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My family has a Thanksgiving tradition. Countless people who don’t — or can’t (or both) — eat traditional Thanksgiving food such as turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie will be the butt of the joke when families gather around the table on Thursday. Or what if the pumpkin pie is so good one slice isn’t enough? I’d love to start a new Thanksgiving tradition this year: sitting poolside in Palm Springs or getting sand between my toes as I hike at Malaga Cove would be great. I’ll be with my relatives and a punchline to a joke that never was funny, because that’s my family’s Thanksgiving tradition.

Prince Mohammed was not seen at the match but had been front and centre at the tournament opening on Sunday. It was also a sweet moment for host Qatar, facing intense criticism over human rights in the conservative Muslim country. "The fact that the World Cup is in Qatar and we're Arabs - it gives us a lot of energy and excitement." TOLERANCEBefore the match kicked off, the issue of tolerance arose at a news conference between Qatar's foreign minister and his American counterpart. The Gulf Arab state, which denies discrimination and points to labour reforms enacted, welcomes everyone, its Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.

☆ Germany plans to tighten rules for firms highly dependent on China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Andreas Rinke | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BERLIN, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Germany's foreign ministry plans to tighten the rules for companies deeply exposed to China, making them disclose more information and possibly conduct stress tests for geopolitical risks, a confidential draft document seen by Reuters said. A spokesperson for the foreign ministry declined to comment. The draft, drawn up by the foreign ministry led by the Greens' Annalena Baerbock, still has to be agreed by other ministries. A final decision on the China strategy is expected early next year. To avoid cluster risks, investment guarantees should be limited to 3 billion euros per company per country, it added.

☆ How to have a low-waste, climate friendly Thanksgiving feast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Susan Puckett | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Less is moreA classic Thanksgiving plate, featuring turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans and gravy. His Thanksgiving preparations start with a trip to a local farmers market, where he can thank the growers personally for his bounty. Leftover idea: Here’s how Acheson turns leftovers into a turkey avocado sandwich as memorable as the feast. Divide and conquerMeal prep is essential to make sure your Thanksgiving dinner tastes great and minimizes waste, says Lisa Bryan. Bryan understands that executing a chaos-free Thanksgiving dinner takes practice.

☆ Austria announces windfall tax on energy companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Omv Ag FollowVerbund AG FollowVIENNA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Austria's government on Friday announced plans to introduce a windfall tax on energy companies that will be of up to 40% for oil and gas firms. The tax will apply retroactively from July 1 of this year until the end of next year, it added. The threshold can be increased to 180 euros if those companies invest in renewables, the statement said. Kogler said the tax rate then would be 90%. That tax will apply from Dec. 1 of this year until the end of 2023, the statement said.

As food prices have risen, a U.S Census survey showed the share of households reporting food scarcity rising from 7.8% in August 2021 to 11.4% as of early October. As with other goods and services, there is a broad set of forces behind the Thanksgiving food spike. Thanksgiving-related travel this year may at least be cheaper than it was, with airline and fuel prices having declined recently. Discounted turkey prices often lure consumers to grocery stores and supermarkets, and bargains intensify as the holiday approaches. The Farm Bureau noted that frozen turkey prices had fallen to 95 cents a pound as of this week.

☆ German upper house blocks landmark welfare reform
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] German Labour and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil speaks at an extraordinary session, as Members of German upper House of Parliament or Bundesrat vote on Buergergeld or "citizens' money" welfare reform law, in the plenary hall, in Berlin, Germany November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Michele TantussiBERLIN, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Germany's conservative opposition held up a major welfare reform on Monday, setting the scene for a mediation process to find a compromise that could still allow the introduction of ambitious measures to support the unemployed in gaining vocational skills. The welfare reform would introduce Buergergeld, or "citizens' money", to replace the Hartz IV system brought in from 2005, which sanctions people who reject job offers. "Our welfare state can only function if there are duties as well as rights," Baden-Wuerttemberg labour minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut of the opposition conservative CDU party said. German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil said the ruling coalition -- of his Social Democrat (SPD) party with the Greens and the liberal FDP -- would call on a mediation committee later on Monday.

☆ A brain expert shares his 7 'hard rules' for boosting memory and fighting off dementia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Marc Milstein | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

As a neuroscience researcher, here are seven hard rules I live by to keep my brain sharp and fight off dementia. Keep blood pressure and cholesterol levels in checkYour heart beats roughly 115,000 times a day, and with every beat, it sends about 20% of the oxygen in your body to your brain. High blood pressure can weaken your heart muscle, and is one of the leading causes of strokes. Ideally, your blood pressure should be no higher than 120/80. To lessen isolation and loneliness, you can also boost brain chemicals like serotonin and endorphins by performing small acts of kindness: Wish others well or check in with somebody.

☆ Germany allocates extra 1 bln euros to Ukraine cyber-defence, documenting war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The German government has earmarked an extra 1 billion euros ($1.03 billion)from its 2023 budget to support Ukraine, with money allocated to defending against Russian cyberattacks and collecting evidence of war crimes, a document showed. The extra allocation comes amid rows over whether Germany should step up its provision of military aid to Ukraine, which says it needs offensive battlefield weapons, including tanks, to take the fight to the Russian army. The earmark is a win for the Greens, the coalition party which has been the strongest advocate of military support for Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in February. Some of the money will support teams recording evidence of human rights abuses and war crimes, including those uncovered in the wake of Russian withdrawals. Extra money will also go to supporting civil society in the broader region, including protection of journalists in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.

☆ COP27: How Lewis Pugh braved sharks and shipping containers in the world's first swim across the Red Sea
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Lewis Pugh had to contend with large shipping vessels while swimming across the Red Sea. Pugh completed his swim across the Red Sea -- home to some of the world's most biodiverse coral reefs -- in 16 days. The Lewis Pugh FoundationFor sections of the swim, Pugh was joined by open-water swimmer Mariam Saleh Bin Laden – who became the first Arab, first Saudi and first woman to swim from Saudi Arabia to Egypt – and Egyptian swimmer Mostafa Zaki. The purpose of the swim was to shine a spotlight on the world’s coral reefs – home to the earth’s most vibrant marine ecosystems – and their precarious status amid the climate crisis. The Lewis Pugh FoundationThis week, Pugh has traveled to the COP27 climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt – a location he passed during his swim across the Red Sea.

☆ Germany shy of 2030 climate target at current CO2 reduction rate - govt advisors
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Riham Alkousaa | Zofeen T. Ebrahim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Germany aims to become carbon-neutral by 2045 and cut 65% of emissions by 2030 compared with 1990, but current reduction rates are falling short, the first biennial report by the council showed. The energy sector contributed almost half of Germany's 27% CO2 reduction between 2000 and 2021, while the construction, transport and industry sectors, after a good start, have been sluggish to cut emissions in the past decade. The council said the transport and construction sector needed to be restructured to reverse the trend. A change in consumer behaviour was also necessary and the government should impose strict limits on emissions volumes for all sectors, it added. Nearly 200 countries will gather in Egypt next week for climate talks, as pressure for tougher action to tackle global warming grows.

☆ Germany's Habeck: climate protests that endanger people are wrong
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 4 (Reuters) - German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has condemned protests that endanger people after a demonstration by two climate activists on a Berlin motorway slowed emergency services' response to a traffic accident, after which a cyclist subsequently died. The activists are accused of obstructing persons rendering assistance, a police spokesperson said this week. "The death of the cyclist is shocking, the circumstances must be clarified in detail," Habeck, minister for the economy and climate action, told Funke media group. "Regardless of the clarification, the following must apply: Forms of protest that endanger people are wrong ... climate protection is about protecting life and liberty," added Habeck, of the ecologist Greens. "Those who risk the health and lives of others with their protests forfeit all legitimacy and also damage the climate movement itself," he said.

The trip comes amid rising voices within Scholz's ruling coalition calling for a rethink of Germany's China policy, and growing public concern about Berlin's commercial reliance on the global economic powerhouse. One in two Germans wish that Germany's economy could be more independent from China, a survey published by ARD broadcaster showed on Thursday. China has been Germany's biggest trading partner for the past six years, with volumes reaching over 245 billion euros ($238.9 billion) in 2021. During the trip, where Scholz will meet Xi and prime minister Li Keqiang, the German Chancellor is expected to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine, hoping that China can convince Russia to end hostilities. But Xi expressed his concerns over Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two leaders met in September.

☆ U.S. cautioned Germany against a Chinese controlling stake in Hamburg port
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Cargo ship 'Cosco Shipping Gemini' of Chinese shipping company 'Cosco' is loaded at the container terminal 'Tollerort' in the port in Hamburg, Germany, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Fabian BimmerMUNSTER, Germany, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The United States cautioned Germany against allowing China to obtain a controlling stake in a Hamburg port terminal, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Wednesday, in a deal that has been seen as a gauge of how far Germany is willing to toughen its stance on its top trading partner. By pushing the stake under 25%, the deal no longer officially requires Cabinet approval, which would have been hard to muster from the Greens and liberal-run ministries. The document points to "considerable risks that arise when elements of the European transport infrastructure are influenced and controlled by China - while China itself does not allow Germany to participate in Chinese ports." Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Munster, Germany; writing by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. 'strongly suggested' there be no controlling interest by China in Hamburg port terminal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Cargo ship 'Cosco Shipping Gemini' of Chinese shipping company 'Cosco' is loaded at the container terminal 'Tollerort' in the port in Hamburg, Germany, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/Fabian BimmerMUNSTER, Germany, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The United States “strongly suggested” that there be no controlling interest by China in a Hamburg port terminal, a senior U.S. State Department official said, adding that the final deal was adjusted in the end with a smaller share for Beijing. “The embassy was very clear that we strongly suggested that there’d be no controlling interest by China, and as you see when they adjusted the deal, there isn’t," a second senior State Department official said. The document points to "considerable risks that arise when elements of the European transport infrastructure are influenced and controlled by China - while China itself does not allow Germany to participate in Chinese ports." Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Munster, Germany Writing by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

China became Germany's single biggest trade partner in 2016. A recent survey by the Ifo think-tank found that nearly half of German industrial firms now rely on significant inputs from China. But Scholz's trip comes at a time of growing concern in the West - particularly in Germany's top security ally, the United States - about China's trade practices, human rights record and territorial ambitions. FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai called the decision "naive" and criticized the timing of Scholz's trip to China as "deeply unfortunate". But the German chancellor declined Macron's offer, the sources said.

☆ The Australian teenager on a mission to protect ragged-tooth sharks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Written Nell Lewis | Video Angus Watson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But the gray nurse shark (also known as the sand tiger shark and the spotted ragged-tooth shark) is under threat. As well as gray nurse sharks, whales, stingrays, grouper fish and many more marine species can be seen there. This has helped to raise awareness of the fragility of both the area and gray nurse sharks, says Leesfield. Gray nurse shark numbers have declined in recent years, leading to the species being listed critically endangered. Faehrmann explains that Fish Rock is a critical breeding ground for gray nurse sharks.

☆ France and Germany's relationship questioned as Scholz goes alone on policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Officials have denied problems in the Franco-German relationship, but Chancellor Scholz's focus on domestic politics is upsetting some lawmakers in Europe. Fresh tensions between France and Germany are challenging their relationship at a time when their unity is critical for broader European policy in tackling the energy crisis. The leaders of the two nations will meet in Paris on Wednesday, but this encounter almost got canceled. He added that the action of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is "creating the deepest divides within the Union." France and Germany are the two largest economies in the European Union and two of the founding nations of this political grouping.

☆ Germany to legalize cannabis use for recreational purposes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Riham Alkousaa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented a cornerstone paper on planned legislation to regulate the controlled distribution and consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes among adults. Acquiring and possessing up to 20 to 30 grams of recreational cannabis for personal consumption would also be made legal. Many European countries, including Germany, have already legalised cannabis for limited medicinal purposes. The use of cannabis for medicinal purposes has been legal in Germany since 2017. Germany's pharmacists association warned of the health risks of legalising cannabis and said it would put pharmacies in medical conflict.

☆ Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | Photographs Devin Oktar Yalkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

Beyond Catastrophe A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View By David Wallace-WellsYou can never really see the future, only imagine it, then try to make sense of the new world when it arrives. (A United Nations report released this week ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, confirmed that range.) A little lower is possible, with much more concerted action; a little higher, too, with slower action and bad climate luck. There were climate-change skeptics in some very conspicuous positions of global power. New emissions peaks are expected both this year and next, which means that more damage is being done to the future climate of the planet right now than at any previous point in history.

☆ Grey Poupon wants in on Olivia Wilde’s salad dressing scandal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Grey Poupon wants in on Olivia Wilde’s salad dressing scandal. Confused as to why Dijon mustard has entered the celebrity discourse? The anonymous nanny offered private details about Wilde’s alleged romantic relationship with Styles, co-star of Wilde’s recent “Don’t Worry, Darling” film along with Florence Pugh. The nanny said that Wilde angered Sudeikis by preparing a salad for Styles with her ‘special dressing’ in the family kitchen. “Mix 2 tablespoons Grey Poupon mustard with 2 tablespoons good red wine vinegar,” the passage outlined by Wilde reads.

☆ PGA Tour sues LIV Golf's Saudi backers to force evidence discovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The PGA Tour has filed a lawsuit against LIV Golf backers, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, an entity controlled by the Saudi crown prince, in an effort to force evidence discovery in ongoing legal battles. LIV Golf sued the tour alleging anti-competitive practices for banning its players, and the tour recently countersued LIV Golf, claiming the upstart league was itself stifling competition. "LIV Golf is just beginning its process and is in active discussions with several companies about broadcasting the LIV Golf League. Meanwhile, the PGA tour has taken to Washington D.C. to lobby against LIV Golf, and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, a former PGA Tour star, made his own visit to Capitol Hill in mid-September to "educate members on LIV's business model and counter the Tour's anti-competitive efforts." The LIV Golf championship will take place starting Oct. 28 at the Trump National Doral in Miami.

The hashtag “Very Asian” has taken off on Twitter after a viewer left a racist voice message for an Asian American news anchor who said that she ate dumplings in celebration of New Year’s Day. Social media users began putting a positive spin on the practice after Michelle Li, who is Korean American and an anchor at NBC affiliate KSDK of St. Louis, shared traditional New Year's foods. She listed black-eyed peas, pork, greens and cornbread that are believed to bring good luck, adding: “I ate dumplings, too. "What if one of your white anchors said well, white people eat this on New Year’s Day? “At KSDK, we embrace diversity in the people we hire, the stories we tell, and our local community.

☆ Workers at Apple stores in Australia went on strike for an hour and are refusing to repair AirPods or handle deliveries in a dispute over pay and conditions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Dozens of Apple workers in Australia went on strike on Tuesday in a dispute over pay and conditions. The workers are now refusing to repair AirPods, fix screens, or handle deliveries. "Apple workers represented by RAFFWU have stepped up where no other retail workers in Australian history have gone. Apple workers were not permitted to speak to media but made comments that could be heard by reporters, per The Herald. In June, an Apple store in Towson, Maryland became the first to officially unionize.

☆ Olivia Wilde satisfies fans’ cravings by sharing her salad dressing recipe
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Megan Thomas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Actor and director Olivia Wilde appears to have a good sense of humor. After a tabloid story published Monday referenced a special salad dressing made by Wilde, people have been abuzz searching online for the recipe. “Then whisking constantly with a fork, slowly add 6 tablespoons olive oil, until the vinaigrette is thick and creamy; this makes a very strong vinaigrette that’s perfect for salad greens like arugula and watercress and endive.”Wilde did not comment on her post. The salad dressing fever includes a theory that Wilde a while back shared the dressing recipe with the Food Network. And whatever the ingredients, it’s added Wilde to the ranks of stars whose recipes we are craving.

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