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UK MPs Urged to Reject Freebies from Tobacco, Alcohol, and Junk Food Firms Amid Public Health Concerns

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UK MPs Urged to Reject Freebies from Tobacco, Alcohol, and Junk Food Firms Amid Public Health Concerns

UK MPs are being encouraged to cease taking complimentary tickets to sporting and cultural events from tobacco, alcohol, and junk food companies, as their goods cause so much illness and death.

More than 100 health organisations are pushing British MPs to refuse offers of gifts and hospitality from “unhealthy products industries” because they employ a variety of deceptive strategies to conceal the harm they cause in order to safeguard their sales.

The coalition of physicians’ associations, health charities, and children’s organisations has challenged Keir Starmer to follow through on his vow to restore integrity to public life by prohibiting such corporations from lobbying MPs with gifts that could expose them to conflicts of interest.

The prime minister announced plans to limit smoking in public spaces, including pubs, restaurants, and footpaths, to address the UK’s rising illness rate and support the NHS.

Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA), stated: “Alcohol, tobacco, and poor eating are the three leading causes of death in our country, with alcohol alone taking 10,000 lives in 2022 – the worst on record.

“MPs are expected to make decisions based on the best interests of their constituents, but we know that lobbying tactics such as receiving gifts and benefits from these industries can lead to a conflict of interest and impartiality being compromised.”

The AHA, the Obesity Health Alliance (OHA), and Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) have released a new joint report outlining the “killer tactics” used by the three industries to gain political clout and thwart efforts to improve public health by cracking down on smoking, drinking, and poor diet.

They claim that tactics “to cultivate allies” include downplaying the harm their products cause, using legal threats to delay policies aimed at reducing that damage, such as plain cigarette packaging and minimum unit pricing of alcohol, distorting scientific evidence, using front groups to advance their arguments, and providing MPs with gifts, benefits, and hospitality.

“While in many cases MPs may perceive there to be little harm in accepting a ticket for a sporting event or passing on a concert ticket to a staff member, there is no such thing as a free lunch,” according to the paper.

“Businesses spend money because they feel it will benefit their financial interests. [However], it can create the appearance of a conflict of interest when MPs amend and vote on legislation that affects these corporations.” To promote transparency, MPs must declare any gifts worth more than £300.

Report Supported by Over 100 UK Health Organizations, Including Major Charities and Public Health Experts

The report’s 100-plus sponsors include the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, health charities such as Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, and public health experts such as the Faculty of Public Health.

Thérèse Coffey, then a Conservative MP, revealed in the members’ register of interests in August 2022 that she had taken a £922.80 ticket and hospitality from the pub and beer business Greene King for Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

Coffey, a long-time opponent of “nanny state” measures, was appointed health secretary in Liz Truss’ short-lived cabinet three weeks later, and she resisted several plans to promote public health.

Earlier this year, Giles Watling, the Tory MP for Clacton, disclosed hospitality worth £351.02 from Japanese Tobacco International. In May, he proposed revisions to the tobacco and vapes bill that would limit the proposed prohibition on cigarette purchases to people under the age of 21, rather than everyone born on or after January 1, 2009.

In a rare political intervention, the Budweiser Brewing Group paid £9,000 to sponsor a fundraising event for Labour general election candidates, including four who won on July 4th – Sarah Hall, Jo Platt, Elsie Blundell, and Kirith Entwistle.

Arden Strategies, a lobbying firm founded by former Labour minister Jim Murphy, planned and funded the event, which was attended by Lucy Powell, the House of Commons leader, who is now responsible for MPs’ conduct standards. Powell declined to comment on her presence at the Budweiser-sponsored event or have an opinion on the health groups’ ideas.

Diageo, which makes products including Johnnie Walker, has arranged dinners for MPs, including whisky tastings, while Heineken paid for tickets and hospitality for Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine and now-former Tory MP James Daly to attend a Six Nations rugby match.

KFC has asked Labour MPs and councillors to sample some of its “delicious, healthy” food, including salad boxes, twister wraps, and rice boxes, at one of its Liverpool outlets during the party’s annual conference next month. Those who go will be able to speak with the fast food company’s dietitian about how they are making their products healthier.

Wes Streeting, the health minister, has chastised KFC for employing legal techniques to dispute 45 local councils’ efforts to limit the number of fast food restaurants opening in their region.

Katharine Jenner, the OHA’s director, stated that successive administrations’ inability to reduce the prevalence of unhealthy food and drink in order to address the growing crisis of individuals who are dangerously overweight has contributed to an increase in obesity, heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes rates.

The OHA, AHA, and Ash also say that a “gap in regulation” permits MPs to take gifts worth less than £300, such as chocolate and gifts during site visits, and that “unhealthy product industries” can sponsor events in parliament.

According to YouGov polling, vast majorities of people want the government to be free of the influence of the tobacco (78%), alcohol (71%), and food and drink (71%), industries when developing health policy.

Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman association, an alcohol trade association, believes drink companies should be entitled to meet with MPs.

The Portman Group does not comment on corporate hospitality rules for public representatives, as this is a subject for parliamentary authorities.

However, it is critical for parliamentarians to be able to listen to a variety of opposing viewpoints, and we reject the narrow-minded principle of excluding alcohol producers from discussions where they have much to contribute, such as responsible marketing and encouraging moderate consumption of their products.”

The Food and Beverage Federation declined to respond.

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Pam Bondi Is Appointed US Attorney General Following Gaetz’s Resignation.

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Pam Bondi
Photo via Reuters

(VOR News) – President-elect Donald Trump selected Pam Bondi, a former Florida Attorney General and ally, to succeed Matt Gaetz on Thursday after the latter withdrew from consideration.

Gaetz’s drug use and sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old girl were the subject of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee. He denies any wrongdoing.

During Trump’s first administration, Pam Bondi, 59, served on the Opioids and Drug Abuse Commission. He served as police chief of the third-most populous state from 2011 to 2019.

She was also a member of Trump’s defense team at his first impeachment hearing, where he was charged with use military assistance to get Ukraine to look into the wrongdoing of his opponent, now President Joe Biden. The Senate cleared Trump on all charges.

The right-wing America First Policy Institute, which has collaborated with Trump’s campaign to create government concepts, most recently had Pam Bondi as its leader of the legal branch.

Unlike Pam Bondi, Gaetz lacks the experience necessary to serve as attorney general and is likely to encounter resistance from Senate Democrats and some Republicans.

According to Jones Walker defense attorney David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Florida, “She is unequivocally qualified for the position on paper.” Throughout her life, she battled in court. She stood out from the previous nominee because to her resume.

In a tweet announcing his intention to nominate Bondi, Trump praised her skills as a prosecutor and her firm stance against crime as Florida’s first female attorney general. Trump said that even though Bondi was elected on November 5th, while numerous state and federal criminal investigations were underway, he pledged to keep federal prosecutions from being politicized.

According to Trump, “The biased Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans for an excessive duration.” Not true anymore.

Discussion about Pam Bondi and Trump’s history before 2016.

In 2013, the Trump Foundation may have broken federal law by giving $25,000 to a political action committee that supported Pam Bondi. Bondi thought about looking into the for-profit Trump University.

Pam Bondi disputed that her decision to end her legal actions against Trump University following the 2016 disclosure of Trump’s $25,000 gift had anything to do with her decision to withdraw from those actions. According to her, all pertinent material was made public by her office.

The erroneous money disclosure was attributed by the Trump team to a “series of unfortunate coincidences and errors.” New York state fraud investigations resulted in the dissolution of both Trump University and the Trump Foundation.

After misleading Trump University students, he settled for $25 million and was fined $2 million for misusing charitable funds.

Following Special Counsel Jack Smith’s acquisition of two indictments against him for his interference in the 2020 election and his possession of secret materials after leaving office, Trump has voiced his displeasure with the present leadership of the Justice Department and pledged retaliation.

AFPI’s Pam Bondi remains loyal to Trump.

She and a number of other lawyers claimed that Smith’s appointment was illegal in an amicus brief they prepared in support of Trump in the secret information litigation. The Justice Department filed an appeal after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee, rejected the case.

According to a long-standing rule against charging a sitting president, Smith and other top Justice Department officials are examining how both of the Trump criminal cases were resolved.

During his first administration, Trump was incensed with the Justice Department’s obstructionism. Bill Barr specifically refuted Trump’s baseless claims that he lost the 2020 election due to fraud, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions permitted an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Trump’s overarching objectives for the Justice Department have been delineated through his public remarks, interviews with former department lawyers, and Mark Paoletta, a conservative lawyer who develops the department’s policy.

Federal prosecutors may give illegal immigration cases priority.

To obtain a portion of the department’s $291 million justice assistance award, cities might have to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

It is probable that the Civil Rights Division will refocus its attention from legal challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the public and commercial sectors to police accountability to religious freedom.

SOURCE: EAT

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PayPal’s Technical Challenges Are Affecting Thousands Of Customers Globally.

Matt Gaetz Withdraws as Trump’s Pick for Attorney General

 

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PayPal’s Technical Challenges Are Affecting Thousands Of Customers Globally.

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PayPal

(VOR News) – PayPal is a software program that enables the sending and receiving of monetary orders and transactions.

According to the corporation, which has taken responsibility for the incident that was mentioned before, PayPal is apparently experiencing problems in every region of the world in which it conducts business. This information was provided by the company.

In addition, PayPal noted on its service status website that it was experiencing “a system issue” which may affect a variety of PayPal Products, such as the ability to withdraw money from an account and the ability to complete an express checkout. This issue may even hurt the ability to complete an express checkout.

This problem may also affect other PayPal products.

In light of the fact that this vulnerability is present, there are further PayPal products that have the potential to be affected by it.

One of the remarks that was made was that “Our technical teams are actively working towards resolving the issue,” which was stated in the email that was distributed. This was one of the comments that individuals made. A number of assertions were made, and this was one of them all.

Several customers from various regions of the world have stated that they are unable to access their accounts or that they are having difficulty when it comes to making payments. These customers have also mentioned that they are encountering difficulties making payments.

These clients have informed us that they are experiencing difficulties obtaining their orders by communicating their concerns. As an additional point of interest, a number of customers have reported that they are currently having trouble processing payments. This is something that should be taken into consideration.

Up to the moment that the clock struck twelve twelve Central European Time (GMT), the platform outage monitor known as Downdetector had already received more than seven thousand alerts from users. When the clock reached twelve o’clock, this was the situation that existed.

As indicated by a dashboard that provides an overview of the current state of the services that are being offered by the organization, the crisis started at roughly 10:53 UTC.

PayPal gathered this information via the dashboard.

Among the services that were impacted by the outage, the business asserts that its bitcoin services and the peer-to-peer payment platform Venmo were among those that were affected. Venmo is a form of cryptocurrency that enables users to send and receive payments from one another.

This information suggests that these services were among those that were impacted by the circumstances. This information has been provided.

There are consumers who have voiced their frustration on social media over the fact that they are unable to access their accounts, and some of these customers have expressed their frustration over this issue. A number of users have stated their frustration about this issue.

The discontentment that users are experiencing has been communicated through posts that have been published on various social media platforms as of late.

Users of X, which was once known as Twitter, have submitted screenshots of a notification that flashed when they attempted to log into the platform.

The notification appeared after logging in.

The message was flashed on the screen whenever they attempted to log in by entering their credentials. For those individuals who were fortunate enough to receive the notification, it was strongly recommended that they “please check your entries and try again.”

Since its beginning in 1998, PayPal has developed into a global financial institution that is associated with a significance level that is significant enough to be considered noteworthy. The occurrence of this evolution took place virtually immediately following the establishment of PayPal.

Investors were informed that the total number of active accounts across all of the company’s companies had increased to $432 million for the month that ended on September 30th.

This information was provided to investors. Following the conclusion of the month, this information was made available to the public.

During the course of the month of October, investors were provided with this information for the purpose of their consideration. For those individuals who were interested in investing, the material in question was made available to them.

SOURCE: BBC

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NVIDIA’s Earnings: The Leader In AI Chips Demonstrates Relentless Growth.

Thousands of Asylum Seekers in Canada Get Free Housing

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Thousands of Asylum Seekers in Canada Get Free Housing

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Asylum Seekers Canada

With a large increase in the number of asylum seekers in Canada, several communities have begun to create free accommodations for new immigrants, while many Canadians remain homeless.

The city of Ottawa is attempting to build a sprung building, which will function as both a temporary shelter and a center for settlement services such as language training and job placement.

These facilities are intended to host refugees in the city for the first few weeks before transitioning to more suitable housing in Ottawa’s settlement infrastructure.

The city has identified two possible sites for these centers, both in the city’s west end. Planning records refer to them as “modular tension fabric buildings.”

The proposed placements for these structures have caused concern in the local areas. The city’s first proposed location was canceled due to strong community opposition. Subsequently, it proposed two alternative options and rallies for and against constructing the structures, which took place last weekend in both locations.

Many people protested that they had not been fully consulted on the location, while others grumbled that nothing was being done to assist Canadian citizens.

Asylum Seekers Canada

Canadian authorities opened a temporary housing center for migrants with 1,050 beds in the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

According to city data, one planned location is a federally owned tract of property near the Nepean Sportsplex, which serves around 1.5 million people annually. The other is near a public transport park-and-ride lot in Kanata’s western suburb.

City Councillor Sean Devine, whose constituency includes the Sportsplex site, stated that citizens have much to say about the problem.

“A lot of it is coming from the fact that it would have been preferable if the city of Ottawa had communicated the information sooner, perhaps in advance of the recommendations,” he told Global News during a telephone interview.

According to Devine, the number of migrants arriving in Ottawa has increased significantly in the last two years. This is consistent with national trends in refugee and asylum seeker rates.

Under Trudeua’s leadership, Canada had approximately 250,000 asylum petitions pending as of September 30, 2024, with more than 33,000 approved between January and the end of September.

International students in Canada filed nearly 14,000 asylum petitions in the first nine months of 2024, a roughly 14% increase over the same period last year. Compared to the present figures, approximately 12,000 asylum applications were lodged by international students in 2023—a tremendous surge from a mere 1,810 claims in 2018.

Devine stated that the city has been using two community center gymnasiums outfitted with bunk beds to temporarily lodge certain claimants before transitioning to other sorts of accommodation.

Asylum seekers get free housing in Quebec and Ontario

Asylum seekers get free housing in Quebec and Ontario.

According to a September release, the Ottawa Mission noticed a considerable increase in refugees filling its shelter beds in the summer of 2023. By October, asylum seekers were using 61% of the beds, a record high under Trudeau’s leadership.

The new structures will be funded under the federal interim housing aid program, which allows municipalities and provinces to reimburse the federal Government for expenditures incurred while temporarily hosting asylum seekers.

Since 2017, well over $1 billion has been distributed, largely in Ontario and Quebec, with the city of Ottawa getting $105 million to date.

Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development, who represents the Ottawa riding of Kanata-Nepean, expressed disappointment with how the plans were presented to people.

Louisa Taylor, executive director of Settlement Service Organization 613 Asylum Seekers, has collaborated with the city to coordinate resources for settlement assistance at future centers.

Taylor explained that many asylum seekers in an Ottawa homeless shelter prompted her and 613 refugees to organize a recent rally supporting the structure.

“For several years, hundreds of refugee claimants have been living and sleeping on bunk beds and cots in community centers and arenas throughout the city.”

Nobody has gone out protesting about it. “What they’re protesting is the concept of having a facility in their community that they don’t know much about,” she explained.

Homeless Canadians

Homelessness is not a problem that most people connect with within Canada, but it is becoming a growing one. The projected number of homeless persons in Canada fluctuates from 150,000 to 300,000, which is increasing.

According to the 2016 State of Homelessness study, Canada had at least 235,000 homeless people. According to the Homeless Hub, the number of homeless people in Canada varies each year, ranging from 150,000 to 300,000.

However, many more people may be without a permanent home in Canada. The actual number is impossible to determine because many homeless people live in concealed places.

They are so named because they temporarily reside in squats or with friends and relatives. An estimated 1.3 million Canadians have experienced insecure housing or homelessness.

Homelessness Statistics for Canadians

  • Between 25,000 and 35,000 people are homeless on any given night in Canada.
  • Toronto has the most homeless people in Canada.
  • 62% of homeless people in Canada are males.
  • 30% of Canadian homeless come from Indigenous communities.
  • 90% of homeless shelters in Canada are in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Alberta, and 44% of them are in Ontario alone.
  • 22% of shelters are aimed at young homeless in Canada, while 20% of people experiencing homelessness are 13-24 years old.
  • The annual cost of homelessness is over $7 billion.
  • The Canadian Government has invested $2.2 billion over ten years to expand funding for the homeless.

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