Australian synagogue fire declared terrorism in a decision that increases investigation resources
Shares vs. property: Biggest investment trends of 2024REGINA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed a new lieutenant-governor for Saskatchewan. Bernadette McIntyre is to serve in the role, representing the King in the province. Her duties include swearing in cabinet ministers, opening each session of the legislative assembly and providing royal assent to provincial bills. McIntyre has held executive roles at Saskatchewan Government Insurance and Wascana Centre Authority in Regina. She has also been a long-time community volunteer, receiving awards for her contributions in the sport of curling. McIntyre is to replace Russ Mirasty, who served as lieutenant-governor for five years. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024. Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law plunged South Korea into an unprecedented political crisis. He averted a constitutional crisis by lifting the martial law decree just six hours after it took effect, but the political fallout was immediate as six opposition parties submitted an impeachment motion against him today. Yoon’s political survival appears to hinge largely on the support of his own People Power Party (PPP). For the impeachment to pass, it requires a two-thirds majority in the 300-member National Assembly, meaning that at least 8 of 108 lawmakers from the ruling PPP would need to support it. Should the motion succeed, the Constitutional Court would then decide whether Yoon’s impeachment is valid. It remains unclear whether the PPP will come around to defend Yoon and prevent the impeachment of another conservative president. Even if they wish to support him, the PPP faces a dilemma: how to justify Yoon’s invocation of martial law—intended for wartime or similar national emergencies—to address what he called “unscrupulous acts of legislative and budgetary manipulation that are paralyzing the functions of the state.” Opposition parties have already condemned Yoon’s action as “unconstitutional and unlawful.” This question will heavily weigh on PPP lawmakers as the impeachment bill comes to a vote in the next two days. Yoon’s declaration of martial law has reignited deep-seated fears among South Koreans of a return to military dictatorship. This is a significant setback for Yoon himself, putting his presidency at serious risk, tarnishing his reputation as a champion of freedom and democracy, and undermining his efforts to position South Korea as a leader within the global democratic alliance. The potential impeachment of another South Korean president will have far-reaching consequences, particularly during a time of heightened uncertainty. This political instability comes amid escalating tensions with North Korea and its growing strategic alliance with Russia, as well as a leadership transition in the United States. With the recent political leadership change in Japan and the reelection of Donald Trump in the United States, Yoon was uniquely positioned to uphold the Camp David spirit. But, by jeopardizing his presidency, Yoon has introduced uncertainty into the future of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States, and Japan. Even if an interim president steps in following Yoon’s impeachment, few countries will seriously engage South Korea until a new government is in place. This lost time will come at a steep cost to South Korea. South Korea has long been regarded as a shining example of democracy in Asia. The peaceful resolution of yesterday’s crisis showed once again the maturity and resilience of its democratic institutions. However, the looming prospect of another presidential impeachment highlights a troubling lack of political leadership and bipartisanship, as well as the deep political polarization entrenched within South Korea’s democracy. A confluence of these elements poses a significant risk to the country’s future stability and governance. Ellen Kim is senior fellow of the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.In a passionate speech delivered at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin strongly endorsed women serving in the military. This speech appeared to be a response to the stance of President-elect Donald Trump's Pentagon nominee, Pete Hegseth, who opposes women in combat roles. Recalling his experiences during the 2003 Iraq invasion, Austin praised the women he has seen fighting courageously alongside men. He declared the military weaker if it rejects capable service members based on gender. Despite Hegseth's controversial stance and personal challenges, he continues to pursue the Pentagon leadership position. Austin's remarks underscore the ongoing debate about the role of women in combat. (With inputs from agencies.)
PVH lowers top-end of full-year EPS guidance range after Q3 results top estimates
NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose to records Friday after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not so strong that it raises immediate worries about inflation . The S & P 500 climbed 0.2%, just enough top the all-time high set on Wednesday, as it closed a third straight winning week in what looks to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 123.19 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8% to set its own record. The quiet trading came after the latest jobs report came in mixed enough to strengthen traders’ expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again at its next meeting in two weeks. The report showed U.S. employers hired more workers than expected last month, but it also said the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%. “This print doesn’t kill the holiday spirit and the Fed remains on track to deliver a cut in December,” according to Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-sector investing within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since September to offer more help for the slowing job market, after bringing inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower interest rates can ease the brakes off the economy, but they can also offer more fuel for inflation. Expectations for a series of cuts from the Fed have been a major reason the S & P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times so far this year. And the Fed is part of a global surge: 62 central banks have lowered rates in the past three months, the most since 2020, according to Michael Hartnett and other strategists at Bank of America. Still, the jobs report may have included some notes of caution for Fed officials underneath the surface. Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, pointed to average wages for workers last month, which were a touch stronger than economists expected. While that’s good news for workers who would always like to make more, it could keep upward pressure on inflation. “This report tells the Fed that they still need to be careful as sticky housing/shelter/wage data shows that it won’t be easy to engineer meaningfully lower inflation from here in the nearer term,” Wren said. So, while traders are betting on an 85% probability the Fed will ease its main rate in two weeks, they’re much less certain about how many more cuts it will deliver next year, according to data from CME Group. For now, the hope is that the job market can help U.S. shoppers continue to spend and keep the U.S. economy out of a recession that had earlier seemed inevitable after the Fed began hiking interest rates swiftly to crush inflation. Several retailers offered encouragement after delivering better-than-expected results for the latest quarter. Ulta Beauty rallied 9% after topping expectations for both profit and revenue. The opening of new stores helped boost its revenue, and it raised the bottom end of its forecasted range for sales over this full year. Lululemon stretched 15.9% higher following its own profit report. It said stronger sales outside the United States helped it in particular, and its earnings topped analysts’ expectations. Retailers overall have been offering mixed signals on how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain amid the slowing job market and still-high prices. Target gave a dour forecast for the holiday shopping season, for example, while Walmart gave a much more encouraging outlook. A report on Friday suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers may be improving more than economists expected. The preliminary reading from the University of Michigan’s survey hit its highest level in seven months. The survey found a surge in buying for some products as consumers tried to get ahead of possible increases in price due to higher tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump has threatened. In tech, Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped 10.6% for one of the S & P 500’s larger gains after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected. Tech stocks were some of the market’s strongest this week, as Salesforce and other big companies talked up how much of a boost they’re getting from the artificial-intelligence boom. All told, the S & P 500 rose 15.16 points to 6,090.27. The Dow dipped 123.19 to 44,642.52, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 159.05 to 19,859.77. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.15% from 4.18% late Thursday. In stock markets abroad, France’s CAC 40 rose 1.3% after French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to stay in office until the end of his term and to name a new prime minister within days. Earlier this week, far-right and left-wing lawmakers approved a no-confidence motion due to budget disputes, forcing Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his cabinet to resign. In Asia, stock indexes were mixed. They rallied 1.6% in Hong Kong and 1% in Shanghai ahead of an annual economic policy meeting scheduled for next week. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.6% as South Korea’s ruling party chief showed support for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law and then revoked that earlier this week. Yoon is facing calls to resign and may be impeached. Bitcoin was sitting near $101,500 after briefly bursting above $103,000 to a record the day before. ___ AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the is a “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but it was “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Middle East. Biden spoke at the White House hours after rebel groups completed a takeover of the country following more than a dozen years of violent civil war and decades of leadership by . Biden said the United States was monitoring reports of the whereabouts of Assad, with Russian state media saying he had fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally. The outgoing Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump were working to make sense of new threats and opportunities across the Middle East. Biden credited action by the U.S. and its allies for weakening Syria’s backers — Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. He said “for the first time” that they could no longer defend Assad’s grip on power. “Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East,” Biden said, after a meeting with his national security team. Trump said Sunday that Assad had fled because close ally the Russian president, “was not interested in protecting him any longer.” Those comments on Trump’s social media platform came a day after he used another post to in Syria to aid the rebels, declaring, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.” The Biden administration said it had no intention of intervening. The U.S has about 900 troops in Syria, including forces working with Kurdish allies in the opposition-held northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group. Biden said he intended for those troops to remain, adding that U.S. forces on Sunday conducted “precision air strikes” on IS camps and operations in Syria. U.S. Central Command said the operation hit more than 75 targets. “We’re clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try and take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish its credibility, and create a safe haven,” Biden said, using a different acronym for the group. “We will not let that happen.” The Syrian opposition that brought down Assad is led by , which the U.S. says is a terrorist organization with links to al-Qaida, although the group says it has since broken ties with al-Qaida. “We will remain vigilant,” Biden said. “Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses.” He added that the groups are “saying the right things now.” “But as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions,” Biden said. A senior Biden administration official, when asked about contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leaders after Assad’s departure, said Washington was in contact with Syrian groups of all kinds. The official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the situation and spoke on condition of anonymity, also said the U.S. has focused over the past several days on chemical weapons that had been controlled by the Assad government, aiming to ensure they were secured. Still, Assad’s adds to an already tense situation throughout much of region on many fronts — including Israel’s and its fragile in Lebanon. Like Biden, Trump, who takes office in five-plus weeks, made a connection between the upheaval in Syria and , noting that Assad’s allies in Moscow, as well as in Iran, the main sponsor of Hamas and Hezbollah, “are in a weakened state right now.” Vice President-elect , a veteran of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, wrote on social media Sunday to express skepticism about the insurgents. “Many of ‘the rebels’ are a literal offshoot of ISIS. One can hope they’ve moderated. Time will tell,” he said. Trump has suggested that Assad’s ouster can advance the prospects for an end to fighting in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022. The president-elect wrote that Putin’s government “lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine” and Trump called for an immediate ceasefire, a day after meeting . The Syrian rebels face the daunting task of healing bitter divisions in a country ravaged by war and split among armed factions. Turkey-backed opposition fighters are battling U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in the north, and the Islamic State group is still active in remote areas. As they pushed toward the Syrian capital of Damascus, the opposition forces freed political detainees from government prisons. The family of missing U.S. journalist renewed calls to find him. Tice disappeared in 2012 outside Damascus as the civil war was intensifying.
