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Fulfilling a Trump Pledge, U.S. Lifts Some Sanctions on Syria – The New York Times Fulfilling a Trump Pledge, U.S. Lifts Some Sanctions on Syria – The New York Times Fulfilling a Trump Pledge, U.S. Lifts Some Sanctions on Syria The New York TimesUS moves to ease sanctions on Syria after Trump pledge CNNProviding Sanctions Relief for the Syrian People U.S. Department of State (.gov)Washington exempts Syria from Assad-era sanctions Financial TimesTrump administration lifts broad sanctions against Syria The Washington Post Source link #Fulfilling #Trump #Pledge #U.S #Lifts #Sanctions #Syria #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Learners struggle to pay before test, but instructors say pricing fair Learners struggle to pay before test, but instructors say pricing fair Faustina Kamara and Keith Rose Faustina (left) wishes driving lessons were cheaper, while Keith says the driving test backlog means his son Brandon (right) needs to take lessons for longer Paige Williams is desperate to pass her driving test. Her three-year-old son sometimes has “meltdowns” on public transport, where he might scream, cry or throw himself on the floor, she says. She just wants to be able to visit family and go on day trips more easily. But the 28-year-old single mum, from Barnsley, is having to drastically cut back on how much she spends on food, gas and electricity to be able to afford her £35-an-hour lessons, which she’s been having since September. “It’s literally scrimping and scraping to be able to manage to get one lesson a week,” she says. As the cost of driving lessons continues to rise alongside an already high cost of living, experiences like Paige’s may be becoming increasingly common. The BBC has spoken to more than a dozen learners and parents of learners who say they’re frustrated by how much they have to pay – and also to instructors who argue that the prices are justified. Driving instructors can charge what they like, and the DVSA does not release official statistics on average lesson costs. But a DVSA survey completed by more than 5,000 approved driving instructors (ADIs) in September shows how prices have shot up in recent years. In the survey, the most common price bracket for an hour lesson was £36 to £40 per hour. Just 31.5% of driving instructors said they charged £35 or less per hour – that number had halved since the DVSA’s June 2023 survey. While 20.8% said they charged more than £40 an hour – nearly triple as many as in June 2023. For many people, driving is essential for taking their kids to school, going to work or carrying out caring responsibilities. Public transport might be unaffordable, inaccessible or simply not available for some people. Two-thirds of people in Great Britain who commute to work drive in, and 45% of five-to-10 year olds are taken to school by car, Department for Transport figures from 2023 show. Faustina Kamara, a 23-year-old in Birmingham, needs a licence for her dream job – being a runner in the media industry. But the £60 cost of her two-hour driving lessons means she’s only having them once a fortnight, which isn’t as frequently as she’d like, and means it will delay when she can take her test. She says she’d love to have lessons weekly but it would mean she’d have to cut back on spending money seeing her friends. Other people also say that the high cost of driving lessons means it’s taking them longer to learn to drive. Rather than having the two lessons a week she would have liked, Sandra Onuora, a 30-year-old civil servant in Newcastle, had three per month until she passed her test in March. “That was all I could afford,” she says. And even then, “I had to take a lot of money from my savings” for her £39-an-hour lessons, she adds. Because she had to space out her lessons more, she had to wait longer until she felt ready to take her test. She’d spend hours every week travelling between her home, her son’s childminder’s and her office, taking six buses every weekday. “It was a rough year,” says Sandra. She would return home “so exhausted”. Sandra Onuora Sandra says she had to take “a lot of money from my savings” to pay for her driving lessons And just as driving lessons become more expensive, some learners are also finding they’re having to take more of them. That’s because of a huge practical test backlog, which means learners are having to take lessons for longer to keep up their skills. Keith Rose hasn’t been able to book a driving test near where he lives in Bridgwater, Somerset, for his 17-year-old son, Brandon. The best option he could find is an hour’s drive away in Newport, Wales, and isn’t until September. Keith says that his son is ready to take his test, but will need to keep taking lessons at a cost of £76 for a two-hour session to maintain his skills. “We’re being forced into spending money that we don’t need to,” Keith says. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has acknowledged that waiting times for tests are too long and pledged to reduce the average waiting time for a driving test to no more than seven weeks by summer 2026. Instructors say that they have little choice but to charge these kind of rates if they want to make a profit. “Prices for driving lessons are where they should be, having been probably under-priced for many years,” says Stewart Lochrie, the owner of a driving school in Glasgow and chair of the Approved Driving Instructors National Joint Council (ADINJ). “I think the price was overdue a reset.” Stewart notes that the ***’s more than 41,000 approved driving instructors are having to pay more for the expenses associated with their jobs like buying or leasing a car, fuel, insurance and maintenance. “We have costs to cover as well and if the things that we need to run our business go up, then our prices will have to go up as well,” he says. Pro Vision Photography Ltd Stewart says driving lessons have likely been “under-priced for many years” The rising price of lessons “isn’t really translating to a pay increase in our pockets,” adds Terry Edwards, a driving instructor in Ashford, Kent. His expenses include around £280 a month on fuel, £135 on insurance and £440 on car payments. Other costs include servicing, repairing and cleaning his car. Terry charges £39 an hour, but offers a discount for buying in bulk. While customers “don’t generally push back” against his prices, some “try and be a bit cheeky” and ask for discounts, he says. For Amy Burnett, a pharmacy advisor in Glasgow, the prices are so high that she’s avoiding learning for the time being. The only instructors she’d found with availability charge between £50 and £60 an hour, she says. “I’m living pay cheque to pay cheque as it is,” the 22-year-old says. But she sees being able to drive as an investment in her future – she’d have more freedom and she’s had to limit her previous job searches to roles accessible by public transport, she says. Amy hopes to pass her test by the time she’s 24 – if she can find a more affordable instructor with availability in her area, she says. Paige, the mum in Barnsley, is sure her frugality will be worth it in the end. Being able to drive would make it much easier for her to return to work, she says. And it would make journeys with her son much less stressful, she says. Most of all, she wants to take her two children to the seaside. “It’d be so good for my son Ronald, with his sensory needs,” Paige says. “Getting to go on the little arcade rides and seeing his little face would be lovely.” Source link #Learners #struggle #pay #test #instructors #pricing #fair Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Young US men joining ‘masculine’ Russian churches Young US men joining ‘masculine’ Russian churches BBC Father Moses McPherson’s congregation has tripled in size in 18 months, and he has a big following online “A lot of people ask me: ‘Father Moses, how can I increase my manliness to absurd levels?'” In a YouTube video, a priest is championing a form of virile, unapologetic masculinity. Skinny jeans, crossing your legs, using an iron, shaping your eyebrows, and even eating soup are among the things he derides as too feminine. There are other videos of Father Moses McPherson – a powerfully-built father of five – weightlifting to the sound of heavy metal. He was raised a Protestant and once worked as a roofer, but now serves as a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in Georgetown, Texas, an offshoot of the mother church in Moscow. ROCOR, a global network with headquarters in New York, has recently been expanding across parts of the US – mainly as a result of people converting from other faiths. In the last six months, Father Moses has prepared 75 new followers for baptism in his church of the Mother of God, just north of Austin. “When my wife and I converted 20 years ago we used to call Orthodoxy the best-kept secret, because people just didn’t know what it was,” he says. “But in the past year-and-a-half our congregation has tripled in size.” Convert Theodore – who until recently rejected all religion – lifts weights three times a week with Father Moses During the Sunday liturgy at Father Moses’s church, I am struck by the number of men in their twenties and thirties praying and crossing themselves at the back of the nave, and how this religion – with traditions dating back to the 4th century AD – seems to attract young men uneasy with life in modern America. Software engineer Theodore tells me he had a dream job and a wife he adored, but he felt empty inside, as if there was a hole in his heart. He believes society has been “very harsh” on men and is constantly telling them they are in the wrong. He complains that men are criticised for wanting to be the breadwinner and support a stay-at-home wife. “We are told that’s a very toxic relationship nowadays,” Theodore says. “That’s not how it should be.” Almost all the converts I meet have opted to home-school their offspring, partly because they believe women should prioritise their families rather than their careers. Father John Whiteford, an archpriest in the ROCOR from Spring, north of Houston, says home-schooling ensures a religious education and is “a way of protecting your children”, while avoiding any talk about “transgenderism, or the 57 genders of the month or whatever”. Compared to the millions of worshippers in America’s evangelical megachurches, the numbers of Christian Orthodox are tiny – only about one percent of the population. That includes Eastern Orthodoxy, as practised across Russia, Ukraine, eastern Europe and Greece, and the Oriental Orthodox from the Middle East and Africa. Founded by priests and clergy fleeing the Russian Revolution in 1917, ROCOR is seen by many as the most conservative Orthodox jurisdiction in the US. Yet this small religious community is a vocal one, and what’s unfolding within it mirrors broader political shifts, especially following President Donald Trump’s dramatic pivot toward Moscow. The true increase in the number of converts is hard to quantify, but data from the Pew Research Centre suggests Orthodox Christians are 64% male, up from 46% in 2007. A smaller study of 773 converts appears to back the trend. Most recent newcomers are men, and many say the pandemic pushed them to seek a new faith. That survey is from the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), which was established by Russian monks in Alaska in the late 18th Century and now has more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries, and institutions in the US, Canada and Mexico which identify as Russian Orthodox. Professor Scott Kenworthy, who studies the history and thought of Eastern Orthodox Christianity – particularly in modern Russia – says his OCA parish in Cincinnati “is absolutely bursting at the seams”. He’s attended the same church for 24 years and says congregation numbers remained steady until the Covid lockdown. Since then, there has been constant flow of new inquirers and people preparing to be baptised, known as catechumens. “This is not just a phenomenon of my own parish, or a few places in Texas,” Prof Kenworthy says, “it is definitely something broader.” The digital space is key in this wave of new converts. Father Moses has a big following online – when he shares a picture of a positive pregnancy test on his Instagram feed he gets 6,000 likes for announcing the arrival of his sixth child. But there are dozens of other podcasts and videos presented by Orthodox clergy and an army of followers – mainly male. Father Moses tells his congregation there are two ways of serving God – being a monk or a nun, or getting married. Those who take the second path should avoid contraception and have as many children as possible. “Show me one saint in the history of the Church who ever blessed any kind of birth control,” Father Moses says. As for masturbation – or what the church calls self-abuse – the priest condemns it as “pathetic and unmanly”. Father Moses says Orthodoxy is “not masculine, it is just normal”, while “in the West everything has become very feminised”. Some Protestant churches, he believes, mainly cater for women. “I don’t want to go to services that feel like a Taylor Swift concert,” Father Moses says.” If you look at the language of the ‘worship music’, it’s all emotion – that’s not men.” Elissa Bjeletich Davis, a former Protestant who now belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church in Austin, is a Sunday school teacher and has her own podcast. She says many converts belong to “the anti-woke crowd” and sometimes have strange ideas about their new faith – especially those in the Russian Church. “They see it as a military, rigid, disciplinary, masculine, authoritarian religion,” Elissa says. “It’s kind of funny. It’s almost as if the old American Puritans and their craziness is resurfacing.” Buck Johnson Former atheist Buck began exploring Russian Orthodoxy during the Covid pandemic Buck Johnson has worked as a firefighter for 25 years and hosts the Counterflow podcast. He says he was initially scared to enter his local Russian Orthodox Church as he “looks different, covered in tattoos”, but tells me he was welcomed with open arms. He was also impressed the church stayed open throughout the Covid lockdown. Sitting on a couch in front of two huge TV screens at his home in Lockhart, he says his newfound faith is changing his view of the world. “Negative American views on Russia are what worry me,” Buck says. He tells me the mainstream, “legacy” media presents a distorted picture of the invasion of Ukraine. “I think there’s a holdover from the boomer generation here in America that lived through the Cold War,” Buck says, “and I don’t quite grasp why – but they say Russia’s bad.” The head of the Russian Church in Moscow, Patriarch Kirill, has doggedly backed the invasion of Ukraine, calling it a Holy War, and expressing little compassion for its victims. When I ask Archpriest Father John Whiteford about Russia’s top cleric, who many see as a warmonger, he assures me the Patriarch’s words have been distorted. Footage and photographs of Putin quoting ****** verses, holding candles during services in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and stripping down to his swim trunks to plunge into icy water at Epiphany, seem to have struck a chord. Some – in America and other countries – see Russia as the last bastion of true Christianity. Archpriest John Whiteford, pictured with his wife Patricia, says home-schooling is “a way of protecting your children” Nearly a decade ago, another Orthodox convert turned priest from Texas, Father Joseph Gleason, moved from America to Borisoglebskiy, a village four hours’ drive north of Moscow, with his wife and eight children. “Russia does not have *********** marriage, it does not have civil unions, it is a place where you can home-school your kids and – of course – I love the thousand-year history of Orthodox Christianity here,” he told a Russian video host. This wispy-bearded Texan is in the vanguard of a movement urging conservatives to relocate to Russia. Last August, Putin introduced fast-track shared values visa for those fleeing Western liberalism. Back in Texas, Buck tells me he and his fellow converts are turning their backs on instant gratification and American consumerism. “We’re thinking of things long term,” Buck says, “like traditions, love for your family, love for you community, love for neighbours. “I think that orthodoxy fits us well – and especially in Texas.” Source link #Young #men #joining #masculine #Russian #churches Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

‘Someone stole my BBC bike in Amsterdam ‘Someone stole my BBC bike in Amsterdam BBC Anna Holligan’s bike meant a lot to her and other people I was planning an ordinary afternoon out – bags packed, ready to roll – when I bounded downstairs and was hit by a jolt of disbelief. The space where my cargo bike should have been was empty, and the double lock that had bolted it to my Amsterdam apartment wall was hacked. My daughter darted between the other bikes, convinced someone must have moved it, but no, it was gone. With cycling deeply embedded in daily life here in the Netherlands – part of the “Dutch DNA”, as we say – I have no car, so used my bike for everything, from the school run to a shopping trip. This was no ordinary bicycle. My colleague Kate Vandy and I retrofitted it to become a mobile broadcasting studio, which we named the Bike Bureau. I started “Dutch News from the Cycle Path”, a reporting series born on the school run after my daughter asked me: “Why don’t you just tell people the news now?” The bike allowed me to reach breaking news scenes and broadcast live from anywhere, my daughter by my side, showing that working motherhood could be visible, joyful and real. The bike served as a mobile broadcasting facility to go live on the BBC It opened doors to collaborations, awards and a community of people who saw themselves in our story. I have zero expectation of getting the bike back, and searching for it has proven fruitless. I called the police immediately and they opened a case, but closed it shortly afterwards because of a lack of evidence that would help find the thief. People online and in my local community have rallied round to try to find it since I put out an appeal. Neighbours asked if I was okay, telling me they loved to see me enjoy their bike lanes and see their city from my foreigner’s perspective. But why, my daughter asked, do so many people care that our bike was stolen? A life-hack and so much more Colleagues and friends responded to my Instagram Reel about the theft. Legendary BBC camerawoman Julie Ritson called my bike a blueprint for the future of journalism. Others said it was a relatable life-hack that showed how one person can manage motherhood and career, and inspired them to rethink what’s possible with a cargo bike. It was solar-powered, cutting the need for satellite trucks with heavy equipment and the pollution that mode of transport brings. Research last year from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism shows audiences are not only interested in climate change news – they are particularly engaged by stories that highlight individuals taking empowering action in response to the crisis. Some people have expressed surprise that “this kind of thing” would happen in the Netherlands. What they may not realise is that bike theft is endemic here. Last year, more than 86,000 bikes were reported stolen in the Netherlands, up 1,000 compared to the year before, and 10,000 more than in 2022, according to police figures. Authorities say a rise in reports may have contributed to this. Most bikes stolen are stripped for parts or sold on. My e-cargo bike cost nearly €5,000 (£4,200) – more than our old car which I sold. I paid for the bike, so the BBC has undergone no financial loss. What it really bought me was independence – and in a way, losing it is like losing a friend. Aside from the impact on my own lifestyle, that bike gave my daughter a magical, nature-filled childhood: picnics in the dunes, detours to see highland cows, fairy lights in winter, breezy rides to the beach in summer. The theft has sparked conversations about urban safety, cycling infrastructure, and the burdens mothers still carry. But it’s also a testament to the community we’ve built and the power of sharing authentic stories from the saddle. I might not get my bike back, but no one can steal what it gave us all. Source link #stole #BBC #bike #Amsterdam Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Victims in French Le Scouarnec child abuse trial shocked at public indifference Victims in French Le Scouarnec child abuse trial shocked at public indifference Andrew Harding BBC Paris correspondent Getty Images Protesters outside the court in Vannes have turned out to show their support for Le Scouarnec’s victims It was supposed to be a defining, catalytic moment for French society. Horrific, but unmissable. Unignorable. The seaside town of Vannes, in southern Brittany, had carefully prepared a special venue and a separate overflow amphitheatre for the occasion. Hundreds of journalists were accredited for a process that would, surely, dominate headlines in France throughout its three-month duration and force a queasy public to confront a crime too often shunted to the sidelines. Warning: Some of the details of this story are disturbing Comparisons were quickly made with – and expectations tied to – last year’s Pelicot mass ***** trial in southern France and the massive global attention it garnered. Instead, the trial of France’s most prolific known paedophile, Joel Le Scouarnec – a retired surgeon who has admitted in court to raping or ********* assaulting 299 people, almost all of them children – is coming to an end this Wednesday amid widespread frustration. “I’m exhausted. I’m angry. Right now, I don’t have much hope. Society seems totally indifferent. It’s frightening to think [the rapes] could happen again,” one of Le Scouarnec’s victims, Manon Lemoine, 36, told the BBC. Benoit PEYRUCQ/AFP Retired surgeon Le Scouarnec has admitted almost 300 allegations of ***** and abuse Ms Lemoine and some 50 other victims, stung by an apparent lack of public interest in the trial, have formed their own campaign group to pressure the French authorities, accusing the government of ignoring a “landmark” case which exposed a “true laboratory of institutional failures”. The group has questioned why a parliamentary commission has not been set up, as in other high-profile abuse cases, and spoken of being made to feel “invisible”, as if “the sheer number of victims prevented us from being recognised.” Some of the victims, most of whom had initially chosen to testify anonymously, have now decided to reveal their identities in public – even posing for photos on the courthouse steps – in the hope of jolting France into paying more attention and, perhaps, learning lessons about a culture of deference that helped a prestigious surgeon to ***** with impunity for decades. The crimes for which Le Scouarnec is on trial all occurred between 1998 and 2014. “It’s not normal that I should have to show my face. [But] I hope that what we’re doing now will change things. That’s why we decided to rise up, to make our voices heard,” said Ms Lemoine. So, what has gone wrong? Were the horrors too extreme, the subject matter too unremittingly grim or simply too uncomfortable to contemplate? Why, when the whole world knows the name of Dominique and Gisèle Pelicot, has a trial with significantly more victims – child victims abused under the noses of the French medical establishment – passed by with what feels like little more than a collective shudder? MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP Gisèle Pelicot (C) became a single recognisable figure in her ex-husband’s trial Why does the world not know the name Joel Le Scouarnec? “The Le Scouarnec case is not mobilising a lot of people. Perhaps because of the number of victims. We hear the disappointment, the lack of wide mobilisation, which is a pity,” said Maëlle Nori, from feminist NGO Nous Toutes (All of Us). Some observers have reflected on the absence in this case of a single, totemic figure like Gisèle Pelicot, whose public courage caught the public imagination and enabled people to find some light in an otherwise bleak story. Others have reached more devastating conclusions. “The issue is that this trial is about ******* abuse of children. There’s a virtual omertà on this topic globally, but particularly in France. “We simply don’t want to acknowledge it,” Myriam Guedj-Benayoun, a lawyer representing several of Le Scouarnec’s victims, told me. In her closing arguments to the court, Ms Guedj-Benayoun condemned what she called France’s “systemic, organised silence” regarding child abuse. She spoke of a patriarchal society in which men in respected positions like medicine remained almost beyond reproach and pointed to “the silence of those who knew, those who looked the other way, and those who could have – should have – raised the alarm”. Getty Images Myriam Guedj-Benayoun (L) has spoken of a code of silence in France on child abuse (file pic) The depravity exposed during the trial has been astonishing – too much for many to stomach. The court in Vannes has heard in excruciating detail how Le Scouarnec, 74, wallowed in his paedophilia, carefully detailing each child ***** in a succession of ****** notebooks, often preying on his vulnerable young patients while they were under anaesthetic or recovering from surgery. The court has also been told of the retired surgeon’s growing isolation, and of what his own lawyer described as “your descent into hell”, in the final decade before he was caught, in 2017, after abusing a neighbour’s six-year-old daughter. By the end, alone in a filthy house, drinking heavily and ostracised by many of his relatives, Le Scouarnec was spending much of his time watching violent images of child ***** online, and obsessing over a collection of lifelike child-sized dolls. “I was emotionally attached to them… They did what I wanted,” Le Scouarnec told the court in his quiet monotone. DAMIEN MEYER/AFP Joel Le Scouarnec (leaving the car) will undoubtedly face the rest of his life in jail A few blocks from the courthouse, in an adapted civic hall, journalists have watched the proceedings unfold on a television screen. In recent days, the seats have begun to fill up and coverage of the trial has increased as it moves towards a close. Many commentators have noted how the Le Scouarnec trial, like the Pelicot case, has exposed the deep institutional failings which enabled the surgeon to continue his rapes long after they could have been detected and stopped. Dominique Pelicot had been caught “upskirting” in a supermarket in 2010 and his DNA quickly linked to an attempted ***** in 1999 – a fact that, astonishingly, wasn’t followed up for a whole decade. At Le Scouarnec’s trial a succession of medical officials have explained – some ashamedly, others self-servingly – how an overstretched rural healthcare system chose, for years, to ignore the fact that the surgeon had been reported by America’s FBI in 2004 after using a credit card to pay to download videos of child rapes on his computer. “I was advised not to talk about such and such a person,” said one doctor who’d tried to sound the alarm. “There is a shortage of surgeons, and those who show up are welcomed like the messiah,” explained a hospital director. “I messed up, I admit it, like the whole hierarchy,” a different administrator finally conceded. Another connection between the Pelicot and Le Scouarnec cases is what they’ve both revealed about our understanding – or lack of understanding – of trauma. Without warning or support, Gisèle Pelicot had been abruptly confronted by police with the video evidence of her own drugging and rapes. Later, during the trial, some defence lawyers and other commentators sought to minimise her suffering by pointing to the fact that she’d been unconscious during the rapes – as if trauma only exists, like a wound, when its scar is visible to the naked eye. In the Le Scouarnec case, French police appear to have gone about searching for the paedophile’s many victims in a similarly brusque manner, summoning people for an unexplained interview and then informing them, out of the blue, that they’d been listed in the surgeon’s notebooks. The reactions of Le Scouarnec’s many victims have varied widely. Some have simply chosen not to engage with the trial, or with a childhood experience of which they have no memory. For others, news of the abuse has affected them profoundly. “You’ve entered my head, it’s destroying me. I’ve become a different person – one I don’t recognise,” said a victim, addressing Le Scouarnec in court. “I have no memories and I’m already damaged,” said another. “It turned me upside down,” a policeman admitted. And then there is a different group of people who – not unlike Gisèle Pelicot – have found that knowledge of their abuse has been revelatory, enabling them to make sense of things they had not previously understood about themselves or their lives. Some have connected their childhood abuse to a general sense of unhappiness, or poor behaviour, or failure in life. For others, the links have been much more specific, helping to explain a litany of mysterious symptoms and behaviours, from a fear of intimacy to repeated ******** infections and eating disorders. “With my boyfriend, every time we have sex, I vomit,” one woman revealed in court. Getty Images Amélie Lévêque-Merle was operated on in 1991 and has had a fear of hospitals ever since “I had so many after-effects from my operation. But no-one could explain why I had this irrational fear of hospitals,” said another victim, Amélie. Some have described the trial itself as being like a group therapy session, with victims bonding over shared traumas which they’d previously believed they were suffering alone. “This trial is like a clinical laboratory involving 300 victims. I sincerely hope it will change France. In any case it will change the victims’ perception of trauma and traumatic memory,” said the lawyer, Ms Guedj-Benayoun. Despite her concerns about the lack of public interest, Manon Lemoine said the trial had helped the victims “to rebuild ourselves, to turn a page. We lay out our pain and our experiences and we leave it behind [in the courtroom]. So, for me, really, it was liberating.” Having confessed to his crimes, Le Scouarnec will inevitably receive a guilty verdict and will almost certainly remain in prison for the rest of his life. Two of his victims took their own lives some years before the trial – a fact which he acknowledged in court with the same penitent but formulaic apology that he’s offered to everyone else. Meanwhile, some activists remain hopeful that the case will prove to be a turning point in French society. “Compared to the Pelicot trial… we can see we don’t talk very much about the Le Scouarnec case. We need to unite. We have to do this, otherwise nothing will happen, and the Le Scouarnec trial will have served no purpose. I was also a victim as a child. We’re obliged to react and to organise ourselves,” said Arnaud Gallais, a child rights campaigner and founder of the Mouv’Enfants NGO. A more wary assessment came from the lawyer, Ms Guedj-Benayoun. “Now, there is a very important standoff between those who want to denounce child ******* violence and those who want to cover it up, and this standoff is taking place today in this trial. Who will win?” she wondered. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC’s Action Line. Source link #Victims #French #Scouarnec #child #abuse #trial #shocked #public #indifference Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Other refugees in limbo as US welcomes white South Africans Other refugees in limbo as US welcomes white South Africans Brandon Drenon BBC News, Washington DC Getty Images Thousands of civilians have been killed by armed militias in recent years, the UN says A man slept outside in a car park overnight in Kenya with his wife and infant son in January, consumed by confusion and disbelief. The family, refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), had been expecting a flight to the US for resettlement in just hours’ time. But after US President Donald Trump suspended the US refugee programme just two days before the family’s scheduled departure, the man was told their flight to America was abruptly cancelled – less than 24 hours before take-off. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” the man, who asked to go by the name of Pacito to protect his identity, told the BBC. He had already moved his family from their home, sold his furniture and most of their belongings, and prepared for a new life in America. They remain in Kenya, which is a safer prospect than the DRC, where they fled conflict. They represent just three of the roughly 120,000 refugees who had been conditionally approved to enter the US, but who now wait in limbo due to the refugee pause. Trump’s move signalled a major change in the approach that was followed by successive US leaders. Under former President Joe Biden, over 100,000 refugees came to the US in 2024 – the highest annual figure in nearly three decades. Since entering office in January, Trump has moved quickly to deliver on his campaign promise of an “America first” agenda that has involved dramatically restricting routes by which migrants can come to the US. The effort has also included an ambitious deportation programme under which people have been deported to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador against a judge’s orders, as well as revoking visas from over a thousand university students, and offering ******** immigrants a sum of $1,000 each to “self-deport”. The White House has defended its actions by suggesting that many of those being forced from the country are either violent criminals or threaten America’s interests. But exceptions to the policies have been made for a select few. “I didn’t come here for fun”: Afrikaner defends refugee status in US The president signed an executive order in February that opened the refugee pathway exclusively to Afrikaners – white South Africans who he claimed were victims of “racial discrimination”. A plane carrying 59 of them landed at an airport just outside Washington DC earlier this month, in a ceremonious greeting that included the deputy secretary of state. “It’s not fair,” Pacito commented. “There are 120,000 refugees who went through the whole process, the vetting, the security, the medical screenings. We’ve waited for years, but now these (Afrikaners) are just processed in like three months.” The situation has left Pacito feeling stuck. Since he has sold all of the equipment that he needed to work in his field of music production, for the past few months he has struggled to find odd jobs to earn money for his family. “It’s kind of hard,” he said. Trump has further justified his decision to accept Afrikaners as refugees in the US because he says they face “a genocide” – a message that has been echoed by Elon Musk, his South African-born close ally. Such claims have circulated for years, though are widely discredited, and have been denied by South Africa. However, the call has taken on new animus – particularly among right-wing groups in the US – ever since a law was passed in South Africa in January that allowed the government to seize land from white landowners “when it is just and equitable and in the public interest”. The post-apartheid-era law was meant to address frustrations around South Africa’s disproportionate land ownership; the country’s white population is roughly 7% but owns roughly 72% of farmland. Though South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said no land has been taken under the new law, days after it was passed, Trump ordered the US to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the country. A diplomatic feud followed. The fraying relationship was laid bare on Wednesday during a tense White House meeting between the pair. Trump ambushed Ramaphosa on live TV with claims of white “persecution” – an allegation Ramaphosa emphatically rejected. Watch moment Trump confronts South Africa’s president with video Analysts have described the broader foreign policy of Trump’s second term as isolationist, with numerous moves made to cut foreign aid and to disentangle the US from foreign conflicts, in addition to reducing immigration. Trump has also terminated tens of billions of dollars in global aid contracts – including funds that supported lifesaving ****/Aids programmes in South Africa. He has justified the cuts by saying his team identified fraud within the aid spending. The moves appear in stark contrast to the White House’s decision to fast-track the arrival of white South Africans – a fact that has been critiqued by refugee advocacy groups. “Every case of protection should be based on credible evidence of persecution, and the central question here is about fairness and equal treatment under the law,” Timothy Young from the non-profit organisation Global Refuge told the BBC. “So if one group can access humanitarian pathways, then so should Afghan allies, persecuted religious minorities and the thousands of other families who face serious threats and who meet the legal criteria for refugee status,” Mr Young said. Among its other moves, the Trump administration has chosen not to renew the temporary protected status for Afghans in the US, saying “Afghanistan has had an improved security situation” and a “stabilising economy”. They now face deportation. South Africa does not release crime figures based on race, but the latest figures revealed that 6,953 people were murdered in the country between October and December 2024. Of these, 12 were killed in farm attacks. Of the 12, one was a farmer, usually white, while five were farm dwellers and four were employees, who were likely to have been ******. Meanwhile, in the DRC, thousands of civilians have been killed by armed militias in recent years, and nearly 100,000 more displaced, according to UN figures. Pacito fled the DRC on foot in 2016, recalling “guns everywhere I looked” at the time, and “no peace”. He said family members of his wife had been killed. Among the others who see the US as an increasingly unlikely place to resettle as refugees is the Hammad family, who are from Gaza but are now living in Egypt. “After what happened with Trump, I think it will be impossible,” Amjad Hammad told the BBC. He and his family had applied for the US’s green card lottery in 2024 but found out in May they had been denied. He expressed confusion about Trump’s concern for the plight of white South Africans over and above other groups. “What are the Palestinians facing, if the people in South Africa are facing a genocide?” he asked. More than 53,000 people have been killed across Gaza since 7 October 2023, when Israel launched a campaign to destroy ****** – the ************ armed group that launched a cross-border attack on southern Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. The confusion voiced by Mr Hammad is similar to the views of Pacito, whose hopes of resettling in the US were dashed in January. Since then, he has been left effectively homeless in Nairobi, drifting from place to place to wherever someone will accept him and his family for a few days. “Sometimes we get food. Sometimes we don’t,” he said. “We’ve been struggling very badly.” The policy changes on the US side give him little hope that he will be accepted by Trump, but the alternative of heading back across Africa to his home country is unimaginable. “I can’t go back,” he said. Source link #refugees #limbo #welcomes #white #South #Africans Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Ancient legacy continues as tourism mixes with culture Ancient legacy continues as tourism mixes with culture Kuku Yalanji people have safeguarded the Daintree Rainforest for thousands of years. And as hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to experience the natural beauty of the far-north Queensland region, they are continuing that legacy while also creating opportunities for Indigenous communities. Started by Roy Gibson, a local man with a dream to share culture and help Kuku Yalanji youth, the Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre allows for Indigenous heritage and knowledge to be at the forefront of the tourist experience. It also helps to protect the UNESCO world heritage-listed landscapes of the Daintree, which is the world’s oldest tropical rainforest. The centre’s general manager Rachael Hodges, a Goreng Goreng, Girramay, Gunggandji and Kuareg woman, said 500,000 people visited Mossman Gorge each year, creating an opportunity for local self-determination. Giving young people, who face higher unemployment rates in the region, the chance to get qualified and find employment on Country helps create a path for self-determination for the community. “The whole vision about this business and the opportunities that it could provide for our local Yalanji people – and people from right throughout the region – is that they are closer to home,” Ms Hodges told AAP. More than 60 per cent of the centre’s staff are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Yalangda, or Uncle Skip as he’s widely known, is one of the centre’s tour guides, all of whom are Kuku Yalanji people. “It does give us a bit of a unique thing to give people the history of the area and we talk to a lot of people about it,” he said. “It promotes our Indigenous youth as well and promotes the culture and spreads it out, because if we don’t spread that culture, we may lose it.” As Uncle Skip guides visitors through the rainforest, he points out plants used for medicine and bush foods, as well as some to avoid. He explains the spiritual and cultural significance of the rainforest, shares stories, ancient knowledge and survival skills, and sprinkles in a few jokes as he leads the Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk. Uncle Skip said he’s been involved in the tourism industry for almost 30 years and led some of the first Dreamtime walks when they were started by Roy Gibson in the late 80s. The thing that he loves most – and the reason he’s still in the job – is the opportunity to share his culture with visitors. “I believe a lot of people when they come up north here, especially up to the Mossman Gorge, they really want to know about our people,” Uncle Skip said. “Sometimes they walk in with an idea but then when they walk out of here they walk out with a new idea … they show a bit more appreciation to having an understanding.” The centre is operated by Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, whose chief executive Matt Cameron-Smith said operating the facility responsibly kept culture strong and protected the environment. “There’s nothing more ‘made in Australia’ than First Nations culture,” he said. “It’s building an economy. It’s not about the social side, it’s about the economic side, and actually providing a sustainable contribution to the community.” While it was also an award-winning ecotourism facility, the cultural centre was a grassroots business with its heart in community, Ms Hodges said. The deep connection to culture and Country also underpins the centre’s sustainability efforts, with the recent addition of two electric buses to shuttle visitors from the centre to the walking trails among its latest initiatives. The shuttle buses, named Kurranji (cassowary) and Kurriyala (carpet snake), reflect the community’s desire to protect the environment, Ms Hodges said. “Indigenous people for 65,000 years have been maintaining a sustainable environment and we’re continuing to do that through the introduction of the two new electric buses,” she said. “This is something that the community wanted in regards to making sure this world heritage-listed Daintree National Park was kept safe for future generations.” AAP travelled with the assistance of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia. Source link #Ancient #legacy #continues #tourism #mixes #culture Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Officer who arrested Georgia teen that was detained by ICE resigns Officer who arrested Georgia teen that was detained by ICE resigns The Georgia police officer whose traffic arrest of a 19-year-old undocumented college student led to her detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has resigned from the department, a spokesperson for the city of Dalton confirmed to CBS News on Saturday. City of Dalton spokesperson Bruce Frazier wrote in an email that the Dalton Police Department had “no statement” on the officer’s “resignation,” and added that “I also don’t have info on his reason for resigning.” Frazier’s statement did not name the officer. The resignation comes after Dalton police said the officer had mistakenly pulled over Ximena Arias Cristobal on May 5. He cited Arias-Cristobal for making an improper turn and driving without a license before booking her into the Whitfield County Jail in Dalton, where she was picked up by ICE officers. After officials reviewed dashboard camera footage of the traffic stop, they found the vehicle that actually made the improper turn was similar to the truck Arias Cristobal was driving, and on May 12, dismissed traffic charges against her. “You ever been to jail?,” the officer can heard asking Arias Cristobal in the dashcam footage. “No, sir,” she responded. “Well, you’re going,” the officer said. “I cannot go to jail. I have my finals next week. My family depends on this,” Arias Cristobal said. Police dashcam video shows a Dalton Police Department officer arresting 19-year-old Ximena Arias Cristobal on misdemeanor traffic charges on May 5, 2025, in Dalton, Georgia. Those charges were later dismissed. / Credit: Dalton Police Department Arias Cristobal, who came to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 4, had been in ICE custody since early May after the agency took custody of her from the Dalton county jail and transferred her to an ICE detention facility in Lumpkin. ICE released her from detention on May 22 when an immigration judge granted her bond. Her father — who was detained by ICE in April, also after a traffic stop — was being held in Lumpkin as well, but he was granted bond and released last week. Both will continue to face deportation to Mexico, the Department of Homeland Security previously said. ICE started a deportation case against Arias Cristobal in immigration court. DHS said Arias Cristobal and her father should face “consequences” for being in the U.S. illegally. 4 women arrested for allegedly aiding escaped New Orleans inmates Biggest takeaways from RFK Jr.’s MAHA report Saturday Sessions: Lucius performs “Gold Rush” Source link #Officer #arrested #Georgia #teen #detained #ICE #resigns Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Australia begins cleanup after floods kill 5, strand thousands – Al Jazeera Australia begins cleanup after floods kill 5, strand thousands – Al Jazeera Australia begins cleanup after floods kill 5, strand thousands Al JazeeraRecord floodwaters in eastern Australia leave 3 dead and 1 missing AP NewsAfter 2021’s ‘one-in-50-year’ floods, Elisha thought her cafe was safe. Four years later, it’s under water The GuardianAustralia begins clean-up after floods kill 5, damage 10,000 properties ReutersWatch: Cattle washed on to beaches in widespread Australia floods BBC Source link #Australia #begins #cleanup #floods #kill #strand #thousands #Jazeera Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Andriy Portnov’s ******* leaves unanswered questions and little sympathy Andriy Portnov’s ******* leaves unanswered questions and little sympathy James Waterhouse BBC Ukraine correspondent Europa Press via Getty Images Andriy Portnov’s ******* in a Madrid suburb has shocked Ukrainians, but it has not exactly triggered an outpouring of grief. The controversial former official had just dropped his children off at the American School when he was shot several times in the car park. The image of his lifeless body lying face down in a gym kit marked the end of a life synonymous with Ukrainian corruption and Russian influence. Ukraine’s media have been discussing the 51-year-old’s frequent threats to journalists, as well as his huge influence under the country’s last pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych. “A man who called for the killing of political opponents suddenly got what he wanted from others,” observed reporter Oleksandr Holubov. News website Ukrayinska Pravda even called him “the ******’s advocate”. Rare words of restraint came from Portnov’s once political rival Serhiy Vlasenko, an MP, who said: “You can’t kill people. When discussing someone’s death, we must remain human.” Portnov was controversial and widely disliked. The motives for his ******* may seem evident, but his death has still left unanswered questions. ‘A kingpin’ Before entering Ukrainian politics, Portnov ran a law firm. He worked with then-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko until 2010, before defecting to Yanukovych’s camp when he won the election. “It was a big story of betrayal,” remembers Ukrainian journalist Kristina Berdynskykh. “Because Tymoshenko was a pro-Western politician, and Yanukovych pro-Russian.” EPA Portnov had worked closely with then-Prime Minister Tymoshenko The adviser became the country’s first deputy head of the Presidential Office and set up a national criminal code in 2012. For him, his critics say, his ascent was less about politics, and more about power and influence. “He was just a good lawyer, everyone knew he was very smart,” Kristina tells me. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Ukraine inherited a judicial system in desperate need of reform. Mykhailo Zhernakov, a legal expert and head of the Dejure Foundation believes Portnov remoulded it in order for the government to cover up ******** schemes, and to mask Russian attempts to control the country. “He was the kingpin, mastermind and architect of this corrupt legal system designed to serve the pro-Russian administration at the time,” he says. ‘A rotten system’ Over a decade, Portnov would sue journalists who wrote negative stories about him through the courts and judges he controlled. His attempts to control the judicial system would lead to him being sanctioned by the US. At the time, Washington accused the adviser of placing loyal officials in senior positions for his own benefit, as well as “buying court decisions”. Portnov later pursued activists who took part in Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution, which toppled Viktor Yanukovych from power, and forced him to escape the country to Russia. “He used ******* threats,” says Oksana Romaniuk who remembers her and other journalists’ interactions with Portnov well. As director of the Institute of Mass Information, she monitors free speech in Ukraine. Whenever a damning report was published, the reaction was familiar and consistent. “When people exposed his corruption, he accused them of fake news,” she says. “Even when journalists had documents and testimonies backing up the allegations, it was impossible to win the lawsuits in court. It was impossible to defend yourself. It was a rotten system.” Reuters Portnov (R) became an integral part of Viktor Yanukovych’s presidential team Andriy Portnov eventually settled in Moscow after his old boss Yanukovych fled in 2014. Investigative reporter Maksym Savchuk subsequently investigated his ties to Moscow, as well as his extensive property portfolio there. “He responded with words I don’t want to quote, derogatory ones about my mother,” he remembers. “It’s a trait of his character; he is a very vindictive person.” Even after leaving Ukraine, Portnov still tried to influence Ukrainian politics by taking control of pro-Kremlin TV channel NewsOne. He returned in 2019, only to flee again with the full-scale invasion in 2022. The irony of Portnov eventually settling in Spain and sending his children to a prestigious American school has not been lost on many. Alongside the undisguised delight in Portnov’s death, there has been endless speculation over who was responsible. “It could have been the Russians because he knew so many things,” suggests legal expert Mykhailo Zhernakov. “He was involved in so many shady Russian operations it could be them or other criminal groups. He managed to annoy a lot of people,” he says. EPA Despite the motives being clearer on this side of the border, Ukrainian security sources appear to be trying to distance themselves from the killing. Kyiv has previously carried out assassinations in Russian-occupied territory and in Russia itself, but not in Spain. Some Spanish media reports suggest his ******* was not political, but rather over “economic reasons or revenge”. “You can imagine how many people need to be interrogated in order to narrow down the suspects,” thinks Maskym Savchuk. “Because this person has a thousand and one enemies.” In Ukraine, Portnov is seen as someone who helped Russia form the foundations for its invasion. A once general dislike of him has only been intensified since 2022. Despite this, Mykhailo Zhernakov hopes his death is also an opportunity for wider judicial reforms. “Just because he’s gone doesn’t mean his influence has,” he warns. “Because many of the people he appointed or helped get jobs are still in the system.” Additional reporting by Hanna Chornous. Read more from BBC reporters on Ukraine Source link #Andriy #Portnovs #******* #leaves #unanswered #questions #sympathy Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How Arsenal's comeback queens achieved the unthinkable How Arsenal's comeback queens achieved the unthinkable Arsenal manager Renee Slegers could barely believe what she had just witnessed as her side did the unthinkable and beat Barcelona to European glory. Source link #Arsenal039s #comeback #queens #achieved #unthinkable Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Wallaby Samu celebrates European Champions Cup glory Wallaby Samu celebrates European Champions Cup glory Wallabies backrower Pete Samu will return home as a European Champions Cup winner after helping Bordeaux-Begles to a 28-20 win over Northampton in the final at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. The 33-year-old Samu’s taste of European title glory in Cardiff came as he nears the end of his second and last season with the French club he joined after the 2023 World Cup. After Bordeaux-Begles players and staff had trooped off the pitch having been crushed 59-3 by Toulouse in last year’s Top 14 final, they vowed to return better and stronger this year and on Saturday, match-hardened, they finally got their reward. Revenge against Toulouse had come in the Cup semi-finals but it was not so much the sparkling backline attacking play they showed there that made the difference on Saturday as their forward power and defensive intensity that blunted a Northampton backline full of England internationals. Star France winger Damian Penaud did score two tries to take his season’s tally in the competition to 14 – earning him the player of the year award. But Bordeaux’s relentless driving mauls and straight running sucked the energy out of a Northampton side who drained the tanks in trying to keep them at bay. Conductor-in-chief was scrumhalf and captain Maxime Lucu, who also took over the goal-kicking duties after some wobbles by Matthieu Jalibert. His penalty broke the 20-20 halftime deadlock and Bordeaux sealed the deal – the fifth title in a row for France – with Cyril Cazeaux’s try. Samu’s success came against a Northampton team containing three Australians – flanker Josh Kemeny, winger James Ramm and bench forward Angus Scott-Young. Capped 33 times for the Wallabies, former Brumbies star Samu has signed to return to *********** rugby and play with the NSW Waratahs through to the 2027 home World Cup. “It feels good to have this first trophy, it wasn’t easy,” said Lucu after being named man of the match. “We had some very tough moments, but we hung in there. “Honestly, it feels great – for the club, for the team, for the supporters. After defeat last year (in the Top 14 final) to come back this year, eliminate almost every team that had won this competition, and earn our first star, it’s wonderful.” Penaud also referenced the Top 14 final defeat as motivation. “After last year’s setback we said to ourselves that we never wanted to go through that again because we had taken a lesson,” he said. Saturday’s victory meant that Bordeaux accounted for six former European champions in this season’s run, with Northampton, winners in 2000, the last to fall. Source link #Wallaby #Samu #celebrates #European #Champions #Cup #glory Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Hale Interchange construction in Milwaukee County to begin week of May 27 Hale Interchange construction in Milwaukee County to begin week of May 27 Work is scheduled to begin the week of May 27 on a multi-year road construction project through the Hale Interchange in Milwaukee County. The work will take place along I-41/43/894 between Lincoln Avenue and 84th Street, according to a statement from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. How much will the Hale Interchange construction project cost? The project is expected to cost about $22.3 million. When will the work be complete? The work is scheduled to be completed in late 2026. What work will be involved in the Hale Interchange project? Work will include: Resurfacing and patching along the interstate between Lincoln Avenue and 84th Street. Repairing multiple bridges within the Hale Interchange. Repairing the parking lot at the Hales Corners Park and Ride. Replacing guardrails and curb ramps. Upgrading signals and lights. How will traffic be impacted during construction on the Hale Interchange? Two-way traffic on the interstate will continue during construction, with resurfacing work taking place primarily overnight. Work on bridges will cause ramp closures for about 45 days: Starting in mid-summer, the northbound to eastbound system ramp will close. Starting in late summer, the westbound to southbound system ramp will close. At night, full closures of the freeway, lanes and ramps are expected. The Hales Corners Park and Ride lot along with the MCTS Route 55 stop will remain open for partial use. How can I keep track of progress on this project? More information can be found at: [Hidden Content] Alison Dirr can be reached at *****@*****.tld. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hale Interchange construction to begin week of May 27 Source link #Hale #Interchange #construction #Milwaukee #County #week Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Mother of murdered son in gay bar slayings finds long-awaited peace in sentencing – NBC News Mother of murdered son in gay bar slayings finds long-awaited peace in sentencing – NBC News Mother of murdered son in gay bar slayings finds long-awaited peace in sentencing NBC NewsThree Sentenced for Luring Gay-Bar Robbery Victims to Their Deaths The New York Times3 Men Sentenced to Decades in Prison in Connection with Murders of Men Lured from NYC Gay Bars People.comThree men sentenced to decades in prison for ******* in NYC gay bar drugging scheme NBC New YorkMen who drugged and robbed nightlife patrons, killing 2, sentenced to decades in prison, DA says Gothamist Source link #Mother #murdered #son #gay #bar #slayings #finds #longawaited #peace #sentencing #NBC #News Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Child benefit cap ‘to be lifted’ and fires ‘twist’ Child benefit cap ‘to be lifted’ and fires ‘twist’ Several front pages lead with stories over benefits for children and the elderly. The Observer has a full-page spread on the government’s plan to scrap the two-child benefit cap, describing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Downing Street operation as bowing to “party pressure”. The paper reports the Treasury has been told to find the £3.5 billion that getting rid of the benefit limit on families will reportedly cost. The Sunday Telegraph’s top report says Nigel Farage plans to “outflank” Sir Keir by “committing to scrap the two-child benefit cap and fully reinstate the winter fuel payment”. The paper says the Reform *** leader “will appeal to left-leaning voters in a major speech”, also noting his “intervention is likely to provoke a fresh wave of demands” from Labour rebels calling for “planned policy shifts on both fronts”. Campaigners have warned Downing Street there will be “hell to pay” if the government fails to restore the winter fuel allowance to all and pensioners are “left out in the cold”, according to the Sunday Express. The paper says Sir Keir has been warned he faces “political failure” over the issue, which the government has changed its mind on – after originally scrapping the policy entirely, then restoring it to some older people. The Sunday Mirror leads with a “new twist” in the investigation into arson attacks linked to two properties and a car linked to Sir Keir. The paper says the fires are “being probed for possible Kremlin involvement”, specifically “whether Russia recruited” the three men charged by police in connection. They deny the charges. The Daily Mail also reports on the security services looking into the possibility, with the paper saying “any suggestion” the attacks had Kremlin links would “present an extraordinary escalation in tensions” between the *** and Russia. It also notes police have said the two Ukrainians and Romanian charged with the attacks allegedly “conspired with others unknown”. Former sub postmaster Sir Alan Bates has said the government is running a “quasi kangaroo court” dealing with Post Office scandal compensation, according to the Sunday Times lead. Writing in the paper, the campaigner says he has been given a “take it or leave it” settlement offer worth “less than half his original claim”. Sir Alan has accused the government department responsible of “reneging on assurances when they were set up” and said pledges that compensation schemes would be “non-legalistic” were “worthless”, the Times reports. Strictly star Wynne Evans has told the Sun he was “forced to apologise” over a comment he made on the dancing show, denying it was a “sex slur” but acknowledged he had “made some mistakes”. The paper says the “devastated” singer said he did not see the apology statement put out by Strictly bosses and said he was not aware of the meaning of the phrase. He told the Sun: “I’m, not a bad guy, I’m not a misogynist.” The Sunday People leads with warnings to young people abroad from a former drug mule, following recent arrests of two British women. Natalie Welsh, who was jailed for smuggling drugs, has warned that they can get “lured in by gangs” who “prey on vulnerable people in need of quick cash”, the People says. The popularity of saunas in the *** is rising like the vital thermometers they use, according to the Daily Star. “Brits are getting hot under the collar” for the Scandinavian-style sweatboxes, the paper says. New public saunas ” are popping up in record numbers” and sales of domestic ones are booming as they become “the new pub”,” the Star also notes. Source link #Child #benefit #cap #lifted #fires #twist Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Elden Ring: Nightreign – All Nightfarer Classes Explained Elden Ring: Nightreign – All Nightfarer Classes Explained anhtq2411|8m ago|Article|0| ▼ Info Add Alt Source Explore every Nightfarer class in Elden Ring: Nightreign. Learn each class’s unique skills, strengths, combat roles, and how they fit into the game’s co-op and roguelike mechanics ahead of its May 30, 2025 release. Co-op Elden Ring Nightreign PC PS5 Xbox Series X ethugamer.com Read Full Story >> [Hidden Content] ethugamer.com Source link #Elden #Ring #Nightreign #Nightfarer #Classes #Explained Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Roger Cook reminds Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that lifestyle Aussies enjoy is built on WA’s resources Roger Cook reminds Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that lifestyle Aussies enjoy is built on WA’s resources Premier Roger Cook has given Anthony Albanese another not-so-subtle message that WA’s multibillion-dollar mining and resource industry isn’t just good for his State, but driving the nation. Source link #Roger #Cook #reminds #Prime #Minister #Anthony #Albanese #lifestyle #Aussies #enjoy #built #resources Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Fairgames Is a 'Super Clunky' Cross Between Fortnite and The Division Fairgames Is a 'Super Clunky' Cross Between Fortnite and The Division Feedback from pre-alpha test was very poor Source link #Fairgames #039Super #Clunky039 #Cross #Fortnite #Division Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

North Korea detains officials over warship accident, state media says North Korea detains officials over warship accident, state media says SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea has detained shipyard officials responsible for a recent major accident during the launch of a new warship, state media said on Sunday. The failed launch that crippled the 5,000-tonne warship was witnessed by leader Kim Jong Un who said the accident damaged the country’s dignity and vowed to punish those found responsible. The mishap likely occurred in front of a large crowd at the northeastern port of Chongjin, increasing the public humiliation for Kim who tried to show off military might, experts say. As the investigation into the case intensified, law enforcement authorities arrested the chief engineer of the Chongjin Shipyard among others, state KCNA news agency reported on Sunday. Satellite imagery shows the warship, covered in blue tarps, lying on its side, with the stern swung out into the harbor, but the bow remaining on the side slipway, according to the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Kim has ordered the ship restored before a ruling party meeting in June. KCNA said the rehabilitation plan was pushing ahead. Against U.S. military buildup in the region, North Korea’s armed forces “will thoroughly contain and control all sorts of military threats from the enemy countries”, KCNA said in a separate dispatch citing the policy chief at the defence ministry. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Daniel Wallis) Source link #North #Korea #detains #officials #warship #accident #state #media Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

New Photos of Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift Turn Heads on Saturday – Athlon Sports New Photos of Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift Turn Heads on Saturday – Athlon Sports New Photos of Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift Turn Heads on Saturday Athlon SportsTaylor Swift and Travis Kelce Dine at Florida Restaurant as Chiefs Player Trains for Upcoming NFL Season People.comTaylor Swift And Travis Kelce’s Date Night Turn Heads Amid Legal Drama YahooTaylor Swift and Travis Kelce Enjoy Enchanted Date in Florida E! OnlineTaylor Swift and Travis Kelce Seen on Romantic Dinner Date in West Palm Beach ELLE Source link #Photos #Travis #Kelce #Taylor #Swift #Turn #Heads #Saturday #Athlon #Sports Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Amateurs the forgotten players in football’s growing concussion conundrum Amateurs the forgotten players in football’s growing concussion conundrum There’s a difficult choice some amateur footballers are being forced to make about concussion as they fear a future without the support professional players get, writes Jackson Barrett. Source link #Amateurs #forgotten #players #footballs #growing #concussion #conundrum Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Sherri Papini Claims She Actually Was Kidnapped and Tortured by Ex Sherri Papini Claims She Actually Was Kidnapped and Tortured by Ex Sherri Papini vanished while jogging in 2016 and reappeared three weeks later with injuries, claiming they were the work of two female kidnappers. In 2022, she pleaded guilty to staging her own kidnapping and spent 11 months in jail. Papini now claims she really was kidnapped and that her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes, kidnapped, beat, and drugged her. After her reappearance, Reyes told authorities it was Papini who asked him to help her run away and stage her injuries. He was never charged. Source link #Sherri #Papini #Claims #Kidnapped #Tortured Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

What we know about the plane ****** that killed 6, including alternative music executive Dave Shapiro – AP News What we know about the plane ****** that killed 6, including alternative music executive Dave Shapiro – AP News What we know about the plane ****** that killed 6, including alternative music executive Dave Shapiro AP NewsWhat we know about the six San Diego plane ****** victims NBC 7 San DiegoRunway lights weren’t working as pilot tried to land at foggy San Diego airport before fatal ****** AP NewsA small jet crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, killing multiple people and leaving a trail of torched debris. Here’s how the tragedy unfolded CNNVictims identified in San Diego plane ******, runway lighting issues revealed cbs8.com Source link #plane #****** #killed #including #alternative #music #executive #Dave #Shapiro #News Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

BMW Speedtop: Limited edition V8 three-door shooting brake wagon revealed BMW Speedtop: Limited edition V8 three-door shooting brake wagon revealed Following on from last year’s gorgeous Skytop, the new BMW Speedtop shooting brake wagon will enter production in very limited numbers. Source link #BMW #Speedtop #Limited #edition #threedoor #shooting #brake #wagon #revealed Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Pattern emerges in tropics for first time in more than 20 years Pattern emerges in tropics for first time in more than 20 years For the fourth consecutive year, the Atlantic basin is set to enter hurricane season without a single named tropical system forming prior to the official start date of June 1. The last time forecasters tracked a named storm in the basin prior to the annual start date was in 2021, when a system developed in late May. Since then, all named first formations have occurred in June, aligning more closely with the climatological average. With no tropical cyclones currently on the horizon, this marks a notable shift from patterns of preseason storm activity. A stretch of early-season activity occasionally prompted discussions about moving the official start date of the hurricane season to earlier in May. The idea seemingly gained traction after a seven-year stretch in which storms consistently formed prior to June 1, but, in recent years, such discussions have lost momentum as preseason activity has diminished. The current lull in early-season activity is not unprecedented – a similar stretch occurred between 1994 and 2002, when storm activity largely waited after the official start of the season to form. Atlantic basin satellite as of 5/24/2025 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook: Here’s How Active This Year Could Be Without El Nino, La Nina Patterns The combination of the 2024 and 2025 seasons also marks the first time in more than a decade that the National Hurricane Center has not monitored any classified tropical features prior to June 1. Despite this inactivity, meteorologists caution that a quiet start to the season does not indicate what lies ahead. A more telling indicator is whether a tropical storm forms around June 20 – the average date of the first named storm in the Atlantic. If no system forms around this critical benchmark, attention then shifts to how long beyond June 20 will the first storm take to develop. The first name on the 2025 list is Andrea, which, again, is not expected to form prior to June 1. The last time the season’s first storm formed on or after June 20 was in 2014, when Arthur was christened on July 1. The year ended up relatively inactive, with only eight named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes – far below seasonal averages. However, a delayed start doesn’t necessarily mean the season will be quiet or free of significant impacts. In 2005, the first named storm did not form until June 10, yet the season went on to produce 28 named storms, 15 hurricanes with seven major hurricanes, and included monsters such as Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Hurricane Season 2025: Here Are The Names For Storms You’ll See This Season Statistically, seasons that begin without a named storm in June tend to be less active. On average, seasons with late starts, without tropical activity in June or early July, only produce around nine named storms, five hurricanes and two major hurricanes. A key reason beyond just weather patterns not being conducive for formations is the shortened timeframe for activity. The Atlantic hurricane season spans 183 days, from June 1 to Nov. 30, but losing an entire month to inactivity effectively removes over 16% of the season’s duration – time that cannot be recouped later in the year, as water temperatures typically cool and atmospheric conditions become less favorable. While the lack of preseason tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic may seem unusual compared to the past two decades, it is not unprecedented. Forecasters emphasize that preparation is key and, regardless of how the season starts, it only takes one landfalling system to cause significant impacts. The official hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin (the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) is from June 1 to Nov. 30. As seen in the graph above, the peak of the season is Sept. 10. However, deadly hurricanes can occur anytime in the hurricane season. Original article source: Pattern emerges in tropics for first time in more than 20 years Source link #Pattern #emerges #tropics #time #years Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]