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Weekly quiz: How did the ***'s oldest horse celebrate her birthday? Weekly quiz: How did the ***'s oldest horse celebrate her birthday? How much attention did you pay to what else has been going on in the world over the past seven days? Source link #Weekly #quiz #UK039s #oldest #horse #celebrate #birthday Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Mosman Park man, 52, charged after police raid home and allegedly uncover laptop with child sex abuse material Mosman Park man, 52, charged after police raid home and allegedly uncover laptop with child sex abuse material A Mosman Park man has been charged after police raided his home and allegedly uncovered a laptop and hard drive with child sex abuse material. Source link #Mosman #Park #man #charged #police #raid #home #allegedly #uncover #laptop #child #sex #abuse #material Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

British prime minister meets with Trump at White House British prime minister meets with Trump at White House British prime minister meets with Trump at White House – CBS News Watch CBS News British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is the latest European leader to make a personal appeal to President Trump to continue U.S. support for Ukraine in the war with Russia, and to stop his tariff threats. Margaret Brennan has more. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On Source link #British #prime #minister #meets #Trump #White #House Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Documents reveal second arrest in Austin elementary school threat Documents reveal second arrest in Austin elementary school threat AUSTIN (KXAN) — Angela Jacuinde, 18, faces a charge of conspiracy to commit Capital ******* in connection to a 2024 threat made against Graham Elementary School in northeast Austin. In August, KXAN reported on how law enforcement thwarted a possible attack at the school with the arrest of Giana Castillo, 17, who APD said made “concerning statements online… regarding the planning of an active shooter event,” according to Castillo’s arrest affidavit. Giana Castillo, left, and Angela Jacuinde, right, face charges related to a 2024 threat against Graham Elementary School. PREVIOUS: Possible Austin school shooting thwarted by law enforcement, court documents say In that case, FBI agents tracked the IP address of the account making the threats to Castillo. In November, three months after Castillo’s arrest, police arrested Jacuinde in connection to this crime as well, according to online court records. Her indictment states a grand jury believes she worked with Castillo to plan the killing of multiple people at Graham Elementary School. Jacuinde’s court records show she was extradited from Fresno, Calif. as part of her arrest. Travis County Jail records indicate Jacuinde was booked in January and given a $250,000 bond. KXAN has reached out to both Jacuinde’s and Castillo’s attorneys and will update this story if we receive a response. According to Castillo’s arrest affidavit, Castillo and Jacuinde were communicating on social media about their plans for the attack, and Jacuinde admitted this action to the FBI. Court documents outlined several discussions they had about which weapons to use in the attack. Castillo is currently not in custody, according to Travis County Jail records. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Source link #Documents #reveal #arrest #Austin #elementary #school #threat Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Judge says mass firings of probationary employees by the Trump administration were invalid – Business Insider Judge says mass firings of probationary employees by the Trump administration were invalid – Business Insider Judge says mass firings of probationary employees by the Trump administration were invalid Business InsiderOPM tells court it never ordered mass firings, contradicting prior claims Government ExecutiveJudge blocks Trump administration from firing probationary employees USA TODAY Source link #Judge #mass #firings #probationary #employees #Trump #administration #invalid #Business #Insider Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ex-Twitter employee left homeless questions Musk federal buyout offer Ex-Twitter employee left homeless questions Musk federal buyout offer Ex-Twitter employee left homeless questions Musk federal buyout offer – CBS News Watch CBS News So far, about 100,000 federal workers have been fired or accepted buyouts offered by President Trump and adviser Elon Musk. Ed O’Keefe talked to one who took the deal, and to a former Twitter employee who believes she — and others like her — got taken. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On Source link #ExTwitter #employee #left #homeless #questions #Musk #federal #buyout #offer Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Did the White House lobby help end his travel ban? Did the White House lobby help end his travel ban? Mike Wendling and Kayla Epstein BBC News Watch: Andrew Tate and brother, Tristan, arrive in US Andrew and Tristan Tate, the controversial British-American social media influencers accused of *****, human trafficking and money laundering, have been freed from travel restrictions in Romania after several high-level White House officials took an interest in their case. It’s unclear what, if any, role Donald Trump’s administration may have played in their release, but one of Trump’s top envoys met with Romania’s Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu at a security conference in Munich earlier this month. Andrew Tate rose to fame after appearing on the *** reality show Big Brother, and later making a series of extreme and controversial statements about women and politics on social media. The pair ran a web cam business and were charged with human trafficking and ***** along with two Romanian female suspects in June 2023. They also face separate, unrelated allegations of ***** and human trafficking in the ***, and civil suits in the US and ***. They deny all the allegations, which their US lawyer calls “defamatory and unequivocally false”. On Thursday the brothers arrived in Florida after previously being banned from leaving Romania while the case against them is pending. Lawyers for the pair say they will return to Bucharest for court hearings. What did White House officials say? When asked about the Tates at the White House on Thursday, President Trump said: “I know nothing about that.” But the brothers have been the subject of recent high-level discussions between the US and Romania. Romanian officials say US counterparts brought up the brothers’ case with the Romanian government earlier this month, a story first reported by the Financial Times. And Trump special envoy Richard Grenell raised the issue again at a security conference in Munich. Hurezeanu said the Tates were mentioned during that conversation, but denied being pressured to release the pair. The Tate brothers are Trump supporters and also have ties to his administration. One of Tate’s lawyers now works as White House liaison to the US justice department. Paul Ingrassia was part of a team representing the Tate brothers in a defamation lawsuit they filed in Florida against several of their alleged victims. Ingrassia also acted as Tate’s publicist and says he got the influencer onto a show hosted by Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host. He has praised Tate in online posts. In one dating from July 2023, he called Tate “an extraordinary human being” who was offering “a dying West some hope for renewal”. Ingrassia did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. The Tates have also been talked about by several people in Trump’s orbit, including Donald Trump Jr and Elon Musk. Trump Jr once called Tate’s detention in Romania “absolute insanity”. Musk reinstated Andrew Tate’s account, which had been banned on X, and suggested, perhaps in jest, that Tate would make a good *** prime minister. Joseph McBride, a lawyer representing the Tates in a defamation case they have filed against several of their accusers in Florida, said in a statement: “They feel secure in America for several reasons, the primary one being that Donald Trump is the president.” The statement alleged that the Tates and others are victims of “weaponised legal systems” and “politically motivated prosecutions”. McBride did not respond to questions about what role, if any, White House officials played in the removal of travel restrictions against the Tate brothers. Reuters Andrew Tate arriving at Fort Lauderdale Airport in Florida on Thursday What is the manosphere? Trump and his advisers know the political power of the manosphere – a popular and very online subculture that attracts fans of mixed martial arts fighting, video games, cryptocurrencies and other stereotypically male pursuits. It’s a sprawling scene that includes men who reject the company of women entirely, a “pick-up artist” scene filled with tips on how to find casual hookups, and plenty of mainstream podcasts and YouTube channels filled with bro-type humour. The president’s advisers targeted the same audiences during last year’s election campaign, when Trump, JD Vance and others in his orbit went on podcasts and did interviews with new media outlets. The views of the Tate brothers lie at one of the manosphere’s extreme edges. Andrew Tate himself has made no secret of his self-described misogynist – women-hating – and sexist views. On podcasts and online clips he talks about how women are property, how men shouldn’t allow girlfriends to go out without them or talk to other men. In extremely graphic language, he’s described violence against women and talks about how ******* assault victims bear responsibility for *****. Tate and his brother at the same time sell a glamorous lifestyle of expensive properties, cigars and luxury cars that includes self-improvement messages directed at young men – an image that garnered him a large audience before he was booted off most mainstream social media platforms. He told the BBC in a 2023 interview: “I preach hard work, discipline. I’m an athlete, I preach anti-drugs, I preach religion, I preach no alcohol, I preach no knife crime. Every single problem with modern society I’m against.” Like many other extreme influencers, in the face of criticism he often claims his posts are satire or jokes, mocking his detractors as his messages spread further, propelled by online outrage. Trump supporters split The pair’s supporters were thrilled with his release and eager to proclaim their innocence, despite the outstanding charges against them. Others were less enthusiastic. Four British women who have filed a civil lawsuit against Andrew Tate issued a statement calling on *** authorities to “take action”. And support for the Tates is far from universal among Trump supporters and American conservatives, many of whom moved to immediately distance themselves from the brothers. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, where Tates landed on Thursday, said of their activities: “Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct.” The state’s attorney general later said he would open a preliminary inquiry into the Tates and said Florida has “zero tolerance for human trafficking and violence against women”. In the conservative Washington Examiner, podcaster Brady Leonard wrote: “Tate’s obnoxious, misogynistic brand is toxic to everyone besides electorally insignificant corners of social media.” Matt Lewis, a US conservative political commentator who has been critical of Trump in the past, said advocating on behalf of Tate “fits in with the ethos of the Maga world right now, which is: ‘let’s be tough guys'”. “But I also think it speaks to a legitimate problem, which we have seen in the last couple decades, a problem with men…where there’s an epidemic of loneliness, a sense the world is passing them by, a sense that modernity has made it harder to be successful as a husband and a father. I think that’s had some real psychic effects,” he said. “There’s a pretty good contingency of Trump’s supporters who are probably going to welcome this guy and probably even see him as a victim of persecution.” Source link #White #House #lobby #travel #ban Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

How 7 states could thwart GOP plans to overhaul Medicaid How 7 states could thwart GOP plans to overhaul Medicaid Republicans are facing a nationwide backlash over the fate of Medicaid — but the potential program cuts are most threatening in seven conservative-leaning states where voters have cast ballots to expand the entitlement in recent years. It’s a growing problem as Republicans hunt for enough savings to pay for the White House’s proposed tax cuts. Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, which has enrolled more than 24,000 people in Medicaid since voters expanded the insurance program for low-income people in 2022, told POLITICO he’s been arguing against some of his own party’s proposals. One would reduce significantly how much funding for the program comes from the federal government. “That’s not a cost cutting measure — that’s a cost transfer,” he said. “And when you’ve got partnerships with the states, you shouldn’t be doing that without having them involved in the discussion.” Republicans face similar skepticism across red and purple swaths of the country where voters have used ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid since Congress last targeted the safety net health insurance program in 2017 – not only in South Dakota, but also in Idaho, Nebraska, Maine, Oklahoma, Missouri and Utah. President Donald Trump won all of those states except Maine. And even there, he won an electoral vote by defeating Kamala Harris in the state’s 2nd Congressional District, where nearly a third of people are enrolled in Medicaid. The president’s conflicting guidance to Congress about whether and how much to cut from the program suggests he is aware of the political peril. Additional states could expand Medicaid in the coming years, making future rollbacks even more challenging. There’s currently a campaign underway in Florida to put expansion on the ballot in 2026, underscoring the popularity of Medicaid even in the most MAGA-friendly states. “Cutting Medicaid seems to be popular with some Republican elites and some right wing think tanks that are getting funded by some right wing billionaires, but they’re unquestionably not popular with the Republican voters,” Joan Alker, the executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, told reporters at a briefing on Medicaid this week. “We’ve seen many polls recently asking voters to rank what they wanted … and cutting Medicaid was literally the last on the list for voters of all stripes.” Coalitions on the ground in the seven states that passed Medicaid expansion initiatives — made up of powerful hospital associations, grassroots advocacy groups and other strange bedfellows — are now re-mobilizing to defend them. They’re sending people to town halls. They’re publishing op-eds in local newspapers. They’re flooding the phone lines of their members of Congress. And they’re mulling a revival of some of the more aggressive tactics activists used to protest attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017. “We’re going back to the old playbook,” said Matt Slonaker, the executive director of the Utah Health Policy Project who spearheaded the state’s ballot initiative campaign in 2018. “It’s always hard to get folks to act, but they seem to be really, really ready to do this right now.” With pressure mounting to find hundreds of billions in savings, lawmakers who are usually on board with slashing government spending remain on high alert about the blowback they could face in their states over Medicaid. And as they struggle to keep their members united behind Trump’s budget plan, GOP leadership is taking notice. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday night backed away from some of the most sweeping changes the GOP had been debating, including capping the funds states get for each Medicaid enrollee and rolling back federal support for expansion states, even as he dismissed outrage his members have recently faced over threatened cuts at fiery town halls across the country as the work of “paid protesters.” “All this attention is being paid to Medicaid because that’s the Democrats’ talking point,” Johnson said. “We’re talking about finding efficiencies in every program, but not cutting benefits for people who rightly deserve them.” Pro-expansion health care groups in these seven red and purple states mounted expensive and time-consuming ballot initiative campaigns to circumvent conservative state legislatures and governors who refused to expand Medicaid, and some of those same state officials are currently working to roll back the expanded coverage their constituents enacted. That’s left Republicans on Capitol Hill from Medicaid-expansion states as the loudest — and in some cases the only — effective voices of opposition to the proposed cuts now that Democrats are locked out of power. And while some House Republicans who represent red districts are feeling the heat, senators will have to answer to their entire state. “I don’t quite think Republicans know the backlash they’re in for,” said Brad Woodhouse, a former Democratic National Committee official who now runs the progressive health care advocacy group Protect Our Care. “And it’s going to be a particularly bitter pill in these states that have used ballot initiatives because in those cases, the voters have really spoken about their preference.” Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Susan Collins of Maine — both of whom hail from states that expanded Medicaid by ballot measure — crossed the aisle earlier this week to support a Democratic amendment to the Senate budget resolution that would have blocked tax cuts for the wealthy if any Medicaid funding is cut. Hawley, who represents about 326,000 people who became eligible for Medicaid under the state’s 2021 expansion, has said he wouldn’t support “severe” cuts to Medicaid — specifically cuts that would lead to reduced benefits — calling it a “red line” for securing his vote. The politics are especially tricky for representatives of more rural states where Medicaid has been a lifeline for hospitals struggling to keep the lights on — hospitals that in some instances are among the state’s biggest employers. In Idaho, for example, voters approved expanding Medicaid in 2018 with 61 percent support, extending coverage to about 90,000 more residents. But if federal funding for Medicaid decreases as a result of the current negotiations in Washington, the state legislature has the power to intervene and potentially repeal the expansion. Idaho House ********* Leader Ilana Rubel, a Democrat, is among those warning that such an outcome would threaten the state’s remaining rural hospitals. “That’s a disaster, not only for the people on Medicaid, but for the people on private insurance,” Rubel said. “Because when you live in these rural areas, you know you can have the best insurance in the world, but if the hospital in your area has gone out of business and you fall off a ladder or have a heart attack, there will be nobody to help you.” Yet not every Republican from an expansion state is worried about the sweeping reforms hardliners in their caucus are pushing for. Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, where more than 245,000 people became eligible for coverage after the state voted to expand Medicaid in 2020, echoed Speaker Johnson’s argument that the final budget would not impact individuals’ health care benefits and said he hadn’t heard from concerned citizens about it. “I have not heard anyone talking about cutting off Medicaid to people,” he said. “It has been dealing with formulas. It’s been dealing with fraud.” Utah Sen. John Curtis told POLITICO this week that after discussing the matter with Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, he’s not sweating the political implications. He said he’s “not near as concerned” about cuts to the safety net program as he is “about the fiscal irresponsibility that we’re facing,” adding that he’s “in total harmony with our state leaders on this.” Medicaid enrollment in Utah grew nearly 60 percent after a ballot measure expanding the program passed in 2018. But Utah is among the nine states that has a “trigger” law in place to automatically end Medicaid expansion or require major changes to the program if federal funds decline, threatening coverage for millions of people. For Curtis, that’s a feature rather than a bug. “Our state is one of more fiscally responsible states, in my opinion, and they saw this coming,” he said. Source link #states #thwart #GOP #plans #overhaul #Medicaid Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Mexico sends major drug bosses to US amid tariff threat Mexico sends major drug bosses to US amid tariff threat Mexico has sent 29 drug cartel figures, including Rafael Caro Quintero, to the US as the Trump administration turns up the pressure on drug trafficking gangs. Source link #Mexico #sends #major #drug #bosses #tariff #threat Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Metroid Dread Dev’s New Game Is Blades Of Fire, Releases In May Metroid Dread Dev’s New Game Is Blades Of Fire, Releases In May It’s been a long time since MercurySteam released an original game, but the studio behind Metroid: Samus Returns and Metroid Dread has finally revealed a first look at its upcoming dark fantasy action-RPG Blades of Fury. In the announcement trailer below, players are introduced to Aran de Lira as he prepares to face his destiny head-on against some dangerous foes. Luckily for Aran, he’s well-armed with weapons of his own creation. In the game’s backstory, Aran is the firstborn of the King’s Ward, and he’s forced to take a stand after the recently crowned Queen Nerea uses dark magic to solidify her power in the kingdom. Thanks to Nerea’s spell, all steel in the kingdom has been turned to stone, and only the evil creatures at her command have the divine metal that can obliterate any normal weapon used against them. That’s why Aran will have to forge his own weapons to counter the divine metal’s power, and there are several different weapons that can be chosen. Players will have to determine which weapons are most effective against the wide variety of monsters they encounter in the game. Picking the wrong weapon could have grave consequences and leave Aran unable to defeat his foes. MercurySteam has teased that certain details about the story will be unknown, and “you will know only what our heroes know; your intuition and courage must fill in the rest.” Thankfully, Aran doesn’t have to figure it all out for himself. His companion, Adso, can aid him during battles with suggestions about how to defeat the creatures. Adso also speaks the language of the ancient forger, which will come in handy as they brave dangerous castles and mazes. Blades of Fire will be released on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via the Epic Games Store on May 22. Source link #Metroid #Dread #Devs #Game #Blades #Fire #Releases Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Steam in the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket XXL air fryer makes fantastic meals, but it’s not without caveats Steam in the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket XXL air fryer makes fantastic meals, but it’s not without caveats Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test. Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer XXL Steam: One-minute review There are plenty of dual-drawer air fryers on the market these days, but not too many come with a steam function. And that’s where the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer XXL Steam comes in – as the name suggests, you can use the steam to not just cook meals, but it can even be used to clean the air fryer. Cooking with steam means you can make dumplings or steamed vegetables easily, but the Philips 5000 Series XXL also has an air fryer+steam combo mode that I found to be quite handy. This not only cooks meat to perfection, retaining moisture, but also allows for crispy skin and crackling, albeit will need a few extra minutes air frying the perfect results. In fact, pretty much everything I cooked in the Philips Series 5000 XXL turned out to be really good, although I’d recommend not bothering with the presets. They’re handy as a guide, but unless you have the exact amount of food that preset was meant for, it’s not going to cook your meal to perfection. Given its dual drawers, you can sync cook times, no matter what you have in either of them, but you can’t replicate the settings across both drawers because of their difference in size. However, having the power of steam means you’ll need to deal with a few caveats. For starters, it’s available only for the larger drawer, so you will need to plan out what food item goes into which drawer before you start cooking. That also means steam cleaning is only available for the larger drawer and it requires you to manually scrub the basket and drawer anyway. So it’s not quite the magical solution I was expecting it to be. Well, at least both drawers, and the basket and tray, are dishwasher safe. Given how well it cooks, though, it would be easy to recommend, particularly if you want steam cooking. You will, however, need to shell out a decent amount of cash for the privilege. (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer XXL Steam review: price & availability Announced November 2024 Launch price of £249.99 / AU$499, but available for cheaper now Not available in the US at the time of writing Philips came out with two dual-basket air fryers at around the same time in late 2024 – the 3000 Series and the 5000 Series. Both also have single-drawer options, but it’s only the 5000 Series Dual Basket model that has the steam functionality. At launch, it came with a list price of £249.99 / AU$499 in the *** and Australia, but can now be had for £179.99 / AU$349. It’s currently not listed for purchase in the US. This review is based on the *********** model with SKU NA551/00. The model available in the *** is NA555/09 with a brushed-steel finish. I think the discounted price is quite competitive and could be excellent value for some users, especially those who’ll really make good use of the steam functionality to cook (the steam-clean mode is superfluous). That’s not to say it’s cheap, but it isn’t too much more in some markets compared to other dual-drawer models. For example, the Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400 (has the model number of DZ401 in the US) costs $229 / £229.99 / AU$299.99 and the Instant Vortex Plus Versazone can set you back $199.95 / £199.99 / AU$399 at full price. • Value score: 4 / 5 Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer XXL Steam review: specifications Swipe to scroll horizontally Review model: NA551/00 (*** model: NA555/09) Number of baskets: 2 Number of cooking programs: 11 Total ways to cook: 19 Smart control: No Rated power: 2,750W Capacity: 9L (3L + 6L drawers) Temperature range: 40ºC to 200ºC (104ºF to 392ºF) Time range: up to 60 minutes Dimensions: 444 x 383 x 355 mm Weight: 8.75kg Dishwasher safe: Yes Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer XXL Steam review: design 800ml removable water reservoir on top of appliance Non-stick coating makes it easy to clean Clear touchscreen display, but requires small learning curve to master If you’re already familiar with dual-basket air fryers, the Philips 5000 Series XXL Steam is not going to look too different, except for one very distinct feature – there’s a small rectangular plastic reservoir on the top to hold up to 800ml of water. It’s translucent, so you can see the level as it gets used up, and it has a cloud icon to indicate what could only be billowing steam. If you don’t notice the water level going down, there’s no need to worry as a warning light will appear on the touchscreen display. The tank can be removed and washed, and it’s best not to leave any water in there when the appliance is not in use to avoid scale build-up. The good news is that the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket XXL Steam has a descaling cycling built in, but better safe than sorry. Like many dual-basket air fryers, the two drawers are different sizes – a larger 6L basket and a smaller 3L one. Philips says the larger drawer can fit a whole chicken in it, but you will need to make sure it’s not too large a chicken, and although the total 9L capacity sounds like a lot, it may not be enough for a family of four. And it’s only the ******* drawer that has steam functionality. Image 1 of 3 The water reservoir has a cloud icon on its lid to indicate billowing steam(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Both drawers, the large basket and the small tray are non-stick and dishwasher safe(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) The water reservoir fits into its own little niche(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Having two drawers means the whole appliance has a large footprint, but it’s not overly large compared to other similar air fryers on the market. It is, however, slightly taller because of the water reservoir on the top. The touchscreen display is very clear when it comes on, even if you have bright overhead lights shining down on the reflective surface. The top line of icons are the presets, below which you can choose the time and temperature for each drawer. There’s even the option to sync cooking times if you want. If you’re already familiar with air fryers, you won’t have much trouble finding your way around the functions on the display, although the steam cooking, air fry+steam combo, steam-clean mode and descaling option will be new to most people. Unfortunately Philips doesn’t provide a proper user manual in the box – it has some diagrams, but they’re not easy to wrap your head around. A detailed manual is available on the HomeID app, which can be accessed via the QR code in the box or on the machine itself, but it’s not easy to find – after some digging, I found a link to the PDF buried in a Quick Guide article for the Series 5000 Dual Basket Steam air fryer. The rear of the appliance is quite plain, but Philips provides cable management in the form of a clip-on brace. Above this are the two vents that, when you use steam, will puff rhythmically. (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) All of Philips’ air fryers have one thing in common – the raised pattern at the bottom of the drawers. This is to help the company’s proprietary RapidAir technology circulate hot air within each basket more efficiently. This pattern also means you can’t cook directly in the drawer, as some other brands allow you to do. Both the drawers on the Series 5000 Dual Basket XXL Steam are non-stick, but no mention has been made on what the material actually is. That said, the large basket, the two drawers and the small tray are dishwasher safe. One thing to keep in mind with the large basket: it might appear square, but it’s not. So if the basket isn’t fitting, just turn it around and slide it in. The basket has small silicone-covered feet that are prone to pressure, which can happen if you’re handwashing it. This causes the feet to move out of position and not let the basket fit back into the drawer – if this happens, you can gently reposition them. • Design score: 4.5 / 5 (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer XXL Steam review: performance Very useful time-sync functionality and shake reminders Plenty of presets, but they are guides only Not a smart (connected) air fryer It might take you a while to get used to using steam in an air fryer, but once you do, it’s hard to not keep going back to it – I, for one, couldn’t stop experimenting with it. I used most of the functions on this air fryer and disappointments were rare – it really does cook nearly everything very well. From tender steaks to steamed dumplings, I can hardly fault it. That said, nothing I made was using the presets. I found very quickly that unless you plan to cook the exact amount of fries, meat or vegetables the presets were designed for, you will not get the right results. The presets on the Philips 5000 Series are guides only, but you can always adjust cook time and temperature for better results. During my testing I found that manual input of cook time and temperature was the best and, of course, you can always pull a basket out to check on what’s happening to see if any adjustments are needed. Opening a drawer will pause the air dryer – both drawers, in fact – and it automatically restarts when you push the basket back in. Time and temperature adjustments can be made while the appliance is running. One thing to keep in mind with the Philips 5000 Series XXL Steam is that there is no preheat function here. This isn’t unique to this machine, with others like the Russell Hobbs Satisfry Dual Basket air fryer (available only in the ***) also missing out on it. A preheat would have been nice for things like cooking steaks, but I got good results even without it, albeit after a couple of attempts to get the right temperature and time settings for the perfect cook (medium for me, thanks). Image 1 of 2 Cheese and garlic crumpets before cooking…(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) ..and the final, slightly overdone results(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) One of the first cooking modes I tried in the 5000 Series Dual Basket XXL Steam was air fry+steam. This feature works by pumping steam and hot air alternately, so you will hear the sound change rhythmically. The chicken drumsticks that I experimented with were tender and moist, but the skin didn’t get crispy. I popped them back in for five minutes more at 200ºC for just air frying, giving me wonderfully juicy chicken legs with crispy skin. The other dish I used the air fry+steam function was pork belly and, again, the meat was lovely, but I did have to use the air-fry mode to crisp up the skin. I’d imagine you could even use it to make some cakes if you want a fudgy interior, but I didn’t have any recipes (or ingredients) on hand to experiment with when it comes to baking during my testing of this air fryer. I found the steam-only function rather useful though. Not only is it good to steam vegetables for a side, you can even make dumplings in this air fryer. The only issue here is the pre-planning. Given you have only one drawer (the larger one) with steaming abilities, you need to figure out beforehand what you should cook in it. For example, if you have a large piece of meat that you want to cook (time-synced) alongside vegetables, you’ll likely need to forgo steamed veg as the meat won’t fit in the smaller drawer. In which case, you will need to use the 6L basket twice, which isn’t ideal. However, if you’re making steamed fish with some roasted vegetables on the side, you can do them both together by putting the latter in the 3L drawer. Image 1 of 3 Halloumi cooked in the air fryer(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Chicken drumsticks cooked using the air fry+steam mode, then crisped for 5 minutes by air frying only(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Stuffed portobello mushrooms cooked in the Philips air fryer(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) I found that the 800ml maximum water capacity in the reservoir will last you no more than an hour’s worth of cooking time, so you may need to refill it if you have anything that needs longer cooking. This Philips air fryer also has a maximum temperature of 200ºC, which isn’t as high as some other air fryers are capable of, but I found it still produces lovely crackling anyway. Time synchronization works well and I appreciate that there is a shake reminder too. I love me some crispy, deep-fried bitter gourd (a childhood favorite) and I didn’t even need to lay the slices down in a single layer. The shake reminders were great when I just plopped handfuls in each basket to air fry and, at the end of 27 minutes, I had a Tupperware box full of my fave snack. I cooked halloumi in the air fryer, as well mushrooms, steak and frozen foods. No matter what I threw at it, the results were to my liking, although I will emphasize that the presets won’t necessarily be too useful for first-time users. Dumplings steamed in the large basket alongside prawn and chorizo skewers (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) As good as the cooking is, I was disappointed by the steam-cleaning function. As wonderful as it sounds on paper, it’s not quite what Philips makes it out to be – you will need to manually wash the basket and drawer to remove all traces of grease and burnt food after a 15-minute steam cycle, then pop it back in for a 2-minute hot-air drying session. Moreover, only the 6L basket has the advantage of steam to loosen caked-in grease. Thankfully both drawers and baskets are dishwasher safe. Given it uses water, there is a descale mode available, but I haven’t had the appliance long enough to try it and, even after three months, have not seen any deposits in the water reservoir. So while I would love to score this air fryer higher just for its cooking performance, I have to dock marks for the caveats surrounding the steam functionality. • Performance score: 4 / 5 (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Should I buy the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer XXL Steam? Buy it if… Don’t buy it if… Also consider How I tested the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer XXL Steam Used for five weeks to cook a variety of meals Cooked mushrooms, steak, cheese, chicken, fish and much more Tested most cooking functions and presets (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) For a ******* of five weeks, I cooked nearly all my dinners in the Philips 5000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer XXL Steam, as well as some lunches and a few snacks during the weekends. This gave me plenty of time to test several of the presets (I didn’t try the bread one though) and experiment with most of the cooking modes. I’m not much of a baker at the best of times, but I did try to make some banana muffins in the air fryer, which didn’t quite turn out as I expected them to, but that had to do with my recipe rather than any fault of the appliance. However, I also cooked various meats in the two drawers to test the roast, air fryer and air-fry+steam combo functions. These included a scotch fillet, chicken thighs and legs, a pork belly and beef sausages – the latter in the smaller basket. The vegetables I cooked – both air fried and steamed – included broccolini, potatoes, cauliflower florets, carrots and snow peas. I also cooked some halloumi and portobello mushrooms. In addition to cooking, I also tested the steam-clean mode a few times. I hand-washed the baskets and drawers most of the time but, when space allowed, I even put them in my dishwasher. The only function I couldn’t test during my review ******* was the descaling as there were no visible marks to tell me if the feature was working optimally or not. Read more about how we test [First reviewed February 2025] Source link #Steam #Philips #Series #Dual #Basket #XXL #air #fryer #fantastic #meals #caveats Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Nvidia’s slump and Trump’s tariffs rocked markets Nvidia’s slump and Trump’s tariffs rocked markets Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gives a keynote address at CES 2025, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Jan. 6, 2025. Steve Marcus | Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he would give tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which are temporarily paused, the go-ahead, while separately threatening on Wednesday to slap a 25% levy on the European Union. Those are some of the U.S.’ closest allies and biggest trade partners. Expect geopolitical friction and economic fallout if the tariffs are implemented. Some of the repercussions might have begun already. Jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ended Feb. 22 rose more than expected and were the highest since early October. Big Tech companies, such as Google, Meta and Microsoft, have announced layoffs this year — while such cost-cutting measures may not have been a direct response to tariffs, they are an early sign of what things could look like when companies try to deal with increased import prices. Nvidia might also be staring down the barrel of a gun. Most of Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence chips are manufactured by TSMC in Taiwan. Trump, on his campaign trial, has complained that the island stole the U.S.’ chip business, and said he would impose tariffs on chips from Taiwan. Shares of Nvidia plummeted Thursday after the chipmaker announced earnings Wednesday, wiping out billions in market capitalization. If tariffs on Taiwan are implemented as well, the picture will look much uglier, and not just for the chipmaker. What you need to know today Nvidia loses $273 billion in valueNvidia shares plunged 8.5% on Thursday, wiping out $273 billion in value and giving the company a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion. That makes Apple the only member of the $3 trillion club. So far in 2025, Nvidia shares have lost 10% of their value, as the company faces investor concerns about export controls, tariffs, more efficient artificial intelligence models and an overall slowing pace of growth. Trump says tariffs will go aheadU.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said in a Truth Social post on Thursday morning that his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada will go into effect March 4. He also said China will face an additional 10% tariff — on top of that the country already faces — on the same date. Reciprocal tariffs, which will apply to U.S.’ global trade partners, will kick in April 2, Trump added. Meanwhile, Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on the European Union. Markets slump over tariffs and NvidiaU.S. markets were jolted on Thursday by tariff jitters and a plunge in Nvidia shares. The S&P 500 retreated 1.59%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.45% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.78% The pan-European Stoxx 600 index lost 0.46%, weighed down by the auto sector falling 4% as it reacted to Trump’s threat of tariffs on the EU. Shares of aerospace and defense firm Rolls-Royce jumped 16% on upbeat guidance. Higher-than-expected jobless claimsU.S. jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 22 totaled a seasonally adjusted 242,000, up 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level and higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 225,000, according to a U.S. Labor Department report Thursday. The level of claims matched the highest since early October 2024 and comes amid questions over broader economic growth and worrying signs in recent consumer sentiment surveys. Google cuts jobsGoogle told staffers this week in its “People Operations,” the company’s human relations division, and its cloud unit that it is planning layoffs as a part of internal reorganizations, CNBC has learned. Some affected employees’ roles in Google’s cloud unit are being relocated to India and Mexico City, according to sources and internal correspondence viewed by CNBC. The number of layoffs is unclear. [PRO] Gold might hit $3,000, analysts sayCentral banks from around the world have been scooping up gold in recent years, lifting the precious metal to record levels. Now, with persistent geopolitical tensions, along with inflation and trade concerns, bullion could soon reach $3,000 for the first time, analysts think. There are a few ways for investors to gain exposure to gold, with each having their own fees and risks. And finally… A general view of the skyline from the Doha Corniche on March 31, 2022. Nick Potts – Pa Images | Getty Images Qatar attracts VC fund managers to Doha with its $1 billion ‘fund of funds’ The Qatar Investment Authority’s $1-billion fund of funds program — which invests in both international and regional VC funds — is designed to bolster investments in areas such as technology and health care, as Qatar looks to diversify away from its dominant oil and gas industry. Now, it’s accepted its first group of venture capital fund managers. B Capital, a tech-focused firm led by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, is among the group of VCs set to launch in Doha, opening its first Middle East office in the Qatari capital. Raj Ganguly, co-CEO of B Capital, hailed the Gulf state’s approach to artificial intelligence, and its support for the sector, as of particular interest. Source link #Nvidias #slump #Trumps #tariffs #rocked #markets Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Trump hosts *** prime minister at White House for critical talks on Ukraine – CNN Trump hosts *** prime minister at White House for critical talks on Ukraine – CNN Trump hosts *** prime minister at White House for critical talks on Ukraine CNNU.K. likely to avoid tariffs as Trump, Starmer in agreement during White House visit The Globe and MailLive Updates: Trump Hosts Starmer at White House to Discuss Ukraine The New York TimesUK-US trade deal could mean tariffs ‘not necessary’, says Trump BBC.com Source link #Trump #hosts #prime #minister #White #House #critical #talks #Ukraine #CNN Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Trump commends Zelensky ahead of White House talks Trump commends Zelensky ahead of White House talks Reuters Volodymyr Zelensky stopped off at Shannon Airport in Ireland on Thursday en route to the US US President Donald Trump has said he has a “lot of respect” for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the eve of their talks at the White House. Asked if he would apologise for recently calling him a “dictator”, he told the BBC he could not believe he had said this. He also called Zelensky “very brave”. Trump was speaking after talks with *** Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer about ending the war between Ukraine and Russia. He predicted a “very good meeting” with Zelensky on Friday, saying efforts to achieve peace were “moving along pretty rapidly”. This week’s meetings come after the Trump administration shocked its Western partners by holding the first high-level US talks with Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine just over three years ago. America’s new president had appeared to blame Zelensky for the war and chided him for not starting peace talks earlier. “You’ve been there for three years,” he had said last Tuesday. “You should have ended it… You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.” But this Thursday, speaking after meeting Sir Keir, Trump told reporters asking about his forthcoming talks with Zelensky: “I think we’re going to have a very good meeting tomorrow morning. We’re going to get along really well.” Asked by the BBC’s Chris Mason if he still thought Zelensky was a “dictator”, he replied: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.” Zelensky will be hoping to win some kind of security guarantees for his country that would underpin any peace deal that may be negotiated. Asked about these on Thursday, Trump only said he was “open to many things” but he wanted to get Russia and Ukraine to agree a deal before deciding what measures might be put in place to enforce it. On his visit on Friday, Zelensky is expected to sign a deal that will give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth mineral resources. Trump suggested that the presence of US mining concerns in Ukraine would act as a deterrent against future Russian attacks on Ukraine. “It’s a backstop, you could say,” he said on Thursday. “I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers and having to do with rare earths and other things which we need for our country.” Reuters Sir Keir Starmer (L) and Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday The British prime minister had said earlier that the *** was prepared to send troops to Ukraine after the war as part of a peacekeeping force but only if the US, Nato’s leading member, provided a “backstop”. Asked if the US would aid British peacekeepers if they were attacked by Russia, Trump said: “The British have incredible soldiers, incredible military and they can take care of themselves. But if they need help, I’ll always be with the British, okay?” Nato’s Article 5 holds that Nato members will come to the defence of an ally which comes under attack. Praising Trump’s “personal commitment to bring peace” in Ukraine, Sir Keir said the *** was “ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal”. “We’re focused now on bringing an enduring end to the barbaric war in Ukraine,” he said. But, he added, it must not be a peace deal “that rewards the aggressor or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran”. Asked whether Vladimir Putin was trustworthy, the *** prime minister said his views on the Russian president were well-known. Asked in turn why he seemed to trust Putin and Sir Keir did not, Trump said: “I know a lot of people that you would say no chance that they would ever deceive you, and they are the worst people in the world. “I know others that you would guarantee they would deceive you, and you know what, they’re 100% honourable, so you never know what you’re getting.” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who had been due to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington before he cancelled the talks “due to scheduling issues”, told BBC News that Putin and Russia did “not want to have peace”. “For any peace agreement to function, it needs the Europeans as well as Ukrainians on board,” she added. Stopping off in the Irish Republic on Thursday en route to the US, Zelensky met the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin at Shannon Airport. “We discussed the steps to end the war with guaranteed peace for Ukraine and the whole of Europe,” he said later. Following the overthrow of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president in 2014, Moscow annexed the ****** Sea peninsula of Crimea and backed pro-Russian separatists in bloody fighting in eastern Ukraine. The conflict burst into all-out war when Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people, most of them soldiers, have been killed or injured, and millions of Ukrainian civilians have fled as refugees. As well as Crimea, Russia now occupies parts of four other regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The Kremlin warned on Thursday that Russia would make no territorial concessions to Ukraine as part of a peace deal. “All territories that have become subjects of the Russian Federation… are an integral part of our country, Russia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “This is an absolutely indisputable fact and a non-negotiable fact.” Separately, Russian and US officials met in the Turkish city of Istanbul for talks on rebuilding diplomatic ties. The two nuclear superpowers expelled one another’s embassy staff when Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, was in the White House. EPA Ukrainian troops in training near the front line on Thursday Source link #Trump #commends #Zelensky #ahead #White #House #talks Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Canberra’s Hosking hopes luck on his side in Vegas Canberra’s Hosking hopes luck on his side in Vegas Zac Hosking can see why people might think he’s an unlucky man. After toiling away in Newcastle’s lower grades, the second-rower relocated to Brisbane and was rewarded for his patience with a long-awaited NRL debut at the mature age of 25 in 2022. At Penrith the next season, he played 20 of a possible 24 regular-season games, only to find himself ousted from the 17 by Luke Garner on grand final day. Hosking watched from the sidelines as the Panthers came from 16 points down against Brisbane for one of the most memorable grand final victories of all time. When he arrived at Canberra last year, Hosking was hampered by a shoulder injury that eventually required surgery. Then, the 28-year-old tore his calf just as he was nearing a comeback. After recovering from that latest blow, Hosking was named in the second row for this weekend’s season opener against the Warriors in Las Vegas – a city where your fortunes can change rapidly. The good-natured Raider hopes Lady Luck finally smiles down upon him at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday (AEDT). “I don’t like to look at it that way (that I’m unlucky), even though sometimes at the time, that’s how you’re feeling,” he said at the Raiders’ signing session with fans in Las Vegas. “I try to stay out of a negative sort of head space. It’s hard to be negative when you look around here at the moment. “(The atmosphere in Vegas) feels like we’re heading towards a grand final. “I’m ready to move on. I’ve got all my injuries behind me.” Hosking said he’d come into the 2025 season stronger for his setbacks. “Those things are things that build character, it makes you resilient and it makes you prepared for if it happens again,” he said. The Raiders are still confirming who will blow a custom-made replica of their famous Viking ***** before kick-off against the Warriors after UFC boss Dana White declined the club’s invitation. Club legend Jarrod Croker is an option, with the former captain in town as a Raiders ambassador. If Hosking could have anyone blow the Viking ***** from any point in history, he’d pick the frontman of one of his favourite bands. “I’d have Michael Hutchence from INXS,” Hosking said, referring to the singer who died in 1997. “Hopefully they get someone good for the job.” Source link #Canberras #Hosking #hopes #luck #side #Vegas Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Johnson says approach to IRA repeal will be ‘between a scalpel and a sledgehammer’ Johnson says approach to IRA repeal will be ‘between a scalpel and a sledgehammer’ Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) indicated this week that his approach to repealing the Democrats’ climate, tax, infrastructure and health care bill will be neither delicate and precise nor a total overhaul. “It’ll be somewhere between a scalpel and a sledgehammer. We’ll see,” Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. The comment departs from his previous rhetoric on the future of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Speaker told CNBC in September he wanted to take a “a scalpel and not a sledgehammer, because there’s a few provisions in there that have helped overall.” It’s not entirely clear what the departure will mean in practice, if anything, for the legislation. The 2022 law, which received only Democratic votes, contains billions in tax credits for low-carbon energy sources, as well as new taxes on large corporations and provisions allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of some drugs. Now that Republicans have control of the House, Senate and White House, they are looking to rein in the IRA — especially as they seek ways to pay for the tax cuts they want to enact. However, it remains an open question whether or to what extent the law’s energy tax credits in particular will be modified. A group of 18 House Republicans last year wrote a letter to Johnson saying they want to preserve some of the credits. And targeting any particular credit or energy source becomes difficult, especially with the House’s extremely slim majority. Various GOP-held districts have projects that benefit from credits for solar, wind, biofuels, nuclear energy or electric vehicle manufacturing, and so it may be difficult to find credits that all of the Republican members agree to cut. Mychael Schnell contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Source link #Johnson #approach #IRA #repeal #scalpel #sledgehammer Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

U.S. gold demand is ‘sucking’ bullion out of other countries U.S. gold demand is ‘sucking’ bullion out of other countries Osakawayne Studios | Moment | Getty Images Strong U.S. demand for gold is “sucking” bullion out of some countries as traders try to stockpile it before U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico kick into high gear. There’s a “glut of gold” in New York’s vaults, Adrian Ash, BullionVault’s director of research, told CNBC. More than 600 tons, or almost 20 million ounces of gold, has been transported into the city’s vaults since December last year, according to data provided by the World Gold Council. That amount of gold doesn’t normally belong in New York, said John Reade, World Gold Council’s market strategist for Asia and Europe. “You only keep it there when extraordinary circumstances are happening,” Reade told CNBC. The threat of tariffs on gold has spurred U.S. banks, investors and traders to shift the precious metal into the Commodities Exchange Centre and other vaults in New York, when it would otherwise usually be stored in London. “There are concerns that imminent tariffs on Canada and Mexico will affect both gold and silver,” said Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS Pamp. Supply chains have been disrupted because of this huge sucking sound, which has been the United States importing gold ahead of the potential tariffs. John Reade World Gold Council Trump recently declared that sweeping U.S. tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will be going forward after a postponement on their implementation expires next week. On Feb. 1, the U.S. president signed executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico. But some said investors fear the tariff threat will go beyond the two countries. There are lurking concerns that broader tariffs will also come into play in the U.K. and Switzerland, which are also large physical gold hubs, Shiels added. “The biggest concern is that there could be a blanket tariff on all imports into the U.S. and that this could also apply to gold,” said Nikos Kavalis, managing director of Metals Focus. Canada and Mexico are among the largest exporters of gold to the United States. The U.S. imports the most gold from Canada, followed by Switzerland, Colombia, Mexico and South Africa. Since Trump’s election victory last November, U.S. gold futures have largely outpaced their international counterparts, creating arbitrage opportunities for those able to shift large quantities of bullion into the U.S., according to industry watchers CNBC spoke to. Tariff concerns They attributed the movement largely to traders looking to close out of short positions, or those holding physical gold in New York expecting to short futures contracts to capture the outsized premium. As of Thursday, Gold futures listed on the Comex were trading at $2,930.6 per ounce, while the price of spot gold in London was $2,901 — a difference of almost $30. The premium was wider in January. U.S. warehouses now stock four years’ worth of U.S consumer and gold demand, according to data from BullionVault. That’s coupled with production from the domestic mining industry, which already produces enough to meet two-thirds of annual gold demand per year, said BullionVault’s Ash. U.S. domestic production of gold in 2024 was estimated to be at 160 tons, down from 170 tons in 2023, according to data from the U.S Geological Survey. The traders are of the view that Trump “could whack 100% tariffs” on U.S. gold imports tomorrow without it making a dent on U.S. gold prices, because there would be enough gold in the vaults, said Ash. Though there’s usually no pressing need for physical gold deliveries, investors need to be assured that they can be made — something Trump’s tariffs threaten to disrupt. “Very few people have to make deliveries normally, but you always need to be able to make deliveries,” said World Gold Council’s Reade. “But if you’re now suddenly worried that you might have to pay an import tariff, then you don’t want your gold in London, you need to have it in New York before the tariff comes in,” he said. Supply chain disruption The surge in demand for gold into New York’s warehouses has led the U.S. to scour the globe for bullion bars. “Supply chains have been disrupted because of this huge sucking sound, which has been the United States importing gold ahead of the potential tariffs,” said Reade. A complicating factor is that Comex depositories largely make deliveries via kilogram bars, which are usually available only in select regions like China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and India, he added. “There is only a limited capacity for refineries to produce one kilogram bars,” said Reade. “Suddenly everybody has been trying to get hold of one kilogram bars that are eligible to be placed in Comex warehouses and ship them to New York, and that means that other gold flows have been interrupted,” he added. On a whole, supplies of gold kilobars are being diverted to the United States, market watchers said. London, often referred to as the terminal market for gold, experienced a big impact from the shift. “As the market has been shifting inventories of gold from private London vaults to Comex vaults, the availability of metal in private vaults in London has been declining,” said Metals Focus’ managing director Kavalis. Large gold bars are also being pulled out of London to other refineries around the world where they can be melted and refined into kilobars, because the standard bullion stored in London are 400-ounce bars rather than kilobars. Gold reserves in London’s vaults fell for the third consecutive month in January. The amount of gold reserves in January was 1.7% lower than in December. Gold exports from Switzerland into the U.S. in January also rose to the highest level in at least 13 years. And Singapore has shipped more gold than it normally would to the United States, Kavalis noted. Just to hedge against these tariffs, gold has been shipped to the U.S., and that “sucks gold out of the rest of the system,” said Reade. Source link #U.S #gold #demand #sucking #bullion #countries Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump’s promise of ‘very big deal’ with Zelensky undercut by officials’ widespread doubts over Ukraine’s resources – CNN Trump’s promise of ‘very big deal’ with Zelensky undercut by officials’ widespread doubts over Ukraine’s resources – CNN Trump’s promise of ‘very big deal’ with Zelensky undercut by officials’ widespread doubts over Ukraine’s resources CNNWhy the Trump administration may want Ukraine’s minerals The Associated PressLawmakers skeptical of Trump’s Ukraine deal The Hill Source link #Trumps #promise #big #deal #Zelensky #undercut #officials #widespread #doubts #Ukraines #resources #CNN Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The US supermax prison the government hopes will solve *** prison crisis The US supermax prison the government hopes will solve *** prison crisis Watch: Inside a Texan supermax prison A pungent smell of detergent and rotten food hits me as we walk through this enormous high-security prison. Inmates press themselves up against the bars to look at us. There are no smiles, only expressionless stares. A man with a tattoo that swirls across his face shouts, “Where you from, ma’am?” “England.” “Hope you enjoy Estelle,” he says. “Do you?” I ask. “A lot better than where I was before.” Welcome to the Estelle Supermax Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Concrete watchtowers punctuate the perimeter of this vast space – equivalent in size to almost 3,000 football pitches – and a sign with an image of a red-maned lion and the words Stay Hungry – Feast on Success greets staff and visitors as they enter. The *** government is looking to Estelle prison for ideas – for ways to reduce reoffending and to bring down prisoner numbers in our already overcrowded jails. There’s a scheme here they’d like to emulate, which gives inmates the chance to shorten their sentences by having a job while they’re inside. Looking to this prison for inspiration might seem a curious choice to many, given Texas executes more people than any other US state. But ministers say by implementing schemes similar to ones used here, *** prisoners will be incentivised to gain qualifications – giving them more chance of employment once released. Just one in five offenders in England and Wales has a job six weeks after being released from custody, the latest stats show. According to the Ministry of Justice, people who are still unemployed six weeks after being released are twice as likely to reoffend as those in employment. BBC/Lee Durant Built in 1984, the prison has housed some of America’s most notorious villains No prison in the *** has as many inmates as they do at Estelle. More than 3,000 men in white jail-suits are currently locked up here – from murderers and rapists, to those doing time for lesser crimes like shoplifting and fraud. Two inmates are on death row. Jimmy Delgado is 52 and serving three life sentences for first-degree *******. He’s already been inside for 25 years – 13 spent in solitary confinement. He’s a large man with muscular shoulders and smiles broadly when we meet in the prison chapel, softly shaking my hand. He tells me he first ended up in prison aged just 16, after carrying out a robbery. He’s remorseful for his crimes and says this prison – together with his faith in Jesus – has helped turn his life around by giving him purpose. He now works as a counsellor, supporting offenders who are struggling to cope with life in prison. BBC/Lee Durant Inmate Jimmy Delgado hopes his role counselling other offenders will help change lives “I’m here for taking a life – and I’m here to save multiple lives,” he says. “If I can change the dynamic of family life for all these guys that are here then I’ve done my job – even if I never get out of prison.” Delgado may never be released, but inmates having jobs in prison is one of the reasons why Estelle Supermax Penitentiary is appealing to the *** government. The “good time credit” scheme used here gives inmates the opportunity to reduce their time behind bars by participating in courses and studying for qualifications, taking up jobs, and behaving well. Credits earned are then added to the number of days the prisoner has already spent in jail, allowing them to reach their parole eligibility date sooner – when a panel decides if they’re suitable for early release. This process depends on the classification of their crime and an assessment by the parole board on their overall rehabilitation. BBC/Lee Durant Inmate Kevin Smith (left) works as a barber in the prison to earn credits which will enable him to be considered for parole sooner Off the long corridor that runs through the main prison building, inmates are quietly working in a small barbers. Kevin Smith is inside for minor offences. He is meticulously cutting a member of staff’s hair with a pair of clippers, and says the good time credit scheme has made him feel positive about his time in prison. “They helped me see that if I do the right thing and make the right decisions, I can do better in life,” he says. “I receive good time by working here, and I can get out earlier with the good time that I received – it works.” The rates of those returning to prison within three years of release have fallen to 20.3% in Texas – a fraction of those in the rest of the United States (68%). The BBC came to Estelle to see their credit scheme in action with *** justice secretary Shabana Mahmood. “The Texans had a system similar to ours – on the point of collapse, running out of prison places in 2007,” Ms Mahmood says. “They’ve now got a sustainable prison population – but most importantly, they’ve been able to massively cut the rates of reoffending here. They’ve got a rate of crime now that they haven’t seen since the 1960s.” She believes the Texan credit system is effective – helping prisoners get out of prison early – and stay out. “It does help prisoners turn their backs on a life of crime.” BBC/Lee Durant A watchtower seen through barbed wire at the Estelle Unit – one of two super maximum security prisons in the state of Texas The Texas prison population is the highest of any state in the US, with 134,668 people in custody in the autumn of 2024 – although over the last couple of decades, since reforms were implemented, that number has reduced by nearly 20%. However, some experts say the good time credit programme is not a magic bullet. “The incentivisation scheme has little to do with the reforms that helped bring Texas’s prison population down in 2007,” says Michele Deitch, a criminal justice policy lecturer at the University of Texas. “And by itself it will do little to address the ***’s very serious overcrowding problem.” What would make a real difference, she says, would be diverting more people from incarceration in the first place: “To shorten sentences, to reduce the use of recalls to prison, and to invest more heavily in rehabilitative programs in prison and in programs and services in the community.” As well as incentivisation, the *** government is also considering the use of “diversion programmes” – where offenders are sent on rehabilitation courses rather than to jail. This can apply to people with addiction issues or mental health problems. It’s what they do here in Texas to reduce the burden on the courts and attempt to sort the root cause of the offence. More prison reporting by Sima Kotecha More people have been put to death in Texas than anywhere else in the US. Since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, 593 prisoners have been executed. There are 176 people currently on death row – so it might seem strange the *** government could take a leaf out of their book. Even so, the justice secretary believes there is still much the *** can learn from what happens at Estelle. “I don’t think that the fact that they have the death penalty here means that we shouldn’t be learning lessons from strategies that they’ve introduced that really work,” Ms Mahmood says. Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood says there is much the *** can learn from the Texan good time credit system It’s a plan with “huge potential in the ***” according to Nick Hardwick, a former chief inspector of prisons, who believes it will make prisons safer and more productive. “It will help ensure prisoners are doing what is necessary to reduce the risk they will reoffend and create more victims,” he says. But not everyone agrees with incentivising convicted criminals to work towards an early release from prison. Samantha Nicholls’ son was murdered in 2018. Twenty-two year old Joe Pooley was thrown into a river in Ipswich and held under the water. Three people were jailed for his ******* in 2021. Joe’s mother believes inmates should never be released before their sentence is complete. “Prison is a punishment – you should do your time,” she says. “It needs to be a deterrent – you’re there because you did something wrong.” It’s clear the *** needs to find solutions to cut prison overcrowding – and find them fast. Even the recent prisoner early release scheme will barely keep pace with more offenders being jailed. New prison buildings will take years to come on stream. But does this Texan prison have the answers? The challenge for ministers and the criminal justice system is how to stop the revolving doors on the ***’s prisons – the reoffending and lack of prospects facing those who are released which draws them back into crime. Source link #supermax #prison #government #hopes #solve #prison #crisis Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Why 2025 season is the start of a new era in WA footy for Fremantle Dockers, West Coast Eagles Why 2025 season is the start of a new era in WA footy for Fremantle Dockers, West Coast Eagles Expect the unexpected in 2025 as the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers both enter their exciting new eras, writes Jackson Barrett. Source link #season #start #era #footy #Fremantle #Dockers #West #Coast #Eagles Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

BBC visits US supermax prison the government hopes will solve *** jail crisis BBC visits US supermax prison the government hopes will solve *** jail crisis A pungent smell of detergent and rotten food hits me as we walk through this enormous high-security prison. Inmates press themselves up against the bars to look at us. There are no smiles, only expressionless stares. A man with a tattoo that swirls across his face shouts, “Where you from, ma’am?” “England.” “Hope you enjoy Estelle,” he says. “Do you?” I ask. “A lot better than where I was before.” Welcome to the Estelle Supermax Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Concrete watchtowers punctuate the perimeter of this vast space – equivalent in size to almost 3,000 football pitches – and a sign with an image of a red-maned lion and the words Stay Hungry – Feast on Success greets staff and visitors as they enter. The *** government is looking to Estelle prison for ideas – for ways to reduce reoffending and to bring down prisoner numbers in our already overcrowded jails. There’s a scheme here they’d like to emulate, which gives inmates the chance to shorten their sentences by having a job while they’re inside. Looking to this prison for inspiration might seem a curious choice to many, given Texas executes more people than any other US state. But ministers say by implementing schemes similar to ones used here, *** prisoners will be incentivised to gain qualifications – giving them more chance of employment once released. Just one in five offenders in England and Wales has a job six weeks after being released from custody, the latest stats show. According to the Ministry of Justice, people who are still unemployed six weeks after being released are twice as likely to reoffend as those in employment. Built in 1984, the prison has housed some of America’s most notorious villains [BBC/Lee Durant] No prison in the *** has as many inmates as they do at Estelle. More than 3,000 men in white jail-suits are currently locked up here – from murderers and rapists, to those doing time for lesser crimes like shoplifting and fraud. Two inmates are on death row. Jimmy Delgado is 52 and serving three life sentences for first-degree *******. He’s already been inside for 25 years – 13 spent in solitary confinement. He’s a large man with muscular shoulders and smiles broadly when we meet in the prison chapel, softly shaking my hand. He tells me he first ended up in prison aged just 16, after carrying out a robbery. He’s remorseful for his crimes and says this prison – together with his faith in Jesus – has helped turn his life around by giving him purpose. He now works as a counsellor, supporting offenders who are struggling to cope with life in prison. Inmate Jimmy Delgado hopes his role counselling other offenders will help change lives [BBC/Lee Durant] “I’m here for taking a life – and I’m here to save multiple lives,” he says. “If I can change the dynamic of family life for all these guys that are here then I’ve done my job – even if I never get out of prison.” Delgado may never be released, but inmates having jobs in prison is one of the reasons why Estelle Supermax Penitentiary is appealing to the *** government. The “good time credit” scheme used here gives inmates the opportunity to reduce their time behind bars by participating in courses and studying for qualifications, taking up jobs, and behaving well. Credits earned are then added to the number of days the prisoner has already spent in jail, allowing them to reach their parole eligibility date sooner – when a panel decides if they’re suitable for early release. This process depends on the classification of their crime and an assessment by the parole board on their overall rehabilitation. Inmate Kevin Smith (left) works as a barber in the prison to earn credits which will enable him to be considered for parole sooner [BBC/Lee Durant] Off the long corridor that runs through the main prison building, inmates are quietly working in a small barbers. Kevin Smith is inside for minor offences. He is meticulously cutting a member of staff’s hair with a pair of clippers, and says the good time credit scheme has made him feel positive about his time in prison. “They helped me see that if I do the right thing and make the right decisions, I can do better in life,” he says. “I receive good time by working here, and I can get out earlier with the good time that I received – it works.” The rates of those returning to prison within three years of release have fallen to 20.3% in Texas – a fraction of those in the rest of the United States (68%). The BBC came to Estelle to see their credit scheme in action with *** justice secretary Shabana Mahmood. “The Texans had a system similar to ours – on the point of collapse, running out of prison places in 2007,” Ms Mahmood says. “They’ve now got a sustainable prison population – but most importantly, they’ve been able to massively cut the rates of reoffending here. They’ve got a rate of crime now that they haven’t seen since the 1960s.” She believes the Texan credit system is effective – helping prisoners get out of prison early – and stay out. “It does help prisoners turn their backs on a life of crime.” A watchtower seen through barbed wire at the Estelle Unit – one of two super maximum security prisons in the state of Texas [BBC/Lee Durant] The Texas prison population is the highest of any state in the US, with 134,668 people in custody in the autumn of 2024 – although over the last couple of decades, since reforms were implemented, that number has reduced by nearly 20%. However, some experts say the good time credit programme is not a magic bullet. “The incentivisation scheme has little to do with the reforms that helped bring Texas’s prison population down in 2007,” says Michele Deitch, a criminal justice policy lecturer at the University of Texas. “And by itself it will do little to address the ***’s very serious overcrowding problem.” What would make a real difference, she says, would be diverting more people from incarceration in the first place: “To shorten sentences, to reduce the use of recalls to prison, and to invest more heavily in rehabilitative programs in prison and in programs and services in the community.” As well as incentivisation, the *** government is also considering the use of “diversion programmes” – where offenders are sent on rehabilitation courses rather than to jail. This can apply to people with addiction issues or mental health problems. It’s what they do here in Texas to reduce the burden on the courts and attempt to sort the root cause of the offence. More prison reporting by Sima Kotecha More people have been put to death in Texas than anywhere else in the US. Since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, 593 prisoners have been executed. There are 176 people currently on death row – so it might seem strange the *** government could take a leaf out of their book. Even so, the justice secretary believes there is still much the *** can learn from what happens at Estelle. “I don’t think that the fact that they have the death penalty here means that we shouldn’t be learning lessons from strategies that they’ve introduced that really work,” Ms Mahmood says. Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood says there is much the *** can learn from the Texan good time credit system [BBC] It’s a plan with “huge potential in the ***” according to Nick Hardwick, a former chief inspector of prisons, who believes it will make prisons safer and more productive. “It will help ensure prisoners are doing what is necessary to reduce the risk they will reoffend and create more victims,” he says. But not everyone agrees with incentivising convicted criminals to work towards an early release from prison. Samantha Nicholls’ son was murdered in 2018. Twenty-two year old Joe Pooley was thrown into a river in Ipswich and held under the water. Three people were jailed for his ******* in 2021. Joe’s mother believes inmates should never be released before their sentence is complete. “Prison is a punishment – you should do your time,” she says. “It needs to be a deterrent – you’re there because you did something wrong.” It’s clear the *** needs to find solutions to cut prison overcrowding – and find them fast. Even the recent prisoner early release scheme will barely keep pace with more offenders being jailed. New prison buildings will take years to come on stream. But does this Texan prison have the answers? The challenge for ministers and the criminal justice system is how to stop the revolving doors on the ***’s prisons – the reoffending and lack of prospects facing those who are released which draws them back into crime. Source link #BBC #visits #supermax #prison #government #hopes #solve #jail #crisis Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

North Korea Is Sending More Troops to Russia, South Korea’s Spy Agency Says – The New York Times North Korea Is Sending More Troops to Russia, South Korea’s Spy Agency Says – The New York Times North Korea Is Sending More Troops to Russia, South Korea’s Spy Agency Says The New York TimesSatellite images show how hundreds of North Korean troops were likely transported to a secluded Russian port CNNNorth Korea has sent more troops to Russia, says Seoul EuronewsNorth Korea sending more troops to fight for Russia, Seoul says The Washington Post Source link #North #Korea #Sending #Troops #Russia #South #Koreas #Spy #Agency #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

State Dept. claims it’s sparing life-saving efforts from USAID cuts, but some groups say it’s “not true” State Dept. claims it’s sparing life-saving efforts from USAID cuts, but some groups say it’s “not true” The State Department confirmed Thursday it plans to end more than 90% of USAID contracts around the world, while keeping in place contracts for the most crucial food and health programs. The department claims its cuts would allow the agency to tighten its belt by $58.2 billion in unspent funds on multi-year awards. but it provided no documentation to support its claim. It’s also not clear that the department is funding the initiatives it claims it’s supporting. USAID disbursed nearly $9 billion around the world in 2024 on public health initiatives. A State Department spokesperson said Thursday the agency spared critical USAID awards, including for food assistance, and life-saving medical treatments for diseases such as ****, malaria and tuberculosis. But Lucica Ditiu, the executive director of the Stop TB Partnership, said her global nonprofit, which focuses on tuberculosis, lost funding. “That is not correct, absolutely not true,” she said of the claim that life-saving treatments were spared. She said her organization would survive without U.S. assistance, but it will have to downsize weeks after securing what she was led to believe would be a five-year commitment. The U.S. government has been the largest government-to-government donor in the effort to end tuberculosis, a preventable and curable disease that is the leading cause of death globally from a single infectious agent. The Stop TB Partnership provides grants using USAID funds to 140 grassroots tuberculosis treatment and prevention organizations around the world, some of which perform the risky task of going door-to-door in search of people suffering from the infectious disease. The State Department has not specified exactly which programs have been cut, and which have been spared. USAID, which represents under 1% of the overall federal budget, has been targeted for elimination by the White House’s cost cutters, most notably the world’s richest man Elon Musk. The agency he championed, DOGE, has posted a “wall of receipts” that purports to show where cuts are being made. It’s been marked by inaccuracies, miscalculations and unsubstantiated claims of budget cutting. Musk himself acknowledged that mistakes have been made during a White House Cabinet meeting Wednesday. “One of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola prevention.” Musk said, before adding “there was no interruption” in services. Even that was apparently a misstatement. The Associated Press reported that day that a USAID official said no funds for fighting the deadly virus had been released since President Trump’s Jan. 20 funding freeze on foreign aid. A State Department spokesperson said a review of its contracts and grants was geared toward eliminating all but the ones that make America stronger, safer and more prosperous. The agency’s cuts are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to drastically shrink the federal workforce and budget. Ditiu questioned whether cutting funds designed for tuberculosis prevention would do that. She said “thousands and thousands” of people working to treat and prevent the disease globally stand to be laid off. She worries about work being interrupted in Mozambique, where there’s an “extremely drug resistant strain.” “TB is airborne. You can wear a *******, you can sleep under a bed net, you can run and exercise and eat just kale all your life. As long as you breathe, you can get TB,” Ditius said. “You can get it on a plane, in a taxi ride … it’s not enough to close the borders.” She predicted that as organizations recalibrate and rebuild without American funds, they’ll take their purchasing power elsewhere, buying diagnostic tools and medicine from international competitors such as China. “I honestly don’t think that anyone took the time, or wanted to listen, to explain what it means for the U.S.,” Ditiu said. ****** Chester, a USAID staffer and vice president of the American Foreign Service Association, warned that the cuts not only hurt those abroad, but they’re going to affect Americans — and not just the government workers who are being fired. “Every year we spend $2 billion on agriculture products in the U.S. from Midwestern farmers,” Chester said. “That’s a patriotic thing to do, helping Americans connect to new markets and helping them sell their products to new markets.” “That should be looked at in a good light,” said Chester, who is currently on administrative leave. Chester said the cuts will have a profound impact on the agency’s employees. He pointed to his own family. “My wife also works at USAID, she’s also a foreign service officer, and she has received a termination letter,” Chester said. He spent the day supporting colleagues who were allotted small time windows, some as brief as 15 minutes, to clear out the desks where many had spent their careers. He said they were devoted to serving their countries. “The big thing that I really want people to understand is USAID employees, whether you’re in the foreign service or civil service, we’re patriots. We work for the benefit of America,” said Chester. Dan Ruetenik and Sara Cook contributed to this report. Graham Kates Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at *****@*****.tld or *****@*****.tld Source link #State #Dept #claims #sparing #lifesaving #efforts #USAID #cuts #groups #true Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Fears ******* patients ‘may starve’ without vital drug Fears ******* patients ‘may starve’ without vital drug Diana Gibbs Mick needs creon since being treated for pancreatic ******* in 2023 ******* patients and others with debilitating conditions have highlighted shortages of a vital drug they say have had a “devastating” impact on their lives. Creon, a pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (Pert), helps digestion, but has been hard to obtain for the last year and shortages are predicted to last until 2026. It is thought more than 61,000 patients in the *** need it, including those with pancreatic *******, cystic fibrosis and chronic pancreatitis. Some patients said through Your Voice, Your BBC News that they have had to cover long distances to find a pharmacist with supplies. The Department of Health and Social care says it is working closely with the NHS, manufacturers and others in the supply chain to try to resolve the issues. Without the drug, patients lose weight and strength, which means their ability to cope with treatment such as chemotherapy is reduced. Diana Gibbs, who is 74, and her husband Mick, 78, live in Tonbridge, Kent. Mick had a major operation to treat pancreatic ******* in 2023. Diana wrote to BBC News explaining that it is impossible for Mick to digest food without creon. She says he was prescribed a high dose to enable him to regain weight after losing four stone in hospital, but it became increasingly difficult to get hold of the medicine. “We started to have trouble getting them in the higher dosage, involving me traipsing round pharmacies to find one who could get them. Pharmacies cannot get hold of that dosage. He now has to take a lower dose doubling up on the number of tablets taken, one box now lasts less than a week. “Pharmacies cannot get hold of lower dosage either and there is no alternative medication. I was worried that my husband would starve to death without them.” Diana says for now they can get supplies of the drug but there is no guarantee week-to-week, and that is still a big worry. Bryony Thomas Bryony relies on creon to help her digest food Bryony Thomas, who is from Stroud in Gloucestershire, needs creon after being diagnosed with pancreatic *******. Her ******* is now in remission, but she is still reliant on the drug for her digestive system to work correctly. She says there was no availability to get the medication within her county, and she had to get her mother-in-law to make a two-hour journey to a pharmacy in Crewe. At one stage, she says she obtained the drug from another patient, who had a surplus, against regulations via Instagram. She describes her situation as “constantly stressful”. Leading pancreatic clinicians and charities including Pancreatic ******* *** have written to the prime minister saying the absence of Pert can have a “devastating impact on people’s lives”, with doctors and pharmacists “inundated with requests for help from desparate patients”. The letter says that without the drug, people experience “horrendous bowel symptoms, poor diabetes control, malnutrition, and reduced absorption of other medications, all of which can have a massive impact on their health and quality of life”. There are other forms of Pert, but the charities and medical experts say while other countries have many brands available, in the *** creon “holds a very high market share”. They say that with creon running short, switching by patients has depleted stocks of the alternatives. They are calling for a national process for importing Pert. Worry and stress The Cystic Fibrosis Trust says the shortages have caused “significant worry and stress for those affected”. The charity has told patients that a “shortage of raw ingredients is straining the manufacturing process and disrupting global supply chains”. Production of creon is said to rely heavily on pancreatic enzymes sourced from pigs. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society meanwhile is calling on the government to adopt a national strategy to manage medicine shortages. There have been wider problems with drug shortages. The National Pharmacy Association, representing community chemists in the ***, sought views on the issue. Of the 500 which responded, all said they were unable to dispense a prescription at least once a day because of supply problems, and a large majority said patients came in at least once a day to get medicines they had failed to get elsewhere. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We know how frustrating and distressing medicine supply issues can be for patients, and the pharmacists and clinicians caring for them. “We’ve issued guidance to healthcare professionals and encourage anyone concerned to consult their clinician.” Source link #Fears #******* #patients #starve #vital #drug Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Explore The Injustice DC Comics Timeline With This New Omnibus Explore The Injustice DC Comics Timeline With This New Omnibus Fighting games aren’t exactly known for having the best storylines, but the Injustice series, which is set in an alternate version of the DC comics universe, is an exception. Not only has the in-game storyline spanned two games so far, but its also been adapted and expanded into its own DC comics line. While the series has seen multiple collections already, the second run, aptly titled Injustice 2, will soon be collected into a massive hardcover omnibus edition. The Injustice 2 Omnibus Edition releases May 20, and preorders are available for $125 at Amazon. $125 Written by Tom Taylor–who also penned the first two years of the award-winning Injustice: Gods Among Us comic books–the Injustice 2 comics pick up shortly after the end of the first game. With the evil parallel-universe Superman of the first game locked up in a super-jail, Batman now works on rebuilding the planet after it endured five years of hell under the Man of Steel’s rule. Of course, new threats reveal themselves, and Earth’s heroes must once again rise up to protect its people. The omnibus includes Injustice 2 issues 1-36 and Injustice 2 Annual 1 and 2. If you haven’t read the original Injustice series yet, you can pick up an omnibus edition at a very good price through Amazon right now, as it’s available for $50 (was $125). Injustice: Gods Among Us Omnibus Edition Volume One covers the first three years of the series, and it charts the fall of Superman after he’s tricked by the Joker and ends up destroying Metropolis city and accidentally killing his family, sending him into a villainous rage. Batman quickly becomes the leader of a resistance group, and it’s not long before all hell breaks loose between the two former friends. You can pair that with the second hardcover volume, which covers the rest of the epic storyline as Batman resorts to increasingly desperate measures against Superman, who has taken over the world alongside an army of supervillains. This one is also on ***** for $66.24 (was $125). Finally, there’s Injustice: Year Zero on ***** for $20 (was $25). This is a quick-read graphic novel at 152 pages, that it shines a light on the Justice League of America’s Injustice Universe counterpart, the Justice Society of America. All DC Injustice Graphic Novels Source link #Explore #Injustice #Comics #Timeline #Omnibus Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]