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‘No’ votes ahead in early count in Australian referendum on whether to create an Indigenous Voice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:59 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Polling closed in all but one Australian state Saturday with the “no” vote dominating early counting in the country’s first referendum in a generation, deciding whether to tackle Indigenous disadvantages by enshrining in the constitution a new advocacy committee.The proposal for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament bitterly divided Australia’s Indigenous minority as well as the wider community.The polls closed in a fifth state, Queensland, at 6 p.m. (08:00 GMT). Voting will close in Western Australia two hours later due to its unique time zone.Australian Broadcasting Corp. said that based on an early vote count, the states of New South Wales and Tasmania will reject constitutional change. The Voice would need majorities in each of the four remaining states plus a national majority to survive.Opinion polls in recent months have indicated a strong majority of Australians oppose the proposal. Earlier in the year, a majority supported the Voice before the “...

Early results in New Zealand election indicate Christopher Luxon poised to become prime minister

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:59 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Voting closed Saturday in New Zealand and ballot counting was underway in a general election, with early results indicating people were favoring a conservative change after six years of a liberal government led for most of that time by Jacinda Ardern.With more than one-third of the votes counted, former businessman Christopher Luxon was poised to become the nation’s next prime minister.Ardern unexpectedly stepped down as prime minister in January, saying she no longer had “enough in the tank” to do the job justice. She won the last election in a landslide, but her popularity waned as people got tired of COVID-19 restrictions and inflation threatened the economy.Her departure left Chris Hipkins, 45, to take over as leader. He had previously served as education minister and led the response to the coronavirus pandemic. The initial vote counting showed Luxon’s National Party with over 40% of the vote. Under New Zealand’s proportional voting syst...

NDP to debate Israel-Hamas conflict in emergency resolution, Singh to face review

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:59 GMT

OTTAWA — The New Democrats are set to debate the war between Israel and Hamas at their convention today, where party Leader Jagmeet Singh will face a leadership review. Several emergency resolutions that address the Middle East conflict condemn the attacks by Hamas militants, while one calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.With just 30 minutes for delegates to debate the resolutions, not all of them will be discussed. But a resolution that’s been given top priority calls for the party to pull out of the confidence-and-supply deal unless the Liberals commit to a universal and entirely public pharmacare program. Singh, who has been in the role since 2017, will also face a mandatory leadership review — his first since the 2021 election. At the last convention held in April of that year, 87 per cent of delegates voted against triggering a leadership race.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2023. The Canadian Press

Partial solar eclipse could be seen in B.C., but forecast may hamper view

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:59 GMT

VANCOUVER — Residents in southwestern British Columbia are in the best place to view the solar eclipse this morning.The event is known as a ring-of-fire eclipse, where the moon passes in front of the sun but doesn’t completely cover it, leaving a fiery rim around the dark moon.The eclipse starts at 8:08 a.m., peaks at about 9:20 a.m. and will be finished by 10:38 a.m. in Vancouver, though the weather forecast may be a damper for viewers.Environment Canada is predicting clouds and showers in much of southwest B.C., where the moon will block out 70 to 80 per cent of the sun, while the rest of the province will see 50 to 70 per cent coverage.Should the weather interfere, Laura Flinn, a physics instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, says North Americans don’t have long to wait for their next shot at seeing the phenomenon.A complete solar eclipse will happen on April 8, 2024, and will be viewable over parts of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoun...

Daily horoscope for October 14, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:59 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Solar Eclipse peaks in Libra at 1:55 p.m. EDT today (10:55 a.m. PDT).Happy Birthday for Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023:You are a realist. You like balance in your life. You are a steady, calming influence on others. This year simplicity is the key to life. It’s time to create solid foundations. Take charge of your health. Explore martial arts or yoga. Stay grounded and levelheaded.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★This is one of the best days of the year to ask yourself what you can do to improve your closest relationships, especially with partners, spouses and dear friends. There’s always room for improvement. Tonight: Cooperation.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★On this New Moon Day, think about how you can improve your health. Also, what can you do to improve your job or the way you do your job? This is also the perfect day to think about how to improve how you care for your pet. Tonight: Work.GEMINI(May...

Harriette Cole: I worry I’ll lose my friend because of this workplace issue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:59 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: My best friend at work and I are up for the same promotion. As far as I know, only one of us can get it, and it’s making me sick to my stomach to think of having to compete with her.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: Is it OK for me to hide my health concerns from my husband? Advice | Harriette Cole: It bothers me that there was so little reaction to my social media purge Advice | Harriette Cole: Should I tell my friend I’m worried about her boy? Advice | Harriette Cole: My husband berates me because he forgets what I tell him Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m tired of hearing about her kids’ private school We both deserve to advance at work, and I don’t think it’s smart for either of us to back down from trying for this promotion. The thing is, I don’t know how to talk about it with her.I worry that we won’t be friends after the decision i...

Miss Manners: I’m plagued by how I mishandled this neighborly interaction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:59 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: There’s nothing I can do about it now, but my mishandling of an awkward situation plagues me to this day.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: One guest ignored my buffet and raided the refrigerator Advice | Miss Manners: What should I do when my co-workers glare at me? Advice | Miss Manners: What’s a polite way of saying ‘you weren’t our first pick’? Advice | Miss Manners: A virtual stranger hijacked our lunch date. What could we have done? Advice | Miss Manners: I wasn’t going to let a runty lobster ruin my carefully planned dinner My husband and I had been dear friends with our neighbors since we moved to the neighborhood and our children were small. Years later, when their daughter was studying art in college, she came home on a break from school with a surprise for me: a giant abstract painting that she’d made.My husband and I are minimal...

A Half-Century Ago, Another Major Intel Failure Saw Israel’s Leader Resign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:59 GMT

A surprise attack catches the Israeli military — who thought it was a training exercise — off guard. A stunning intelligence failure with warnings going unheeded. Calls for the prime minister to resign.Exactly 50 years and a day before this past weekend’s surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, an eerily similar series of events played out on the world stage: the Yom Kippur War.In 1973, amid blistering tensions over Israel–Palestine, Arab coalition forces led by Egypt and Syria carried out a surprise attack, successfully pushing Israel, for a time, out of the occupied Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula. Israeli intelligence noticed the Egyptian military buildup but incorrectly assessed that they were simply military exercises — an error repeated by the Israeli intelligence this past week, according to a news report.Just before the Hamas attack on Friday, Israeli security chiefs took part in a high-level meeting to discuss whether Hamas’s irregular activity was the prelude to an...

American Angel Yin moves into a share of the third-round lead at the LPGA Shanghai tournament

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:59 GMT

SHANGHAI (AP) — American Solheim Cup player Angel Yin shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to move into a share of the third-round lead at the LPGA Shanghai tournament.Yin was tied with Maja Stark, who had a one-stroke lead after two rounds.Yin and Stark, who shot 70, had 12-under totals of 204 on the Qizhong Garden Golf Club course in the LPGA’s first return to China since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Pavarisa Yoktuan of Thailand bogeyed her final hole for a 69 and was a shot back in third place.Two-time defending champion Danielle Kang of the United States shot 73 and was four strokes behind the leaders.The event is the start of a four-tournament Asia swing, with later stops in South Korea, Malaysia and Japan.___AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golfSource

Colorado’s two-way star Travis Hunter scores two touchdowns in return from lacerated liverg

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:59 GMT

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Two-way standout Travis Hunter returned from a lacerated liver that sidelined him for three games and played the roles of both hero and goat in Colorado’s 46-43 collapse against Stanford on Friday night.Hunter led the Buffaloes with 13 catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns in his first game in nearly a month, and he collected five solo tackles on defense. But he also was burned by Cardinal star receiver Elic Ayomanor, whose school-record 294-yard performance was highlighted by a 30-yard touchdown catch in the first overtime. The stout sophomore corralled Ashton Daniels’ throw on the back of Hunter’s helmet, held on as their momentum took both into the end zone and lifted the ball over Hunter’s head just as he backpedaled in for the score.Coach Deion Sanders didn’t hold back on Hunter’s workload and when it was suggested that decision will be scrutinized in light of Ayomanor’s big day, Sanders retorted, “His condition...