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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Europe’s eurozone bailout institution has approved a 2.72 billion euro ($2.88 billion) disbursement to recapitalize Greece’s ailing Piraeus Bank.

The amount is part of 10 billion euros set aside for Greek banks under the country’s third international bailout, which was agreed on this year.

The fund, called European Stability Mechanism, said Tuesday that Piraeus had covered about 2.2 billion euros of a 4.93 billion euro shortfall identified during recent stress tests on Greek banks, and that the stability mechanism would provide the remaining amount.

ESM head Klaus Regling said Greece had “cleared an important hurdle by securing sufficient interest for the recapitalization among private investors.”

The ESM said the release of the remaining 7.28 billion euros for the banks “will be decided on a case by case basis.”

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BEIJING (AP) — Hollywood actor Luke Bracey says the remake of the action crime thriller “Point Break” is bigger and better because it’s got heaps of extreme sports that weren’t even invented when the original 1991 hit came out.

Bracey is the new Johnny Utah, the FBI agent played by Keanu Reeves in the 1991 movie who goes undercover among a gang of surfers led by Patrick Swayze.

In the new “Point Break” that comes out in China on Friday and in the U.S. on Christmas Day, extreme sports take center stage. Action adventure feats include big wave surfing, wingsuit flying, sheer-face snowboarding, free rock climbing and high-speed motorcycling.

Bracey said some “hadn’t even been thought of when the original was made, in the original they were still paddling into waves.”

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Beirut (AFP) – Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate on Tuesday freed 16 Lebanese soldiers and police held for more than a year in exchange for the release of prisoners and delivery of aid, television footage showed.

The 16 men arrived at an army checkpoint in the mountainous Jurud Arsal region of eastern Lebanon in four Red Cross vehicles, live footage broadcast by Al-Jazeera and Lebanon’s MTV showed.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook is to be awarded the “Ripple of Hope” Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation for his commitment to social change, Re/Code reports. 

The award has previously gone to President Bill Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, singer Taylor Swift, actor George Clooney, Hillary Clinton, and Vice President Al Gore.

Cook will be recognised alongside Evercore co-founder Roger Altman, Democratic Representative John Lewis, and UNESCO Ambassador Marianna Vardinoyannis. 

The foundation, which also distributes awards for journalism and literature, describes it as “lauding leaders of the international business, entertainment, and activist communities who demonstrate commitment to social change and reflect Robert Kennedy’s passion for equality, justice, basic human rights, and his belief that we all must strive to ‘make gentle the life of this world.'”

Cook has taken public stances on big issues, including gay rights. In an open letter published by Bloomberg, Cook came out, stating that “if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.”

Apple, lead by Cook, has also become an advocate for equal rights, publicly opposing Indiana’s hiring laws. “At Apple, we try to make sure people understand that they don’t have to check their identity at the door,” Cook wrote in The Wall Street Journal. “We’re committed to creating a safe and welcoming workplace for all employees, regardless of their race, gender, nationality or sexual orientation.” 

Cook will receive the award on December 8. 

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Brussels (AFP) – Eurozone unemployment in October slipped to its lowest level since January 2012, official data showed on Tuesday, beating analyst expectations and confirming a slow recovery in Europe’s job market.

The European Union’s Eurostat agency said unemployment in the 19-country single currency bloc fell to 10.7 percent in October from 10.8 percent in September. 

Economists surveyed by the Factset data company had forecast no change in the jobless rate over the period.

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Bangkok (AFP) – The International New York Times said its printer in Thailand removed an article on the moribund state of the kingdom’s economy Tuesday, forcing the edition to carry blank spaces including on the cover.

It was the second time in 10 weeks that the paper has said its local printer declined to run an article, in a country where media freedoms have been increasingly curtailed since last year’s military takeover.

Tuesday’s newspaper was supposed to run a report headlined “Thai economy and spirits are sagging” that explored the junta’s inability to jump-start the flagging economy.

It also touched briefly on succession concerns surrounding 87-year-old King Bhumibol, the world’s longest serving monarch who is revered but ailing.

Instead chunks of the front page and page six were blank and carried the sentence: “The article in this space was removed by our printer in Thailand. The International New York Times and its editorial staff had no role in its removal.”

A spokeswoman for the paper gave the same reply when asked for comment by AFP.

Eastern Printing PCL, the paper’s Thai printer, did not comment on why it pulled the piece when contacted by AFP. The article was still accessible online in Thailand. 

– Media clampdown –

On September 22 Eastern Printing failed to publish the entire newspaper because the Asia edition featured a detailed front-page article on the health of King Bhumibol, a hugely controversial topic in Thailand.

That story also discussed anxieties over the succession.

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, who does not enjoy his father’s widespread popularity, is next in line for the throne.

The monarchy is shielded by one of the world’s toughest lese majeste laws and prosecutions have surged since the military coup.

The media routinely self-censors when reporting on the monarchy for fear of falling foul of the broadly-worded law, which carries up to 15 years in jail for each count of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent.

Tuesday’s piece was centred on the stuttering economy in Thailand, which has one of the lowest growth rates in Southeast Asia. The country is blighted by high household debt, low consumer confidence and disappointing exports.

Since toppling a democratically elected government in May 2014, Thailand’s generals have stamped down on critical media.

But some criticism does take place. On Tuesday English-language newspaper The Nation ran a rare editorial strongly criticising the lese majeste law.

“The law is clearly not being applied equitably or in the spirit with which it was promulgated,” the paper said, adding it was “too often abused for political ends”.

The editorial came as a court on Tuesday sentenced a 60-year-old man to six years in prison on a lese majeste charge for distributing pamphlets at a rally eight years ago.

In 2005 King Bhumibol said in a landmark speech that even he was not above public criticism. 

Last month the International New York Times said it would cease printing in Thailand altogether by the end of the year, citing rising production costs.

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Eurozone unemployment dropped to a four-year low last month, with a better rate than analysts expected.

Unemployment fell to 10.7% from 10.8%, leaving it at the lowest level since the end of 2011, during the midst of the crippling euro crisis.

German unemployment actually slumped to a record low, at 6.3% — the lowest rates since the country was reunified at the end of the Cold War.

When the statistical method for calculating jobless numbers harmonised with other European countries, the unemployment rate is even lower at just 4.5%.

Though the figures for the eurozone are still high overall, they’re down from 12.2% in mid-2013, a decline of 1.5 percentage points in a year and a half.

The eurozone is recovering, but it’s taking its sweet time about it. Since emerging from recession in the middle of 2013, growth has averaged just 0.3% per quarter, a pretty slugging pace, and less than half the pre-crisis average rate.

Growth seemed to be accelerating up to the beginning of this year — Q2, Q3 and Q4 of 2014’s growth figures came in at 0.1%, 0.3% and 0.4% respectively, followed by the 0.5% burst during Q1 this year, when the European Central Bank announced QE. But the pace has now moderated again — falling to 0.4% and 0.3% respectively in Q2 and Q3 this year.

Much of southern Europe still has extremely elevated growth rates. Unemployment is still over 20% in Spain, despite the country’s relatively rapid recovery.

And there’s still a handful of eurozone countries where unemployment is stubbornly hard to shift — France’s rate actually rose from 10.5% to 10.7% when compared to the same month in 2014.

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The police are investigating a group of men on the London Underground who are allegedly handing women cards telling them that they are “fat” and “ugly.” 

The cards, handed out by a group calling themselves Overweight Haters Ltd, were first reported on Twitter on Monday afternoon, when Kara Florish, a 30-year-old who lives in Southend, posted a picture of the card she was given.

@kflorish http://pic.twitter.com/gBIvj69WQ1

— Kara Florish (@kflorish) November 28, 2015

In it, overweight people are blamed for using up an “enormous amount of food resources” and told that they are worse than pigs, which are described as “[sic] beatiful”.

Florish said in a Facebook post that she was not offended, but that the cards could cause huge offence to others. “I am not upset myself,” she explained. “I am smaller than the national average and not exactly obese, but this is hateful and cowardly and could potentially upset people struggling with confidence and eating disorders.”

At first it wasn’t known if the cards were real, but after another Twitter user, Sean Thomas Knox, reported seeing a woman handed one of the cards while on an underground train at Oxford Circus station, before a man then jumped off the train before it departed.

Young man just got on train at Oxford Circus, gave printed card saying YOU’RE FAT to overweight girl. He jumped off. She read it, & cried.

— sean thomas knox (@thomasknox) November 30, 2015

British Transport Police said in a tweet on Monday afternoon they were “aware” of the cards, and encouraged anyone given one to contact them. It hasn’t been confirmed if handing out the cards, or anything on them is actually illegal.

While it seems that the cards are real, it is not known how many have actually been given out. A Twitter search shows that other than the reports from Florish and Knox, no one else has mentioned being handed a card. Considering that Florish’s original tweet has been so widely shared, it might be expected that more people would have reported being given a card if they are being widely distributed.

Regardless of how legitimate the cards from Overweight Haters Ltd are, and how many they’ve given out, Twitter users were quick to condemn the “fat shamers,” and some of the tweets were pretty funny.

Dear Overweight Haters Ltd, If you hand me a card, please ensure you have a tupperware container with you in which to carry home your teeth.

— Mrs Trellis (@theonlywayisup) November 30, 2015

According to BMI many professional rugby players are also obese/overweight, lets see you card them #OverweightHatersLtd #OverweightHaters

— Mary (@Bristolmary) December 1, 2015

I’d rather be fat than ignorant & stupid. Imagine spending all that time on those cards & not realising there are errors! #OverweightHaters

— JohnMadrid (@jwmadrid) November 30, 2015

Its not even a real company anyway. #overweighthaters http://pic.twitter.com/OcumOQURA4

— Andrew Fraser (@Andrew1Fraser) November 30, 2015

I really hope someone hands me one of those #OverweightHaters cards because I’ve always wanted to murder someone guilt-free.

— The Guyliner (@theguyliner) November 30, 2015

Are these overweight haters cards edible? Just asking… For a friend… Maybe… Ok, I’ll eat the card if I get one. #OverweightHaters

— Ben Murrells (@BenMurrells) December 1, 2015

I really wish someone would give me a “fat” card so in return I could give them multiple paper cuts with it #OverweightHaters

— Rachel (@RachelMWrites) November 30, 2015

Business Insider will update this story as and when we get more information about the alleged fat shamers.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Spotify users are clearly listening to Drake. The rapper was the most streamed artist of the year globally.

Spotify announced its end-of-the-year list Tuesday and said Drake earned 1.8 billion streams in 2015. Rihanna was the year’s most streamed female performer with 1 billion streams, while Major Lazer’s ubiquitous hit, “Lean On,” was the most streamed song of the year with 540 million streams.

The Weeknd’s breakout album, “Beautify Behind the Madness,” was the most streamed album of the year, beating Drake’s “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” which was No. 2.

Ed Sheeran, who was the top streaming artist last year, is second behind Drake. The Weeknd, Maroon 5 and Kanye West round out the top five.

In the United States, Drake topped the list of most streamed artists, followed by the Weeknd, West, Sheeran and Eminem. Drake’s “If You’re Reading This” also topped the U.S. albums list, while Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen” was the most streamed song in America.

In Spotify’s all-time lists, Sheeran is the most streamed act with more than 3 billion streams; Justin Bieber has the record for most streams in a day with 36 million streams; and Major Lazer’s “Lean On,” which features MO and DJ Snake, is the leading song.

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Online:

http://www.spotify.com

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LE BOURGET, France (AP) — From deserts encroaching on African farmland to rising sea levels shrinking islands of the South Pacific, leaders of poor nations most affected by climate change are sharing their stories of global warming with leaders of some of the richest on Tuesday.

The encounters — French President Francois Hollande met African leaders and President Barack Obama was meeting envoys from island nations — highlighted one of the biggest debates among delegates negotiating an international climate agreement: how much rich countries should help poor ones cope adapt to global warming and reduce their emissions.

On Monday, at an unprecedented gathering of world leaders outside Paris, presidents, prime ministers and princes urged the delegates to build a better planet for future generations. Organizers hope to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing collapse of a similar effort in Copenhagen in 2009 to reach a global climate accord.

On Tuesday, the negotiations began in earnest, with the key task of figuring out who will pay for everything the leaders said needs to be done.

“You have now started the fundamental work,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told the negotiators. “I implore you to advance on the substance in a way that allows us to respect the strong mandate given by the diverse heads of state and government yesterday.”

At a meeting with Hollande, African leaders described the Sahara Desert encroaching on farmland, forests disappearing from Congo to Madagascar and rising sea levels swallowing homes in West African river deltas.

Later Tuesday, Obama was meeting envoys from island nations hit hard by rising seas and increasingly violent storms, which scientists attribute to climate change prompted by man-made carbon emissions.

Developing countries say they need financial support and technology to relocate threatened populations and make their own transition to cleaner energy.

On Monday, rich countries announced a new fund to do exactly that, pledging a total of $248 million to it. The Obama administration didn’t specify where its $51 million pledge would come from; Obama has struggled to persuade the Republican-run Congress to fund his climate goals, amid concerns that his energy plan is unattainable.

The talks, which run through Dec. 11, are aimed at a broader, tougher replacement to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. That treaty required only rich countries to cut their emissions, while this time the goal is for everyone to pitch in.

One of the proposals involves saving the world’s forests, which absorb carbon dioxide released by burning oil, gas and coal.

Britain’s Prince Charles, indigenous leaders and other dignitaries met Tuesday to call attention to shrinking global forests from South America to Russia and Africa, in part because of illegal logging.

More than 180 countries have pledged to cut or curb their emissions, but scientists say much bigger reductions are needed to limit man-made warming of the Earth to 2 degrees Centigrade (3.8 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial times, the internationally agreed-upon goal.

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Greg Keller, Nancy Benac, Karl Ritter and Seth Borenstein in Le Bourget contributed to this report.

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