jili k.o
Bucharest (Romania), Dec 24 (AP) Romanian lawmakers on Monday voted narrowly in favor of a new pro-European coalition government led by incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The move could usher in an end to a protracted political crisis in the European Union country following the annulment of a presidential election by a top court. Parliament approved the new administration in a 240-143 vote in Romania's 466-seat legislature. The new coalition is made up of the leftist Social Democratic Party, or PSD, the center-right National Liberal Party, PNL, the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities. It caps a month-long period of turmoil in which far-right nationalists made significant gains in a Dec. 1 parliamentary election, a week after a first-round presidential race saw the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu emerge as the front-runner. “It will not be an easy mandate for the future government,” Ciolacu, whose PSD party topped the polls in the parliamentary election, said in a statement Monday. “We are aware that we are in the midst of a deep political crisis," he said. "It is also a crisis of trust, and this coalition aims to regain the trust of citizens, the trust of the people.” Romani's 16 ministerial positions will be shared among the parties, which will hold a slim majority in the legislature. It's widely seen as a tactical partnership to shut out far-right nationalists whose voices found fertile ground amid high living costs and a sluggish economy. President Klaus Iohannis was expected to swear in the new government later Monday. Ciolacu, who came third in the first-round presidential ballot despite polls indicating he would win the most votes, has served as prime minister since June 2023. Romania was plunged into turmoil after Georgescu's surprise success in the presidential race, after allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference emerged. Days before the Dec. 8 runoff, the Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the presidential race. “We go through complicated times, but I think we all learned from mistakes of the past,” Ciolacu said. “I hope that together with my colleagues in the coalition, we'll find the best solutions to get past the challenges we have in front of us.” Ciolacu said that the new government would aim to quickly organize the rerun of the presidential election in which the new coalition has agreed to put forward an agreed common pro-European candidate. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, which came second in the parliamentary election, said that all lawmakers from his party on Monday would vote against the Ciolacu government. In 2021, the PSD and the PNL also formed an unlikely but increasingly strained coalition together with UDMR, which exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute. (AP) AS AS (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
Asit Patel’s move from Winnipeg to Calgary in a few weeks will be a little more expensive than he’d hoped. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Asit Patel’s move from Winnipeg to Calgary in a few weeks will be a little more expensive than he’d hoped. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Asit Patel’s move from Winnipeg to Calgary in a few weeks will be a little more expensive than he’d hoped. That’s because the provincial gas tax is being reinstated next Wednesday, and the 12.5-cents added to every litre pumped is going to be an unwelcome goodbye hug when he and his family bid farewell to Manitoba. Premier Wab Kinew announced Monday that the tax, which was 14 cents per litre before the government temporarily suspended it a year ago as an “affordability measure” to help Manitobans navigating inflationary prices on almost everything, was going back into effect Jan. 1. Premier Wab Kinew announced the government will cut the provincial fuel tax by 10 percent on Jan. 1, 2025. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files) Patel, his two parents, brother and sister-in-law are hoping to find more opportunities and a better way of life in Alberta. “I’m expecting around $600-$700 (for fuel),” Patel said Tuesday while waiting at 204 Fuels on Waverley Street, noting he’s renting a U-Haul truck to get the family’s bare necessities to their new home. “We’re basically going to Calgary with three beds and a couple of boxes. We’re starting fresh.” Patel said his family can’t afford to take any more than what would fit in the back of the rental truck, meaning some of their belongings will be left behind. Moving companies are out of the question. It’s too expensive, he said, partly because of high fuel prices across the Prairies. “We know we have to pay the (fuel) taxes, but it needs to be reasonable,” said Patel’s father Umesh. “Every common person will be affected by this.” The province said the 1.5-cent-per-litre cut from the previous levy will be permanent. “Our government keeps our word,” Kinew said in a news release Monday. “We said we’d cut the fuel tax and we did. We said it would last 12 months and it did. Now we’re going further by bringing in a permanent cut to the fuel tax to make it one of the lowest in Canada.” Kinew’s government revealed last week that its projected 2024-2025 deficit has soared by $513 million, to $1.3 billion. The result of the yearlong gas tax holiday cost the province an estimated $340 million in lost revenue in 2024. The province expects to collect $78 million per quarter from the reinstated 12.5-cent fuel tax, which will be a revenue loss of $28 million over the fiscal year compared to the estimated $340 million that would have been collected at 14 cents per litre. Finance Minister Adrien Sala wouldn’t say why government decided to cut the tax by 10 per cent or how it arrived at that figure. “We knew that the gas tax holiday had an enormous impact for Manitobans in saving them money,” Sala told the Monday. “Manitobans continue to face affordability challenges and we wanted to make sure we continue to provide them the help that they need.” The 204 Fuels gas bars have some of the lowest prices in the city — charging 111.9 cents per litre of regular gas when he was filling up, a cent cheaper than Costco on McGillivray Boulevard, which requires a membership to get the discounted price. A Shell gas bar on south Pembina Highway near the Perimeter posted the regular fuel price at $129.9 per litre Tuesday. Sandeep Hangra said she’s disappointed that the gas tax is coming back. Her husband recently lost his job as a long-haul truck driver and is now working as a driver with a ride-hailing company to try to make ends meet. They’re thinking about moving back to India because life has become too expensive here, she said. When they arrived in Canada in 2017, the monthly rent for their apartment was just under $1,000. It has since doubled. “There’s too much inflation and no jobs,” she said. Meanwhile, Christina Harris said the gas tax is returning at a bad time. “Especially with the cost of things going up, it’s just that much more on top of everything else,” she said. Harris said she expects to wait in gas bar lines over the next few days in order to fill up at the best price before the tax kicks in again. “It makes a difference when you commute back and forth to work, having to get gas two or three times per week,” she said. “It adds up.” Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Harris is expecting to feel the impact of rising fuel prices, but as a motorist, she knows there aren’t many alternatives. “We don’t have a choice,” she said. Gas tax holiday critics, however, support its return. Molly McCracken, Manitoba director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, guessed that one in five residents of the province didn’t benefit from the yearlong “affordability measure,” presumably because they neither own nor have access to a vehicle. scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the . A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. . Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the . A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. . Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Advertisement AdvertisementI visited under-rated UK Christmas market and it felt more like GermanyMajor poll puts Ireland’s lead parties near neck-and-neck
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals took care of business and won three straight games for the first time this season. Cincinnati is playing its best football, but it might be too late to sneak into the playoffs, with five teams battling for the two remaining AFC postseason spots. At 7-8, the Bengals are on the bubble along with two other teams that have the same record, the Colts and Dolphins. To have a chance, the Bengals will need to beat the visiting Denver Broncos (9-6) on Saturday, then try to take down the Steelers (10-5) at Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale. They'll need some help from other teams, too. The rub for the Bengals is that they have yet to beat a team with a winning record this season. Now with some momentum for the first time, the Bengals will have to clear that hurdle. “It’s just what it’s supposed to feel like for us. This is our expectation," coach Zac Taylor said after the Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns 24-6 on Sunday. “We just put ourselves in a position to now play some real meaningful games. ... We found a way to get the win and now we can turn our focus to a short week and the Denver Broncos.” Joe Burrow became the first player in NFL history to throw for at least 250 yards and three or more touchdowns in seven consecutive games. One of his TD passes, to Tee Higgins, came as he was falling down. He finished 23 for 30 for 252 yards. ... Ja'Marr Chase continues to build his resume as he strives to win the receiving “triple crown.” He had six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Browns and leads the league in receptions, yards and TDs. ... K Cade York tied a franchise record with a 59-yard field goal. “The guys have responded this way all season,” Taylor said. “We lost some heartbreakers to be quite frank, and games that just came down to the end. It doesn’t mean that we’ve had a bad football team and we weren’t in it. We’ve been in this, and now — I don’t want to say getting our confidence back, because we’ve had confidence — but we’re just making the plays necessary at the critical points of the game to take control of these games. That’s really what’s happened the last three weeks, and we’ve got to continue that.” Burrow has fumbled 10 times this season. Against the Browns, he lost a fumble on a strip-sack with the Bengals on the Cleveland 2-yard-line. Last week, S Jordan Battle scooped a fumble and ran it all the way back, only to fumble as he crossed the goal line, leading to a touchback. Against the Browns, he intercepted a second-half pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the end zone. The Bengals' defense has nine takeaways in the past two games. Cincinnati's depleted offensive line allowed four sacks. The offensive line took a hit when tackle Amarius Mims went out with an ankle injury and didn't return. 5.1 — Yards per carry by RB Chase Brown, who seems to get better every week. He had 18 carries for 91 yards. The Bengals continue their improbable effort to slip into the playoffs when they host the Broncos in their home finale on Saturday. They finish the season the following week at Pittsburgh. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
J.K. Rowling is notorious for sparking outrage on social media, whether she sharing posts that people find controversial or responds to criticism for her views, namely on gender. But the Harry Potter writer isn’t all about stirring things up — unless stirring up excitement counts. Rowling noticed an X post by contributor Amy Eileen Hamm where the writer and journalist wrote of her appreciation of a Gucci handbag but the price tag was simply too hard to swallow. “You ever like a beautiful purse and then realize it costs $5,000?” Hamm lamented on Thursday. Rowling replied, “Which one? I’ll buy it for you for Christmas. You’ve earned it.” A “stunned” Hamm shared a photo and link to the designer’s website detailing the “Gucci Horsebit 1955 Small Shoulder Bag” priced at $4,845 before taxes, asking the author, “Are you serious?!” Rowling responded, “It’s yours. DM your address,” adding kissy-face and Christmas tree emojis. Social media users loved to see it, taking to the comments section to applaud Rowling’s generosity and the overall goodness of the gesture and the women’s sweet exchange. “How lovely is this? You have the best time with that lovely handbag,” one person wrote. Another user wrote, “Some days I remember how much I love humanity.” Others noted how Hamm “deserves a beautiful bag” because she has “been through and is going through hell at the hands of the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives” while another noted the writer should put the bag “on full display the day you go to hear the decision.” In November 2020, Hamm received a letter from B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives stating that she was under investigation for putting up a billboard in Vancouver that read “I [Heart] Rowling,” which was met with criticism by those who believe the author supports anti-trans feminism. “So much happened between 2020 and now,” she wrote in an X post this past March after the 20-day trial ended. “I refused to keep the investigation confidential,” Hamm continued. “I refused to accept a suspension or to publicly say I had been transphobic (because I am not). I was accused of spreading ‘medical misinformation’ but then that charge was dropped, with zero explanation or apology (I demanded one but this demand went ignored).” She described her trial as “hell,” and shared how she received “countless threats” as well as how many people tried to get her fired “for standing up for women and children,” which continues to this day. “I did my best to endure it — I haven’t remained calm throughout — in the hopes that something good would come at the end,” Hamm wrote. “I also endured it because the truth matters. Free speech matters. Women and children matter.” At the time, with the hashtag “#IStandWithAmyHamm.” One X user added how “truly and amazing” Rowling is but also noted that Hamm “absolutely earned it for her courage standing up to the gender activists despite the hell they’ve put her through.” Hamm on X that had the exact words her billboard stated. Rowling joked, “You’re only saying that because I bought you a handbag.”CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals took care of business and won three straight games for the first time this season. Cincinnati is playing its best football, but it might be too late to sneak into the playoffs, with five teams battling for the two remaining AFC postseason spots. At 7-8, the Bengals are on the bubble along with two other teams that have the same record, the Colts and Dolphins. To have a chance, the Bengals will need to beat the visiting Denver Broncos (9-6) on Saturday, then try to take down the Steelers (10-5) at Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale. They'll need some help from other teams, too. The rub for the Bengals is that they have yet to beat a team with a winning record this season. Now with some momentum for the first time, the Bengals will have to clear that hurdle. “It’s just what it’s supposed to feel like for us. This is our expectation," coach Zac Taylor said after the Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns 24-6 on Sunday. “We just put ourselves in a position to now play some real meaningful games. ... We found a way to get the win and now we can turn our focus to a short week and the Denver Broncos.” Joe Burrow became the first player in NFL history to throw for at least 250 yards and three or more touchdowns in seven consecutive games. One of his TD passes, to Tee Higgins, came as he was falling down. He finished 23 for 30 for 252 yards. ... Ja'Marr Chase continues to build his resume as he strives to win the receiving “triple crown.” He had six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Browns and leads the league in receptions, yards and TDs. ... K Cade York tied a franchise record with a 59-yard field goal. “The guys have responded this way all season,” Taylor said. “We lost some heartbreakers to be quite frank, and games that just came down to the end. It doesn’t mean that we’ve had a bad football team and we weren’t in it. We’ve been in this, and now — I don’t want to say getting our confidence back, because we’ve had confidence — but we’re just making the plays necessary at the critical points of the game to take control of these games. That’s really what’s happened the last three weeks, and we’ve got to continue that.” Burrow has fumbled 10 times this season. Against the Browns, he lost a fumble on a strip-sack with the Bengals on the Cleveland 2-yard-line. Last week, S Jordan Battle scooped a fumble and ran it all the way back, only to fumble as he crossed the goal line, leading to a touchback. Against the Browns, he intercepted a second-half pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the end zone. The Bengals' defense has nine takeaways in the past two games. Cincinnati's depleted offensive line allowed four sacks. The offensive line took a hit when tackle Amarius Mims went out with an ankle injury and didn't return. 5.1 — Yards per carry by RB Chase Brown, who seems to get better every week. He had 18 carries for 91 yards. The Bengals continue their improbable effort to slip into the playoffs when they host the Broncos in their home finale on Saturday. They finish the season the following week at Pittsburgh. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
- Previous: #337jili
- Next: jili 63 free 120
