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Theme parks bounced back in 2022 from pandemic lows with revenue, if not attendance

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:06 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Last year marked a return to normal for the theme park industry around the world with operators reporting revenues, and in some cases attendance, at par or above pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report.Globally, the theme park industry hit a peak in 2019, the year before the spread of the COVID-19 virus forced many parks and attractions to shut down temporarily and then reopen with restrictions on attendance.Many operators focused on improving visitor experiences through adapting app-based technologies and that paid off with revenues in 2022 that surpassed 2019 levels, even if attendance had not bounced back in the same way, according to the report released Wednesday by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM, the design and engineering firm.“The pandemic revealed a sophisticated consumer base that is willing to pay more for out of home entertainment and experiences. However, consumers also demand more in terms of comfort, ease, quality, and satisf...

EU executive to block Huawei from its contracts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:06 GMT

The European Commission announced moves on Thursday to block the Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE from EU research funding and stop contracting operators using Chinese equipment.The EU executive and member countries’ cybersecurity experts presented a report reviewing its 5G Security Toolbox, a 2020 plan endorsed by national governments to decrease the reliance on Chinese telecoms equipment makers.Chinese suppliers Huawei and ZTE pose “materially higher risks than other 5G suppliers,” the Commission said in a statement. The Commission called out the two Chinese vendors by name — something it had previously avoided in official documents — and said European governments were right to impose blocks on the use of their equipment. So far, 24 EU countries “have adopted or are preparing legislative measures” to allow security services to block contracts with Huawei. Ten countries “have imposed such restrictions” and three countries “are currently working ...

Romania taps social democrat Marcel Ciolacu as new PM

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:06 GMT

The Romanian parliament voted in Social Democrats chief Marcel Ciolacu on Thursday to become the country’s next prime minister amid a planned rotation within the ruling coalition.“I will try to live up to the expectations of the Romanians,” Ciolacu said after being elected with a 290-95 majority, according to local media reports.Parliament also confirmed Romania’s new government, which features a once-prominent Brussels figure — former permanent representative to the European Union, Luminița Odobescu — as foreign minister.The government is backed by a wide-ranging coalition including Ciolacu’s center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD), the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) and the ethnic Hungarian UDMR group.The government change is part of a planned rotation for the prime ministerial position between the the coalition’s two major partners, the PSD and the PNL.

EU conservatives fail to kill nature restoration bill — for now

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:06 GMT

STRASBOURG — Both sides are claiming victory after an existential battle between left- and right-wing coalitions on a key piece of Green Deal legislation in the European Parliament on Thursday. But with EU elections on the horizon, it was a sign that the war has just begun.Days of tension crescendoed when the environment committee began voting on the controversial Nature Restoration Regulation, a proposal that wants to put at least 20 percent of the bloc’s degraded habitats back into a good natural state by 2030. Left-leaning MEPs high-fived, clapped and whooped when the first amendment — a call by the conservative European People’s Party to reject the legislative proposal entirely — narrowly failed to find a majority. The vote was tied, with 44 in favor and 44 against. That result meant that the EPP’s push to kill the bill was dismissed, and lawmakers moved on to what turned into a three-hour voting marathon on 2,500 amendments to the bill. They eventually ran out of time, fo...

Artificial intelligence and the EU’s attempt to regulate it — Commissioner Thierry Breton

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:06 GMT

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Google Play EN_Google_Podcasts_Badge Created with Sketch. Stitcher .st0{fill:#EB8A23;} .st1{fill:#FAC617;} .st2{fill:#612368;} .st3{fill:#3792C4;} .st4{fill:#C33727;} Acast This week’s episode dives deep into artificial intelligence — and how the EU is responding to this rapidly developing technology.Host Suzanne Lynch joins listeners from Strasbourg as the European Parl...

Boris Johnson joked UK Tories would lose majority if they sacked every groper, claims ex-aide

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:06 GMT

LONDON — Boris Johnson once joked that the Conservatives would “lose our majority” in parliament if they suspended every MP “who’s pinched someone’s bottom,” a former top aide to the prime minister has claimed.Speaking on a Global podcast about the final days of Johnson’s tumultuous premiership, his ex-director of communications Guto Harri said Johnson tried to be “fair” to his then-deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, who was accused of groping two men while drunk.“As [Johnson] put it in the heat of the moment, ‘if we took away the whip from everyone here who’s pinched someone’s bottom, we’ll lose our majority’,” Harri said.The Pincher scandal was just one of many harassment stories to hit Westminster and the Conservatives. The case — where Johnson was thought to have acted slowly to dismiss Pincher and questions were raised about what he knew about the allegations before appointing him to the rol...

Russia probes Boris Yeltsin museum for ‘foreign agent’ activity

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:06 GMT

Russia has opened an investigation into a museum dedicated to former President Boris Yeltsin for potential activity as a “foreign agent.”The authorities are carrying out a “deep” investigation into the Yeltsin Center’s activities, which will take at least a month, Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Sviridenko said on Thursday, according to Russia’s state-owned newswire RIA Novosti. Just one day after the Kremlin began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February, the Yeltsin Center released a statement calling for an “immediate stop” to military hostilities. Less than two months later, law enforcement authorities forced the center to remove its anti-war declaration.Some prominent Kremlin figures, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, sit on the steering committee of the Yeltsin Center, which is located in the city of Yekaterinburg, paying tribute to the life, work, and legacy of Yeltsin. Yeltsin served as Russia’s first president from 1991 to 19...

FBI: Two Worcester residents arrested in connection with Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:06 GMT

Federal authorities arrested two Worcester residents who now face multiple charges for allegedly taking part in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to officials.A spokesperson for the FBI Boston Division said Long Duong, aka Jimmy Hoang Duong, 54, and Julie Miller, aka Hong Ngo, 51, were both arrested by agents on Tuesday, June 13, in connection with the 2021 riot in Washington, D.C.Both were taken into custody without incident after an arrest warrant was issued by the United States Court for the District of Columbia.“These arrests bring the total number of individuals charged by the FBI Boston Division in connection with the breach of the U.S. Capitol to 24,” the spokesperson said in a statement.Both Duong and Miller face charges that include:Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful AuthorityDisorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or GroundsDisorderly Conduct in a Capitol BuildingParading, ...

Dave Martinez prints out picture to rip umpires for missed call: ‘There it is right there!’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:06 GMT

The Washington Nationals are 26-40 without much of a chance at anything this season.However, don’t tell that to manager Dave Martinez. The Nationals skipper nearly lost his mind after their 5-4 loss Wednesday night to the Houston Astros over a controversial base-running play.In the bottom of the ninth with the game tied at four with one out, Astros’ Jake Meyers grounded out to shortstop CJ Abrams who cut down the winning run at home. Nationals’ catcher Keibert Ruiz fired to first to attempt an inning-ending double play, however, the throw bounced off of Meyers’ helmet, rolled into the outfield and allowed Jose Abreu to score as the winning run.Martinez argued with the umpires that Meyers interfered with the throw by running out of the baseline. But with the game being over, he wasn’t able to get his money’s worth with his on-field argument, so he brought a printed photo of the play with him to his postgame press conference.“There it is right...

MTS boards meets to end bus drivers strike

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:06 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The Board of Directors for the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) gathered for a meeting Thursday morning in effort to put an end to a workers strike impacting bus routes in South Bay and East County.Workers were seen gathering outside the the MTS headquarters in the East Village around 8 a.m., with some waving union flags as they wait for what's next. MTS strike continues, impacting South Bay routes The MTS Board of Directors is considering a plan to offer an extra $1 million for the current contract, with hopes that services are restored by Friday of next week. On the list of things drivers are requesting: access to cleaner restrooms as well as an end to forced overtime work. Shane Harris, the president of the People's Association of Justice, rallied a crowd behind a microphone outside MTS headquarters around 9 a.m. as discussions took place. "I've seen some comments from people around our city saying, 'Oh I wish those people would get back to work, I wish ...