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High cigarette prices are boosting black market purchases by French smokers ill-informed about safer alternatives.

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

A survey of 1,000 adults in France and has revealed that French citizens recognise the illicit tobacco trade as a threat to their security, safety and public health, even if they are not aware of its true size and of the real cost to state revenue. The findings were presented earlier this month in Paris by William Stewart, president of the global research firm Povaddo, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.In recent years, the price of a packet of cigarettes in France has risen dramatically, to more than €10, due to tobacco tax increases. At the same time, there has been a worrying increase in smokers turning to illicit cigarettes, now estimated at 29% of total consumption in France.The Povaddo survey covered 1,000 adults in each of 13 EU countries but the presentation focused on the results for France, which has by far the largest illicit cigarette trade in Europe, accounting for more than 15 billion cigarettes every year. The long term decline in the number of French smokers appears...

GroveToken’s John on the Future of Bitcoin, Blockchain, and the Metaverse

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

What do you think about the future of Bitcoin and the whole crypto industry?This is the most difficult question right now. Well, I see Bitcoin as one of the most traded coins, and the whole cryptocurrency space has a promising future. I believe the future of cryptocurrencies is in tokens or coins as utilities and decentralized applications (dApps). I do believe Bitcoin will remain significant, but I’m not very sure about its price perspective because people are getting smarter and want to invest in something that will yield returns.Tell me more about the use case of your company.Well, we have a token, which is now a coin, called Grove Coin or Grove Stocks. A year ago, we were up 2,400% year-to-date. Imagine, in such a volatile market and uncharted waters, we managed to stay up and remain strong. Grove has a unique concept: it combines virtual currency with real business investment, making it one of a kind in the world.What we do is take the net profit from our businesses and reinves...

Word Game: April 14, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — SCATHED (SCATHED: SKATHE-‘d: Scorched; seared.)Average mark 28 wordsTime limit 45 minutesCan you find 39 or more words in SCATHED? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — PRESTO pert peso pest pesto poet pore port pose poser post poster prose prost rest rope rose rote epos sept sore sort spore sport spot step stop store strep strop tope toper tore tropeTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe at [email protected].

Ask Amy: My co-workers hurt my feelings. How much notice do I have to give that I’m leaving?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

Dear Amy: I have worked for the same company for more than 30 years, and I am ready to retire in a few months. They have no idea that I am contemplating retirement.What would be an acceptable length of notice to provide them? Is it just like getting a new job and providing the standard two- or three-week notice, or should I provide them more notice since it is a retirement?I should note that when others in the organization have hit the 25- and 30-year work anniversaries, there were parties, speeches and gifts. I suspect these same employees received certain benefits I have not been given.When I hit my 25- and 30-year work anniversaries, there was nothing. No one in the organization acknowledged it. I said nothing, but it really hurt my feelings.I have received perfect performance reviews for the last 10 years, so I know they are happy with my work.Do I owe them more than a two-week notice?Ready to GoDear Ready to Go: My research on this topic indicates that when it comes to retireme...

Harriette Cole: Do I have to reveal my history with my friend’s new crush?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I was out at a bar with a girlfriend of mine when we ran into a man I used to casually date.She couldn’t stop talking about how handsome he was, and she even asked me to set them up. I didn’t mention that we have a romantic history because it didn’t seem worth mentioning at the time. We weren’t serious at all. He and I don’t even speak anymore unless we run into each other somewhere.Is it important to tell my friend about our history before I introduce them? She probably wouldn’t be interested if she knew we used to see each other, but I don’t want her to pass without giving him a chance. He was a nice guy, and they might really get along — he just wasn’t right for me.What do you suggest I do?Brief HistoryRelated ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: It didn’t end well with this co-worker, and now she’s back Advice | Harriette Cole: My son won’t come out of his room, and I&#...

End of an era: Amazon’s ‘Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ and HBO’s ‘Barry’ return for final seasons this weekend

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews 'Mrs. Maisel' & 'Barry' (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); }); }); Grab your popcorn — this weekend marks the double end of an era for two of the biggest dramedies on television.Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” returns for its fifth and final season on Friday, while HBO’s “Barry” returns for its fourth and final season on Sunday, building ...

El líder tibetano defiende al dalái lama después de que le pidiera a niño que le “chupe” la lengua

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

(CNN) — El jefe del gobierno tibetano en exilio defendió al dalái lama tras conocerse un vídeo en el que el líder espiritual besa a un niño en los labios y luego le pide que “chupe” su lengua.Las acciones del dalái lama fueron “inocentes” y malinterpretadas, dijo Penpa Tsering a periodistas en un evento en la capital india, Nueva Delhi, este jueves, y agregó que la controversia sobre el video había “dañado” a los seguidores del líder.“Su santidad siempre ha vivido en santidad, (siguiendo la vida de) un monje budista, incluido el celibato. Sus años de práctica espiritual han ido más allá de los placeres sensoriales”, dijo Tsering. “Su santidad ahora está siendo etiquetada con todo tipo de nombres”.En un comunicado este lunes, el dalái lama, premio Nobel de la paz, se disculpó después de que un video de su intercambio con el niño se volviera viral en las redes sociales y provocó una ola de críticas internacionales, incluidas acusaciones de abuso infantil.Tsering afirmó que...

‘The fight continues’: Qatargate suspect Eva Kaili moves to house arrest

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

BRUSSELS — Eva Kaili is back home — for now. On Friday, Kaili, one of the main suspects in a cash-for-influence corruption probe at the European Parliament, was released from jail to house arrest pending a trial.The Greek EU lawmaker had been locked up since last December, when she became one of the first people arrested and charged with corruption in a sprawling investigation into whether foreign countries, including Qatar and Morocco, were bribing EU lawmakers.Kaili, a celebrity politician back home, managed to evade the cameras Friday morning as she left the Haren prison in the north of Brussels and entered a waiting black Mercedes with tinted windows. The car then ferried her home for the first time in four months. She arrived at around 11 a.m. at her apartment on Rue Wiertz, bringing her within about 100 meters of the European Parliament’s main buildings — the institution she stands accused of helping corrupt. Kaili has maintained her innocence throughout. ...

‘Keep your head down’ — Americans in Russia tread carefully after arrest of US journalist

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

MOSCOW — If Americans in Russia were worried before, they now have an extra reason to be concerned. The arrest of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has sent ripples of alarm through the community of American journalists in Russia, leaving many in the country wondering who, if anyone, might be next. Gershkovich was seized by FSB security service officers in late March while on assignment in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. He now faces a 20-year prison sentence for espionage. The U.S. government says he has been “wrongfully detained.” Though the Kremlin insists that he was “caught red-handed” violating Russian law, the arrest has widely been interpreted as a warning signal to either foreign journalists, or Americans — or both.  Most of Gershkovich’s American colleagues, who had continued to report from Russia despite military censorship laws, have now been sent scrambling.   “Many Western news agencies that posted...

Shutting down, but not shutting up: Germany’s nuclear debate rages on 

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

The shutdown of Germany’s last nuclear power stations may be imminent, but its critics aren’t about to shut up. On Saturday, the final three plants will be taken offline, marking the end of atomic energy in the country and a major victory for anti-nuclear activists, who have spent decades fighting for this moment. But with the clock running down, criticism of the phaseout has only grown louder. For opponents, the switch-off is nothing short of lunacy — running counter to Europe’s efforts to swap fossil fuels for cleaner alternatives and diversify its energy supply.The nuclear exit “is a black day for climate protection in Germany,” Jens Spahn, deputy parliamentary leader of the Christian Democrat (CDU) opposition, said this week. The issue also splits the governing coalition in Berlin, with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) calling for the nuclear plants to be kept on standby at the very least. “Shutting down the world’s most modern and safest nucl...