Briefly

UNITED STATES

Boeing workers reject latest offer

Boeing factory workers voted to reject a contract offer and continue a more than five-week strike on Wednesday, in a blow to new CEO Kelly Ortberg's plan to shore up the finances of the struggling planemaker. The vote was 64 percent in opposition to the deal, which offered a 35 percent rise in wages over four years. It was a major setback for Ortberg who took the top job in August on a pledge to work more closely with the factory workers than his predecessors. The rejection of Boeing's offer, which comes after 95 percent of workers voted against a first contract last month, reflects years of resentment from workers.

CANADA

Ottawa to slash immigration levels

Canada will sharply lower the number of immigrants it allows into the country for the first time in years, marking a notable shift in policy for the government as it tries to remain in power. Canada will bring in 395,000 new permanent residents in 2025, 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027, down from 485,000 in 2024, according to a government source. The number of temporary residents, meanwhile, will decrease by about 30,000 to around 300,000 in 2025, the source said. The new targets were first reported by the National Post.

UNITED KINGDOM

Rare typescript to go on sale for $1.25m

A rare typescript of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince, which is now in London, containing extensive handwritten corrections by the French author and described by book dealers as a "literary treasure", will soon go on sale for $1.25 million. A candidate for the world's most translated book outside of religious texts, the novella about a child who travels from planet to planet gaining wisdom was published in 1943 at the height of World War II. Bound in a worn, black cover, the French-language typescript of Le Petit Prince was written in New York during the author's exile from Nazi-occupied France, just before he left to serve in the Free French Air Force fighting the occupation.

Agencies via Xinhua