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The EU aims to have 40% of its green technology homegrown by 2030

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The EU aims to have 40% of its green technology homegrown by 2030

The European Union will intention to have 40% of the important thing know-how it must fight local weather change constructed inside its personal borders by 2030.

The purpose is the centrepiece of a brand new technique designed to spice up home trade and minimize dependencies on international suppliers, primarily China, a rustic that enjoys a vastly comfy lead within the manufacturing of batteries, photo voltaic panels and wind generators.

The technique can also be a response to the Inflation Discount Act (IRA) handed final yr by US President Joe Biden. The IRA features a $369-billion envelope of tax credit and direct rebates to advertise funding in inexperienced know-how, however provided that these merchandise are predominately manufactured in North America.

The beneficiant injection of American cash despatched Brussels policymakers right into a panic, leading to a brand new industrial technique designed in file time.

Competitiveness is the leitmotiv underpinning the newest plans, which had been unveiled on Thursday by the European Fee underneath the title “Web-Zero Trade Act.”

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The act identifies eight sectors as being “strategic” for the EU in each the quick and long run: photo voltaic, wind, batteries, warmth pumps and geothermal power, electrolysers to provide hydrogen, sustainable biogas and biomethane, carbon seize and storage, and energy grids.

These “strategic initiatives” must be granted quicker administrative and allowing guidelines, from 9 to 12 months in comparison with 12 to 18 months with out the particular designation. If needed, these initiatives might additionally override issues of public curiosity associated to environmental safety, a provision environmental NGOs together with WWF have already decried.

The chosen sectors can even profit from a set of relaxed subsidy guidelines unveiled final week.

This preferential therapy, the Fee says, ought to lure in buyers and speed up the deployment of inexperienced applied sciences, that are indispensable to section out fossil fuels and obtain local weather neutrality by mid-century.

However the strategy proposed by Brussels, wherein member states will successfully hand-pick some industries to the detriment of others, has fuelled accusations of protectionism and dirigisme, two ideologies that run counter to the free-market rules the EU has lengthy defended.

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Frans Timmermans, the European Fee’s vice-president in control of the Inexperienced Deal, dismissed such accusations and in addition rejected comparisons with China, the place the Communist Get together shapes the financial system and units progress targets via five-year plans.

“The one mistake I believe we have made, and the one mistake that will be old style in trade politics could be to don’t have any trade politics. And that is what we had for too lengthy in Europe, considering that the market would maintain all the pieces itself,” Timmermans instructed reporters.

“So this what we’re doing is forward-looking, not old style. It is what you could do whenever you’re in the midst of an industrial revolution.”

Though the technique doesn’t embody nuclear power underneath the listing of “strategic initiatives,” it does say that “superior applied sciences to provide power from nuclear processes with minimal waste” and “small modular reactors” might be supported by nationwide governments.

The function of nuclear within the EU’s inexperienced transition has been the topic of monumental controversy and has divided member states into seemingly irreconcilable pro- and anti-nuclear factions.

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Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the interior market, who hails from France, mentioned it was the time to “transcend ideologies” and “relaunch” Europe’s nuclear sector.

“The information is there. With out nuclear, there isn’t a strategic autonomy and no contribution to local weather efforts,” Breton mentioned. “It’s also, let’s face it, a know-how wherein the danger of lack of know-how is actual.”

The draft plans are intricate and symbolize a quantum leap for the European Fee, which for many years struggled to provide you with a long-term industrial coverage, an space the place it has restricted competences and that has historically been the area of member states.

The “Web-Zero Trade Act” can be up for a primary trade of views when EU leaders meet in Brussels subsequent week for a two-day summit. After that, the texts that enshrine the manufacturing targets in legislation can be negotiated by the EU Council and the European Parliament earlier than getting into into drive.

For Domien Vangenechten, a senior coverage advisor on the E3G assume tank, the Fee’s proposal has a stronger industrial, quite than inexperienced, flavour to it.

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“It reads extra like competitors coverage or an financial coverage,” Vangenechten instructed Euronews.

“Clearly, it has a inexperienced ingredient to it. We’re speaking about manufacturing capability for these applied sciences which are essential for the net-zero transition. I am lacking form of the following step”.

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Justin Baldoni Sued by Former Publicist Amid Blake Lively Scandal

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Justin Baldoni Sued by Former Publicist Amid Blake Lively Scandal

Justin Baldoni‘s former publicist sued him, his company and his current publicity team on Tuesday, amid a spiraling scandal over an alleged smear campaign against Baldoni’s “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively.

Steph Jones, who owns Jonesworks, accused Baldoni of breaching their contract, which required him to pay her $25,000 per month. Baldoni dropped the firm in August, a few months into a year-long deal, after his Jonesworks publicist, Jennifer Abel, left the company to start her own publicity firm.

Jones also sued Abel and publicist Melissa Nathan, accusing them of implementing the smear campaign against Lively behind her back and without her knowledge. She alleges that they are now trying to blame her for the ensuing meltdown.

“To this day, Abel and Nathan continue to point the finger falsely at Jones now that their own misconduct is coming to light, and to defame and attack Jones in the industry,” the lawsuit states.

Lively filed a complaint on Saturday with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni and his publicists of orchestrating negative coverage about her in retaliation for her complaints of sexual harassment on set.

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In the complaint, Lively accused Baldoni of a catalog of sexually inappropriate comments and behavior that allegedly took place on set in 2023. According to the complaint, she raised these issues through her attorneys before filming, which had been suspended during the Hollywood strikes, resumed earlier this year.

The rift between Baldoni and Lively became apparent during the publicity tour for the film last summer. Baldoni feared that Lively or her team would public accuse him of sexual misconduct, and sought ways to combat that. The complaint quoted extensively from text messages among Baldoni’s publicity team, in which they plotted to “bury” Lively.

In an unusual move, Lively’s attorneys obtained the messages by sending a pre-litigation subpoena to Jones.

Abel, Nathan, and Baldoni are represented by attorney Bryan Freedman. On Monday, Freedman threatened to sue Jones for releasing the contents of Abel’s phone to Lively’s legal team. Freedman, Abel and Nathan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jones’ suit.

In her lawsuit, Jones relates that she “forensically preserved” Abel’s company phone after Abel was fired.

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“Abel and Nathan’s covert take down and smear campaigns were revealed in black and white on Abel’s company-issued phone following her termination, which Jonesworks forensically preserved and examined in detail after receiving a subpoena for the phone’s contents,” Jones’ suit states. “Jones discovered the breadth and intensity of Abel and Nathan’s duplicity from these records, including that Abel was actively encouraging other Jonesworks clients and employees to leave Jonesworks while Abel was still employed there.”

Jones’ suit alleges that Abel conspired for months to leave her company and to “steal” her clients and trash her reputation in the industry. She accuses Nathan of encouraging Abel to leave, because Nathan would then have greater access to those clients.

“This scheme ultimately inflicted serious damage on Jones and Jonesworks,” states the lawsuit, which was filed in state court in New York.

Among other things, the suit alleges that Abel and Nathan planted negative stories about Jones in the press, including an article in Business Insider that was published last summer.

The suit alleges breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty and defamation.

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Police officer dressed as the 'Grinch' steals Christmas spirit during drug bust

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Police officer dressed as the 'Grinch' steals Christmas spirit during drug bust

A Peruvian police officer dressed as the Grinch, the cantankerous and green-furred villain, busted suspected drug traffickers in the South American country’s capital days before Christmas. 

The operation in San Bartolo in Lima resulted in the arrest of three suspects, according to a video posted online by the Peruvian National Police. 

“In an ingenious operation, agents of the Green Squad arrested the aliases La Reina del Sur, La Coneja and Pote, alleged members of the La Mafia de San Bartolo gang, dedicated to drug dealing,” a police post on X states. “Various narcotics were seized.”

FLORIDA MAN WHO WAS HALF-NAKED, ‘HIGH ON METH’ BREAKS INTO HOME, GRABS CARPET CLEANER

The “Grinch” posing with suspected drug traffickers. A Peruvian police officer dressed as the Christmas villain helped bust the alleged traffickers.  (Peru National Police)

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Using what appeared to be a sledgehammer, the officer walked down the street dressed as the infamous Christmas villain with a small heart before breaking down the front door of a home and entering, according to the video footage. 

The suspects were arrested, and the “Grinch” is seen rummaging through various items in the home before finding what authorities said were illegal drugs and other items related to drug trafficking.

MORE THAN $31M OF METH CONCEALED IN SHIPMENT OF PEPPERS SEIZED AT TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER

The Grinch with a hammer

A Peruvian police officer dressed as the “Grinch” on his way to bust suspected drug traffickers.  (Peru National Police )

Peru is the second-largest producer of cocaine and cultivator of coca in the world, according to the State Department. 

“The majority of cocaine produced in Peru is transported to South American countries for domestic consumption, or for onward shipment to Europe, the United States, East Asia, and Mexico,” the State Department website said. 

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Peru’s national police force has carried out similar operations in the past. 

The "Grinch" busting down a door

The “Grinch” busting down a door (Peru National Police)

On Halloween 2023, officers disguised as horror favorites Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Tiffany Valentine, the murderous doll in the “Child’s Play” series, also broke into the home of alleged drug dealers. 

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Are your Christmas gifts ready? Here are where EU toys come from

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Are your Christmas gifts ready? Here are where EU toys come from

While the EU saw a drop in toy exports, China was the EU’s biggest supplier, providing 80% of these imports, valued at €5.2 billion.

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In 2023, the EU imported €6.5 billion worth of toys from countries outside the bloc, a €2 billion decrease compared to 2022. 

According to the latest Eurostat figures, China was the EU’s biggest supplier, providing 80% of these imports, valued at €5.2 billion. 

Vietnam followed with 6% and the United Kingdom with 2%. 

Around a fifth of the EU’s toy imports ended up in Germany, while France and the Netherlands received 16% and 14%, respectively. 

At the same time, the EU exported €2.3 billion worth of toys in 2023.  

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This figure represents a slight decrease of €0.2 billion from the previous year. 

More than half of the toys exported from the EU came from the Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium. 

The UK was the top destination for EU toy exports, receiving 30% of the total, followed by Switzerland at 13% and the United States at 10%. 

Concerns over toy safety

A recent Toy Industries of Europe study revealed that 80% of toys purchased from third-party sellers on online marketplaces failed to meet EU safety standards.

The research tested over 100 toys from various platforms, uncovering serious health risks such as choking hazards and toxic chemicals.

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At the beginning of September, the European Parliament backed a proposal to improve the safety of toys available on the EU market.

The proposal focused particularly on decreasing the number of unsafe toys in the EU market and better protecting children from toy-related risks, including banning harmful chemicals in toys.

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