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German government, trade unions agree on wage deal for public workers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:30 GMT

The German government, local authorities and trade unions reached a deal late Saturday on higher pay scales for the country’s 2.5 million public-sector workers, staving off the possibility of indefinite strikes. “We have accommodated the unions as far as we can responsibly do under difficult budgetary circumstances,” said Nancy Faeser, the country’s interior minister. Trade union Ver.di had called for significant raises as the country, like many others across the Continent, grapples with high inflation.Among other things, the deal entails tax-free one-time payments totalling €3,000 in several stages, with the first €1,240 to be handed out in June, followed by €220 each month from July to February 2024. In March 2024, monthly pay for all public workers will increase by €200, followed by a 5.5 percent salary increase, with a minimum increase of €340. The agreement runs for 24 months. The compromise is largely based on a proposal by arbitrators who were called i...

Russia running the UN Security Council is going about how you’d expect

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:30 GMT

The United Nations is accustomed to oddity, absurdity and a certain amount of hypocrisy. But the eye-rolling is hitting epic levels this month as Russia has taken over the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council and used it to defend its war on Ukraine.Already, the Kremlin has held sessions to cast its abductions of Ukrainian children as a protective measure and accuse Western countries of being irresponsible on arms control by sending weapons to Kyiv.Another shot looms Monday, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to chair a Security Council meeting on defending the principles of the U.N. Charter — a pact designed in part to prevent wars.“They’re trying to troll us,” an American official familiar with the U.S. operations at the United Nations said in describing the Russian tactics. “They’re picking topics where they know some of their most egregious actions in this war are centered, and they’re trying to flip the narrative on its head. We’re not going to...

Police investigating Hyde Park shooting that left victim in critical condition

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:30 GMT

Boston police are searching for a shooter after a person was critically wounded while sitting in a car in Hyde Park on Saturday night, officials said.Officers responding to a reported shooting on Dedham Street around 9:30 p.m. found the victim suffering from gunshot wounds, according to Boston police. They were rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition.Investigators could be see scouring a taped-off area for evidence.No additional information was immediately available.Anyone with information is urged to call Boston police. If you would prefer to share information anonymously you can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line AT 1-800 (494) -TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463).This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Researchers study the secret to a long life

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:30 GMT

The secret to a long life might be living in the cells of an exceptional group of people. That’s what researchers from Tufts and Boston University Medical Schools say after an extensive study of centenarians – or people who live to be 100 years old and beyond.“This is a rare population of individuals,” Dr. Tanya Karagiannis said.Karagiannis says her team’s work has shown that centenarians don’t just avoid disease as they age. “They have a greater exposure to infections and are able to maintain highly functional and robust immune responses,” Dr. Karagiannis said.The findings of the study support the team’s initial assumptions about centenarians and their immune cells, but their research hasn’t pinpointed why this is the case. “We don’t understand the reason behind this, but it supports the idea that centenarians have protective factors that help them recover from infections,” she said.Dr. Karagiannis says that this information could one day be crucia...

Drunk driver crashes into home while fleeing police in Townsend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:30 GMT

A 46-year-old man fleeing the Townsend Police after a traffic stop then crashed into a home. No one in the home was injured, and the driver later found to be under the influence, according to police.Dennis Legere, of Mason, New Hampshire, allegedly refused to stop when a Townsend Police officer attempted to pull him over just before 5 a.m. on Saturday. Police observed the speeding near the Lunenburg town line, and the officer didn’t pursue Legere for safety reasons.“A short time later,” police said, the same Buick Encore had crashed into a home at 14 Elm Street. Legere was transported to the hospital and treated and released to police. He was arrested and charged with multiple counts, including unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and speeding. He was wanted by Leominster Police on unrelated charges. 

15 months into his ‘disciplined’ rebuild, Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles faces a crucial task — making the most of the return for the No. 1 pick

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:30 GMT

Ryan Poles couldn’t escape his own image.In early March, the Chicago Bears general manager was at the NFL scouting combine with the No. 1 draft pick and the intention to trade that rare jewel for more assets.As everyone tried to figure out what Poles would do with the top pick, he was one of the most popular people in Indianapolis, a point driven home by the TV broadcasts playing in the team’s suite during combine workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium.“I felt like 10 times per workout my face was up on the screen,” Poles said. “It was like, ‘All right, we get the point. Everyone knows who I am now.’ ”Just 14 months into his new job, Poles was at the center of the football universe for a frenzied few weeks of speculation and negotiation. He did interviews with the NFL’s most prominent journalists in between fielding offers from GMs. He fought through sleepless nights and constant pacing in the final days of trade talks.Then on March 10, P...

Passenger warns of unwarranted high baggage fee collected through Air Canada booking

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:30 GMT

The cost of flying has gone up, but it hasn’t deterred some Canadians from taking a well-needed vacation. And while we might do our best to budget for the trip, an unforeseen expense can always be thrown your way. But what if you were made to pay more for something than the price you were initially quoted? A frustrating experience echoed by Siju Varghese after he was made to pay an unexpectedly high baggage fee when boarding the first leg of his return flight home to Canada.“Why am I being charged so much in baggage fees when the ticket says it was $75 dollars?” Varghese tells CityNews.In January, he and his travel partner boarded a flight in Edmonton. The itinerary, booked through Air Canada, included connecting flights through Toronto and Bogota, with a final destination in Quito, Ecuador.On his way there, his Aeroplan card covered the cost for both pieces of checked luggage. But on the return leg, when checking in for their first flight with Avianca Ecuador, an interline partner ...

Baltics condemn China envoy’s stance on ex-Soviet nations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:30 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — The three Baltic states have strongly condemned comments by China’s envoy to France, who appeared to suggest in a recent French television interview that former Soviet republics aren’t sovereign nations.The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in separate announcements late Saturday deemed statements by Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France, as unacceptable.In a recent interview with the French news channel LCI, he was asked if he thought that the Crimean Peninsula belongs to Ukraine. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world denounced as illegal. “That depends … on how one perceives this problem,” the envoy told the broadcaster. “There’s the history. Crimea was at the beginning Russian, no? It was (Soviet leader Nikita) Khrushchev who gave Crimea to Ukraine in the era of the Soviet Union.”When the channel’s presenter noted that according to international law, Crimea is part of Ukraine, the Chinese amba...

21 bodies dug up in cult investigation of pastor in Kenya

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:30 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Twenty-one bodies have been found so far on land owned by a pastor in coastal Kenya who was arrested for telling his followers to fast to death.Malindi sub-county police chief John Kemboi said more shallow graves have yet to be dug up on the land belonging to pastor Paul Makenzi, who was arrested on April 14 over links to cultism.A further four people died after they and others were discovered starving at the Good News International Church. Police have asked a court to allow them to hold Makenzi longer as investigations into the deaths of his followers continue.A tip-off from members of the public led police to raid the pastor’s property in Malindi, where they found 15 emaciated people, including the four who later died. The followers said they were starving on the pastor’s instructions in order to meet Jesus.Police had been told there were dozens of shallow graves spread across Makenzi’s farm and digging started on Friday.Makenzi has been on hunger strik...

Fox’s settlement with Dominion unlikely to cost it $787.5M

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:30 GMT

Fox Corp.’s hefty $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation charges is eye-popping, but the ultimate cost to the media company is likely to be much lower. On Tuesday, Fox settled with Dominion over charges that Fox News baselessly accused the company of rigging its voting machines against former President Donald Trump in 2020. It was the most-watched media libel case in decades.Fox had about $4 billion of cash on hand as of December 2022, and MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman expects the company to pay the settlement during the current quarter. How much the lawsuit will actually end up costing Fox is unclear because there are ways it can defray some of the expense, primarily through insurance and the use of tax deductions. Fox can deduct the Dominion settlement from its income taxes as an expense necessary for the cost of doing business. Fox Chief Communications Officer Brian Nick has confirmed the deductibility of the settlement.Big companie...