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China ambassador seeks ‘rational’ relations, trade boost by ‘reserving differences’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:56 GMT

OTTAWA — China’s ambassador to Canada says Ottawa’s allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections are hurting economic ties — but he insists his country isn’t punishing Canada.His comments come after years of diplomatic strain between the two countries.Beijing detained Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig from late 2018 until fall 2021.China meanwhile imposed multi-year bans on Canadian imports of meat and canola. And a year after the Canadian government named China as a disruptive global force and declared Beijing as responsible for attempts at foreign interference, the Chinese government left Canada out as it loosened restrictions on group travel. Analysts argue those moves amount to economic coercion aimed at changing Canadian policies. But Chinese ambassador Cong Peiwu doesn’t see things that way — and the head of a prominent business group that advocates for deepening trade ties argues it’s time for a rethink.“China...

Ask Amy: Uninvited guest now feels disinvited

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:56 GMT

Dear Amy: I’d like your input regarding a family drama.My sister and I have not been speaking to each other for quite a while.My niece (her daughter) is getting married, and I reached out to this niece, saying that if it would cause unhappiness between her and her mother by inviting me to the wedding, I would understand if she chose not to issue the invitation to me.Well, I just found out from family members that I am not being invited, however my niece didn’t call and let me know.I am hurt that she didn’t take the time to let me know that I would not be invited to her wedding.We have had a good relationship up until now.My dilemma is that I am inclined not to send a gift for a wedding that I wasn’t invited to nor called about. What are your thoughts?— Feeling Hurt in the SouthDear Feeling Hurt: Let’s recap.You anticipated this issue by graciously letting your niece know that if it would cause problems for her or her mother to invite you to her wedding, you w...

Lack of enough disclosures alarms homebuyer under contract

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:56 GMT

Question: We just bought a Bay Area house. It sits on an oversized lot. Lush foliage fills the grounds. My father-in-law was not impressed. He asked about the water bill. He made a good point. Drought and water rationing are part of California living. The cost of keeping the grounds could be a budget buster.Recently, we requested the water bill. The seller’s agent did not respond. We found this odd. Later, we drove by the house. A neighbor was watering an equally large lot. We stopped and introduced ourselves. We learned that the neighborhood has city water pipes. That made sense. But the neighbor told us there is well water. Nearby homes have a well-water pipe to an underground spring dating back to the 1940s and 1950s. Then he added, “We are not supposed to use it.”You often write about presale inspection disclosure packages, especially on the San Francisco Peninsula. The disclosures are sparse. My father-in-law noted no mention of a well — or well water. We are wondering what els...

Paul: It’s not kids with the cellphone problem. It’s parents.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:56 GMT

The hardest rule I ever set for my kids was refusing them cellphones until high school.I’d seen the research on the doleful effects of social media, screens and surveillance parenting on kids’ mental, physical and cognitive well-being. If it turns out that the data is wrong, I figured, they will have survived a mild deprivation in their relatively privileged lives and provided fodder for a future therapist’s couch.“How did you manage?!” other parents asked, and I knew exactly what they meant. Much as parents don’t want to admit it, we need — or it feels like we need — our kids to have a phone.They’ll be safer walking to school, we tell ourselves — fully aware that should they be hit by a car or snatched away, they won’t be texting Mom about the situation. Even in a school shooting, cellphones have as much potential for danger as they do for safety.We tell ourselves the phone will give our kids a sense of independence, even though phone trackers let us know exactly ...

Opinion: Why middle class is not buying electric vehicles fast enough

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:56 GMT

Automakers are now learning an important lesson: Not all car buyers are wealthy environmentalists.This should be obvious but apparently isn’t, which is why the auto industry is now wringing its hands over electric vehicle sales problems. General Motors, Ford, Mercedes, Nissan, Toyota and even Tesla have raised red flags about slowing demand. GM scaled back plans for 2024 and said it would delay the opening of a new electric truck factory. Ford is considering cutting shifts at its F-150 Lightning plant. Nissan is transferring more resources to hybrids rather than EVs. Mercedes has described the EV market as “ brutal.” And Toyota’s chairman, Akio Toyoda, said last month that “people are finally seeing the reality” of EVs.The problem, it seems, is that the so-called next wave of EV buyers isn’t cooperating. The EV is not trickling down. At least not for those prospective buyers.But this should have been obvious. It certainly was for Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, founders of Tesl...

Ante el último debate presidencial en Argentina, ¿puede cambiar la decisión de un votante?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:56 GMT

(CNN Español) — Una semana antes de que los argentinos definan a su futuro presidente, el domingo será el tercer y último debate presidencial de estas elecciones. Esta vez solo con los candidatos que compiten en el balotaje: Sergio Massa y Javier Milei. ¿Podrá este cruce cambiar la decisión de los votantes?“Cambiar en forma masiva las preferencias de los electores a partir de un debate presidencial parece poco probable. Hay estudios que confirman el cambio de voto luego de un debate presidencial, pero en una magnitud relativamente pequeña”, explican Julia Pomares y Santiago Lacroix en un informe del Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC), a propósito de los debates de 2019. Agregan que “los debates también sirven para reafirmar a los ya decididos”.Sus afirmaciones se basan en un estudio sobre cuatro elecciones presidenciales en Estados Unidos donde “se demostró que un 14% de quienes vieron el debat...

OPINIÓN | ¿Por qué nos fascinan tanto las celebridades?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:56 GMT

Nota del editor: Mari Rodríguez Ichaso ha sido colaboradora de la revista Vanidades durante varias décadas. Es especialista en moda, viajes, gastronomía, arte, arquitectura y entretenimiento, productora de cine y columnista de estilo de CNN en Español. Las opiniones expresadas en esta columna son exclusivamente suyas.(CNN Español) –– ¿Por qué esta obsesión con saber todo sobre los famosos es cada día más intensa y casi preocupante? ¿Por qué una estrella como Maluma recientemente ha tenido que dar un manotazo a un “fan” que le agarró un brazo con fuerza mientras caminaba por las calles de Nueva York? ¡Porque esto, señores, se está pasando de rosca!Este fenómeno, de ser algo amable y entusiasta, puede llegar a convertirse en acosos y obsesiones violentas. Ejemplos son aquel terrible asesinato en marzo de 1995 de la joven cantante Selena a manos de la expresidenta de su club de fans. ¡El mundo no podía creer lo sucedido! También el momento en el que ––hace 30 años–– la famosa tenista M...

Macron: Meta, Google ‘simply don’t deliver’ on handling of hate speech

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:56 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron criticized big tech companies’ handling of hate speech on their platforms. In an interview with the BBC, Macron took on Meta and Google specifically, saying that they “simply don’t deliver” on their engagements around content moderation on their platforms. Macron made the remarks in the wake of the Christchurch Call Summit, an initiative involving world leaders and tech companies that was launched after the online live-streaming of a terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019. The aim is to stop the spread of terrorist and violent content online. Meta and Google didn’t send representatives to Friday’s Christchurch Call gathering in Paris, which Macron said shows that “they don’t want to play anymore.” Other companies, such as X, Amazon, Microsoft and OpenAI had representatives there. Many platforms also don’t have sufficient moderators capable of handling the French langua...

Chilled sunshine this weekend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:56 GMT

Good morning, and welcome to the weekend! A special thank you to all our veterans for your service. You’ll want to bundle up for any parades this morning. It’s chilly. Temperatures stay below average this afternoon in the upper 40s. A northwest breeze will bring an added chill. Luckily, we’ll see a lot of sunshine.It’ll be cold tonight with most of us dropping into the mid/upper 20s. Clouds will keep temperatures higher on the Cape.Temperatures will be cooler tomorrow in the low/mid 40s. There will be less wind and still a lot of sunshine.We’re mainly dry next week. We’ll watch a disturbance late Monday into Tuesday that could bring some sprinkles and flurries to the region. Temperatures rebound by Thursday and Friday near 60.-Meteorologist Melanie Black

Callahan: Bill Belichick, Patriots finding joy in Germany amid lost season

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:56 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany — Bill Belichick sauntered into a packed press conference Friday on little sleep, with dozens of eager reporters spread over six rows of chairs and close to 20 cameras armed and ready at the back.The Patriots had landed hours earlier on a redeye from the U.S. Belichick took his seat behind a microphone on a small stage and stared down at a reporter in the first row. He was puzzled.“Pretzels for lunch?” Belichick asked. “Seriously?”Then, he beamed. He joked. He laughed.Belichick fielded questions and supplied thoughtful answers for nearly 20 minutes, even if those answers meandered to the same dead ends they usually do. At the end, he even apologized for a lackluster response.Twice! Belichick smiled again. And he wasn’t alone.After their practice Friday at the DFB campus, home to the German National Soccer Team, six Patriots players spoke in the same media room that briefly housed an unusually loose Belichick. Maybe they were all punch...