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EU launches tool to help exporters seize the benefits of Mutual Recognition Agreements

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:59 GMT

The new Access2Conformity tool launched on 13 November will allow EU exporters large and small to reduce red tape by making better use of the EU's Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with third countries. When businesses export goods to a trade partner, said goods have to be certified by the conformity assessment bodies (CABs) in the country of destination to ensure that they comply with local rules and regulations, even when already certified for their domestic market. Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) can solve this problem. They work by allowing the exporting trade partner to designate their own CABs as capable of testing and certifying exported products to make sure that they comply with the rules and regulations of the importing trade partner.MRAs are powerful tools to help companies save time and money, and making full use of them can boost trade by up to 40%. Moreover, the reduced paperwork makes it up to 50% more likely that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will expor...

Harriette Cole: I’m arguing more and more, and I need a strategy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:59 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: My partner and I have been arguing more lately. I’m not exactly sure why this is happening, but it’s uncomfortable.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: How can I break the hold of wine and binge-watching? Advice | Harriette Cole: I don’t have rich parents, and I’m scared about graduating Advice | Harriette Cole: I asked why my boyfriend’s mom doesn’t like me, and the answer hurt Advice | Harriette Cole: Ever since I committed to being happy, my life has been a trainwreck Advice | Harriette Cole: Does my husband’s full-time job exempt him from child care? What’s the best way to resolve conflicts and maintain a healthy relationship when things get tough?— Looking for StrategiesDEAR LOOKING FOR STRATEGIES: Do a bit of reflection. When did the arguing begin? Try to pinpoint what precipitated it. Was there a change in either of your job...

Miss Manners: Was my gift to her tacky? Or was her response tacky?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:59 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is it considered tacky to give an acquaintance a handmade gift?Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Her husband got whiny, and suddenly I was on the hook for $100 Advice | Miss Manners: What do you mean what’s wrong with my arm? Advice | Miss Manners: My child was upset by this drama on the train. Who was in the wrong? Advice | Miss Manners: I was at the game, too, but I lied to my friend about it Advice | Miss Manners: My neighbor is convinced I’m making this noise. How do I get him to drop it? My daughter and I are both crafters, and we gave a hand-thrown mug and a quilted “mug rug” to a mutual acquaintance whose business we both patronize.We assumed she would use the items. But the next time I went into her store, our gifts were on a shelf, available for sale.Am I off-base to think this was an insult? It seems wrong to accept a gift and then be so obvious a...

Tracy Camilla Johns, star of Spike Lee’s ‘She’s Gotta Have It,’ presents photography exhibit in Laurel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:59 GMT

Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.”She was famously the lead actress in “She’s Gotta Have It” (1986), which launched the career of Spike Lee.Now, Tracy Camilla Johns, 60, presents her photography exhibit at the Laurel Museum, operated by the Laurel Historical Society in Maryland where she’s lived for 25 years. The exhibit runs now through Thanksgiving.“This particular exhibit is specific to Laurel,” Johns told WTOP. “It’s kind of a quiet, kept secret that I have resided in the DMV for some time … The running joke is: ‘Where is that [photo location] in Laurel?’… There’s the lake, there’s a lot of local foliage … People come and go every day and don’t pay attention to the beauty … It’s a quiet little museum in a small part of the city, but it’s a treasure. I grew up in New York, so I’m a museum junkie.”Born in 1963, Johns grew up in Hollis, Queens wat...

Union Berlin parts ways with coach Urs Fischer after 14 games without a win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:59 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Union Berlin parted ways with coach Urs Fischer on Wednesday after a 14-game winless run in all competitions.In his five years in charge, Fischer led Union from the second division to the Bundesliga for the first time and then into European competition. He took the club into the Champions League after placing fourth last season to continue its impressive rise.However, results this season have been poor and Union has just one draw and 13 losses from its last 14 games in all competitions. Its last win was Aug. 26.A 4-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday left Union last in the Bundesliga and without a goal in any of its last four games in the German top division. Its four Champions League games have brought one point.“This is a very sad moment not only for me personally, but certainly for the entire Union family,” Union president Dirk Zingler said in a statement. “It hurts that we have not managed to break the negative run of recent weeks. I am grateful and proud when loo...

100 years ago, anxiety prompted invention of yellow traffic light

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:59 GMT

Some aggressive driving behaviors never change — even as technology has morphed from mechanical, to electronic to computer-driven.Next week marks 100 years since Garrett Morgan was granted a patent for his improved traffic signal, the first signal that contained a step between “stop” and “go” — a cautionary period, in which traffic is stopped in all four directions.Morgan invented what has come to be known as “the yellow light.”And, in his Nov. 20, 1923, patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Morgan cited one reason for the invention was to alleviate a driver behavior that’s still prevalent in 2023 — drivers honking when a light turns green.“In the 1920s, vehicular traffic was just emerging as something that was achievable by middle-class Americans, not just the elite,” said Rebekah Oakes, historian for the USPTO.At the time, without standard infrastructure, traffic was often chaotic, in part because most drivers...

Seton Hall hosts Albany (NY) following Thomas’ 24-point game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:59 GMT

Albany (NY) Great Danes (1-1) at Seton Hall Pirates (2-0)Newark, New Jersey; Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. ESTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Pirates -20.5; over/under is 141.5BOTTOM LINE: Albany (NY) takes on the Seton Hall Pirates after Sebastian Thomas scored 24 points in Albany (NY)’s 78-75 win against the Columbia Lions.Seton Hall finished 17-16 overall with a 9-6 record at home during the 2022-23 season. The Pirates allowed opponents to score 65.1 points per game and shoot 41.5% from the field last season.Albany (NY) went 2-16 on the road and 8-23 overall a season ago. The Great Danes averaged 67.3 points per game while shooting 41.4% from the field and 32.7% from 3-point distance last season.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Heavy rainfall hits South Florida, triggering flooding woes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:59 GMT

Tuesday night delivered a deluge across South Florida, causing traffic chaos, flooded streets, and stranded cars spanning 25 blocks from Fort Lauderdale to Pompano Beach.Officials caution that this downpour is just a prelude to a forecasted stretch of wet weather in the coming days. Meteorologists predict some areas might see up to 8 inches of rainfall. “It was insane. I was driving to my business because the water was rippling inside the front door,” Bianca Pandolfo.In Fort Lauderdale’s Edgewood neighborhood, where flooding occurred last April, Greg Brandenburg is bracing for the worst. “It’s just so much rain that we’ve had this year, it’s crazy,” he said. Authorities have strategically placed three temporary pumps in Edgewood and River Oaks to mitigate potential high water issues.Similar precautions are underway in Hollywood, where pumps are being tested following East Hollywood’s flooding in April.Miami is taking proactive measures, with crews actively clearing storm...

Rishi Sunak loses Supreme Court battle over UK plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:59 GMT

LONDON — The British government has lost a Supreme Court fight over its plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.The U.K.’s final court of appeal on Wednesday dismissed a challenge by the U.K. government to an earlier finding that its flagship policy was unlawful.In its judgment, the Supreme Court said it agreed with the Court of Appeal that there was a “real risk” the U.K.’s plan would lead to asylum seekers being sent back to their home countries by Rwandan authorities without due process.Sunak had promised to use the policy to get tough on migration as an election looms. He is under major pressure from the right of his governing Conservative Party to do more to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats.Sunak’s government wants to deport people who make “dangerous, unnecessary and illegal journeys” to the U.K. to the east African nation for their asylum claims to be processed and decid...

Squaring the impossible circle: Looking to a future of improved cancer patient experience and efficient care

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:54:59 GMT

A perfect storm is appearing on the horizon. Health systems around the world are exposed to the destabilizing force of macro-economic headwinds. This volatility puts increasing pressure on health systems to pursue cost-containment measures. However, these measures represent a short-term solution, which may not yield positive system or patient benefit in the long run.The net result is a skeleton health service run by a depleted and exhausted workforce. Yet, the unmet needs, preferences and expectations of patients continue to grow.The challenge is that evidence-based improvements are often overshadowed by austerity measures. Providers may be forced to make trade-offs between delivering seamless and efficient services that seek to improve patient experience or offering a bare-bone service to balance the books.Policymakers, governments and health systems of all shapes and sizes may see the challenge as delivering seemingly irreconcilable priorities of improving patient experience, redu...