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Germany plans partial reform of its debt brake, Lindner says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:50 GMT

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner announced plans to reform the country’s debt rules to allow more spending in times of economic downturn, while also voicing criticism over planned price increases for farmers and airlines.In an interview with German regional newspapers published Saturday, Lindner said he intends to revise an economic calculation component that defines how many new loans the government is allowed to take out each year under its debt brake that restricts spending.“However, this will not increase the potential debt [when apportioned] over several years,” Lindner told papers from the RND media group, adding that the additional leeway in times of economic downturn would be balanced by stricter criteria in times of economic upturn. The proposed reform, which Lindner said would come next year, could grant the government more flexibility on spending in 2024. The German Economic Institute is already forecasting a continued economic downturn next yea...

Notre Dame spire to be crowned with new rooster, symbolizing cathedral’s resurgence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:50 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A pivotal moment in the restoration of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral is set for Saturday, with the installation of a golden rooster atop its spire. It marks a key step in the monument’s revival after the devastating April 2019 fire. Designed by chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, this new rooster will replace the original that was damaged beyond repair in the blaze.The rooster, a French emblem of vigilance and Christ’s resurrection, will house sacred relics inside it. These include fragments of Christ’s Crown of Thorns and remains of St. Denis and St. Genevieve, infusing the sculpture with religious importance. The Crown of Thorns, regarded as Notre Dame’s most sacred relic, was among the treasures quickly removed after the fire broke out. Brought to Paris by King Louis IX in the 13th century, it is purported to have been pressed onto Christ’s head during the crucifixion. Before ascending to its perch, the rooster will be blessed by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich. A sea...

Climate change could be avenue for adversaries to harm Canada, spy service warns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:50 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s spy service warns that dramatic shifts caused by climate change and the ensuing fractious upheaval around the world could leave Canada vulnerable, imperilling its food and water supplies, energy security and Arctic sovereignty.Global warming will threaten security as countries and other actors seek to either bolster their economic positions or exploit their adversaries’ climate change-related weaknesses, says a newly released Canadian Security Intelligence Service analysis. “Climate change will almost certainly heighten competition between nations, contribute to instability, strain capabilities and become the source of international tensions,” the CSIS analysis says.The Canadian Press used the Access to Information Act to obtain the assessment and other intelligence analyses produced this year that flag not only the threats from a changing climate but the resulting disruptions as players jockey for advantage.The documents spell out an array ...

Cedar Rapids Lodge owner is named Minnesota Resorter of the Year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:50 GMT

TENSTRIKE, Minn. — In the words of Cedar Rapids Lodge owner Jen Bloomquist, winning the 2023 Minnesota Resorter of the Year award was a humbling and emotional experience.In 2021, when Bloomquist unexpectedly lost not only her business partner but her life partner and father to her three children, the future of their longtime family-owned resort in Tenstrike was unclear. Not only did she have to determine what was next for the resort, but she also had to think of what was next for her family.Jen and the late Marc Bloomquist pose for a photo with their three children, Calvin, Jillian and Nathan. Jen Bloomquist, owner of Cedar Rapids Lodge in Tenstrike, Minn., won the 2023 Minnesota Resorter of the Year award despite losing Marc unexpectedly in 2021. (Courtesy photo)“My husband, Marc, and I bought this resort from my parents who owned it for 30 years. Our first summer was in 2017 and then he very unexpectedly passed away in 2021. It was kind of one of those situations where I didn’t kn...

Ask Amy: Retirement looms and he plans to move

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:50 GMT

Dear Amy: My boyfriend/significant other of 13 years is six years older than me. He wants to retire in a year or two and move more than 200 miles away from the town where we both currently live.I have my own home, family, and job in my hometown. I’ve lived here for my entire life.My SO and I have no plans to marry or live together.Should we try a long-distance relationship, or break up now because our future plans don’t seem to include the other?— Perplexed in the MidwestDear Perplexed: I sense in the subtext of your question that you might feel quite stung by what you perceive as your significant other’s choice not only to leave town, but to leave you.So yes, you could preempt this still far-off choice by preparing to break up, or you could at least attempt a long-distance relationship by trying to visit one another on a loose schedule. If he lands in a nice spot, you might see this as each of you having something of a second home: a second destination to travel to when you w...

A Foe turned Friend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:50 GMT

On the face of it, he is a perfect opposition politician - all righteous anger and condemnation when you browse through his social networks or listen to him speaking in front of a rally with his supporters.Igor Dodon, an ex-President of Moldova and one of the country’s most prominent politicians, does not mince words when it comes to bashing the incumbent Maia Sandu or her ruling PAS party whom he accuses of having turned Moldova into a dictatorship. Switching fluently between Russian and Romanian, he tours Moldova calling on his supporters to “send a clear message to the authorities that they are no longer legitimate.” His anti-Western stance has even earned him a reputation as the most pro-Russian politician in Moldova who once came to power by capitalizing on a photograph with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and was Putin’s only foreign guest of honour at a military parade in Moscow in 2017.Mr. Dodon lost to Sandu in a 2020 run-off and has been at the helm of the largest opposition Socia...

Bangladesh in December 1971: ‘The sahibs are crying inside’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:50 GMT

As the people of Bangladesh observe one more anniversary of their triumph on the battlefield in 1971, it is only proper that we travel back to the time when the bandwagon of freedom was beginning to move inexorably toward its destined goal- writes Syed Badrul Ahsan.We speak of those tumultuous days of December 1971. We will always reflect on the nature of that great victory that transformed us into a free nation, into masters of our destiny as it were. We will celebrate again as dawn breaks on 16 December this year. We will mourn the three million of our compatriots who gave their lives for the rest of us to live in liberty.And, to be sure, we will not forget the events and incidents which have forever etched December 1971 in our souls. There is that terse announcement made by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi late in the evening on 3 December, when she informed the world that Pakistan’s air force had carried out raids on Indian air bases and that the two countries were now at war...

Begin estate planning for parents before you have to

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:50 GMT

Question: Our parents’ Bay Area home will be sold someday. I have three siblings. We grew up in the home. My parents are alive and well. However, they never created a trust for their estate. These are sensitive subjects. Money and death. Topics that my family avoids discussing.What ramifications will adult children face in our situation?Answer: During my career, on countless occasions, I heard that someone’s deceased parent(s) “Refused to pay for estate planning.” They were half right. They will pay while alive or deceased. It is an informed or uninformed decision. As attorneys often joke for those lacking a trust, “The state has an estate plan for you. It is called the probate process.”You or your siblings collectively should offer to pay for an elder law attorney to create a trust. Pay now or pay later. If not, one or all of you might hire a probate attorney. Assets are accessible to a successor trustee. Assets are frozen during probate. The family home’s equity can enhance the qu...

Cottle: Was it all worth it, Kevin McCarthy?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:50 GMT

 And now, the end is nearAnd so I face the final curtain.Come on! You know the Sinatra classic. Croon along with me as we emotionally gird ourselves for the closing act of Kevin McCarthy’s long, disappointing stint in Congress.Having spent most of 2023 as a punching bag for his conference’s right flank, McCarthy has finally reached his pain threshold. At the end of this month, he announced Dec. 6, he will pack up his toys and flee the House, having made history as the first speaker booted from the job.But do not cry for the former young gun. He has too few regrets to mention. As he bravely cheered his own performance in a Wall Street Journal essay announcing his departure, “I go knowing I left it all on the field — as always, with a smile on my face.”Boy, did he. In his fevered pursuit of the gavel, McCarthy time and again prostrated himself before the altar of Donald Trump, sacrificing basically all the things that matter: his dignity, his integrity, his values (such as ...

Billionaire-backed think tank played key role in Biden’s AI order

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:50 GMT

The RAND Corporation — a prominent international think tank that has recently been tied to a growing influence network backed by tech billionaires — played a key role in drafting President Joe Biden’s new executive order on artificial intelligence, according to an AI researcher with knowledge of the order’s drafting and a recording of an internal RAND meeting obtained by POLITICO.The provisions advanced by RAND in the October executive order included a sweeping set of reporting requirements placed on the most powerful AI systems, ostensibly designed to lessen the technology’s catastrophic risks. Those requirements hew closely to the policy priorities pursued by Open Philanthropy, a group that pumped over $15 million into RAND this year.Financed by billionaire Facebook co-founder and Asana CEO Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna, Open Philanthropy is a major funder of causes associated with “effective altruism” — an ideology, made famous by disgraced FTX found...