Sunday, September 6

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New Zealander among trio of rugby players jailed in France for gang rape
World News

New Zealander among trio of rugby players jailed in France for gang rape

New Zealand rugby player Rory Grice (R) leaves the court following a hearing at the Bordeaux courthouse, south-western France on 17 June, 2024. Photo: CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP Warning: This story contains details of sexual assault. A court in France on Friday jailed three rugby players formerly with French side Grenoble for 12 to 14 years over the 2017 gang rape of a student. It sentenced Irishman Denis Coulson, 30, and Frenchman Loick Jammes, 30, to 14 years behind bars, and New Zealander Rory Grice, 34, to 12 years in jail. It handed four years in jail, including two suspended, to ex-Ireland international 31-year-old Chris Farrel over failure to prevent the crime. New Zealander Dylan Hayes, 30, received a two-year suspended sentence, also for not intervening to stop it. In the sma...
Suspect in UnitedHealth CEO murder Luigi Mangione was not a customer, company says
World News

Suspect in UnitedHealth CEO murder Luigi Mangione was not a customer, company says

By Manas Mishra, Reuters Photo: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters via CNN Newsource Mangione and his mother were not UnitedHealthcare customers Woman charged in Florida with threatening her insurer UnitedHealth Group CEO makes first public comment since shooting The suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth Group executive Brian Thompson was not a customer of the health insurer, a company spokesperson said on Friday (US time). Ivy League-educated Luigi Mangione was charged with murder on 9 December for the killing of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel before a company conference, following a five-day manhunt. Mangione suffered from chronic back pain that affected his daily life, according to friends and social media posts, though it is unclear whether his personal health played a role in the s...
Doug Ford threatened to stop energy exports to the U.S. How would it work?
Politics

Doug Ford threatened to stop energy exports to the U.S. How would it work?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded to the burgeoning trade tension between Canada and the United States with a threat that the province could cut off energy exports to the U.S. in retaliation to president-elect Donald Trump’s threat of sweeping tariffs. But what would it look like if Ontario and other provinces carried out that threat?Some experts say Canada doesn’t have much room to work with when it comes to potential retaliation.On Wednesday, Ford along with other Canadian premiers met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss the 25-per cent tariffs Trump has threatened to impose on all Canadian imports on his first day in office, which will be Jan. 20, 2025.After the meeting, Ford offered a threat of his own: to “cut off” millions of American residents living in border states fro...
Ex-British soldier Daniel Burke was unlawfully killed in Ukraine, coroner finds | UK News
Business

Ex-British soldier Daniel Burke was unlawfully killed in Ukraine, coroner finds | UK News

A former British paratrooper was unlawfully killed in Ukraine by someone who claimed to be his friend, a coroner has concluded.Daniel Burke died from multiple gunshot wounds last year after he went to Ukraine in 2022 to offer humanitarian support in the country's fight against Russia's invasion. The 36-year-old, from the Wythenshawe area of Manchester, was staying in the Zaporizhzhia region in August 2023 when he went missing, Manchester Coroner's Court was told on Friday.A "suspect", who was not named at the hearing but is known by Greater Manchester Police to be Abdelfetah Nourine - also known by the nickname "Jihadi Adam" - led Ukrainian authorities to his body in September last year and claimed he had shot him by accident. Image: Daniel Bu...
US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from US app stores 19 Jan
World News

US lawmakers tell Apple, Google to be ready to remove TikTok from US app stores 19 Jan

Photo: CFOTO / NurPhoto via AFP By David Shepardson, Reuters The chair and top Democrat on a US House of Representatives committee on China told the chief executives of Google-parent Alphabet and Apple on Friday they must be ready to remove TikTok from their US app stores on 19 January. Last week, a US federal appeals court upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok in the United States or face a ban. Representative John Moolenaar, a Republican and chair of the committee, and the top Democrat on the committee, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, separately urged TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew to sell the short-video app used by 170 million Americans. "Congress has acted decisively to defend the national security of the United States and protect TikTok-s American u...
‘We need to make a deal,’ Ford says after Trump responds to energy threat
Politics

‘We need to make a deal,’ Ford says after Trump responds to energy threat

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Canada and the United States need to “make a deal” as president-elect Donald Trump’s threats of sweeping tariffs continues to loom over the two countries. Ford made those comments Friday, one day after Trump responded to his threat of stopping energy exports to the U.S. should Trump follow through.Trump told a CNBC reporter on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday that it was “OK” if Ford did that, adding it was “fine.” He then went on to claim the U.S. is “subsidizing” Canada to the tune of US$100 billion a year — a claim he’s made in the past before.“Well, what you didn’t hear on the tape after (is) he says ‘I really want to make a deal with Canada.’ That’s the first time he’s ever said that, and I respect the position he’s coming from. I’m sure...
Centrist Francois Bayrou named as France’s new prime minister after Michel Barnier’s resignation | World News
Business

Centrist Francois Bayrou named as France’s new prime minister after Michel Barnier’s resignation | World News

Francois Bayrou is the new prime minister of France following Michel Barnier's resignation.The centrist politician met President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace early this morning. The 73-year-old is a crucial partner in Macron's centrist alliance and has been a well-known figure in French politics for decades. Image: Emmanuel Macron and Francois Bayrou. Pic: Reuters Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:00 What to know about France's new Prime Minister? ...
Bandish Bandits season 2 review: Still very much in tune
Entertainment, Movies

Bandish Bandits season 2 review: Still very much in tune

Bandish Bandits season 2Director: Anand TiwariCast: Ritwik Bhowmik, Shreya Chaudhry, Sheeba Chaddha, Atul Kulkarni, Rajesh Tailang, Divya Dutta, Rohan Gurbaxani, Yashaswini DayamaEpisodes: 8   When there is a considerable gap between two seasons of a show, you run the risk of having lost connect with the audience. Especially for a show like Bandish Bandits, which is majorly about the art vs commercial music tussle. Truth be told, I was initially not very keen on watching season 1, which released in the middle of the pandemic. But when you are working from home in a lockdown situation, you end up consuming more content than you intend to. Plus some friends who had watched it had praised the show, and it had the lure of veteran actors like Naseeruddin Shah and Atul Kulkarni. I watched sea...
I tried going sober on London’s party scene — but did people just find me boring?
Life Style

I tried going sober on London’s party scene — but did people just find me boring?

I ask a group of my friends at 1am, during a private party in the basement of a member’s club, whilst most of them hold a cocktail in one hand and a cigarette in the other. “Yes” someone replies. “I think it’s like California sober, you don’t drink except instead of smoking weed you take magic mushrooms, or possibly ketamine.” Then my friend who hosts queer party nights Benny Cooper, proposes: “Maybe it’s drinking alcohol, but only on weekends; or just drinking beer or wine and no spirits.” My friend Reuben Larkin, a model/influencer, then suggests, “it’s probably not drinking but smoking cigarettes.” Personally, that sounds the most convincing argument. Surely everyone needs one vice. Source link
Trump’s Ukraine comments ‘in line with our vision’, says Kremlin – as Russia launches barrage of missiles on energy sector | World News
Business

Trump’s Ukraine comments ‘in line with our vision’, says Kremlin – as Russia launches barrage of missiles on energy sector | World News

The Kremlin has praised Donald Trump after he criticised Ukraine's use of US-supplied weapons for attacks deep in Russian territory.Western allies have provided Ukraine with air defence systems to help it protect critical infrastructure, but Russia has sought to overwhelm the air defences with combined strikes involving big numbers of missiles and drones. "It's crazy what's taking place. It's crazy. I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We're just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done," Mr Trump said in an interview with Time magazine.The Kremlin on Friday said his stance was fully in line with Moscow's own position.Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Mr Trump's comments were...