レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

Merz unveils sweeping reform push for Germany: Tax cuts, pension overhaul, and new sick leave rules

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his government coalition partners presented a comprehensive reform package with the goal of getting the country’s sluggish economy back on track. The 34 measures include cuts to income tax for low- and middle-income families, an overhaul of the creaking pension system, tougher rules for employees’ sick leave, and a reduction of the country’s stifling bureaucracy. “These reforms all have one goal: We’re setting out into the future,” Merz said. “We’re strengthening ourselves so that we can live well in these new times.” Merz is trying to cut his government coalition free from that negative reputation. Germany's economy returned to modest growth last year after shrinking for two years in a row. The government expects underwhelming growth of 0.5% this year, a figure that has been pushed down by the fallout from the war in Iran. The government coalition leaders said that the tax cuts, once fully implemented in 2028, would give an annual tax break of about 600 euros ($686.40) for a family with two working parents, two children, and a total taxable income of 60,000 euros ($68,640). The total tax relief provided by the reform amounts to approximately 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) per year. The pension system reform would include gradually raising the retirement age, currently between 65 and 67 years, depending on the number of years worked, in line with life expectancy. The tougher rules for sick leave would no longer allow employees to call in sick to work for up to three days without seeing a doctor, or call up the doctor and ask for a sick leave letter for one week without actually seeing the doctor. Instead, employers would be able to ask for a doctor's certificate from the first day a person is on sick leave. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Great apes—including humans—laugh with a similar noise pattern

Other great apes laugh in a similar way to humans, a new study has found. Just like us, they chuckle in a rhythmic pattern, suggesting they had a common ancestor around 15 million years ago that also laughed. A team led by a researcher from the University of Warwick analyzed recordings of laughter from gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, chimpanzees, and humans. They were aged between six months and seven years old. The ape giggles were collected from tickling and playtime and were recorded for a study in the early 2000s. Humans’ and great apes’ chuckles followed similar rhythms with regular timing between their laughs. “We say that all the species have an isochronous rhythm, meaning that if you think of a metronome, the tick, tick, tick—the regularity is there. So, it's always the same interval going between laughter bursts,” explains Chiara de Gregorio, the study author and a researcher at the University of Warwick. The scientists think that because a rhythmic pattern was observed across all the apes they studied, it's likely they had a common ancestor 15 million years ago that would have also laughed in a similar pattern. Laughter has gotten faster and more complex over time, so human giggles have some aspects that set them apart. For one, our laughs sound different based on context—from a polite chuckle among colleagues to a full-bodied guffaw with close friends. Other apes do not show this variability. “So, in a way we are very similar to other great apes because we've been laughing in a similar way for 15 million years. But at the same time we realize that our laughter holds more information than that is simple ‘I'm playing and having fun.’ And it's something that maybe we don't think about in everyday life: how we could communicate so many things without words,” says de Gregorio. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Opening days of RIMPAC 2026, the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise

The Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026, the largest international maritime exercise in the world, has been ongoing in Hawaii from June 24 to July 31, 2026. Hosted by the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, the exercise aims to improve interoperability and warfighting skills among participating nations while promoting a free Indo-Pacific region. The exercise involves 30 nations, over 30 surface ships, five submarines, 15 national land forces, more than 206 aircraft, and 30,000 personnel who train and operate in and around the Hawaiian Islands during the exercise. RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants that are critical to ensuring the security of sea lanes and stability across the region. The U.S. Navy states that the Rim of the Pacific exercise remains the premier multinational maritime training event, bringing together allies and partners committed to strengthening security and stability across the region. This year's theme is "Partners, Integrated and Prepared." The opening ceremony and press conference marked the start of RIMPAC 2026, the 30th iteration of the international maritime exercise, which is highlighted by the 250th anniversary of the United States. At Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Jeffrey T. Jablon, who serves as the Commander of Combined Task Forces and the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, stated, "The purpose of RIMPAC is to strengthen relationships, improve interoperability, and enhance the readiness of participating forces to promote maritime security and regional stability in a free and open Indo-Pacific." "Since its inception in 1971, RIMPAC has grown into the world's largest international maritime exercise," Jablon said. "For 250 years, our nation has built enduring relationships with allies and partners based on trust, mutual respect, and shared interests," Jablon added. RIMPAC 2026 builds on the success of previous exercises that unite allies to showcase the maritime forces' flexibility and capability. The exercise includes a variety of training events, including amphibious operations, gunnery and missile exercises, anti-submarine warfare, air defense, military medicine, humanitarian assistance, counter-piracy, mine countermeasures, explosive ordnance disposal, diving, and salvage operations. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Australia to double potential fines for Facebook and Instagram over child social media accounts

Australia plans to double potential fines for social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, that fail to prevent Australian children from holding accounts, as critics argue the world-first ban on under-16s was failing. Communications Minister Anika Wells blamed the platforms’ resistance to the age restrictions for the need to toughen the laws that came into force on December 10. “We can all agree we would like the scheme to work better than it is currently, but that is on Big Tech taking the Mickey,” Wells told the Australian Broadcasting Corp., using an Australian slang term for deceiving, teasing, or mocking. The government announced it would introduce draft legislation into Parliament that would double the maximum fine to 99 million Australian dollars ($68 million) for platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to prevent Australian children from holding accounts. The amendments would also increase the powers of eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s online safety watchdog, to demand information and documents to ensure platforms were complying with Australian law, a government statement said. The new powers would also include information from third parties, such as age assurance technology providers, to test claims made by the platforms about how those under 16 continued to circumvent the ban, the statement said. Senior opposition lawmaker Jane Hume said her party would consider voting for the reforms, saying the “social media ban wasn’t working” because of deficient laws. “The legislation was clearly undercooked in the first place. The eSafety Commissioner wasn’t given the powers to be able to pursue these Big Tech companies,” Hume said. Parliament passed the initial legislation with overwhelming support in 2024. The targeted platforms were given more than 12 months to plan and implement the ban. Many countries that have implemented or are planning similar restrictions have been closely watching the progress of Australia’s ban. The government initially reported that more than 5 million children had accounts removed, deactivated, or restricted after the ban became law. But eSafety reported in March that seven in 10 children who held accounts on restricted platforms on December 10 remained on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Apple increases prices for Macs and iPads, blaming a shortage of memory chips

Apple announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads, citing a memory chip shortage brought on by the artificial intelligence boom. The Cupertino, California-based company called the spike in demand an “unprecedented challenge” for the consumer electronics industry. “The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” the company said in a written statement. The new entry-level MacBook Neo will now cost $699, up from $599. The 512-gigabyte MacBook Air now costs $1,299, up from $1,099. The one-terabyte MacBook Pro is $1,999, up from $1,699. The 128-gigabyte iPad Air is now $749, up from $599, while the 256-gigabyte iPad Pro Wi-Fi is now $1,199, up from $999. Analysts expect iPhone prices to rise later this year. International Data Corporation (IDC) analyst Nabila Popal said the latest price hikes were higher than she had expected, which suggests the iPhone price hikes may also be higher than expected, perhaps as much as $200 for the iPhone Pro and Pro Max models. “I think the days of $50 price increases are over,” she said. Apple said that while it has shielded customers from the component price surges so far, “we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today's increases for iPad and Mac. We know this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.