Author: News Desk

It’s election season. After the SPD and the Union, the Greens are now also disseminating details of their election program to the public. One point: In the future, the Greens want to use the capital market, similar to the FDP, to stabilize the pension fund and slow down the increase in contributions.The health insurance companies should be relieved of the burden by financing non-insurance services more through taxes, so that the contribution increases for employers and insured persons are mitigated.Various media report on the draft election program; excerpts from it are also available to the dpa agency. What’s inside?Pension –…

SPD chancellors have already asked the vote of confidence twice to clear the way for new elections. In the parliamentary debates, the government and opposition showered each other with accusations. A look at the logs. Question of confidence in 1992 and 2005: “The most embarrassing election campaign opening this country has ever seen”

A tornado struck Scotts Valley, California, on Saturday afternoon, injuring four people and flipping cars, according to local authorities. The EF1 tornado, with winds peaking at 90 mph, lasted five minutes, damaging power lines and leaving Monterey County among the hardest hit with ongoing outages.

Russia mounted a rescue effort Sunday after two oil tankers were wrecked in rough seas off Moscow-annexed Crimea and one broke apart, killing at least one sailor and causing an oil spill. Two criminal cases have been opened by Russian investigators.  Oil spill near Black Sea after two Russian tankers seriously damaged in storm

Broadly positive Chinese economic data for November released on Monday also showed slower-than-expected growth of 3.3% in retail sales, much slower than in October and well adrift of the 4.6% forecast.  The slowdown came as a surprise because Beijing has been working to boost stimulus programs and encourage consumption, as it braces for possible headwinds as Donald Trump returns for a second term as US president, threatening increased tariffs.  China had implemented major online shopping promotions and government-subsidized trade-in programs boosting sales in things like cars, which were expected to buoy growth. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong dipped as the news was…

‘Irish Examiner’ narrows gender pay gap The gender pay gap at the Irish Examiner and The Echo newspapers have dropped to under its target of 5% during 2024, a report from the company shows.This is the first year of reporting on the gender pay gap in the Irish Examiner and The Echo. It shows that between 2023 and 2024, there has been a closure of the mean and median gender pay gap within the company.On average, women were paid 4.69% an hour less than men within the company — which is within the target of 5% and less than the…

«A garrison of memory, documentation, public denunciation and hope». Thus we read, under the vault of the former railway handling shed which has become the Memorial of the collapse of the Morandi bridge, a new piece of the city born right at the height of the pylon of the old bridge which collapsed on 14 August 2018 into the bed of the Polcevera. And when the very young Cesare, the son of the Genoese dock worker Andrea Cerulli, one of the 43 victims of the disaster six years ago, is called upon to cut the tricolor ribbon to celebrate the…

Israel announced on Sunday it would shut its mission in the Irish capital because of what Israel’s Foreign Minister called ‘extreme anti-Israel policies.’ ADVERTISEMENTIreland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris has called Israel’s decision to close its embassy in Dublin “deeply regrettable” but said his government would not change its position on how the war in Gaza is being fought.Israel announced on Sunday it would shut its mission in the Irish capital because of what Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called “extreme anti-Israel policies.””I will push back very strongly against any attempt by any country to misrepresent Ireland’s position. Ireland is not…

Fiery chaos at Florida intersection has sheriff’s office searching for dozens of suspects A sheriff’s office in central Florida is searching for 30 people they say were a part of an “intersection takeover” that terrorized drivers and damaged cars. The mob shut down the intersection of South John Young Parkway and Central Florida Parkway on Nov. 30, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) said on Facebook. The large group “set a fire in the roadway, and used the space for cars to do donuts around the flames,” prior to harassing innocent drivers, blocking them from passing. “There’s a baby in…

Mayors to get powers to stop planning delays in England, Angela Rayner to say Pledge set out in white paper to be unveiled this week is part of a ‘devolution by default’ approach by Whitehall Mayors will be given sweeping powers to unblock planning delays for major building projects in England, Angela Rayner has announced, as she promised a “devolution by default” approach to handing down authority from Whitehall. The pledge set out in the white paper to be unveiled this week will give regions more planning powers over housing numbers and will identify key developments and infrastructure needed to…