Wednesday, July 29

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Fianna Fail largest party in Ireland as counting finishes | World News
Business

Fianna Fail largest party in Ireland as counting finishes | World News

Fianna Fail is the largest party in Ireland on 48 seats out of 174 in parliament, with Sinn Fein on 39 and Fine Gael on 38.Fianna Fail also secured the most first preference votes in Friday's vote, taking 21.9% to Fine Gael's 20.8%. Sinn Fein came in third on 19%. The result, after three days of counting, paves the way for a Fianna Fail-Fine Gael coalition in government with either a handful of independents or a third party. The two centre-right parties had previously said they would not rule with the left-wing Sinn Fein. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:30 ...
Comanchero vice president charged over Australia’s largest ever cocaine seizure
World News

Comanchero vice president charged over Australia’s largest ever cocaine seizure

By Jessica Black, Claudia Williams, Grace Whiteside Authorities allege the group attempted to import the drugs into Queensland by sea. Photo: ABC / Nickoles Coleman A Comanchero outlaw bikie gang leader has been charged over Australia's largest ever cocaine seizure, police say. A transnational organised crime syndicate with links to the Comancheros is alleged to have attempted to bring 2.34 tonnes of cocaine into Australia. Eleven men and two juveniles were arrested on Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday morning, in a joint investigation between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Queensland police. The arrests include the vice president of the Comancheros Brisbane chapter, and a patched member. Authorities allege the group attempted to import the drugs into Queenslan...
Nine-year-old boy sent to shops ended up paralysed: The Palestinian families’ lives shattered by Israelis shooting their children | World News
Business

Nine-year-old boy sent to shops ended up paralysed: The Palestinian families’ lives shattered by Israelis shooting their children | World News

In a West Bank clinic, the father of a nine-year-old Palestinian boy showed us where the bullet shot by an Israeli soldier entered his son's neck and where it left his small body through his spine.Kareem Sharaab had been outside his home when the Israeli military entered his village in the occupied West Bank.He'd been sent out to the shops for groceries. The short walk would change his life forever.His grandfather, Hani, told me what happened next. "There was nothing going on then. No clashes, nothing. The kid was just playing on the road. Out of nowhere, the sound of gunfire, and the voice of children screaming out that Kareem has been injured." Image: Kareem Sharaab was left paralysed when an Israeli bullet hit his spine ...
Cancer Society concerned teens promoting UV Index as tanning guide
World News

Cancer Society concerned teens promoting UV Index as tanning guide

With an exceptionally hot summer on the cards, concerns have been raised about a new sunbathing trend. Cancer Society prevention policy lead Emma Shields said it was alarming to see teenagers on TikTok promoting the UV Index (UVI) as a tanning guide. The UVI shown on weather and forecasting apps is intended help people know when to use sun protection. Several Aucklanders RNZ spoke to at Mission Bay said they had come to the beach after checking the sun was strong. Eighteen-year-old Anastasia Campos said she made sure to lay in the sun when the UV was high. "I text the group chat 'UV 9 today let's go to the beach'." She said she was not worried about skin damage. "Any tan is a sign of skin damage and long-term skin damage can accumulate to cause premature ageing and increase the risk of ...
Doug Ford’s chief of staff ‘missing’ months of government texts after phone was ‘reset’
Politics

Doug Ford’s chief of staff ‘missing’ months of government texts after phone was ‘reset’

A top aide to Ontario Premier Doug Ford is facing questions about how he manages sensitive government records after he traded in his cellphone without fully backing it up, Global News can reveal, meaning months of text messages related to official government business are now considered “missing.” The government has been engaged in a months-long freedom of information appeal with Global News over text conversations between Ford’s chief of staff Patrick Sackville and Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster.Records from Verster show intermittent text messages in the first half of 2023 between the two officials, spanning everything from advice to government to holiday greetings and emojis.While Verster had submitted his side of the digital conversations, as part of a freedom of information request, Sackvil...
Increasing intake of plant protein may help boost your heart health: Study
Health

Increasing intake of plant protein may help boost your heart health: Study

Eating more plant-based protein than animal-based protein may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD), according to a new study on Monday.  The study, led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, showed that the risk reductions are likely driven by the replacement of red and processed meats with plant proteins and eating more legumes and nuts. “Such a dietary pattern is beneficial not just for human health but also the health of our planet," they said in the study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study aims to pioneer the investigation of an ideal ratio of plant to animal protein and how it impacts health, specifically heart health. "The average American eats a 1:3 plant-to-animal protein rat...
Syria says its strikes with Russia have killed at least 400 insurgents over past 24 hours | World News
Business

Syria says its strikes with Russia have killed at least 400 insurgents over past 24 hours | World News

Syria's military has said its joint airstrikes with Russia have killed at least 400 insurgents over the past 24 hours - as Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his support for Syrian President Bashar al Assad.The strikes are being carried out after insurgents led by jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al Sham and including Turkey-backed fighters launched a two-pronged attack on Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, on Saturday. The rebels then moved into the countryside around the provinces of Idlib and neighbouring Hama.Syrian and Russian airstrikes have mainly been carried out on rebel positions in those two provinces, Syria's military said.Syria's opposition-run White Helmets rescue service said on Monday that at least 25 people, including 10 children, have been killed in airstrikes carried out by the Syrian...
Canada warns claiming asylum is ‘not easy’ with new global ad campaign – National
Politics

Canada warns claiming asylum is ‘not easy’ with new global ad campaign – National

Once presenting itself as one of the world’s most welcoming countries to refugees and immigrants, Canada is launching a global online ad campaign cautioning asylum-seekers that making a claim is hard. The C$250,000 ($178,662) in advertisements will run through March in 11 languages, including Spanish, Urdu, Ukrainian, Hindi and Tamil, the immigration department told Reuters. They are part of a broader shift in tone by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unpopular government on immigration and an effort to clamp down on refugee claims.Migrants have been blamed for high housing prices, although some experts argue this is a simplistic explanation, and polls show a growing number of Canadians think the country admits too many newcomers.The four-month campaign is budgeted to cost a third of the tot...
It’s hardly surprising President Biden is choosing family first when it comes to his son Hunter | World News
Business

It’s hardly surprising President Biden is choosing family first when it comes to his son Hunter | World News

President Biden had seemed so adamant. He would leave the Justice Department to make its own decisions.Hunter Biden would not be granted clemency for gun and tax convictions just because he was the president's son. But that was before he dropped out of the presidential race. A lot has changed since then. A lifetime in politics has just weeks left to run.Joe Biden's presidential legacy will be marked more by his failure to keep the country from swinging to the Republicans under Donald Trump than it will be for a last-minute pardon of his son. A reversal, yes - but hardly surprising he is choosing family first.The decision was announced after a weekend in Nantucket, which has long been the Biden family's traditional Thanksgiving getaway spot. ...
French government faces collapse after opposition says will vote no-confidence
World News

French government faces collapse after opposition says will vote no-confidence

By Elizabeth Pineau and Dominique Vidalon, Reuters French Prime Minister Michel Barnier will face no confidence motion. Photo: AFP / Hans Lucas / Amaury Cornu The French government is all but certain to collapse later this week after far-right and left-wing parties said they will vote for a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Michel Barnier. Their move came after Barnier said he would try to ram a social security bill through parliament without a vote as a last-minute concession was not enough to win support for the bill from the far-right National Rally (RN). RN leader Marine Le Pen said her party would table its own no-confidence motion but will also vote for any similar bill by other parties. "The French have had enough," she said. "Maybe they thought with Michel Barnie...