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or signup to continue reading BIt truly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Shops are brimming with festive products, the airwaves are beginning to hum with Christmas tunes and families are putting up their Christmas trees across the country. For the Salvos, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas too, but for a very different reason. For us, we are starting to see our busiest time of year come to fruition; we are seeing the need for our services increasing, more and more people calling up for Christmas support, the financial and emotional stresses of the festive period beginning to overwhelm people, and the threat of loneliness and isolation starting to creep into people's lives. We have seen another devastating year for people financially in 2024. The Salvos have seen an increase in demand for our services. Individuals and families who have never reached out to a charity before are doing so for the first time this year. In fact, recent research from the Salvos found that 7 in 10 Australians are watching their spending more this Christmas compared to previous years. Shockingly, 56% of Aussies will be spending less money on food this Christmas. Throughout the Christmas period, The Salvation Army distribute hundreds of thousands of gifts and toys, food hampers, special Christmas meals and much more to those who are doing it tough. We also provide safe places for community and connection. We often find that a friendly chat or a shoulder to cry on can be just as powerful as the practical support of gifts, meals and hampers. We can't do this work without the support of the Australian public through our Christmas Appeal, which is aiming to raise $27 million this yea. If you need help this Christmas, or if you are able to donate to The Salvation Army's Christmas Appeal, please visit or call 13 SALVOS (13 72 58). St George and Sutherland Shire Leader reporter covering politics, urban affairs, council, development and general community news.Email: mtrembath@theleader.com.au St George and Sutherland Shire Leader reporter covering politics, urban affairs, council, development and general community news.Email: mtrembath@theleader.com.au
Car industry suffers another breakdown: Vauxhall-owner Stellantis shares plunge as boss quits By CALUM MUIRHEAD Updated: 22:00, 2 December 2024 e-mail View comments The global car industry suffered another convulsion yesterday as shares in Vauxhall’s owner plunged following the surprise exit of its chief executive. Stellantis’s stock, which is listed in Paris and Milan, tumbled 6.3 per cent to its lowest level in more than two years as Carlos Tavares, one of the most respected figures in the industry, dramatically resigned on Sunday ahead of his expected retirement in early 2026. Tavares’s departure came after his reputation took a hit in September when the company issued a major profit warning amid intense competition from Chinese rivals and weak US demand. ‘This sets an unprecedented challenge for investors looking to invest in a firm with such volatility in the management team,’ said analysts at investment bank JP Morgan. Analysts at broker Jefferies added that his exit, thought to have been the result of a row over corporate strategy between the chief executive, the board and major investors, would ‘cast doubts’ about the effectiveness of Stellantis’s model of multiple car brands being owned by a single conglomerate. The departure of Tavares, 66, came days after Stellantis – which also owns brands including Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot – announced plans to close its Vauxhall factory in Luton, putting more than 1,100 jobs at risk. Stock shock: Stellantis's stock, tumbled 6.3% to its lowest level in more than two years after boss Carlos Tavares (pictured), dramatically resigned on Sunday The problems highlight the misery facing global car makers, who find themselves caught in a perfect storm of falling demand, rising competition and increasing pressure from governments to adapt their production to hit net-zero targets. Volkswagen (VW) is embroiled in a dispute with workers over plans to close at least three of its German factories and lay off thousands of staff alongside a 10 per cent pay cut for those remaining. Meanwhile, Japanese group Nissan is facing a make-or-break year. Last month, it unveiled plans to axe 9,000 jobs as it tries to keep itself afloat amid plunging profits and an exodus of senior executives that has left it on the brink of collapse. Boss Makoto Uchida has presided over the company’s worst share price performance in 50 years. The company’s fate has big implications for the UK, where Nissan employs 7,000 staff, mostly in Sunderland. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Neglect imperils Royal Mail: Government should have learned... Political turmoil in France sends euro tumbling and... Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account Ford, the long-dominant US motoring group, is also struggling to adapt. Last week, UK boss Lisa Brankin called on the Government to introduce incentives to encourage drivers to buy electric vehicles after the firm announced 4,000 job cuts in Europe over the next three years, including 800 in Britain, due to low demand and competition pressures. Industry watchers say all the major car brands are suffering from a poisonous cocktail of sluggish demand for electric cars and rising competition from China. Chinese car makers, on the back of substantial subsidies from Beijing, have begun to dominate their domestic market and are now looking to break into other countries, adding more competition to the sector. America has already slapped a 100 per cent tariff on imports of Chinese electric cars. In October, the EU approved plans for tariffs of up to 45 per cent on electric cars from China. But the Government seems unlikely to follow the examples set in Washington and Brussels, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer having recently met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in a bid to thaw relations between the two countries. Andy Palmer, the former boss of Aston Martin, said the situation reminded him of when Japanese car makers first began to challenge their Western counterparts in the 1970s and 1980s. He told the Mail: ‘At that time, it did seem like the Japanese were eating everybody’s breakfast and right now it feels like the Chinese are eating everybody’s breakfast.’ Shutting up shop: The departure of Tavares, 66, came days after Stellantis announced plans to close its Vauxhall factory in Luton, putting more than 1,100 jobs at risk He added that the crisis-hit automakers were now paying the price for adapting too slowly as rivals surged ahead. ‘Nissan, Ford and Stellantis were particularly slow to react to a changing world,’ he said. Factory closures in Britain are also intensifying a row between the industry and ministers over targets intended to boost the number of electric cars on the roads. Electric cars must make up at least 22 per cent of sales for car makers this year, a figure that will rise to 80 per cent by 2030. Firms that fall short face hefty fines. Labour has also pledged to reintroduce a ban on new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 after the Conservative government previously pushed back the deadline to 2035. But car makers have urged the Government to rethink the targets, warning that falling demand for electric vehicles from consumers means they are being forced to close factories and cut jobs instead. The Government’s stance appeared to soften last week when Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds admitted to MPs that the electric vehicle mandate was ‘not working as anyone intended’. David Bailey, a car industry expert at the University of Birmingham, said the Government needs to find ways to stimulate demand for electric cars and that ‘simply telling car firms to supply electric vehicles isn’t going to cut it’. 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DALLAS (AP) — Juan Soto gets free use of a luxury suite and up to four premium tickets behind home plate for regular-season and postseason New York Mets home games as part of his record $765 million, 15-year contract that was finalized Wednesday. The Mets also agreed to provide personal team security for the All-Star outfielder and his family at the team’s expense for all spring training and regular-season home and road games, according to details of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press. Major League Baseball teams usually provide security for player families in seating areas at ballparks. New York also agreed to assist Soto's family for in-season travel arrangements, guaranteed Soto will have uniform No. 22 and included eight types of award bonuses. Soto's suite will be valued at the Mets' prevailing prices, presumably for tax purposes, and after 2025 he can by each Jan. 15 modify or give up his suite selection for the upcoming season. He can request the premium tickets, to be used by family members, no later than 72 hours before the scheduled game time. The Yankees had refused to offer Soto a free suite. “Some high-end players that make a lot of money for us, if they want suites they buy them ... whether it's CC (Sabathia), whether it’s (Aaron) Judge, whether it’s (Gerrit) Cole, whether it’s any of these guys," general manager Brian Cashman said. "We've gone through a process on previous negotiations where asks might have happened and this is what we did and we’re going to honor those, so no regrets there." Cashman said the Yankees have a shared suite for player families and a family room with babysitting. Soto gets a $75 million signing bonus, payable within 60 days of the agreement’s approval by the commissioner’s office. The deal for the 26-year-old, which tops Shohei Ohtani's $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers, was reached Sunday pending a physical that took place Tuesday. Soto receives salaries of $46,875,000 each in 2025 and 2026, $42.5 million in 2027, $46,875,000 apiece in 2028 and 2029 and $46 million in each of the final 10 seasons. Soto has a contingent right to opt out of the agreement within three days of the end of the 2029 World Series to become a free agent again, but the Mets have the an option to negate the opt-out provision by increasing the yearly salaries for 2030-39 by $4 million annually to $50 million and raising the total value to $805 million. If the club exercises its option to negate the opt-out provision, Soto can make his opt-out decision by the fifth day after the World Series. He has a full no-trade provision and gets a hotel suite on road trips. Soto would receive a $500,000 bonus for winning his first Most Valuable Player award and $1 million for each MVP award. He would get $350,000 for finishing second in the voting and $150,000 for finishing third through fifth. Soto was third in the AL voting this year. He would earn $100,000 for each All-Star selection and Gold Glove, $350,000 for World Series MVP and $150,000 for League Championship Series MVP. Soto would get $100,000 for selection to the All-MLB first or second team, $150,000 for Silver Slugger and $100,000 for the Hank Aaron Award. Award bonuses are to be paid by the Jan. 31 after the season in which the bonus is earned. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Ashlon Jackson scored a career-high 30 points and No. 13 Duke defeated No. 9 Kansas State, 73-62 on Monday, in the semifinals of the Ball Dawgs Classic. The Blue Devils (6-1) overcame an early 11-point deficit behind Jackon’s shooting hand to advance to Wednesday’s championship game against the winner of the game between No. 8 Oklahoma and DePaul. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get updates and player profiles ahead of Friday's high school games, plus a recap Saturday with stories, photos, video Frequency: Seasonal Twice a week
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Getting blown out at Green Bay following another squandered late lead the previous week against Seattle has quickly turned the San Francisco 49ers from a Super Bowl contender into a team just fighting to get back to the playoffs. If San Francisco doesn't get healthy and eliminate the errors that led to Sunday's 38-10 loss to the Packers, the focus will turn from playoff permutations to what offseason changes are necessary. “I think everyone understands completely outside and inside what the situation is,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday. “That’s why the Seattle game was so tough of a loss and that’s why last night was even worse. We know what we got ahead of us. We know exactly what the playoff situation is. That is what it is. But really, all that matters is this week when you do need to go on a run and put a lot of wins to even think of that.” The task doesn't get any easier as the Niners (5-6) get set to play at Buffalo on Sunday night. The 49ers are hoping to get injured stars Brock Purdy , Nick Bosa and Trent Williams back for that game, but their presence alone won't fix everything that went wrong on Sunday . The defense got repeatedly gashed early and put San Francisco in a 17-0 hole before the offense even generated a first down. The running game never got going as Christian McCaffrey has looked nothing like the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year in his three games back from Achilles tendinitis. And whenever the Niners appeared to do something right, a penalty came back to haunt them. It added up to the most lopsided loss for San Francisco since the 2018 season, before Shanahan had turned the Niners into perennial contenders. “It’s probably one of the worst ones I’ve been a part of,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “It is embarrassing. You’ve got to take it on the chin, take it like a man and move on.” Despite the doom and gloom, the 49ers are only one game behind Seattle and Arizona in the NFC West standings with six games to go. But San Francisco already has three division losses and a difficult schedule featuring games against the Bills this week and Detroit in Week 17. “My optimism is not broken by any means,” tight end George Kittle said. “We still have a lot of very talented players. We will get some guys back and I still have full trust in the coaching staff to put our guys in position to make plays. I have no worry about that. But definitely an uphill grind. We'll see what we’re made of, which I’m looking forward to.” Red-zone passes to Kittle. Backup QB Brandon Allen connected on a 3-yard TD pass to Kittle late in the second quarter for San Francisco's only TD. Kittle leads the NFL with eight touchdown catches in the red zone, which is tied with Vernon Davis (2013) for the most in a season for a Niners player since 2000. Kittle was the only consistent part of the San Francisco offense with six catches for 82 yards. Avoiding penalties. San Francisco had nine penalties for 77 yards and they were costly and sloppy. The Niners had 12 men on the field on defense on back-to-back plays, three false starts, a pass interference in the end zone and three penalties on special teams, including a holding on Eric Saubert that negated an 87-yard kickoff return by Deebo Samuel to open the second half. Rookie Dominick Puni had three penalties after being penalized just once in the first 10 games. DE Leonard Floyd. There were few positive performances on defense, but Floyd had both of the team's sacks. Run defense. San Francisco allowed 169 yards rushing, including 87 in the first quarter for the team's second-worst performance in the opening quarter since 1991. The Niners missed 19 tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, as Josh Jacobs gained 83 of his 106 yards rushing after contact. Purdy took part in a light throwing session without pain on Monday and Shanahan is hopeful he can return to practice Wednesday after missing the Green Bay game with a shoulder injury. ... Bosa (hip, oblique) and Williams (ankle) also could return this week after sitting out Sunday. ... LG Aaron Banks, DT Jordan Elliott and WR Jacob Cowing all in the concussion protocol. ... RG Dominick Puni (shoulder) and CB Deommodore Lenoir (knee) underwent MRIs on Monday and the team is waiting for results. ... CB Renardo Green (neck) and LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) are day to day. 11 — The Niners generated only 11 first downs, tied for the fewest in any game in eight seasons under Shanahan. They also had 11 in the 2022 NFC title game loss at Philadelphia when Purdy hurt his elbow and in Week 2 against Seattle in Shanahan's first season in 2017. The 49ers visit Buffalo on Sunday night. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLWhat OpenAI's Sora means for the future of truth
To prepare for the upcoming legislative session, four Indiana legislators on Wednesday night participated in a roundtable discussion, covering topics including union issues and new diploma requirements. State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, hosted the roundtable at Indiana University Northwest. Reps. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, and Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond, and Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, also participated in the discussion. Hatcher is hosting another discussion at IUN on Monday night, which will include local elected officials. “I really appreciate collaborating,” Hatcher said Wednesday night. “I think this is important for us to succeed.” State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, answers a question during a debate between State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, and Heather McCarthy, a Gary-based attorney. The debate took place at the Gary Public Library and Cultural Center. It was sponsored by Lakeshore Public Media, the Calumet Area League of Women Voters and Rise NWI on Thursday, April 11, 2024. (John Smierciak/for the Post Tribune) GlenEva Dunham, president of the Gary Teachers Union and Indiana Federation of Teachers, said it’s important for teachers unions to work with state legislators. “We are here to support you guys,” Dunham told the legislators Wednesday night. “There are things we want to do, and we want to work with all of you.” Dunham expressed concerns with Indiana’s new high school graduation requirements, which will go into effect with the class of 2029. The new requirements place a greater importance on career pathways as a route to graduation. She also believes that parents don’t fully understand how the requirements might impact both their kids and them. Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune State Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, holds up a poster of the 2023 Indiana General Assembly as he speaks to Chesterton High School students on Friday, December 8, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) Pol is worried about how new requirements impact low-income students and schools with lower budgets, he said Wednesday. For students with transportation issues, they might have trouble meeting the work-based learning requirements for honors diplomas. “My concern is you’re going to see a bigger split between the haves and have nots,” Pol said. “These kids don’t have transportation. They’re going to be in a situation where they struggle more, especially in rural areas.” The new diploma requirements are putting stress on school officials because they have to learn how to adjust, Harris said. School officials across the state say the deadline doesn’t provide enough time to retool offerings, according to Post-Tribune archives. State Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago, speaks in support of shutting down Summit scrapyard during an Indiana Department of Environmental Management hearing in Gary on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Michael Gard/for the Post-Tribune) “They have the deadline for the final version as Dec. 31, so you’re halfway through the school year,” Harris said Wednesday. “The school districts have to make adjustments and get students ready for the next school year, but they have less than a year to do that.” The state representative is concerned that the new graduation requirements will affect the 21st Century Scholars Program, he told the Post-Tribune in November. Harris authored House Bill 1449, or the 21st Century Scholars bill, which passed in April 2023 with bipartisan support. The bill, now law, automatically enrolls eligible students in the program and notifies families of the academic requirements. Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond speaks during the 2023 NWI School Superintendent Forum at Indiana University Northwest in Gary, Indiana Friday Feb. 24, 2023. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) Hatcher asked Dunham what else she would like to see legislators do in 2025. “Actually, try to keep it slim,” Dunham told Hatcher. “I know it’s going to be tough, so we need to focus on things like budgets, the teacher shortage and diploma requirements.” Union representatives are worried about how new leadership, especially with the Trump administration, might impact their workers. Michael Gard / Post-Tribune GlenEva Dunham of Gary, president of the Indiana chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks at the annual AFT Indiana Day of Action at the statehouse in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune) Travis Williams, representative for Central Midwest Carpenters and Carpenter Local 1005 treasurer, said he’s worried about anti-Project Labor Agreements bills. PLAs are pre-hire bargaining agreements between construction unions and contractors to establish terms and conditions for projects, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s website . PLAs ensure timely completion of projects, provide employers with highly skilled workers, increase diversity and support equitable workforce development and improve worker health and safety, according to the DOL. “If the statehouse passes these anti-PLA bills, that’s going to take away a lot of rights, and really, a lot of jobs from local contractors,” Williams said. In 2023, Williams was worried about Indiana House Bill 1024, which died in committee. The bill would have allowed contractors with 10 or more employees to provide access to a training program for applicable tasks, and it would have allowed public agencies to refuse to adhere to agreements with labor unions. Williams doesn’t want a similar bill to be on the table in 2025. Having more union workers in the statehouse or interested in politics will help solve those issues, Pol said. U.S. Steel’s Gary Works in Gary, Indiana on Oct. 5, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) Markael Watkins, a 28-year steelworker, participated in Wednesday night’s roundtable discussion. Watkins, who works for U.S. Steel, is worried that the majority of the company’s workers at the Gary Works facility aren’t from the city. “We’re trying to fight for issues that impact us,” Watkins said, “but they don’t understand what we’re talking about.” U.S. Steel has caused higher cancer, asthma and lung disease rates in Gary, Hatcher said. “At the very least, they could give back by making sure that 20% of the employees are from Gary,” Hatcher said. “But I don’t know who could mandate that.” In an emailed statement, U.S. Steel said more than 4,000 Gary Works employees call the communities around the facility home. “These are the same employees who volunteer their time to mentor local schoolchildren and serve in organizations that strengthen the Gary community,” said the company’s statement. “U. S. Steel actively participates in career fairs through WorkOne, Indiana University Northwest, and several Gary area high schools to find local candidates. We are constantly looking to hire talented individuals, and we welcome applications from Gary residents who wish to build a rewarding career.” mwilkins@chicagotribune.com
Another month is here, and that means Amazon's Prime gaming program has returned with a whole lot more games for Prime members to claim. The December drops have everything from classics like and to indie hits such as . All in all, the latest lineup contains 18 PC games to claim in December for no extra cost to members. Depending on the game, the available key can be redeemed on the DRM-free GOG store, the Epic Games Store, or the Amazon Games App. From the bunch, five titles are already available for claiming too. Here are all the games announced by Amazon today, plus their claiming platforms: Unlike the giveaways that usually pop up on the Epic Games Store or Steam, Amazon Prime members do not need to stress too much about claiming the games on time, as the expiry dates for newly added games are rather long. Check out all the currently available games on .44 years after New York couple vanished, car matching description of theirs is found in Georgia
Manila: The Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte said she has contracted an assassin to kill the president, his wife and the House of Representatives speaker if she herself is killed, in a brazen public threat that she warned was not a joke. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin referred the “active threat” against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to an elite presidential guards force “for immediate proper action”. It was not immediately clear what actions would be taken against the vice president. Vice President Sara Duterte’s threat was taken seriously, though she later tried to walk back the remarks. Credit: AP The Presidential Security Command boosted Marcos’ security and said it considered the vice president’s threat, which was “made so brazenly in public”, a national security issue. The presidential security force said it was “coordinating with law enforcement agencies to detect, deter, and defend against any and all threats to the president and the first family.” Duterte, a lawyer, later tried to walk back her remarks and said they were not an actual threat but only an expression of concern over an unspecified threat to her own life. “If I expressed the concern, they will say that’s a threat to the life of the president?” she said. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his wife Louise Araneta. Credit: AP “Why would I kill him if not for revenge from the grave? There is no reason for me to kill him. What’s the benefit for me?” Duterte told journalists. Under the Philippines penal code, such public remarks may constitute a crime of threatening to inflict a wrong on a person or his family and is punishable by a jail term and fine. The Philippines Constitution says that if a president dies, sustains a permanent disability, is removed from office or resigns, the vice president takes over and serves the rest of the term. Marcos ran with Duterte as his vice-presidential running mate in the May 2022 elections and both won with landslide victories after a campaign calling for national unity. The two leaders and their camps, however, rapidly had a bitter falling-out over key differences, including in their approaches to China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea. Duterte resigned from the Marcos cabinet in June as education secretary and head of an anti-insurgency body. Like her equally outspoken father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, the vice president became a vocal critic of Marcos, his wife Liza Araneta Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president’s ally and cousin, accusing them of corruption, incompetence and politically persecuting the Duterte family and its close supporters. Her latest tirade was set off by the decision of House members allied to Romualdez and Marcos’ to detain her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, who was accused of hampering a congressional inquiry into the possible misuse of her budget as vice president and education secretary. Lopez was later transferred to a hospital after falling ill and wept when she heard of a plan to temporarily lock her up in a women’s prison. In a pre-dawn online news conference, an angry Sara Duterte accused Marcos of incompetence as a president and of being a liar, along with his wife and the House speaker in expletives-laden remarks. President Ferdinand Marcos jnr poses with Vice President Sara Duterte after his swearing-in ceremony in 2022. Credit: Getty When asked about concerns over her security, the 46-year-old suggested there was an unspecified plot to kill her. “Don’t worry about my security because I’ve talked with somebody. I said, ‘If I’m killed, you’ll kill BBM, Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke,’” the vice president said without elaborating and using the initials many use to call the president. “I’ve given my order, ‘If I die, don’t stop until you’ve killed them.’ And he said, ‘Yes,’” the vice president said. Amid the political divisions, military chief General Romeo Brawner issued a statement assuring that the 160,000-member Armed Forces of the Philippines would remain nonpartisan “with utmost respect for our democratic institutions and civilian authority”. “We call for calm and resolve,” Brawner said. “We reiterate our need to stand together against those who will try to break our bonds as Filipinos.” Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos’ predecessor and the vice president’s father, was behind a police-enforced anti-drugs crackdown as a city mayor and later as president that left thousands of mostly petty drug suspects dead in killings that the International Criminal Court has been investigating as a possible crime against humanity. The former president denied authorising extrajudicial killings under his crackdown but has given conflicting statements. He told a public Senate inquiry last month that he had maintained a “death squad” of gangsters to kill other criminals when he was mayor of southern Davao city. AP Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here .