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The double-decker airplane seat is back. Here’s what it looks like now

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:01 GMT

Hamburg, Germany (CNN) — Would you sit directly below another airplane passenger?It might not sound particularly appealing on paper, but 23-year-old airplane seat designer Alejandro Núñez Vicente believes double-level seating is the future of economy flying.You may have seen a photo of Núñez Vicente’s Chaise Longue Airplane Seat prototype floating around the internet. Following a CNN Travel exclusive last year, Núñez Vicente’s concept went viral – igniting furious debate and prompting a flurry of reactions from would-be passengers – some outraged, some bemused, some intrigued, some all of the above.“To be honest, there’s no such thing as bad publicity,” Núñez Vicente tells CNN Travel today. Proving this sentiment, he’s back at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany – showcasing a new iteration of his controversial Chaise Longue.“People can talk and they always hate innovation in some ways,” he says. “Most of the times when they show you something new, everyone hates i...

New study reveals 45% of Americans neglect soap when washing hands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:01 GMT

According to a recently conducted study, an overwhelming majority of Americans acknowledge the importance of handwashing for maintaining good health but fail to use a crucial substance to stay hygienic. The Healthy Handwashing Survey asked a diverse sample of individuals across the nation and found that an astonishing 93% of respondents believed that handwashing plays a crucial role in staying healthy.Despite this widespread understanding, the study also uncovered a troubling revelation: a significant portion of those surveyed admitted to neglecting the use of soap while washing their hands. The research results showed that 45% of respondents confessed to solely rinsing their hands with water, completely omitting the use of soap during the handwashing process.Health experts and medical professionals strongly emphasize the importance of using warm water and soap for effective hand hygiene. The combination of warm water and soap is scientifically proven to significantly reduce the tra...

The Arctic may be sea ice-free in summer by the 2030s, new study warns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:01 GMT

(CNN) — The Arctic could be free of sea ice roughly a decade earlier than projected, scientists warn – another clear sign the climate crisis is happening faster than expected as the world continues to pump out planet-heating pollution.A new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications found Arctic sea ice could disappear completely during the month of September as early as the 2030s. Even if the world makes significant cuts to planet-heating pollution today, the Arctic could still see summers free of sea ice by the 2050s, scientists reported.The researchers analyzed changes from 1979 to 2019, comparing different satellite data and climate models to assess how Arctic sea ice was changing.They found that declining sea ice was largely the result of human-caused, planet-heating pollution, and previous models had underestimated Arctic sea ice melting trends.“We were surprised to find that an ice-free Arctic will be there in summer irrespective of our effort at reducing em...

Hundreds of zoo animals dead as environmental cost of Ukraine dam blast grows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:01 GMT

Hundreds of animals died in their cages at a zoo in Russian-occupied Ukraine when explosions ripped through the nearby Nova Kakhovka dam on Tuesday, flooding the surrounding area.According to UAnimals, an animal rights NGO that has helped shelter and rescue animals during the Russian invasion, nearly all of the 260 animals in the zoo — dubbed “Fairytale Díbrova” — died. “People were trying to save these animals for months. And then, just in one day because of the actions of Russians, 260 animals died,” Olga Chevganiuk, COO of the organization, told POLITICO, calling the incident “a real catastrophe.”Speaking in Kyiv on Wednesday, Ukraine’s Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets also confirmed that “it was not possible to save the animals in the Kazkova Dibrova zoo,” adding that “only ducks and swans were able to save themselves.”“Prior to the tragedy the zoo was home to monkeys, raccoons, a donkey, ponies, coypus, various birds, porcupines, groundhogs, turtles, and many other species....

Hands off our salaries! Parliament and top EU court resist budget cuts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:01 GMT

BRUSSELS — As inflation bites, EU institutions are privately fighting with the European Commission over how much public money they should be allowed to spend next year. Letters between the EU’s Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn and other EU bodies — seen by POLITICO — reveal that the Commission wants the European Parliament to rein in its 2024 spending plans by some €28 million, and the Court of Justice of the EU to slash almost €6 million.Senior players in the Parliament have pushed back on those demands, arguing that Hahn is deploying a sneaky, never-before-used budgeting trick that could force them to make painful cuts in areas outside of salaries. As Hahn prepares to defend his draft budget proposal in front of MEPs on Wednesday evening, those disagreements are teeing up a bad-tempered negotiation among EU institutions. Metsola’s miffedParliament President Roberta Metsola railed against the Commission’s request in a letter she sent to Commission ...

Kiss star Gene Simmons turns up to UK parliament … but deputy leaders bicker about WhatsApp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:01 GMT

Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from this week’s session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through.Housekeeping: With Rishi Sunak in D.C., it was the deputies’ turn to allegedly shine at this week’s prime minister’s questions.BUT LET’S BE HONEST: The real news here is that Gene Simmons, the iconic co-leader of Kiss, turned up to watch PMQs from the Commons viewing gallery. No, we don’t really know why — although we’re told he was a guest of the DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr, who is taking the rockstar for dinner this evening, as you do.Just to be absolutely clear: Gene Simmons really did turn up to watch half an hour of MPs grilling Britain’s deputy prime minister. And no, he wasn’t wearing make-up and didn’t stick his tongue out (that much).WHAT THEY SPARRED ABOUT: Now onto the matters of real substance. Oh, who are we kidding, it’s PMQs …...

Mike Pence says ‘Different times call for different leadership’ in video launching 2024 presidential bid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:01 GMT

By JILL COLVIN and THOMAS BEAUMONT (Associated Press)DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence promised “the best days of the greatest nation on earth are yet to come” in a video released Wednesday formally launching his campaign for the Republican nomination for president.“Different times call for different leadership,” Pence, who served four years alongside then-President Donald Trump, says in the video, released via Fox News and Twitter hours ahead of a kickoff event in Des Moines. “Today our party and our country need a leader that’ll appeal, as Lincoln said, to the better angels of our nature.”While it would be “easy to stay on the sidelines,” he adds, ”that’s not how I was raised. That’s why today, before God and my family, I’m announcing I’m running for president of the United States.”With Pence’s entry into the race, the GOP field is largely set. It includes Trump, who’s leading in early polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who remains in second, former United Na...

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will meet in a youth-vs.-experience clash at the French Open

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:01 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Two weeks ago, before the start of play at the French Open, the brackets were set for the tournament, and one possible semifinal matchup immediately demanded attention: No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, the Next Big Thing in men’s tennis, against No. 3 Novak Djokovic, the Current Big Thing in men’s tennis.The heightened anticipation was not merely because it would be fascinating to see the two of them play at Roland Garros. It also would be fascinating to see them play each other, period: They’ve only met once, and it was 13 months ago, with Alcaraz coming out on top.So get ready: Alcaraz and Djokovic will finally share the stage again on Friday in Court Philippe Chatrier, where they will compete for a spot in the championship match.“Since the draw came out, everyone was expecting that match — the semifinal against Novak. Myself, as well,” Alcaraz said after completing his half of the bargain by outclassing Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals Tuesday night. “I...

Japan supports Sweden’s NATO membership as defense ministers strengthen ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:01 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense minister expressed his country’s support for Sweden’s NATO membership during talks Wednesday with his Swedish counterpart, as the two sides called for stronger military ties amid shared concern over threats from Russia and China.Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said that Sweden sees the need for European countries to reach out to Asian partners because of the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Japan is especially concerned about increasing military cooperation between China and Russia and their joint exercises around Japan. “Sweden and Japan are meeting many of the similar security challenges. Europe is at war once again, and it is obvious to me that the dialogue between the countries in the Euro-Atlantic community and the Indo-Pacific community has to be intensified,” Jonson said.Hamada, in his brief opening remarks at the beginning of the talks, reiterated Japan’s support for Sweden’s NATO membership “while t...

Missouri prosecutor Wesley Bell vies for GOP Sen. Hawley’s seat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:01 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Black Missouri prosecutor who stepped into leadership in the aftermath of protests over the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown is running for Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s seat, the Democrat announced Wednesday. In his campaign announcement, 48-year-old St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell criticized Hawley as divisive while touting his own work in Ferguson, where protests over Brown’s death helped spark the national Black Lives Matter movement. Bell, who now lives in Clayton, lived two blocks from the Ferguson Police Department in 2014. As an angry crowd began to surround officers barricaded in the police parking lot the day after unarmed, Black 18-year-old Brown’s shooting, Bell and a small group of other Black leaders got in the middle and urged calm.Bell at the time worked as a municipal judge and attorney, and his father was a police officer. He has said he understood both sides.“When I faced chaos in Ferguson...