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Merriam-Webster’s 2023 word of the year is the real deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:25 GMT

(CNN) — As the all-important question of truth and facts continues to dominate current affairs, it may come as no surprise to learn that Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is “authentic.”The online dictionary says there has been a high volume of searches for the word’s definition for several years, but 2023 saw a “substantial increase,” thanks to “stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media.”The reason so many look it up is because “authentic” has several meanings, according to the announcement on the dictionary’s website, including “not false or imitation” and “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.”A synonym of real and actual, authentic is “clearly a desirable quality,” according to Merriam-Webster, and is often linked with expressions of identity, such as cuisine.The dictionary said it has also been a term favored by celebrities like singers Lainey Wilson, Sam Smith and Taylor Swift, who have ...

A critically endangered Sumatran rhino named Delilah successfully gives birth in Indonesia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:25 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A critically endangered Sumatran rhino was born in Indonesia’s western island of Sumatra on Saturday, the second Sumatran rhino born in the country this year and a welcome addition to a species that currently numbers fewer than 50 animals.A female named Delilah gave birth to a 25-kilogram (55-pound) male calf at a sanctuary for Sumatran rhinos in Way Kambas National Park in Lampung province, at the southern tip of Sumatra island.The calf is fathered by a male named Harapan, who was born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2006. He was the last Sumatran rhino in the world to be repatriated to Indonesia, meaning that the entire population of Sumatran rhinos is now in Indonesia.Most of the remaining rhinos live on Sumatra, several in captivity. They are threatened by destruction of tropical forest habitat and poachers who kill the animals for their horns, which are prized for making ornaments and for use in traditional medicine in China and other parts of Asia.“This birt...

Justin Madubuike, the Ravens’ sack leader, is in concussion protocol after exiting win vs. Chargers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:25 GMT

Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike is in the NFL’s concussion protocol after exiting Sunday night’s 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, coach John Harbaugh said.Madubuike went down with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter and was tended to by team trainers before heading to the sideline under his own power. He did not return to the game as the Ravens forced a turnover on downs from their own 36-yard line with 1:57 to go before rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers ran for a 37-yard touchdown to seal the victory.A 2020 third-round draft pick, Madubuike has become one of the best players on perhaps the league’s best defense, leading the team with 10 sacks in the final year of his rookie contract. He had a half-sack and three quarterback hits before leaving the game Sunday, helping the Ravens shut down one of the league’s best offenses as the Chargers finished with just 279 total yards and ended a streak of 48 straight games with a first-half touchdown, the lo...

Tesla sues Swedish agency as striking workers halt delivery of license plates of its new vehicles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:25 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Tesla has filed a lawsuit against the Swedish Transport Agency as striking workers in the Scandinavian country halted the delivery of license plates of new vehicles manufactured by the Texas-based automaker, reported Sweden’s Dagens Industri on Monday.Mikael Andersson, a press spokesman for the agency, told local broadcaster SVT that the lawsuit was filed early morning “so we have not seen it yet.”“We need to hear their reasoning first before we can give any further comment,” Andersson told SVT.Leading business paper Dagens Industri reported that Tesla — which is non-unionized globally — was suing the government agency because not accessing the registration plates “constitutes an unlawful discriminatory attack directed at Tesla.” On Oct. 27, 130 members of the powerful metalworkers’ union IF Metall walked out at seven workshops across the country where the popular electric cars are serviced, demanding that the carmaker sign a collective bargaining agreement, which m...

An abducted German priest is said to be freed in Mali one year after being seized in the capital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:25 GMT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A German priest who was abducted by rebels in Mali’s capital in November 2022 has been released by his captors, a church member and a former colleague told The Associated Press on Monday.Church members in the capital of Bamako learned of the release of Rev. Hans-Joachim Lohre late Sunday, according to Dia Monique Pare, a former colleague who had confirmed his kidnapping. There were few details about his release.“Yesterday, while we were at Mass, a member of priest Hans-Joachim Lohre’s family told us that they had good news about the priest,” Pare said.Abbé Jean-Marie Djibo, a member of the church, said Lohre was released on Sunday and has returned to Germany. “He is doing well,” Djibo said.Authorities in Mali and Germany could not be reached for comment.It was not immediately known if a ransom was paid.Lohre was abducted by al-Qaida-linked rebels in Bamako. It was the first time that militants had seized a foreigner in the capital since their insurgen...

Qatar is the go-to mediator in the Mideast war. Its unprecedented Tel Aviv trip saved a shaky truce

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:25 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The deal seemed on the verge of unraveling. Hamas had accused Israel of failing to keep its side of the bargain and Israel was threatening to resume its lethal onslaught on the Gaza Strip.That was the point at which a Qatari jet landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport on Saturday. Negotiators aboard set to work, seeking to save the cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers before it fell apart and scuttled weeks of high-stakes diplomatic wrangling. The first public visit by Qatari officials to Israel marked an extraordinary moment for the two countries, which have no official diplomatic relations. It also underscored the major role of the tiny emirate in bridging differences between the enemies.“This is something we’ve never seen before,” Yoel Guzansky, a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said of the Qataris’ stay in Israel. “It’s the only external actor in the world with that much leverage on Ha...

EU border agency helping search for missing crew after cargo ship sinks off Greece

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:25 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The European Union’s border protection agency Frontex has joined the search for 12 crew members missing after a cargo ship sank in rough weather the previous day near the Greek island of Lesbos, authorities said Monday. A 40-year-old Egyptian crew member was rescued on Sunday while the body of another Egyptian member of the crew was recovered by a commercial vessel that was assisting in the search. The Comoros-flagged Raptor was transporting salt from Alexandria, Egypt, to Istanbul and issued a distress signal before the vessel sank. It had a crew of 14, including eight Egyptians, four Indians and two Syrians, the coast guard said.The ship reported a mechanical problem at 7 a.m. Sunday, sent a distress signal at 8:20 a.m. and shortly after disappeared about 4 1/2 nautical miles (8 kilometers) southwest of Lesbos, authorities said.Frontex, which patrols the Lesbos area monitoring for illegal migration, sent a surveillance aircraft and a patrol boat to join...

Air Transat flight attendants OK strike mandate if new contract cannot be reached

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:25 GMT

The union representing 2,100 flight attendants at Air Transat says workers have voted to approve a strike if they cannot reach a new contract with the airline.The Canadian Union of Public Employees says the flight attendants voted 99.8 per cent in favour of backing the mandate.Dominic Levasseur, president of the Air Transat component of CUPE, says the next few weeks of negotiations will be critical. Levasseur says it’s still possible to reach a new contract without resorting to a strike, but the union’s members have high expectations and are extremely motivated.The collective agreement for the flight attendants based at airports in Montreal and Toronto expired on Oct. 31, 2022.Air Transat is owned by travel company Transat AT Inc. 

Liz Weston: Companies’ deceptive ‘dark patterns’ online cost you money – here’s how to fight back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:25 GMT

See if any of this sounds familiar:● You can’t find an easy way to cancel an unwanted subscription, so you let it continue for another month — telling yourself you’ll try again later.● You feel rushed into an online purchase you regret, but there’s no option to undo the transaction or demand a refund.● You want to read an article or shop at a store online, but you’re bombarded with pop-up requests for your data. There’s no easy option for saying no, so you click “allow” just to get the annoying pop-up out of the way.These are just a few examples of “dark patterns” — intentionally deceptive designs that companies use to steer people into making choices that aren’t in the consumers’ best interest.Dark patterns may sound like a feature of sketchy websites, but these manipulative practices are a common way mainstream companies dupe people into sacrificing their privacy or paying for stuff they don’t really want.Buttons that allow sites to scoop up and sell your data may be prominent, wh...

Israel and Hamas prepare for fourth swap as mediators seek to extend cease-fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:25 GMT

Israel and Hamas are preparing for a fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, as mediators seek to extend a cease-fire in Gaza that is set to expire after Monday.On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 more hostages — 14 Israelis and three Thais — in a third exchange under the four-day truce. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners.Of the roughly 240 hostages captured by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that ignited the war, 62 have been released, one was freed by Israeli forces and two were found dead inside Gaza. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. Hamas has also said it hopes to extend the truce, which was mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.With the truce deal has come increased shipments of fuel and supplies into Gaza — though aid groups say it's still barely enough to dent the needs of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israel...