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Indonesia doesn’t need Europe anymore, presidential frontrunner says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:33 GMT

Indonesia’s leading candidate for president has said the country doesn’t “really need Europe anymore,” criticizing the bloc’s ban on some Indonesian imports and suggesting his country should align itself more closely with other nations in Asia.“We open our market to you, but you won’t allow us to sell palm oil, and now we have problems trying to sell coffee, tea, cocoa,” Prabowo Subianto, who currently serves as Indonesia’s defense minister, said Monday at a forum organized by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.In April, the EU banned imports of some Indonesian products, including soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, timber, rubber and beef over links to deforestation. Indonesia is home to a third of the world’s rainforests but has seen much of it vanish due to deforestation, of which palm oil plantations are a major driver. Indonesia’s chief economic minister previously accused the EU of “r...

Germany’s Pistorius says EU will fall short of million shell pledge to Ukraine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:33 GMT

BRUSSELS — The EU will not reach its goal of supplying 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine by March, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at the start of Tuesday’s summit of EU defense ministers.“We have to assume that the 1 million will not be achieved,” he said.One way of doing a better job would be for defense firms to focus on sending more ammunition to Ukraine and exporting less to other countries, the EU’s foreign and security policy chief Josep Borrell said.Borrell questioned the claim that the EU’s defense production capacity has reached the upper limit.“Keep in mind European defense industry is exporting a lot — about 40 percent of the production is being exported to third countries,” Borrell told reporters before chairing the defense ministers’ meeting. “So it’s not a lack of production capacity; it is that they send their products to [other] markets. So maybe what we have to do is to try to shift this produc...

UK cybersecurity center says ‘deepfakes’ and other AI tools pose a threat to the next election

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:33 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s cybersecurity agency said Tuesday that artificial intelligence poses a threat to the country’s next national election, and cyberattacks by hostile countries and their proxies are proliferating and getting harder to track.The National Cyber Security Center said “this year has seen the emergence of state-aligned actors as a new cyber threat to critical national infrastructure” such as power, water and internet networks.The center — part of Britain’s cyberespionage agency, GCHQ — said in its annual review that the past year also has seen “the emergence of a new class of cyber adversary in the form of state-aligned actors, who are often sympathetic to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine and are ideologically, rather than financially, motivated.” It said states and state-aligned groups pose “an enduring and significant threat,” from Russian-language criminals targeting British firms with ransomware attacks, to “China state-affiliated cyber actors” using their ski...

In the news today: More Canadians hoping to leave Gaza as peace activist mourned

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:33 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Dozens of Canadians remain in Gaza StripScores of Canadians are still hoping to leave the Gaza Strip, as Canadians and Israelis mourn the loss of peace activist Vivian Silver in last month’s attack by Hamas militants.Global Affairs Canada said Monday afternoon it is in touch with more than 250 Canadians, permanent residents and their eligible family members in the war-torn Palestinian territory.Ottawa says 356 Canadians and their relatives have made it out of the Gaza Strip so far, including 10 on Monday.Israeli officials said late Monday that Silver, a dual national previously believed to have been taken hostage, had died in the brutal attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7.Northwest Territories holds fire-delayed electionResidents of the Northwest Territories are heading to the polls today, more than a month after the ele...

Royal Canadian Mint to start replacing image of late queen with King Charles

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:33 GMT

WINNIPEG — The Royal Canadian Mint will soon begin producing Canadian coins bearing the face of King Charles.The Winnipeg-based manufacturing facility is set today to showcase its design of the King that will appear on one side of all its coins, replacing the current image of the late Queen Elizabeth II. A design by Canadian portrait artist Steven Rosati was chosen out of 350 artists. The winning design was sent to Buckingham Palace for approval. The monarch’s effigy is to be pressed onto a loonie for the first time at the mint. The mint said a small amount of 2023-dated coins with the King’s likeness are to circulate in early December. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2023. The Canadian Press

Dozens of Canadians hoping to leave Gaza Strip

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:33 GMT

OTTAWA — Scores of Canadians are still hoping to leave the Gaza Strip, as Canadians and Israelis mourn the loss of peace activist Vivian Silver in last month’s attack by Hamas militants.Global Affairs Canada said Monday afternoon it is in touch with more than 250 Canadians, permanent residents and their eligible family members in the war-torn Palestinian territory.Ottawa says 356 Canadians and their relatives have made it out of the Gaza Strip so far, including 10 on Monday.Israeli officials said late Monday that Silver, a dual national previously believed to have been taken hostage, had died in the brutal attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7.Israel has declared war against Hamas, and airstrikes on Gaza have killed thousands, with the United Nations declaring that nowhere in the territory is safe.Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants outside Gaza’s largest hospital has prompted thousands of people to flee from the sprawling...

Stock market today: Global shares are mostly higher ahead of US inflation data and a US-China summit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:33 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mostly higher Tuesday ahead of potentially market-moving developments, including a U.S.-China summit and data releases in the U.S., Japan and China. U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices also logged modest gains. President Joe Biden is set to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim summit in California. It will be the first face-to-face encounter in a year between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies. Investors also are awaiting an update on consumer inflation in the U.S. Economists expect it to show consumers paid prices that were 3.3% higher in October than a year earlier, down from September’s inflation rate of 3.7%.Early Tuesday, France’s CAC 40 was up 0.3% at 7,105.69. Germany’s DAX picked up 0.5% to 15,422.24. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 2 points higher, to 7,427.77. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1% while that for the S&P 500 edged 0.2% hig...

Daily horoscope for November 14, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:33 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Sagittarius.Happy Birthday for Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023:You have a playful, affectionate quality. Nevertheless, you’re earnest and sincere. You like to help others. This year is a year of change. Stay flexible and be ready to go off in a new direction. Seek out new opportunities and be ready to act fast. Expect to travel.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★★This is a great day to study. It’s also a wonderful day to pursue opportunities in publishing, the media, medicine and the law. Partners and close friends will be cooperative and fair-minded today, which is good news for you. Do something different to stretch your wings! Tonight: Explore!TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Discussions about inheritances, shared property or insurance disputes will go well today. People are in a mutually cooperative mood. This almost guarantees a mutually beneficial result for everyone! Work agreements will re...

EU nature restoration law: MEPs strike deal to restore 20% of EU’s land and sea  

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:33 GMT

The new law, agreed with member states, sets a target for the EU to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050, AGRI, ENVI, PECH.Negotiators from the Parliament and Council reached a provisional political agreement on the EU nature restoration law.Nature restoration targetsCo-legislators agreed on an EU target to restore at least 20% of land and 20% of sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. To reach these targets, EU countries must restore at least 30% of habitat types covered by the new law that are in poor condition to a good condition by 2030, increasing to 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050.Member states will have to adopt, through an open, transparent and inclusive process, national restoration plans detailing how they intend to achieve these targets. In line with Parliament’s position, EU countries should give priority to areas located in Natura 2000 sites until 2030. The co-legislators ...

Miss Manners: Her husband got whiny, and suddenly I was on the hook for $100

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:33 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Several times when I have invited and offered to treat someone at a restaurant, my guest has added a to-go order.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: What do you mean what’s wrong with my arm? Advice | Miss Manners: My child was upset by this drama on the train. Who was in the wrong? Advice | Miss Manners: I was at the game, too, but I lied to my friend about it Advice | Miss Manners: My neighbor is convinced I’m making this noise. How do I get him to drop it? Advice | Miss Manners: My wife rebuked cinema patrons who walked in front of us. Who was rude? For instance, mid-celebration, a birthday celebrant received a whiny hungry call from her husband, and, zap, my bill increased by $100. On another occasion, a client ordered a to-go dessert and made a faint gesture to pay — no reaching for his wallet or asking the waiter for separate checks. Of course I ate the bill....