Author: i2wtc
Friedrich Merz, Union candidate for chancellor and CDU federal chairman, joins the “Quadrell” TV round in the Bundestag election campaign.Michael Kappeler | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesFriedrich Merz, migration hard-liner and longtime rival of Angela Merkel, is expected to become Germany’s next chancellor. His party the Christian Democratic Union is leading polls alongside its affiliate the Christian Social Union just days before the election.Back in September, Merz was elected as the CDU party’s designated candidate for chancellor in this year’s federal elections, after leading the organization and heading the opposition CDU-CSU parliamentary group since 2022. The CSU is a regional…
Montreal, Canada – Palestinian families are suing the Canadian government over delays in the issuance of visas meant to allow them to escape Israel’s deadly war in Gaza and receive temporary protection in Canada. Filed in the Federal Court of Canada this month, on behalf of 53 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with family members in Canada, the lawsuit alleges that the country’s special visa programme has been plagued by inefficiencies. Hana Marku, a Toronto lawyer representing the families, said all of her clients submitted a form expressing interest in the visas within the first month of the scheme’s launch…
Boeing 737s on the ground in Renton, Washington.Leslie Josephs | CNBCPresident Donald Trump expressed frustration in recent days about the long wait for a pair of Boeing 747s that will serve as the new Air Force One planes.The jets are years behind schedule. Trump negotiated the $4 billion contract for the aircraft during his first term, and it isn’t clear whether they’ll be ready during his current one. Cost overruns have totaled more than $2 billion to date.Trump advisor Elon Musk is working with Boeing in hopes of delivering the aircraft faster, the manufacturer’s chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, reiterated on…
The multibillion-dollar global film industry is at the advent of another technological revolution, set to make movie-making easier than ever before.One innovator in the space is prestigious camera and production supplies company, ARRI, which opened a groundbreaking stage just outside London in 2021. The stage features a 30-meter wide, 16K resolution screen.”It replaces the need to work within green screen, so the actors love the environment. They’re interacting with what they’re seeing around them,” ARRI production specialist Robert Payton told CNBC’s Converge.ARRI partnered with live events operations company, Creative Technology, to meet the growing demand for virtual production facilities.”We’re a…
Pakistan’s Champions Trophy hopes hit by news that injured batter Fakhar Zaman will miss remainder of the tournament.Hosts Pakistan have suffered a serious blow to their Champions Trophy hopes with opener Fakhar Zaman being ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with an injury before their crunch clash with archrivals India. The 34-year-old left-handed batsman was replaced by Imam-ul-Haq, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday. Zaman sprained a chest muscle while fielding at the start of Pakistan’s game against New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday, which the hosts lost by 60 runs. He could not open the…
Lu Lihua prepares to perform Yizu Tiaocai, a traditional dance of the Yi ethnic group, at Yongzheng Village of Baohua Town in Nanjian Yi Autonomous County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Feb. 7, 2025. Lu Lihua, a deputy to the National People’s Congress, is a provincial representative inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage Yizu Dage, a traditional folk art of the Yi ethnic group. She is also a member of ethnic culture promotion team of Nanjian Yi Autonomous County. As an art worker who has been working in countryside, she is committed to help revitalize countryside while promoting the protection and inheritance…
Listen to article The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, has approved several critical economic decisions, including tax exemptions for the International Cricket Council (ICC) concerning the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. One of the key decisions made in the meeting was the approval of a tax exemption for the ICC on its income related to the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. This exemption is in line with international practices for hosting global sports events, and no tax or deductions will be imposed on the ICC’s income, subsidiaries, and affiliated entities as per the agreement between ICC and Pakistan.…
When Marco Rubio first launched his presidential campaign in 2015, the then-senator championed a tough stance on Russia and decried previous efforts by United States officials to reset and bolster ties with Moscow. Ten years later, Rubio – now America’s top diplomat – sat across from his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia this week in a bid to revive relations between Washington and Moscow. A foreign policy hawk who once called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “thug”, Rubio is now overseeing seismic shifts in the US approach to the world under President Donald Trump. Rubio is seen as…
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks during the New York Times DealBook Summit in the Appel Room at the Jazz At Lincoln Center in New York City on Nov. 30, 2022.Michael M. Santiago | Getty ImagesAmazon has dethroned Walmart in quarterly revenue for the first time ever.Amazon said earlier this month that it brought in $187.8 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter. That beat out Walmart’s sales for the period, which came in at $180.5 billion, the company reported on Thursday.Since 2012, Walmart has held the distinction of being the top revenue generator each quarter, a title it gained after…
A Spanish court on Thursday convicted and fined former football chief Luis Rubiales of sexual assault over the forced kiss he gave star forward Jenni Hermoso but acquitted him of the charge of coercion. Prosecutors had sought a prison term of two-and-a-half years for Rubiales — one year for sexual assault and 18 months for coercion — for having allegedly pressured the player to downplay the incident afterwards. The judge at Spain’s High Court found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault over the kiss and fined him €10,800 ($11,300), but spared him a prison sentence. Rubiales was also banned from getting…