Latest news with #WWI
USA Today
7 hours ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump says we have ‘too many non-working holidays.' He has declared these working holidays
President Donald Trump said the U.S. has "too many non-working holidays," but he hasn't shied away from other holiday proclamations. In an apparent critique of Juneteenth, Trump said in a June 19 Truth Social post that non-working holidays are costing billions of dollars to keep businesses closed. Private companies are not forced to close on federal holidays like Juneteenth, which commemorates events of June 19, 1865, when the last Black people enslaved by the Confederacy were ordered free. Trump has railed against the number of paid holidays for federal workers in the past, while also proclaiming new holidays. Trump says 'too many non-working holidays' Trump's post on Juneteenth criticized the number of federal holidays, which most federal workers have as paid holidays. There are 12 federal holidays in 2025; most federal holidays have been created by legislation passed through Congress. But during his second presidency, Trump has issued other holiday proclamations, which would not be paid holidays, to recognize special days like: "We already have too many Holidays in America," he wrote in a May 5 Truth Social post when announcing the holidays for WWI and WWII. "There are not enough days left in the year. We were Workers then, and we are Workers now!" Did Trump acknowledge Juneteenth? Trump's 2025 Truth Social post did not mention Juneteenth. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked by reporters earlier in the day whether Trump was expected to commemorate Juneteenth. 'I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today," she responded. "I know this is a federal holiday." As of June 20, no Juneteenth proclamation has been released from the White House. Trump has previously honored Juneteenth, including in his first term as president. But Trump created controversy in 2020 after scheduling his first rally since COVID-19 lockdowns in Tulsa, Oklahoma – the site of one of the worst massacres of Black Americans in the country's history – on Juneteenth. He later changed the date of the event. What are the federal 'non-working' holidays? According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, here is the full list of U.S. federal holidays in 2025: Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Saman Shafiq, Melina Khan, Cheryl McCloud, C.A. Bridges; USA TODAY Network Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @
Irish Examiner
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Film Review: 28 Years Later is ambitious — and blackly comic
And so to the cinema, there to take refuge from all the rage swirling about the world, where we discover – courtesy of 28 Years Later (16s) – that a rage virus has infected most of the UK's population, turning them into rampaging zombies who feast on human flesh. Happily, a self-sufficient community has kept itself safe on an island for the three decades or so since the virus first erupted in 28 Days Later (2002). On a rites-of-passage trip to the mainland, however, 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) and his father Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) make a terrifying discovery: the zombies have made an evolutionary leap, and soon father and son are fleeing for their lives from an apparently indestructible Alpha. Alex Garland and Danny Boyle reunite as writer and director, respectively, for a gripping zombie flick that seeks to expand the parameters of the genre. Occasionally self-indulgent – there's an insistence on equating the survivors with the heroes of WWI, for example, or the doughty yeomen of Shakespeare's Henry V; the percussive soundtrack, meanwhile, is frequently intrusive to the point of irritation – the film is endearingly rooted in the most prosaic of vital concerns: there might be a plague of ravenous zombies roaming the mainland's rewilded forests, but Spike will stop at nothing to get medical help for his ailing mother Isla (Jodie Comer). The storytelling is erratic at times, such as when a Swedish commando, Erik (Edvin Ryding) pops up to save Spike and Isla from certain doom, but it's also gloriously cinematic when the deranged hermit Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) emerges from the wilderness like a mellow Colonel Kurtz. All told, it's a sprawling, ambitious and blackly comic take on the zombie genre, and one likely to make a star of young Alfie Williams. Disney/Pixar's Elio Elio ★★★★☆ Theatrical release Elio (G) opens with the space-obsessed, friendless Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) desperate to be abducted by aliens. So it's joy unconfined when Elio finds himself beamed up to the Communiverse, where all the intelligent life of the universe convenes. There are just two small issues: one, the other aliens believe Elio to be the leader of all Earthlings; two, the warlord Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), rejected by the Communiverse on the grounds of excessive aggression, has declared his intention to bring the rest of the universe to heel. Can Elio and his new pal Glordon (Remy Edgerly) save the Communiverse? Directed by Adrian Molina, Madeleine Sharafian and Domee Shi, this latest offering from Pixar delivers a charming sci-fi yarn that promotes a timely message of plurality and inclusivity in the face of an authoritarian threat. Vividly delivered as the Pixar creatives cut loose on all manner of alien possibilities, the story also gives us an unusually vulnerable, self-doubting hero: Elio is a likeably ebullient character who is comically unaware of his very many failings as a space-faring hero, which only adds to the poignancy of his quest. Renowned Swedish TV-duo Filip and Fredrik embark on a trip to France, aiming to rekindle the zest for life of Filip's father in The Last Journey The Last Journey ★★★★☆ Theatrical release Concerned that his 80-year-old father Lars, a retired teacher, has resigned himself to 'rotting into his armchair,' Swedish filmmaker Filip Hammar decides to take Lars on a road-trip – The Last Journey (PG) – from Sweden to the South of France, where the Hammar family spent many idyllic summer holidays. Slightly bewildered and more than a little depressed, Lars reluctantly agrees, and so the pair, with Filip's filmmaker colleague Fredrik Wikingsson along for the ride, take to the road in a battered orange Renault 4 (aka 'Europe's most overtaken car'). What follows is a touching account of Lars' gradual revitalisation, even if the process is not without its perils, physical and emotional, and especially because Filip, determined to force his father's recovery, can occasionally ride roughshod over his father's fears that he is being pushed too far. Overall, though, the film is a bittersweet, heart-warming affair; you would be well advised to have some tissues handy for the concluding scenes.
Daily Record
11 hours ago
- General
- Daily Record
Villagers appeal for final push to help renovate Stirlingshire war memorial
A total of 77 names of fallen local heroes from both World Wars appear on the Plean cenotaph - with campaigners looking to raise funds to clean up the monument. Community activists in Plean are edging closer to their goal of raising enough funds to restore and clean up the village cenotaph. Around £560 of the target has so far been raised thanks to an online crowdfunding appeal set up by Plean's Voice. And the stalwarts are asking people to donate what they can to give the effort the final push. In an online plea they said: 'We are looking to have the cenotaph cleaned up and all wording restored, to go along with our beautiful new planters and hanging baskets to brighten up our village. 'Our quote for this is £700. Can we as a village pull together and get this done, even £1 would help.' Plean's voice is a local charity set up by residents to make the village 'a lovely, more fun place to live'. The group hosts regular events throughout the year and has been successful in securing enhancements such as Christmas lights, and summer hanging baskets and tubs in recent years. Their latest project hopes to ensure their prized war memorial is given the attention it deserves. The cenotaph was unveiled on 6 August 1922 by General Sir Charles Munro, Bart., KCB, who commanded the Sixth Division in France during World War I. There are now 77 names of the village's fallen heroes on the memorial - 59 from WWI and 18 from WWII. Information published by the Imperial War Museum details how Mr Wallace Thorniecroft, of the Plean Colliery Company, presided at the unveiling ceremony in 1922, which was attended by 'a large concourse of people from the surrounding district'. Ex-servicemen paraded under Captain Thorniecroft, and other bodies present were the Boy Scouts, the Boys' Brigade, and the Girl Guides. Mr Thorniecroft mentioned that the great majority of the 57 men whose names were recorded on the memorial enlisted voluntarily in the early days of the war. General Monro meanwhile is reported as saying: 'From forge, from factory, from farm, and from shop the men came forward. The came with a high purpose; they saw the call of righteousness, the call of duty, the call of honour, and they never wavered.' He said Scotsmen had every reason to be proud of their representatives in all these fields of battle, and 'therefore it was fitting that they should come there that day to unveil a memorial, as worthy as could be, of their great achievements'. Newspaper reports at that time reported: 'It was said sometimes that memorials were not needed to these men, who unfaltering devotion to duty brought distinction to our arms. 'His [General Munro's] reply was that that it was highly necessary they should do all they could, by memorials or otherwise to keep before the younger generation the fine courage shown by those who came before them and to set them a high ideal.' Following the unveiling, Lady Monro placed the first wreath, and her action was 'followed by many relatives of the deceased'.
Scoop
15 hours ago
- General
- Scoop
Ngā Pou o Heretaunga return to Hastings Civic Square after restoration
Ngā Pou o Heretaunga have returned to Civic Square in Hastings. Project manager Te Uira Tōmoana, who is working on behalf of Ngā Marae o Heretaunga Charitable Trust, said the pou are more than carvings. "They are living expressions of whakapapa, mana and whanaungatanga. Their return to the square brings a renewed sense of presence and strength," Tōmoana said. "This kaupapa has been led with aroha and deep care by our carvers, whānau and marae," Tōmoana said. Carved by tohunga whakairo and owned by their respective marae within the district of Hastings, 18 of the pou were unveiled in 2013. Since then, they have stood as cultural markers of identity, whakapapa and unity in the heart of Hastings city. A 19th pou was gifted by the Queen of Rarotonga, Pā Ariki, in 2017 and represents the strong connection between Ngāti Kahungunu and the Takitumu region of Rarotonga. In February of this year, each pou was taken back to its marae to undergo inspection and any necessary maintenance. This is the first full collective check and restoration since their installation. One pou remains offsite for additional work. Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the council was proud to support the rededication and acknowledged the ongoing guardianship of the pou by mana whenua. "We are privileged to have them returned to the heart of our city," she said. The pou are complemented by new landscaping and maintenance of Civic Square, including the replacement of the 50-year-old pavers, which had become a safety risk. The project cost just under $1 million. Artist collective Iwi Toi Kahungunu developed the tile design, which reflects "unity in Hastings' diversity" and includes a special pattern that pays tribute to the WWI and WWII memorials in the square. The pou were to be rededicated at a dawn ceremony on Friday morning.
The Australian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Australian
WWI secures $14m in placement
West Wits raising $14m at 2.2c per share with one free-attaching option WWI will use placement funds to increase Qala Shallows project stake to 74pc Qala Shallows is approaching first gold production, with gold prices hovering near all-time highs Special Report: As gold returns to all-time highs, West Wits Mining is preparing to leverage the proceeds from a share placement to bring South Africa's Qala Shallows gold project into production. West Wits Mining's (ASX:WWI) placement raised $14m at 2.2c per share, with every two shares accompanied by a free-attaching option exercisable two years from issue date at 3.85c each. The fresh injection of cash will support the start of formal operations at Qala Shallows, including a feasibility study review and optimisation, and a US$5m buy-back of a 10% interest held by WW SA. That will increase WWI's interest in Qala Shallows to 74% of the total project ownership. With gold prices hovering around US$3450/oz, WWI is making the transformation into a gold producer in very supportive conditions. 'This fundraising enables West Wits to commence the exciting process of bringing Qala Shallows into production,' West Wits chair Michael Quinert said. 'We start this journey in an ideal environment for gold producers, whose ranks we are now joining. 'The fact that we will also be significantly increasing our stake in the overall project at this time is an added bonus.' Three directors have also agreed to subscribe to the placement for a total of $260,000 additional shares, subject to shareholder approval. Watch: Production closes in on record gold markets Gold prices at all-time highs Between months of back-and-forth tariff threats, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and the latest outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran, gold prices have been elevated for an extended period of time. While the precious metal is yet to break through its current ceiling of US$3500 per ounce set in April 2025, it's currently just 1.8% off that all-time high. In May, Goldman Sachs Research predicted gold will rise to US$3700 per ounce by the end of 2025, with much of the demand driven by Central Banks. 'While the key factor since 2022 used to be central bank buying alone, ETF investors are now joining the gold rally,' Goldman Sachs Research commodities strategist Lina Thomas said. 'As both compete for the same bullion, we are expecting gold prices to rise even further.' The gold bull run has led West Wits to review its mine plan. Qala Shallows contains a resource of over 1Moz of gold at ~3g/t, with ore reserves of 4Mt at 2.71g/t for 351,400oz. But that mineral resource was tabled at a gold price of just US$1500/oz and a Rand exchange rate much less favourable than today's. A DFS run on a base case of just US$1850/oz suggested it would cost just US$54m to bring Qala Shallows into production, producing 924,000oz over a 17 year mine life with a steady state rate of 70,000ozpa over its first nine years. That DFS gives the project a post-tax NPV of US$255m ($405m) and IRR of 53%, rising to US$366m and 72% at just US$2200/oz. Plug more than US$3000/oz in there, and it's easy to see the additional value waiting for WWI to capture. This article was developed in collaboration with West Wits, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
