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‘Merry Ham-Mas’: Aussie store pulls Christmas bag after outcry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:52 GMT

Australia’s Kmart retail chain on Wednesday was forced to remove a Christmas bag bearing the inscription “Merry Ham-Mas” from sale after the item attracted criticism from a Jewish group.The colorful drawstring bag, which can be used to store a Christmas ham in a refrigerator, could no longer be ordered on Kmart’s website as of Thursday morning.“We got it wrong on this occasion, and we apologise unreservedly,” a Kmart spokesperson said in a written statement to POLITICO on Thursday.“When designing this product we clearly didn’t think through all the implications and the product has been removed from sale,” the spokesperson added.Launched just a few weeks after the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ violent attacks which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, the Christmas bag sparked public outcry after the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) asked for the product to be pulled.“Although this is potentially funny (the AJA co...

Alex Caruso shut down Kevin Durant, but it wasn’t enough for a Chicago Bulls OT win — and 6 other takeaways from Wednesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:52 GMT

For the final eight minutes of the Chicago Bulls’ Wednesday loss to the Phoenix Suns, Alex Caruso drove Kevin Durant into a state of frustration.The guard acted as a shadow for Durant throughout the night, poking and prodding to keep the forward from settling into a comfortable scoring rhythm down the stretch. Caruso hung all over Durant on his final attempt at a game-winner with time expired, forcing him to take a slightly off-balance shot that clanked off the rim to send the game into overtime.Durant finished with 25 points, nearly five points below his season average. But Durant scored only four in the final two frames of the game, a testament to Caruso’s nullifying presence.“It’s his mentality,” Durant said. “He’s a hard worker who’s going to do everything he can. He’s a phenomenal player. I don’t even want to call him a role player, but just a guy that you can plug with any lineup and he’s going to make the right...

A TotalEnergies pipeline project in East Africa is disturbing community graves, watchdog says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:52 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The French oil company TotalEnergies is failing to protect the sanctity of hundreds of graves in a controversial project that aims to build a heated pipeline from oil fields in Uganda to a port in Tanzania, according to a report by a New York-based climate watchdog. In a report released Thursday, GreenFaith charges that TotalEnergies “has consistently failed to respect local customs and traditions related to the treatment of graves,” distressing local communities in the East African nations of Uganda and Tanzania. The report is the latest effort by a growing list of campaigners who urge TotalEnergies and its partners — China National Offshore Oil Corporation and the governments of Uganda and Tanzania — to cancel the project. As the majority shareholder, TotalEnergies has long faced legal pressure from activists who say the nearly 1,500-kilometer (900-mile) pipeline project undermines the Paris climate accord. TotalEnergies has denied each of the charges, sayin...

Putin visits Kazakhstan, part of his efforts to cement ties with ex-Soviet neighbors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:52 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kazakhstan on Thursday, part of his efforts to cement ties with the ex-Soviet neighbor and major economic partner in the midst of tensions with the West over Ukraine.Putin’s talks in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana follow his trip last month to Kyrgyzstan for a summit of ex-Soviet nations and a visit to China.Speaking at the start of his talks with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Putin hailed “multi-faceted” ties between the countries and said they would determine new areas of “strategic” cooperation.Oil-rich Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations have maintained a delicate balancing act, preserving strong economic ties with Moscow but refusing to recognize its annexation of Ukrainian regions. The Russian leader has made few foreign trips since he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The International Criminal Court’s move to indict Putin in March for alleged war crimes connected to the deportati...

Germans commemorate ‘Night of Broken Glass’ terror as antisemitism is on the rise again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:52 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Across Germany, in schools, city halls, synagogues, churches and parliament, people were coming together Thursday to commemorate the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht — or the “Night of Broken Glass” — in which the Nazis terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria.Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Germany’s main Jewish leader, Josef Schuster, were set to speak at an anniversary ceremony at a Berlin synagogue that was attacked with firebombs last month.The commemoration of the pogrom comes at a time when Germany is again seeing a sharp rise in antisemitism following Hamas’ brutal attack that killed 1,400 people in Israel on Oct. 7 and triggered an ongoing war in Gaza.“I was there during Kristallnacht. I was in Vienna back then,” Holocaust survivor Herbert Traube said at an event marking the anniversary in Paris on Wednesday.“To me, it was often repeated: ‘Never again.’ It was a leitmotif in everything that was being said for decades,” Traube said, adding that he is upset bo...

The UK’s interior minister accuses police of favoring pro-Palestinian protesters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s interior minister has accused the country’s largest police force of being more lenient toward pro-Palestinian demonstrators than other groups, deepening a political feud sparked by the Israel-Hamas war.In a highly unusual attack on the police, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said London’s Metropolitan Police force was ignoring lawbreaking by “pro-Palestinian mobs.” She described demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in Gaza as “hate marchers.”Pro-Palestinian protests have been held in London and other British cities every weekend since the war began more than a month ago. The government has criticized organizers for planning a march on Saturday because it is Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of World War I, when many in Britain pause to remember the victims of war.The march is a day before the main Remembrance Sunday commemorations, when King Charles III, senior politicians, diplomats, military leaders and veterans attend a wreath-laying ceremony at ...

Japanese automaker Nissan’s profits zoom on strong sales, favorable exchange rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:52 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan’s profit zoomed up more than 10-fold in July-September from a year earlier, boosted by a weak Japanese yen and strong vehicle sales around the world.The Japanese automaker, allied with Renault SA of France, reported a 190.7 billion yen ($1.3 billion) profit in the last quarter, up from 17.4 billion yen the year before. Quarterly sales surged 25% to 3.15 trillion yen ($20.9 billion), the company said Thursday.Nissan Motor Co., which makes the Leaf electric car, Infiniti luxury models and Rogue sport-utility vehicle, got a solid boost from the weak yen, as did its Japanese rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. The weak yen generally helps the results of Japanese exporters by raising the value of their overseas earnings when they are converted into yen. The U.S. dollar has been trading at about 150 yen lately, up from 130 yen and 140 yen levels last year.The one regional market where Nissan’s sales struggled was China, where demand for electric vehicles is s...

Thousands fall ill in eastern Pakistan due to heavy smog, forcing closure of schools, markets, parks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:52 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Toxic gray smog has sickened tens of thousands of people in Pakistan’s cultural capital of Lahore, forcing authorities to shut schools, markets and parks for four days, officials said Thursday.The decision came after the country’s second-largest city was repeatedly ranked the world’s most polluted city. Doctors advised people to wear face masks and stay at home. Residents said many people were coughing and having breathing problems.“Wearing of marks and staying at home are the two easiest solutions to avoid getting rushed to hospitals with respiratory-related diseases, infections in eyes and skin diseases,” said Salman Kazmi, a doctor at Lahore’s main Mayo Hospital, where thousands of people were treated for such ailments this week.On Thursday, the concentration of PM 2.5, or tiny particulate matter, in the air approached 450, considered hazardous. Experts say the burning of crop residue at the start of the winter wheat-planting season is a key ca...

Biden goes to Illinois auto plant saved by union agreement, a sign his policies are helping workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden went to Chicago on June 28 to give a landmark speech on “Bidenomics, ” only to learn in private during the trip about a soon-to-close auto factory, news that was a challenge to his vision for the country.The prospect of a shuttered Stellantis plant in the small city of Belvidere became an immediate priority for Biden. He ordered up an economic analysis and spoke to company officials about the plant, according to White House officials. The president wanted to show that his policies could deliver for workers, rather than repeat the decades of factory closures that had gutted parts of the Midwest and fed into a deep political divide.On Thursday, Biden will visit Belvidere to showcase that same auto plant, which has reopened as part of the settlement of a targeted strike by the United Auto Workers union. The reopening “goes to the heart of who he is, the heart of his vision for the country and how he’s led,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, White Hou...

Holiday job postings down from last year amid slowing economy: Indeed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:52 GMT

TORONTO — Canadian postings for seasonal holiday jobs are down 30 per cent from a year ago so far, according to Indeed, amid a softening economy and cooling labour market.“There’s been an overall cooling of employer hiring appetite over the past year. And it’s pretty similar in seasonal work and other areas of the economy as well, said Indeed senior economist Brendon Bernard.Overall Canadian job postings are also down 30 per cent from last year, though they’re up 18 per cent from pre-pandemic, Indeed said in a report released Thursday. “Seasonal recruitment started slow in September this year, and while it picked up in October, it wasn’t enough to close the gap,” the hiring site said.Meanwhile, holiday postings were around the same level as pre-pandemic. As a result, Indeed said holiday postings represent a smaller share of overall postings than they did in 2019. While the slowing macroeconomic environment is likely to blame for overall lower postings, the slowdown in ho...