80jili.ph

MADRID (AP) — Spanish King Felipe VI used his traditional Christmas Eve speech to remember the victims of the catastrophic Valencia flash floods , and urged the country to remain calm despite public debates around hot-button issues such as immigration and housing affordability. In a pre-recorded speech that usually reviews the year's most relevant issues, Felipe said Spain “must never forget the pain and sadness" the flood have caused. The Oct. 29 floods killed more than 225 people in eastern Spain, damaging countless homes and leaving graveyards of cars piled on top of each other. In some towns, the heavy downpours that caused the floods dropped as much as a year's worth of rain in just eight hours. In early November, as Spaniards' shock at the wreckage turned into frustration, a political blame game began, directed especially at regional authorities who failed to send timely emergency alerts to cell phones on the day of the floods. The frustration of residents in hard-hit Paiporta near Valencia was on display when people tossed mud and shouted insults at the king and government officials in early November when they made their first visit to the town. “We have seen — and understood — the frustration, the pain, the impatience, the demands for greater and more effective coordination," Felipe said about how the disaster was managed, adding that he had asked that aid be sent to everyone who needed it. He also addressed the country's housing crunch and high rents, which have become a leading concern in this European Union country that is the eurozone's fourth-largest economy. Fast-rising rents are especially acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where incomes have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment. Felipe urged that “all the actors involved reflect” and "listen to each other” so that they facilitate bringing access to housing under “affordable conditions.” Spain's immigration debate should keep in mind the country's European partners and immigrants' countries of origin, Felipe said, warning that “the way in which we are able to address immigration ... will say a lot in the future about our principles and the quality of our democracy.” Felipe said Spain need to remain calm in the public sphere, even in the face of a “sometimes thunderous” contest in its politics.80jili.ph 。

UConn F Alex Karaban (head) won't play vs. BaylorUkraine says it has a laser that can shoot down aircraft a mile away. It’s called ‘Tryzub’ | CNNPARIS (AP) — France’s president and prime minister managed to form a new government just in time for the holidays. Now comes the hard part. Crushing debt , intensifying pressure from the nationalist far right, wars in Europe and the Mideast: Challenges abound for President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Francois Bayrou after an already tumultuous 2024. The most urgent order of business is passing a 2025 budget. Financial markets, ratings agencies and the European Commission are pushing France to bring down its deficit, to comply with EU rules limiting debt and keep France’s borrowing costs from spiraling. That would threaten the stability and prosperity of all countries that share the euro currency. France’s debt is currently estimated at a staggering 112% of gross domestic product. It grew further after the government gave aid payments to businesses and workers during COVID-19 lockdowns even as the pandemic depressed growth, and capped household energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine. The bill is now coming due. But France’s previous government collapsed this month because Marine Le Pen’s far-right party and left-wing lawmakers opposed 60 billion euros in spending cuts and tax hikes in the original 2025 budget plan. Bayrou and new Finance Minister Eric Lombard are expected to scale back some of those promises, but the calculations are tough. “The political situation is difficult. The international situation is dangerous, and the economic context is fragile,” Lombard, a low-profile banker who advised a Socialist government in the 1990s, said upon taking office. “The environmental emergency, the social emergency, developing our businesses — these innumerable challenges require us to treat our endemic illness: the deficit,” he said. “The more we are indebted, the more the debt costs, and the more it suffocates the country.” This is France’s fourth government in the past year. No party has a parliamentary majority and the new Cabinet can only survive with the support of lawmakers on the center-right and center-left. Le Pen — Macron’s fiercest rival — was instrumental in ousting the previous government by joining left-wing forces in a no-confidence vote. Bayrou consulted her when forming the new government and Le Pen remains a powerful force. That angers left-wing groups, who had expected more influence in the new Cabinet, and who say promised spending cuts will hurt working-class families and small businesses hardest. Left-wing voters, meanwhile, feel betrayed ever since a coalition from the left won the most seats in the summer's snap legislative elections but failed to secure a government. The possibility of a new no-confidence vote looms, though it's not clear how many parties would support it. Macron has repeatedly said he will remain president until his term expires in 2027. But France's constitution and current structure, dating from 1958 and called the Fifth Republic, were designed to ensure stability after a period of turmoil. If this new government collapses within months and the country remains in political paralysis, pressure will mount for Macron to step down and call early elections. Le Pen's ascendant National Rally is intent on bringing Macron down. But Le Pen faces her own headaches: A March court ruling over alleged illegal party financing could see her barred from running for office. The National Rally and hard-right Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau want tougher immigration rules. But Bayrou wants to focus on making existing rules work. “There are plenty of (immigration) laws that exist. None is being applied," he said Monday on broadcaster BFM-TV, to criticism from conservatives. Military spending is a key issue amid fears about European security and pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for Europe to spend more on its own defense. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who champions military aid for Ukraine and ramping up weapons production, kept his job and stressed in a statement Tuesday the need to face down ‘’accumulating threats'' against France. More immediately, Macron wants an emergency law in early January to allow sped-up reconstruction of the cyclone-ravaged French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean off Africa. Thousands of people are in emergency shelters and authorities are still counting the dead more than a week after the devastation. Meanwhile the government in the restive French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia collapsed Tuesday in a wave of resignations by pro-independence figures — another challenge for the new overseas affairs minister, Manuel Valls, and the incoming Cabinet. Associated Press writer David McHugh in Frankfurt contributed.

SmartDrone Acquires Drone Operations of Skytec, Expanding UAV Service CapabilitiesAaron Judge won his second career American League MVP award on Thursday, for a season that might have been even more impressive than the 62-homer campaign that won him his first. The New York Yankees star was voted the unanimous winner by the 30-person BBWAA voting body, his first time receiving every first-place vote. In 2022, he lost two votes to Shohei Ohtani, . The voting was also unanimous for second place, with Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals sweeping the second-place votes. Judge's teammate Juan Soto, Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles and José Ramírez of the Cleveland Guardians all received third-place votes. Judge joins Mickey Mantle (1956) as the only Yankees players to win MVP unanimously. It was an extraordinary season for Judge, who posted career highs in all three slash line numbers at .322/.458/.701 while clubbing 58 home run, four short of his AL homer record and what many consider to be the clean record. He still joined Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players with multiple 55-homer seasons, . All of that history makes it easy to forget that Judge had a slow enough start to the season that some observers were worrying the 32-year-old was beginning to show signs of age. At the end of April, he was hitting .207/.340/.414 with a 27% strikeout rate and only six homers. Those worries went away quickly. Over the next 98 games, Judge hit an unfathomable .376/.506/.846 with a homer in more than 10% of his plate appearances. No MLB hitter is more feared than Judge when he's on. Of course, that wasn't the narrative around him once the playoffs began. Judge had a regular season to remember, and a postseason to forget. The latter didn't affect the MVP voting, as the BBWAA submits its votes before the playoffs begin. In this case, the system created some awkwardness. After entering the 2024 playoffs with a reputation for choking in the postseason, Judge further hurt himself with a .184/.344/.408 performance across 14 games. It didn't stop the Yankees from reaching the World Series, but it sure was costly in a Fall Classic where Judge was billed as a marquee star alongside Ohtani. The Dodgers superstar also underperformed, but he . Judge's struggles were his own and they were very visible, especially in Game 5. It looked like Judge had finally found his swing in the elimination game when he went yard in the first inning, but that step forward was completely wiped out in what might go down as the most embarrassing inning for a team in World Series history. With runners on first and second with no outs, Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman hit an easy fly ball straight to Judge in center field. Judge took a few step forwards, stuck his glove out and then bobbled it, loading the bases and setting the table for the Yankees to blow a five-run lead. Subsequent replay showed Judge's eyes moving to Dodgers baserunner Kiké Hernández, who had moved aggressively off first base, right before the ball arrived. Judge was clearly trying to figure out if he could pull off a double play, but he ended up making the mistake ever Little Leaguer is warned about it. He took his eye off the ball. You know what happened after that. A bounced throw from Anthony Volpe, Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rizzo assuming the other would cover first base, a pair of two-run hits for the Dodgers to tie the game and, a few innings later, Walker Buehler ending the series with a scoreless ninth. A superstar underperforming in the playoffs is not a new narrative in baseball, but that performance is going to haunt Judge for years, and the only way to banish it is probably to come through in October. Whether or not Judge can handle the pressure in October, the bigger task for the Yankees at this point is surrounding him with enough talent to at least make it a question again. Priority No. 1 will be re-signing Juan Soto, the player who hit in front of Judge the entire season. , and the Yankees don't have much of a back-up plan if Soto is lured by another team with big pockets, such as the Dodgers or New York Mets. Even if the Yankees re-sign Soto, they still need to figure out their infield after declining their option on starting first baseman Anthony Rizzo and watching second baseman Gleyber Torres hit free agency. Key relievers Clay Holmes and Tommy Kahnle are also free agents, as is left-fielder Alex Verdugo, though the Yankees have an in-house replacement for the latter with top prospect Jasson Dominguez. Judge remains under contract for the Yankees at $40 million per year through the 2031 season. The end might have been disappointing, but 2024 was still a step forward for New York with its first World Series appearance since its title in 2009. The journey still goes on, and the Yankees are going to be relying on their captain to lead them further.

PARIS (AP) — France’s president and prime minister managed to form a new government just in time for the holidays. Now comes the hard part. Crushing debt , intensifying pressure from the nationalist far right, wars in Europe and the Mideast: Challenges abound for President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Francois Bayrou after an already tumultuous 2024. The most urgent order of business is passing a 2025 budget. Financial markets, ratings agencies and the European Commission are pushing France to bring down its deficit, to comply with EU rules limiting debt and keep France’s borrowing costs from spiraling. That would threaten the stability and prosperity of all countries that share the euro currency. France’s debt is currently estimated at a staggering 112% of gross domestic product. It grew further after the government gave aid payments to businesses and workers during COVID-19 lockdowns even as the pandemic depressed growth, and capped household energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine. The bill is now coming due. But France’s previous government collapsed this month because Marine Le Pen’s far-right party and left-wing lawmakers opposed 60 billion euros in spending cuts and tax hikes in the original 2025 budget plan. Bayrou and new Finance Minister Eric Lombard are expected to scale back some of those promises, but the calculations are tough. “The political situation is difficult. The international situation is dangerous, and the economic context is fragile,” Lombard, a low-profile banker who advised a Socialist government in the 1990s, said upon taking office. “The environmental emergency, the social emergency, developing our businesses — these innumerable challenges require us to treat our endemic illness: the deficit,” he said. “The more we are indebted, the more the debt costs, and the more it suffocates the country.” This is France’s fourth government in the past year. No party has a parliamentary majority and the new Cabinet can only survive with the support of lawmakers on the center-right and center-left. Le Pen — Macron’s fiercest rival — was instrumental in ousting the previous government by joining left-wing forces in a no-confidence vote. Bayrou consulted her when forming the new government and Le Pen remains a powerful force. That angers left-wing groups, who had expected more influence in the new Cabinet, and who say promised spending cuts will hurt working-class families and small businesses hardest. Left-wing voters, meanwhile, feel betrayed ever since a coalition from the left won the most seats in the summer's snap legislative elections but failed to secure a government. The possibility of a new no-confidence vote looms, though it's not clear how many parties would support it. Macron has repeatedly said he will remain president until his term expires in 2027. But France's constitution and current structure, dating from 1958 and called the Fifth Republic, were designed to ensure stability after a period of turmoil. If this new government collapses within months and the country remains in political paralysis, pressure will mount for Macron to step down and call early elections. Le Pen's ascendant National Rally is intent on bringing Macron down. But Le Pen faces her own headaches: A March court ruling over alleged illegal party financing could see her barred from running for office. The National Rally and hard-right Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau want tougher immigration rules. But Bayrou wants to focus on making existing rules work. “There are plenty of (immigration) laws that exist. None is being applied," he said Monday on broadcaster BFM-TV, to criticism from conservatives. Military spending is a key issue amid fears about European security and pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for Europe to spend more on its own defense. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who champions military aid for Ukraine and ramping up weapons production, kept his job and stressed in a statement Tuesday the need to face down ‘’accumulating threats'' against France. More immediately, Macron wants an emergency law in early January to allow sped-up reconstruction of the cyclone-ravaged French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean off Africa. Thousands of people are in emergency shelters and authorities are still counting the dead more than a week after the devastation. Meanwhile the government in the restive French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia collapsed Tuesday in a wave of resignations by pro-independence figures — another challenge for the new overseas affairs minister, Manuel Valls, and the incoming Cabinet. Associated Press writer David McHugh in Frankfurt contributed.