Latest news with #AMP


BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
British woman accused of drug offences tells BBC of Sri Lanka jail conditions
Manage consent settings on AMP pages These settings apply to AMP pages only. You may be asked to set these preferences again when you visit non-AMP BBC pages. The lightweight mobile page you have visited has been built using Google AMP technology. Strictly necessary data collection To make our web pages work, we store some limited information on your device without your consent. Read more about the essential information we store on your device to make our web pages work. We use local storage to store your consent preferences on your device. Optional data collection When you consent to data collection on AMP pages you are consenting to allow us to display personalised ads that are relevant to you when you are outside of the UK. Read more about how we personalise ads in the BBC and our advertising partners. You can choose not to receive personalised ads by clicking 'Reject data collection and continue' below. Please note that you will still see advertising, but it will not be personalised to you. You can change these settings by clicking 'Ad Choices / Do not sell my info' in the footer at any time.


BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Norfolk Doctor Who fan brings joy with life-size Daleks
Manage consent settings on AMP pages These settings apply to AMP pages only. You may be asked to set these preferences again when you visit non-AMP BBC pages. The lightweight mobile page you have visited has been built using Google AMP technology. Strictly necessary data collection To make our web pages work, we store some limited information on your device without your consent. Read more about the essential information we store on your device to make our web pages work. We use local storage to store your consent preferences on your device. Optional data collection When you consent to data collection on AMP pages you are consenting to allow us to display personalised ads that are relevant to you when you are outside of the UK. Read more about how we personalise ads in the BBC and our advertising partners. You can choose not to receive personalised ads by clicking 'Reject data collection and continue' below. Please note that you will still see advertising, but it will not be personalised to you. You can change these settings by clicking 'Ad Choices / Do not sell my info' in the footer at any time.


Memri
2 days ago
- Politics
- Memri
AMP Chairman Hatem Bazian in California Friday Sermon: Kashmir and Palestine Are Battlegrounds for Identity; Zionists Came from Ukraine and Poland, Changed Their Names to Appear Indigenous
In a May 16, 2025 Friday sermon at the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara, CA, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) National Chairman Hatem Bazian drew parallels between the conflicts in Palestine and Kashmir, framing both as struggles over identity and land driven by religious nationalism. Bazian said that in Palestine, the land is being claimed under the pretext of a divine promise tied to Judeo-Christian civilization, while in Kashmir, he argued, the region is being framed as a 'pure land of the Hindu gods' in service of building a Hindu nation-state. Bazian rejected the notion that Palestine belongs to those who claim a divine promise tied to Judeo-Christian civilization, saying it does not belong to those who came from Ukraine or Poland and changed their last names to appear indigenous. He emphasized that the Canaanites were the original inhabitants of the land and said that they were of Arab origin. Bazian argued that the promise to Abraham was not a bloodline promise but one based on belief, citing a Quranic verse in which God tells Abraham that transgressors from his lineage are not included in the promise.


Scoop
2 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Resident Has To Travel To Cemetery For Safe Drinking Water
Lal Mulligan wants water she can drink from her tap. At the moment she travels from her home on Keenans Road in north-east Ashburton to the cemetery with plastic containers to source water from the treated town supply. Mulligan, who is concerned around high nitrates and E coli in her private bore supply, has been calling on the Ashburton District Council to extend drinking and wastewater pipes to the north-east - home to about 100 households - for years. Mulligan accused the council of turning their backs on the North-East community, asking "where's our water" when she presented her submission on the 2024-34 long-term plan submission. Now the council has come knocking. Council infrastructure and open spaces group manager Neil McCann said the detailed design for a drinking water network in the whole of the northeast area had been done. Extensions will be carried out in increments, and only if there is landowner support, he said. The council would start with consulting the landowners in the Keenans Road-Company Road-Seafield Road block on connecting to the town supply. The letter to residents showed the cost to get the water piped to the property boundary is $12,518 - it is then up to each property to pay to connect from the boundary to their house. It is a price Mulligan is willing to pay, and she hopes it gets enough support to convince the council to proceed with the extension. Her only criticism was the council's consultation letter fails to explain the reason for the extension which is to "give residents safe potable water". "The water quality is so bad that we need to connect." The north-east of Ashburton has historic water quality issues, being high in nitrates and E coli, Mulligan said. "It's been contaminated from a long way back." Her water is tested monthly, paid for by AMP, and the results "are appalling", she said. The nitrate levels fluctuate from around 8 to 10.8mg/L and have been as high as 15mg/L - the maximum acceptable value for nitrate in drinking water is 11.3mg/L. E coli is a constant presence as well, she said. "You can boil the water to get rid of E coli but then you concentrate the nitrates. "Five years ago, I put in a deeper bore thinking my water would improve - nope. "I don't drink it ever." Up the road from Mulligan is probably one of the biggest landholders in the area - the Celtic Rugby Club. President Pete Gowans said the club had received the council letter offering the opportunity to connect to the town supply. "We'd be silly not to," he said. "We have systems in place for drinking water, so we don't have any issues." He said the club had a filtration system on the pump from its private bore supply, while most visiting teams brought their own filled water bottles. If the club has to stump up the cash to connect to the town supply it would be worth it, he said. "It will be to the benefit of everyone out there. "The area is growing with a lot of lifestyle blocks all subdivided up so there are a lot more people out here than there were 15 years ago." The council consulted on a reticulated water scheme for the North East area in late 2000, with the cost of the scheme estimated at that time at $1.7 million. The was insufficient support, around 12 percent, to justify proceeding with the project. As part of that consultation, the council had also asked about investigating a reticulated wastewater service. It faired better with 28 percent support, but still too low to justify progressing. In 2022/23, the council budgeted for an investigation into extending wastewater service to Residential D zoned land around Ashburton and to carry out detailed design for water supply in the north east. That work has been completed up to the design phase. Now the first tranche of north east landowners have the opportunity to convince the council to proceed with the extension. If the extension goes ahead and a property owner does not wish to connect, those properties may still incur a water supply charge through their rates (set at $409 in 2025/26). After paying the estimated $12,518 to connect, and the additional cost of connecting it from the boundary, the properties will receive the targeted water rate for a connected property ($817 in 2025/26). McCann said the council was also looking into a wastewater servicing project for the north-east area but "is only in its initial concept stage and council has made no commitment at this point to providing the service". At the council's Three Waters Services Committee meeting last month, the two projects were discussed and assets manager Andy Guthrie said the wastewater extension would "certainly open up opportunity for development that doesn't currently exist". McCann said ECan's position on new discharge consents in the area has "likely stalled some development".

News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Recession indicator': Grim call after Aussies turn their back on Aldi ski sale
In what has been dubbed the latest recession indicator, a hugely popular shopping day has gone unsold, despite offering huge discounts on a number of products. Aldi's iconic annual ski gear sale was met with chaotic and crowded scenes, with customers lined up out the door before the supermarket chain even opened its doors. Inside, shoppers were seen urgently rifling through piles of ski jackets searching for their sizes. But in the weeks that followed, interest declined. Popular TikToker Bec Brewin highlighted that despite the buzz around Aldi's much loved sale, none of the items were actually sold out. 'Do you remember when the ski gear at Aldi used to sell out?,' she said. 'Well apparently this is the latest recession indicator because none of this has sold out and it's been there for a while.' 'I can't afford to go skiing and I certainly can't afford knee surgery after I fall over what would be the easiest run on the mountain.' Aldi has been contacted for comment. AMP economist My Bui told NewsWire the situation is consistent with the broader issues facing the Australian economy. 'This is playing out in Macroeconomic data. 'I looked at the NAB Business Sentiment Survey …. it shows conditions have still been deteriorating even when consumer confidence has been improving,' she said. Ms Bui's comments come after Australia's longest hit to living standards since the Second World War officially ended in March 2025, with households getting out of their per capita recession. But that doesn't mean households are spending, with Q1 retail sales figures released by the ABS showing retail volumes on a per capita basis fell 0.4 per cent after growth in the previous two quarters. Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said 'Retail sales volumes were flat this quarter and reflected subdued spending. This comes after sustained promotional activity boosted discretionary spending in late 2024.' Ms Bui agreed saying unlike the post covid years, businesses have less power to increase prices and have turned to promotions in order to clear stock. 'Retailers have less pricing power compared with before,' She said. 'Businesses had the power to raise prices. Right now, if you look at input costs and even when these costs increase, businesses do not feel they can raise their prices.' 'When you look at retail sales every single month there are more promotions than usual, but that is not a sign of strengthening as it is only driven by promotions, so it's actually a sign of weakness. Ms Bui said despite the overall outlook improving, it is coming off a relatively low base. The call comes just weeks after footage showed shoppers queuing up outside Aldi in Chatswood before opening to get ahead of the Snow Gear sale. The popular retailer has launched a premium range describing it as their 'coolest collection' to date, with more than 65 products under $100. 'We know our Aussie customers look forward to our annual Snow Gear Special Buys sale, and we're blown away by the overwhelming response by shoppers every year who line up before the store opens to get their hands on the range,' an Aldi spokesperson said at the time. 'The momentum we have seen over the last 20 years is reflective of the high quality and low price point Aldi's Snow Gear presents. 'Our customers continue to be excited about the release of the range each year, and we look forward to being part of their snow holiday plans with top quality gear at low prices in 2025.'