The storm is the third in a series of extreme weather events to hit the drought-stricken state in the span of a week.As heavy rains and strong winds continue to batter the western United States, officials in the state of California have said that they are “preparing for a war” to keep residents safe against the extreme weather. The state is facing the third “atmospheric river” – a relatively narrow but intense storm propelled by powerful gusts that can create flash-flooding, power outages and mudslides – during the course of a week. Already, deaths are being reported in the northern…
Author: National Tone
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a three-month low last week while layoffs fell 43 percent in December, pointing to a still-tight labour market that could force the Federal Reserve to keep increasing interest rates. Labour market resilience was underscored by other data on Thursday showing private employers hired far more workers than expected last month. The reports suggested the economy ended 2022 on solid footing, despite a series of layoffs in the technology industry, as well in interest rate-sensitive sectors like finance and housing. The jobs market resilience has raised the risk that…
The job-slashing plan is the largest among recent workforce reductions that have affected the US tech sector.Amazon has announced it will cut more than 18,000 jobs from its workforce, citing “the uncertain economy” and the fact that it had “hired rapidly” during the pandemic. “Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles,” said CEO Andy Jassy in a statement to his staff. The company had announced 10,000 layoffs in November. The jobs to be slashed under the plan amount to 6 percent of Amazon’s roughly 300,000-person corporate…
The Boston Bruins have placed forward Jake DeBrusk on long-term injured reserve. .acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container width: 340px; margin: 0 auto; DeBrusk suffered hand and lower-body injuries in Boston’s 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, in which he scored both Bruins goals. The 26-year-old is expected to miss around four weeks to recover from the injuries. DeBrusk ranks second on the team with 16 goals and has 30 points in 36 games this season. The Bruins recalled Chris Wagner from the AHL’s Providence Bruins. The 31-year-old has played in 27 games in Providence this…
Yevgeny Prigozhin filmed telling convicts who served six months on the front line, ‘don’t rape women’ in Russia.The first batch of Russian prisoners who were offered amnesty in return for fighting in Ukraine has been released, the head of Wagner, the Russian mercenary group, said in a video. In a video published by Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency, Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen telling a group of men, “You’ve worked through your contract. You worked honourably, with dignity”. Prigozhin said the men “should be treated with [the] deepest respect by society” after completing their six-month contracts in Ukraine. “Don’t drink a…
Ukraine has started the new year with a major attack that killed many Russian soldiers in their barracks, and with a defensive victory – its air force said it managed to shoot down all the Iranian drones Russia launched against Ukrainian infrastructure since the beginning of the year. Ukraine launched six artillery rockets at a barracks in Makiivka, in the Donetsk region, using its US-supplied HIMARS system a couple of minutes into New Year’s Day. Four of the rockets got through air defences, the Russian defence ministry admitted, striking their target. Russia acknowledged 63 deaths two days after the strike,…
Mourners gather at the Vatican to pay final respects to German theologian Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.Mourners have poured into St. Peter’s Square for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to pay their final respects to the German theologian, to attend a rare requiem Mass for a dead pontiff presided over by a living one. Bells tolled on Thursday and the crowd applauded as pallbearers carried Benedict’s cypress coffin out of the basilica and rested it before the altar in the piazza, as red-robed cardinals looked on. Heads of state and royalty, clergy from around the world and thousands of…
The drone was among five North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles that crossed into South Korea’s airspace on December 26.A North Korean drone entered the northern end of a 3.7km (2.2 miles) radius no-fly zone surrounding South Korea’s presidential office in Seoul when it intruded into the country’s airspace last month, military officials have said. The drone was among five North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles that crossed the border and entered South Korean airspace on December 26, prompting South Korea’s military to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters. The military could not bring down the drones, which flew over South Korean territory…
As years of severe ”zero-COVID” restrictions have come to an abrupt halt in China, relations between the country’s rulers and the ruled are under strain. People who once supported zero-COVID have been left wondering what the years of tough restrictions were for now that almost all of the policies put in place to protect people have been dropped and COVID-19 is running rampant through China’s population. The surprise policy reversal by President Xi Jinping’s administration has also left some previously apolitical people feeling deeply embittered with their leaders in Beijing. In China’s biggest city, Shanghai, 31-year-old Ming Li – who…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s justice minister has unveiled a plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system and weaken the country’s Supreme Court. Critics have accused the government of declaring war against the judiciary, saying the plan announced on Wednesday will upend Israel’s system of checks and balances and undermine democratic institutions by giving absolute power to the most right-wing coalition in Israel’s history. Justice minister Yariv Levin, a confidant of Netanyahu and longtime critic of the Supreme Court, presented his plan a day before the justices are to debate a controversial new law on Thursday that allows a politician…