Life & Style
EU inaugurates first mainland satellite launch port
2 minute read Friday, Jan. 13, 2023KIRUNA, Sweden (AP) — The European Union wants to bolster its capacity to launch small satellites into space with a new launchpad in Arctic Sweden.
European officials and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf inaugurated the EU's first mainland orbital launch complex on Friday during a visit to Sweden by members of the European Commission, which is the 27-nation bloc's executive arm.
The new facility at Esrange Space Center near the city of Kiruna should complement the EU’s current launching capabilities in French Guiana.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said small satellites are crucial to tracking natural disasters in real time and, in the light of Russia's war in Ukraine, to help guarantee global security.
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Poland lawmakers back law intended to release EU funds
3 minute read Friday, Jan. 13, 2023WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s legislators voted Friday to approve a new law on judicial accountability that the government hopes will meet European Union expectations and help unfreeze billions of euros in pandemic recovery funds for the country.
Brussels suspended the aid for Poland, saying the government's policies of exerting control over the judiciary are in violation of democratic principles. The EU has called for essential changes to be made before Poland can be granted access to the money.
The right-wing coalition government says that the provisions of the new law have been agreed on with Brussels and should lead to the release of more than 35 billion euros ($37 billion) of EU grants and loans. Some previous changes made by Poland didn't go far enough for the EU.
But the justice minister, who introduced the measures to wield political control over the judiciary, opposes the changes, threatening the government's future, and President Andrzej Duda says he hasn't been consulted on the new law.
Sri Lanka church seeks criminal justice for Easter bombings
3 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 13, 2023Germany to scrap mask mandate in long-distance transport
2 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 13, 2023Vatican to hear from PR expert with grudge against cardinal
3 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 13, 2023Emergency departments are in a state of crisis, Halifax ER chief says
4 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 13, 2023Bizarre phrases riddle aid documents for Alaska Natives
6 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 13, 2023Tornado hits Selma, Alabama; 7 deaths reported across South
5 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 13, 2023Japan eyes delay of Fukushima plant water release
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023Toyota pushes zero-emission goals by converting old models
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023Designer Thom Browne bests Adidas in court battle of stripes
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023US nuclear agency falls short on scheduling, cost estimates
5 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023Toilet paper toxin found in endangered killer whales, say B.C. researchers
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023EXPLAINER: List of states banning TikTok grows
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023Appeals court rules against vaccine mandate in 3 states
2 minute read Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) — An appeals court has affirmed a ban in three states on enforcing a federal vaccine mandate for workers who contract with the federal government.
A panel of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Thursday affirmed a lower court's ruling that said the mandate was unconstitutional. President Joe Biden's administration is not enforcing the rule while legal battles play out around the country.
A federal judge in Louisville, Kentucky, blocked the Biden rule in November 2021 for that state and two others: Tennessee and Ohio. The mandate requires workers contracting with the federal government to wear face masks and be vaccinated for COVID-19.
The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a similar ruling in December for Indiana, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Wisconsin Republicans block ‘conversion therapy’ ban
5 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023LOAD MORE