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Parliament adopts new law to fight global deforestation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:52:00 GMT

No country or product will be banned. However, companies can only sell their products in the EU after 31 December 2020 if they have a "due diligence statement" from the supplier confirming that it does not come form deforested lands or has caused forest degradation. This includes irreplaceable primary trees.Companies will be required to confirm, as requested by the Parliament, that their products are compliant with the relevant legislation in the country of origin, including the laws governing human rights and the rights of indigenous people.CoveredAs per the original Commission's proposal, the products covered by this new legislation include: cocoa, coffee beans, palm oil, soya, and wood. This includes products that have contained, been fed these commodities, or were made with them (such as furniture, leather, and chocolate). MEPs added rubber, charcoal and printed paper products to the list of deforestation-free products during negotiations.The Parliament has also defined forest d...

Miss Manners: It bugs me that my mother-in-law complains about being old

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:52:00 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I don’t understand people who complain about getting old.My mother-in-law, who will soon turn 97 and is healthier than I am, is frequently heard to say that “getting old is not for sissies.” These types of comments really stick in my craw because my son passed away suddenly from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 25, while on his honeymoon.Many people are not afforded the luxury of living a long, healthy life. Instead of complaining, they should thank their lucky stars that they’ve lived long enough to see their children have families of their own, have grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.My son and his wife never had that joy. My daughter-in-law has not been the same since losing my son 21 years ago, and has never remarried.GENTLE READER: Lucky stars are rarely thanked.It is not necessary to have suffered a tragedy as terrible as yours to find someone who is better off — or worse.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manner...

Dear Abby: I hear him scream at his little boy, and it worries me

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:52:00 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I live on the bottom floor of a duplex with my wife. My brother-in-law, his wife and their two sons, ages 4 and 2, are upstairs.Since the 2-year-old was born, he’s been very rambunctious and fussy. I consider my BIL a good parent overall, but for a while now, I hear him blow up, scream, curse and shout at the younger child.I don’t think it’s healthy. I have a hard time with it because of my upbringing, which left a mark. I grew up in a home ruled by intimidation.I am also a school counselor. The 4-year-old has a pronounced speech impediment that I’m hoping the school will help with. As an adult and someone who works with kids, it bothers me to hear this go on every day in our home.I wouldn’t dare to say anything to my BIL or SIL. I’m just worried about the boys. Will they be OK?Please, let me know what to do. We all want my nephews to be well, but I can’t blur the line between counselor and aunt. FULL OF CONCERN IN THE EASTRelated...

Stock markets today: Global stocks lower ahead of US data

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:52:00 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks and Wall Street futures declined Monday ahead of a U.S. economic update that is expected to show growth slowing.London and Frankfurt opened lower. Shanghai and Hong Kong declined while Tokyo advanced. Oil prices fell.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.1% on Friday but ended with a small loss for the week.U.S. data this week are expected to show first-quarter economic growth weakened following interest rate hikes to cool business activity and inflation. That might encourage the Federal Reserve to postpone or scale down more possible rate hikes at its May meeting.France and Germany also report economic growth this week following surveys that show European factory activity declining.“There is no doubt that the global economy is weakening and vulnerable to further slowing,” Clifford Bennett of ACY Securities said in a report.In early trading, the FTSE in London fell 0.2% to 7,901.22 and the DAX in Frankfurt opened 0.1% lower at 15,860.3...

Pogacar undergoes ‘successful’ wrist surgery after crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:52:00 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar was expected to travel home on Monday after undergoing “successful” surgery on his fractured left wrist in Belgium.The 24-year-old Slovenian rider’s team said in a statement late Sunday that surgery to treat a scaphoid fracture in his left wrist went well and that Pogacar, who was injured in a crash during the one-day classic Liège–Bastogne–Liège, would now start “recovery and rehabilitation.”Pogacar was treated by a hand surgeon at a hospital in Genk immediately after his crash.The UAE Team Emirates did not say how long he would be sidelined and if the injury would affect his preparations for the Tour de France, which starts in July.Following his wins at Amstel Gold and Flèche Wallonne, Pogacar aimed to become only the third male rider to seal a hat trick of the Ardennes classics but had to abandon after 85 kilometers (53 miles). The race was won by world champion Remco Evenepoel, who put on an impressive attackin...

Drivers can expect delays on northern end of GW Parkway due to construction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:52:00 GMT

D.C.-area drivers should expect some considerable delays on the northern end of the George Washington Parkway.As part of a $161 million restoration project, the National Park Service said it will closed the southbound lanes between Interstate 495 and Virginia Route 123. The work — which began Saturday, April 22 — was supposed to start a week earlier but was postponed due to inclement weather.This traffic pattern could stick around until late 2025. The project will last that long because work will include not only repaving the road, but also redesigning the Route 123 interchange, repairing stormwater systems, reconstructing stone walls and roadside barriers, and rehabilitating the parkway’s scenic overlooks.With the southbound lanes out of service, all traffic will share the northbound lanes, which now includes an additional temporary third lane built for the scheduled work.Drivers on the section of the parkway will encounter only one lane going north and one lane g...

Metro CEO: DC’s fare evasion law needs changing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:52:00 GMT

For the last few years, fare evasion in D.C. has been a proverbial thorn in Metro’s side.“We need to gain control of the system back and we’ve got to bring a sense of orderliness,” Metro CEO and General Manager Randy Clarke said on WTOP’s DMV Download podcast. “And we’ve got to get that revenue as well.”For Clarke, who has been on the job for nine months, fare evasion is also about safety.“Not everyone that fare evades commits criminal activity on our system,” he said. “But, almost universally … 99.9% of people that commit criminal acts in our system fare evade.”Metro CEO and General Manager Randy Clarke speaks to DMV Download podcast host Luke Garrett. (WTOP/Luke Garrett)Clarke believes that stopping fare-gate jumpers will also limit violence on Metro.“No one is tapping in so we know who they are, and then going downstairs with a gun and assaulting someone,” he said.Back in November, Metro started t...

Jockey dies after horse racing fall in Australia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:52:00 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian jockey Dean Holland died as a result of injuries sustained in a fall during a race in regional Victoria state on Monday, Racing Victoria said.The state’s horse racing authority said the 34-year-old Holland was one of two jockeys dislodged from their horses in the opening race of a meeting at Donald Racecourse.He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene. The other rider, Alana Kelly, was cleared of serious injury.“It was a tragic accident at Donald today and we are all deeply shocked and saddened that Dean has passed away,” Racing Victoria chief executive Andrew Jones said in a statement. “Dean was a gifted lightweight rider who … was highly respected by his peers.“Dean’s passing is heartbreaking for all within Victorian racing and the sport nationally.”Holland won a Group 1 race last month on a horse called In Secret in the Newmarket Handicap over 1,200 meters at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse. Racing.com liste...

‘The Giz’ brings a go-go version of ‘The Wiz’ to DC’s Lincoln Theatre

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:52:00 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews 'The Giz' at Lincoln Theatre (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Once you’ve paid your debt to society, you deserve a genuine chance to rehabilitate yourself.Playwright Lovail Long found his creative spark while incarcerated in solitary confinement.“I wrote this stage-play while I was incarcerated,” Long told WTOP. “I wanted to come back to my comm...

Un dragón mecánico se incendia durante un espectáculo en Disneyland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:52:00 GMT

(CNN) — Un dragón animatrónico se incendió en el parque Disneyland de California el sábado por la noche, según informaron funcionarios de Disney.“Durante la proyección final de ‘Fantasmic’ en el parque Disneyland el sábado por la noche, el dragón se incendió”, dijeron funcionarios de Disney a CNN en un correo electrónico. “Anaheim Fire & Rescue respondió rápidamente y el fuego fue extinguido”.Agregaron que todos los miembros del elenco y los huéspedes fueron evacuados de la Isla Tom Sawyer y las atracciones cercanas a la isla fueron despejadas de huéspedes debido al humo y al viento.Muere una mujer después de caerse de la estructura del estacionamiento de Disneyland, dice la policía“La causa del incendio sigue bajo investigación en este momento”, continúa el comunicado.CNN se puso en contacto con Anaheim Fire & Rescue para obtener más información.“Fantasmic” es un espectáculo nocturno de larga duración de Disn...