Workday Announces Fiscal 2025 Third Quarter Financial ResultsUganda, often celebrated as the Pearl of Africa, is admired for its natural beauty and relative stability. Yet beneath this façade lies a society grappling with deep-rooted challenges. These issues, while subtle, reflect a troubling shift in the nation’s social and moral fabric. The Uganda of today reveals a worrying trend of self-interest over community wellbeing. The once-shared values of respect and collective responsibility seem to have faded, replaced by a mindset that prioritises personal gain above all else. This shift is particularly evident in everyday behaviours that reflect a lack of trust and regard for others. On the roads, for example, chaos reigns. Boda boda riders often weave recklessly through traffic, even onto pavements, showing little respect for pedestrians. Cars frequently break rules, driving against the flow of traffic to avoid congestion, creating dangerous conditions for everyone. These behaviours are not isolated; they symbolise a broader societal issue: the erosion of discipline and consideration. Adding to this decline is the flood of counterfeit goods in the market. From medicines to food products, the sheer volume of fake items poses a grave danger to public health and safety. Many unsuspecting consumers are left vulnerable, unable to distinguish between genuine and substandard products. This culture of deceit fuels mistrust and exploits the very people who should be protected. Another insidious issue is the rise of professional and intellectual vandalism. It is not uncommon for individuals to steal ideas and proposals from others, passing them off as their own to secure contracts or funding. This selfish practice not only undermines trust but also affects development, as many of these impostors fail to deliver on their promises. Consequently, innovative thinkers fear sharing their knowledge, wary that their efforts will be exploited for personal gain without credit or accountability. This stifling of creativity and collaboration is a direct blow to progress and social cohesion. The underlying cause of these actions is not just recklessness; it is a growing sense of disconnection. People no longer see themselves as part of a shared community. Trust among individuals has diminished to the point where everyone is viewed with suspicion, and the prevailing question seems to be, What’s in it for me? This attitude transcends age, with both adults and children alike mirroring this self-serving outlook. The rise of mob justice further reflects this decline in social cohesion. Groups taking the law into their own hands may be driven by frustration with an inefficient justice system, but it is a dangerous trend that undermines the rule of law and breeds further disorder. Similarly, incidents of avoidable tragedies, like people rushing towards overturned oil trucks in search of fuel, only to suffer fatal consequences, reflect a lack of awareness and value for life. The cumulative effect of these behaviours paints a troubling picture. Uganda, once a beacon of potential, now seems to struggle under the weight of moral decay and a lack of shared purpose. The dreams of unity and progress that inspired generations are giving way to cynicism and disillusionment. But all is not lost. There remains an opportunity to reclaim the values that once held society together. The East African Revival offers a timeless message of reconciliation, humility, and collective responsibility, principles that are desperately needed today. Rooted in these ideals, Uganda has a chance to rebuild trust and restore a sense of community. We can draw inspiration from neighbouring countries like Rwanda and South Africa, where the philosophy of obuntu, emphasising empathy and shared humanity, has played a key role in healing and uniting fractured societies. Uganda does not need to wait for conflict to embrace these principles. By fostering a culture of accountability, prioritising the common good, and rekindling mutual respect, the nation can address its current challenges before they escalate further. The way forward lies in a moral and social revival, one that places community above individualism and emphasises shared progress over personal enrichment. It is a call to action for all Ugandans to remember their collective identity and work together to rebuild the foundations of trust and unity. With this spirit, Uganda can once again shine as a symbol of hope and resilience for the continent. *****
NEW YORK (AP) — The leaders of Kamala Harris' presidential campaign insist they simply didn't have enough time to execute a winning strategy against Donald Trump , pointing to “ferocious" political headwinds that were ultimately too much to overcome in the 107-day period after President Joe Biden stepped aside . Harris' leadership team, speaking on the “Pod Save America” podcast that aired on Tuesday, defended strategic decisions over the campaign's closing days, some of which have faced scrutiny in the weeks since Trump's decisive victory . Specifically, they defended Harris' outreach to Republican voters, her unwillingness to distance herself from Biden, her silence on Trump's attacks on her transgender policies and her inability to schedule an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan. “In a 107-day race, it is very difficult to do all the things you would normally do in a year and a half, two years,” said Harris campaign senior adviser Jen O'Malley Dillon. David Plouffe, another senior adviser, added, “There was a price to be paid for the short campaign." The pointed reflections on Harris' loss came just before she declared she was “proud of the campaign we ran” during a conference call with supporters as the party begins a painful process of self-examination. Trump won every swing state and made gains among key voting groups traditionally aligned with Democrats — young voters and voters of color, among them. Backed by the resounding win, the Republican president-elect is claiming a mandate to enact his populist agenda as he prepares to return to the White House on Jan. 20. Harris acknowledged her defeat during the conference call, but praised the political organization her team built that featured more than 408,000 volunteers who knocked on nearly 20 million doors and made over 219 million phone calls. “What we did in 107 days was unprecedented,” she said, noting that her campaign also raised more than $1.4 billion, which marks a record for U.S. presidential campaigns. Still, Harris' campaign finished the election in debt . And none of the Harris advisers acknowledged any mistakes during the wide-ranging podcast interview hosted by former Democratic operatives. Instead, they indicated that Harris had few options given the compressed timeframe and the broad anti-incumbent headwinds that have challenged elected officials across the world. They also gave Trump's team some credit. They specifically pointed to Trump's closing attack ad, which highlighted Harris' support for taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgeries for transgender prisoners. “Obviously, it was a very effective ad at the end,” said Harris deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks. “I think that it made her seem out of touch.” The campaign tested several potential response ads but, in the end, decided it was best to avoid a specific rebuttal. “There’s no easy answers to this,” O'Malley Dillon said. Plouffe said he thought the Trump attack ad against “Bidenomics” was even more effective, but he acknowledged that the transgender attacks were not helpful. “She was on tape," he said. "Surgery for trans people who want to transition in prison was part of the Biden-Harris platform in 2020. It was part of what the administration did, right?” And while the campaign has faced lingering questions about its media strategy, Harris' team said she actually wanted to participate in a podcast with Rogan, who is among the world's most popular podcasters and ultimately endorsed Trump. Stephanie Cutter, another Harris senior adviser, said the campaign wasn't able to “find a date” to make it work. “We had discussions with Joe Rogan’s team. They were great. They wanted us to come on. We wanted to come on,” she said. “Will she do it sometime in the future? Maybe. Who knows. But it didn’t ultimately impact the outcome one way or the other.” Plouffe noted that the campaign offered to do the Rogan podcast on the road in Austin, Texas. Trump ultimately did his interview with Rogan in the podcaster's studio. Harris' campaign brass also defended her decision to court moderate Republicans in the campaign's closing days. The decision has drawn ire from some progressives, who believe Harris should have worked harder to turn out more traditional Democratic voters. “This political environment sucked, OK? We were dealing with ferocious headwinds,” Plouffe said. “So we had a complicated puzzle to put together here in terms of the voters.” He acknowledged some “drift” toward Trump among non-college-educated voters, particularly voters of color, which made Harris' outreach to moderate voters even more important. “Yes, of course, you have to maximize your turnout and your vote share amongst liberal voters if you’re a Democrat. That was a huge focus,” he said. He added, “You’ve got to couple that with dominating in the middle. Not just winning it a little. We have to dominate the moderate vote." Speaking on Tuesday's conference call, Harris' running mate Tim Walz described the election result as “incredibly disappointing” and “a bit scary." But he praised the campaign's effort. “There will be a day of reckoning when it will be asked, ‘What did you do during the 2024 campaign?’ Well, I know the people on this call can say, everything they possibly could,” Walz said. “And for that, as an American, I’m incredibly grateful.”NoneBank of Montreal stock rises Monday, outperforms market
By Elizabeth Pineau and Michel Rose, Reuters French lawmakers passed a no-confidence vote against the government on Wednesday, throwing the European Union's second-biggest economic power deeper into a crisis that threatens its capacity to legislate and tame a massive budget deficit. Far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined forces to back a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Michel Barnier, with a majority 331 votes in support of the motion. Barnier now has to tender his resignation and that of his government to President Emmanuel Macron, making his minority government's three-month tenure the shortest lived in France's Fifth Republic beginning in 1958. He is expected to do so on Thursday morning, French media reported. The hard left and far right punished Barnier for using special constitutional powers to adopt part of an unpopular budget without a final vote in parliament, where it lacked majority support. The draft budget had sought 60 billion euros ((NZ$110 billion)) in savings in a drive to shrink a gaping deficit. "This (deficit) reality will not disappear by the magic of a motion of censure," Barnier told lawmakers ahead of the vote, adding the budget deficit would come back to haunt whichever government comes next. No French government had lost a confidence vote since Georges Pompidou's in 1962. Macron ushered in the crisis by calling a snap election in June that delivered a polarised parliament. With its president diminished, France now risks ending the year without a stable government or a 2025 budget, although the constitution allows special measures that would avert a U.S.-style government shutdown. France's political turmoil will further weaken a European Union already reeling from the implosion of Germany's coalition government, and weeks before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. The country's outgoing defence minister Sebastien Lecornu warned the turmoil could impact French support for Ukraine. The hard left France Unbowed (LFI) party demanded Macron's resignation. Barnier's demise was cheered by far-right chief Marine Le Pen, who has sought for years to portray her National Rally party as a government in waiting. "I'm not pushing for Macron's resignation," she said. "The pressure on the president will get greater and greater. Only he will make that decision." No easy exit from French political crisis France now faces a period of deep political uncertainty that is already unnerving investors in French sovereign bonds and stocks. Earlier this week, France's borrowing costs briefly exceeded those of Greece, generally considered far more risky. Macron must now make a choice. The Elysee Palace said the president would address the nation on Thursday evening. Three sources told Reuters that Macron aimed to install a new prime minister swiftly, with one saying he wanted to name a premier before a ceremony to reopen the Notre-Dame Cathedral on Saturday, which Trump is due to attend. Any new prime minister would face the same challenges as Barnier in getting bills, including the 2025 budget, adopted by a divided parliament. There can be no new parliamentary election before July. Macron could alternatively ask Barnier and his ministers to stay on in a caretaker capacity while he takes time to identify a prime minister able to attract sufficient cross-party support to pass legislation. A caretaker government could either propose emergency legislation to roll the tax-and-spend provisions in the 2024 budget into next year, or invoke special powers to pass the draft 2025 budget by decree - though jurists say this is a legal grey area and the political cost would be huge. Macron's opponents also could vote down one prime minister after the next. Economic pain The upheaval is not without risk for Le Pen. Macron allies sought to present her as an agent of chaos after her party joined forces with the left to down Barnier. "The French will harshly judge the choice you are going to make," Laurent Wauquiez, a lawmaker from the conservative Les Republicains party who backs Macron, told Le Pen in parliament. Since Macron called the summer snap election, France's CAC 40 benchmark stock market index has dropped nearly 10% and is the heaviest loser among top EU economies. The euro EUR=EBS showed little immediate reaction versus the dollar, trading for around $1.05 per euro, but dipping against other European currencies, such as the Swiss franc and the pound . "I'm amazed the euro hasn't moved much," said Nick Rees, senior foreign exchange market analyst at Monex Europe. "There are two major powers in Europe, France and Germany, both of which right now are emasculated." Barnier's draft budget had sought to cut the fiscal deficit from a projected 6% of national output this year to 5% in 2025. Voting down his government would be catastrophic for state finances, he had said. Le Pen shrugged off the warning. She said her party would support any eventual emergency law that rolls over the 2024 budget's tax-and-spend provisions into next year to ensure there is stopgap financing. - Reuters
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Taoiseach Simon Harris said he also wanted to tell Nikita Hand, a hair colourist from Drimnagh, that her case had prompted an increase in women coming forward to ask for support. Ms Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a civil case at the High Court in the Irish capital on Friday. The total amount of damages awarded to Ms Hand by the jury was 248,603.60 euro (£206,714.31). Mr McGregor said in a post on social media on Friday that he intends to appeal against the decision. That post has since been deleted. Speaking to the media on Saturday, Mr Harris said he told Ms Hand of the support she has from people across Ireland. “I spoke with Nikita today and I wanted to thank her for her incredible bravery and her courage,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that she knew how much solidarity and support there was across this country for her bravery. “I also wanted to make sure she knew of what the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre had said yesterday – that so many other women have now come forward in relation to their own experiences of sexual abuse as a result of Nikita’s bravery.” The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said the case has had a “profound effect” on the people the charity supports, and that over the first 10 days of the High Court case, calls to its national helpline increased by almost 20%. It said that first-time callers increased by 50% compared to the same period last year, and were largely from people who had experienced sexual violence who were distressed and anxious from the details of case and the views people had to it. Mr Harris said: “I wanted to speak with her and I wanted to wish her and her daughter, Freya, all the very best night, and I was very grateful to talk with Nikita today. “Her bravery, her courage, her voice has made a real difference in a country in which we must continue to work to get to zero tolerance when it comes to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. “I don’t want to say too much more, because conscious there could be further legal processes, but I absolutely want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her courage, for using her voice.” Justice Minister Helen McEntee praised Ms Hand’s bravery and said she had shown “there is light at the end of the tunnel”. She said: “I just want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her determination and the leadership that she has shown in what has been – I’ve no doubt – a very, very difficult time for her and indeed, for her family. She added: “Because of wonderful people like Nikita, I hope that it shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that there are supports available to people, and that there is justice at the end of the day.” Ms Hand said in a statement outside court on Friday that she hoped her case would remind victims of assault to keep “pushing forward for justice”. Describing the past six years as “a nightmare”, she said: “I want to show (my daughter) Freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.” During the case, Ms Hand said she was “disappointed and upset” when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided not to prosecute the case after she made a complaint to the Irish police. In a letter to her in August 2020, the DPP said there was “insufficient evidence” and there was not a reasonable prospect of conviction. Ms Hand asked the DPP to review the decision, saying she felt she was being treated differently because one of the suspects was famous. Asked about the DPP’s decision not to prosecute, Mr Harris and Ms McEntee stressed the importance of the DPP’s independence on whether to prosecute. “There are obviously structures in place where the DPP can meet a victim and can outline to them their reasons for not taking the case,” Mr Harris said. “But there’s also always an opportunity for the DPP in any situation – and I speak broadly in relation to this – to review a decision, to consider any new information that may come to light, and I don’t want to say anything that may ever cut across the ongoing work of the DPP.” Ms McEntee stressed that there should “never be any political interference” in the independence of the DPP’s decisions. “I have, since becoming minister, given priority to and enabled a new office within the DPP to open specifically focused on sexual offences, so that this issue can be given the focus and the priority that it needs,” she said.