Saturday, February 28

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UK leader Keir Starmer is marking 100 days in office. It has been a rocky ride
Business

UK leader Keir Starmer is marking 100 days in office. It has been a rocky ride

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer marks 100 days in office Saturday with little cause for celebration.Starmer's center-left Labour Party was elected by a landslide on July 4, sweeping back to power after 14 years. But after weeks of stories about feuding, freebies and fiscal gloom, polls suggest Starmer's personal approval rating has plummeted, and Labour is only slightly more popular than a Conservative Party that was rejected by voters after years of infighting and scandal."You couldn't really have imagined a worse start," said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. "First impressions count, and it's going to be difficult to turn those around."Starmer won the election on promises to banish years of turmoil and scandal under Conservative governments, get Bri...
Jacob Hoggard drops bid to challenge 2022 conviction at Canada’s top court
Entertainment, Movies

Jacob Hoggard drops bid to challenge 2022 conviction at Canada’s top court

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has abandoned his bid to appeal his 2022 sexual assault conviction before Canada’s top court. The Supreme Court of Canada website shows the former Hedley frontman discontinued his application for leave to appeal last Friday.That’s the same day Hoggard, 40, was found not guilty of sexual assault in a separate, unrelated case in northeastern Ontario.In the 2022 case, a Toronto jury found Hoggard guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm against an Ottawa woman, but not guilty of the same charge and of sexual interference in relation to a teenage fan.His lawyers appealed the conviction on four grounds, including that the trial judge made an error in admittin...
China’s consumer inflation cools in September, PPI deflation deepens
Business

China’s consumer inflation cools in September, PPI deflation deepens

China's consumer inflation rate fell in September, while producer price deflation deepened, even as Beijing rolls out more stimulus measures in a bid to revive flagging demand and shaky economic activity.The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4% from a year earlier last month, against a 0.6% rise in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Sunday, missing a 0.6% increase forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.CPI was unchanged month-on-month, versus a 0.4% gain in August and below an estimated 0.4% increase.The producer price index (PPI) fell 2.8% year-on-year in September, versus a 1.8% decline the previous month and below an expected 2.5% decline. Source link
Israel orders evacuation of more southern Lebanese towns
World News

Israel orders evacuation of more southern Lebanese towns

Members of the Lebanese civil defence battle a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut's Basta neighbourhood. Photo: AFP At least 15 killed in Israeli strikes, Lebanese ministry says Israel military orders evacuation of 23 Lebanese villages US Defense Secretary Austin urges Israel to ensure safety of UN peacekeepers Lebanese health ministry reports significant damage to hospitals from Israeli strikes Israel says Hezbollah fires nearly 320 projectiles into Israel Israel ordered more evacuations and targeted a new location in northern Lebanon, as a third UN peacekeeper was wounded in Israel's escalating conflict with Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. At least 15 people were killed and 37 wounded in Israeli strikes across three different areas in Lebanon, the Lebanese h...
Where to find the best snow this winter: your need-to-know ski resorts guide for 2025
Life Style

Where to find the best snow this winter: your need-to-know ski resorts guide for 2025

If you’re worried about your carbon footprint, check out some of the tour operators offering a range of rail travel options. Inghams has launched new train packages to 22 resorts across France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland – and they’re competitively priced against air travel. Or try French company Travelski, which offers packages to Val Thorens, La Plagne, Les Arcs, La Rosière, Tignes, Val d’Isère, Courchevel, Les Menuires, Méribel and Les Deux Alpes that include rail travel, transfers, accommodation and ski passes. You are required to change trains at Lille, but it’s a relatively painless way to start off your ski holiday. Source link
Lithuanians vote in parliamentary election with many looking for change despite a strong economy
Business

Lithuanians vote in parliamentary election with many looking for change despite a strong economy

Winter afternoon in Vilnius, Lithuania.Loop Images | Universal Images Group | Getty ImagesLithuanians voted Sunday in the first round of parliamentary elections that could lead to the center-right governing coalition being replaced by the opposition Social Democrats and smaller center-left parties.Despite economic successes, strict COVID-19 measures and an influx of migrants have cast shadows over conservative Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė's government, which took office in 2020.Although European Union member Lithuania has seen annual double-digit personal income growth and has one of the lowest inflation rates in the 27-nation bloc, many voters don't seem to be impressed."There's a lot of disappointment and discontent among voters," said Rima Urbonaitė, a political analyst at Vilnius' M...
Pulp Fiction 30 years on
World News

Pulp Fiction 30 years on

By Luke Goodsell of the ABC John Travolta, Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. Photo: AFP In a year that gave us Nancy Kerrigan's shattered grimace, Kurt Cobain's lifeless sneakers and OJ Simpson leading the world's slowest police chase, 1994's most unforgettable image might just be Samuel L. Jackson's jheri-curled hitman in Pulp Fiction, savouring a slow, sinister slurp from a Big Kahuna soda as he prepares to lay his vengeance upon some unlucky kids. When the second film from writer-director Quentin Tarantino hit cinemas 30 years ago, it was more than just a critical and commercial smash - it was an instant cultural sensation, arguably the defining American movie of its decade. An LA story of garrulous thugs, twist contests, prize fighters and gimps, it was a fresh, funny, irresistibly qu...
‘Mass casualty incident’ after children and adults eat ‘toxic mushrooms’ in Pennsylvania | US News
Business

‘Mass casualty incident’ after children and adults eat ‘toxic mushrooms’ in Pennsylvania | US News

A group of children and adults have been taken to hospital in the US after ingesting "toxic mushrooms", in what has been described as a "mass casualty incident".Emergency services in Peach Bottom Township, Pennsylvania, were alerted after 11 people became ill after ingesting the fungi on Friday. They had eaten "toxic mushrooms and were all ill", the Delta-Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company said.It described the situation as a "mass casualty incident" and said emergency units were dispatched from multiple counties in the area.Read more:Former British international athlete diesMystery over Christopher Columbus to be revealed Follow Sky ...
Manawanui sinking: Removal of fuel tanks the priority – navy
World News

Manawanui sinking: Removal of fuel tanks the priority – navy

Navy divers preparing to head out to area the HMNZS Manawanui now lies, off the Southern Coast of Upulo. Photo: Supplied / New Zealand Defence Force Oil seeping from the wreck of the avy's sunken survey ship is not from the ship's main tanks - but removing them is first on the list for the recovery team, the Defence Force says. About 200,000 litres of fuel has escaped from the HMNZS Manawanui into the sea, one week after the survey ship began listing, caught fire and sank off the southern coast of Upolu, Samoa. The ship contains about 950 tonnes of fuel, and is now lying on its side on the sea floor about 30 metres down, in a marine reserve. Navy deputy chief, Commodore Andrew Brown, said that was considered a small quantity of oil and it was being monitored. "The advice from our exper...
Kamala Harris’s medical history released as campaign aims to draw contrast with Donald Trump | US News
Business

Kamala Harris’s medical history released as campaign aims to draw contrast with Donald Trump | US News

Kamala Harris is in "excellent health" and has "the physical and mental resiliency" required to serve as president, her doctor has said, as details of her medical status and history were released.Dr Joshua Simmons, physician to the US vice president, wrote that she maintains a healthy, active lifestyle and that her most recent physical examination last April was "unremarkable". Advisers for the Democratic presidential candidate hope to use the moment to draw a contrast with her Republican rival Donald Trump, who has only released limited information about his health, and raise questions about his fitness to serve.On Saturday, Ms Harris said Donald Trump is showing a lack of transparency by not releasing health records. Please use Chrome brows...