casino 888

casino 888

BlackRock Announces Distribution Increases for Certain Closed-End Funds2024: Homicides at five-year low, domestic violence up in Edmonton

Nigel Farage piles pressure on Kemi Badenoch to apologise for her 'crazy conspiracy theory' that Reform's soaring membership numbers are fake By SABRINA PENTY Published: 18:00 GMT, 28 December 2024 | Updated: 19:20 GMT, 28 December 2024 e-mail 34 View comments Nigel Farage has urged Kemi Badenoch to apologise or face 'action' after she accused Reform UK of 'fakery' over its membership numbers. The Reform UK leader will spend the weekend weighing up what action to take if Conservative leader Mrs Badenoch ignores his calls for an apology over the 'crazy conspiracy theory'. Mr Farage pushed back against reports suggesting that le gal action would be the next step, as officials from both parties continued the row. The MP for Clacton also outlined his hopes that US billionaire Elon Musk could help attract younger voters to Reform as he 'makes us cool'. Tech entrepreneur Mr Musk met Mr Farage earlier this month at US President-elect Donald Trump 's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida , amid rumours of a possible donation to either Mr Farage or Reform. Tensions between Reform and the Conservatives escalated after Mrs Badenoch accused Mr Farage of 'fakery' in response to Reform claiming they had surpassed the Tories in signed-up members. Mrs Badenoch said Reform's counter was 'coded to tick up automatically'. A digital counter on the Reform website showed a membership tally before lunchtime on Boxing Day ticking past the 131,680 figure declared by the Conservative Party during its leadership election earlier this year. Nigel Farage has urged Kemi Badenoch to apologise or face 'action' after she accused Reform UK of 'fakery' over its membership numbers Earlier this week Mrs Badenoch accused Mr Farage of 'fakery' in response to Reform claiming they had surpassed the Tories in signed-up members Mr Farage took to X today demanding an apology Mr Farage, in a statement issued on Mr Musk's social media site X, said the accusations of 'fraud and dishonesty' made against him were 'disgraceful'. He said Reform had opened up its systems to media outlets, including The Daily Telegraph and The Financial Times, in the 'interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct'. He added: 'I am now demanding Kemi Badenoch apologises.' Mr Farage, on whether he was threatening legal action or not, told the PA news agency: 'I haven't threatened anything. I've just said that unless I get an apology, I will take some action. 'I haven't said whether it's legal or anything.' He added: 'All I've said is I want an apology. If I don't get an apology, I will take action. 'I will decide in the next couple of days what that is. So I've not specified what it is.' Mr Farage went on: 'She (Mrs Badenoch) has put out this crazy conspiracy theory and she needs to apologise.' In a provocative move, Mr Farage's upstart Right-wing party projected an image of its tally of paid supporters on the facade of Tory HQ in London during the night – showing it had apparently outstripped the 131,680 declared by its much older rival in its recent leadership contest On why Mrs Badenoch had reacted as she did, Mr Farage said: 'I would imagine she was at home without anybody advising her and was just angry.' Earlier today, Mr Farage also took to X to demand an apology from Mrs Badenoch. 'Good morning @KemiBadenoch. When will you apologise to me and 146,077 other members of Reform UK?', he wrote. On Saturday, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice appeared to push back further against suggestions of legal action, saying he hoped Mrs Badenoch would 'do the right thing' and apologise. He added: 'Otherwise I suspect she'll have 120 Tory MPs behind her aghast at her misstep during this festive season.' But Mr Tice also conceded that not every Reform member was necessarily entitled to vote in the UK, saying there was a difference between being joining a political party and being eligible to vote. A Conservative Party source claimed Mr Farage was 'rattled' that his Boxing Day 'publicity stunt is facing serious questions'. They added: 'Like most normal people around the UK, Kemi is enjoying Christmas with her family and looking forward to taking on the challenges of renewing the Conservative Party in the New Year.' Read More Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage go to war over Reform's membership numbers Mrs Badenoch, in a series of messages posted on X on Boxing Day, said: 'Farage doesn't understand the digital age. This kind of fakery gets found out pretty quickly, although not before many are fooled.' There were 131,680 Conservative members eligible to vote during the party's leadership election to replace Rishi Sunak in the autumn. Mrs Badenoch claimed in her thread that 'the Conservative Party has gained thousands of new members since the leadership election'. Elsewhere, Mr Farage used an interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper to describe Mr Musk as a 'bloody hero'. He said: 'The shades, the bomber jacket, the whole vibe. Elon makes us cool - Elon is a huge help to us with the young generation, and that will be the case going on and, frankly, that's only just starting. 'Reform only wins the next election if it gets the youth vote. The youth vote is the key.' Share or comment on this article: Nigel Farage piles pressure on Kemi Badenoch to apologise for her 'crazy conspiracy theory' that Reform's soaring membership numbers are fake e-mail Add comment

Wall Street's holiday cheer ended abruptly on Friday, with all three main benchmarks closing lower in a broad-based sell-off affecting even tech and growth stocks that had driven markets higher through much of the shortened trading week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 333.59 points, or 0.8%, to 42,992.21. The blue-chip index had been down more than 500 points earlier Friday. The S&P 500 lost 1.1%, and the Nasdaq dropped nearly 300 points, or 1.1%. The blue-chip Dow had fallen more than 500 points, or 1.2%, earlier Friday. Getty Images Despite Friday's travails, all three indexes finished weekly gains. The sell-off thwarted the seasonal Santa Claus rally, in which stocks traditionally rise during the last five sessions of December and the first two of January. Since 1969, the S&P 500 has climbed 1.3% on average, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. "If nothing else, today is a reminder that just because a Santa Claus rally is a statistical likelihood, it is far from guaranteed," said... ReutersSonic the Hedgehog 4 is happening: Is the movie adapting Sonic CD and Sonic HeroesBAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — In the wee hours Sunday at the United Nations climate talks, countries from around the world reached an agreement on how rich countries can cough up the funds to support poor countries in the face of climate change. It’s a far-from-perfect arrangement, with many parties still unsatisfied but some hopeful that the deal will be a step in the right direction. World Resources Institute president and CEO Ani Dasgupta called it “an important down payment toward a safer, more equitable future,” but added that the poorest and most vulnerable nations are “rightfully disappointed that wealthier countries didn’t put more money on the table when billions of people’s lives are at stake.” The summit was supposed to end on Friday evening but negotiations spiraled on through early Sunday. With countries on opposite ends of a massive chasm, tensions ran high as delegations tried to close the gap in expectations. Here’s how they got there: What was the finance deal agreed at climate talks? Rich countries have agreed to pool together at least $300 billion a year by 2035. It’s not near the full amount of $1.3 trillion that developing countries were asking for, and that experts said was needed. But some delegations said this deal is headed in the right direction, with hopes that more money flows in the future. The text included a call for all parties to work together using “all public and private sources” to get closer to the $1.3 trillion per year goal by 2035. That means also pushing for international mega-banks, funded by taxpayer dollars, to help foot the bill. And it means, hopefully, that companies and private investors will follow suit on channeling cash toward climate action. The agreement is also a critical step toward helping countries on the receiving end create more ambitious targets to limit or cut emissions of heat-trapping gases that are due early next year. It’s part of the plan to keep cutting pollution with new targets every five years, which the world agreed to at the U.N. talks in Paris in 2015. The Paris agreement set the system of regular ratcheting up climate fighting ambition as away to keep warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. The world is already at 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) and carbon emissions keep rising. What will the money be spent on? The deal decided in Baku replaces a previous agreement from 15 years ago that charged rich nations $100 billion a year to help the developing world with climate finance. The new number has similar aims: it will go toward the developing world’s long laundry list of to-dos to prepare for a warming world and keep it from getting hotter. That includes paying for the transition to clean energy and away from fossil fuels. Countries need funds to build up the infrastructure needed to deploy technologies like wind and solar power on a large scale. Communities hard-hit by extreme weather also want money to adapt and prepare for events like floods, typhoons and fires. Funds could go toward improving farming practices to make them more resilient to weather extremes, to building houses differently with storms in mind, to helping people move from the hardest-hit areas and to help leaders improve emergency plans and aid in the wake of disasters. The Philippines, for example, has been hammered by six major storms in less than a month , bringing to millions of people howling wind, massive storm surges and catastrophic damage to residences, infrastructure and farmland. “Family farmers need to be financed,” said Esther Penunia of the Asian Farmers Association. She described how many have already had to deal with millions of dollars of storm damage, some of which includes trees that won’t again bear fruit for months or years, or animals that die, wiping out a main source of income. “If you think of a rice farmer who depends on his or her one hectare farm, rice land, ducks, chickens, vegetables, and it was inundated, there was nothing to harvest,” she said. Why was it so hard to get a deal? Election results around the world that herald a change in climate leadership, a few key players with motive to stall the talks and a disorganized host country all led to a final crunch that left few happy with a flawed compromise. The ending of COP29 is “reflective of the harder geopolitical terrain the world finds itself in,” said Li Shuo of the Asia Society. He cited Trump’s recent victory in the US — with his promises to pull the country out of the Paris Agreement — as one reason why the relationship between China and the EU will be more consequential for global climate politics moving forward. Developing nations also faced some difficulties agreeing in the final hours, with one Latin American delegation member saying that their group didn’t feel properly consulted when small island states had last-minute meetings to try to break through to a deal. Negotiators from across the developing world took different tacks on the deal until they finally agreed to compromise. Meanwhile, activists ramped up the pressure: many urged negotiators to stay strong and asserted that no deal would be better than a bad deal. But ultimately the desire for a deal won out. Some also pointed to the host country as a reason for the struggle. Mohamed Adow, director of climate and energy think tank Power Shift Africa, said Friday that “this COP presidency is one of the worst in recent memory,” calling it “one of the most poorly led and chaotic COP meetings ever.” The presidency said in a statement, “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator. We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.” Shuo retains hope that the opportunities offered by a green economy “make inaction self-defeating” for countries around the world, regardless of their stance on the decision. But it remains to be seen whether the UN talks can deliver more ambition next year. In the meantime, “this COP process needs to recover from Baku,” Shuo said. ___ Associated Press reporters Seth Borenstein and Sibi Arasu contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .Protesting farmers call for 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' on January 4 amid Jagjit Dallewal's health concern

Chandigarh: Amid the ongoing crisis within the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Misl Satluj, the socio-political body representing the Sikh community, has written to the jathedar of the Akal Takht for an urgent intervention and guidance. President, Misl Satluj, Ajaypal Singh Brar, emphasised that the SAD, in its current form, had strayed from its founding values and Panthic traditions of selfless service and commitment to Sikh rights. He wrote in the letter that there was an urgent need for the Akali Dal to reconnect with the core principles of Sikhism , which have historically guided the party's mission to protect the dignity of the Sikh Panth. Misl Satluj had proposed the expulsion of 11 leaders, including Sukhbir Singh Badal, Prem Singh Chandumajra and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, from the Akali Dal whose “political opportunism, personal greed and lack of the true Akali spirit have undermined the party's integrity. They not only shirked their responsibility during critical incidents such as the 2015 sacrilege.” tnn We also published the following articles recently Misled customer wins premium refund from insurance co An Uttarakhand couple was granted a refund of their insurance premium after a state consumer commission found the insurance company, PNB MetLife, had engaged in misleading practices. The Gambhirs had purchased a policy they believed to be for 25 years, only to discover it was set to expire after eight. Adani Group misled investors with false information, says DoJ The US Department of Justice has accused the Adani Group of misleading Indian stock exchanges about a US government investigation into potential bribery. Despite knowing about the probe, the group denied any knowledge of it to the NSE and BSE. Space for others, sway over Sikh bodies: How Taksal aligning with SAD played out The Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal's support for the BJP in Maharashtra has reignited tensions with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), echoing a longstanding rivalry rooted in the events of 1978. Despite a 2011 alliance that granted Taksal significant influence within Sikh institutions, the SAD has faced electoral setbacks, leading to internal criticism of the partnership.

Hundreds pack Union Station for 9th annual tree lighting ceremony

How to factory reset a Mac

Mayfield throws 5 TD passes and Bucs keep playoff, NFC South hopes alive with 48-14 rout of PanthersNone

Mayfield throws 5 TD passes and Bucs keep playoff, NFC South hopes alive with 48-14 rout of Panthers(CNS): Travis Webb (left) who has been held at the George Town Hospital Mental Ward for several years on an open ended court order has escaped. Webb (32) who suffers from severe mental health problems was the first person in Cayman found not guilty of a very serious crime based on an insanity defence. In 2018 Webb buried his three year old child in the family yard in a shallow grave during a psychotic episode. The child was found distressed and struggling to breathe but the emergency services were able to save his life. Webb was arrested and charged with attempted murder but . He was held in prison for several years before he was moved to the hospital to a small room designed to hold people for temporary periods during times of acute mental health issues. But Travis has been held in the hospital room since 2020.where he is currently indefinitely detained under the mental health act and by order of the court. In a press release, Tuesday the RCIPS asked the community for help tracking down Webb who they said remains “unpredictable, and display unstable behaviour.” Having escaped on Monday morning, the police said that family members have been informed and officer have been actively searching for him since being notified of the escape. Webb is described as being of slim build, with dark complexion, and brown eyes. He currently has short dark hair and facial hair. He was last seen wearing a white marina, blue sports pants, and red and white trainers, and was carrying a bag. Police have reason to believe he spent the night in George Town, but is now claiming to have employment in East End. Members of the public are encouraged not to harbour Webb, but to call 911 immediately if he is seen, or if his whereabouts are known, for his own and the communities safety. Anyone with information is asked to call George Town Police Station at 949-4222 Anonymous tips can be provided to the RCIPS Confidential Tip Line at 949-7777 or the Tips can also be submitted to .

What to know about Scott Turner, Trump's pick for housing secretarySalesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Insider R David Schmaier Sells 1,785 Shares of Stock

MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola said on Friday that three-quarters of the Premier League want Manchester City relegated over alleged breaches of financial rules. But the City boss has insisted he will stay at the Etihad even if they are demoted all the way down into the fifth tier of English football. Guardiola, who has won six Premier League titles in the past seven years with City, signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday, committing him to the English champions till 2027. A hearing into the Premier League’s 115 charges against City has been ongoing for several weeks, with a verdict expected before the end of the season. The club have strongly denied any financial wrongdoing, but could face a severe points penalty if found guilty of some or all the charges. Guardiola too has been happy to be the public face of that defence, with the Spaniard saying Friday: “I prefer not to be in that position, but once it’s there I love it because, when you believe in your club, and the people there - I believe what they say to me and the reasons why. “I cannot say yet because we’re awaiting the sentence in February or March...I read something about the situation and how you need to be relegated immediately. Seventy-five per cent of the clubs want it, because I know what they do behind the scenes and this sort of stuff. “I said when all the clubs accused us of doing something wrong, (and people asked) what happens if we are relegated, (I said) I will be here. “Next year, I don’t know the position of the Conference they are going to (put) us, (but) we are going to come up and come up and come back to the Premier League. I knew it then and I feel it now.” Guardiola’s decision to extend his deal is also a boost during a rare period of on-field turmoil. For the first time in the Spaniard’s managerial career, his team have lost four consecutive matches. But the 53-year-old hit back at City’s critics, pointing to their success in becoming the first side to ever win four English top-flight titles in a row. “When you are here for nine years, with a long time at one club, you live all the scenarios, all the situations,” added Guardiola. “You’re able to lose four games in a row, but at the same time you’re able to win four Premier Leagues in a row. City’s poor run began with a League Cup exit to Tottenham before Premier League defeats to Bournemouth and Brighton either side of a 4-1 loss at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League. All four losses came on the road and Guardiola is hoping for some home comforts when City return to the Etihad Stadium, where they have not been beaten in open play in two years. “We have to start to win games, we know it,” he added. — AFPJon Moxley shares his vision for a better AEW as he battles his own demons: 'Exactly where I'm supposed to be'