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Ireland’s three largest political parties remain in a tight grouping, according to the latest major opinion poll before Friday’s General election. It shows that support for the Fianna Fail party is at 21% ahead of polling day, only slightly ahead of their coalition partners Fine Gael and the largest opposition party Sinn Fein , who were neck-and-neck at 20%. The Red C-Business Post poll showed support for Fianna Fail unchanged, while Fine Gael had a slide of two percentage points and Sinn Fein gained two. The near dead-locked poll results came on Wednesday as fears over future economic threats took centre stage in the final stretch of the campaign. Taoiseach Simon Harris said he is taking a “project truth” approach to calling out Sinn Fein’s spending pledges as election results on the other side of the Atlantic put Ireland’s economic model into sharp relief. Donald Trump’s presidential election victory in the US has brought heightened concern around what his proposals for corporation tax and tariffs could mean for Ireland . Mr Harris, leader of Fine Gael, has argued Ireland and other EU countries need to prepare for the possibility of trade shocks as he criticised the scale of Sinn Fein’s spending pledges as well as their saving plans. He said: “I think that is irresponsible, I think it is dangerous and I think it is reckless.” He accused Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald of not being able to say what her party was prepared to do in the event of an economic crash, adding that Fine Gael would borrow and stop putting money towards a rainy-day fund. Asked if the party was engaging in “project fear” to dissuade voters against Sinn Fein, Mr Harris said: “I call it ‘project truth’. It’s telling people what’s being discussed right across European capitals.” Ms McDonald told an RTE interview on Wednesday morning that a Sinn Fein government would also be prepared to start borrowing in the event of an economic downturn. Both Mr Harris and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin , who were partners in the last coalition government in Ireland, have made clear they will not countenance Sinn Fein as a potential partner in the next administration in Dublin. One day after the only three-way debate featuring the leaders of the main parties, Mr Martin accused Sinn Fein of being “dishonest” about how they will fund their manifesto plans. Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday, he said he is anxious to get clarity on the issue. “I think Sinn Fein have been very dishonest, frankly, in terms of the funds, because if you go through their figures, and this is a matter of fact, not opinion, they’re predicting a surplus of a billion in 2026, a billion in 2027. “Even in 2025, they’re talking about a mini budget, which would mean reducing the surplus that we’re anticipating in 2025. “There’s a legislative obligation now on any new government to put 0.8% of GDP to one side, and into the funds. There’s no way you can do that with a surplus of a billion in 2026 or 2027, and we would argue they would not have enough funds next year either to put into the funds.” He added: “It means they have no room to manoeuvre if things go wrong, if there’s headwinds come externally, or there are shocks internationally, Sinn Fein is not allowing any headroom at all in terms of room to respond or to move it.” Ms McDonald accused the other two parties of conspiring to keep Sinn Fein out of government and prevent change in Ireland. She said the two men were now “indistinguishable” from each other as she claimed they were suffering “acute amnesia” in regard to their records in government. On a visit to Naas fire station in Co Kildare, she said: “To listen to them, you’d imagine they had just arrived on the scene and that they were going to come up with all of these solutions. “They have had ample chances, ample opportunity, to make things better, and they have failed, and in between the two of them I make the case that now we ask for our chance, with our plans, with our team, to demonstrate how change can happen, how your community, your family, yourself, can be supported when the government is actually on your side.” Mr Martin’s and Mr Harris’ coalition partner Roderic O’Gorman, the leader of the Greens , issued a warning to the public over a future government without his party. On Wednesday, he said it is looking likely that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will be returned to government – but cautioned they may not want the Greens to continue “fighting hard” on policies. He told reporters: “My sense is certainly the mood music from Fianna Fail and Fine Gael is that they’d like an easier life in the next government – and my concern is they use these small populist parties and right-wing independents.” Mr O’Gorman argued that the Greens could continue to provide stability to government at a time when economic shocks may be around the corner. As the Green leader suggested that relying on independents would be unstable, Mr Martin has also argued that “too much fragmentation would lead to incoherence in government”. Reflecting on Tuesday night’s debate, the Fianna Fail leader said the race remained “too close to call” while Mr Harris said it is “all to play for”. The leaders of Ireland’s three main political parties clashed on housing, healthcare and financial management in the last televised debate before Friday’s General Election. The tetchy debate, which was marked by several interruptions, saw the parties set out their stalls in a broadcast that commentators said did little to move the dial before polling day. After the 2020 general election delivered an inconclusive result, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, two parties forged from opposing sides of Ireland’s Civil War of the 1920s, agreed to set aside almost a century of animosity and share power – with the Greens as a junior partner. From 2016 to 2020, Fianna Fail had supported Fine Gael in power through a confidence-and-supply arrangement from the Opposition benches in the Dail parliament. Sinn Fein won the popular vote in 2020 but a failure to run enough candidates meant it did not secure sufficient seats in the Dail to give it a realistic chance of forming a government.
Pope Francis kicks off a yearlong Jubilee that will test his stamina and Rome's patience VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has opened the great Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica. The ceremony kicks off the 2025 Holy Year. It's a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome. And it will test the pope’s stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them. This begins the Christmas Eve Mass. The ceremony inaugurates the once-every-25-year tradition of a Jubilee. Francis has dedicated the 2025 Jubilee to the theme of hope. Bethlehem marks a second subdued Christmas Eve during the war in Gaza BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem is marking another somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza. Manger Square lacked its usual festive lights and crowds of tourists on Tuesday. Instead, the area outside the Nativity Church was quiet. The church was built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. The war, the violence in the occupied West Bank it has spurred and the lack of festivities has deeply hurt Bethlehem's economy. The town relies heavily on Christmas tourism. The economy in the West Bank was already reeling because of restrictions placed on laborers preventing them from entering Israel during the war. Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne Tuesday about one hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop, which prevented planes from taking off. American said in an email that the problem was caused by an issue with a vendor technology that maintains its flight operating system. Aviation analytics company Cirium said flights were delayed across American’s major hubs, with only 37% leaving on time. Nineteen flights were cancelled. Middle East latest: Israel expels patients from a hospital in Gaza TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli soldiers raided a hospital in isolated northern Gaza after forcing all the patients and most of the doctors to leave. The Israeli military confirmed its troops had entered the Indonesian Hospital in the town of Jabaliya on Tuesday, as part of an operation searching for Hamas fighters. Winter is hitting the Gaza Strip and many of the nearly 2 million Palestinians displaced by the devastating 15-month war are struggling to protect themselves from the wind, cold and rain. In the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem was marking a somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza, with most festivities cancelled and crowds of tourists absent. Caitlin Clark honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year following her impact on women's sports Caitlin Clark has been named the AP Female Athlete of the Year after raising the profile of women’s basketball to unprecedented levels in both college and the WNBA. She led Iowa to the national championship game, was the top pick in the WNBA draft and captured rookie of the year honors in the league. Fans packed sold-out arenas and millions of television viewers followed her journey on and off the court. Clark's exploits also put other women's sports leagues in the spotlight. A group of 74 sports journalists from AP and its members voted on the award. Other athletes who received votes included Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and boxer Imane Khelif. Clark’s only the fourth women’s basketball player to win the award since it was first given in 1931. Major storm pounds California's central coast, blamed for man's death and partially collapsing pier SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A major storm has pounded California’s central coast bringing flooding and high surf that was blamed for fatally trapping a man beneath debris on a beach and later partially collapsing a pier, tossing three people into the Pacific Ocean. The storm was expected to bring hurricane-force winds and waves up to 60 feet Monday as it gained strength from California to the Pacific Northwest. Some California cities have ordered beachfront homes and hotels to evacuate early Monday afternoon. Forecasters have warned that storm swells would continue to increase throughout the day. Medellin Cartel victims demand truth and justice as cartel boss Fabio Ochoa walks free in Colombia BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — The return of the notorious drug trafficker Fabio Ochoa to Colombia, following his deportation from the United States, has reopened old wounds among the victims of the Medellin cartel, with some expressing their dismay at the decision of Colombian authorities to let the former mafia boss walk free.Some of the cartel victims said on Tuesday that they are hoping the former drug lord will at least cooperate with ongoing efforts by human rights groups to investigate one of the most violent periods of Colombia’s history, and demanded that Colombian prosecutors also take Ochoa in for questioning. Man arraigned on murder charges in NYC subway death fanned flames with a shirt, prosecutors say NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say a man accused of burning a woman to death inside a New York City subway train used a shirt to fan the flames, causing her to become engulfed. The suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, was arraigned in Brooklyn criminal court on Tuesday. He faces murder charges that could put him in prison for life. Federal immigration officials say 33-year-old Zapeta is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally after being deported in 2018. The apparently random attack occurred Sunday morning on a stationary F train at the Coney Island station in Brooklyn. Amsterdam court sentences 5 men over violence linked to Ajax-Maccabi soccer game THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An Amsterdam District Court has issued sentences of up to six months in jail against 5 men who were involved in violent disorder after a soccer match between the Dutch club Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv in November. The riots caused an international outcry and accusations of deliberate anti-Semitic attacks. The violence following a UEFA Europa League match left 5 people in hospital. More than 60 suspects were detained. The court on Tuesday sentenced one man to 6 months in prison, another to 2 1/2 months, two to 1 month and one to 100 hours of community service.
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The Centre has begun formulating the draft for the “UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) 2.0” scheme, which aims to support last-mile connectivity through the development of cost-effective airport infrastructure, sources told businessline . The regional air connectivity UDAN scheme was launched in 2016 for a period of 10 years. The new version of the scheme will support the last-mile air connectivity programme beyond 2026. Notably, the new iteration of the scheme, unofficially known as “UDAN 2.0,” intends to provide a cost-effective means to develop and operate over 100 underutilised airstrips in the country. As of now, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has operationalised 86 aerodromes—comprising 71 airports, 13 heliports, and two water aerodromes under the scheme. Besides, the scheme, which is in the draft stage, sets out a clear roadmap for first identifying those airstrips out of over 100 such infrastructure sites that hold immediate potential to harbour financially viable flight operations based on the location’s nearby captive population, industries, and places of tourism. Furthermore, the draft scheme proposes to reduce the running cost of small regional airports and advance landing grounds (ALGs), which were earlier used for military operations. It is estimated that on average, running operations at such an airport or ALG costs around ₹7 to ₹10 crore per annum. “We are studying ways to reduce expenses while ensuring that these flights remain viable under the scheme’s funding structure,” sources said. “The idea is to allow technological interventions to reduce cost and increase efficiency, wherever possible.” Apart from reducing expenses, the new scheme will look at ways to ease operational regulations so that airlines or helicopter operators can start flights to last-mile destinations while offering affordable fares. A case-in-point, sources cited are the recent guidelines for seaplane operations that have reduced infrastructure requirements and eased regulations. “The key focus of ‘UDAN 2.0’ is to ease regulations so that airports, heliports in Tier III and IV cities, or ALGs, become financially feasible for flight operations,” sources said. Additionally, the draft emphasises various ways to ease the entry barriers for new airlines, helicopters, seaplanes, and light aircraft operators. The cost element, sources added, is the single biggest entry barrier for new players to enter the segment. “More players are required to provide affordable air fares and to create the last-mile connectivity infrastructure that is needed,” sources told businessline. The market-driven model of the first UDAN scheme allow airlines to assess demand on specific routes and submit proposals during bidding rounds. It incentivises airlines to connect underserved regions by offering them support through Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and various concessions provided by airport operators, the central, and state governments. Since its inception, the scheme has facilitated the travel of over 1.44 crore passengers across more than 2.8 lakh flights. The scheme has operationalised 601 routes, including helicopter routes, while the number of operational airports in the country has doubled from 74 in 2014 to 157 in 2024. The Central government aims to increase the number of operational airports to 350-400 by 2047. Comments
West Michigan middle school robotics team wins state championshipServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) Barclays 22nd Annual Global Technology Conference (Transcript)