Image of the week: When I’m 64
Emmanuel Macron’s plans to raise state pension age in France from 62 – the lowest among big European economies – to 64 by 2030 and also increase the number of years people must make contributions for a full pension have not exactly gone down a storm.
Indeed, the president’s proposals were the subject of a heated parliamentary debate earlier this week, with the left-wing Rachel Keke, the first cleaner in France to win a seat, saying supporters of the reforms “don’t understand what it’s like to wake up with an aching back” or “what it is like to take medication to get through the work day”. Macron’s centrist group needs to win over opposition politicians to secure a majority for the Bill to pass, with their hostility to it posing a risk to his political standing.
Meanwhile, more than 750,000 Macron-weary French workers took to the streets for a round of mass strikes and protests, with one Paris-based demonstrator in a wedding dress carrying a placard reading “Plan B – I’m looking for a dying and impotent rich husband”.
Wait, isn’t that plan A?
Christmas digestifs: buckle up for the strong stuff once dinner is done
Western indifference to Israel’s thirst for war defines a grotesque year of hypocrisy
Why do so many news sites look so boringly similar? Because they have to play by Google and Meta’s rules
Christmas dinner for under €35? We went shopping to see what the grocery shop really costs
In numbers: Coral versus coal
10km
Distance from the Great Barrier Reef to a coal mine proposed by mining magnate Clive Palmer. The Australian federal government this week rejected the plan – the first time it has blocked the creation of a coal mine under national environmental laws.
9,000
Submissions received by the government over a period of 10 days after it opened up a public consultation on the subject, with the majority calling for the mine to be stopped on the grounds that it would lead to all-round ecological disaster.
4
Mass bleaching events suffered by the world’s largest coral reef system in the past six years due to rising sea temperatures stressing the corals, prompting them to expel the algae that give them colour and life – not ideal for a Unesco world heritage site.
Getting to know: Bard
The battle of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots kicked off this week with a new contender joining OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the fray: Google’s Bard. Indeed, with OpenAI investor Microsoft on the cusp of announcing its ChatGPT-powered new version of search engine Bing, it was perhaps a hastier than anticipated curtain-up for Bard.
“Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launch pad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries from Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope to a nine-year-old,” wrote Google boss Sundar Pichai in a potential underestimation of typical nine-year-olds intrigued by space.
Alas, Bard itself seemed a little confused by the James Webb telescope, incorrectly identifying it as the first to take pictures of a planet outside the solar system.
Currently being used by “trusted testers” before being rolled out to the public, Bard has been so named because it is a storyteller, allegedly, although if it’s going to be any sort of rival to ChatGPT, it will probably have to prove itself a dab hand at poetry too.
The tech giant calls it “an experimental conversational AI service” and suggests people might consult it when they’re planning a friend’s baby shower, comparing two Oscar-nominated films or seeking lunch ideas based on the contents of their fridge. Wild, wild times.
The list: Pannick stations
Accused of breaching Premier League financial fair play rules more than 100 times over a nine-year period in which it won the title three times, Manchester City Football Club has signed former Boris Johnson adviser and top barrister Lord Pannick – David to his friends – for its defence.
But what has the club been charged with exactly?
1. Accuracy lapses: The Premier League says Manchester City repeatedly failed to provide accurate financial information on the club. This probably relates to a claim that it inflated the value of sponsorship deals in order to channel more of its owners’ money into the club.
2. Manager pay: The club, majority owned by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour, is accused of not coughing up the “full details” about how it remunerated its manager during the years when Roberto Mancini was the man in the dugout.
3. Uefa breaches: The Premier League’s rules require that all clubs comply with regulations set by European governing body Uefa. From 2013 to 2018, the Premier League says Manchester City did not.
4. Profitability and sustainability: The club is also charged with being in breach of rules that state that Premier League sides should not lose more than £105 million (€118 million) in a three-year period.
5. Non-co-operation: City stands accused of not co-operating with the investigations. The club has a different view, saying it was “surprised” by the charges “particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials” supplied. An independent commission will review the matter, then it’s over to VAR.
