The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, announced energy bill relief and assistance for people struggling to pay rent as part of cost-of-living measures he said were designed to reduce inflation. With a projected surplus of $9.3bn, Chalmers delivered the first back-to-back surplus since the global financial crisis in 2007-08

The HSBC in Diss is closing today for 15 days as refurbishments take place. The Mount Street site has shut its doors from this afternoon until 9.30am on May 29 to have work done on the site, including painting, new signage and the installation of state-of-the-art cash machines. George Hemstock, HSBC UK’s local director, said that the bank had discussed the temporary closure with its customers. The Diss branch of HSBC in Mount Street. “We will also be hosting community pop-up events at St Mary's Church Hall in Mount Street.

Source: progressivegrocer.comUS: Walmart can't stand up to Roundy'sWalmart grocery is being dominated in the Milwaukee area, reports the Milwaukee Business Journal. Roundy's cashed in with $2.3bln in annual sales a year ago, while Walmart had $1.3bln. Source: thecanadianpressnews.caUS: HelloFresh to close Georgia distribution center, cut more than 700 jobsHelloFresh plans to shut down its distribution center in Newnan, Georgia, on July 10 as the German meal kit company grapples with reduced demand for its products, a spokesperson for the company confirmed. The Star reported that executives at four major food suppliers said Loblaws' sales and orders have not changed over the last couple of weeks. The meal pots count as one of the five recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables, and contain no added sugar.

3) Education headwindsLower fertility rates means fewer pupils in educational institutions moving forward. The effect will become even more pronounced over time if fertility rates remain as low as expected. 4) Housing Catch-22The long-term relationship between aging populations, lower fertility rates and the housing sector is a complicated one. And research suggests an inability to get on the housing ladder is leading many individuals to delay having children[22] [23] – contributing to lower fertility rates. We will be interested to see how the housing sector moves to address the issue from here.

He arrived at Old Trafford amid much fanfare, having won a glut of major silverware during his decade-long stint at the Bernabeu, having started his career at Lens, and been part of the French teams that reached back-to-back World Cup finals in 2018 and 2022 - winning the first against Croatia in Moscow.

A longtime passion project for Coppola, who first conceived the idea for the film in 1977 and actively started developing it in 1983,underwent significant delays and numerous cancellations over the years. Coppola revived the project in 2019 by spending $120 million of his own money on the film. Filming took place from November 2022 to March 2023. The film is Coppola's first directorial effort since(2011), marking his longest gap between films.

May 14, 2024 16:00:00British police are developing a backpack terminal that will emit an electromagnetic pulse to forcibly stop the motors of electric bicycles and electric kickboards in the UK, where crimes using electric bicycles are commonIn recent years, electric bikes with pedals called 'mopeds ' and electric kick scooters have become popular, but many problems have been pointed out, such as the high incidence ofcaused by drivers of these vehicles. In addition, there have been many crimes in the UK, such as snatch thefts using electric bicycles and electric kick scooters, and as a countermeasure, the UK police are considering introducing backpack devices that can forcibly stop the engines of electric bicycles, electric scooters, and electric kick scooters. British police have already introduced technology to remotely stop cars using radio waves and electromagnetic waves. However, with the recent spread of electric bicycles and electric scooters, there has beena rise in crimes such as snatching pedestrians' smartphones and running into alleys. 'The problem is that electric bicycles are traveling at high speeds in city and urban areas,' Stevens said.

Luis Diaz produced a frustrating display away at Aston VillaLiverpool's 3-3 draw with Aston Villa was a curious match. And there was one player who summed it up more than most from the away team's perspective. Diaz's consistency in the final third just has not improved sufficiently since he first arrived at Liverpool in January 2022. By contrast his predecessor Sadio Mane's worst return in a Liverpool shirt was his debut season in 2016-17 - 13 goals and seven assists. Diaz's overall output as a Liverpool player is 20 goals and nine assists from 97 appearances.

Top banks have provided $6.9 trillion in financing to the fossil fuel industry since the 2015 Paris AgreementThe world's biggest banks financed fossil fuels to the tune of $705 billion in 2023, with U.S. and Japanese lenders leading the way, an annual report by climate campaigners said Monday. Since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the top 60 banks have provided a total of $6.9 trillion to the sector, according to the coalition's 15th annual report titled "Banking on Climate Chaos". "Financiers and investors of fossil fuels continue to light the flame of the climate crisis," said Tom BK Goldtooth, executive director of Indigenous Environmental Network, one of the report's authors. Last year's fossil fuel funding was down 9.5 percent from 2022, the report said. Japan's Mizuho moved up to second place with $37 billion, followed by Bank of America at $33.7 billion.

In London, Sadiq has hit every affordable housing target set by the Government, and has boosted council homebuilding to the highest level since the 1970s. Industry experts, Savills are warning that housing completions could fall to just 160,000 next year across the entire country and say more affordable housing is critically important (2). “With a crisis of this magnitude we need more housing of all types, but the most acute need is for affordable, preferably social housing. “As the largest providers of affordable housing in the capital, G15 members very much welcome any initiatives that will boost supply. Every £1 invested in social housing delivers at least £2.70 in economic benefits, supporting long-term growth and underpinning local jobs, skills and supply chains.”

The crocodile measuring more than four metres long was captured in a north Queensland marina after lunging at a man on a houseboat. The reptile was reported to authorities after launching itself at the houseboat and, in a separate incident, taking a dog. The animal was captured at Cardwell Marina, north of Townsville

Whereas in Ukraine, fear has translated as excessive caution and restraint, when it comes to countries in the southern Mediterranean and Africa, fear equals abdicating on foreign policy altogether. Now policy boils down to a crude transactionalism, where European countries and EU institutions engage with African counterparts as if they were CEOs signing business deals. The “money for (no) migrants” approach is not foreign policy. It’s the abdication of foreign policy. The EU has long been a major trade partner for Israel, and after the US, Germany is Israel’s largest military supplier.

Prince Harry has been labelled a ‘liability’ to the Monarchy and any hopes he has of reconciling with his estranged family are over, according to a royal expert. Other rumours suggested Prince William also persuaded his father not to meet with him. Speaking to GB News, royal commentator Kinsey Schofield said Prince Harry will not reconcile with the King until he has “matured”. However, Schofield admitted that the growing feud between Harry and the Royal Family is “devastating to watch unfold”. Host Mark Dolan argued that is it “time for the country and the King to forgive Prince Harry”.

“I feel a profound sense of urgency” said Rishi Sunak in a ‘wide-ranging’ and wild speech today. And from gender activists hijacking children’s sex education to cancel culture, vocal and aggressive fringe groups are trying to impose their views on the rest of us. His list of supposed threats to the UK includes pro-peace activists, “cancel culture”, “gender activists” and, of course, “Scottish nationalists”. Thrown into this hideous and terrifying mix is of course “Scottish nationalists.”It’s a wildly stupid, offensive and dangerous idea to put out there – but par for the course for the Tories. But, as Mark E Thomas has noted there are other factors going on here other than, er, comparing Scottish nationalists with terrorist states, he was also making a play by the venue he chose.

Claim:A U.S. House Bill introduced by Republicans in May 2024 proposed sending people convicted of unlawful campus activity on or after Oct. 7, 2023, to provide community service in Gaza. According to bill tracking site govtrack.us, the bill has only a 2% chance of becoming a law. U.S. Congress is now pushing to pass a bill that sends American students to be slaughtered in Gaza by Israel for misbehaving. 'College Anti-Israel Agitators Could Be Sent to Gaza under New House GOP Bill'. Republican House Members Suggest Laws Sending Campus Protesters to Gaza - Washington Examiner.