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Commission approves amendment to 2022-2027 regional state aid map for Greece

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, an amendment to Greece's map for granting regional aid until 31 December 2027, within the framework of the regional aid guidelines.On 6 January 2022, the Commission approved the 2022-2027 regional aid map for Greece, and its amendment on 14 July 2022 to increase aid intensities for territories identified for support from the Just Transition Fund. On 30 May 2023, the Commission adopted a Communication regarding a possible mid-term review of the regional aid maps, taking into account updated statistics.In this context, the amendment to Greece's regional aid map approved today enables higher maximum amounts of aid to investments in certain regions, because of the decrease of  the gross domestic product per capita in those regions. The maximum amounts of aid will increase as follows: (i) from 40% to 50% of the eligible investment costs in Νότιο Αιγαίο / Notio Aigaio, and (ii) from 50% to 60% of the eligible investment ...

Harriette Cole: My boyfriend freaked out in the haunted house. Am I dating a coward?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: Halloween is around the corner, so I decided to take my boyfriend to a haunted house attraction for a fun date night. We were both excited, and he expressed nothing but enthusiasm for our plans.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: I asked my sister to watch my teen, and she broke my trust Advice | Harriette Cole: I finally told my parents I’ll be leaving the U.S. next week, and they’re livid Advice | Harriette Cole: My co-worker cornered me about my son, and I was very uncomfortable Advice | Harriette Cole: I worry I’ll lose my friend because of this workplace issue Advice | Harriette Cole: Is it OK for me to hide my health concerns from my husband? When we entered the haunted house, things immediately went left. My boyfriend was completely horrified and begged me to leave early.Now I can’t help but feel a little nervous about our relationship. Is it possible t...

Miss Manners: How do I bring up the problem of the neighbor’s cats?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We have the loveliest neighbors anyone could wish for. They own two sweet cats, who spend their days in the great outdoors.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: The bride hung up on me, and her mother was rude, too. Was I in the wrong? Advice | Miss Manners: This lady at church got stuck, and I accidentally laughed out loud Advice | Miss Manners: This well-off bride’s wedding shower has me baffled Advice | Miss Manners: I’m plagued by how I mishandled this neighborly interaction Advice | Miss Manners: One guest ignored my buffet and raided the refrigerator Our dear neighbor was recently lamenting that they had to “finish” a small bird their cat had attacked. I felt awful for the bird!How do I gently tell our neighbor that pet cats should be kept indoors, or closely supervised when outside? These are bright professionals and I am confident they know this fact.GE...

NYPD Cops Sued for Misconduct Cost City Millions in Settlements — Then Get Promotions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

New York City is on track to fork over more than $100 million this year in payouts for lawsuits alleging police misconduct against members of the New York City Police Department. Twenty of the officers stand out over the last decade for being named in the most suits or being named in suits with the highest payouts. Of the 20, the department has promoted at least 16 of the officers, some more than once. “They’re kind of failing upwards when they’re not only staying in the department but they’re also being promoted,” said Jennvine Wong, staff attorney with the Cop Accountability Project at the Legal Aid Society, a public defense organization in New York City. Last month, Legal Aid released an analysis of data on settlements in cases alleging police misconduct. NYPD Sgt. David Grieco, a cop with the street nickname of “Bullethead,” was named in at least 17 suits between his hiring in 2006 and his first promotion in 2016. After advancing to the rank of sergeant in 2017, he was...

Netflix hikes prices again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

Los Angeles (CNN) — Netflix has raised its prices again.The streaming giant said in its third-quarter earnings report that its premium ad-free plan in the United States will increase by $3 per month, to $22.99, starting Wednesday. Its one-stream basic plan will rise to $11.99 in the United States. All other plans, including its entry-level, $6.99-a-month ad-supported tier, will remain at the same monthly cost.Netflix also announced price increases for some subscription tiers in the United Kingdom and France.The company reported a 9% year-over-year increase in average paid memberships, adding 8.8 million subscribers last quarter. That’s compared to 2.4 million in the third quarter last year. Overall, Netflix reported 247 million paid global subscribers in the third quarter.Netflix attributed some of its strong subscriber growth to its continued password-sharing crackdown. Netflix said it has officially rolled out its “paid sharing” program in every region where the company operates, ...

Cleaner air: Mission (im)possible for cities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

This article is part of POLITICO’s Global Policy Lab: Living Cities, a collaborative journalism project exploring the future of cities. Sign up here.Europe’s battle over clean air is coming for its streets.  As the EU looks to tighten the bloc’s air quality guidelines, city leaders are bracing for even more intense backlash to measures aimed at slashing pollution and meeting the new rules.Local efforts to curb transport exhaust and lower emissions are already proving controversial. Berlin is embroiled in a major tug-of-war over whether to pedestrianize one of its most iconic boulevards. Sweden’s Moderates have hit out at plans from Stockholm’s ruling left-wing coalition to ban petrol and diesel cars in parts of the city center from 2025. And in the Spanish city of Segovia, the far right is pushing hard against plans to install a low-emission zone, arguing that these schemes “attack the right of citizens to move freely” and “harm wor...

IAEA team gathers marine samples near Fukushima as treated radioactive water is released into sea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

IWAKI, Japan (AP) — A member of the International Atomic Energy Agency team visiting Fukushima for its first marine sampling since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started releasing treated radioactive wastewater into the sea said Thursday he does not expect any rise in radiation levels in the fish caught in the regional seas.The IAEA team watched flounder and other popular kinds of fish being caught off the coast earlier Thursday and brought on boats to the Hisanohama port in southern Fukushima for an auction.“I can say that we don’t expect to see any change starting in the fish,” said Paul McGinnity, an IAEA marine radiology scientist.A small rise in the levels of tritium, which cannot be removed from the Fukushima Daiichi wastewater by the plant’s treatment system called ALPS, is possible in locations close to the discharge points, but the levels of radioactivity are expected to be similar to those measured before the discharge last year, he said. Fukushima D...

French officials suspect young people in rash of fake bomb threats, warn of heavy punishments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s government is threatening prison terms and heavy fines for callers who make fake bomb threats after a rash of false alarms forced the evacuation of 15 airports and cancellation of 130 flights and shut the doors of Versailles Palace three times in five days. French officials suggested young people and children may be responsible. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti blamed “little jokers, little clowns” and vowed, “They will be found, they will be punished.”French law allows prank calls to be punished by up to 3 years’ imprisonment and fines of 45,000 euros ($47,000), the minister said. He said minors’ parents could be made to pay for damages. “We don’t need this. We don’t need troublemakers, psychosis, at this moment,” he said Wednesday. France has been on heightened alert since the fatal stabbing of a schoolteacher last week that was blamed on a suspected Islamic extremist who allegedly declared allegiance to the Islamic State gro...

Pakistan court grants protection from arrest to ex-leader Nawaz Sharif, allowing his return home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A court in Pakistan on Thursday granted several days of protection from arrest to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in graft cases, clearing the way for him to return home from self-imposed exile in London, where he went in 2019 for medical treatment.The decision by the Islamabad High Court is a major boost for Sharif and his party and comes two days before he is to return to Pakistan ahead of parliamentary elections in January as the country faces deepening political and economic turmoil.Sharif has been a fugitive from justice since failing to appear before a Pakistan court in 2019. He traveled from London to Saudi Arabia last week and is to return home on a special plane from Dubai on Saturday, according to his Pakistan Muslim League party. Sharif stepped down as prime minister in 2017 after being convicted of corruption. Two years later, facing further graft charges, he complained of chest pains and was granted permission by his successor, Imran Khan, to travel ...

Nokia plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs after sales and profits plunge in a weak market

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Telecom gear maker Nokia said Thursday that it is planning to cut up to 14,000 jobs worldwide, or 16% of its workforce, as part of a push to reduce costs following a plunge in third-quarter sales and profit.The Finnish wireless and fixed-network equipment provider said the planned measures are aimed at reducing its cost base and increasing operational efficiency “to navigate the current market uncertainty.”The company said it is aiming to lower its cost base by between 800 million euros ($843 billion) and 1.2 billion euros by the end of 2026. That was set to lead to a reduction from 86,000 employees now to between 72,000 and 77,000 during that time period.Nokia’s third-quarter sales plummeted 20%, to 4.98 billion euros from 6.24 billion, compared with the same three-month period last year. Comparable net profit plunged to 299 million euros from 551 million in the July-to-September quarter from a year earlier.The company’s biggest unit by revenue — the mobile ne...