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How Spain restored electricity with help from France Morocco Sept 29 2025. A huge blackout as the electricity grid in Spain failed.

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This excellent article by Peta Bee looks at how we can do anti-ageing efforts to keep our immune systems strong as we become older. She looks at work by an expert in immune cell biology, Janet Lord, who is head of the Institute for Inflammation and Ageing at Birmingham University. It is now proven that the link between ageing and immune systems can be guided in constructive ways. At sixty and seventy years age one can have the immune system of a 30 year old by doing a couple of simple things which are covered here from taking 10,000 steps a day, high intensity interval training on some days each month, occasional fasting on some days, high fibre diet and vitamin D. Walking, running or other forms of exercize affect a particular form of immune function called neutrophil movement in positive ways. Neutrophil movement because these cells are the main defense against the forms of bacteria that cause pneumonia. Neutrophils in older adults behaved in ways similar to that found in 30 year olds when doing 10,000 steps a day of exercize. Dr. Lord and other researchers have found. Dr. Jenna Macciochi, a lecturer in immunology at the University of Sussex, says about 70% of our immune system resides in our gut, making gut health very important for our immunity. Macciochi is the author of Immunity: The Science of Staying Well. Important for gut or gastrointestinal health is the eating of food that has prebiotic and probiotic effect. This helps reverse the decline of immunity coming with ageing.When we chew down on fibre in vegetables, fruit, beans or lentils we have beneficial byproducts called postbiotics that act as an interface between diet and immunity, that change the personalities of cells and circulate in our blood for regulation of immune system, says Dr. Macciochi. Postbiotics from eating dietary fibre tune up specific virus fighting cells that help us fight infections from flu and viruses, studies show says this report in The Times. Women in the UK get only 17g per day, men 20 mg per day of fibre. We need 30 mg per day of fibre and to do this we need to increase our intake of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds and pulses. Also important is avoiding the inflammation that comes with ageing called inflammageing, says Dr. Macciochi. To do this do resistance training, weights, or using body weight such as lunges, push ups, squats. When our muscles move we produce hormones called myokines that help our immune cells function and keep inflammation down. She believes strength work is an absolute essential to rejuvenate our immune age. ...

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It is a moment in the Senate that Majority leader Schumer says will be remembered years from now. A total of 65 Senators vote to support an aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, and humanitarian aid, all Democrats and 18 Republicans as a group led by Senator Mitch McConnell, the Minority Leader. The Republican Senators include Senator WIcker the senior member on the Armed Services Committee, military veterans, and centrists. Voicing strong support were Senator Tillis of North Carolina and Moran of Kansas on the Senate floor. Tillis said "there is a common conviction that if we fail on this vote, if we don't support Ukraine, this is not bluster, not hyperbole- bad things will happen." Tillis also said that after the earlier vote to break a filibuster by Republican colleagues -"I slept like a baby last night." The list includes senior Republican leaders Cronyn of Texas, both senators from Iowa including Grassley, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Mullin of Oklahoma, Rounds of South Dakota, Thune of South Dakota, Todd Young of Indiana. In terms of age and experience this may be the most senior and most experienced Republican leaders from over half of the traditionally Republican states. ...

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The mismanagement of the economy under president Macri is leading to an economic crisis in the country. By embracing economic orthodoxy and slashing subsidies for fuel, electricity and transportation Mr. Macri who won the election 3 years ago has cause the prices of these basic goods to skyrocket. This has hurt the middle class and poor in Argentina. For most of this century Argentina has pursued populist policies, and in the last five decades periods of free market principle based economics were followed by severe crises, and subsequent restoration of populist policies to improve the economic conditions that had deteriorated.  The peso lost half of its value in 2018, leading to a IMF bailout of $57 billion. Inflation is at 50%, unemployment above 9%. To stem the fall in the peso the central bank increased interest rates to 60% stifling the economy and business. Under his predecessor Christine Kirchner the peso's value suffered and its currency reserves were low after fall in soyabean prices, yet the currency had not suffered the kind of decline that it has seen under Mr. Macri. The cutting of subsidies and the economic crisis has increased the number of poor to about a third of the population. Argentina now faces another of the repeated cycles of going from a populist Peronist administration to a free market orthodoxy supporting government, followed by an economic crisis and a shift back to Peronist populist administration policies. Part of the problem is that Argentina, and Brazil, and most of Latin America is still dependent on commodity exports, and the economy dependent on commodity prices. The manufacturing sector has not taken off as it has in Asian countries. This has led to repeated crises in times when the currency reserves declined and affected the currency, also leading to bouts of severe inflation.   ...

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US 28 Point Peace Plan for the Russia- Ukraine war put out on November  20 2025 and the Ukrainian response. Ukraine and EU plans for counter proposals on some of the key points. Zelensky says Ukraine may have to choose between losing a partner and dignity in his message to the Ukrainian nation as the US takes a neutral stand in the war and pushes for a settlement which Ukraine and Europe see as "capitulation."

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The Volcker Rule goes into effect in July 2012. Under the rule proprietary trading operations of banks must be divested by 2012, with banks getting an additional three years to comply for specific situations. The financial industry is pushing back against the rule with comment letters from industry firms. Mr. Volcker outlined his response in his letter of comments to the objections raised by financial firms. To the objection that this would reduce liquidity in the market and raise corporate borrowing rates, Vocker says that too much liquidity is a problem because firms tend to bid up asset prices in the hope that they can always find buyers.

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Even 4.5% will be hard to achieve for China's growth with disruptions in oil supplies, lack of discounted oil, and lack of trade ports logistics with US and European Union as these countries insist on a level playing field so that it does not destroy their industry.

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ECB President Mario Draghi stated in his first speech to bankers and policy makers in Frankfurt that governments in Italy, Spain and other eurozone countries need to take stronger action and stop delaying. He said: "Where is the implementation of these long-standing decisions. We should not be waiting any longer." Jens Weidmann, president of the Bundesbank stated Germany's view: "The economic costs of any form of monetary financing of public debts and deficits outweigh its benefits so clearly that it will not help to stabilize the current situation." The ECB continues to maintain limited purchases of Italian and Spanish bonds, leading to a small easing of bond yields, but has ruled out large scale purchases. ECB officials fear that taking the heat off politicians in Italy and other eurozone countries through large scale bond purchases will only lead to a lack of action on irresponsible fiscal policies. Meanwhile the debate in Germany continues with the mass circulation tabloid Bild saying calls for the ECB to act were "hysteria." The conservative leaning newspaper Die Welt says Merkel could still change her mind. Die Welt pointed out that Germans remember the hyperinflation of the 1920's as what can result from printing money to buy government issued bonds, but forget the period in the early 1930's under Chancellor Heinrich Bruning, another deeply troubling period, when deep austerity led to mass unemployment and a prolonged depression....

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Recovery of New York office space as vacancy drops to 15% in Manhattan office buildings from the 8% before the pandemic in 2019's final quarter. The Park Avenue $60 story tower that has head offices of Chase Bank is one of the recovery spots. The return ot office attendance is back up to levels before the pandemic in 2019, slightly higher by 1.3%. A younger workforce is attracted to work in Manhattan with short commutes from the suburbs around it.  The Park Avenue Corridor near the Grand Central Terminal Building is  another one of the areas with easy commute into New York City from suburbs.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he doesn't yet have the necessary votes to stop Democrats from calling for witnesses. Democrats want former presidential National Security Adviser Mr. Bolton to testify under oath about the president's motivations for freezing aid to Ukraine. During three day of presentations by Mr. Trump's defense legal team the focus of Pat Philbin and Alan Dershowitz was on the actions of the president on Ukraine policy not rising to the level of Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Justice that Democrats in the House have presented as the 2 Articles for impeachment. Earlier the White House legal team put the focus on Mr. Biden, and his son Hunter Biden's role in the Ukrainian company Burisma as a board member. Burisma was being investigated for corruption by Ukrainian prosecutors. Much of the defense presentation recalled the effort during the early days after the Civil War to impeach president Andrew Johnson simply because Republicans in Lincoln's party did not like Mr. Johnson's views on Reconstruction of the South, and his dismissal of Mr. Stanton, the Secretary of War. That effort failed because it lacked one additional vote needed for a two thirds majority in the Senate. Republicans say not only are the president's actions on Ukraine calling for an investigation of the Biden's not an impeachable offense as "a high crime," but also that Democrats dislike of Mr. Trump just as Republican dislike for Mr. Johnson was lowering the bar for impeachment by making malleable charges. They argued that one of the country's founders Mr. Mason even rejected the idea presented to him that "maladministration" as grounds for impeachment should be put in the Constitution for the very same reason, that it was malleable to a preconceived notion of what is wrong. Four Republican senators Gardner of Colorado, McSally of Arizona, Tillis of North Carolina and Collins of Maine face tight races in upcoming elections, and may decide in favor of a compromise for the calling of witnesses. This would allow Republicans to call Mr. Biden and Hunter Biden to testify, and Democrats to call Mr. Bolton to testify on his views expressed in his to be published book that the president withheld aid to Ukraine because he felt that corruption needed to be investigated.   ...

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U.S. will no longer allow Chinese flights to the U.S. if U.S. airlines are not given permission for flights to China. Chinese airlines continued flights to the U.S. after U.S. airlines stopped flying in February and March. Air China, China Southern, Xiamen, and China Eastern operate reduced flights to the U.S. President Trump's order could bar flights starting June 16, or earlier.

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No town can be seen as bouncing back after loss of its manufacturing jobs, its factories, which is the economic backbone of each community.

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Following the Dallas police officer shootings Bruni of the NYT says U.S. president Obama has not set race relations back 50 years as some of his detractors say. Instead the conversation on race relations has become more heated with technology providing instant images on iPhones, and the loss of black lives, says Bruni.  Obama has tried unsuccessfully to have his voice heard for moderation on all sides.

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Ratan Tata welcomes Air India- formerly founded as Tata Airlines in 1932 by an accomplished pilot JRD Tata who flew the maiden postal flight in South Asia from Karachi to Bombay in 1932- back to Tata Group. JRD Tata assumed the position as head of Tata Sons in 1938. Nehru nationalized Air India in 1953 after years of bureaucratic interference in the management of the airline. Ratan Tata was selected by JRD Tata to run the Tata Group in 1990 and was present during the early formative years of the airline. The decision to take 100% ownership of Air India in 2021 appears to be a good one considering the difficulties JRD Tata had- and which Ratan Tata is familiar with- from interference by the government in the management of the airline in the early period after independence in 1947. This gives Tata Group a clean start to build a new airline. By taking responsibility for three fourths of the debt of Air India with Tata Group taking on the other one fourth, the government gives the new airline a good start. Air India was losing 3 million dollars a day according to a report in DW.com. This transfer also frees up this huge investment for use in other areas of the economy such as infrastructure building, healthcare, education, logistics for exports. ...

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How the Collins and Aikman move will affect purchasing and pricing of auto parts and the auto parts and auto industries. Collins and Aikman made this decision at the cost of losing a large customer. This shows how back to the wall the auto parts industry has become as it restructures to adapt to the needs of a competitive global marketplace.

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"Because of the pressure on public services that resentment (by public) is real"- Shabana Mohamed tears up old rules in asylums that put migrants before British neighborhoods. Under the old rules refugees were given 5 years of protection and allowed to bring their families, followed by possible permanent status. Now this is cut to 30 months and if the country is safe the person has to go back, Waiting time to be able to settle in Britain will be extended to 10 years. The system worked in Denmark cutting by 90% the flow of migrants. In 2025 100,000 claimed asylum inUK half of them coming in small boats.  The asylum people placed in hotels has resulted in an outcry from locals in many British towns who see a way of life of the British people being pressured by the migrants some from remote countries with different cultures and leading to lack of safety for women on the streets. In Denmark without these changes the labour working class party would have lost power to a movement like that of Nigel Farage Reform UK which wants to shut the door completely on migrants. Public patience appears to be gone. Similar situations have happened in Dutch politics and is happening in other countries including Germany and France. ...

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About $229 billion, three fourth of Greece's debt, is now held by the European Central Bank, the IMF and the European Commission. This is taxpayer money and the governments are making sure that they get back bailout loans in the form of interest payments. About two thirds of the $177 billion given to Greece as bailout loans since May 2010 actually came back to the ECB, IMF, and the EC, in the form of interest. The ECB is keen on recovering taxpayer money. The money route has been setup with an escrow account in Greece for bailout loans so that interest payments get paid, and this money cannot be used for any other purpose. Banking experts say this is a practice in risk management, and with Greece's poor record in finances the controls have been put in place to recover money the ECB invested in Greek bonds in an effort to calm nervous financial markets and now gets about 10% in annual interest payment. Under earlier debt restructuring for private creditors to Greece a haircut of over 50% on Greek bonds was taken, with the ECB insisting on receiving full payment. If Greece were to repudiate the loans under a new elected government losses would have to be taken by the ECB, IMF, and EC, and by private creditors. The ECB has Greek bonds in the range of $44 billion to $69 billion, and the European Financial Stability Facility $88 billion, by some estimates. Greece's exit from the euro would result in losses on these bonds .for the ECB and the EFSF, ultimately European taxpayers. It would also make the new bonds to private creditors under the restructuring of little value which is why European banks would not favor that outcome. Greece's tax receipts at some point, possibly 2013, would exceed basic operating expenses of the government, at which point a future Greek government might decide to exit the euro and stop interest payments on debt in its best interest....

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This WSJ report looks at the U.S. unemployment report showing unemployment rate dropping from 14.7% to 13.3%. The hardest hit leisure and hospitality industry is rebounding first with the largest gains in jobs as the economy recovers. 1.4 million jobs were added in this sector. Construction is lso coming back with 464,0000 jobs added, Unemployment for Hispanics and Blacks is higher than for whites. Black unemployment rate is steady at 16.8%, Hispanic unemployment at 17.6% down from about 19%. Women are showing higher unemployment rate than men, partly reflecting their higher numbers in the leisure and hospitality, education sectors where social distancing measures are needed becauseof social contact.