Living with IBS: ‘There's a long list of things that I can't eat'
April is IBS Awareness Month and Georgina Croke was diagnosed with the condition almost three decades ago. She shares how the symptoms impact her, and how she manages them
Today at 21:30
Georgina Croke was aged 21 and attending Waterford Institute of Technology when she first experienced symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
The now 48-year-old accountant and mother of one, who comes from Waterford City, was preparing for an exam, and found herself running to the toilet in the lead up to it. 'I put it down to nerves, but I had to take a few days off college afterwards as I couldn't leave the house,' says Croke.
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Hindustan Times
7 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
'World now knows the truth': Shashi Tharoor-led delegation on Operation Sindoor wraps up US visit
The all-party delegation on Operation Sindoor, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, wrapped up the last leg of its multi-nation tour in the United States after meeting Vice President JD Vance and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. The delegation arrived in the US on June 3 for a three-day visit. It held meetings on Capitol Hill and in Washington and briefed American officials and leaders about India's Operation Sindoor and the nation's stance on cross-border terrorism. Before the US, the Tharoor-led delegation visited Panama, Guyana, Colombia, and Brazil. The group includes Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Tejasvi Surya (BJP), Gants Harish Madhur Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), and India's former Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Sandhu. In a post on X late on Sunday, Shashi Tharoor wrote in Hindi, "If you are born a hundred times, you will do it a hundred times; I will love my country with all my heart; Whatever we could do, we did it "A Watan"; The whole world now knows the truth." "On behalf of all the member, I express gratitude to the motherland and the lovers of India in the country and abroad who listened with open ears and accepted with open heart that we are lovers of non-violence but only until Hind!" he added. The Tharoor-led group met Vice President Vance, Landau, House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) leadership, India Caucus leadership and Senate Foreign Relations Committee leaders. The meeting with Vance, which was held at the White House for about 25 minutes on Thursday, was described as an excellent meeting" by Shashi Tharoor. He said that Vance was "warm and welcoming and receptive". 'Vance expressed complete understanding, first of all, outrage of what happened in Pahalgam and support and respect for India's restrained response in Operation Sindoor,' Tharoor told news agency PTI after the meeting. Following the delegation's meeting with Landau on Friday, State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement that the Deputy Secretary of State "reaffirmed the United States' strong support of India in the fight against terrorism and the strategic partnership between the two countries". 'We discussed the US-India strategic relationship, including expanding trade and commercial ties to foster growth and prosperity for both countries,' Landau said. The Indian Embassy said in a statement that during the meeting with Landau, the Tharoor-led delegation explained to him India's stance against terrorism, with Operation Sindoor being launched in response to the brutal April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. On its last day of the scheduled meetings, the delegation also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at this statue outside the Indian Embassy in Washington. Afterwards, Tharoor posted on X, "It is striking how many world capitals are adorned with statues or busts of the Mahatma, the 20th century's greatest apostle of peace, nonviolence, and human freedom." The Indian government launched the initiative of sending seven delegations, with members cutting across party lines, to travel to 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels. The goal of this global outreach program is to put forth India's resolve to tackle terrorism against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor. The Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 and carried out targeted strikes at nine terror infrastructures linked to outfits such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, etc., in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation was launched in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Baisaran near Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists. During Operation Sindoor, more than 100 terrorists were killed. Following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan attempted to launch a retaliatory military action, with cross-border shelling, unarmed aerial vehicles, and drones across J&K, and border regions. However, most of these attacks were thwarted by the Indian armed forces and the nation's air defence system. After four days of intense cross-border fighting, India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire understanding on May 10.
RNZ News
10 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Judith Collins looking into how Australian warship was able to knock parts of New Zealand offline
HMAS Canberra. Photo: ABC News / Department of Defence Prime Minister Christopher Luxon remains unaware of how an Australian warship was allowed accidentally to knock out mobile internet access across Taranaki and Marlborough last week. Navigation radar interference from HMAS Canberra, the Royal Australian Navy's largest warship, disrupted 5 GHz wireless access points on Wednesday as it sailed through the Cook Strait. The interference triggered in-built switches in the devices that caused them to go offline, ABC News reported - a safety precaution to prevent wireless signals interfering with radar systems in New Zealand's airspace. Luxon told Morning Report on Monday he was yet to have an explanation how the situation was allowed to happen, but he was "sure" Defence Minister Judith Collins would find out. He said it was not a "deliberate" act from the Australians. "Look, we are very pleased that they're here. They are our only ally. We work very closely with the Australians, as you know, I'm not sure what's happened here. Again, that'll be something the defense minister will look into." Asked if it had exposed a vulnerability in our communications network, Luxon said it was "the nature" of it. "There's a whole bunch of technology… in the defence space and the cyberspace and how wars are being fought, and will be fought in the future will be a big component of it… "Judith Collins will be checking into that and understanding exactly what has happened there, but I'm very proud of that relationship. I'm very proud that they're here. It's great that they've come." The blackout came the same week "human error" knocked out fibre-based internet to much of the lower North Island . Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith told RNZ last week he would be discussing the Australian warship situation with officials. Helen Clark and Don Brash. Photo: RNZ Also last week, two former prime ministers and an ex-governor of the Reserve Bank put their names to a letter questioning the government's foreign policy - in particular "positioning New Zealand alongside the United States as an adversary of China". It was signed, among others, by Helen Clark, Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Dr Don Brash, questioning whether New Zealand was risking its economic and trade relationship with China by aligning itself closer with the US . "Like 192 other countries, we've got an independent foreign policy. There'll be lots of different views on foreign policy, I get that," Luxon told Morning Report . "But, you know, frankly, my job as prime minister is to advance our national interests - that is both… around our security and our economic interests. And I think you've also got to acknowledge that the strategic environment from 25 or 35 years ago is very different from what we have today, and it will continue to evolve." He said he disagreed with the view that working more closely with the US on defence, under the adversarial Trump administration, would sour New Zealand's relationship with China. I think, you know, we have important relationships with both the US and China. We will make our own assessment based on our own needs, as to, you know, how we navigate those relationships. "But in both cases, you know, we have, you know, deep engagement and cooperation. We also have differences with the US - we've raised concerns around tariffs. With the Chinese, we've raised concerns around cyber attacks on our parliamentary system." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
As Rachel Reeves prepares to splurge billions on NHS and tech... will she stick to her promise NOT to raise taxes?
was last night urged to keep her promise not to hike taxes again amid fears more raids are on the way. The Chancellor will unveil big spending cuts to some departments on Wednesday as she looks to plug a black hole in the public finances of as much as £60 billion. But there are growing fears that the cuts, part of her spending review, won't be enough and she will be forced into another round of tax hikes this autumn. Ms Reeves has already come under fire for hiking employers' National Insurance in last year's autumn Budget as part of a wider £40 billion tax raid. It came as she was still locked in talks with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper about planned cuts. Ms Cooper's department is among those expected to take the brunt of this week's cuts despite police chiefs warning of 'far-reaching consequences' on their ability to fight crime. Last night Housing Secretary Angela Rayner resolved a similar clash with the Chancellor, reaching an agreement over the settlement for her department. However, Ms Cooper was still holding out against police cuts, with negotiations expected to go down to the wire ahead of Wednesday's spending review. While some departments are facing cuts, others are in line for cash injections, with an extra £30 billion earmarked for the NHS and £4.5 billion for schools. Separately, there is expected to be £86 billion of spending announced for infrastructure investment. This includes Britain's fastest-growing sectors, such as technology and sciences. Alongside demands from Nato bosses to spend more on defence, and following a U-turn over the winter fuel allowance and hints the two-child benefit cap will be lifted, there are growing fears Ms Reeves will have no choice but to hike taxes again later in the year to balance the books. This is despite her repeatedly promising after last year's Budget that 'we're not going to be coming back with more tax increases '. Sir Mel Stride, the Tory Shadow Chancellor, said: 'Rachel Reeves has maxed out the country's credit card, hiked taxes to record levels and sent borrowing sky-rocketing. It now seems inevitable she will do what Labour Chancellors always do and raise taxes the first chance she gets.' Sam Miley, an economist at forecasters the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said: 'Borrowing is running higher than expected and the growth outlook remains poor. 'I'd expect there to be a focus on stealth taxes, such as maintaining the freeze on allowances. This would raise revenue from —employees, without breaking commitments regarding rates of income tax.' The thresholds around National Insurance and income tax are frozen until 2027-28. It means millions more are being dragged into paying higher rates of income tax as inflation – currently around 3.5 per cent – fuels wage increases. It is understood Ms Reeves is being urged by Treasury officials to look at extending this by two years to 2030 this autumn. A Treasury spokesman said: 'This Government inherited the previous government's policy of frozen tax thresholds. The Chancellor has announced that we would not extend that freeze. 'We are also protecting payslips for working people by keeping our promise to not raise the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, employee National Insurance or VAT.'
