PML-N senator says 'govt committee accepts PTI's demand to meet Imran Khan'Federal appeals court upholds law requiring sale or ban of TikTok in the US A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok as soon as next month, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the law - which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — is constitutional, rebuffing TikTok’s challenge that the statute ran afoul of the First Amendment and unfairly targeted the platform. TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.
KBC Group NV Grows Stock Position in The ODP Co. (NASDAQ:ODP)Opposition fighters are at Damascus' gates. Who are they and what now?Northwestern St. 71, North Alabama 58MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo was available for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Washington Wizards Saturday night after missing one game with swelling in his left knee. Antetokounmpo sat out the Bucks' 106-103 NBA Cup victory at Miami on Tuesday. The two-time MVP had been listed as probable with tendinopathy in his right patellar tendon. “He's good,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said before the game. Antetokounmpo entered Saturday as the league's leading scorer at 32.4 points per game. He ranked fifth in rebounds (11.9) and 20th in assists (6.4). AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
The risk of railway strikes causing major disruptions to New Year's Eve celebrations was exaggerated by the NSW premier, the head of the state's rail union has said. Amid concerns for Sydney's world-famous New Year's Eve party , the NSW Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) dropped eight major work bans late on Monday, casting the last-minute changes as necessary to help ward off actions to "effectively crush" its bargaining strategy. They include distance limits for drivers and various signalling bans that had forced more than 680 cancellations over the weekend. Cancelled trains, a call for free travel and a warning about NYE fireworks Following a Fair Work Commission (FWC) hearing on Tuesday, NSW RTBU branch secretary Toby Warnes took aim at the state government's recent rhetoric. "We have always said it was a stunt by Premier (Chris) Minns and his friends in the big business community. There was never going to be any rail shutdown or major disruptions on New Year's Eve and now there certainly won't be," Warnes said. "We trust people can now safely assume the fireworks will go ahead. They were never not going to go ahead, but we understand people were uncertain of that because of the government's rhetoric over the past three weeks." The union has also agreed to drop a solidarity action and one other by the Electrical Trades Union to ensure public safety over the holidays. 'Services will now run as planned' NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen has said she is pleased with the union's decision. "Christmas, New Year and the Sydney Test are too important to the state, and I am pleased to report they are now safe as the union has withdrawn their industrial action," she said. "The holiday period is now safe for passengers and, for businesses. They can plan and provide confidence that we can have staff get to work safely and families can travel around the CBD with confidence, get in and out for the New Year's Eve fireworks. "New Year's Eve train services will now run as planned." Pub and bar operators, a casino and the NSW Labor government had planned to argue at Tuesday's FWC hearing that train driver work bans planned for New Year's would cause significant harm to third parties and potentially endanger life. Organisers say Sydney's NYE fireworks are watched by another 400 million people globally, with an economic impact estimated at $280 million. New Year's Eve is also the busiest day on Australia's largest rail network, with rare all-night running shuttling people across the state. 23/12/2024 01:27 Play Earlier, NSW Police warned of "grave concerns" for safety if the one million people expected to line Sydney Harbour on New Year's Eve struggled to leave after the midnight fireworks. Some 3,200 services run about every five minutes throughout the day, with crunch time coming in the hour after midnight as the masses try to leave together. "While it's frustrating to have to adjust our planned actions, our ability to pivot and respond strategically is crucial in the face of these dishonest and immoral manoeuvres," Warnes told union members on Monday night. Union and government still at odds The union and government remain poles apart after seven months of pay negotiations. Unions continue to demand four annual wage increases of eight per cent but Minns says that's unaffordable and can't happen while he is denying nurses a similarly costly claim. The government has offered 11 per cent across three years, including superannuation increases. Work bans recommenced on Thursday after a court dismissed a government bid to have them made unlawful. The saga could drag on for several more months. The Fair Work Commission cannot be asked to settle the substantive dispute — pay and conditions — until February.Harris: Fine Gael ‘will gain seats’ amid further fragmentation of Irish politics
A DUP minister rebuffed a suggestion that there could be an extension of pub opening hours in Northern Ireland to celebrate the golden jubilee of the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, declassified files show. Stormont minister Maurice Morrow told an official he would not raise the issue with the Northern Ireland Executive, despite similar measures being considered in England and Wales. A file on planning arrangements for the jubilee celebrations reveals a series of civil service correspondences on how Northern Ireland would mark the occasion. It includes a letter sent on January 11 2001 from an official in the Office of the First Minister/Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) to the Department of Social Development, advising that a committee had been set up in London to consider a programme of celebrations. “It is felt that the golden jubilee bank holiday on Monday 3 June 2002 is likely to be an occasion on which many public houses and similar licensed premises would wish to stay open beyond normal closing time.” The letter said a paper had been prepared on the issue of extending opening hours. It adds: “You will note that paragraph seven of the paper indicates that the devolved administrations ‘would need to consider deregulation separately within their own jurisdictions’. “I thought that you would wish to be aware that this issue is receiving active consideration for England and Wales and to consider whether anything needs to be done for Northern Ireland.” Some months later a “progress report” was sent between officials in OFMDFM, which again raised the issue of licensing laws. “In both cases, primary legislation would be required here and would necessitate consultation and the minister has ruled out any consultation process.” The correspondence says individual licensees could still apply for an extension to opening hours on an ad hoc basis, adding “there the matter rests”. “Ministers may well come under pressure in due course for a relaxation and/or parity with GB.” The document concludes “That’s it so far...making haste slowly?” Emails sent between officials in the department the same month said that lord lieutenants in Northern Ireland had been approached about local events to mark the jubilee. One message says: “Lord lieutenants have not shown any enthusiasm for encouraging GJ celebrations at a local level. “Lady Carswell in particular believes that it would be difficult for LLs to encourage such activities without appearing political.”Irish Government doubted UK campaign to ‘save David’ Trimble
Aquino kin: Keep Ninoy, Edsa out of Marcos-Duterte feud
Irish Government doubted UK campaign to ‘save David’ Trimble
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Bigg Boss 18: Farah Khan slams Tajinder Bagga for making a nasty comment on Karan Veer Mehra's uncle; says 'mamaji PMO mein bathroom saaf karte the, is this a good comment?'
