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********* Billionaire Buys Panama Canal Ports For $23 Billion After Acquiring *** Airport – Legit.ng ********* Billionaire Buys Panama Canal Ports For $23 Billion After Acquiring *** Airport – Legit.ng ********* Billionaire Buys Panama Canal Ports For $23 Billion After Acquiring *** Airport Legit.ngAfter Trump Applies Pressure, Wall Street Giant Moves Into Panama The New York TimesLi Ka-Shing’s CK Hutchison To Sell Panama Canal Ports To BlackRock As Part Of $23 Billion Deal Forbes Source link #********* #Billionaire #Buys #Panama #Canal #Ports #Billion #Acquiring #Airport #Legit.ng Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Rio Tinto scraps plans to raise up to $US5 billion in share ***** Rio Tinto scraps plans to raise up to $US5 billion in share ***** Rio Tinto has scrapped plans to raise as much as $US5 billion ($7.9b) in a share ***** following pushback from investors. According to Bloomberg sources, executives at the mining giant had floated the possibility of an equity offering in recent investor meetings after announcing its results. The fundraising could have been used to help pay for its $US6.7b ($10.6b) takeover of Arcadium Lithium as well as rebalance its shareholding between *** and *********** investors. Chief executive officer Jakob Stausholm said last month that raising money to rebalance the company’s share register was a possibility, but that no decision had been made. Rio decided to shelve the idea after getting significant pushback from investors in recent meetings, especially as the company didn’t think the offering was a financial necessity, sources told Bloomberg. A representative for Rio declined to comment. The miner completed its Arcadium takeover this week, and said it was funding the acquisition by drawing on an existing bridge loan facility, which it plans to replace with long-term debt financing. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase advised Rio on the acquisition. As well as helping to pay for the Arcadium transaction, the raise would have also added more liquidity among its *********** holders. Its share register is much more weighted to London, with about three-quarters of its stock there. Shares in Rio have gained 1.7 per cent in London trading this year, giving the company a market value of about £81b ($166b). The benchmark FTSE 100 Index is up 6.2 per cent over the same *******. The company has faced calls from an activist investor to unify its dual listing into an ***********-domiciled holding company. Rio has refuted the call saying it would cost billions and there is nothing to gain. Still, investors will get to vote on the idea at its upcoming annual shareholder meetings in both the *** and Australia. The idea of raising fresh capital comes at a pivotal time for the mining industry. After spending nearly a decade funneling billions of dollars back to shareholders – often as a result of bumper commodity prices and asset sales – the industry is now facing a ******* of potentially lower metal prices while it still needs to pay for growth. Source link #Rio #Tinto #scraps #plans #raise #US5 #billion #share #***** Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

From scholarships to housing, college students struggle with the effects of Trump orders against DEI – CNN International From scholarships to housing, college students struggle with the effects of Trump orders against DEI – CNN International From scholarships to housing, college students struggle with the effects of Trump orders against DEI CNN InternationalTrump administration clarifies stance on DEI in schools K-12 DiveThe Ed Department Is Coming For Diversity Harvard CrimsonLawsuit seeks to block Trump administration’s anti-DEI in education order USA TODAY Source link #scholarships #housing #college #students #struggle #effects #Trump #orders #DEI #CNN #International Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Praise for Premier Roger Cook’s storming election victory comes with red tape warning from WA business Praise for Premier Roger Cook’s storming election victory comes with red tape warning from WA business The WA business world’s praise for Premier Roger Cook’s resounding election victory comes with calls for him to back the mining industry in Canberra and push back on “productivity-killing” bureaucracy. Source link #Praise #Premier #Roger #Cooks #storming #election #victory #red #tape #warning #business Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

FromSoftware’s Success With Bloodborne and Elden Ring Lies in Avoiding Assumption-Driven Decisions FromSoftware’s Success With Bloodborne and Elden Ring Lies in Avoiding Assumption-Driven Decisions FromSoftware has managed to establish itself as one of the top dogs in the gaming industry. Starting as a small developer back in 1986, it has become quite a juggernaut in the industry. In recent years, the studio has given us games such as Bloodborne and Elden Ring, which have left their mark on gamers. FromSoftware is known for its Soulslike games. (Image via Sony) Why have these games managed to find success? Well, it’s due to the challenging gameplay, quality boss fights, and impeccable world-building. However, the real reason that FromSoftware’s greatest hits achieved success was because they avoided decisions based on assumptions. How avoiding assumptions helped FromSoftware Elden Ring continues to break records. (Image via FromSoftware) It’s a known fact that Hidetaka Miyazaki plays a special role at FromSoftware. Under his vision and guidance, the studio has reached a new high. He’s the man responsible for directing Dark Souls and Bloodborne, which proved to be smash hits. While chatting with The Guardian, Miyazaki said everything changed for FromSoftware with the debut of Elden Ring. The game managed to sell more than 25 million copies and certified the studio as a legend. Despite this feat, Miyazaki still remains cautious and never assumes that all future titles by the studio will receive the same level of acclaim. Elden Ring was in a league of its own in terms of the success and critical acclaim that it has seen, but what we try to do as a company is never assume that will happen again with our future games We’ve seen video game developers making assumption-driven decisions when one of their games manages to become a smash hit. Who can really blame them? The past success, when replicated, should lead to more hit games in the future. However, that’s not what happens. As developers rely on assumptions, it causes more difficulty for their video games as they tend to dive towards repetition and not take any creative risks. The goal isn’t making a quality game anymore; it’s about securing profits. FromSoftware is well aware about this industry trap, and stays out of it by just refusing to accept that future entries will yield the same success. It continues to experiment and innovate to pull in players. Miyazaki and his team don’t want to play it safe. Sony’s interesting relationship with FromSoftware The developer chose Bandai Namco. (Image via Sony) FromSoftware and Sony have released a number of hit games, such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Bloodborne. This might lead to one thinking that both companies have an incredible partnership. However, that’s not really the case. As reported by VGC, while talking on the Sacred Symbols podcast, former Sony president Shuhei Yoshida revealed how Sony’s handling of ******’s Souls strained its relationship with FromSoftware. Sony was initially skeptical about ******’s Souls, and even Yoshida had his own frustrating early experiences. Due to this, ******’s Souls was published by Atlus in North America and Bandai Namco in Europe. When FromSoftware later decided to develop Dark Souls, it decided to collaborate with Bandai Namco instead of Sony. Yoshida was regretful about Sony’s past decisions. With that said, do you think FromSoftware’s unique approach has helped it achieve success? Let us know in the comments below. Source link #FromSoftwares #Success #Bloodborne #Elden #Ring #Lies #Avoiding #AssumptionDriven #Decisions Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Neighbourhood dispute over trees blocking family’s lakefront views heats up as court makes major ruling Neighbourhood dispute over trees blocking family’s lakefront views heats up as court makes major ruling Three trees in a pristine suburb south of Sydney have sparked a court fight between neighbours over claims they block one family’s lakeside views. Source link #Neighbourhood #dispute #trees #blocking #familys #lakefront #views #heats #court #major #ruling Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

WA election 2025: Greens to seize balance of power in WA Upper House as Labor loses unprecedented majority WA election 2025: Greens to seize balance of power in WA Upper House as Labor loses unprecedented majority Labor will have to navigate an emboldened Greens party and a colourful cast of fringe candidates to pass bills after its unprecedented control of the Upper House ended. Source link #election #Greens #seize #balance #power #Upper #House #Labor #loses #unprecedented #majority Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Sheffield Shield: South *********** premier Peter Malinauskas adds weight to bid for final at Adelaide Oval Sheffield Shield: South *********** premier Peter Malinauskas adds weight to bid for final at Adelaide Oval South *********** premier Peter Malinauskas has added his muscle to a looming standoff between Cricket Australia and the AFL over a historic Sheffield Shield final. Cricket officials are hoping the AFL will allow them to reinstall the drop-in wickets on Adelaide Oval for South Australia — who have not won the title since 1996 — for the final at the end of the month, between football matches. South Australia sealed their place in the final thanks to an inspiring century from favourite son Jake Lehmann to chase down a monster fourth-innings target of 300 against Victoria at Junction Oval on Sunday. The five-day final is fixtured to begin on Wednesday March 26, but is now expected to be moved to begin two days earlier, so that it can be slotted between Port Adelaide’s Saturday clash with Richmond on March 22 and Adelaide’s meeting with North Melbourne the following Sunday. The wicket was removed from Adelaide Oval in recent days and the ground reconfigured for football. That includes the length of the grass being shorter for cricket and the shape of the ground changed as well as the drop-in wicket. Malinauskas is also a key figure for the AFL. He was a driving force behind the league’s highly-popular Gather Round concept, to be held in Adelaide for a third season next month. The Ryan Harris-coached side has been domestic cricket’s unstoppable force this season and last week won the one-day competition in front of a strong crowd at the same venue. They have not played in a shield final since they lost back-to-back editions to Victoria in 2016 and 2017. The Age is reporting the SACA will offer free admission if the game is played at the State’s traditional home of cricket. Malinauskas revealed on ABC at the weekend he had become involved in the negotiations. “This issue has been drawn to my attention, I did spend a bit of time on the weekend making a few calls,” he said. “I’m pretty optimistic that with some hard-headed reason, there’s a compromise to be had here that would allow it to be played at Adelaide Oval. “But everyone is going to have to give a little bit. There’s a whole bunch of moving parts to this, but after the calls I’ve made, I’m pretty optimistic we’re going to get the right outcome if wiser heads prevail. I think the Crows have an appetite for pragmatism here, and that is to their great credit. The AFL’s got a role to play.” Source link #Sheffield #Shield #South #*********** #premier #Peter #Malinauskas #adds #weight #bid #final #Adelaide #Oval Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

WA election 2025: Basil Zempilas celebrates winning Churchlands with Greek dancing WA election 2025: Basil Zempilas celebrates winning Churchlands with Greek dancing Basil Zempilas went back to his Greek roots with a post-election shindig to celebrate his election win on Saturday. The Liberal spent election night on tenterhooks with the count neck-and-neck between Mr Zempilas and Labor MP Christine Tonkin until late into the evening. But he celebrated in style after learning he had received 52 per cent of the primary vote, ahead of Ms Tonkin’s 28 per cent. Footage shared to his wife Amy’s Instagram account show him addressing his cheering supporters, decked out in blue t-shirts, along with Amy and his daughter Ava, who turned 14 on Sunday. “Thank you everybody but firstly I apologise because it’s such a late night because it’s taken so long to get here with hopefully the news that you’ve all been waiting to hear,” Zempilas told the crowd. And it seems his Liberal supporters wasted no time in partying the night away, with some traditional Greek dancing — a nod to his Greek ancestry. Camera IconBasil partied away election night after his win in Churchlands. Credit: Amy Zempilas/Instagram Mr Zempilas appeared to be in high spirits as Zorba’s Dance was played by a bouzouki player and he worked his way around a function room. “A bit of Greek dancing to celebrate the win last night,” Amy wrote on Instagram on Sunday. Mr Zempilas watched much of the vote count in his seat while on live TV on 7NEWS’ election night panel. While the seat was on a knife-edge earlier in the night, he appeared relieved as the seat was called late on Saturday. “I’m told that I’ve won,” Mr Zempilas said at 10pm. “I knew it was going to be close, I knew it was going to be tight and if a $1 million smear campaign has no effect then what’s the point. “I’ve withstood that and I’ve won the seat of Churchlands on a night when there was not a huge swing towards the Liberal party around the State.” Mr Zempilas has been touted a future leader, with supporters even pushing him forward late last year and plunging Liberal leader Libby Mettam into crisis. But, on Sunday, he ruled out “rash” decisions in the wake of the Liberals’ election thumping, saying questions of leadership change cannot be answered until the complete picture is clear. Mr Zempilas said talk of leadership change after a poor showing from the Liberals was too early. “This is not a time for anything rash. This is not a time for haste,” he said in a radio interview. “We should wait and see what this full picture of this result is, and then digest it fully then and and that includes Libby. “Today’s not the day for any decisions about anybody’s future. We need to properly understand what this result is before those contemplations.” Source link #election #Basil #Zempilas #celebrates #winning #Churchlands #Greek #dancing Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Iran, Russia and China navy drills to start: report Iran, Russia and China navy drills to start: report Joint naval drills organised annually between Iran, Russia and China will start on Monday inthe southeastern Iranian port of Chabahar, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported. The exercises, called Security Belt 2025, aim to “deepen military mutual trust and pragmatic co-operation among the participating countries’ troops,” according to China’s defence ministry. The ministry added that the drills will incorporate training courses including maritime target strike, VBSS (visit, board, search, and seizure), damage control and joint search and rescue operations. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will send the destroyer Baotou and the resupply ship Gaoyouhu to participate, the ministry reported. These annual exercises were also held in the Gulf of Oman on similar dates last year, and included the participation of ******** forces from the guided missile destroyer Urumqi, the missile frigate Linyi and the supply ship Dongpinghu. Last year’s edition coincided with fighting by the Houthi rebels in Yemen against US and British warships in the Red Sea to “protect” navigation in the strategic route, through which it’s estimated that around 15 per cent of the world’s maritime trade passes. with EFE Source link #Iran #Russia #China #navy #drills #start #report Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Baldur’s Gate 3’s LOTR-Coded Frodo Challenge Is So Difficult That It’ll Give SMT 3 a Run for Its Money Baldur’s Gate 3’s LOTR-Coded Frodo Challenge Is So Difficult That It’ll Give SMT 3 a Run for Its Money Baldur’s Gate 3 is known for its customizable experience that gives players much freedom to approach the game in many different ways. Similarly, it is even possible to take on a LOTR-inspired Frodo challenge that offers a similar experience to take on his actual journey. Baldur’s Gate 3 deserves to be at the top. Image Credit: Larian Studios The Frodo challenge in Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the most difficult challenges in the game, precisely because it requires you to take on the attributes of a halfling with limited weapons, no armor, and no combat abilities. Your only ally is your wit. Even the most difficult RPG bows down to the Frodo challenge in Baldur’s Gate 3 Start the Frodo challenge by making a similar character. Image Credit: Larian Studios The Frodo challenge requires you to adapt to a Hobbit-like playstyle, which comes with a lot of restrictions since Hobbits are not natural fighters. Similar to his journey to Mordor, where adaptability, friendship, and stealth were Frodo’s biggest ally, the game expects you to approach this challenge similarly. Players need to avoid direct combat as much as possible and should rely heavily on invisibility potions to stay out of trouble. Make friends along the way, who will also be halflings, to help you carry the weight of the long journey ahead. Similar to Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, even Baldur’s Gate 3 offers a turn-based combat system that requires players to strategize their moves carefully; however, it is much more difficult to do that during the Frodo challenge since strength and magic are not on your side. Comment byu/velatieren from discussion inBaldursGate3 Comment byu/velatieren from discussion inBaldursGate3 Comment byu/velatieren from discussion inBaldursGate3 Relying on stealth, quick escapes, strategic positioning, and creative plays will get you further ahead than taking on enemies head-on, thinking Frodo can take them on their own; he can’t. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a community’s game Baldur’s Gate 3 enables players to get creative with their approaches. Image Credit: Larian Studios The amount of flexibility Baldur’s Gate 3 offers is just immense, enabling such unique and self-imposed challenges to flourish. It not only expands the scope of the game but also enables veterans to take a fresh look at the game. Larian Studios has done a great job at making a game that can be played in a lot of different ways. There are so many things to see and explore that sometimes it feels as if the possibilities are endless, much like the world we physically live in. The game also offers a lot of romance options. By taking on the Frodo challenge, you can immerse yourself in a journey to return the ring and even be charmed by the powers it possesses; however, the decision to either throw it away or keep it for yourself lies completely in your hands. Do you find the Frodo challenge difficult or more immersive? Let us know in the comments below. Source link #Baldurs #Gate #LOTRCoded #Frodo #Challenge #Difficult #Itll #Give #SMT #Run #Money Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Chad Warner, AFL Opening Round and injuries on Anna Hay’s agenda The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Chad Warner, AFL Opening Round and injuries on Anna Hay’s agenda After an Opening Round that left plenty to be desired for hungry footy fans, 7Sport reporter Anna Hay selects her good, bad and ugly moments. Source link #Good #Bad #Ugly #Chad #Warner #AFL #Opening #injuries #Anna #Hays #agenda Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Briggs in hospital as Giants pummel Pies in AFL opener Briggs in hospital as Giants pummel Pies in AFL opener Greater Western Sydney have overcome the loss of ruckman Kieren Briggs to a neck injury to open their AFL season with a 52-point hammering of an inaccurate Collingwood. Star midfielder Finn Callaghan was a dominant figure for the Giants in their hard-fought 15.14 (104) to 6.16 (52) victory in energy-sapping conditions at Engie Stadium on Sunday. But there is concern for Briggs, who was pushed under the ball by opponent Darcy Cameron in a marking contest and went head-first into teammate Sam Taylor’s hip. There did not appear any malice in the first-quarter incident, after which Briggs was driven off the ground and taken to hospital for further assessment. Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos had 17 disposals and four clearances to halftime but battled leg cramps after the main break and was unable to have his usual influence. Callaghan, who reportedly turned down one of the biggest contract offers in history from St Kilda to stay with the Giants, finished with 33 disposals and seven clearances. He also had game-high tallies of 12 score involvements and 726 metres gained, and capped off his outstanding performance with two goals. Darcy Jones, Xavier O’Halloran, Max Gruzewski and Callum Brown also finished with two goals each. Josh Kelly (36 disposals), Lachie Whitfield (26) and Lachie Ash (25) won plenty of the ball, while star backman Sam Taylor was a rock in defence with four contested marks and 12 intercept possessions. Josh Daicos (28 disposals) and former Giants midfielder Harry Perryman (27) were Collingwood’s major ball-winners, while ruckman Cameron exploited Briggs’ absence to finish with 22 touches, 37 hit-outs and six clearances. GWS defender Taylor kicked the first goal of the match – his first since 2019 – courtesy of a 50-metre penalty against Dan McStay, and the Giants were up by four points when Briggs was hurt late in the first quarter. The lead quickly ballooned to 22 points when the home side slammed on three quick goals in time-on, sparked by Brown’s brilliant snap from the pocket. Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe passed a concussion test after a collision with teammate Reef McInnes in the second term as three straight goals, including two to Brody Mihocek, got the visitors back into the game. But the Giants kept their noses in front, responding with three straight of their own to lead by 23 points at the main break. A wasteful Collingwood dominated territory during the third term, winning inside-50s 20-11, but managed just 0.5 to the Giants’ 1.2 as Nick Daicos struggled with cramp. The visitors were made to pay when Jones sprinted into an open goal at the other end to help give the Giants a game-high 26-point lead at three-quarter time. Off-season recruit Tim Membrey gave the Pies hope with his first goal for the club at the start of the final term, but Brent Daniels responded and the Giants finished full of running. Jones squeezed through his second major and debutant James Leake booted his first goal on debut, while captain Toby Greene’s goal-saving tackle on Membrey in the defensive goal square was another highlight. Source link #Briggs #hospital #Giants #pummel #Pies #AFL #opener Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

OPINION: Fremantle are in prime position for perfect start to the season in premiership pursuit OPINION: Fremantle are in prime position for perfect start to the season in premiership pursuit If the Dockers can topple Geelong on their home turf, then there is no reason why they cannot start the season 5-0, writes Mitchell Woodcock. Source link #OPINION #Fremantle #prime #position #perfect #start #season #premiership #pursuit Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

China’s CPI falls in February adding to slowing economy China’s CPI falls in February adding to slowing economy Consumer prices fell in China in February for the first time in 13 months, as persistent weak demand was compounded by the early timing of the Lunar New Year holiday. The National Bureau of Statistics reported on Sunday that the Consumer Price Index dropped 0.7 per cent in February compared to a year ago. On a monthly basis, prices were down 0.2 per cent from January. While many other countries wrestle with inflation, China’s policymakers face flat to falling prices, and the possibility they could evolve into a deflationary spiral that would drag down the economy. The ******** government stressed the need to increase domestic demand and consumer spending in an annual report last week to its ceremonial legislature, the National People’s Congress, but held back on unveiling any dramatic new steps to boost the economy. The Lunar New Year, a time when spending rises for travel, dining out and entertainment, came in late January this year instead of February, as it’s based on the cycles of the moon. Holiday spending helped drive the consumer price index up 0.5 per cent in January, but it then fell last month compared to 2024’s elevated level. Factoring out the impact of the holiday, the index rose 0.1 per cent last month, ***** Lijuan, a statistician at the government’s statistics bureau, said in a written analysis. That is still far lower than ideal. Last week’s government annual report included an inflation target of two per cent for this year, but it is likely to fall far short of that goal. The consumer price index was flat in 2024, rising 0.2 per cent. A burgeoning trade war with the United States could add to China’s economic headwinds. Besides the early Lunar New Year, two other factors contributed to falling prices in February, ***** said: Better weather boosted farm production, driving down the price of fresh vegetables and automakers also stepped up promotions to try to boost sales, reducing prices for new cars. The producer price index, which measures the wholesale price of goods, fell 2.2 per cent in February, the statistics bureau said. Producer prices have been falling more sharply than consumer prices, putting pressure on companies to cut labour and other costs. Source link #Chinas #CPI #falls #February #adding #slowing #economy Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Indian Wells 2025 results: Novak Djokovic loses to Botic van de Zandschulp Indian Wells 2025 results: Novak Djokovic loses to Botic van de Zandschulp Djokovic was bidding to create more history with a standalone record sixth men’s title in Indian Wells. But, having been given a first-round bye, he fell in his opening match after producing a string of ugly mistakes. In a performance well below his high standards, Djokovic made 37 unforced errors and only hit 16 winners to mitigate the damage. “Congratulations to my opponent. It was just a bad day in the office, I guess,” said Djokovic, who has not gone beyond the third round in his past four Indian Wells appearances. After losing to Italy’s Luca Naldi last year, it was the former world number one’s second successive exit at the hands of a lucky loser. Djokovic’s return of serve – one of the hallmarks of his unparalleled success – was particularly poor against Van de Zandschulp, who swamped the Serb’s second serve to convert five of eight break point opportunities. Having recovered from a poor start, it looked as if Djokovic had settled down as he quickly levelled the match. But more mistakes, which he described as “awful”, allowed Van de Zandschulp to take control of the decider. Even the return of Britain’s Andy Murray to his coaching team could not prevent a below-par performance. The pair, who are planning to head together to the Miami Open which follows Indian Wells, will be hoping Djokovic’s problems are not deep-rooted. Time is clearly catching up with Djokovic, who turns 38 in May, but his performances in Melbourne showed he can still beat most opponents if he is fully fit and motivated. Source link #Indian #Wells #results #Novak #Djokovic #loses #Botic #van #Zandschulp Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Curry has 25,000 good reasons to smile at NBA milestone Curry has 25,000 good reasons to smile at NBA milestone Stephen Curry has broken through the 25,000-point barrier, reaching the NBA milestone in the Golden State Warriors’ win over Detroit. Source link #Curry #good #reasons #smile #NBA #milestone Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Storm set up Eels thrashing with first-half romp Storm set up Eels thrashing with first-half romp Melbourne have continued their round one win-streak under coach Craig Bellamy, scoring eight first half tries to set up a 56-18 victory over Parramatta. Source link #Storm #set #Eels #thrashing #firsthalf #romp Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Tesla offering insane perks as sales dry up Tesla offering insane perks as sales dry up With sales declining through the first quarter of 2025, Tesla has begun offering advantageous perks to woo would-be buyers. Depending on the model you choose, bonuses range from zero percent interest on loans to a lifetime of free Supercharging. These perks arrive as celebrities relinquish their EVs in a rebuff of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the U.S. government, owners are branding their vehicles with “I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy” stickers, and others have even been setting fire to cars on Tesla lots or opening fire on dealerships. Now more than ever, Tesla’s brand halo is tarnished, possibly beyond repair. Related: Rivian R1T delivers on this EV feature that Tesla forgot Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk unveils the all-electric battery-powered Tesla’s Cybertruck at Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, California, on November 21, 2019.FREDERIC J&*******; BROWN/AFP via Getty Images The Cybertruck perks and discounts Tesla is offering Tesla’s Cybertruck – heralded as a dystopia-proof tank for the everyday driver – is anything but. The widely panned vehicle is a flop, and Tesla is reckoning with existing stock it simply can’t sell. To help entice buyers, Tesla is offering a 1.99 percent interest rate on new Cybertruck orders financed through Tesla. If you buy a new Cybertruck, you’ll also have the opportunity to get free charging at any Tesla Supercharger for the life of the vehicle or however long you own it. It’s an enticing perk for anyone who still wants a polygonal truck that turns heads for all the wrong reasons. And remember, you can still get some decent deals on existing Cybertruck inventory. Tesla Model 3sjetcityimage – stock&*******;adobe&*******;com Tesla brings back zero percent loans If you’re willing to apply for a $7,500 federal tax credit on a new Model 3, Tesla is offering zero percent loans for “well qualified” buyers. If you’re not interested in that tax break, you can still get a 0.99 percent loan if you’re “well qualified,” which typically means a credit score of 700 or better. Related: 2024 Kia EV6 GT-Line review: Is this the EV that will convert you? Why is Tesla offering these perks? Tesla’s sales are in serious decline worldwide. In China, Tesla is being outsold by local EV automakers, and sales are down 49 percent. Domestically, Musk’s political efforts have tarnished the Tesla brand dramatically, and there’s much stiffer competition from other automakers heading into Q2 2025. Tesla sales are also down 76 percent in Germany, 75 percent in Spain, 72 percent in Australia, and 45 percent in Europe as a whole. In the U.S., reports peg Tesla’s sales decline at 11.6 percent year over year. CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 20, 2025 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Final thoughts To Tesla loyalists, this may feel like a bump in the road. Analysts, pundits, onlookers, and experts disagree, and many think Tesla will not be able to recover from this. Even if Tesla were to release a new EV that blew the competition away, owning one of their models has become problematic. Their vehicles are a proxy for people’s disdain of Musk and dissatisfaction with the government, which he’s deeply involved in. The EV market may be a rising tide, but Musk seems to be an anchor keeping Tesla from sailing on. Love reading Autoblog? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get exclusive articles, insider insights, and the latest updates delivered right to your inbox. Click here to sign up now! Related: Four future classics you should buy right now Source link #Tesla #offering #insane #perks #sales #dry Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Stalked: how a relentless campaign of online abuse came to derail one woman’s life | ******* harassment Stalked: how a relentless campaign of online abuse came to derail one woman’s life | ******* harassment “Hi Hannah Mossman Moore Stalking you has its benefits. Now watching your friend strip another blonde with perky *****. She’s not more than 22. I have seen your ***** so many times in the recording. You are late 20s now? Declining youth and saggy boobs… There is so much to learn when one just follows you around. Have you left Sri Lanka or just hiding from me? Tell me please. I will come and get you. Ciao” Hannah was 23, not long out of university, and had just landed her dream job. She was an intern with a new jewellery brand called Alighieri, and although she was being paid little more than expenses, she had been thrown into the deep end and was loving it, not least because she got to go to London fashion week. “It had always been my dream to go,” she says. And now she was there “as a professional”, as she puts it. It felt like her first big break. She was the company’s first employee and was given the task of hanging out in the “designer showrooms”, London fashion week’s marketplace – a melting pot of teenage models, fashion insiders and hangers-on. Her job was to try to find the elusive white whale that every new brand was desperately chasing: buyers. The golden goose was a cash-rich foreign buyer. And as luck would have it, Hannah found one. Or maybe not luck. Although Hannah was young and in a new environment, she is also a natural extrovert: sunny, open, chatty. She’d bumped into an acquaintance, the friend of a friend, and he introduced her to his friend: a well-groomed Hong Kong national called Kin Hung. “It was just a huge relief,” she says, “to have proved myself.” Kin seemed to be the real deal, a big wheel with major contacts in the Asian fashion market. They posed for a selfie together and Hannah gave Kin her contact details. And that was where it all began. Though for the longest time, Hannah wasn’t sure what “it” was. Kin had VIP passes and could get into any show, magic up tables at any restaurant. For two years, he was her friend and “mentor”. Later, without even realising how it happened, Hannah slowly found herself in a bizarre constructed reality – a fly in a spider’s web of false narratives. One of the fake accounts, ‘Premium Escorts’, purported to be selling her ******* services The short version of the story is that for much of her 20s, Hannah had a stalker. Or maybe stalkers. Someone who’d gathered information on her – photos, details of her private life, jobs, family, locations – and bombarded her with abuse, threats and worse. Someone who watched her and hacked her bank account and her phone account. Her mobile phone was repeatedly cut off: she’d find herself somewhere and not be able to get home, not able to call anyone. It happened not just once but seven, or eight times. And not just her phone: her dad’s was targeted too. A photo of her mother’s front door was emailed to her, legal threats were sent to her brother’s home, new email accounts in her name were set up to impersonate her. One of these, “Premium Escorts”, purported to be selling her ******* services. She was threatened with lawsuits and criminal action. WhatsApp groups were created by a fake Hannah in which she confessed criminal activity to friends and family. She also received threats of violence and *****. Hannah in the BBC Sounds recording studios during the making of the Stalked podcast. Photograph: Courtesy of Hannah Mossman Moore At first, she tried to deal with it alone. Eventually, she went to the police, handing over folders of evidence, pages and pages of printouts. When they finally took action, they went to arrest a suspect, found he wasn’t home and gave up. Later, the police wrote to Hannah and told her they’d closed the case. “Evidential difficulties,” they said. The stalking continued. It’s now a decade on; Hannah is older and only just starting to understand what happened to her, not least because her story is now a 10-part BBC podcast, Stalked. What seems even more unbelievable, as I write these words, is that I knew Hannah all the while this was going on. To some degree, the podcast is my way of making amends. We set out to do what the police failed to even try to do: solve the crime. And thanks to the tenacity of Stalked’s producers, Georgia Catt and Rob Byrne, we believe we are nearer to solving it. The motivation for doing so, at least in my case, is because of the guilt of not realising what was going on underneath my nose, even though this whole story was in many ways on my investigative patch. Hannah, I should explain, is my ex Dave’s daughter, and although we’d split up many years earlier, they’d both remained in my life. We celebrate birthdays and milestones together. Dave is the honorary co-parent of my dog. The three of us share endless silly animal videos in our WhatsApp chat. This was like a human version of Cambridge Analytica: a malign influence in her life who was harvesting, profiling, surveilling and targeting her At the peak of Hannah’s nightmare, I’d been deep in the throes of my investigation about Cambridge Analytica, Facebook and the weaponisation of social media. I was overwhelmed, wrestling with a massive story and my own frayed nerves and security concerns, unaware that Hannah was dealing with what, in hindsight, seems like a human version of Cambridge Analytica: a malign influence in her life who was harvesting, profiling, surveilling and targeting her. So much of my work of the past decade has been about Silicon Valley surveillance. It’s the underlying business model of all social media platforms: they track us – even if we’re not on them – to monetise us. The whole thrust of the Cambridge Analytica story was how personal information collected for one purpose – a personality quiz – could be repurposed for another: electing Donald Trump. Yet I was oblivious to how a similar thing was happening to Hannah. How someone had her personal data – lots of it – and was twisting it and weaponising it against her. It wasn’t until the second lockdown – the dreary, endless, dark, cold winter lockdown that began in England in November 2020 – when I went with Hannah for a long, looping walk around my part of north London, that it finally started to come into focus. Hannah and Carole Cadwalladr on holiday in the south of France in 2017. Photograph: Courtesy of Hannah Mossman Moore At this point, Hannah was 28, living with her dad and attempting to set up her own jewellery business while hustling to make money: moonlighting as a barista and trying, like we all were, to get through a pandemic without losing her mind. We were walking uphill through my local park when, offhandedly, Hannah mentioned something about “Swami”. I said: “Swami?” – and she sort of shrugged despairingly. “You know, Swami – he was one of the hackers, supposedly. You know, the whole online reputation management thing.” She was right: I did know about Swami and the hackers and the online reputation management thing. It had happened after a terrifying incident with Kin in Florida in which, two years after Hannah had known him, he’d allegedly become aggressive and controlling and tried to prevent her leaving. His behaviour in person and texts between them show that she was terrified and begged to leave. He claimed that his out-of-character conduct was because he’d been hacked. What happened next was deeply confusing. An entire cast of characters starting communicating with her, multiple different people, all abusive in different ways. Kin claimed these were “the hackers” who had “jumped” to her. Hannah had a stalker in the way that some people have a health condition; something such as lupus – uncommon, mysterious, little understood. It was a permanent feature of her life that occasionally flared into crisis but which most of the time she tried to ignore, minimise, pretend wasn’t happening. That day, when there was nothing else to do but walk endlessly, I made her stop. “Just go back to the beginning,” I said. “And tell me the whole story.” What tumbled out in fits and starts over hours was unbelievable. It began with meeting Kin, the charming, helpful man. And somehow gradually escalated into a sophisticated campaign designed to ruin her life. It had, in part, succeeded. At one point, Hannah pulled out her phone. “Look,” she said. There was email after email of pornographic material. Some were addressed to “Hooker Hani” and fixated on the idea that she was a sex worker “with a body like an over-******* buffalo”. Some were soliciting reports of the putative clients who’d supposedly used her ******* services. Mixed in were photos of Hannah as a young student. “I don’t even know where those photos are from,” she said. There were details of her life, of her locations. Even while we were talking, another arrived. By the end of the walk, four new ones had landed in her inbox. In the jumbled relaying of the story, Hannah introduced a new character: Alice. “It’s what also happened to Alice,” she said. “Who’s Alice?” I asked. Was this another harasser? “Alice Ruggles,” she said. Hannah explained that Alice had taken her place at her school in Leicester when Hannah’s mother had accepted a teaching post abroad. “I never knew her but she became best friends with all my best friends.” Alice had a stalker too. “And she’d also tried and tried to get the police to help.” That help never came and she’s no longer around to tell the rest of her story. In 2016, Alice’s stalker murdered her. I felt a profound sense of hopelessness when Hannah finally opened up to me. The next weekend, she came around to my flat with bundles of documents. There were at least nine different characters communicating with her and between themselves. It was wildly confusing, the kind of investigation that needed time and focus and a team, and in early 2021 I had none of these. Instead, I had my own issues: a defamation lawsuit that ate my time and, even more so, my spirit. But what I landed on was an idea. I’d been blown away by a BBC podcast series called The Missing Cryptoqueen. It combined an investigation, public service journalism and vivid storytelling in a way I hadn’t heard before, and Georgia Catt was the producing genius behind it. I emailed her. Photograph: Pål Hansen/The Observer She sent an upbeat response, which I forwarded to Hannah, although I worried that I was getting her hopes up. Two weeks later, Hannah called me. “You’re never going to believe this.” What? “It’s stopped!” What’s stopped? “The emails. Everything. It’s all just stopped dead.” A coincidence? Or had someone been in her emails? We still don’t know the answer to that. A relentless campaign that had been going on for four years suddenly went silent. If the police want to find out who’s doing it, it’s possible because the digital evidence is there. They can’t be bothered, in my view Rachel Horman-Brown, solicitor Stalking is the only crime where victims are meant to obtain evidence for themselves, says Rachel Horman-Brown, a solicitor who specialises in stalking. “If you report a burglary, you don’t have to present fingerprints to the police. It just doesn’t happen for any other crime. And the thing is, stalking nowadays in virtually every case will involve an online element, which means there’s a digital footprint, which means that it is provable. If they want to find out who’s doing it, it’s possible because the evidence is there. They can’t be bothered, in my view.” Catt and co-producer Byrne systemised all the evidence and then found a team of forensic linguists who work for the FBI and who dusted for metaphorical fingerprints in the copious written materials. It’s the same technique that was used to identify the Unabomber, and Robert Leonard, professor of linguistics at Hofstra University in New York, was able to pull out endless similarities between the apparently different styles of the various messages, suggestive of “evidence of common ownership”, meaning they were written by the same person or persons. Another data expert, Jonathan Sebire, who works for Premier League clubs identifying and managing threats against footballers, examined the data trail, which revealed In last week’s episode (number six), after carefully evaluating all the evidence with the BBC’s lawyers, we named the man who we have reasonable grounds to believe is the perpetrator behind it all. The man who the evidence suggests to us is every single one of these characters, who sent the ***** threats and is the person behind the Premium Escorts account: Kin Hung. The charming, friendly, helpful man who Hannah met at London fashion week when she was 23. Kin denies this and adamantly denies ever stalking Hannah. “True crime” has a mixed reputation, muckraking over salacious murders from decades ago, but Stalked is something different. Most victims of stalking and harassment do not receive any sort of help and – only in rare instances – justice. No woman should have to rely on a ragtag team of journalists for answers but that’s where we are. Four years on, it no longer seems like such a coincidence that two girls from the same class at the same school would both have stalkers. Or that neither of them had been able to get the help they needed from the police. One in five women will experience stalking, according to the Office for National Statistics, and one in 11 men. It would be more unusual for a single class of schoolgirls to grow up and not to have a stalker. In the vast majority of cases, the perpetrators are never caught: only 6.6% of cases reported to the police in the year ending March 2022 resulted in a charge. Just 1.4% in a conviction. Hannah as a child with her mother in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1995. Photograph: Courtesy of Hannah Mossman Moore What we realised while making the podcast is that stalking is an epidemic. It’s mostly invisible. It ruins lives. And it’s rapidly growing, partly because there are now so many tools available to assist a would-be stalker. Most cases of stalking now involve a cyber element, and surveilling, profiling and targeting someone via legal and ******** means is both easy and common. If it’s happened to you or someone you know, the first thing to realise is that you’re not alone. And the second is that there’s nothing you could have done differently. It’s not your fault. It’s that feeling of blame and shame that took Hannah so long to shake. But there was nothing she could have done. What I’ve come to understand is that part of the reason I hadn’t realised the extent of what was going on or how badly it affected Hannah is that so much of what was happening to her was private, mediated by technology, targeted directly to her phone. And that Hannah also used technology to mask the truth. During one of the peaks of the malicious activity, she ran away to Los Angeles to stay with a friend, posting photos on her Instagram account of sunsets, cocktails, glasses of green juice. Hannah always said “my stalker” with ironic air quotes. One of her biggest eye-rolls was towards anyone she felt was acting like a victim. It was – her words – an “ick”. It wasn’t that she was unsympathetic towards others; she just had a horror of being one herself. Hannah dreamed of being an accomplished businesswoman: having her own company, being successful, independent – the exact opposite of a victim. But Hannah was a victim. It was just something that she’d refused to acknowledge to anybody – especially herself. Even as her life unravelled and she retreated from her friends: “I didn’t know what to say to them,” she said and moved back home with her dad. “I think she’s just relieved to be here,” he told me. She felt “such shame and embarrassment”. It’s been a long and arduous process to unpick everything. Hannah has had to expose herself, hand over the passwords to her accounts, let Catt and Byrne and the lawyers trawl through her private life. We know Hannah was stalked and “hacked”, whether through technological or social methods. But we have no certainty over who or how. We don’t know whether Kin is behind it all. We do believe, however, Kin is involved; the evidence is too compelling to feel otherwise. He has responded robustly through his London lawyers: Kin denies all accusations and adamantly denies ever stalking or harassing Hannah, rejecting the allegations as “false and without foundation”. The first use case of all new technology is to weaponise it: to surveil, target, control. An estimated 96% of deepfake video is nonconsensual ************. A not insignificant percentage of that is directed at children, girls. Eight years ago, I went with Christopher Wylie, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, to an electronics shop in Tottenham Court Road in central London, where in an upstairs room, behind a closed door, we looked at undercover filming equipment. A few months ago, I went back with Georgia and Hannah, and a salesman showed us his current range of products, which had advanced beyond recognition: spyware in all shapes and forms – all of it legal to buy. Surveillance technology that was once the preserve of nation states is now available to anyone for a few pounds A simple white phone charger, identical to any number you’ll find in your own home, was the one that I found myself marvelling at. It turned out to be a voice-activated recorder. When a conversation starts, it records, and when it ends, it automatically messages you a sound file. Technology that was once the preserve of nation states is now available to anyone for a few pounds. And then there’s your personal data. Silicon Valley is itself a surveillance tool. It’s what its entire economy is built on. Your personally identifiable data has been vacuumed up by shady middlemen. It’s more difficult here, but in the US, private investigators use it to deliver detailed and incredibly intrusive intelligence reports in a matter of minutes. Regardless of the who and the why of it all, the effects on Hannah were profound. We laugh now about the list of numbers that I have for Hannah in my phone: Hannah – Android, Hannah – New 2017, Hannah LA, Hannah New Moby, Hannah New Number, Hannah – New 2018, Hannah (new) 2019, Hannah USA… But it’s a record of a woman being hunted, in flight. For a *******, she didn’t have any phone at all. Hannah with her father. Photograph: Courtesy of Hannah Mossman Moore Making the podcast – being listened to and believed, having the support and opinion of experts – has been a life-changing experience for Hannah. She’s regained control of her life, her narrative. It’s been a huge privilege to see, and we’re both acutely conscious of how most women don’t have that opportunity. The most affecting moment in the series is when Hannah goes to meet Alice Ruggles’s parents. It’s so profoundly sad. Alice’s calls to the police were released, and her polite, don’t-want-to-make-a-fuss tone is the hardest thing to hear. “I know this sounds crazy,” Hannah tells Sue, Alice’s mother, “but I never wanted to inconvenience him.” Sue replies: “That’s exactly what Alice said. Exactly the same.” The Metropolitan police asked Hannah for a meeting last month and apologised to her for the handling of her case. Mistakes were made, they said. They no longer issue “first harassment warnings”, which have been widely accepted to be valueless. In a statement, Commander Kevin Southworth said: “We recognise the service the victim received between 2018 and 2020 fell short of what is expected… Since 2022, we have significantly improved our response to stalking and in the last year have investigated more cases of this nature than ever before.” I learned things, too, through the making of the podcast. It had never occurred to me that there was any overlap between Hannah’s experience and my own. Hannah’s privacy and peace of mind had been relentlessly shredded. She’d been targeted and abused in private: a torrent of messages, threats, intimidation and confusion sent direct to her phone. She’d been ********* shamed and exposed. She’d retreated into herself and isolated herself from friends and family. She felt despair and hopelessness. The thing is that I could have written that list about myself. Observer readers may know something of the very public online abuse I received through the years of my Brexit investigation. Hannah was shamed for being young, attractive, ********* desirable. She was a ***** – “Hooker Hani”. “Her ******* has more STDs than a toilet bowl has germs,” the perpetrator wrote to her then boyfriend. I was shamed for being the opposite: older, childless, a “mad cat woman”, or what, in previous centuries, used to be called a witch. It’s a measure of how effective these strategies are that although Hannah and I are very close, neither of us knew at the time what the other was going through. So much is internalised. The silencing is real. The first victims of all new technology are women. But they’re never the last. If you want to understand what’s coming down the line in the future, you need to look at what’s already happening to women now. This use of technology to surveil, target, shame, bully, coercively control; it’s the same technology that is now being deployed by Trump and, especially, Elon Musk against people they consider enemies. Musk more than anyone understands that data is power. We’re all prey now. The first five episodes of Stalked are available on BBC Sounds Source link #Stalked #relentless #campaign #online #abuse #derail #womans #life #******* #harassment Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Virgin River star Martin Henderson embroiled in global catfish saga as scammers create hundreds of fake Facebook accounts Virgin River star Martin Henderson embroiled in global catfish saga as scammers create hundreds of fake Facebook accounts Hundreds of Facebook accounts purporting to be New Zealand actor Martin Henderson are targeting vulnerable women with promises of getting to know the Hollywood heartthrob intimately. AAP FactCheck has discovered the fake accounts following recent reports a US woman lost $375,000 believing she was in a relationship with the Virgin River star. Experts say the accounts use images and stories about the 50-year-old to specifically target middle-aged women perceived to have poor digital literacy skills. It comes as the actor has warned his fans to be wary of so-called romance scammers, reiterating that he has only one verified social media account on Instagram. A search for “Martin Henderson” returns hundreds of fake profiles on Facebook alone, which use images from his official Instagram account as well as publicity shots for his Netflix hit Virgin River. The page transparency details of the accounts reveal they are run from all over the world, with many listed as being operated from Nigeria. The accounts post messages in a bid to create engagement with followers. The account owner then typically engages personally with followers in the comments, before suggesting private chats through direct messages or even through other communication channels. “At this point I have to post this here,” one post reads. “My lovely fans…I lost one of my house [sic] in Los Angeles California because of the fire… brake [sic] down I’m in pain fans…Your warm messages will really help me.” “Sending healing prayers,” one follower commented, which prompted the fake Henderson to suggest they communicate privately. “Thank you for your care!! You can send me direct message your warm message will really help me.” Other posts have tried to entice fans with supposed news Henderson collapsed while on stage and that he has been called ugly and is set to lose his part in Virgin River. “Sad news came in earlier today stating that the Actor Martin Henderson collapsed while performing on stage,” one post’s caption reads. “He needs all the prayers he can get to get back to his feet kindly say a prayer for the singer when you see this post.” If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your Cookie Settings. To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. In the comments on some posts, multiple fake Henderson accounts compete for the attention of female users. Dali Kaafar, executive director of the Macquarie University Cyber Security Hub, said those operating the profiles specifically target the potential victims they engage with. “It is those identified as potentially lonely, or widowed, or sometimes even recently divorced,” he said. “These individuals would be viewed as emotionally vulnerable and in need of some sort of friendship or companionship.” Professor Kaafar said scammers will often spend weeks or even months building up a relationship before they start asking for money. “It could be things like covering travel expenses or emergency medical bills or for some sort of urgency, or for investment.” The warning rings true, matching the experience of the 47-year-old US divorcee who sent $375,000 to someone she thought was Henderson over a two-year *******, as reported in the NZ Herald. She was in daily contact and even moved to NZ to be with who she thought was Henderson. Ken Gamble, a cybercrime investigator at IFW, said whenever a new celebrity gains prominence, scammers will make accounts. He said scammers will often be based in poorer countries with lax cybercrime laws. “You need to look out for the language used,” he said. “You can normally detect whether English is their first language or second language.” He named Nigeria and Eastern Europe as particular hotspots and said such operations are often run on a huge scale with multiple people working in a call centre-type environment. AAP FactCheck contacted Martin Henderson but did not receive a response. Meta pointed AAP FactCheck to a recent online post about how to protect against romance scams on social media. In particular, the company said to be cautious with new contacts, to verify identities and to be sceptical of declarations of love if you have never met. Source link #Virgin #River #star #Martin #Henderson #embroiled #global #catfish #saga #scammers #create #hundreds #fake #Facebook #accounts Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

WA election 2025: Peter Dutton says Roger Cook protecting WA interests from Anthony Albanese got him victory WA election 2025: Peter Dutton says Roger Cook protecting WA interests from Anthony Albanese got him victory Peter Dutton insists Anthony Albanese has no claim over WA Labor’s election win, saying Roger Cook’s decision to go against the Federal Government on key issues that were in ‘WA’s best interests’ won victory. Speaking in Queensland on Sunday, the Opposition Leader said: “I think Roger Cook has picked the mood in WA and he’s been opposed to many of the positions taken by Anthony Albanese. “Roger Cook has made a number of decisions that were in WA’s best interests, whereas Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek are making decisions that will hurt WA. “Roger Cook has spoken out against some of those decisions, around nature position, which is an anti-mining bill and a number of other issues which I think have plagued the Labor Party Federally.” WA Labor easily won its third straight term on Saturday evening, despite losing some seats and swings in voter sentiment — especially in outer suburban seats and regions. It means Mr Cook has been returned to a premier through the ballot box after taking on the leadership from popular predecessor Mark McGowan. “What we know is that off the back of Mark McGowan’s tidal wave of success and now obviously Roger Cook lives off that success,” Mr Dutton said. Mr Dutton said the WA results would undoubtedly impact the Federal election. “There are obvious implications for both the State and Federal parties,” he said. “It’s a mixed result in WA. In Collie, where we have announced the nuclear reactor, there was a 20 per cent swing to the Liberals in that seat. “The lesson out of this is that we need to stand up for what’s in WA’s best interest, that’s exactly what the Coalition does. “Anthony Albanese is deciding to support policies that really are about greens in inner city Sydney and Melbourne against the interests of those in WA.” Mr Albanese earlier congratulated Mr Cook and labelled the WA Liberals a “dysfunctional” alternative West Aussies resoundingly rejected. Source link #election #Peter #Dutton #Roger #Cook #protecting #interests #Anthony #Albanese #victory Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Government staff offered $40,000 to walk Government staff offered $40,000 to walk Health and Human Services employees in the US were offered voluntary buyouts to resign from their jobs on Friday night, according to a person who received the email and an administration official. The agency’s approximately 80,000 employees received an unsigned email Friday night offering them a “voluntary separation incentive payment,” with a deadline to respond set for Friday, March 14. The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In February, during an interview on Fox News’ Ingraham Angle, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he had a “generic list” of staffers at the department he’d like to see removed. “If you’ve been involved in good science, you have got nothing to worry about,” Kennedy said. “If you care about public health, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If you’re in there working for the pharmaceutical industry, then I’d say you should move out and work for the pharmaceutical industry.” HHS oversees the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which provides health insurance coverage for a significant portion of the U. population. The agency also oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which underwent substantial cuts to its workforce last month. Experts have warned that cuts at HHS could hamstring Kennedy’s ability to push forward his own priorities, including making changes to vaccine policies and eliminating unhealthy foods. Camera IconDonald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally in October. Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post “Cutting staff is one challenge Mr. Kennedy will face,” Dorit Reiss, a vaccine policy expert at the University of California, San Francisco, said after his Senate confirmation last month. “That challenge will be exacerbated by his lack of expertise about the department’s general functions, something in which an expert staff could help him with.” The Health and Human Services separation offer comes as Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency work to drastically reduce the size of the federal workforce through widespread layoffs, the dismantling of entire agencies and substantial cuts to federal programs and grants. The move comes after President Donald Trump clarified in a Cabinet meeting this week that agency heads — not Musk — are in charge of staffing decisions. Trump, however, warned his Cabinet secretaries that if they don’t sufficiently cut staffing in their departments, Musk would intervene. “If they can cut, it’s better. If they don’t cut, then Elon will do the cutting,” Trump said Thursday. The Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment Authority, also known as the buyout authority, allows agencies that are downsizing or restructuring to offer employees lump-sum payments of up to $25,000 (A$39,650) as an incentive to voluntarily separate. The Trump administration in January similarly offered about 2 million federal workers voluntary buyouts, an offer the White House later said roughly 75,000 people accepted. This article originally appeared on NBC and has been republished here with permission. Source link #Government #staff #offered #walk Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Classics Just Twisted Enough to Wear Classics Just Twisted Enough to Wear Hang around the fashion industry for all of, oh, five minutes, and you’ll start to hear the term “classics with a twist.” Designers say it, writers use it, marketing execs cite it. What they mean, typically, is something familiar, bent just enough to feel fresh — stylistically, and, of course, commercially. Is it trite? Certainly. But I’ve been thinking about this cliché in recent days, as it applies so well to the best of what I’ve seen trudging through Paris Fashion Week: the clothes and outfits that contort the conventional just enough to make me lean in and say, “What’s going on there … and do I need it?” It’s what I thought of when I saw the Yankees hat that Sigurd Bank, a forthright Dane who designs Mfpen, a Copenhagen label, was wearing when we met for coffee on Friday morning. The hat looked like a kindergarten art project set upon by a hammerhead. Its faded brim was cleaved in half, a logo on the side had been stitched over by his daughter and the “NY” logo on the front had been covered with a swatch of plaid fabric held on by a safety pin. He wasn’t taking a shot at New York in particular, but he did mention that there was “kind of an anti-U.S. thing going on in Europe” that compelled him to make his hat look less American. I’ve seen tens of thousands of Yankees hats before, but none like Mr. Bank’s. I’d also never seen an olive military jacket like the one Andre 3000 wore as he slithered into the Kenzo show just before the music kicked in. Here was the rarest creature at fashion week: a celebrity in the front row wearing his own clothes. What a concept. The jacket was ragged and shredded. On the back, the musician had screen-printed a photo of his son. The most winning clothes are, as ever, the most personal. Not that great style can’t be bought. On Friday, I visited the Avenue Montaigne store of Loewe, a brand that is skipping the runway this season as rumors circulate about the future of its creative director, Jonathan Anderson. There I found a pair of pebble-grain penny loafers upgraded in a Kermit green so “aaoogah” eye-popping that it almost made me pay the roughly $1,000 price. The right twist can be budgetarily devastating. If I was thinking more than usual about how much clothes should be tweaked this week, it was because I’d witnessed so much that felt overindulgent, if not borderline silly. I saw, at Kenzo, bunny suits worn with underwear, an outfit suited only for a deleted scene in a Harmony Korine film. I saw, at Hodakova, a woman “dressed” in a stringless cello that nearly rendered her incapable of walking. At Vivienne Westwood, I saw ties the length of XXL lassos. (Designers, please stop trying to make the tie anything more than it is.) Before these designers are given the keys to their venues, someone should remind them that a little adjustment can do a lot. At least a few designers got the memo. In a continuation of the paring-it-all-back approach he took in January for his men’s show, Rick Owens presented his version of wardrobe building blocks for women. “Every once in a while we have to pull it back a bit,” Mr. Owens said backstage. He pulled it back just enough. I’m not going to say that what Junya Watanabe presented wasn’t out there — moto jackets with sleeves made of boots are only for double-******, diamond-level dressers. But the flared snakeskin-like pants? The ****** coat made in geometric panels? The leather jacket that looked as if it had swallowed a hula hoop? All classic designs nudged along toward something new. As for Matières Fécales, a label making its runway debut in Paris, the name almost kept me away. (It translates to fecal matter.) That would’ve been a mistake. With the backing of Dover Street Market’s brand incubator, this was a sure-footed planting of the flag from the designers Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran. The pair, who are personalities in Mr. Owens’s extended universe, met in design school in Montreal a decade ago but are largely known for their own alien way of dressing. (Backstage after the show, Mr. Bhaskaran described their style as “posthuman.”) They are probably the only fledgling designers I can think of to already have 175,000 Instagram followers. A flighty influencer brand this is not. Their debut, which owed a significant debt to the work of Mr. Owens as well as that of Alexander McQueen, flashed some true chops. Hourglass blazers brandished shoulders peaked enough to recall the letter M. Sweaters were distressed with care, and leather jackets featured fecund sprouts of shearling at the collar and sleeve hem. Models wore theatrical white makeup and witchy heels, but the nearly all ****** palette of the clothes themselves made the collection go down easily. They were classics. Twisted classics, but classics nonetheless. Source link #Classics #Twisted #Wear Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Schools closed in Queensland and NSW because of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred: See the full list as storm aftermath continues Schools closed in Queensland and NSW because of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred: See the full list as storm aftermath continues Hundreds of schools will be closed across Queensland and NSW tomorrow as ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred continues to smash the east coast. In Queensland, which 7NEWS meteorologist Tony Auden earlier warned was bracing for “phenomenal” rain totals, hundreds of schools are expected to be closed across the state. Premier David Crisafulli said on Sunday afternoon that any school not damaged by the storm would re-open if it was safe to do so by Monday. “By 5pm today, every school will have a status of open or closed,” he said. “Where it’s safe to do so, schools will reopen with the exception of the Gold Coast.” The developing list of closed Queensland schools can be found here. Camera IconTwo boys use their boogie boards on a flooded patch of grass in Scarborough, Brisbane. Credit: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images Northern NSW, which avoided some of the strong winds that smashed Queensland, is still dealing with an elevated flood risk with hundreds of schools staying shut tomorrow. It is anticipated that schools will resume operations early next week. You can keep track of all the closed NSW schools here or check out the list in full below. PUBLIC SCHOOLS Albert Park Public SchoolAldavilla Public SchoolAlstonville High SchoolAlstonville Public SchoolBallina Coast High SchoolBallina Public SchoolBangalow Public SchoolBanora Point High SchoolBanora Point Public SchoolBarkers Vale Public SchoolBaryulgil Public SchoolBeechwood Public SchoolBellbrook Public SchoolBellingen High SchoolBellingen Public SchoolBexhill Public SchoolBilambil Public SchoolBlakebrook Public SchoolBoambee Public SchoolBobin Public SchoolBogangar Public SchoolBooral Public SchoolBonalbo Central SchoolBonville Public SchoolBowraville Central SchoolBroadwater Public SchoolBrunswick Heads Public SchoolBurringbar Public SchoolBulahdelah Central SchoolBungwahl Public SchoolByron Bay High SchoolByron Bay Public SchoolCabbage Tree Island Public SchoolCaldera SchoolCamden Haven High SchoolCaniaba Public SchoolCascade Environmental Education CentreCasino High SchoolCasino Public SchoolCasino West Public SchoolCentaur Public SchoolChatham High SchoolChatham Public SchoolChatsworth Island Public SchoolChillingham Public SchoolClunes Public SchoolCoffee Camp Public SchoolCoffs Harbour High SchoolCoffs Harbour Learning CentreCoffs Harbour Public SchoolCoffs Harbour Senior CollegeCollins Creek Public SchoolComboyne Public SchoolCondong Public SchoolCoopernook Public SchoolCoorabell Public SchoolCopmanhurst Public SchoolCoraki Public SchoolCoramba Public SchoolCorindi Public SchoolCorndale Public SchoolCoutts Crossing Public SchoolCowper Public SchoolCrabbes Creek Public SchoolCrescent Head Public SchoolCrossmaglen Public SchoolCrystal Creek Public SchoolCudgen Public SchoolCundletown Public SchoolDorrigo High SchoolDorrigo Public SchoolDorroughby Environmental Ed CentreDrake Public SchoolDundurrabin Public SchoolDungay Public SchoolDunoon Public SchoolDuranbah Public SchoolElands Public SchoolEltham Public SchoolEmpire Vale Public SchoolEungai Public SchoolEureka Public SchoolEvans River Community SchoolFernleigh Public SchoolFingal Head Public SchoolFrank Partridge VC Public SchoolFrederickton Public SchoolGillwinga Public SchoolGladstone Public SchoolGlenreagh Public SchoolGoonellabah Public SchoolGoonengerry Public SchoolGrafton High SchoolGrafton Public SchoolGreen Hill Public SchoolGulmarrad Public SchoolHannam Vale Public SchoolHarrington Public SchoolHarwood Island Public SchoolHastings Public SchoolHastings Sec College Port MacquarieHastings Secondary College WestportHernani Public SchoolHerons Creek Public SchoolHuntingdon Public SchoolIluka Public SchoolInduna SchoolJiggi Public SchoolKarangi Public SchoolKempsey East Public SchoolKempsey High SchoolKempsey South Public SchoolKempsey West Public SchoolKendall Public SchoolKinchela Public SchoolKingscliff High SchoolKingscliff Public SchoolKororo Public SchoolKyogle High SchoolKyogle Public SchoolLake Cathie Public SchoolLansdowne Public SchoolLarnook Public SchoolLaurieton Public SchoolLawrence Public SchoolLeeville Public SchoolLennox Head Public SchoolLismore Heights Public SchoolLismore Public SchoolLismore Public SchoolLismore South Public SchoolLong Flat Public SchoolLowanna Public SchoolMacksville High SchoolMacksville Public SchoolMaclean High SchoolMaclean Public SchoolMain Arm Upper Public SchoolManifold Public SchoolManning Gardens Public SchoolMedlow Public SchoolMelville High SchoolMitchells Island Public SchoolModanville Public SchoolMoorland Public SchoolMount George Public SchoolMullaway Public SchoolMullumbimby High SchoolMullumbimby Public SchoolMummulgum Public SchoolMurwillumbah East Public SchoolMurwillumbah High SchoolMurwillumbah Public SchoolNambucca Heads High SchoolNambucca Heads Public SchoolNana Glen Public SchoolNarranga Public SchoolNewrybar Public SchoolNimbin Central SchoolNorth East PS of Distance EducationNorth Haven Public SchoolNymboida Public SchoolOcean Shores Public SchoolOld Bar Public SchoolOld Bonalbo Public SchoolOrama Public SchoolOrara High SchoolOrara Upper Public SchoolPalmers Island Public SchoolPalmers Island Public SchoolPort Macquarie Public SchoolPottsville Beach Public SchoolRaleigh Public SchoolRappville Public SchoolRepton Public SchoolRollands Plains Upper Public SchoolRosebank Public SchoolRous Public SchoolSandy Beach Public SchoolSawtell Public SchoolScotts Head Public SchoolSmithtown Public SchoolSouth Grafton High SchoolSouth Grafton Public SchoolSouth West Rocks Public SchoolSouthern Cross Public SchoolSouthern Cross School of Distance EdStokers Siding Public SchoolStratheden Public SchoolStroud Road Public SchoolStroud Public SchoolStuarts Point Public SchoolTabulam Public SchoolTacking Point Public SchoolTaree High SchoolTaree Public SchoolTaree West Public SchoolTelegraph Point Public SchoolTerranora Public SchoolTeven-Tintenbar Public SchoolThe Channon Public SchoolThe Pocket Public SchoolThe Risk Public SchoolThe Rivers Sec C Kadina High CampusThe Rivers Sec C Lismore High CampusThe Rivers Sec C Richmnd Riv High CampusTinonee Public SchoolToormina High SchoolToormina Public SchoolTregeagle Public SchoolTucabia Public SchoolTumbulgum Public SchoolTweed Heads Public SchoolTweed Heads South Public SchoolTweed River High SchoolTyalgum Public SchoolTyalla Public SchoolUki Public SchoolUlmarra Public SchoolUlong Public SchoolUpper Coopers Creek Public SchoolUpper Lansdowne Public SchoolUrbenville Public SchoolUrunga Public SchoolWardell Public SchoolWauchope High SchoolWauchope Public SchoolWestlawn Public SchoolWestport Public SchoolWhian Whian Public SchoolWiangaree Public SchoolWillawarrin Public SchoolWilliam Bayldon Public SchoolWilson Park SchoolWilsons Creek Public SchoolWingham Brush Public SchoolWingham High SchoolWingham Public SchoolWollongbar Public SchoolWollumbin High SchoolWoodburn Public SchoolWoodenbong Central SchoolWoolgoolga High SchoolWoolgoolga Public SchoolWooli Public SchoolWyrallah Public SchoolWyrallah Road Public SchoolYamba Public School INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS Aetaomah SchoolAllegra School Coffs HarbourAspect Macarthur School – Northern Rivers, Coffs HarbourBhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula SchoolBiala Special SchoolBishop Druitt CollegeBlue Hills CollegeByron Community Primary SchoolCape Byron Rudolf Steiner SchoolCasino Christian SchoolCasuarina Steiner SchoolChrysalis School for Rudolf Steiner Education – Bellingen CampusCoffs Harbour ****** Church SchoolCoffs Harbour Christian Community – Junior School,Coffs Harbour Christian Community School – Sherwood Cliffs Campus,Coffs Harbour Christian Community Secondary SchoolEmmanuel Anglican CollegeHinterland Christian CollegeLindisfarne Anglican Grammar SchoolLiving SchoolMacleay Vocational CollegePacific Coast Christian SchoolPacific Gulgangali Jarjums Christian SchoolPacific Hope Christian SchoolPacific Valley Christian SchoolPort Macquarie AdventistPort Macquarie Steiner SchoolRainbow Ridge School for Steiner EducationRichmond Christian CollegeSathya Sai CollegeSathya Sai College Secondary Campus, DungayShearwater, the Mullumbimby Steiner SchoolSummerland Christian CollegeSt Andrews Christian SchoolSt Columba Anglican SchoolTallowood Steiner SchoolThe Small SchoolThe Nature SchoolTuntable Falls Community SchoolTweed Valley Adventist CollegeValley Hope Christian SchoolVistara Primary School Source link #Schools #closed #Queensland #NSW #exTropical #Cyclone #Alfred #full #list #storm #aftermath #continues Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]