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'Weakened' Macron sticks with pension bill, eyes new reforms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron wants to regain control of the initiative through new reforms. His government was unable to survive a no confidence motion over a controversial pension bill. National protests continued.Last Thursday (16 March), as labour unions prepared for another day of strikes against Macron's reform of his pension, demonstrators waving flags and shouting gathered in central Paris. This was the sixth consecutive day protests since the passage of the bill.Garbage bins were set ablaze in central Paris' Place de la Republique at 2030 CET/1930 GMT. Protesters also set off fireworks. The police were called to disperse the demonstrators and arrived with fire engines to extinguish the flames.Macron's camp has warned him to stop doing business as usual amid violent protests, rolling strikes and that pose the greatest threat to his authority since the 'Yellow Vest' revolt four years back."We are all weak. Gilles Le Gendre (senior MP in Macron's camp), told Liberation news...

Who is buying VW’s assets in Russia?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

In 2007, the Volkswagen Factory was launched in Kaluga in SKD format and two years later, it started full-cycle production. Its capacity is 225 thousand cars per year. But after the start of the war in Ukraine, the work of the factory was suspended, and then Volkswagen Group considered selling the factory in Kaluga.As reported by “Izvestiya”, the main contender for the purchase of the Kaluga factory was Avilon car dealer holding which was Volkswagen’s own dealership, and after the withdrawal from the Russian market, this fact was a distinct competitive advantage.Avilon is a large Russian dealer of luxury cars with a revenue of 86,9 billion rubles. And it’s the dealer that can sell and serve cars but not produce them. The purchase of the factory is an opportunity for the dealer to buy the capacities at a low price and sell them at a higher price. The sales discount when selling the business leaving Russia should be not less than 50% of the price reported in the company's latest finan...

Montebello tornado was an EF1, touched down for 2-3 minutes, NWS says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

A tornado ripped through an industrial area of Montebello on Wednesday, carving a path of destruction that included damage to several buildings and cars, the National Weather Service confirmed.The twister touched down at 11:14 a.m. and was on the ground for two to three minutes, NWS said. Aerial footage from Sky5 showed roofs damaged and debris scattered across the area of South Vail Street and Washington Boulevard.The National Weather Service immediately dispatched a team to Montebello, a city eight miles east of downtown Los Angeles, to assess the damage. Officials later determined the tornado was an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with peak winds of 110 miles per hour. It was approximately 50 yards wide and covered four-tenths of a mile.17 structures were damaged, 11 “significantly,” and one person was injured, NWS said.Damage from a tornado that hit Montebello, California on March 22, 2023. (KTLA)A roof in Montebello was damaged by a tornado on March 22, 2023. (KTLA) KTLA viewe...

An innovative home tailored to you 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

Even in a large, master-planned development or in a neighborhood of 50 to 100 homes offered by a single builder, Bay Area and Northern California builders design and build for each buyer’s needs.Although a home may share a general floor plan with 10% of the homes in its community, many aspects of its interior can include special or even unexpected — yet practical — features.This is yet another reason to join interest lists for existing communities or coming-soon communities that haven’t begun vertical construction on some or all of their homes.A buyer expects the new-home design process to include everything from flooring choices, cabinet styles, tile and stone fabrication and plumbing fixtures to lighting, cabinet hardware, kitchen counters and bathroom vanities.And only with new construction can the buyer rethink entirely the ways that standard features are installed or used in different ways.Add more light Today’s builders are incorporating more natural light with windows than ev...

Four-bedroom home sells in Pleasanton for $1.8 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

2707 Turnstone Drive – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 2700 block of Turnstone Drive in Pleasanton was sold on Feb. 10, 2023 for $1,790,000, or $824 per square foot. The house, built in 1972, has an interior space of 2,172 square feet. The property features four bedrooms, two baths, and a garage, as well as a pool in the backyard. The unit sits on an 0.3-acre lot.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:In June 2022, a 2,128-square-foot home on Blackbird Drive in Pleasanton sold for $1,750,000, a price per square foot of $822. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,024-square-foot home on the 2600 block of Willowren Way in Pleasanton sold in January 2023, for $1,497,500, a price per square foot of $740. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Willowren Way, Pleasanton, in July 2022, a 2,235-square-foot home was sold for $1,650,000, a price per square foot of $738. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Word Game: March 23, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — ADDICTION (ADDICTION: uh-DIK-shun: A chronic, harmful need for a habit-forming substance or activity.)Average mark 21 wordsTime limit 35 minutesCan you find 30 or more words in ADDICTION? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — SELFISHLY self selfish sell shelf shell shelly shies shill sill silly elfish elfishly less life lily lisle fell felly file fill filly fish fishes fishy flesh fleshy flies illy isle hell hill hilly hiss hissy yellTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words...

Success-starved Kings close in on long-awaited playoff berth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento Kings might just be riding the beam all the way to the NBA playoffs.The resurgent Kings are on the verge of ending the longest postseason drought in league history, with first-year coach Mike Brown employing a fast-paced offense led by the dynamic duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to put Sacramento in first place in the Pacific Division. “It’s a great feeling. It’s great because it’s my first time,” Fox said of being in the playoff hunt. “This is something we want to make annual. We want to be contending for a title. … It’s great for the city and organization. We still want bigger things for ourselves.”The Kings (43-29) are in third place in the Western Conference and might be able to clinch the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2006 during the final three games of a four-game homestand that ends Monday night against Minnesota.The 16 seasons without a playoff berth are the longest in NBA history and th...

China’s Xi invites Spanish PM on state visit next week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to Beijing for a state visit as Xi tries to galvanize support for China’s peace proposal for Ukraine.Spain’s minister for the presidency, Félix Bolaños, confirmed late Wednesday that Sánchez would visit China on March 30-31, citing Xi’s “possible mediation in the war in Ukraine” as a key reason for the visit. Spain takes over the European Union’s rotating presidency in July, and Sánchez has portrayed his nation on the world stage as a staunch NATO ally of Ukraine.He plans to hold commercially focused meetings during the Boao Forum for Asia on the Chinese island of Hainan on March 30 before traveling to Beijing to meet with Xi on March 31, Sánchez’s office said.Xi met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week to promote Beijing’s peace plan for Ukraine, which Western nations have all but dismissed as unviable. Putin said it could be a basis for ending the figh...

Palestinian killed in Israeli military raid in West Bank

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli security forces killed a Palestinian militant during a raid in the northern West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, the latest escalation of violence in what has been the deadliest start of a year for Palestinians in the occupied territory in more than two decades. Israeli forces stormed into the northern city of Tulkarem, home to an emerging militant group with ties to the armed offshoot of the nationalist Fatah party. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that 25-year-old Amir Abu Khadija was shot multiple times in the head and legs. The Tulkarem branch of Fatah’s Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed Abu Khadija as its leader.The Israeli military said Abu Khadija was wanted for recent shooting attacks on Israeli settlements and security forces. Troops raided his hideout apartment in Tulkarem and shot and killed Abu Khadija when he drew his gun, the military said, adding that the army confiscated an M-16 assault rifle and the car he allegedly ...

Denver weather: Cool Thursday with mountain snow showers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver's weather will stay cool on Thursday with isolated showers in the lower elevations and more rounds of snow in the mountains. The unsettled weather will stay in the forecast through Monday of next week. Weather today: Low 50s and breezyTemperatures on Thursday will hit the low 50s with partly cloudy skies and a 10% chance for a rain or rain and snow mixed shower Thursday evening. East High School shooting suspect found dead near car in Park County Winds will be breezy at times with gusts up to 20mph on the Front Range, but it will be calmer than Wednesday's winds. There will be scattered showers across the mountains with slick roads possible. Weather tomorrow: Similar to ThursdayFriday's temperatures will stay around the low 50s in Denver with a 20% chance for scattered showers. Once again, depending on the time, temperature, and location, a few snow showers could mix in with the rain. Totals will stay less than an inch across Eastern Colorado with no road i...