NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A banner year for U.S. stocks gets one of its last big tests with the coming week’s Federal Reserve meeting, as investors await the central bank's guidance on interest rate cuts. The Nasdaq Composite index (.IXIC) , opens new tab breached 20,000 for the first time ever in the past week, another milestone for equities in a year during which the tech-heavy index has gained 32% while the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab has risen about 27%. Expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates have supported those gains. But while the central bank is expected to lower borrowing costs by another 25 basis points next week, investors have moderated their bets on how aggressively policymakers will move next year due to robust economic growth and sticky inflation. Bond yields, which move inversely to Treasury prices, have risen in recent sessions as a result, taking the benchmark U.S. 10-year yield to a three-week high of 4.38% on Friday. While stocks have pushed higher despite the rise in yields, the 10-year is approaching the 4.5% level some investors have flagged as a potential trip-wire for broader market turbulence. "Anything that results in an expectation that maybe the Fed moves even more slowly from here than investors were expecting could create a little bit of downside for stocks," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors. The trajectory of monetary policy is closely monitored by investors, as the level of rates dictates borrowing costs and is a key input in determining stock valuations. Interest rate expectations also sway bond yields, which can dim the allure of equities when they rise because Treasuries are backed by the U.S. government and seen as virtually risk-free if held to term. Fed fund futures indicated a 96% chance the Fed will cut by 25 basis points when it gives its policy decision on Wednesday, according to CME FedWatch data as of Friday. But the path for rates next year is less certain. Fed fund futures are implying the rate will be at 3.8% by December of next year, down from the current level of 4.5%-4.75%, according to LSEG data. That is about 100 basis points higher than what was priced in September. The Fed's summary of economic projections released at the meeting will provide one indication of where policymakers see rates heading. Officials penciled in a median rate of 3.4% for the end of next year when the summary was last released in September. One sign of potential support for a slower pace of cuts came from Fed Chair Jerome Powell , who this month said the economy is stronger now than the central bank had expected in September. Another factor that could make Fed officials more cautious about future cuts is the presidential election of Donald Trump, whose pro-growth economic policies and favoring of tariffs are causing concerns about stronger inflation next year. Analysts at BNP Paribas said they expect a "hawkish cut," with the central bank likely to "open the door for a pause in further cuts of undefined length." Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth, said markets "will be trying to read into how worried is the Fed about inflation." November data released in the past week showed progress in lowering inflation toward the U.S. central bank's 2% target has virtually stalled. Still, analysts say the market's momentum favors more gains into year end, while sentiment among investors in surveys remains bullish - though some market technicals suggest the rally in stocks may have grown stretched. The percentage of Nasdaq constituents hitting 52-week highs has declined since the rally after the Nov 5 election, implying fewer stocks are supporting the advance, Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, said in a note on Thursday. “History suggests the tech-heavy index could be due for a breather before longer-term momentum resumes,” Turnquist said. Sign up here. Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Nick Zieminski Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab( MENAFN - GetNews) Starting December 11, LiTime , a trailblazer in LiFePO4 battery technology, is offering up to 50% off on energy storage solutions as part of its Christmas promotion. The LiTime Battery Christmas Sale 2024 also includes a Price Match Policy, ensuring customers receive the best value for their purchases. 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Databricks nears record $9.5 billion VC raise, eyes extra $4.5 billion debtAustralians are guaranteed to head to the polls — or submit postal votes — in the first five months of next year. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese maintains he intends to serve a full three-year term, and as parliament wrapped up for the year, so did the chances of a 2024 election. With many struggling to afford the upcoming festive season, the cost of living is front of mind for families. And experts say it's front and centre for politicians too as they decide the best time to call the election. Here's what you need to know about next year's federal election. Labor promises three days subsidised child care if re-elected, scrapping activity test What's the latest possible federal election date? Unlike other parts of the world, where the date is set, the exact timing of Australia's federal election is up to Albanese. The constitution requires elections to be held no later than 68 days after the House of Representatives terms expire. With those terms ending on 25 July 2025, the election must be held by 27 September. However, since half of the Senate's terms end on 30 June 2025, an election must take place before then. Considering procedural factors and the tradition of holding house and half-Senate elections together, the latest possible date for the next federal election is 17 May 2025. What about an early March election? Experts have narrowed down the date that voters will head to the ballot box to between March and May. With over 40 years of experience advising Labor, Bruce Hawker, special counsel at Fitzpatrick and Company Advisory, "struggles to see an early election" in March. The Labor Party campaign veteran told SBS News the government would have to wait until after the state election in Western Australia on 8 March. 'Anger and resentment': World's 'super election' year results capture voters' mood "I think if there is ill will in the Western Australian electorate, they'd probably want it to be vented against a state government rather than themselves," Hawker said. He explained this would also avoid mixing campaigns and state and federal issues in the minds of voters. "I think if it was to be held in March ... it would be based on an assumption that the interest rates were not going to come down, and the economy could sink a little further into the red than it otherwise might be," Hawker said. What issues could determine the election date? High mortgages and cost of living pressures are top concerns for both major parties and voters. Hawker said the next two Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meetings — on 18 February and 1 April — will be crucial in determining when the government sets the election, with the hope that Australians will experience a reprieve from rising costs before heading to the polls. "If they do start to bring down interest rates, that's good news for the government, and they would probably be holding out for that," he said. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas A lever at Labor's disposal is the option to resume parliament and deliver an early budget on 25 March. "If they bring down a good budget for themselves, that's something that they can do and campaign on," Hawker said. "And then you would think that they would be looking to bring out as many good things as possible in a pre-election budget which would make people happy." If that were the case, then an election campaign could kick off in late March or early April. "I think the problem for the government at the moment is that the cost of living is running very high, and unless the RBA brings down interest rates, then the government is going to have to go to an election dealing with the reality that people are doing it pretty tough," he said. "So that is more reason why I think they'll want to call the election later, rather than earlier, and have a budget in there that further relieves pressure on household budgets." Labor minister claims 'three fatal errors' in Peter Dutton's nuclear plan, as costs revealed Graeme Orr is a law professor at the University of Queensland who specialises in the law of politics. He agrees the economy will be crucial to the upcoming election. "They're often looking at, you know, how grumpy are people? Have we had a budget recently with some good policies and nice stimulants, but most of all, what's the economy like? ... Swing voters, [think] are we better off or worse off than three years ago?" he told SBS News. "Most people stick to the party they've known for a long time, or they vote according to certain values that are really quite stuck. But really, the parties are thinking about swing voters, marginal seats." What happens when the election is called? To kick off the official election campaign, Albanese will visit Governor-General Sam Mostyn to request the dissolution of parliament and the issuance of writs for the election. Orr said unless there are extraordinary circumstances, Mostyn will start the process "almost straight away". "There's a formal document called a writ, which is issued to tell the Electoral Commission, hey, election time, guys," he said. "Here are the key dates, dates to close the roll so you get seven days' grace from the issue of the writ to update your enrollment, which is really important for young people, the mobile society and also new immigrants." Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas Orr explains the Electoral Act ensures there is a minimal 33-day campaign, and while it could go longer, it's not what people want. "We like relatively short campaigns, this American approach, where the campaign goes on, including the primaries, well over a year, and costs billions of dollars just doesn't fit our more pragmatic model," he said. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) noted that the federal election, with its multiple voting options and high enrollment rates, is "one of the largest and most complex" logistical events in the country. According to the AEC, 17.8 million Australians — 98 per cent of eligible voters — are enrolled to vote at over 7,000 polling stations nationwide on election day. All voter enrollments must be up to date, including changes to address or name. Updates can be made via the AEC website .Good News For Golfers: Power Queen 36V 45Ah Golf Cart Smart GC2 Lithium Battery ListedCF Industries Holdings Stock Gets RS Rating Lift
Jimmy Carter: Many evolutions for a centenarian ‘citizen of the world’NFC's No. 1 seed comes down to Vikings-Lions showdown at Detroit in Week 18
By BILL BARROW, Associated Press PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter’s in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter’s path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That’s a very narrow way of assessing them,” Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn’t suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he’d be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter’s tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter’s lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor’s race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival’s endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King’s daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters’ early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Related Articles Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan’s presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan’s Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.Las Vegas Grand Prix betting mixed bag for sportsbooks
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(BDX) - Analyzing Becton Dickinson's Short InterestQNA DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation's Human Resources Department has been honoured with the prestigious Best Wellbeing Program Award at the CIPD Middle East People Awards 2024, held recently in Dubai. This achievement marks a historic milestone, as HMC becomes the first organization from Qatar to receive this distinguished recognition, underscoring its commitment to creating a healthy and empowering workplace environment for its employees. The award acknowledges HMC's innovative and holistic Employee Wellbeing and Wellness Framework, which integrates mental and physical health support, financial wellbeing initiatives, employee support programs, and social health initiatives. This comprehensive approach has played a pivotal role in transforming workplace wellness across Qatar's largest healthcare provider and beyond. Speaking about this achievement, Mona Al Homaiddi, Acting Chief Human Resources Officer, said: "Winning this award reflects the dedication and collaborative efforts of our wellbeing team, who have worked tirelessly to build programs that support and empower our employees. This recognition is not just a milestone for HMC but also a testament to our leadership in workplace wellness across the region." Husameldin Ali Rudwan, Acting Executive Director of Employee Wellbeing, Engagement and Performance Management, added: "This award is a stepping stone for our continued journey to enhance employee wellness. Through our programs, we aim to create a healthier workplace environment that impacts not only our staff but also the broader healthcare community. We are proud to lead the way in shaping the future of workplace wellbeing in Qatar." HMC's award-winning wellbeing programs have also expanded beyond the corporation, supporting over 42,000 employees across HMC the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC). These programs have become a model of excellence, addressing diverse aspects of employee wellbeing through structured initiatives such as health education, mental health support, and employee engagement programs. As part of its vision, HMC aims to further enhance its wellbeing initiatives by incorporating advanced technologies, evidence-based interventions, and global collaborations. These efforts align with HMC's Healthcare Strategy 2024-2030, National Health Strategy 2024-2030, and Qatar's National Vision 2030 and reinforce HMC's role as a leader in workplace health and wellness. This award is not only a recognition of HMC's relentless efforts but also an inspiration to continue striving for excellence, ensuring a healthier, happier, and more productive environment for healthcare professionals across Qatar. Copy 24/12/2024 10
OTTAWA — U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and those in his corner continue to muse about annexing Canada, though Canadian officials have largely sidestepped those comments. In a post on the social media platform X, Eric Trump shared a doctored photo of his father purchasing Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal on Amazon, with the phrase "We are so back!!!" Since winning the presidential election in November, Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada as the "51st state." On Trump's Truth Social platform, he's also repeatedly referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the "governor" of Canada. Trump has also threatened 25 per cent tariffs against Canada, which has prompted discussions at both the federal and provincial levels on the best way to deal with the incoming Trump government. Carleton University professor Aaron Ettinger said federal officials have rightly been dismissing the social-media posts and maintained a "focus like a laser beam" on the real and "existential threat" of tariffs. "This strikes me as being profoundly unserious," said Ettinger, who has studied Canada-U.S. relations during the first Trump presidency. "These are taunts; these are churlish provocations that are not mature, and do not reflect just how serious the coming trade war is," he said. Ettinger said Trump is likely continually posting about Canada because it plays well to his supporters, without being seen as a real threat of annexation. "We know his moves. He makes fun of, he belittles, he mocks, because he can," he said. But he said that a vacuum of leadership in Ottawa from embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is spurring "the freelancing of some of the provincial leaders" in response to Trump's comments. For example, Ontario Premier Doug Ford weighed in on Trump's postings on Dec. 18, telling media that "we'll never be the 51st state. We're Canada; we're proud to be Canadians. We'll always fight for that." Ettinger said civil society is similarly better to focus on convincing Americans to not impose damaging tariffs on Canada, instead of amping up anti-Trump rhetoric. "Canadians should worry first about what Canada's actual national interests are," he said. "We're not going to out-trash talk Donald Trump, so don't even bother trying and focus instead on the core stuff that really matters." In response to Trump's threats, the Trudeau Liberal government has unveiled a $1.3 billion spending package over six years to address Trump's threats, which concern border security and the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. Canada's ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman has repeatedly characterized Trump's comments as gentle ribbing between two close countries. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said on Dec. 13 that she has quipped to Republican senators that they could join Canada as the eleventh province. Greenland's head of government, Múte Bourup Egede, suggested that Trump's latest calls to purchase the territory from Denmark would be as meaningless as those made in his first term. "Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale," he said in a statement. "We must not lose our years-long fight for freedom." Panama President José Raúl Mulino has also rebuffed Trump's musing about taking over the Panama Canal. "Every square metre of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to," he said in a video, to which Trump fired back on his social media site, "We'll see about that!" This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2024. — With files from The Associated Press Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
Croatia ́s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection in the Adriatic Sea state, but is unlikely to get an outright majority in the first round of voting on Sunday. President Zoran Milanovi ́c, who is often compared to Donald Trump for his combative style of communication with political opponents, faces seven other contenders, including Dragan Primorac, the candidate of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union. The two are expected to face off in the second round on Jan. 12 if no contender gets more than 50% of the vote, according to pre-election polls. The most popular politician in Croatia, 58-year-old Milanovi ́c had served as prime minister in the past. Populist in style, Milanovic has been a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovi ́c and continuous sparring between the two has lately marked Croatia ́s political scene. “Since the election silence is still on, I just want to call on people to get out and vote. To support me,” Milanovi ́c said after he voted on Sunday. He predicted there would be a second round in two weeks. Plenkovi ́c, the prime minister, has sought to portray the vote as one about Croatia ́s future in the EU and NATO. He has labeled Milanovi ́c “pro-Russian” and a threat to Croatia ́s international standing. “The difference between him and Milanovi ́c is quite simple: Milanovi ́c is leading us East, Primorac is leading us West,” he said. Though the presidency is largely ceremonial in Croatia, an elected president holds political authority and acts as the supreme commander of the military. Milanovi ́c has criticized the NATO and European Union support for Ukraine and has often insisted that Croatia should not take sides. He has said Croatia should stay away from global disputes, thought it is a member of both NATO and the EU. Milanovi ́c has also blocked Croatia ́s participation in a NATO-led training mission for Ukraine, declaring that “no Croatian soldier will take part in somebody else ́s war.” His main rival in the election, Primorac, has stated that “Croatia ́s place is in the West, not the East.” His presidency bid, however, has been marred by a high-level corruption case that landed Croatia ́s health minister in jail last month and which featured prominently in pre-election debates. During the election campaign, Primorac has sought to portray himself as a unifier and Milanovi ́c as divisive. “Today is an extremely important day,” Primorac said after casting his ballot. “Croatia is going forward into the future. Croatia needs unity, Croatia needs its global positioning, and above all Croatia needs peaceful life.”George Washington 72, Illinois St. 64
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In India, where healthcare remains a privilege for most, families battling spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) face a heartbreaking struggle against corporate agendas and systemic indifference. SMA is a genetic disorder that progressively weakens muscles and leads to early death without treatment. Life-saving therapies exist, but are prohibitively expensive for the majority of Indians. The actions of multinational pharmaceutical giants further entrench this inequity. For instance, SMA drug Evrysdi was priced at an astronomical ₹72 lakh annually in India, as compared to ₹12 lakh in China and Pakistan, according to reports last year. This pricing disparity reveals little regard for equitable access. When an Indian generic drugs maker attempted to produce a more affordable SMA treatment in 2023, it faced legal action — resulting in a monopoly and inflated prices. For the innovator, this is about protecting patents. But for patient families, it is a fight for survival, as children risk losing their lives due to delayed access to treatment. The Indian government needs to step up to remedy this situation. International trade (TRIPS) agreements allow India to issue compulsory licences (CL) for generic versions of patented drugs in health emergencies. SMA qualifies as much, and is waiting for government action. Twenty years: Time to take stock of the amended product patent regime Superbugs: A crisis looms Dip in health spends: WHO report The National Policy for Rare Diseases (NPRD), introduced in 2021, was intended to provide financial relief to families battling rare conditions, allocating ₹50 lakh per patient. However, with costly treatments like Zolgensma (₹16 crore per dose) and Evrysdi, it is woefully inadequate. The number of patients receiving this support, since inception, is limited. A government crowdfunding initiative has further reduced families to making digital appeals for charity. The efforts so far, while helping raise awareness, fail to address the systemic issues at the root of the crisis. Despite court directives to streamline fund disbursement, bureaucratic delays force families to confront devastating choices: selling assets, incurring crushing debt, or losing loved ones to preventable deaths. India’s world-class pharmaceutical industry has the potential to lead in affordable healthcare solutions but appears largely unwilling to challenge monopolies or fund rare disease treatment adequately. The government must invoke CLs to enable affordable alternatives, expand the National Rare Diseases Fund to meet real costs, and eliminate bureaucratic hurdles in accessing care. Families of SMA patients are not asking for charity — they are demanding justice for patients, to ensure that life-saving drugs are not held hostage to profit-making. It’s time for India to act decisively, proving that every life is precious and must be saved at all costs. No family should be left to fight health battles alone. (The writer, a spinal muscular atrophy patient, is waiting for access to medication. Views are personal) Comments
Scotland updates guidance on biometrics in schools