Work started on 45,000 sqm logistics property at the Port of GothenburgPolicing in Squamish’s Indigenous communities
Everything to know about No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia for SEC Championship
Congress faces government funding deadline after ThanksgivingSeveral changes to laws affecting people in Britain will be implemented in 2025, including some impacting those travelling outside of the counrty. Next year will see new laws around vaping, junk food, wages and renting, as well as a number of new travel rules for those travelling to and from the UK. One of those rules involves a €7 charge for UK tourists travelling to certain countries. These are the new laws coming into force next year. This nationwide ban will forbid the sale of single-use vapes to “end this nation’s throwaway culture” according to circular economy minister Mary Creagh. The legislation is currently making its way through Parliament and if approved will come into force on June 1, 2025. Businesses have been advised by Defra to sell their remaining stock before the ban. This new bill holds a lot of the controversial smoking-related laws that have garnered headlines this year including increasing the age limit of buying tobacco products so that children currently aged 15 and under will never be able to legally purchase it. Additionally, it also extends the power to ban smoking in specific outdoor spaces like children’s playgrounds, reports LancsLive. One of the more controversial new laws is the ban on TV adverts for junk food products being advertised before 9pm. The rule is set to come into play from October in order to curb childhood obesity. However, experts have debated the criteria used by the Government to classify “junk food”. National Living Wage, minimum hourly wage for apprentices and the National Minimum Wage are increasing in April with the minimum earnings for 18 to 20-year-olds rising by the highest amount on record, £1.40, to a new high of £10 an hour. There are reportedly plans to eventually create a single rate of minimum wage and national living wage for adults, phasing out the age brackets. From next September, parents of children aged nine months and older will be entitled to up to 30 hours of free childcare per week until their child starts school. This is to ensure eligible working parents, classified as people who individually earn more than £9,518 but less than £100,000 per year, are able to get to work. Some parents may also be able to access 30 minutes of free childcare before school as part of the new breakfast club rollout. The first of which are set to be open from April. New, higher rates for parental leave pay and statutory sick pay will come into effect from April. This includes new rates of statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay, statutory shared parental pay and statutory parental bereavement pay will all go up to £187.18 per week and statutory sick pay at £118.75 per week. Labour ’s plans to renationalise British rails starts next year with new laws making public ownership of operators the default option, with a total of three operators to be brought into public ownership over the next year. This includes South Western Railway, the c2c and Greater Anglia. April 1, 2025 could bring the first tax bills for EV drivers through the Vehicle Excise Duty as their exemption to the tax ends. This decision was actually put in place by the former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt. EVs registered on or after the tax comes into play will get the lower first-year rate of £10 while those registered before this will face the standard rate of £190 a year. The exemption EVs have for the Expensive Car Supplement is also ending meaning those still liable will have to pay an additional £410 a year for the first five years of ownership if their car is worth more than £40,000. As of April 2025, employers will face a 1.2% higher rate of NI and a lower threshold for when this tax is applicable, dropping from £9,100 per year to £5,000. Small businesses, however, will also see an increase in Employment Allowance which allows them to reduce their NI liability, rising from £5,000 to £10,500. Brits with permanent homes outside the UK will be facing a new tax regime next year which should close the loophole that allows wealthy people to earn income in lower tax countries by nominating it as their primary domicile and not be liable to UK taxes. It will be replaced with a residence-based test, as chancellor Rachel Reeves declared during her autumn budget: “I have always said that if you make Britain your home, you should pay your tax here.” One of Labour’s more ambitious legislative changes is the Renters' Rights Bill, which aims to end no-fault evictions and provide renters with extra protection against being evicted and rent increases. The new legislation would remove the power landlords have to evict tenants without a valid reason like wanting to sell their property . The Bill is currently making its way through parliament but will hopefully come into force over the summer. It will also give renters a one-year period of protection at the start of their tenancy during which the landlord can’t evict them to move in or sell the property. Finally, it also aims to tackle unreasonable rent increases ensuring landlords can only raise the rent once a year at market rate. The Government hopes to update the “feudal” leasehold system by protecting them from “excessive, opaque and escalating costs” imposed by freeholders that own the land their property is on. Starting this week, the rule that leaseholders need to wait two years before buying their freehold or extending their lease will be removed. In the spring, Right to Manage rules will also come into play, ensuring owners in mixed-use buildings can take over management. Lastly, the Government hopes to introduce the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, which is currently in its draft stage, in late 2025 to transition to a commonhold system. This would treat flats and apartments as individual freehold properties and common areas will be managed by a commonhold association owned by the flat freeholders. While not part of the UK’s legislation changes, travellers must be warned that as they may need the new ETIAS permit to travel within the Schengen zone in Europe. This will cost around €7 for people aged 18 to 70 and will be mandatory for non-EU and non-Schengen citizens if they don’t need a visa to enter the country. The ETIAS scheme has been delayed multiple times but governments are assuring it will be implemented six months after the ESS adoption. This second scheme will affect non-EU citizens travelling in the EU, registering travellers with an automated system every time they cross an external EU border, meaning travellers may have to provide biometric data at EU borders instead of getting passport stamps. Back in the UK, tourists need to be aware of the new ETA scheme to be rolled out in full next year. It costs £10 and allows multiple journeys to the UK for stays of up to six months at a time. ETAs are digitally linked to a traveller’s passport and is meant to provide more robust security checks at UK borders. By January 8, all non-Europeans will need an ETA to travel to the UK. This will then be continually extended to different nationalities, until April 2025 when all visitors to the UK will need either an ETA or an eVisa to travel through the UK. British and Irish citizens will reportedly be exempted from the ETA system. ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities. We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all! To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice . 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North Carolina Democrats sue over GOP’s challenge of 60,000 ballots in Supreme Court race
OTTAWA - Canada got back in the win column at the world junior hockey championship. It wasn’t pretty. Oliver Bonk, Caden Price and Mathieu Cataford, into the empty net, scored as the wobbly host country picked up an unconvincing 3-0 victory over Germany on Sunday. Carter George made 25 saves to register the goaltender’s second straight shutout for the Canadians, who were coming off Friday’s stunning 3-2 upset loss to Latvia in a shootout. Nico Pertuch stopped 33 shots for Germany, which dropped its Group A opener at the men’s under-20 tournament to the United States 10-4 before falling 3-1 to Finland. Canada entered with a 17-0 record all-time and a combined 107-26 score against Germany at the world juniors, including last year’s 6-3 victory in Gothenburg, Sweden, and an 11-2 drubbing at the 2023 event in Halifax. Despite another sub-par performance, the victory sets up a New Year’s Eve matchup against the U.S. for first place in the pool after the Americans fell 4-3 to the Finns in overtime earlier Sunday. Canada suffered one of the powerhouse nation’s worst defeats in tournament history Friday when Latvia — outscored 41-4 in four previous meetings at the event — shocked the hockey world. And while the plucky Latvians were full marks for their victory, the Canadians were largely disjointed and surrendered the middle of the ice for long stretches despite firing 57 shots on goal. There was more of the same Sunday. Head coach Dave Cameron made a couple of changes to Canada’s lineup — one out of necessity and another for tactical reasons. With star defenceman Matthew Schaefer, who could go No. 1 at the 2025 NHL draft, out of the world juniors after suffering an upper-body injury against Latvia, Vancouver Canucks prospect Sawyer Mynio drew in. Cameron also sat forward Porter Martone in favour of Carson Rehkopf. Canada opened the scoring on the power play, which also had a new look after going 1-for-7 through the first two games, when Bonk scored from his normal bumper position in the slot off an Easton Cowan feed at 9:40 of the first period. Sam Dickinson then chimed a one-timer off the post on another man advantage before George, who was in goal for Canada’s 4-0 opener against the Finns, made a couple of stops on the penalty kill inside a red-clad Canadian Tire Centre. Petruch made a big stop off Tanner Howe in the second before also denying Calum Ritchie from the slot on a power play, but the Canadians again looked completely out of sorts against what was a decidedly inferior opponent on paper. Berkly Catton hit another post for Canada early in the third. Tanner Molendyk also found iron. Unable to register a 5-on-5 goal against either Latvia or Germany through more than 120 minutes of action, Price scored on a shot that caromed off the end boards and went in off Pertuch with 4:58 left in regulation to make it 2-0 before Cataford iced it into the empty net on another nervy night for the 20-time gold medallists. LATVIAN REACTION The U.S. beat Latvia 5-1 on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the Europeans’ upset of Canada. American captain Ryan Leonard said the Latvians were impressive — even on short rest. “That team’s no joke,” said the Washington Capitals prospect. “You can’t really treat anyone different, especially in this short of a tournament.” UP NEXT Germany will meet Latvia on Monday in a crucial game at the bottom of the Group A standings. Canada now turns its attention to Tuesday’s clash against the U.S. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2024. Read more on the World Junior Hockey Championship at thestar.comThe Daily Show comes to us tonight with a host in a rare upbeat mood. Celebrating the end of Bashar al-Assad’s reign as President of Syria and his family’s 50-year stranglehold over the country, Jon Stewart hosted The Daily Show with optimism. Remember optimism? Well, at least until he got to America. Stewart spent much of the first half of tonight’s episode enjoying clips of Syrians toppling statues and stealing chairs from Assad’s vacated palace. He marveled at how quickly Syrian rebels ended a years-long civil war and a half-century of authoritarian control. Finally, he wondered aloud if the leader of the Syrian rebels, Abu Mohammad al-Jolan , a former Al Qaeda member, was a Swiftie. “How many terror groups is this guy in?” Stewart asked. Like many, Stewart didn’t know how to react to al-Jolan’s leadership. On the one hand, he’s a former member of Al Qaeda. On the other, he claims to have gone through a phase and is now calling for a conquest of peace and mercy. “Who amongst us hasn’t gone through an emo phrase, or a goth phase, or a 9/11 phase?” Stewart jokes. “I don’t like Jihad anymore, Dad. I’m into horses.” ” The news out of Syria had Stewart’s attention more than domestic issues this week. However, he did take a look at what President-elect Donald Trump got up to on a pre-presidential trip to Europe. Trump attended the opening Notre Dame with Jill Biden, which our next President immediately turned into sponcon that sexualized the First Lady, like a real class act. Tonight’s episode was mostly a grab bag of Stewart’s excitement over the news in Syria. So the meat of the episode came from the interview segment with Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, a candidate for DNC Chair. Stewart was very enthusiastic with Wikler as the candidate pointed out what makes shows like The Daily Show difficult for politicians. “When they’re on your show, they’re trying to remember all those things about what might be a landmine, if you step on it, it’s going to blow up in your face. You’re trained to do that in politics,” Wikler said. “You’re trained to navigate through these incredibly tricky waters. That is sometimes important work to hold a coalition together. But it’s easy to get lost in that and not actually get to the whole point of the thing, which is to fight in a way that makes a difference in people’s lives, so that they remember who was on their side when something went wrong.”On pardons, Biden weighs whether to flex presidential powers in broad new ways
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams appears open to switching parties to become a Republican, as he declined to rule out a future change in political allegiances during a pair of interviews Friday that came as he has increasing warmed to President-elect Donald Trump. The comments from Adams, the top Democrat in one of the country's most liberal cities, riled critics who have grown concerned over the mayor's increasing willingness to throw his support behind Trump and his hardline immigration policies.Pisi, a value-added service provider, has unveiled a new brand identity, marking a significant shift in its mission to offer innovative technological solutions aimed at empowering Nigerian businesses. Speaking recently at the unveiling ceremony in Lagos, Chief Operating Officer of Pisi, Gabriel Ferrer, explained that the rebranding from Pisi Mobile to Pisi reflects the company’s expanded vision. “We are not just unveiling a new brand; we are celebrating our commitment to empowering Nigerian businesses,” Ferrer said. He emphasised that the rebranding introduces several new services and features, including Pisi Ads, a new advertising technology solution, and Pisi Send, a messaging service, both set to launch in 2024. Pisi also plans to launch a marketplace in 2025, allowing users to buy airtime, pay bills, and more. “We are continuously developing new features and improving our infrastructure to deliver added value to our customers,” he added, noting that the rebranding also encompasses enhanced payment solutions and further innovations in the company’s VAS business. Ferrer further elaborated on the company’s evolution, saying, “We started as a VAS aggregator, and we’ve since expanded to offer services that solve existing problems for our customers and businesses across Africa.” Related News PUNCH Panorama: Are you living up to the meaning of your name? I changed my name, religion to get job – Robbery suspect N2b scam: Maina operated secret account in sister’s name, says witness The Head of Business Advertising at Pisi, Bukayo Ewuoso, discussed the motivation behind the rebranding. He remarked, “Our partners are evolving, and it’s necessary for us to evolve with them. At the heart of what we do is innovation, and as a technology company, we are always looking to serve our partners better.” Ewuoso emphasised that Pisi’s new solutions are designed to cater to the diverse needs of various industries, including lifestyle, healthcare, and education. “We aim to serve businesses in these sectors better by providing locally tailored, technology-driven solutions,” he said. He reiterated that the company’s customer feedback channels remain active to ensure Pisi’s solutions are always aligned with market needs. “We are committed to delivering trustworthy and efficient services to Nigerian businesses,” he concluded.