Stock market today: Wall Street slips as technology stocks drag on the market NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slipped as Wall Street closes out a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 fell 1.4% Friday and the the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 402 points, or 0.9%. The Nasdaq composite is down 2%. Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the market. The major indexes are still on track to close the week with gains, and the S&P 500 remains headed for its second consecutive annual gain of more than 20%. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark index surged as the yen remained weak against the dollar. Stocks in South Korea fell after the main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader. 10 tips from experts to help you change your relationship with money in 2025 NEW YORK (AP) — As the calendar changes to 2025, you might be thinking about how to approach your relationship with money in the new year. Whether you’re saving to move out of your parents’ house or pay off student loan debt, financial resolutions can help you stay motivated. If you’re planning to make financial resolutions for the new year, experts recommend that you start by evaluating the state of your finances in 2024. Then, set specific goals and make sure they’re attainable for your lifestyle. Most Americans blame insurance profits and denials alongside the killer in UHC CEO death, poll finds WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials share responsibility for the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO — although not as much as the person who pulled the trigger. So says a new poll from NORC at the University of Chicago. It finds that about 8 in 10 Americans say that the person who committed the killing has “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of responsibility for the Dec. 4 shooting of Brian Thompson. Still, some see suspect Luigi Mangione as a heroic figure. About 7 in 10 adults say coverage denials or health insurance profits also bear at least “a moderate amount” of responsibility for Thompson’s death. Another jackpot surpasses $1 billion. Is this the new normal? Remember this moment because it probably won’t last: A U.S. lottery jackpot is projected to soar above $1 billion, and that's still a big deal. Friday’s Mega Millions drawing is worth an estimated $1.15 billion. The prize has evoked headlines across the country, despite the nation's top 10 jackpots already having boasted billion-dollar payouts. Jonathan Cohen is the author of the book “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America.” He says he expects jackpots to continue to grow in size. Larger payouts attract more media attention, increase ticket sales and bring in new players. How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The benchmark index posted its first back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% since 1998. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing. But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin and gold surged and “Roaring Kitty” reappeared to briefly reignite the meme stock craze. Richard Parsons, prominent executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76 NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, has died. He was 76. Parsons died Thursday at his Manhattan home. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. Financial services company Lazard confirmed his death. Parsons was a longtime member of the company's board. His friend Ronald Lauder told The New York Times that the cause of death was cancer. Parsons stepped down Dec. 3 from the boards of Lazard and Lauder’s company, Estée Lauder, citing health reasons. He had been on Estée Lauder’s board for 25 years. Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen has targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports. The World Health Organization’s director-general said Thursday's bombardment took place just “meters away” as he was about to board a flight in Sanaa. He says a crew member was hurt. The strikes followed several days of Houthi attacks and launches setting off sirens in Israel. Israel's military says it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the airport in Sanaa, power stations and ports. The Israeli military later said it wasn’t aware that the WHO chief was at the location in Yemen. At least three people were reported killed and dozens injured in the Sanaa airport strike. Holiday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite higher prices New data shows holiday sales rose this year even as Americans wrestled with still high prices in many grocery necessities and other financial worries. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.8%, a faster pace than the 3.1% increase from a year earlier. The measure tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards. This year, retailers were even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there were five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mastercard SpendingPulse says the last five days of the season accounted for 10% of the spending. Sales of clothing, electronics and Jewelry rose. Finland stops Russia-linked vessel over damaged undersea power cable in Baltic Sea FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish police say authorities detained a ship linked to neighboring Russia as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables. It was the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure. Police and border guards boarded the Eagle S and took control as they investigate damage to the Estlink-2 undersea power cable. The cable brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea. The cable went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Both have been termed sabotage. Climate-friendly electricity sees big battery projects soar again for 2024 2024 was another banner year for a source of electricity that is better for people’s lungs, better for climate change and may be reaching your home now when you turn on the lights or turn up the thermostat — large banks of batteries. Storing extra power in batteries effectively extends the hours of solar and wind power in a day. Storage is also important as global electricity demand rises. Last, it is important for increasingly frequent extreme weather events, worsened by climate change. Texas and California are embracing the benefits of batteries, but some other regions are dragging their feet.Big second half lifts Greyhounds over River Hawks
After Trump's Project 2025 denials, he is tapping its authors and influencers for key rolesAT THE QUARTER MARK: Ottawa Senators remain confident
Top Stories | India mourns Manmohan Singh, rupee hits record low, Ultratech’s big acquisition and more
The hits keep coming for the Philadelphia 76ers. Center Andre Drummond will be out at least for three games with a right ankle sprain, the team announced Monday. He will miss at least a week and be reevaluated this weekend. The 13-year veteran left Saturday’s win in Detroit after just 3:33 on the court. Drummond’s absence starts Tuesday night when the 76ers travel to Charlotte to take on the Hornets. Drummond has, like the rest of the 76ers, struggled significantly this season around the in-and-out of star players, in particular fellow center Joel Embiid. In 17 games (11 starts), Drummond is averaging 8.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. His field goal percentage has dropped to 52.4 after hitting 60.6 two years ago in Chicago. The 76ers are 29th in the league in rebounding. It’s the second game he’s missed this season, the other for an illness. Joining Drummond on the 76ers’ must-read injury report remains Embiid, out with left knee injury management/personal reasons. He’s stuck on four games played this year. But Kyle Lowry is listed as probable after missing the last five games with a right hip strain. Caleb Martin, who missed the last two games with a back strain, is also probable. It’s likely that the 76ers will have to go small against the Hornets. Guerschon Yabusele will likely start at center, with rookie Adem Bona getting an extended run off the bench. Expect some significant minutes as the de facto four for both Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr.DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jao Ituka led Jacksonville State over East Carolina on Thursday night with 18 points off of the bench in an 86-78 victory. Ituka shot 5 for 10 (2 for 6 from 3-point range) and 6 of 8 from the free-throw line for the Gamecocks (4-1). Jaron Pierre Jr. added 16 points while shooting 4 of 10 from the field and 7 for 11 from the line while he also had six rebounds and six assists. Michael Houge had 15 points and shot 6 of 11 from the field and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. RJ Felton led the Pirates (4-1) in scoring, finishing with 20 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. C.J. Walker added 20 points and seven rebounds for East Carolina. Yann Farell also had 12 points. Ituka scored 10 points in the first half and Jacksonville State went into halftime trailing 39-37. Jacksonville State used a 13-2 second-half run to take the lead at 71-66 with 3:52 remaining. Houge scored 12 second-half points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers?After Trump's Project 2025 denials, he is tapping its authors and influencers for key roles
SYDNEY, Dec. 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IREN Limited (NASDAQ: IREN) (ACN 629 842 799) ("IREN”) today announced the closing of its offering of $440 million aggregate principal amount of 3.25% convertible senior notes due 2030 (the "notes”) in a private offering to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act”). Key details of the transaction In response to strong investor demand, IREN upsized the initial offering size of $300.0 million aggregate principal amount of notes to $400.0 million, and the initial purchasers fully exercised their option to purchase an additional $40.0 million aggregate principal amount of the notes. The notes were issued pursuant to, and are governed by, an indenture, dated as of December 6, 2024, between IREN and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee. Use of proceeds The net proceeds from the offering are approximately $425.4 million, after deducting the initial purchasers' discounts and commissions and IREN's estimated offering expenses. IREN intends to use the net proceeds as follows: In connection with the pricing of the notes and the exercise by the initial purchasers of their option to purchase additional notes, IREN entered into privately negotiated capped call transactions with certain of the initial purchasers or their affiliates and certain other financial institutions (the "option counterparties”). The capped call transactions cover, subject to anti-dilution adjustments, the number of ordinary shares of IREN that initially underlie the notes. The cap price of the capped call transactions is initially $25.86 per share, which represents a premium of 100% over the last reported sale price of IREN's ordinary shares of $12.93 per share on December 3, 2024, and is subject to certain adjustments under the terms of the capped call transactions. The capped call transactions are expected to generally reduce the potential dilution to IREN's ordinary shares upon any conversion of the notes and/or offset any potential cash payments IREN is required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes, as the case may be, with such offset and/or reduction subject to a cap price. If, however, the market price per ordinary share of IREN, as measured under the terms of the capped call transactions, exceeds the cap price of the capped call transactions, there would nevertheless be dilution and/or there would not be an offset of such potential cash payments, in each case, to the extent that such market price exceeds the cap price of the capped call transactions. The capped call transactions will be solely cash settled unless certain conditions are satisfied. Prepaid forward transactions In connection with the pricing of the notes, IREN also entered into a prepaid forward share purchase transaction (the "prepaid forward transaction”) with one of the initial purchasers of the notes or its affiliate (the "forward counterparty”), pursuant to which IREN purchased approximately $73.7 million of its ordinary shares (based on the last reported sale price of IREN's ordinary shares on the pricing date), for settlement shortly after the maturity date of the notes, subject to any early settlement, in whole or in part, of the prepaid forward transaction. The prepaid forward transaction will be solely cash settled unless certain conditions are satisfied. The prepaid forward transaction is generally intended to facilitate privately negotiated derivative transactions, including swaps, between the forward counterparty or its affiliates and investors in the notes relating to IREN's ordinary shares by which investors in the notes will establish short positions relating to IREN's ordinary shares and otherwise hedge their investments in the notes. As a result, the prepaid forward transaction is expected to allow the investors to establish short positions that generally correspond to (but may be greater than) commercially reasonable initial hedges of their investment in the notes. In the event of such greater initial hedges, investors may offset such greater portion by purchasing IREN's ordinary shares on or shortly after the day IREN prices the notes. No registration The notes were only offered and sold to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act. The offer and sale of the notes and any of IREN's ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the notes have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act or any other securities laws, and the notes and any such shares cannot be offered or sold except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and any other applicable securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, the notes or any of IREN's ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the notes, nor will there be any sale of the notes or any such shares, in any state or other jurisdiction (including the United States and Australia) in which such offer, sale or solicitation would be unlawful. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes "forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the completion of the offering and the expected amount and intended use of the net proceeds. Forward-looking statements represent IREN's current expectations, beliefs, and projections regarding future events and are subject to known and unknown uncertainties, risks, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are outside IREN's control and that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Among those risks and uncertainties are market conditions and risks relating to IREN's business, including those described in periodic reports that IREN files from time to time with the SEC. IREN cannot provide any assurances regarding its ability to effectively apply the net proceeds after funding the cost of entering into the capped call transactions and financing the prepaid forward as described above. The forward-looking statements included in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release, and IREN does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release for subsequent developments, except as may be required by law. For a further discussion of factors that could cause IREN's future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled "Risk Factors” in IREN's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended June 30, 2024 and other risks described in documents filed by IREN from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About IREN IREN is a leading data center business powering the future of Bitcoin, AI and beyond utilizing 100% renewable energy. Jon Snowball Sodali & Co +61 477 946 068 Megan Boles Aircover Communications +1 562 537 7131 Lincoln Tan IREN +61 407 423 395 [email protected]NoneReports claiming man travelled 250 km hiding on train's wheel axle 'fake' Railways
NonePep Guardiola has said his side are not used to losing consecutive games and must do everything possible to turn things around. City’s hopes of bouncing back from their recent poor run was quashed as they were hammered 4-0 by Tottenham Hotspur. A brace from James Maddison and goals from Pedro Porto and Brennan Johnson secured the win for Spurs who went into the game on the back of two straight defeats. Speaking after the game Guardiola told City website:”We are not used to losing so many games in a row. That’s happened. We have to do everything to change, especially the next one.” Up next for City is a UEFA Champions League home game against Feyenoord at the Etihad. They will now return to the domestic front to face Liverpool at A field.Social Security Gift in the USA: receive a US$943 check for your Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping in December
Service Provider Association; Innovation and excellence in commercial cleaning across Iowa and Nebraska 12-02-2024 11:42 PM CET | Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance Press release from: Getnews / PR Agency: Notorial Image: https://www.getnews.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1733154347.jpeg Iowa, United States - In a traditionally conventional sector, Service Providers Association (S.P.A.) [ https://serviceprovidersassociation.com/ ] has revolutionized the commercial cleaning industry in Iowa and Nebraska, not only by offering high-quality, health-focused cleaning services but also by helping professional cleaners become business owners. Through its franchise model, S.P.A. enables individuals, especially immigrants and women, to move from minimum-wage employees to business owners, creating a positive impact on their lives and the local economy. Founded in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, S.P.A. was born with the mission of creating safe and healthy commercial spaces. Since then, it has trained franchisees through rigorous programs, ensuring that each member has the tools and knowledge necessary to provide excellent service and maintain a profitable business. In this model, S.P.A. does not employ cleaners directly but instead empowers them to become business owners focused on customer satisfaction, while S.P.A. handles all office administration and sales for them. Inspiring Leadership: Raul Cunarro, CEO and Founder of S.P.A. Raul Cunarro, an immigrant entrepreneur with vision and dedication, founded S.P.A. to modernize the sector and offer growth opportunities to those looking to build their own business in the United States. Cunarro has combined traditional cleaning practices with advanced technology to optimize results and establish S.P.A. as an industry benchmark. "S.P.A. was born from the belief that cleaning is an essential service. By training and empowering each franchisee, we can extend our positive impact beyond workspaces, helping the community and promoting health and safety," Cunarro commented. His focus on technology has made S.P.A. a model of efficiency and sustainability, reducing environmental impact and ensuring healthy environments. Commitment to the Immigrant Community Beyond innovation, Cunarro has shown a strong commitment to the immigrant community, a cornerstone of his business vision. S.P.A. has created a supportive environment for immigrants seeking new opportunities, giving them the necessary backing to start a business in the United States. Through its franchise model, S.P.A. allows them to build a prosperous future for themselves and their families. "Seeing the growth of S.P.A. is a source of pride, and supporting people who are looking to start a new life in this country inspires me," said Cunarro. "We offer them not just an employment opportunity but a platform to build their own business." Services and Commitment to Excellence S.P.A.'s success is rooted in the strict selection and continuous training of its franchisees. Each member must meet high standards of quality, ensuring that all S.P.A. clients receive exceptional service from dedicated, well-trained professionals. In addition, S.P.A. provides a support system that includes resources and ongoing training to enhance skills and guarantee the growth and profitability of each franchise. Growth Perspectives and S.P.A.'s Future In just a few years, S.P.A. has achieved remarkable growth in Iowa and Nebraska, with plans for expansion and a goal to continue innovating. Its firm commitment to community, health, and advanced technology positions S.P.A. as a leader in the region's commercial cleaning industry. About Service Providers Association: S.P.A. is a commercial cleaning [ https://serviceprovidersassociation.com/services/commercial-cleaning/ ] company founded in 2020 that offers high-quality, health-focused services in Iowa and Nebraska. Under the leadership of Raul Cunarro, S.P.A. has implemented innovative technologies to optimize processes and provide the best cleaning services on the market. Through its franchise model, S.P.A. is committed to providing safe workspaces and promoting the growth of its members, particularly those from the immigrant community. Media Contact Company Name: Francisco Silva Contact Person: Press Office Email: Send Email [ http://www.universalpressrelease.com/?pr=service-provider-association-innovation-and-excellence-in-commercial-cleaning-across-iowa-and-nebraska ] Country: United States Website: https://serviceprovidersassociation.com/ This release was published on openPR.WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Attorneys for Fox Corp. asked a Delaware judge Friday to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit seeking to hold current and former company officials personally liable for the financial fallout stemming from Fox News reports regarding alleged vote rigging in the 2020 election. Five New York City public employee pension funds, along with Oregon’s public employee retirement fund, allege that former chairman Rupert Murdoch and other Fox Corp. leaders deliberately turned a blind eye to liability risks posed by reporting false claims of vote rigging by election technology companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic USA. Smartmatic is for defamation in New York, alleging damages of $2.7 billion. It recently in the District of Columbia against One America News Network, another conservative outlet, over reports of vote fraud. Dominion also filed several defamation lawsuits against blaming its election equipment for Donald Trump’s loss in 2020. Last year, a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion in Delaware for $787 million. The shareholder plaintiffs also allege that Fox corporate leaders ignored “red flags” about liability arising from a 2017 report suggesting that Seth Rich, a Democratic National Committee staffer, may have been killed because he had leaked Democratic party emails to Wikileaks during the 2016 presidential campaign. Rich, 27, was shot in 2016 in Washington, D.C., in what authorities have said was an attempted robbery. Fox News retracted the Seth Rich story a week after its initial broadcast, but Rich’s parents sued the network for falsely portraying their son as a criminal and traitor. Fox News in 2020 for “millions of dollars,” shortly before program hosts Lou Dobbs and Sean Hannity were to be deposed, according to the shareholder lawsuit. Joel Friedlander, an attorney for the institutional shareholders, argued that Fox officials waited until the company’s reporting about Rich became a national scandal before addressing the issue. Similarly, according to the shareholders, corporate officials, including Rupert Murdoch and his son, CEO Lachlan Murdoch, allowed Fox News to continue broadcasting false narratives about the 2020 election, despite internal communications suggesting that they knew there was no evidence to support the conspiracy theories. “The Murdochs could have minimized future monetary exposure, but they chose not to,” Friedlander said. Instead, he argued, they engaged in “bad-faith decision making” with other defendants in a profit-driven effort to retain viewers and remain in Trump’s good graces. “Decisions were made at the highest level to promote pro-Trump conspiracy theories without editorial control,” Friedlander said. Defense attorneys argue that the case should be dismissed because the plaintiffs filed their lawsuit without first demanding that the Fox Corp. board take action, as required under Delaware law. They say the plaintiffs also failed to demonstrate that a pre-suit demand on the Fox board would have been futile because at least half of the directors face a substantial likelihood of liability or are not independent of someone who does. Beyond the “demand futility” issue, defense attorneys also argue that allegations that Fox officials breached their fiduciary duties fail to meet the pleading standards under Delaware and therefore should be dismissed. Defense attorney William Savitt argued, for example, that neither the Rich settlement, which he described as “immaterial,” nor the allegedly defamatory statements about Dominion and Smartmatic constitute red flags putting directors on notice about the risk of defamation liability. Nor do they demonstrate that directors acted in bad faith or that Fox “utterly failed” to implement and monitor a system to report and mitigate legal risks, including defamation liability risk, according to the defendants. Savitt noted that the Rich article was promptly retracted, and that the settlement included no admission of liability. The Dominion and Smartmatic statements, meanwhile, gave rise themselves to the currently liability issues and therefore can not serve as red flags about future liability risks, according to the defendants. “A ‘red flag’ must be what the term commonly implies — warning of a risk of a liability-causing event that allows the directors to take action to avert the event, not notice that a liability-causing event has already occurred,” defense attorneys wrote in their motion to dismiss. Defense attorneys also say there are no factual allegations to support claims that Fox officials condoned illegal conduct in pursuit of corporate profits, or that they deliberately ignored their oversight responsibilities. They note that a “bad outcome” is not sufficient to demonstrate “bad faith.” Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster is expected to rule within 90 days.
How you can cash in on DEAL MANIASeventy-one years is a long time to wait for renovations, but the El Rancho High School community only has to wait five more months to get a first look at a $200 million project, officials said this week. Superintendent Marco Villegas is getting ready to call done on a dream he said is long-held by students, families and residents. Set to be open in April are a brand-new football stadium, already wreathed in Boise State Blue and white, only waiting for the track oval be built around it; sports fields for baseball and softball; soccer and track facilities as well as an aquatics center. “The new field facilities at our high school represent more than just a space for sports; they are an investment in our students and our community,” said Kendall Goyenaga, principal at El Rancho. “These state-of-the-art fields provide our students with opportunities to develop their talents, skills, and foster school spirit.” Villegas said the new facilities will also serve as a point of pride in the community. The high school construction project is funded by Measure ER, a $200 million school construction bond approved by voters of the El Rancho Unified School District in 2016. It would be the first facilities improvement at the school since the school first opened its doors in 1952, according to Ester Mejia, president of the El Rancho Union School District board. Generations of Dons wear the Blue Pride loudly, and alumni and students alike will find plenty to love, from a new Don Memorial Stadium with its blue football field, 5,000-seat bleachers, and press box, to the synthetic track and field and a new practice field and new basketball courts. The project also includes new team rooms, locker rooms, restrooms, concessions, ticket booths, coach’s offices, storage spaces, a weight room, and a training room. There will be new scoreboards, sports lighting, outdoor sound systems, walkways, netting, fencing, and general site improvements. The 33-meter pool will meet CIF regulations and will come with bleachers and a digital scoreboard. The parking lots around the area will be reconfigured and the fencing along the perimeter of the project will be upgraded for safety. The new facilities can’t come soon enough for El Rancho’s football team. The Dons have been practicing off campus in the two years since ground-breaking. They are in the semi-finals this week and have an overall record of 8-4 and a league record of 2-2 so far. “The first eight months (of construction) people didn’t really see anything except a lot of demolition, then in the next six to seven months it might have seemed like we were just moving dirt from one spot to another,” Villegas said. “But things were happening that just weren’t easy to see. These facilities are going to be second to none and goes a long way in showing we are one city, one district. This is just the beginning.”
75% LOCAL CONTENT FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTERSWhy Martin Amidu Cannot Support Mahamudu Bawumia’s Candidature At The 2024 Elections
Skyward Specialty director Hays sells $4.06m in stockAustralia is banning social media for people under 16. Could this work elsewhere — or even there?
(Note to subs: amends byline error) The world stands at the dawn of a “third nuclear age” in which Britain is threatened by multiple dilemmas, the head of the armed forces has warned. But alongside his stark warning of the threats facing Britain and its allies, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said there would be only a “remote chance” Russia would directly attack or invade the UK if the two countries were at war. The Chief of the Defence Staff laid out the landscape of British defence in a wide-ranging speech, after a minister warned the Army would be wiped out in as little as six months if forced to fight a war on the scale of the Ukraine conflict. The admiral cast doubt on the possibility as he gave a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) defence think tank in London. He told the audience Britain needed to be “clear-eyed in our assessment” of the threats it faces, adding: “That includes recognising that there is only a remote chance of a significant direct attack or invasion by Russia on the United Kingdom, and that’s the same for the whole of Nato.” Moscow “knows the response will be overwhelming”, he added, but warned the nuclear deterrent needed to be “kept strong and strengthened”. Sir Tony added: “We are at the dawn of a third nuclear age, which is altogether more complex. It is defined by multiple and concurrent dilemmas, proliferating nuclear and disruptive technologies and the almost total absence of the security architectures that went before.” The first nuclear age was the Cold War, while the second was “governed by disarmament efforts and counter proliferation”, the armed forces chief said. He listed the “wild threats of tactical nuclear use” by Russia, China building up its weapon stocks, Iran’s failure to co-operate with a nuclear deal, and North Korea’s “erratic behaviour” among the threats faced by the West. But Sir Tony said the UK’s nuclear arsenal is “the one part of our inventory of which Russia is most aware and has more impact on (President Vladimir) Putin than anything else”. Successive British governments had invested “substantial sums of money” in renewing nuclear submarines and warheads because of this, he added. The admiral described the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers on Ukraine’s border alongside Russian forces as the year’s “most extraordinary development”. He also signalled further deployments were possible, speaking of “tens of thousands more to follow as part of a new security pact with Russia”. Defence minister Alistair Carns earlier said a rate of casualties similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would lead to the army being “expended” within six to 12 months. He said it illustrated the need to “generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis”. In comments reported by Sky News, Mr Carns, a former Royal Marines colonel, said Russia was suffering losses of around 1,500 soldiers killed or injured a day. “In a war of scale – not a limited intervention, but one similar to Ukraine – our Army for example, on the current casualty rates, would be expended – as part of a broader multinational coalition – in six months to a year,” Mr Carns said in a speech at Rusi. He added: “That doesn’t mean we need a bigger Army, but it does mean you need to generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis.” Official figures show the Army had 109,245 personnel on October 1, including 25,814 volunteer reservists. Mr Carns, the minister for veterans and people, said the UK needed to “catch up with Nato allies” to place greater emphasis on the reserves. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Defence Secretary John Healey had previously spoken about “the state of the armed forces that were inherited from the previous government”. The spokesman said: “It’s why the Budget invested billions of pounds into defence, it’s why we’re undertaking a strategic defence review to ensure that we have the capabilities and the investment needed to defend this country.”
Article content Edmonton police are warning about online investment scams, including one linked to AI-generated clips of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and X owner Elon Musk, after Edmontonians lost more than $12 million this year. In a Friday release, Edmonton police say they are currently investigating 172 scam incidents from Jan. 1 to Nov. 26 of this year, involving 204 victims and a reported loss of $12.8 million. Of those occurrences, 15 victims lost about $1.9 million in a “scam that features Prime Minister Trudeau and public figure Elon Musk,” police said, including one victim who lost $900,000. These scams, primarily found on social media platforms, show an ad purporting to be a legitimate investment opportunity, often featuring what appears to be a video endorsement from Trudeau or Musk People who click on the link and express interest in the supposed opportunity are then called by someone claiming to be a financial adviser, who guarantees large profits off a small investment. Scammers then access victims’ bank accounts through remote-access apps, allowing them to take money under the guise of fees or investments. EPS Det. Trevor Semotiuk said police are seeing an increase in the number of scams using AI in this way. “If you think you’ve been a victim of this scam, please don’t hesitate to contact police,” he said in a statement. Your report will help us to understand just how misleading and technologically advanced these investment scams can be. “If you think you’ve encountered a scam or an opportunity that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Before you make a financial investment, going in-person to a trusted financial adviser or banking institution can help verify if something is authentic or illegitimate.” Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.Crosslink Capital sells $1.47 million in Weave Communications stockUnique Arizona Heroes Memorial Now Officially Open