliest plant. It gets its name from a corpse – a dead body. Thousands of visitors went to smell it in a botanic garden in Australia. Some people held their nose when they were near the flower. Others coughed and held their breath because of the bad smell. Some visitors said the smell was like a dead mouse or rotting garbage.\r\n\r\nThe corpse flower is very rare. It is an endangered species. There are only a few hundred of the plants left in the wild. A lot of the forest where the plant grows has been cut down. The flower is one of the biggest in the world. It grows to three metres high and lives over 40 years. However, it flowers once a decade and opens only for a day or two. The smell of the corpse flower attracts beetles and flies. They pollinate the flower so it can grow again.\r\n','2024-11-25','',1,1),(429,'Kenya\'s president cancels major deals with Adani Group','BBC NEWS',NULL,NULL,89,'https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39nyvvmne8o ','Danai Nesta Kupemba in London & Richard Kagoe in Nairobi','Kenya\'s President William Ruto has cancelled two major deals involving Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, after the tycoon was indicted for fraud by US prosecutors.\r\n\r\nIn his state-of-the-nation address on Thursday, Ruto said the deals had been cancelled based on \"new information provided by our investigative agencies and partner nations\".\r\n\r\nThe day before, Mr Adani, India\'s second-richest man, was charged with fraud by US prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating a $250m (£198m) bribery scheme and concealing it to raise money in the US.\r\n\r\nRepresentatives from Adani Group have denied the allegations from US prosecutors and called them \"baseless\".\r\n\r\n\"In the face of undisputed evidence or credible information on corruption, I will not hesitate to take decisive action,\" said Ruto in a speech met with loud cheers inside parliament.\r\n\r\nThe Adani Group was set to invest $1.85bn in Kenya\'s main airport in exchange for a contract to run it for 30 years, as well as a $736m deal with the energy ministry to construct power lines.\r\n\r\nUnder the airport proposal, the upgrades would involve a new runway and an improved passenger terminal at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.\r\n\r\nThe deals with the Adani group were hugely unpopular in the country, and there were concerns of corruption.\r\n\r\nThe airport deal sparked a strike among airport workers in September, as many feared it would lead to job losses.\r\n\r\nEnergy Minister Opiyo Wandayi told a parliamentary committee on Thursday there was no bribery or corruption involved in the procurement of the power lines.\r\n\r\nPresident Ruto has pledged to take action against corruption, following repeated allegations against his administration.\r\n\r\nRuto said his government would now start to look for alternative partners for the airport and energy deals.\r\n','2024-11-21','',2,1),(430,'Stained-glass Tiffany window sells for record $12.48 million at auction','CNN',NULL,NULL,89,'https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/20/style/stained-glass-record-tiffany-scli-intl/index.html ','By Lianne Kolirin','A stained-glass Tiffany window originally designed for an Ohio church has sold for $12.48 million at auction.\r\n\r\nThe Danner Memorial Window fetched more than $5 million over the upper limit of its estimated value when it went on sale at the New York branch of Sotheby’s on Monday.\r\n\r\nBidding opened at $4.5 million but the price soon skyrocketed as three bidders spent six and a half minutes battling it out for the leaded glass window, which was expected to fetch between $5 million and $7 million.\r\n\r\nThe dazzling window, which stands at 16 feet high, was the result of a collaboration between acclaimed artist Louis Comfort Tiffany – son of Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Lewis Tiffany – and Agnes Northrop, one of the firm’s leading designers.\r\n\r\nThe vibrant and colourful landscape depicts fruit-laden trees along the banks of a winding river, with a sunset in the background. Bright red poppies are also dotted at the feet of the trees.\r\n\r\nThis is the first time the window has come to auction in 24 years and the sale sets a new auction record for Tiffany Studios. It sold for $2 million back in 2000, which was a world record for a Tiffany window at that time.\r\n\r\nNorthrop, who started work for the firm in the 1880s and was a trailblazer in a male-dominated arena, designed a memorial window to her father for the Reformed Church of Flushing in New York in 1903. That was the “thematic precursor” for the Danner Memorial Window 10 years later, Sotheby’s said in a press statement.\r\n\r\nThe dazzling glass piece was designed as a memorial to John and Terressa Danner, founding members of the First Baptist Church in Canton, Ohio. The congregation commissioned the piece to honor the couple’s 50 years of service. Unusually, the couple were still alive to see the tribute to them.\r\n\r\nThe window, previously owned by billionaire art collector Alan Gerry, was sold to an anonymous bidder over the phone.\r\n\r\nJodi Pollack, Sotheby’s chairman and co-worldwide head of 20th-century design, said in the statement: “This record-breaking sale of The Danner Memorial Window celebrates not only a Tiffany masterpiece but a landmark moment for the Tiffany market. This auction is an important milestone, marking the first time a major work by Tiffany Studios has appeared within the context of a marquee evening auction, firmly establishing Tiffany within the pantheon of the most iconic artists of the twentieth century.\r\n\r\n“Created at the peak of Louis Comfort Tiffany and Agnes Northrop’s careers, this spectacular landscape window epitomizes Tiffany’s unrivaled artistry. This sale also honors the eye and vision of Alan Gerry, whose dedication to American art has left a lasting impact on cultural preservation and American heritage.”\r\n\r\nA similar work from Tiffany Studios is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The museum acquired Garden Landscape, designed in 1912, a three-part window designed by Northrop, last year.','2024-11-30','',3,1),(431,'Plastic Pollution','Breaking News English',NULL,NULL,89,'https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2403/240304-weighing-airline-passengers-4.html ','Breaking News English','Around 175 countries could soon sign a treaty to limit plastic pollution. Representatives of the nations have been meeting in South Korea to talk about plastic waste. The U.N. Environment Program said the treaty is necessary to protect the future of the planet. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke about the problem. \"Our world is drowning in plastic pollution. Every year, we produce 460 million tons of plastic, much of which is quickly thrown away.\" A treaty is \"an insurance policy for this generation and future ones\".\r\n\r\nMr Guterres warned what might happen in the future if we do not act. \"By 2050, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean. Microplastics are creating health problems that we\'re only just beginning to understand.\" The president of South Korea asked governments to agree on a path to zero plastic pollution. We must stop thinking of plastic as being convenient. The waste in our oceans and rivers now risks the lives of future generations. Governments have to open a new historic chapter by signing a treaty on plastic pollution\".\r\n','2024-11-29','',1,1),(432,'Shell and Equinor to create Britain’s largest independent oil and gas company in joint venture','CNBC',NULL,NULL,89,'https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/05/shell-equinor-to-create-uks-largest-independent-oil-and-gas-company.html','Sam Meredith','Oil major Shell and Norway’s Equinor on Thursday announced plans to combine their British offshore oil and gas assets to create a jointly owned energy company.\r\n\r\nThe joint venture will be established in Aberdeen, Scotland in an effort to sustain fossil fuel production and the security of energy supply in the U.K.\r\n\r\nThe companies plan to complete the deal by the end of next year, subject to approvals. At that time, the incorporated company is set to become the U.K. North Sea’s largest independent producer, Shell said.\r\n\r\nIt is expected the company will produce more than 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025.\r\n\r\nShares of Shell dipped 0.8% at around 8:40 a.m. London time, while Equinor’s stock price rose 0.3%.\r\n\r\n“Domestically produced oil and gas is expected to have a significant role to play in the future of the UK’s energy system,” Zoë Yujnovich, integrated gas and upstream director at Shell, said in a statement.\r\n\r\n“The new venture will help play a critical role in a balanced energy transition providing the heat for millions of UK homes, the power for industry and the secure supply of fuels people rely on,” Yujnovich added.\r\n\r\nThe joint venture is set to include Equinor’s equity interests in Mariner, Rosebank and Buzzard and Shell’s holdings in Shearwater, Penguins, Gannet, Nelson, Pierce, Jackdaw, Victory, Clair and Schiehallion.\r\n\r\nNorway’s Equinor currently employs around 300 people in the U.K., while Shell has a staff of approximately 1,000 people in oil and gas positions nationwide.\r\n\r\n“This transaction strengthens Equinor’s near-term cash flow, and by combining Equinor’s and Shell’s long-standing expertise and competitive assets, this new entity will play a crucial role in securing the UK’s energy supply,” Philippe Mathieu, executive vice president for exploration and production international at Equinor, said in a statement.\r\n\r\nJoint venture ‘appears to make strategic sense’\r\nAnalysts led by Biraj Borkhataria at RBC Capital Markets said they expect “tax synergies” to be a significant factor in the combination of Shell and Equinor’s U.K. offshore oil and gas assets.\r\n\r\n“Plenty has been said in recent months about the UK government’s fiscal policy surrounding oil and gas development in the North Sea, with a number of majors noting that the recent increase in the windfall tax will curtail investment going forward,” analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a research note published Thursday.\r\n\r\n“In that vein, with the UK not seen as a major growth market, this combination appears to make strategic sense in that it allows the two companies to pool resources and continue to grow while allocating less focus/capital to the region and follows recent moves made by the likes of Eni in the country,” they added.\r\n','2024-12-05','',2,1),(433,'Storm names 2024-25: How do storms like Darragh get their names?','BBC NEWS',NULL,NULL,89,'https://www.bbc.com/weather/articles/c1w7zl30dq5o','Darren Bett','Storm Conall, which was named by the Netherlands\' met service KNMI on Tuesday, is the third named storm of the 2024/25 season.\r\n\r\nThe list of storm names is announced on 1 September each year and runs in alphabetical order, starting this season with Ashley, followed by Bert, then Conall, and later on possibly reaching as far as Izzy, Rafi and Tilly.\r\n\r\nStorms are named by the UK Met Office, Met Éireann or KNMI when they are forecast to cause \"medium\" or \"high\" impacts.\r\n\r\nWhy are storms named?\r\nMet Office Head of Situational Awareness Will Lang, who leads responses in times of severe weather, said: \"This is the 10th year of us naming storms and we do it because it works. Naming storms helps to make communication of severe weather easier and provides clarity.\"\r\n\r\nWind is the main factor for naming a storm, but sometimes rain or snow are taken in to account as part of the process.\r\n\r\nNames are selected from a shortlist of favourites submitted by the public but also includes three historic names from the Met Office’s 170 year history.\r\n\r\nYou may notice a few Dutch names too after KNMI, the national weather service of the Netherlands, became part of the western storm naming group in 2019.\r\n\r\nThe list runs from the start of September to the end of August the following year to coincide with the start of autumn and the end of summer, when the likelihood of low pressure systems and the potential for named storms increase.\r\n\r\nWhy are there no storms for Q, U, X, Y and Z?\r\nThe list of storm names covers only 21 letters of the alphabet, to maintain consistency with the naming of tropical storms and hurricanes in the North Atlantic by the US National Hurricane Center.\r\n\r\nThis is because the National Hurricane Center produces six lists of storm names that are used in rotation and it is difficult to find six suitable names (one for each list) starting with Q, U, X, Y and Z.\r\n\r\nSo, if you are called Quentin, Ursula, Xavier, Yvonne or Zendaya you will never see your name on the list of storms.\r\n\r\nHow many storms were named in winter 2023/2024?\r\nA wet and windy autumn and winter contributed to 12 named storms in 2023/24. It is the highest number since the naming of storms started in 2015.\r\n\r\nIn recent years the UK has seen frequent periods of the jet stream either being directed towards the UK or to the south of the UK and this helped develop and steer low pressure systems to our shores which sometimes became named storms.\r\n\r\nBut no two years tend to be the same.\r\n\r\nOne of the challenges for forecasters comes from the natural variability in our weather patterns. In the 2022/23 season there were only two named storms and they both occurred in August.\r\n\r\nAnd sometimes, storms can come in clusters. In February 2022 there were three storms in a week - Dudley, Eunice and Franklin. A Met Office red wind warning was issued for Storm Eunice. The winds gusted to 122mph (196km/h) on the Isle of Wight - England’s highest recorded gust speed.\r\n\r\nDoes climate change impact UK storms?\r\nWe know climate change is making our weather more extreme so that when it rains, that rain tends to be heavier with a greater chance of causing flooding.\r\n\r\nIt is more difficult to link storms to climate change.\r\n\r\nThe UK has a history of impactful storms stretching back hundreds of years, long before the introduction of named storms in 2015.\r\n\r\nMet Office scientist Emily Carlisle says: \"There is some evidence that storms with strong winds (windstorms) will become slightly more frequent in the future in north-west Europe and also become more clustered, so that we experience several storms one after the other.\"\r\n\r\nScientists are more confident that the coastal impacts of windstorms, from storm surges and high waves, will worsen as the sea level rises.\r\n\r\n','2024-12-05','',3,1),(434,'Scientists stop illegal gold mining – level 2','News in level',NULL,NULL,90,'https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/scientists-stop-illegal-gold-mining-level-2/','News in LEVEL','Brazil is using advanced science to stop illegal gold mining in the Amazon.\r\n\r\nScientists study gold samples to figure out where they come from. They use special machines to find bits of other materials like dirt or copper which help identify the source. Illegal gold mining accounts for nearly half of Brazil’s gold production. This mining causes harm to the environment and brings crime to the Amazon. Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, wants to fight back. He started a program which already helped police seize more gold in 2023 than in 2022.\r\n\r\nOther countries like Cambodia and France are interested in Brazil’s new methods. Brazil is also open to working with other countries to improve gold tracing.\r\n\r\n','2024-12-19','',1,1),(435,'Freed activist Paul Watson vows to \'end whaling worldwide\'','AFP',NULL,NULL,90,'https://www.yahoo.com/news/freed-activist-paul-watson-vows-164659677.html ','AFN','Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, who has been freed from detention in Denmark, vowed on Saturday to end whale hunting around the world and stop Japan if it tried to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean.\r\n\r\nWatson, a 74-year-old Canadian-American, returned to France on Friday after spending five months in detention in the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland due to an extradition demand from Japan.\r\n\r\n\"One way or the other we are going to end whaling worldwide,\" Watson told reporters in central Paris where several hundred supporters gathered to greet him.\r\n\r\n\"We need to learn to live on this planet in harmony with all those other species that share this world with us.\"\r\n\r\n\"If Japan intends to return to the Southern Ocean we will be there,\" said the founder of the conservationist group Sea Shepherd and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF).\r\n\r\n\"We are not protesting Japanese whaling. We are simply requesting they obey the law.\"\r\n\r\nUnder international pressure, Japan, one of three countries to conduct commercial whaling along with Iceland and Norway, abandoned these hunts. Since 2019 it has only caught whales in its own waters.\r\n\r\nBut in May, Japan launched the Kangei Maru, a whaling mother ship.\r\n\r\nActivists believe that in building the new ship, Japan intends to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean, but the company operating the vessel has denied this.\r\n\r\n\"If the Kangei Maru goes to the North Pacific or the Southern Ocean then we will intervene against their illegal operations,\" Watson said.\r\n\r\nWatson also said he would oppose attempts by Iceland to resume whaling in 2025.\r\n\r\nIn the 2000s and 2010s, Sea Shepherd played a rough game of cat and mouse with Japanese ships as they sought to slaughter hundreds of whales every year for \"scientific purposes\".\r\n\r\nWatson had been held in Greenland since July on a 2012 Japanese warrant, which accuses him of causing damage to a whaling ship and injuring a whaler.\r\n\r\nHe was released on Tuesday after Denmark refused the Japanese extradition request over a 2010 clash with whalers.\r\n\r\nHe was freed after a high-profile campaign in his support involving French President Emmanuel Macron.','2024-12-21','',2,1),(436,'Losing your mind looking at memes? The dictionary has a word for that','BBC NEWS',NULL,NULL,90,'https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2n2r695nzo.amp','Yasmin Rufo','Are you spending hours scrolling mindlessly on Instagram reels and TikTok? If so, you might be suffering from brain rot, which Oxford University Press has named its phrase or word of the year.\r\n\r\nIt is a term that captures concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media. The usage saw an increase of 230% in its frequency from 2023 to 2024.\r\n\r\nPsychologist and Oxford University Professor Andrew Przybylski says the popularity of the word is a \"symptom of the time we\'re living in\".\r\n\r\nBrain rot beat five other phrases or words on the dictionary publisher\'s shortlist, including demure, Romantasy and dynamic pricing.\r\n\r\nWhat is brain rot?\r\nBrain rot is defined as the supposed deterioration of a person\'s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material considered to be trivial or unchallenging.\r\n\r\nThe first recorded use of brain rot dates much before the creation of the internet - it was written down in 1854 by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden.\r\n\r\nHe criticises society\'s tendency to devalue complex ideas and how this is part of a general decline in mental and intellectual effort.\r\n\r\nIt leads him to ask: \"While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?\"\r\n\r\nThe word initially gained traction on social media among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities, but it\'s now being used in the mainstream as a way to describe low-quality, low-value content found on social media.\r\n\r\nProf Przybylski says \"there\'s no evidence of brain rot actually being a thing\".\r\n\r\n\"Instead it describes our dissatisfaction with the online world and it\'s a word that we can use to bundle our anxieties that we have around social media.\"\r\n\r\nCasper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, says looking back at the Oxford Word of the Year over the last two decades \"you can see society\'s growing preoccupation with how our virtual lives are evolving, the way internet culture is permeating so much of who we are and what we talk about\".\r\n\r\n\"Last year\'s winning word, \'rizz,\' was an interesting example of how language is increasingly formed, shaped, and shared within online communities.\r\n\r\n\"Brain rot speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we are using our free time.\"\r\n\r\nWhat other words made the shortlist?\r\nDemure (adj.): Of a person: reserved or restrained in appearance or behaviour. Of clothing: not showy, ostentatious, or overly revealing\r\nDynamic pricing (n.): The practice of varying the price for a product or service to reflect changing market conditions; in particular, the charging of a higher price at a time of greater demand\r\nLore (n.): A body of (supposed) facts, background information, and anecdotes relating to someone or something, regarded as knowledge required for full understanding or informed discussion of the subject in question\r\nRomantasy (n.): A genre of fiction combining elements of romantic fiction and fantasy, typically featuring themes of magic, the supernatural, or adventure alongside a central romantic storyline\r\nSlop (n.): Art, writing, or other content generated using artificial intelligence, shared and distributed online in an indiscriminate or intrusive way, and characterized as being of low quality, inauthentic, or inaccurate\r\n\r\nOther dictionary words of the year\r\nOxford University Press - publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary - is not the only one to have a word of the year. Last month Cambridge Dictionary announced that manifest was its winner.\r\n\r\nThe traditional definition of manifest included the adjective \"easily noticed or obvious\" and the noun \"to show something clearly through signs or actions\".\r\n\r\nIt now includes \"to manifest\" in the sense of \"to imagine achieving something you want, in the belief doing so will make it more likely to happen\".\r\n\r\nIt comes off the back of a global wellness trend endorsed by celebrities including singer Dua Lipa who said she manifested her headline slot at Glastonbury.\r\n\r\nCollins English Dictionary also announced in November that its word of the year was brat - a word that has been everywhere over the last couple of months thanks to Charli XCX\'s viral album.\r\n\r\nBrat is defined as someone with a \"confident, independent and hedonistic attitude\".\r\n\r\nIt started as the name of her number one album, but it has arguably grown into a cultural movement for some, with people adopting the brat way of life.\r\n\r\nAnother internet phenomenon has inspired the Dictionary.com word of the year which is demure.\r\n\r\nThe word took off in August after content creator Jools Lebron, posted on TikTok about her demure work outfit and mindful make-up.\r\n\r\nThe \"very demure, very mindful\" trend took off after that and the satirical idea pokes fun at the stereotypical ideas of femininity.\r\n','2024-12-01','',3,1);
