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European Union elections are the largest elections after India. 450 million people elect 720 members of the EU parliament based in Strasbourg, France near the border with Germany. The elections are happening just as India completes its voting with results out by June 5 for 1.4 billion people. The EU and Indian elections have similarities. India has 28 states with different languages in most states. This is similar to the 27 independent countries in the EU and 27 national elections for EU parliament, 28 state elections for 543 members of the Lok Sabha, the Indian parliament. EU parliament does not run a government, it approves members of the European Commission that conducts affairs of the EU. Parties are from the Socialists, the Greens, the Right win parties and Centrist parties. Germany has 96 seats based on its population.

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Kamala Harris and Tim Walz pick up support in the swing states from Michigan and Wisconsin to Minnesota and New Hampshire, from Georgia to North Carolina, and from Arizona to Nevada in different regions of the US. This happens through directly talking to the public one on one and with the unions and workers, workers families. The media's tolerance for misinformation and for not talking seriously about issues such as climate change, on whose side Harris and Walz are - that of workers and families- on the investments in manufacturing and infrastructure, investment in rural areas, that have changed the potential of the US economy, is amazing, simply amazing not to think about its credibility with the public. And the social media's appetite for misinformation as happened this week in Britain with the riots in the north and Prime minister Starmer calling them out - "social media is not a law-free zone" - shows the extent of the challenge the Nation faces. ...

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Older and young Latinos in Arizona think differently. The demographics and attitudes are changing. Younger Latinos in Arizona are considering both parties and see the issues of cost of living and gender similar to other voters. Older Latinos think more about cultural affinities. Part of this change is that two thirds of Latinos in Arizona were born in the US and 40% of Latino immigrants are naturalized citizens. Economic issues and opportunities are playing a bigger part in how they see the world.

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Germany's EVG transport workers union reached an agreement with Deutsche Bahn on wage increases. EVG asked for 650 euros a month. After months of 1 day strikes both sides agreed to arbitration in June. The new agreement gives workers wage increases of 410 euros ($443) a month in 2 stages over 25 months, 200 euros in December and 210 euros in August 2024. And a tax free one off payment of 2850 euros in October. Negotiations of DB with the train drivers union GDL lie ahead with GDL asking for increase of 550 euros a month and one time payment of 3000 euros. For the first time as in the US with president Biden the German government of SDP and Greens of Scholz supports agreements that provide workers with wages adequate to meet the cost of living and dignity of living.

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During a critical 4 weeks in March 9 to April 9, 2025 Germany finds itself without a newly elected government following elections Feb 23, 2025. Only on April 9 is a new CDU/CSU and SPD coalition government in place led by CDU chancellor Merz. Tariffs came to the forefront, the critical issues of world trade and the effect on stock markets, without an elected government in place in Berlin to speak for the European Union and participate in discussions.  Japan's Ishiba and India's Modi offered the US some support as it sought to restore the world trading system to where it was before the serious distortions from China joining the WTO. Much of it the result of American companies outshoring American manufacturing and turning their backs on American workers, and the dignity and pride of workers who rebuilt the US and Europe, and Asia after the Depression and the Second World War.

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Scholz of Germany and Xi of China meet for private talks at the G-20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2024. Efforts are made to avoid tit for tat tariffs on EV's and settle Ukraine war.

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The 44 kilometre stretch of rail line being built in the region of West Bengal and Sikkim will for the first time provide a direct rail connection between Sikkim and India. A project that was approved years back in 2009 will be completed in 2 years by December 2022 by the federal government. The investment in the project is 89 billion rupees or $1.2 billion. It is a strategic project for India as it integrates the Himalayan region of Sikkim and Bhutan, Nepal, with India with rapid rail connectivity. The lack of reliable and modern rail infrastructure had held back economic development in the region. This is part of the Himalayan region in India's northeast, with spectacular mountains and requires modern engineering and technology for miles of tunnels through the mountains and bridges over many rivers at high altitude. This project is a combined venture of Indian Railways and its unit Northeast Frontier Railways, and the Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON). By completing difficult rail and other infrastructure projects in time and in budget the entire development of the Himalayan region is being moved forward.   ...

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After coming down to $0.95 to the US dollar in September 2022 the euro is now back up to $1.07. A drop in energy prices and easing of recession fears in the EU is sparing a revival of the euro. A milder winter in Europe and an impressive effort in cutting gas consumption is helping the EU. The stronger euro also helps in tackling inflation in the EU.

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The campaign in German schools "Smart ohne phone" or "Smart without a phone"  for school children in 2025. One student at Dalton High School in Alsdorf, North Rhine Westphalia, Klara Ptak, is cited in this report by  Oliver Pieper in DW.com. Klara 17 years old says- "A total of 51 phones were seized — that's a fairly significant number considering we have 700 students. And you can really see a difference, especially in the younger kids. They used to stand around in a circle staring at their screens, and now they are playing football, badminton, or board games together. It's a dramatic shift." A survey by the Körber Foundation, and pollster Forsa, says that parents of children ages 12 to 18 complain that their children's time spent on social media is out of control and is their leading source of stress. The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina is for banning phones upto tenth grade, it wants to keep children under 13 away from the internet for social media completely. It is interesting to note that the younger student are fine with it and adapted quickly seeing the benefits. This shows that a new generation of student can be trained for a different lifestyle. Today in the Washington Post Linda McMahon and RFK Jr. team up on an article saying just this that time spent on screens lifestyles along with nutrition and food fail school children badly, reminding people about the saying in Latin since the 2nd Century by poet Juvenal -"a healthy mind in a healthy body." ( Latin -"mens sana in corpore sano").   ...

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US Iran Memorandum of Understanding signed by DJT and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, May 17 2026, with Pakistan as mediator. Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Qatar tried to bring the two sides together within Iran the RGC Revolutionary Guard Corps military and the president elected in 2024 (to tackle cost of living and other economic issues). and narrow their differences with the US. A key factor was China and the US president called China's actions "fantastic" in achieving the signed agreement to work out the details within 60-90 days of talks. Without China's help in imports and other assistance Iran's economy would be hard to sustain. China's own interests are best served by maintaining peace in the region as it continues to develop and modernize its economy. Russia also supported the agreement. Another contributor was India by setting an example for modernization and economic development as the true pathway for the people of West Asia, by bringing UAE, Egypt and other Arab nations in North Africa such as Morocco together in the direction of economic development and showing that cooperation in the region including with Israel is the best way forward. From the perspective of long term future of the region the presence of Modi and India at the G-7 meeting next to Macron and DJT shows there is now a G-8, with India joining Japan as two key Asian nations in the G-8. In this way the administration has achieved something that was never possible in either the old G-8 (that included Russia) under previous administrations after 2000. DJT's meeting with Putin in Alaska, and his visit to Beijing for discussions with Xi Jinping in 2025 and 2026, achieved the G-8 setting with India plus keeping China and Russia fully engaged in separate one on one arranged talks. This is a rare feat achieved in 2026 for the US, China, India and Russia, EU, Germany, that has never been done before to the lasting credit of the leaders DJT, president Xi, prime minister Modi, president Putin, and chancellor Merz- to their patience even in times of disagreement, their efforts to persevere when times were rough, and their foresight and wisdom in seeking agreement around what they shared in common.  ...

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Added sugar is the big culprit in the way we age, and in our general health, the diseases we get. This is not just about obesity, its about metabolic health- getting only the amount of sugar that is good for us. Unknowingly if we are not careful, not checking labels and without any advantage we end up taking added sugar when we eat packaged foods. About 70% of packaged foods contain this added sugar. Most adults in the U.S. and other countries get 17 teaspoons of added sugar a day or twice the 9 teaspoons that is recommended for men and three times the 6 teaspoons a day recommended for women. For children the recommended limit is 3 teaspoons. Just by being a bit careful and removing this added sugar from our diet we can enjoy much better health. It is not giving us much because we can still have some sugar in healthy natural foods, in fruits and vegetables, and a smaller amount of plain sugar. After the first couple of days of a change one may not even notice this. By so much has our sugar intake grown particularly with packaged foods, that a small change can bring big results in health and healthy living style. ...

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The Global Carbon Project said in its assessment that carbon dioxide emissions are down 7% in 2020. This was more than the reduction in 1945 and 2009. Emissions were cut by 2.4 billion metric tons. Emissions are down because of lockdowns and people staying at home, less travel.

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The book that is The Times and Sunday Times best thought of book of the year 2024 is Jonathan Haidt's Anxious Generation. It shows how teenagers instead of playing with their friends and doing activity outdoors, are isolated in their rooms scrolling through smartphones and deluging their minds with information that is very often toxic. Life was simpler and physically active before Steve Jobs smartphones and social media of facebook, twitter and tiktok. Quality of life has deteriorated not advanced with these technologies. Born to Rule by Friedman and Reeves is about the British Elite. The puzzling thing about the people in it is that they want to pass themselves off as relatable and normal, says The Times. None of the powerful and influential will admit to being in the elite or establishment it says and asks why are they so embarrassed? The same could be said for the American elite or establishment who will pass themselves off as normal and relatable too and don't think of them as part of this group.  ...

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A problem for Tesla is that it has no response for competition from German, Japanese or South Korean imports of EV vehicles. Its last new model was in 2020 a cybertruck priced at $85000 and the next new car model is slated for 2026, says this NYT report. Tesla models are priced at $45,000 as competitors from Asia are cutting costs and prices rapidly. Competitors BYD, VW and BMW, Kia, plan to introduce new models much faster. BYD has its own battery technology and makes its own batteries, so that it can cut cost. The result in the first quarter 2024 Tesla sales declined to 387,000 from 423,000 in 2023, BYD's increased by 13% to 300,000, with an additional 324,000 hybrid cars up 15%. Consumer Reports says the controls are all from the screen make a Tesla harder to drive as other cars have switches and other controls. 

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The US Federal Reserve has already raised interest rates in 2021-2022 to 5-5.25%. The Fed under Jerome Powell has taken a pause on interest rate increases this month but expects to make two interest rate increases of quarter percentage point to take interest rates up to 5.6% by the end of 2023. Jerome Powell has shown determination at the US central bank to control inflation that went up quickly in 2021 with supply chain disruptions and oil flow disruptions. This has led to slower US inflation with inflation down to 4% in May 2023, half of what it was at its peak in 2022. The higher interest rates help savers including retired people deprived of interest income over the last decade, and hurt borrowers making higher payments on mortgage and car loans.

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German digital decline-only 20% of Dusseldorf administrative public services are online, Berlin much less than Dusseldorf, other cities in Germany lag behind. Denmark is way ahead of Germany with all public and administrative services shown on one site for every citizen of Denmark. In Germany there is institutional inflation in that each city does digital development separate from others, and there is no national system. It may have come from Germany's disinclination to centralize things in the political system after the Nazi period of the 1930's destroyed liberties, which extends into the social sphere. In any case fax machines are common in Germany, and are needed to correspond with public services of city and state. Germany's IT industry association Bitkom tells DW in this report that 77% of German companies still use fax machines, and 25% use fax machines frequently.