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German public sector workers agree to wage deal with employers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:44:32 GMT

German public sector employees have reached a wage agreement with employers, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and the Verdi trade union announced on Saturday. This ends a dispute which has caused disruption in the transport sector of Europe's largest economy.Arbitration led to the agreement of around 2.5 million workers in this sector.The deal will see each worker receive €3,000 tax-free in monthly payments through February 2024. This is to offset inflation.It said that wages would rise by €200 per month starting in March 2024. In a second stage, the increase will be 5.5%.The contract will last for two years.Verdi had asked for 10.5% more, but said that it would begin a survey among its members, with the final decision coming from the wage commission on 15 May.Frank Werneke, Verdi's chief executive officer, said: "We have reached the pain threshold in our decision to make this compromission."The cost of living has risen dramatically in Germany this year, resulting in some of the most ...

Greek president approves PM request for 21 May election

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:44:32 GMT

Greece's president approved a request from Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to dissolve the parliament and hold general elections on 21 May as the country prepares for a vote which is unlikely to result in a clear winner.Mitsotakis revealed the date of the elections during a cabinet session in late March. His term ends officially in July. He told Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the president of Greece, on Saturday (22 April) that the parliament would be dissolved on 23 April."I wish us a peaceful and productive pre-election campaign, for the sake of our country," Sakellaropoulou said to the conservative premier at the start of a four week political campaign.The election will take place under a system of proportional voting. According to opinion polls, neither Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party nor Syriza, the main opposition party on the left, is likely to get the votes required for a parliamentary majority.Mitsotakis expressed his hope for full participation at the elections.A second vote...

The Bivalent Booster Is Now The Standard COVID Vaccine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:44:32 GMT

The bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine will be the only one offered, in accordance with the recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The CDC and FDA said the recommendation comes in order to simplify the COVID-19 vaccination process, with Americans no longer needing to worry about getting the previously recommended monovalent mRNA vaccines.“At this stage of the pandemic, data support simplifying the use of the authorized mRNA bivalent COVID-19 vaccines and the agency believes that this approach will help encourage future vaccination,” Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA said. “COVID-19 continues to be a very real risk for many people, and we encourage individuals to consider staying current with vaccination, including with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. The available data continue to demonstrate that vaccines prevent the most serious outcomes of COVID-19, which are severe illness, hospitalization, and death.”Vulnerable pop...

Brilliant Alex Cobb pitches rare shutout as SF Giants blank Cardinals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:44:32 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants didn’t exactly loudly announce their new, full-strength lineup to the rest of the league Monday night. But they belabored the St. Louis Cardinals starter and came through when it counted to back up the best outing they’ve gotten from a starting pitcher this season and possibly a few more.Making his Giants debut, Mitch Haniger broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly, before J.D. Davis broke the game open with a three-run blast a batter later, powering the way to a 4-0 win in their first of four games against the Cardinals, behind nine brilliant innings from Alex Cobb.On 109 pitches, not requiring more than 15 to complete an inning until his final two frames, an efficient and effective Cobb threw the second shutout of his career, joining the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara and the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole as the only pitchers to do so in 2023, and the Giants’ first since Anthony DeSclafani threw two in 2021.Manager...

Kraken lose Jared McCann to injury; won’t play in Game 5

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:44:32 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Kraken lost leading scorer Jared McCann to an injury in the first period of Game 4 against Colorado on Monday night following a hit from Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar and he won’t be available for Game 5. Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said after the Kraken’s 3-2 overtime victory that McCann would not play in Game 5 on Wednesday night and assumes he’ll be out longer than that.“Late hit. Really late. No puck in play. Our 40-goal scorer not available for the rest of the game,” Hakstol said. McCann was down on the ice for several minutes before being helped to the bench and headed straight back to the Seattle locker room. “When you see a guy go down like as a teammate it’s frustrating and you want to do what you can for him,” Seattle’s Jaden Schwartz said. McCann was hurt on a short-handed attempt midway through the first period. The shot was saved by Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev and appeared to go into the netting behind the goal....

Golden Knights top Jets 4-2, take commanding 3-1 series lead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:44:32 GMT

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — William Karlsson and Ivan Barbashev scored 47 seconds apart in the second period and the Vegas Golden Knights held on for a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.The Golden Knights could eliminate Winnipeg in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series on Thursday night in Las Vegas. Teams that take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series hold a series record of 299-31.“At the end of the day, no panic, just take care of business,” Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Play the right way and end up getting the win, that’s what we came here for.”Winnipeg lost more than the game when veteran star centre Mark Scheifele left the ice early in the first period and the team announced he wouldn’t return because of an upper-body injury. He joined a growing list of injured teammates that includes all-star defenseman Josh Morrissey (injured in Game 3) and speedy forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who hasn’t competed in the p...

Diamondbacks edge Royals 5-4 on Walker’s sprint home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:44:32 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Nick Ahmed took a healthy swing in the eighth inning, but was a little off on his timing. The ball squirted off the end of his bat, rolling slowly up the first base line.That gave Christian Walker time to sprint home with the decisive run for Arizona.It was far from a classic, but these are the kind of games the Diamondbacks have lost for years. Now a few of them — including Monday night’s 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals — are starting to go their way.“We’re not going to score 10 every game or throw a no-hitter,” Walker said. “So to win these tweeners, where we feel we have a chance to win, but it’s a matter of executing and holding them off one more inning, for me, these are the games when you look back and you’re proud of the season, these are the wins that need to happen.”Ahmed — who was pinch-hitting — brought home Walker with his one-out roller off reliever Aroldis Chapman (0-1) that was essentially a swinging bunt. First baseman V...

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for immediate end to violence in Myanmar after meeting with military

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:44:32 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for immediate end to violence in Myanmar after meeting with military.Source

Fitful start to new 3-day truce in Sudan; airlifts continue

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:44:32 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s warring generals pledged Tuesday to observe a new three-day truce brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to pull Africa’s third-largest nation back from the abyss.The claims were immediately undercut by the sound of heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital of Khartoum. Residents said warplanes were flying overhead.Several previous cease-fires declared since the April 15 outbreak of fighting were not observed, although intermittent lulls during the weekend’s major Muslim holiday allowed for dramatic evacuations of hundreds of diplomats, aid workers and other foreigners by air and land.For many Sudanese, the departure of foreigners and closure of embassies is a terrifying sign that international powers expect a worsening of the fighting that has already pushed the population into disaster.Meanwhile, Sudanese desperately sought ways to escape the chaos, fearing that the rival camps will escalate their all-out battle for po...

Israel marks Memorial Day plagued by divisions, violence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:44:32 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel marked its Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of militant attacks on Tuesday against the backdrop of some of the deepest political divisions in its history and soaring tensions with Palestinians.Memorial Day is one of the most solemn moments on Israel’s national calendar, in honor of its 24,213 war dead and 4,255 attack victims. People come to a standstill when a two-minute siren sounds late in the morning. Motorists and pedestrians halt in the street, stop their cars and stand with heads bowed. Bereaved families visit cemeteries and attend ceremonies while television and radio programming shifts to somber music and documentaries about slain soldiers.This year, Memorial Day is tainted by deep divisions roiling the country over a contentious plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judiciary. “Citizens of Israel, the siren this year, the intensely Israeli signature call, is a wake-up call for all of us. The c...