Pelican Press

US judge blocks plan to deport migrants to Libya US judge blocks plan to deport migrants to Libya A US judge in Boston ordered a temporary block on the Trump administration’s plan to deport migrants to Libya, saying it would “clearly violate” a prior order he made that ensures their right to due process. The order came after two US officials told BBC partner CBS News that the US may soon start deporting migrants to Libya as part of its crackdown on immigration. In response to the deportations report, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh wrote in a statement on X that his country refused “to be a destination for the deportation of migrants under any pretext.” Responding to the same report, a spokesperson for the US state department said they would not discuss the matter. The officials who spoke to CBS – who requested anonymity – said the US military could fly migrants to the North African country as early as this week. The move is likely to spark controversy – Libya has been mired in conflict for more than a decade and the US state department advises Americans not to travel there due to factors like crime, terrorism and civil unrest. Immigration lawyers moved quickly on Wednesday to prevent the Trump administration from carrying out the deportations, asking a Massachusetts judge to “urgently” issue a temporary block. “Multiple credible sources report that flights are preparing to immediately depart the United States carrying class members for removal to Libya,” the attorneys wrote in their court filing US District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston responded late on Wednesday afternoon by issuing an order that restricts the Trump administration’s ability to quickly deport the migrants. In his ruling, Judge Murphy said the deportations “blatantly” defy an injunction he had previously issued that protects the due process rights of migrants subject to final deportation orders. That earlier ruling requires officials to provide migrants with a written notice in their language and a meaningful opportunity to file a claim to protect them from removal. Asked whether he was aware of the plan to deport migrants to Libya, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday: “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask homeland security.” Libya is thought to be one of several countries asked to accept migrant deportations by Trump’s administration. This week Rwanda confirmed it was in the “early stage” of talks with the US, while Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini and Moldova have all been named in media reports. It is not clear how many people the US hopes to deport to Libya, or which part of Libya the migrants would be sent to. Since the overthrow of former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been divided into two – the west is ruled by a UN-backed government, of which Dbeibeh is prime minister, while military strongman Gen Khalifa Haftar controls the east. Haftar’s son met US officials in Washington last Monday, but the US state department and a Libyan spokesperson said the meeting was not about deportations. Since returning to office in January, President Trump has launched a mass deportation campaign – at times relying on controversial tactics such as the invocation of a centuries-old wartime law. Earlier this week, the government offered migrants who are in the US illegally a sum worth $1,000 (£751) to leave the country. Source link #judge #blocks #plan #deport #migrants #Libya Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Blade & Soul NEO Is Coming To Steam Blade & Soul NEO Is Coming To Steam After a successful launch on PC earlier this year, Blade & Soul NEO is officially coming to Steam. Source link #Blade #amp #Soul #NEO #Coming #Steam Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Durga Chew-Bose, Master of Moods, Reimagines ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ Durga Chew-Bose, Master of Moods, Reimagines ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ It was a Thursday night in early May, and Durga Chew-Bose was crossing Sixth Avenue with a serious expression. She was leaving the IFC Center, a movie theater in Greenwich Village where, when she lived in New York, she had gone to see art house films with a crew of other writers and artists she befriended in her 20s. On this warm evening some years later, she had attended a talk following a screening of her directorial debut, an adaptation of the French novel “Bonjour Tristesse” starring Chloë Sevigny and Lily McInerny. Ms. Chew-Bose, 39, was dressed a bit like one of her characters: meticulously, and in a Parisian brand that discerning viewers may have picked out in her style-conscious take on the classic. But far from the French Riviera, where the film is set, its director was clad in all ******, her dark hair tucked into her jacket collar. She held a children’s picture book, a gift from a friend to bring home to Montreal, where she lives with her husband, the filmmaker and professor Jesse Noah Klein, and their young son, Fran. “I wonder,” she said of the panel discussion that had followed the film, “if it was entertaining enough.” How she came to write and direct this new “Bonjour Tristesse” isn’t so straightforward, though Ms. Chew-Bose, a consummate cinephile, has long had a sense that her working in film was inevitable. Born to immigrant parents from Kolkata and raised in Montreal, she studied French literature and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., graduating in 2009. Afterward, she lived in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Boerum Hill and Crown Heights, falling in with the city’s young literati. Among them: Lena Dunham, whom Ms. Chew-Bose reached out to for an interview about one of Ms. Dunham’s early films. “I remember thinking she was unusually elegant for someone in their early 20s,” Ms. Dunham said in an interview. “In the era of indie sleaze, she always carried herself more like a Joan Didion than a New York scenester,” she added, with “an inborn maturity and insight that seemed so out of reach for most of us. She had manners, style, restraint — we were all chasing various identities, and hers was totally formed.” Ms. Dunham cast her as an extra in “Tiny Furniture,” the 2010 indie comedy that jump-started Ms. Dunham’s career, in a scene at a gallery — one of just a few other film credits to Ms. Chew-Bose’s name before she was asked to reimagine “Bonjour Tristesse.” But it was Ms. Chew-Bose’s writing that had caught the attention of a pair of Toronto film producers, Katie Bird Nolan and Lindsay Tapscott, who in 2017 had her in mind to loosely adapt Françoise Sagan’s 1954 novel into a modern-day screenplay. “When I read Durga’s writing, there’s a spell you fall under a little bit, and that’s kind of what we wanted to happen in the movie,” said Ms. Tapscott, who with Ms. Nolan runs the female-focused production company ***** Nation Films. In particular, they had read Ms. Chew-Bose’s buzzy essay collection, “Too Much and Not the Mood,” which had been published that same year with Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The book gathered up Ms. Chew-Bose’s writings for small publications like Hazlitt and The Hairpin, where she had become known for enigmatic essays about living alone, her reluctance to correct people when they mishear her first name, and the meaning of an iPhone emoji she refers to as the “heart museum.” Ms. Chew-Bose knows “how to make an image have a feeling,” said the writer Haley Mlotek, who worked with her at Ssense, the e-commerce site Ms. Chew-Bose transformed into a venue for literary writing when she became its editor in chief in 2020. This was the sort of treatment Ms. Tapscott and Ms. Nolan wanted for “Bonjour Tristesse.” But when they reached out to Ms. Chew-Bose about the idea, she hesitated. The novel had already been adapted by Otto Preminger in 1958. Then there was the tricky content: The work is a coming-of-age story that follows the teenage Cécile who in the novel has an easygoing — if erotically charged — relationship with her widower father, who has brought his girlfriend, Elsa, on holiday in the south of France. The trio’s carefree dynamic is disrupted when Anne, a friend of Cécile’s late mother, arrives on the scene, forcing Cécile to study and keeping her away from her summer boyfriend. Romantic partners are swapped. Age gaps are disregarded. The source material seemed untouchable, and a bit dated. “But I’ve learned that hesitation is really exciting,” Ms. Chew-Bose told the audience at the IFC Center that evening, seated beside Ms. Sevigny, who plays Anne, and Ms. McInerny, Cécile. “It’s something you can work with.” Ms. Sevigny, too, said she had been uncertain at first about signing on for “Bonjour Tristesse.” But after reading Ms. Chew-Bose’s writing and speaking with her, she was sold. “I was just really taken with her as a person,” Ms. Sevigny said in an interview. “I think people are very drawn to her mind.” When in 2019 Ms. Chew-Bose delivered a rough outline of her screenplay to Ms. Nolan and Ms. Tapscott, it was brimming with the sort of choices that a director might make, they said in an interview. Though they had a sense Ms. Chew-Bose might be a natural choice to direct, they first sent her script to a handful of established directors. One replied that while he liked the script, there didn’t seem to be much room for his own creative touch in such a fleshed-out world. “From Cécile’s P.O.V., still lying flat on the beach, lifelessly, we watch as she grabs a handful of sand and lets it run through her fingers in soft, yellow streams, running out like time,” reads a stage direction early in the screenplay. The producers realized that Ms. Chew-Bose was already directing from the page. Why not invite her to do so officially? In 2021, they did, and she agreed. The result is a meticulously crafted world where no detail has been spared — like the fake books she commissioned from her longtime friend, the graphic designer Teddy Blanks, and his wife, the New York Times book critic Molly Young, to serve as her characters’ summer reading. Or the vintage bathing suits and trendy accessories chosen by Miyako Bellizzi, the film’s costume designer, who roomed with Ms. Chew-Bose leading up to the 30-day shoot in Cassis, France. Over dinner after the IFC screening, Ms. Bellizzi said that people who don’t know Ms. Chew-Bose well might not imagine how funny she is: “We would be on the floor laughing.” The next morning, at the Waverly Diner, Ms. Chew-Bose joked that the restaurant’s ambience and crimson booths recalled the final scene of “The Sopranos.” But she soon turned pensive. The film was now out in theaters, she explained, over a spinach-and-mushroom omelet and gluten-free toast. Anyone could buy a ticket to see it. “That’s obviously impossibly cool to me, as someone who loves movies, but I also feel vulnerable,” she said. Ms. Chew-Bose knows her creative sensibility is “not for everyone.” The people she imagines enjoying her new film, or her writing, she continued, are readers, in the broad sense. Not bookworms, per se, but people who “can be alone with their thoughts” and can “read between lines.” “Not knowing why something is moving you and being OK to live in that discomfort,” she added. There is intimacy, Ms. Chew-Bose explained, in small touches. “I think it reveals a lot about people, what they notice,” she said. “I like specificity. I love people who can experience emotion through detail and not big swings. Although I admire big swings.” Take, for instance, the moment in “Bonjour Tristesse” when the three women at the center of the film — Cécile, Elsa and Anne — carefully cut, or bite un-self-consciously, into an apple, revealing their personalities, psychological states and feelings of identification with one another. It’s art that is similarly attuned to both the mundanity and the romance of everyday life that most resonates with Ms. Chew-Bose. In that final “Sopranos” scene, for example, she said, as Tony selects Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” from a jukebox and other characters file into the diner, what really gets her is that his daughter, Meadow, is “just trying to parallel park.” Ms. Chew-Bose said she has always been sensitive, her radar finely calibrated. As a girl, she worried that “maybe I don’t understand the big things — big ideas. Maybe I’m having a hard time finding ways to express life, death, loss, joy — and so I need to describe the bread, and then that’s a vessel for joy.” Growing up in Canada, she focused on traditional markers of achievement — coursework at her French-immersion school, student council. Her father, Rana Bose, an engineer, writer, poet and playwright, and her mother, Dolores Chew, a professor of history and liberal arts, separated when she was 8, and later divorced. In May 2023, just days before “Bonjour Tristesse” would begin shooting, Ms. Chew-Bose’s father died after a yearslong illness with multiple myeloma. “He loved watching me stand somewhere with an audience, holding attention,” she recalled. She went on: “I would have called him right after this,” referring to this conversation. “Like, ‘Baba!’ — I would have turned into his daughter again.” Ms. Chew-Bose is already deep into her next film projects, two original screenplays she is developing with Ms. Nolan and Ms. Tapscott. One, “Dish Trick,” is “an unlikely found-family story” set in Montreal, she said. The other, “Soft as It Began,” is about the making of a film, and will be shot partly on location in Europe. She plans to direct both. She said she anticipated the challenges that she now knows firsthand can come with filmmaking. No matter. “One thing I learned in making this movie,” she said, “is I’ve got to make things.” Suddenly, with a flourish that Ms. Chew-Bose herself might have dreamed up, “Don’t Stop Believin’” came on over the restaurant speaker system. She put down her fork and raised her index finger in excitement, as a grin lit up her face. Source link #Durga #ChewBose #Master #Moods #Reimagines #Bonjour #Tristesse Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Is It Wrong to Date My Friend’s Ex? Is It Wrong to Date My Friend’s Ex? There’s no universally accepted “waiting *******” after a breakup that magically absolves everyone from various people’s expectations. But keep in mind that Alice’s reaction isn’t really about “the rules of dating etiquette” or who’s technically allowed to love whom and when. It’s about grief: the grief of losing a partner, a close friend and a loyal confidante, in the span of months — even if Alice initiated the breakup (you don’t say which way that went), or began seeing someone new, or you believed she should be fine. The fact is, you made a decision to date Jane while your friend Alice was grieving her own relationship with her. But here’s another truth that exists alongside the first one: You can choose to prioritize your joy. What you’re experiencing now — loss, confusion, a social ripple effect — is the price of this complexity. You miss Alice because losing a friendship, especially a longstanding one, is deeply impactful. You wish Alice could see your happiness as separate from her pain, and maybe one day she will. But for now, the space she’s asked for might be necessary for both of you to find your own clarity. You might consider honoring her need for space with a single thoughtful message indicating that even with this space, she matters to you. Something like, “Thinking of you. I’m sorry we’re not in a good place right now,” while also letting her know that you’d welcome a conversation if and when she’s ready. No demands, no justifications, just a reminder, as she probably feels betrayed and abandoned, that you have her in mind and are leaving the door wide open for whatever might happen next, whenever (if ever) next might be. As for the mutual friends who are excluding you — this happens in breakups of all kinds. Some friends take sides based on loyalty, whom they knew first or whose version of events they heard. Others may simply be uncomfortable with the complications. Focus on nurturing the friendships that remain supportive. In matters of the heart, we can’t always time our feelings conveniently. What matters most is that we handle them with grace and integrity, and accept the consequences that go with our choices. Want to Ask the Therapist? If you have a question, email *****@*****.tld. By submitting a query, you agree to our reader submission terms. This column is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Source link #Wrong #Date #Friends Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nikoderiko: The Magical World Directors Cut physical editions announced Nikoderiko: The Magical World Directors Cut physical editions announced Publisher Knights Peak and developer VEA Games, in cooperation with distributor U&I Entertainment, will release physical editions of side-scrolling platformer Nikoderiko: The Magical World Directors Cut for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and Switch on August 22 worldwide, the companies announced. Source link #Nikoderiko #Magical #World #Directors #Cut #physical #editions #announced Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

‘Fight or Flight’ Review: Conned Air ‘Fight or Flight’ Review: Conned Air Josh Hartnett plays a rugged mercenary in an airborne action movie that struggles to stay on course. Source link #Fight #Flight #Review #Conned #Air Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

‘Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted’ Review: In the Deep End ‘Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted’ Review: In the Deep End Premises for documentaries don’t come much more casual than in “Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted,” a profile organized around exactly what the title says. As the singer-songwriter Swamp Dogg, born Jerry Williams Jr., awaits the completion of a custom paint job on his pool in Los Angeles, he hangs out on the patio with various friends (including, at one point, Johnny Knoxville of “Jackass”) who drop by to reminisce. The directors — Isaac Gale and Ryan Olson — observe. The movie offers full-on immersion, or perhaps submersion, in Swamp Dogg’s world. His daughter Dr. Jeri Williams, a neurologist (“I’ve got five daughters, but this is the main one,” Swamp Dogg says), likens his home in Northridge to a bachelor pad for “aging musicians.” For years, Swamp Dogg let some of his musical collaborators, like David Kearney, who performed as Guitar Shorty and died in 2022, and Larry Clemon, known as Moogstar, live there too. With Swamp Dogg as MC, the film dutifully checks off biographical highlights: how Little Jerry Williams came up through R&B beginning in the 1950s; how he changed his name to Swamp Dogg in 1970 (“Jerry Williams just seemed too soft”); how the politics of his music (he played in Jane Fonda’s touring anti-war show in 1971) led, he says, to questions from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In addition, you’ll hear about how Swamp Dogg arranges the TVs in his home, about his recipe book (“If You Can Kill It I Can Cook It”) and about that time he put out an album of pets singing Beatles songs. At one point, the musician’s phone rings. He answers, “I’m in the middle of an interview. Call me later.” Somehow, an editor thought that was worth keeping — which should indicate how much this fans-only documentary gets bogged down with dull asides. Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes. In theaters. Source link #Swamp #Dogg #Pool #Painted #Review #Deep Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

GSFL 2025: Kangas sweat on verdict on key position star Josh Bootsma after knee injury in Anzac Day loss GSFL 2025: Kangas sweat on verdict on key position star Josh Bootsma after knee injury in Anzac Day loss North Albany key position star Josh Bootsma’s season hangs in the balance with the club fearing the worst after he went down with a serious knee injury on Anzac Day. Source link #GSFL #Kangas #sweat #verdict #key #position #star #Josh #Bootsma #knee #injury #Anzac #Day #loss Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Still No Stock on US Consoles, Limited Accessories Available Still No Stock on US Consoles, Limited Accessories Available The highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 will be available on June 5. Thanks to tariff-related delays, preorders in the US didn’t start until late April, and the stock quickly sold out. With the official release date still a month off, we’re monitoring retailers in the US, Canada and the *** just in case there’s a second wave of preorders for both consoles and accessories. We’ve been updating this article daily to keep you in the loop. You should note that while some stores say items are coming soon or out of stock, that all translates to no current availability, with the exception of the Nintendo *** storefront — for now. We have found some accessories are popping up for preorder. Be sure to check back often, as anything that does become available for preorder is likely to go just as fast. Walmart: Both versions sold out Target: Both versions sold out GameStop: Both versions sold out Best Buy: Both versions sold out Newegg: Both versions sold out Nintendo Switch 2 preorders at GameStop As with other US retailers, both the standalone console and Mario Kart World bundle are currently sold out at GameStop. Most of the accessories are available either for preorder or you can sign up to be notified when they are in stock again. GameStop US GameStop preorders started a little later than other retailers, but like elsewhere, it’s completely sold out at the moment. Nintendo/CNET See at GameStop (console only) GameStop Canada The Switch 2 console is also sold out at GameStop Canada. Though if we do see some restocks here, it’s important to note that these preorders are limited to one Switch 2 per household. Nintendo/CNET See at GameStop (Console Only) Nintendo Switch 2 preorders at Walmart The standalone console and Mario Kart World bundle are now sold out at both US and ********* Walmarts. The US site has also removed product pages for both versions of the console, so we’re not expecting restocks there any time soon. Similarly, the accessories are either not in stores yet or out of stock, however you can sign up to be notified when they are available. Walmart US Walmart preorders sold out almost immediately, and at the moment, it no longer has product pages for the standalone console or the Mario Kart World bundle, so we’re not expecting restocks any time soon. That being said, we’ll be keeping an eye on this retailer for any availability. Nintendo/CNET See at Walmart Walmart Canada Preorders for the Switch 2 console and accessories began at midnight on April 24 at Walmart, but are currently sold out. Nintendo/CNET See at Walmart (console only) Nintendo Switch 2 preorders at Target Both versions of the console are currently sold out at Target, but you can sign up for notifications about any future restocks. Target has a number of accesories available for preorder now. Target As with other retailers, both versions of the Switch 2 console are currently sold out at Target, but we’ll be keeping an eye out for any restocks in the coming days. Nintendo/CNET See at Target (console only) Samsung 256GB microSD Express Even with the Switch 2’s boosted storage, you may be looking to boost its memory with a microSD card. This Samsung Express microSD is designed specifically for Nintendo’s new console, and even features a unique Mario-inspired design. Samsung/CNET See at Target Nintendo Switch 2 preorders at Newegg Newegg is also sold out of both versions of the console. While Switch 2 preorders will be competitive just about anywhere they’re being offered, Newegg is slightly less popular than other retailers like Walmart or Target, which could give you a better chance of securing an order during any future restocks. At present, the accessories are out of stock, so your best bet is to be notified automatically when they become available. Newegg Newegg is also offering preorders for both the standalone console and Mario Kart World bundle, though they’re currently sold out. However, this online retailer is less popular than competitors, so you may have better luck here than elsewhere during potential restocks. Nintendo/CNET See at Newegg (console only) Nintendo Switch 2 camera This compact camera lists for $55 and plugs directly into the Switch 2 console or dock’s USB-C port so you can chat with friends or access in-game features for select titles. It has a wide-angle lens and you can adjust the angle to easily keep yourself in frame. Plus, it will automatically adjust its brightness so your face is always visible. Nintendo/CNET See at Newegg Nintendo Switch 2 preorders at Nintendo Nintendo preorders require an invitation, and to help combat scalpers, priority is being given to Nintendo Switch Online members who’ve had a paid membership for at least 12 months and have a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours as of April 2. These invitations are first come, first served and will be valid for 72 hours. You can still register now if you haven’t already. Nintendo US Preordering directly from Nintendo is the obvious choice if you’re looking to grab the Switch 2 on release day. You can order just the console for $450 or bundle it with Mario Kart World for $500. You can still register for preorders, with priority being given to Nintendo Switch Online members who’ve had a paid membership for at least 12 months and have a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours as of April 2. Nintendo/CNET See at Nintendo Nintendo Canada As with the US, you’ll need to get an invitation to preorder the Switch 2 from Nintendo directly. You can still register, with priority being given to Nintendo Switch Online members who’ve had a paid membership for at least 12 months and have a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours as of April 2. Nintendo/CNET See at Nintendo Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller As with the Switch 2 console, accessories like the $85 Pro Controller will require you to register for an invitation if you’re hoping to preorder directly from Nintendo. Nintendo/CNET See at Nintendo Nintendo Switch 2 preorders at Best Buy Best Buy preorders are currently sold out, and an account is required if you’re hoping to take advantage of any restocks. You’ll have to confirm your pickup or shipping location to add it to your cart, after which you’ll have 10 minutes to complete the checkout process. As for the accessories, some are available for preorder but most are out of stock and you’ll have to sign up to be notified when they are back on the shelves. Best Buy As with the other big retailers, Best Buy’s preorders are currently sold out. If you’re hoping to take advantage of any future restocks, note that an account is required for the order, so make sure you have one before you try and start the checkout process. Nintendo/CNET See at Best Buy (console only) Best Buy Canada Best Buy preorders also sold out in Canada. Like the US, you’ll need to set up an account if you’ve not done so already, as it’s required for the purchase. Nintendo/CNET See at Best Buy Samsung 256GB microSD Express Even with the Switch 2’s boosted storage, you may be looking to boost its memory with a microSD card. This Samsung Express microSD is designed specifically for Nintendo’s new console, and even features a unique Mario-inspired design. It lists for $60 and an account is required for preorders. Samsung/CNET See at Best Buy Nintendo Switch 2 preorders at Amazon Amazon has not given us any information about if and when US customers will be able to preorder the Switch 2, but ********* buyers can request an invite now. Amazon Amazon doesn’t have official preorder pages for the console or Mario Kart World bundle yet, and unlike other retailers, it has yet to announce if or when its preorders will begin. Nintendo/CNET See at Amazon Amazon Canada Amazon is now offering invitations for Switch 2 preorders in Canada for both the standalone console and the Mario Kart World bundle. Nintendo/CNET See at Amazon (console only) *** Nintendo Switch 2 preorders Unsurprisingly, it’s been tough to preorder the Switch 2 since availability first opened on April 8. But as of right now at the time of publication, you can purchase yours directly from My Nintendo Store ***, invite-free. It’s limited to one order per customer and you’ll need to have a paid Nintendo Online Membership in order to purchase. If you don’t already have a paid membership, you can buy a 3-month membership for £6.99 at Amazon, then redeem the code on your account right away to be able to qualify. This is the only retailer with stock right now. However, keep an eye on John Lewis, as we’ve been seeing both the standalone console and Mario Kart World bundle dip in and out of stock there. We’re hopeful about more restocks in the coming days and will be checking availability regularly, so check back often for the latest info. Note: We have no confirmation that the digital download code for Mario Kart World in the *** Switch 2 bundle will work with non-*** Nintendo accounts. The power cables are also different for each region. If you plan to buy a *** Switch 2 from outside the country, please know there’s no guarantee it’ll work as expected. Amazon *** Nintendo Switch 2 preorders are currently sold out at Amazon, both for the console alone and the Mario Kart World bundle. We’ll update this page if we see a restock. Nintendo/CNET See at Amazon (console only) Nintendo *** Nintendo preorders are officially open in the ***, and now you won’t need the invite initially needed to take advantage of the offer. You will, however, need a paid Nintendo Online Membership. Games and accessories are also available for preorder. See at Nintendo John Lewis John Lewis is one of the only places in the *** that has had sporadic availability of the Switch 2. It’s currently out of stock, but it’s worth keeping an eye on this retailer if you’re hoping to get your preorder in. Nintendo/CNET See at John Lewis (console only) Argos Both the Mario Kart World bundle and the console alone are sold out at Argos right now. We’ll continue checking to see if more stock is added. Games and accessories are still available to preorder. Nintendo/CNET See at Argos (console only) ShopTo ShopTo has sold out of Nintendo Switch 2 consoles at this early preorder stage, but we’ll keep checking back there in case of a restock. Nintendo/CNET See at ShopTo (console only) Very Very’s Switch 2 preorders are currently sold out, with the retailer suggesting would-be buyers “keep checking back” for further updates. We will, of course, be doing just that. When it did have Switch 2 models in stock, there were also a number of different bundles on offer that paired the console with controllers, cases, microSD cards and games. CNET See at Very Smyths Smyths Toys is currently sold out for both home delivery and pickup. Nintendo/CNET See at Smyths (console only) EE EE is listing the Mario Kart World bundle as out of stock right now, though it could be a good, slightly more under-the-radar place to check for restocks. Nintendo/CNET See at EE (console only) Currys Currys is taking a unique approach to Nintendo Switch 2 supply-and-demand issues by requiring that preorders be placed in-store. You can head to your nearest location to do so, though you should probably call ahead before making the journey to avoid potential disappointment. There’s no sign of an online preorder yet, but the link below is where you’ll need to be when the device is eventually listed online. Nintendo/CNET See at Currys (console only) GAME GAME is a go-to spot for those wanting the latest hardware, but it has already sold out of its initial Switch 2 preorder stock. Plenty of games and accessories are available to preorder. Nintendo/CNET See at Game The Game Collection There’s no joy for Nintendo fans at The Game Collection right now, with both listings for the Switch 2 console and the Mario Kart World bundle showing as out of stock. There’s a chance more stock will be added, so we’ll keep you posted. Nintendo/CNET See at Game Collection (console only) When can I preorder the Nintendo Switch 2? Preorders began on April 8 for *** customers, and while they’re currently sold out everywhere online, we could see restocks in the coming days. American and ********* preorders were originally supposed to begin shortly after on April 9, but were delayed due to the new tariffs implemented by the US. After weeks of uncertainty, Nintendo finally confirmed that both countries would begin offering preorders on April 24. But as predicted, all retailers sold out almost instantly. We’re hopeful that there will be some restocks in the coming hours and days, and will be keeping an eye on the retailers above. Read more: How Nintendo Is Combating Switch 2 Scalpers How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost? There was some concern that the new US tariffs were going to lead to some significant price hikes on both the standalone console and the Mario Kart World bundle. Fortunately, Nintendo has confirmed that the original pricing still stands. The console will be available for $450, with the Mario Kart World bundle priced at $500. However, there has been a change to the price of some accessories, with some increasing by $5. When will the Nintendo Switch 2 be released? The Switch 2 is scheduled to begin shipping on June 5. Nintendo has confirmed that the preorder delay in the US and Canada won’t affect this release date. Nintendo recently updated its preorder page stating that a June 5 delivery is not guaranteed if you’re preordering from the manufacturer directly. Other retailers are still promising delivery on release day. When can I preorder Nintendo Switch 2 accessories? Preorders for Switch 2 controllers, cases and other accessories will begin at the same time as console preorders. For *** customers, that means you can start ordering them now. Additionally, some third-party Switch 2 accessories are already available. Just note that prices for some accessories have been increased. When can I preorder Nintendo Switch 2 games? As with accessories, Switch 2 game preorders will be available when console preorders go live. Fortunately, the cost of the two biggest launch titles will not be affected by the recent price increase of accessories. You’ll be able to order the digital copy of Mario Kart World for $80 and Donkey Kong Bananza for $70. Will the Nintendo Switch 2 come in other colors? For the new Switch 2, Nintendo has ditched the colored Joy-Cons for a more sleek, monochrome look — though there are still pops of red and blue around the analog sticks. As of now, Nintendo hasn’t said anything about additional colors. Is the Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World Bundle worth it? The Mario Kart series has been a long-standing tentpole for Nintendo, and fans were thrilled to hear that a new title is on the way. But the excitement was dampened by the announcement that the new game will come with an increased price tag: $80 for the digital edition, or $90 if you want a physical copy. You can bundle a digital copy with the console on release day for $500 total, which saves you $30 compared with buying them separately. It’s an excellent value if it’s a game you’re certain you want in your library, and likely the only “discount” we’ll see on this title for quite some time. Plus, Nintendo recently announced that this bundle will be available only “through fall 2025,” which means you’ll have a limited chance to take advantage of these savings. Nintendo Switch 2 preorders: What are people saying? There are still some mixed feelings about Nintendo’s newest console. While some are happy to see that Nintendo hasn’t altered much about the wildly popular original Switch, others feel not enough has changed to justify the $150 price hike — with CNET gaming expert Scott Stein calling it a console that “feels a lot like an updated version of a system many people already own.” The recent confirmation that the US tariffs won’t be leading to any further price increases has helped stifle gamers’ exasperation a bit, but many are still unhappy with the fact that select games will be selling for up to $20 more than the standard $60. Only time will tell whether most people consider the new console and games are worth the higher costs once they officially become available on June 5. Source link #Stock #Consoles #Limited #Accessories Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Horoscope for Thursday, May 08, 2025 – Chicago Sun-Times Horoscope for Thursday, May 08, 2025 – Chicago Sun-Times Horoscope for Thursday, May 08, 2025 Chicago Sun-TimesHoroscopes Today, May 8, 2025 USA TodayHoroscope Tomorrow, May 08, 2025, read predictions for all sun signs Hindustan TimesNumerology Predictions Today, May 8, 2025: What does your lucky number say about you? Check here India TodayDaily Horoscope for May 08, 2025 Chicago Tribune Source link #Horoscope #Thursday #Chicago #SunTimes Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Gavin and Stacey star says BBC show will not return Gavin and Stacey star says BBC show will not return Shivani Chaudhari & Sonia Watson BBC News, Essex Jamie Simonds/BBC Larry Lamb has announced that he is going on a book tour with a quirky twist It looks like Gavin and Stacey fans will never know what happened on that fishing trip after a star of the comedy put to bed any slim hopes of a reboot. Larry Lamb, who played Mick Shipman on the BBC’****** show for 17 years, said filming the Christmas episode last year was an “extraordinary experience.”. He added: “At the time, we all thought it probably won’t be the end, I’m sure we will be doing it again, but gradually what’s happened over the months, what I’ve realised is that was the end.” Lamb said he would always carry a part of Mick with him, and his upcoming tour for his new book, All Wrapped Up, has a Gavin and Stacey theme. PA Media The final episode aired on BBC One on Christmas Day 2024 The Christmas episode of the show racked up 19.11 million views, and Lamb said while it was sad it ended, it was a “masterpiece, no doubt about it”. He added: “That scene in the wedding – that’s up for the moment of the year. “It was the way to end this story, you can’t keep going on with it. Ruth and James brought it to a grand finale.” While he has moved on to a new chapter, he clearly will always have a soft spot for the show, as seen with his new book tour. “We’re starting in Billericay in the Reading Rooms and we’re going to finish in Barry in Marcos’ cafe at a date to be arranged,” he told BBC Essex. In between, Lamb will visit several bookshops and read extracts of his new novel. “It’s an adventure, it is all about a film crew going to a Caribbean island to make a film, and from the minute they set off, things go wrong,” he revealed. “It’s letting me show people the inside story of what film and television is all about because that is something I have been asked countless times.” Source link #Gavin #Stacey #star #BBC #show #return Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Guzman y Gomez in lofty mission to become Australia’s fast food king Guzman y Gomez in lofty mission to become Australia’s fast food king The ambitious founder of Guzman y Gomez is angling to open more stores in WA as the business looks to muscle in on McDonald’s drive-thru coffee dominance and bring Australians around to pinto beans. Source link #Guzman #Gomez #lofty #mission #Australias #fast #food #king Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Expect BOE to Reduce Its Inflation Outlook, Skarica Says Expect BOE to Reduce Its Inflation Outlook, Skarica Says Bruna Skarica, *** economist at Morgan Stanley, discusses the outlook for inflation amid today’s Bank of England decision. Speaking on Bloomberg Television, she says the BOE is likely to “meaningfully reduce” its inflation outlook in the near term. “We actually think they’ll be forecasting something around 3% into year end and potentially 2% for this time next year,” Skarica says. Source link #Expect #BOE #Reduce #Inflation #Outlook #Skarica Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Google Launches Gemini App for iPad With Gemini Live, AI Image Creation Features Google Launches Gemini App for iPad With Gemini Live, AI Image Creation Features Google has rolled out the Gemini app for iPad globally, months after it debuted on iOS. It comes with the same capabilities the tech giant offers on Android and iOS versions, enabling users to generate images leveraging its multi-modal capabilities. Gemini also comes with the ability to find information across apps like Gmail and YouTube, and even accept image queries to solve problems. As per Google, the new Gemini app for iPad also brings its most notable feature — Gemini Live. Gemini App for iPad Although there’s no official announcement from Google, the Gemini app is listed on the App Store free of cost for the iPad. The Mountain View-based tech giant has also updated its support pages to include iPad compatibility. It offers similar functionality to its iOS counterpart, helping users get step-by-step instructions for problem solving, answering queries, generating texts, and summarising PDFs. Introduced as an AI assistant, Google says it can help “supercharge your creativity and productivity”, powered by the Gemini family of large language models (LLMs), including Gemini 1.5. It brings Gemini Live, a two-way voice chat feature for its AI chatbot that lets both the user and the AI converse via speech. It offers 10 different voice options for personalisation, with each having a slightly varied accent, pitch, and tonality. As per the company, Gemini Live can be leveraged for chatting, brainstorming ideas, or finding answers to queries. Gadgets 360 staff members were able to verify the Gemini app for iPad’s availability on the App Store. To expand upon its basic functionality, users can connect the Gemini app to other Google apps like Search, YouTube, Google Maps, and Gmail. Once done, it can play tracks, create playlists, start navigation, summarise an email thread, and suggest responses. By connecting Gemini to Search, it can provide more relevant and insightful responses based on your search history. Another notable feature of the Gemini for iPad app is its ability to generate images, leveraging Google’s Imagen 3 generative AI model. Gemini is available free of cost on the iPad. However, users can also subscribe to Gemini Advanced for access to advanced capabilities, courtesy of the Gemini 1.5 Pro model. It also provides priority access to new features, a larger context window, and Gemini in Docs, Gmail, Sheets, and other Google apps. It is offered with the Google One AI Premium plan which costs Rs. 1,950 per month in India. Source link #Google #Launches #Gemini #App #iPad #Gemini #Live #Image #Creation #Features Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trading and Investing Rules for Junior Mining Stocks Trading and Investing Rules for Junior Mining Stocks Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks. Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed. Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website. It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website. Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers. © 2007-2025 – Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved. Source link #Trading #Investing #Rules #Junior #Mining #Stocks Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Australia Greens leader loses seat, cites ‘Trump effect’ Australia Greens leader loses seat, cites ‘Trump effect’ Getty Images Adam Bandt has led the Greens since 2020 The leader of Australia’s third-largest political party, the Greens, has conceded his seat in Melbourne after a tight electoral vote count that lasted several days. Adam Bandt, who had safely held the seat of Melbourne since 2010, told reporters on Thursday afternoon that he had called Labor candidate Sarah Witty to congratulate her on her victory. Australia’s centre-left Labor party won Saturday’s federal election by a landslide, decimating the conservative Liberal-National Coalition while also gutting the left-leaning Greens. While the Greens got the highest vote in Melbourne, Bandt said the main reason for their loss was the preference votes for Liberal and the far-right One Nation party. Australia uses a preferential voting system, where candidates are ranked in order of preference. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote in the first tally, the votes from the least popular candidates are redistributed, and that process is repeated until someone secures a majority. “To win in Melbourne we needed to overcome Liberal, Labor and One Nation combined, and it’s an Everest we’ve climbed a few times now, but this time we fell just short,” Bandt said. “We came very close,” he added, “but we couldn’t quite get there.” Bandt also cited the so-called Trump effect as a “key defining feature of the election” – the Coalition’s PM candidate Peter Dutton was often compared to the US President, which he rejected but it stuck. Bandt said that contributed to a five-week “riptide” that saw votes swing away from Liberal and Dutton, and towards Labor. This same effect also pulled votes away from the Greens, he added: “The riptide from Liberal to Labor had an effect on us as well.” “People in Melbourne hate Peter Dutton, and with very good reason. They’ve seen his brand of toxic racism for many years… and like me, many wanted him as far away from power as possible. “My initial take is some votes leaked away from us, as people saw Labor as the best option to stop Dutton.” Like Bandt, Dutton also lost his seat in the election, adding to his resounding defeat at the polls by incumbent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Getty Images Bandt has held the seat of Melbourne since 2010 Bandt, who has been leader of the Greens since 2020, said he wanted to thank the Melbourne community for “regularly giving me the highest vote, including this election, and to thank you for the last 15 years and the chance to do some amazing things together”. He listed off a string of achievements by the Greens under his leadership, including the party’s pivotal role in the marriage equality plebiscite, the First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum, and advancing “world-leading climate legislation”. “Fighting the climate crisis is the reason I got into politics, and I want to thank everyone in Melbourne for helping us make a difference,” Bandt said. He also thanked his party colleagues, noting that he leaves the party with “the vote for the Greens higher than when i started, and our biggest ever representation in parliament”. Bandt thanked the African and ******* communities in Melbourne, as well as “everyone that had the courage to speak up against the invasion of Gaza, and spoke up for peace in Palestine”. Finally, he thanked his wife, Claudia. “Not only could I have not done this without her, we’ve done it together,” he said. In his closing remarks, Bandt offered some “free advice to the media”. “We’re in a climate crisis,” he said. “I really want the media to stop reporting on climate as a political issue, and start thinking of it as if our country were being invaded. We should treat the climate crisis as if there was a war on.” “Please, please start taking the climate crisis seriously, and holding this government and any future government to account.” Source link #Australia #Greens #leader #loses #seat #cites #Trump #effect Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Google Launches Gemini App for iPad With Gemini Live, AI Image Creation Features Google Launches Gemini App for iPad With Gemini Live, AI Image Creation Features Google has rolled out the Gemini app for iPad globally, months after it debuted on iOS. It comes with the same capabilities the tech giant offers on Android and iOS versions, enabling users to generate images leveraging its multi-modal capabilities. Gemini also comes with the ability to find information across apps like Gmail and YouTube, and even accept image queries to solve problems. As per Google, the new Gemini app for iPad also brings its most notable feature — Gemini Live. Gemini App for iPad Although there’s no official announcement from Google, the Gemini app is listed on the App Store free of cost for the iPad. The Mountain View-based tech giant has also updated its support pages to include iPad compatibility. It offers similar functionality to its iOS counterpart, helping users get step-by-step instructions for problem solving, answering queries, generating texts, and summarising PDFs. Introduced as an AI assistant, Google says it can help “supercharge your creativity and productivity”, powered by the Gemini family of large language models (LLMs), including Gemini 1.5. It brings Gemini Live, a two-way voice chat feature for its AI chatbot that lets both the user and the AI converse via speech. It offers 10 different voice options for personalisation, with each having a slightly varied accent, pitch, and tonality. As per the company, Gemini Live can be leveraged for chatting, brainstorming ideas, or finding answers to queries. Gadgets 360 staff members were able to verify the Gemini app for iPad’s availability on the App Store. To expand upon its basic functionality, users can connect the Gemini app to other Google apps like Search, YouTube, Google Maps, and Gmail. Once done, it can play tracks, create playlists, start navigation, summarise an email thread, and suggest responses. By connecting Gemini to Search, it can provide more relevant and insightful responses based on your search history. Another notable feature of the Gemini for iPad app is its ability to generate images, leveraging Google’s Imagen 3 generative AI model. Gemini is available free of cost on the iPad. However, users can also subscribe to Gemini Advanced for access to advanced capabilities, courtesy of the Gemini 1.5 Pro model. It also provides priority access to new features, a larger context window, and Gemini in Docs, Gmail, Sheets, and other Google apps. It is offered with the Google One AI Premium plan which costs Rs. 1,950 per month in India. Source link #Google #Launches #Gemini #App #iPad #Gemini #Live #Image #Creation #Features Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Players Unanimously Agree on Who’s the Best Character in the Game Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Players Unanimously Agree on Who’s the Best Character in the Game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a visually striking RPG, combining painterly aesthetics with tactical, turn-based combat in a surreal French-inspired fantasy world. One of the game’s most impressive achievements is its broad compatibility across a range of hardware, thanks to well-optimized graphics settings. Whether you’re gaming on a high-end rig or a modest setup, you can tune the settings for a satisfying mix of beauty and responsiveness. Source link #Clair #Obscur #Expedition #Players #Unanimously #Agree #Whos #Character #Game Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Smokey Robinson denies ‘ugly’ ******* assault allegations Smokey Robinson denies ‘ugly’ ******* assault allegations Motown legend Smokey Robinson has denied allegations of ******* assault that were made by several former employees. In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, four female housekeepers accused the singer-songwriter of ******* battery including *****, plus false imprisonment and a number of labour violations. In a statement to the BBC, Robinson’s lawyer Christopher Frost called the allegations “vile” and “false”. “As this case progresses, the evidence (the crucial element that guides us) will show that this is simply an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon – $50 million, to be exact,” he said. Robinson was Motown’s first hitmaker, writing number one hits like Mary Wells’ My Guy and the Temptations’ My Girl. He was both a talent scout for the record label and one of its most prominent recording artists in his own right, known for songs like Tracks of My Tears, Shop Around and Tears of a Clown. He has spots in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Halls of Fame, and claims to have credits on more than 4,000 songs. His second wife, Frances, was also named in Tuesday’s lawsuit, which claimed she contributed to a hostile work environment and failed to stop Robinson’s alleged ******* misconduct. The women are suing under the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1, 2, 3 and 4, due to the ******* misconduct allegations, including *****, being levelled against the musician. In the 27-page lawsuit they detail several incidents dating back to 2006 and allege they were pressured into sex. All four women, who are of Hispanic descent, said they had not come forward until now because they feared losing their livelihood, familial reprisal or embarrassment. Some were concerned the allegations could affect their immigration status. They are seeking at least $50m in damages and a jury trial. No police reports or criminal charges have been filed against the musician. The women’s lawyers held a press conference on Tuesday, accusing Robinson of being a “serial and sick *******” who “must be stopped”. This drew the ire of the Robinson’s legal team, who called it a “bizarre” attempt “to enlist the public as an unwitting participant in the media circus they are trying to create”. “We will have more to say in the coming days as we make our legal response, and in time Mr Robinson will respond in his own words,” Mr Frost said. “We ask anyone following this case to reserve judgment as the evidence comes to light and all the actual facts of the case unfold. “We will be asking the Court to dismiss the lawsuit. We will also be asking the Court to address that in their statements to the press about Mr Robinson, the plaintiff’s attorneys have reached beyond the bounds of liberties that even lawyers are typically allowed in this context.” Source link #Smokey #Robinson #denies #ugly #******* #assault #allegations Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Rumors of a Classic X-Men Character Joining Marvel Rivals Are Seemingly Confirmed The Rumors of a Classic X-Men Character Joining Marvel Rivals Are Seemingly Confirmed It was leaked before, but due to recent findings, it looks like the rumors of a certain classic X-Men character joining Marvel Rivals are seemingly confirmed. Source link #Rumors #Classic #XMen #Character #Joining #Marvel #Rivals #Seemingly #Confirmed Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Uber: Why You May Not Need to Worry About Missing Out on Potential Growth Uber: Why You May Not Need to Worry About Missing Out on Potential Growth In the ride-hailing services industry, there’s Uber (NYSE:) and everyone else. The company’s scale is unrivaled, and its financial results no longer resemble a risky startup. Uber just published its Q1 report, showing 17% constant currency revenue growth and $2.3B in free cash flow this quarter alone. If its growth plans come to fruition, its annual FCF could reach $13B in 2026. This might make investors wonder if the stock isn’t actually a bargain right now, given the company’s ~$180B market cap. We were thinking along the same lines, but two things are stopping us from buying right away. The first is that ride-sharing and the taxi business in general are very cyclical. People simply ride less when the economy is weak. Even the mild economic deceleration we saw in 2022 caused a two-thirds decline in Uber’s valuation. J.P. Morgan recently raised the probability of a US recession in 2025 to 60%, which doesn’t bode well for cyclical companies. And the second reason why we don’t worry about missing out on the stock is the Elliott Wave chart below. It reveals two five-wave impulses, interrupted by the 2021-2022 bear market in between. The first one is marked I-II-III-IV-V, where the five sub-waves of wave III are also visible. The second one is labeled (1)-(2)-(3)-(4)-(5), where two lower degrees of the trend are recognizable within wave (3), and wave (4) is a triangle correction. Given Uber’s strong fundamentals and long growth runway, we think that these patterns stand for a sequence of first and second waves of a much ******* future uptrend. That being said, every impulse is followed by a correction and this applies to the current wave I, as well. Not to mention that triangles precede the final wave of the larger structure. Here, the final wave is (5), and it is likely to be entirely erased by wave II, before the bulls can return in wave III of (III). Assuming a bearish reversal near $100 a share, that’ll be a ~40% decline back to the support just under $60. We plan to take advantage of it to add Uber to our stock portfolio, but as of this writing, we see no reason to hurry. Original Post Source link #Uber #Worry #Missing #Potential #Growth Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Rew replaces injured Cox in England squad for Zimbabwe Test Rew replaces injured Cox in England squad for Zimbabwe Test Somerset batter James Rew replaces the injured Jordan Cox in the England squad for their Test against Zimbabwe later this month. Source link #Rew #replaces #injured #Cox #England #squad #Zimbabwe #Test Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Mark Riley: The one thing the Liberal Party got right Mark Riley: The one thing the Liberal Party got right In the post-apocalyptic gloom of Sunday morning, a bunch of current and former Liberal advisers shared their views over WhatsApp on the enormity of what had just happened. What they surveyed in political terms was nothing short of a bleak dystopian hellscape. It was the worst result in the Liberal Party’s 84-year history. It was also the first time an opposition leader had ever lost an election and their own seat. The Coalition’s primary vote had suffered a collapse of epic proportions, falling 10 per cent below its peak of just six months before. So, what had gone so horribly wrong? One of the staffers offered a confronting answer. He invited the group to remember what they had all thought when Peter Dutton was appointed leader after the 2022 election loss. “We thought he was un-electable,” the adviser said. But they had buried that concern beneath the false hope offered by the party’s internal polling. It seemed to show the electorate responding positively to Dutton’s conservative brand of binary politics, built on confrontation and culture wars. But now their original reservations were slapping them in the face. The Dutton experiment had failed. Horribly. The problem stemmed back to what Dutton might call a “sliding doors moment” after the Morrison government’s defeat. The party faced an opportunity then to move back to the centre with a progressive leader, or at least one who could reach across the aisle of what John Howard called the Liberal Party’s “broad church” of moderates and conservatives. The moderates had been effectively excommunicated in the 2022 result. Women in particular had joined a teal wave that washed away Liberal progressives, including their putative leadership candidate, Josh Frydenberg. Instead of trying to repopulate those pews by looking to the future, the party decided to double down on the conservative side. The party moved swiftly towards Peter Dutton. “Remember what we all thought at the time?” one member of the WhatsApp group asked on Sunday. “We thought that was a big mistake. But the polls kept telling us it wasn’t.” Ah, the polls! Didn’t they do *********** voters a great disservice. Again. The polling the Liberal Party received over the past 18 months was at best soft, yet strategists took it as justification for not rolling out detailed policy. Why set yourself up as a target when voters were apparently so disappointed in the Government that they were preparing to throw it out after one term? All that began to change in January. Anthony Albanese hit the ground running after Christmas with a series of big health announcements — bulk billing incentives, capped medicine pricing, more urgent care clinics — that ensured Medicare dominated the pre-election conversation. The Coalition was caught flat-footed. It was left saying “me too” to all those announcements, knowing it couldn’t win a fight over health care. Then came the Budget and the biggest tactical mistake the Coalition made under Dutton — the one the WhatsApp group believed finally put its electoral chances to the sword. Labor couldn’t believe its luck when shadow treasurer Angus Taylor announced on Budget night that the Coalition would oppose the Government’s modest changes to the tax scales, saving average earners just $5 a week. There is a compelling reason why no opposition in living memory has gone to an election promising to repeal tax cuts. It’s nuts. So, with Labor running rampant on health and the economy, the Coalition suddenly found itself rushing to fill in the detail of its own policy alternatives. But it had left perilously little time to get the shape and tone right. That became fatally evident when Dutton was forced to ditch the ill-considered “return to work” policy in week one of the campaign. He then spent five weeks arguing for nuclear energy while studiously avoiding going within cooee of any of the seven sites he had earmarked for reactors. Then in the final week he began throwing red meat to the conservative base by railing against the “hate media” and questioning Welcome to Country ceremonies. Those decisions were seen by the progressives as acts of utter desperation. And, so, the Liberal Party finds itself in the same place as in 2022 — albeit in worse shape — facing the same existential question. Does it shift back to the centre and rebuild the moderate side of its congregation? Or does it continue to turn right and eventually go the way of the dodo? The answer appears obvious. But as many in the advisers’ WhatsApp group observed this week, it is no more obvious now than it was in 2022. And they went for Peter Dutton then, despite their now proven reservations. Source link #Mark #Riley #Liberal #Party Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Pakistan shoots down Indian drone near naval base in the city of Lahore, officials say – AP News Pakistan shoots down Indian drone near naval base in the city of Lahore, officials say – AP News Pakistan shoots down Indian drone near naval base in the city of Lahore, officials say AP NewsView Full Coverage on Google News Source link #Pakistan #shoots #Indian #drone #naval #base #city #Lahore #officials #News Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump deal is a significant achievement for Starmer Trump deal is a significant achievement for Starmer Henry Zeffman Chief political correspondent EPA The *** has been desperate for a deal of this sort with the US since President Donald Trump unleashed his wave of global tariffs. So have other countries. But it seems the *** has got there first – a significant achievement by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his government. Those close to the talks have been saying for some time that the shape of a deal was basically there, but that it was never quite clear when and whether the maverick president might sign off on what his negotiating team had thrashed out. That he has done so this week makes this a highly significant few days for *** trade, coming just two days after the full free trade agreement between the *** and India. The ***-India agreement is estimated to bring in a £25.5bn boost to bilateral trade and a £4.8bn annual increase in *** GDP, simplifying exports of *** goods to India and cutting taxes on Indian clothing and footwear exports. There’s a clear political boost for a prime minister who has been under pressure to rethink domestic policies after a disastrous set of local election results for Labour last week. He has now finalised the deal with India his Conservative predecessors could not reach, and come to some sort of agreement with the US – even if it’s short of the comprehensive free trade agreement the Conservative governments talked about reaching and never managed. President Trump appeared to allude to the agreement when he posted on social media on Wednesday night: “Big News Conference tomorrow morning at 10:00 A.M., The Oval Office, concerning a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY. THE FIRST OF MANY!!!” The *** side had been expecting an announcement today but was taken by surprise when US media broke the news overnight. Though Trump has called it a “trade deal”, this is likely to be more limited than that – a more specific deal to reduce tariffs on specific things. The US president has announced – and scaled back – a swathe of tariffs on countries around the world this year. The US remains the ***’s top trading partner, purchasing close to £200bn in British exports. Currently, most goods imported from the *** to the US face a blanket 10% tariff. The *** – like other countries – has also been hit with 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium exports to the US as well as a 25% tariff on cars and car parts. From the British side, they specifically want to reduce tariffs on British steel and cars. From the US side, they want something on pharmaceuticals and technology – which in total account for the majority of goods exports. Andrew Griffith, the shadow business and trade secretary, says a US-*** deal “would be welcome and another Brexit benefit”. However, Griffith says restoring growth to the economy “also requires reversing Labour’s attacks on business” and reducing “high energy costs”. “Conservatives will closely scrutinise any deal which should first be announced to Parliament,” he said. Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper says Parliament “must be given a vote” on the deal so it can be “scrutinised”. “A good trade deal with the US could bring huge benefits, but Liberal Democrats will oppose any concessions that threaten our NHS, undermine our farmers or give tax cuts to US tech billionaires,” she said. “If the government is confident the agreement it has negotiated with Trump is in Britain’s national interest, it should not be afraid to bring it before MPs.” There is a broader point too. Sir Keir has made a point of forging a warm relationship with Trump – warmer than many expected. There has also been growing grumblings about what dividend he was receiving for his efforts, on trade, Ukraine and any number of other issues. Here is his answer. Source link #Trump #deal #significant #achievement #Starmer Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]