Work four days a week, but get paid for five? It sounds too good to be true, but companies around the world that have cut their work week have found that it leads to higher productivity, more motivated staff and less burnout. «It is much healthier and we do a better job if we're not working crazy hours,» said Jan Schulz-Hofen, founder of Berlin-based project management software company Planio, who introduced a four-day week to the company's 10-member staff earlier this year. In New Zealand, trust company Perpetual Guardian reported a fall in stress and a jump in staff engagement after it tested a 32-hour week earlier this year. Even in Japan, the government is encouraging companies to allow Monday mornings off, although other schemes in the workaholic country to persuade employees to take it easy have had little effect. Britain's Trades Union Congress (TUC) is pushing for the whole country to move to a four-day week by the end of the century, a drive supported by the opposition Labour party. The TUC argues that a shorter week is a way for workers to share in the wealth generated by new technologies like machine learning and robotics, just as they won the right to the weekend off...

German and other European automakers warned on Tuesday that EU plans to slash carbon dioxide emissions from new cars and vans by 2030 are «totally unrealistic» without a network to recharge electric cars and more effort to retrain workers. European Union countries and the European Parliament agreed in principle on Monday to require new cars in 2030 to emit 37.5 percent less carbon dioxide on average compared to 2021 while van emissions will have to drop 31 percent. Ambassadors from EU countries are to expected to endorse the deal in Brussels on Wednesday -- a deal officials touted as advancing the bloc's efforts to meet commitments under the Paris climate accord. But carmakers in Europe, particularly in industry powerhouse Germany, complained the new curbs were not well thought through. «This new regulation demands too much and offers too little incentive,» said Bernhard Mattes, head of the German carmakers' federation VDA. With tougher measures than other parts of the world, he warned, «the European automobile industry will find itself heavily penalised in international competition.» Mattes argued that EU regulators failed to take into account market conditions, saying ordinary...

Two Spanish women who admitted to cultivating and importing cannabis to sustain their personal use of the drug, were each handed a suspended jail sentence during an arraignment which brought into contrast Maltese and Spanish law on the subject. Olga Moran Matia, 27, and Miriam Ruiz Itturbe, 31, both admitted to cultivating a cannabis plant, importing cannabis resin and cannabis possession. Prosecuting Inspector Frank Anthony Tabone explained how the women, who have been in Malta for the past year, were heavy cannabis users. A just-sprouted plant had been found at their home, together with some 19 grams of cannabis resin, one gram short of the 20 gram legal limit applicable back in their homeland. “In Spain they may keep up to 20 grams and cultivate up to two plants,” Inspector Tabone told the court, presided by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech. “However in Malta, even one plant is against the law.” He said the prosecution was not insisting on an effective jail term in this case. In the light of these circumstances, the court declared the accused guilty upon their own admission and handed each a one-year jail term suspended for two years. It also ordered the confiscation and...

Relations between Malta and Egypt were discussed on Tuesday when Prime Minister Joseph Muscat met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The two were attending the EU-Africa summit in Vienna. They also discussed the situation in the Mediterranean and in Libya.   Those present included Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela and Parliamentary Secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli.

Authorities in Genoa on Tuesday chose a design by Italy's most famous living architect Renzo Piano for a bridge to replace the Morandi overpass which collapsed in August, killing 43 people and injuring dozens. Piano, 81, who is originally from Genoa, had submitted a proposal in September for the new bridge. «This will last for a 1,000 years and will be built of steel,» he said then. It will «have elements of a boat because that is something from Genoa,» he explained, adding that it would be a streamlined and luminous white structure. «We have asked the architect Renzo Piano to oversee the project to ensure that the original idea is respected,» said Marco Bucci, the mayor of the northern port city. The contract was awarded to a consortium of three Italian construction companies, Salini Impregilo, Fincantieri and Italferr. Their proposal is based on an idea donated free of charge by Piano, whose notable works include the Pompidou Centre in Paris, along with British architect Richard Rogers, and the new Palais de Justice in the French capital. He also designed Malta's parliament building. The new bridge is estimated to cost 202 million euros.  

[ANGOP] Malanje -A 31 year-old man, who works for the Municipal Administration of Calandula, northern Malanje Province, has been detained by the Criminal Investigation Police (SIC) for posing as member of the police operation dubbed «Operation Retrieval» and, in that capacity, defrauded many illegal foreigners.

[Swenga] Kigali, Rwanda -In a country with an estimated population of 12 million people, with 50 percent of them being female and 60 per cent being 24-years and below; Rwanda has one of the youngest populations in the world.

[Norwegian Refugee Council] As the world turns its attention to the upcoming elections in Democratic Republic of the Congo this Sunday, the Norwegian Refugee Council cautions not to lose sight of the millions of Congolese men, women and children whose humanitarian needs have yet to be met.

Despite AI’s promise to help marketers reach consumers in ways that are better, faster and cheaper, executives can wind up wasting time and money when they actually try it.

Chinese cellular-technology giant Huawei is relying on a team of recently hired American lawyers to defend itself from an onslaught of accusations and restrictions emanating from Washington.

A Russian influence campaign used a range of social-media platforms to suppress African-American voter turnout and boost Trump, according to studies commissioned by the Senate.

The search giant is joining Amazon and Apple in growing outside the West Coast and has announced plans to lease a large office building in Manhattan’s West Village. Google also plans to invest $1 billion in the campus, which will also include two nearby buildings.

Elon Musk’s tunnel-digging venture, the Boring Co., is the latest to be drawn into the billionaire entrepreneur’s tradition of spreading overlapping resources across his growing technology empire. On Tuesday, the Tesla chief is set to unveil a test tunnel developed by the Boring Co., the first of what Mr. Musk imagines as a futuristic series of high-speed underground highways to alleviate traffic.

Около 700 человек также обратились к медикам за психологической помощью. Однако пострадавших может оказаться еще больше, поскольку некоторые из них приходят за помощью через несколько месяцев.

Талибы* готовы рассмотреть предложение американцев, но выдвинули ряд условий: освобождение из тюрем своих сторонников и определение даты вывода войск США с территории Афганистана.

Спасти пострадавшего Игоря Коцюрубу не удалось. Активист возглавлял движение "афганцев", а также принимал активное участие в революциях на Украине 1990 - 2014 годов. Полиция склоняется к версии о самоубийстве.

Об этом во вторник сообщило интернет-издание The Daily Beast со ссылкой на свои источники. Команда спецпрокурора готовит для суда документы, в которых, как ожидается, будут приводиться подробности обсуждений помощниками Трампа вопроса ослабления и ликвидации санкционного режима в отношении РФ.

Вице-президент США Майкл Пенс назвал создание Космических сил "началом новый эры обеспечения национальной безопасности Америки в космосе". Ранее руководство США объясняло решение превратить космос в очередной театр военных действий милитаризацией России и Китая.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) today moved an adjournment motion to abolish the executive presidency claiming that a majority of the people of the country were in favour of doing so.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya is expected to give a ruling on Friday on the appointment of a Select Committee to inquire whether the MPs including Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, who obtained Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna (SLPP) membership can remain in Parliament.

The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) today countered the argument raised by the government and TNA that newly-appointed Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajappaksa and the others who had obtained SLPP membership, said Mr. Rajapaksa could hold the post because the group he belongs to is the second largest in the House.

When Nuruddin Farah writes fiction about the ravages of terrorism, the details may be imaginary but the scars are real. The celebrated Somali novelist, a frequent contender for the Nobel Prize in literature, lost his sister Basra Farah Hassan in 2014. A nutritionist working for UNICEF, she was murdered, along with at least 20 others, when the Taliban bombed a restaurant in Kabul.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit had talks on Tuesday with Somali Finance Minister Abdirahman Duale Beileh on means of drumming up Arab support for Somalia.

The United States re-established permanent diplomatic presence in Mogadishu, Somalia on December 2, 2018. USAID also re-established presence.

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), one element of the ‘Juncker Plan’, was proposed in 2015 with the aim of covering part of the investment gap that occurred as a consequence of the global financial and European sovereign debt crises. In the absence of adequate public investment, the plan would mobilise private investment in specific areas through the use of first-loss guarantees provided from the EU budget. It was estimated that, through the provision of €21 billion in guarantees, a total investment of €315 billion would be generated by end-2017. Given its promising start as well as the broadly positive overall evaluations by the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and EY, it was soon decided to extend EFSI's duration and guarantees, allowing the fund to unlock additional investment of at least €500 billion by the end of 2020. EFSI – now called 'EFSI 2.0' – was also amended with a view to improving its governance and transparency. Four years after its inception, EFSI seems to be fulfilling its promise. Indeed, figures from October 2018 show €67.3 billion worth of approved EFSI financing, which is expected to mobilise €344.4 billion in investment. Furthermore, while the total funding generated will only be visible after a few more years have elapsed, the additionality and complementarity of the projects signed bode well. Nevertheless, the picture will be more complete after the end of the ongoing audit by the Court of Auditors. For the period of the next multiannual financial framework (2021-2027), EFSI 2.0 will be replaced by a yet broader programme, InvestEU (subject of a separate EPRS briefing), which is expected to generate an additional €650 billion over the period. Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

This briefing analyses the impact assessment accompanying the legislative proposal of the Commission to establish the European Maritime Single Window environment (EMSWe). The goal of the EMSWe is to decrease and harmonise throughout the EU, the reporting formalities and obligations of the maritime operators when calling at ports in the EU. The IA provides the overview of the main problems of the existing legislation and the policy options considered by the Commission to deal with them. Despite some minor inconsistencies, the IA provides a solid analysis of the current problems related to reporting obligations of ships when calling at a port. Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

The European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA) is responsible for the operational management of the three large-scale EU information systems: the Schengen Information System (SIS II), the Visa Information System (VIS), and Eurodac. The Commission proposed to strengthen the mandate of eu-LISA, as part of a broader set of measures aimed at addressing current migration and security challenges by making better use of information technologies. Adopted by parliament and Council in autumn 2018, the Agency’s new tasks, applicable from 11 December 2018, include ensuring interoperability of EU information systems, upgrade of existing and development of future systems and technical and operational support to Member States. Second edition of a briefing originally drafted by Costica Dumbrava. The ‘EU Legislation in Progress’ briefings are updated at key stages throughout the legislative procedure. Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

The Ibero-American Summit of heads of state or government is a unique multilateral forum of 22 countries from Latin America and Europe sharing a common history, values, culture and languages. Two EU Member States – Spain and Portugal – are full members of the summit, and four others are associated observers. The 26th summit was held in Guatemala in November 2018, with a focus on establishing a common road map towards implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

LONDON (AP) — The British Cabinet was meeting Tuesday to discuss ramping up preparations for Britain’s departure from the European Union without a deal, after Prime Minister Theresa May postponed Parliament’s vote on her divorce...

Howard Mitchell has been re-elected as President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ). This is his 2nd term as President. Returning to join Mitchell on the Executive are Vice Presidents Dennis Cohen, Deputy Group Managing Director...

Jamaica is to get an Information and Communication Technology Authority. Cabinet has approved the promulgation of legislation to establish the agency. As part of the change, the current functions being executed by eGov Jamaica Limited and the...

The Management of the Half Way Tree Transport Centre in St Andrew has been transferred from the Port Authority Management Services Limited (PAMSL), a subsidiary of the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ), to the Transport Authority. The change took...

The United Nations will convene Yemen's warring parties by video link on Wednesday to discuss the redeployment of all forces from Hodeidah city and three ports under a ceasefire deal agreed last week, a U.N. spokesman said.

In the midst of the biggest political crisis of his presidency, Emmanuel Macron is enlisting the help of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, in a sign that the right-wing ex-leader's influence on Macron is on the rise.