Author: Press Room

South Africa’s finance minister has dropped plans to increase value-added tax (VAT), in a major climbdown to prevent the collapse of the coalition government.Enoch Godongwana’s decision came after the second-biggest party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), threatened to quit the government, warning a VAT hike would hurt the poor the most.Godongwana, a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC), had argued the increase was needed as the government was facing a financial crisis.But with other parties also rejecting the hike, it raised the prospect of parliament taking the unprecedented step of voting down the national budget, forcing him and…

Russia overnight Thursday launched one of the most devastating bombardments on Ukraine’s major cities since the war began, killing at least twelve people, hours after President Donald Trump said he believed he had struck deals with both sides to end the war.After the attacks, Trump wrote “Vladimir, STOP!” on his website Truth Social, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing,” he said. “5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”When asked by a reporter outside the White House later on Thursday about…

A Danbury woman was killed Monday afternoon after she was hit by a truck while crossing a street in White Plains.White Plains Chief of Police Joe Castelli said Stacie Baumgartner, 53, of Danbury, Conn., was walking south on North Broadway around 1 p.m. Monday when she was hit by a truck traveling south on Broadway and making a right turn on Cemetery Road.Baumgartner sustained serious injuries and was transported to Westchester Medical Center, where she later succumbed to her injuries.The 29-year-old unidentified driver of the truck remained on the scene and is cooperating with police.This incident remains under investigation.This article…

Okinawa Island has seen a spate of sexual assaults reportedly committed by American military personnel over the past year Two US Marines stationed on Japan’s Okinawa Island are under investigation for allegedly raping local civilian women, Kyodo News reported on Thursday.   A Marine, said to be in his 20s, is suspected of raping a Japanese woman in a bathroom at a US military base last month. The suspect is also facing charges for injuring a second woman, a civilian worker at the base, who tried to intervene and help the victim. Another Marine, also in his 20s, is accused of…

Federal District Judge William Orrick III, photographed in his courtroom and chambers in San Francisco.Photo S. Todd Rogers12/03/2013063-2013 A federal judge out of San Francisco on Thursday blocked President Trump from pulling federal funds from ‘sanctuary cities.’ US District Judge William Orrick said withholding federal funds from sanctuary cities is unconstitutional. President Trump issued a flurry of executive orders – in his first term – and now in his second term – to withhold funds from jurisdictions harboring illegal aliens. Santa Clara, San Francisco and 14 other cities and counties sued the Trump Administration. They moved for a preliminary injunction…

iHostageNetflix Netflix has a surprising new #1 movie on its top 10 list, one that you no doubt will not have heard of before this, as it was just released as a Netflix original. The movie is iHostage, a Dutch thriller that is using that “i” quite literally, as the plot is well, very Apple-centric: “When a gunman enters an Apple Store in the heart of Amsterdam, the police face a delicate challenge to resolve the standoff. Inspired by true events.” So wait, this really happened? Yes. This took place in 2022, where a citizen was taken hostage with the…

Bilt CEO Ankur Jain. Bilt Rewards just launched a new update that lets you use points to pay off … MoreGetty Images Game Changer Update: Using Bilt Rewards For Student Loans What if your most significant monthly expense could also help erase your student loans? That’s the promise behind a game-changing update to Bilt Rewards, which will now allow members to use Bilt rewards for student loans. Renters can turn the points earned on rent, an expense that typically yields no rewards, into extra payments toward student debt. “Research shows that student debt is now the second-largest form of consumer…

An 83-year-old man has been accused of causing $23,000 in damages to five Tesla vehicles at a Long Island shopping mall, ranting to police about his disdain for Tesla CEO Elon Musk and President Trump who he said should “fucking die.” The New York Post reports that Victor Divergilio, an 83-year-old resident of Long Island, New York, has been charged with criminal mischief after allegedly scratching five Tesla vehicles parked at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City on Sunday afternoon. According to a criminal complaint, Divergilio used a key to carve up the vehicles, resulting in an estimated $23,000 in…

The reality for youth in China is bleak: diminished marriage prospects after decades of a murderous “one-child” policy, record-high youth unemployment, a collapsing real estate market, and a manufacturing sector fueled by slavery offering no jobs. While China is the world’s second-largest economy and holds significant economic leverage over the world, its people do not benefit from that leverage, Breitbart International News editor Frances Martel explained in a virtual class with Empower U America, a free university based in Ohio. In “Inside China Today: The Social, Political, and Economic Situation,” Martel discusses everything from millennial disenchantment with communism to a…

As the remedy phase of the Google search monopoly case continues, a witness from AI startup Perplexity testified that the search giant’s exclusivity contracts prevented smartphone maker Motorola from setting Perplexity AI as the default assistant on its new devices. The AI executive says Google’s exclusive agreements are like a “gun to your head” from the perspective of device makers. Bloomberg reports that during the ongoing remedy phase of the search antitrust trial against Google, Perplexity chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko revealed that the internet giant’s contract with Motorola blocked the smartphone manufacturer from making Perplexity AI the default assistant…