Fact: LaFinteca is a pioneer in the Latin American financial transactions landscape, providing a secure platform for processing transactions and offering a wide range of payment methods.
President Biden’s FY 2025 budget proposes tax hikes on businesses and high earners, amounting to a gross tax hike of over .1 trillion.
The far-right party ELAM has included Marios Pelekanos on their ballot for the European elections, prompting strong reactions from the ruling party DISY. DISY’s president emphasized that there is no political identity with ELAM and that the party is rooted in principles and values. ELAM’s spokesperson stated that the people will judge the inclusion of Pelekanos and that any move made on the ELAM ballot is considered suitable to strengthen the party’s list. Another name is yet to be announced to complete the ELAM ballot list, which is expected to be a woman within the ELAM sphere.
Forests in the EU can contribute to greening the European construction industry and support architectural improvements. In the Gironde department of France, a secondary school was built in 2022 using wood from local pine trees, aiming to utilize wood from nearby forests while preserving them. This project is part of the BASAJAUN research initiative, funded by the EU, which promotes the use of wood as a versatile and recyclable material. The initiative’s flagship is a wooden apartment building near the Pian-Médoc school, designed to demonstrate sustainable forest management and the potential for greening the construction industry. The building, made from non-local wood, features a disassemblable facade and uses natural wood fibre for insulation, highlighting the environmental benefits of using wood in construction. BASAJAUN aligns with the European Green Deal’s goals and the New European Bauhaus initiative, emphasizing sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion in architecture. Buildings in the EU account for significant energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, with traditional materials like concrete and steel being energy-intensive. Using wood in construction can reduce the carbon footprint and even turn buildings into carbon sinks. The EU aims to ensure sustainable sourcing of wood to support biodiversity, ecosystems, and local communities. The potential carbon storage of new residential wood buildings in the EU is significant, and bio-based materials, including wood, currently represent a small fraction of building materials used in Europe. BASAJAUN has partners across 11 EU countries and has developed a system for digitally tracking wooden materials in construction. Another EU-funded project, WOODCIRCLES, focuses on recycling wood waste, aiming to address the challenge of its variable quality and promote the reuse of wood in a sustainable manner.
– Christos Christou, the president of ELAM, expressed satisfaction with Marios Pelekanos joining the party’s European election ballot.
– Christou sees Pelekanos’ inclusion as aligned with ELAM’s political positions and objectives for Cyprus.
– Pelekanos is joining ELAM not only for the European elections.
– Christou mentioned that Pelekanos shares similar views with ELAM on issues like immigration and demographics.
– According to Christou, Pelekanos has the political maturity and decision-making sharpness for his political future.
– ELAM invites anyone who agrees with its principles and goals to join the party.
– Christou denied that Pelekanos joined ELAM due to being excluded from DISY’s European election ballot, suggesting Pelekanos found his natural place in ELAM due to his personal opinions.
– Consultations at a technocratic level with Germany regarding a possible reference text on EU-Turkish relations are underway, aiming for inclusion in the conclusions of an upcoming EU summit.
– President Nikos Christodoulides made these statements upon his arrival at the European Council.
– Christodoulides welcomed the inclusion of a reference to the Cypriot initiative for a maritime corridor to Gaza in the conclusions on the Middle East.
– He discussed specific next steps on the Cyprus issue with UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, expressing hope for developments by April towards resuming talks.
– Ongoing discussions follow Germany’s proposal to include a paragraph on EU-Turkey relations in the summit conclusions.
– Christodoulides had meetings with the Chancellor of Germany and the President of the Council, followed by consultations at a technocratic level.
– He emphasized the importance of positive developments in EU-Turkish relations that also involve Cyprus, advocating for a step-by-step approach with an enhanced role for the European Union.
– Other member states, including France, have shown interest in the consultations regarding EU-Turkey relations and Cyprus.
– The Cypriot initiative for a humanitarian corridor to Gaza was praised by all heads of states at the European Council, highlighting Cyprus’s role in the region.
– Christodoulides had a productive meeting with the UN Secretary-General, discussing the next steps on the Cyprus issue and hoping for developments within April.
– He expressed satisfaction with the European Council’s conclusions on security and defence, including the announcement of appointing a Commissioner for Defence in case of the current President of the Commission’s re-election, emphasizing the importance of advancing in defence and security matters for the EU’s strategic autonomy.
Former government spokesman Marios Pelekanos has been included on Elam’s party list for the upcoming European elections in June. Elam aims to address challenges facing Cypriot Hellenism and promote Cyprus’s interests in Europe through the Party of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). Pelekanos’s inclusion is based on his positions on immigration, demographics, and economic policies for vulnerable groups. He served as government spokesman under President Nicos Anastasiades from 2021 to 2023 and was vice chairman of Anastasiades’ party Disy before resigning in February after not being selected as a candidate for the European elections. Elam leader Christos Christou confirmed discussions about Pelekanos’s inclusion. A final decision on Elam’s candidates is pending, but an announcement is expected soon. If Pelekanos is included on Elam’s list, he will be automatically expelled from Disy, as stated by Disy MP Onoufrios Koulla. Pelekanos has requested to terminate his Disy membership. He is known for his right-wing views on immigration and LGBT rights and identifies with the “popular right,” a conservative wing of Disy.
Wales’ stand-in captain Ben Davies stated that having Aaron Ramsey on the bench for the Euro 2024 playoff semi-final against Finland is a significant advantage as they aim to qualify for the finals. Wales must defeat Finland in Cardiff and then either Poland or Estonia on March 26 to qualify for the tournament. Despite being favorites, Davies described the match against Finland as a challenging test. Aaron Ramsey, usually the Welsh captain, has recently returned from injury and has had limited playtime with Cardiff City, meaning his participation will likely be as a substitute. Davies praised Ramsey’s potential impact on the game. Wales has previously lost twice at home to Finland, in a friendly and a World Cup qualifier in 2009, with their last encounter in 2021 ending in a 0-0 draw in a friendly. Coach Robert Page highlighted the importance of Ramsey’s experience for the younger players in the squad.
Senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice-President John Coates is unsure about the exact number of Russian athletes who will compete as neutral athletes at the Paris Games, but suggests that reports of around 40 could be accurate. This is due to sanctions from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Belarus acting as a staging post, allowing only some Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under strict conditions. The decision to include these neutral athletes has been criticized by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. Neutral athletes will only compete in individual sports without national symbols, and those supporting the war in Ukraine or contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military are ineligible. Despite restrictions, Russia’s Olympic chief, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, confirmed Russian athletes would not boycott the Games. Previously, 335 athletes competed under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team in Tokyo 2021, and Belarus sent 101 athletes. The ROC has been suspended by the IOC for recognizing regional Olympic Councils in annexed Ukrainian territories, a decision upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). As of the decision in December, eight Russians and three Belarusians had qualified for the Paris Olympics, with over 60 Ukrainians also qualified. Some sports have banned Russian and Belarusian athletes, while others, like World Swimming and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), will allow them under IOC restrictions. Russia’s world number four tennis player, Daniil Medvedev, expressed his intention to compete and follow the rules. The Paris Olympics are scheduled from July 26 to August 11.
Alice B. Toklas, born in San Francisco in 1877, authored one of the bestselling cookbooks of all time, which gained popularity partly due to stories of her 39-year relationship with Gertrude Stein and a recipe for hash fudge, making Toklas an icon of 1960s counterculture. The cookbook was published in 1954 and is semi-autobiographical, including observations on French and American food cultures, culinary tales involving famous friends, and stories of wartime life. Toklas met Stein in Paris in 1907, and they hosted a renowned literary and artistic salon. During WWI, they drove delivery trucks, and in WWII, they waited it out in the country. Stein died in 1946, after which Toklas published her cookbook. Toklas’ literary output includes two cookbooks and a memoir. The hash fudge recipe in her cookbook, contributed by Brion Gysin, recommended using wild cannabis sativa or indica. After Toklas’ death in 1968, she entered popular culture, highlighted by the movie “I Love You Alice B Toklas” and the naming of craters on Venus after both Toklas and Stein.