All posts tagged: battle

A Battle for the Soul of the West

A Battle for the Soul of the West

Published by skeptic

For President Donald Trump, last month’s spat at the White House with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was “great television.” To the rest of us, it was a horrifying realization of our worst fears: a real-time crumbling of the Euro-American alliance, which has been the bedrock of the international order since 1945. Europeans have recently been discovering a new resolve for standing on their own. Perhaps the most candid response came from the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, Kaja Kallas, who said that “the free world needs a new leader.” There is plenty of good sense in the EU taking a resolute stand. The need for “strategic autonomy” is not only the preoccupation of French President Emmanuel Macron; it has been part of the bloc’s codified global strategy since 2016 as well. Now Trump is fulminating against the EU, claiming that it was “formed in order to screw the United States,” and European autonomy has become an urgent priority. But to reduce this moment to a Euro-American clash, let alone to resort to clichés about the supposedly …

Emma Heming delivers ‘heavy’ message amid husband Bruce Willis’ health battle

Emma Heming delivers ‘heavy’ message amid husband Bruce Willis’ health battle

Published by skeptic

Emma Heming is truly a superwoman, with raising two daughters, becoming a published author, and caring for her husband, Bruce Willis, amid his battle with frontotemporal dementia. The Die Hard actor was diagnosed with the illness in February 2023, a year after his family revealed he was suffering from aphasia.  Since then, Emma has been incredibly open about the joys and pitfalls of being a caregiver and is on a mission to help others in the same position. WATCH: Emma Hemming delivers ‘heavy’ message amid husband Bruce Willis’ health battle The former model took to Instagram to deliver a “heavy” message about the importance of supporting a caregiver, ahead of National Caregivers Day on February 21.  “So many of you want to know how you can best support someone who is a caregiver in your life,” she began, addressing her audience of almost a million followers.  “I was thinking about it, and instead of saying to the caregiver, ‘If there’s anything I can do, please let me know’, which is so kind and comes from such a loving …

Firm launches £4m court battle with rival

Firm launches £4m court battle with rival

Published by skeptic

New legal battle begins as £200m MIS turf war takes another twist New legal battle begins as £200m MIS turf war takes another twist More from this theme Recent articles One of the biggest school management information system (MIS) providers has launched a multi-million-pound legal fight against a leading rival, following a government attempt to end the company’s “litigiousness”. Two years ago, United Learning Trust lost a high court battle with tech company Bromcom, after a judge ruled the business should have won a £2 million MIS contract with the academy chain. Now, Bromcom has told rival Arbor Education – which secured the deal – to cough up £4 million, accusing it of making “material misrepresentations” over its finances that prevented it “from being automatically disqualified” during the procurement process. James Weatherill, the chief executive of Arbor, denied the allegations, adding: “Schools should not have to fear being sued by their software supplier. We look forward to being vindicated in court.” Ministers handed United Learning £1 million to challenge Bromcom in a bid to protect …

Who’s Ken Martin? Supporters say the Minnesota Democrat and would-be DNC chair is ready for battle

Who’s Ken Martin? Supporters say the Minnesota Democrat and would-be DNC chair is ready for battle

Published by Sam

The chairman of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Ken Martin, has emerged as a favorite in the race for chair of the Democratic National Committee on a platform of expanding Democrats’ operations in every state and territory, contesting every election and year-round campaigning. Some of Martin’s supporters, including current and former candidates for chair, describe Martin as well-positioned to bridge the ideological divide in the Democratic Party while competently wielding and building party infrastructure.  Early in the race, Martin, the president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, boasted the endorsements of well over 100 party insiders. More recently, CBS News reported that he enjoys the endorsements of some 51 state party chairs or co-chairs, including 20 whose endorsements were not previously public.  “This is an opportunity to really reimagine the DNC and for me, that means really getting the DNC out of D.C.,” Martin recently told Democracy Docket. “One of the shortcomings I believe of our national party committees is that they focus almost exclusively on just one election cycle with no longer term arc to …

What happened to Kourtney Kardashian’s stepdaughter Alabama? Teen’s health battle explained

What happened to Kourtney Kardashian’s stepdaughter Alabama? Teen’s health battle explained

Published by skeptic

Kourtney Kardashian’s famous stepdaughter sparked concern when news broke that the 19-year-old had been rushed to hospital after calling paramedics. Alabama Barker, who is the second child of Blink-182’s drummer Travis Barker and his ex-wife, beauty pageant queen Shanna Moakler, was suffering from nicotine withdrawal after being a frequent vaper, TMZ reported. The outlet claimed that she quit vaping after pursuing a music career, as the smoke could damage her vocal cords. Recommended videoYou may also likeKourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker pack on the PDA as they celebrate incredible personal achievement Alabama quickly took to social media to set the record straight about her health battle, reassuring fans that she was doing fine in the wake of her hospitalization. “Hello everyone, I just want to clarify that I was not in the hospital this month or last,” she wrote on her Instagram stories. “The situation occurred some time ago, and I was there for about three hours before being discharged. They provided me with a nicotine patch and an inhaler, and that’s all.” © Getty …

TikTok faces US ban after losing court battle | Science, Climate & Tech News

TikTok faces US ban after losing court battle | Science, Climate & Tech News

Published by skeptic

TikTok has lost an appeal against plans to ban the video-sharing app in the US. The social media platform had argued the proposal was a breach of the US First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech. TikTok pushed to overturn a law that could lead to its ban in a few months. However, the petition was dismissed on Friday by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Its judges ruled the government’s ban was constitutional because it was designed “solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States”. The law, which was signed off by US President Joe Biden in April, requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance by mid-January – or else it will be blocked in the country. It was introduced following concern from some US politicians that the company might share user data with the Chinese government, despite repeated assurances from the firm that it would not. Critics …

Battle for future of National World as shareholder launches takeover bid

Battle for future of National World as shareholder launches takeover bid

Published by Sam

National World plc headquarters in Leeds. Picture: Google Streetview Direct marketing business and Irish local newspaper publisher Media Concierge has launched a bid to take control of the UK’s third-largest regional media group National World. Media Concierge, which also owns Irish newspapers including the Donegal Democrat and Limerick Leader through subsidiary Iconic Media Group, was one of National World’s original backers and already holds 27.8% of its shares. Media Concierge abstained in a vote on chief executive David Montgomery’s continued leadership of the business at the company’s last annual general meeting in May, Press Gazette understands. Since then National World has discontinued a longstanding business relationship with Media Concierge subsidiary Mediaforce, which had until then handled national advertising for the company. National World now sells its national print advertising through competitor Reach. The group has proposed to buy the remaining equity at 21 pence per share, which it says would be “a significant premium” of 40% on its London Stock Exchange price. National World closed at 15p per share on Thursday and Media Concierge said …

Vengeful by Victoria E Schwab The Battle for Control and Survival

Vengeful by Victoria E Schwab The Battle for Control and Survival

Published by skeptic

The Dance of Light and Shadow In a world where extraordinary abilities come at the cost of death itself, Victoria E Schwab’s Vengeful emerges as a dark symphony of ambition, revenge, and the corrupting nature of power. This brilliant sequel to Vicious proves that sometimes the most compelling stories aren’t about heroes versus villains, but about the shadowy territory where morality blurs and power corrupts absolutely. A Tale of Three Powers Vengeful by Victoria E Schwab picks up five years after the events of Vicious, weaving together three main narrative threads that eventually converge into a spectacular collision. At its heart lies Marcella Riggins, a mob wife who rises from the ashes of her husband’s attempted murder to become Merit City’s most formidable new power. Her ability to decay anything she touches serves as a perfect metaphor for her corrosive ambition. Meanwhile, Victor Vale grapples with the consequences of his resurrection, experiencing increasingly frequent deaths as his power turns against him. His search for a cure becomes a desperate race against time, even as he …

Disadvantaged school leaders’ uphill battle

Disadvantaged school leaders’ uphill battle

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles Schools in the poorest areas struggle to recruit teachers, are forced to spend more money on supply teachers and are having to pay out more for basic supplies for pupils, new analysis that reveals the full scale of the challenge for leaders running disadvantaged schools has found. And many of these gaps have worsened as schools with the poorest pupils are hit hardest by the Covid pandemic fall out, SchoolDash analysis found. But the government’s area-based intervention to provide more support to schools in deprived areas, called Education Investment Areas, is “too blunt”. “Disadvantage is one of the most analysed and discussed characteristics of England’s education system,” said SchoolDash founder Timo Hannay. But he added: “Tackling disadvantage-driven disparities in educational outcomes requires more attention on ‘upstream’ factors such as the difficulty of recruiting suitably experienced teachers.” Schools Week investigates … Disadvantaged school recruitment gap widens Secondary school vacancy rates have risen in all English regions since pre-pandemic. But schools in the poorest areas are now struggling the most. In 2018-19, …

Libbie Mugrabi in Legal Battle with Art-Backed Lending Company

Libbie Mugrabi in Legal Battle with Art-Backed Lending Company

Published by skeptic

Libbie Mugrabi, the New York–based socialite, art collector, and ex-wife of top art collector David Mugrabi, is embroiled in an ongoing legal battle with the art-backed lending company Art Capital Group (ACG) and its executives, Ian Peck and Terence Doran, over a $3 million loan that never materialized.  In court documents, ACG claimed that Mugrabi failed to pay fees associated with a loan application. As collateral, Mugrabi allegedly put up a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting stained with the artist’s blood worth at least $30 million. When Mugrabi couldn’t come up with the $12,500 due diligence fee, the suit claims, she offered another picture, a $1.5 million Andy Warhol portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, as security.  Related Articles When the loan was denied “due to her checkered credit history and one or more substantial judgments against her,” the lawsuit said, ACG claimed that Mugrabi reported the Warhol as stolen to the police in Southampton. The suit also alleges that she posted “Wanted” posters with the faces of both Peck and Doran, along with their names, ages, race and …