Latest news with #Constant
Euronews
2 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
New night train to connect 100 European cities by 2035
Sleeper trains are enjoying a booming renaissance in Europe at the moment, but some travellers are still put off by the idea of sharing a cabin with strangers. While many night services offer two-bed or single cabins, they are usually an expensive option and tend to sell out quickly.. Now, a new company is launching sleeper trains with entirely private rooms - and they promise tickets won't be more than the price of a flight. Nox, a Berlin-based startup, says its mission is to offer a real alternative to short-haul flights in Europe. From 2027, the company plans to operate its first Europe-wide overnight trains with cabins designed for one or two passengers. 'Sleeping while a train gets you across Europe is a great concept. But today people have to share their cabins with strangers, beds are tight, and it's often more expensive than air travel,' says Thibault Constant, co-founder of Nox. 'We want to change that and make night trains an essential part of European travel.' Constant, who is known as 'Simply Railway' to his over half a million social media followers, has more than 400 night train trips worldwide under his belt. He says this experience has been a crucial influence on the design of the new sleepers. There will be three room categories: a single loft for one passenger with an upper-level bed and a seat and table; a double loft with a double upper-level bed and two seats and a table; and a double vista with easy-entry beds, the lower of which converts into seating. All three room categories will have two-metre-long beds, and enough space to stand up and store your luggage. Some cabins will also offer windows with panoramic views. Fellow founder Janek Smalla says the room design allows them to fit more people into their trains than traditional operators can. 'This, paired with a strict focus on standardisation and operational excellence, will allow us to offer affordable fares on over 35 European routes,' he adds. The aim is to offer night train connections between 100 European cities by 2035. These include Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Budapest and Rome. The company wants the network to become a viable alternative to short-haul flights, saying it aims to 'offer ticket prices as low as air fares'. Interested travellers can already explore planned timetables and prices on the Nox website. Single rooms will start at €79 and double rooms at €149. There will be a food and drink service on board, space for bikes, and wheelchair-accessible coaches. Travellers can join the free Early Bird Club to stay updated, receive discounted rates, and gain early access to bookings.
Winnipeg Free Press
29-05-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Helping hands reach out to guide evacuees through the smoke, fear, confusion
Wildfires in the northern reaches of the province have displaced more than 17,000 Manitobans over the past day, as flames threaten the City of Flin Flon, the Town of Lynn Lake and the Pimicikamak Cree Nation and Mathias Colomb First Nation. The Free Press spoke with several businesses and organizations about how they're helping in a time of need after a provincewide state of emergency was declared Wednesday. Opaskwayak Cree Nation has opened its hockey arena to busloads of evacuees from Flin Flon. Laverne Constant, the First Nation's public safety manager, was working for nearly 24 hours straight helping evacuees get settled and registered at the Gordon Lathlin Memorial Centre. 'Everyone is opening their doors because they know what it's like to be displaced,' Constant said. 'We are not alone in this.' At least six buses arrived carrying evacuees, Constant lost count after the first 200 people showed up at the arena. Volunteers set up cots and cleared the bread off grocery store shelves to make sandwiches for evacuees. Constant housed an 81-year-old woman in her camper trailer because the woman needed a quiet place to stay. The community expected to open its campground and RV park to evacuees but more space was needed, so the arena was transformed. Opaskwayak fought its own wildfires earlier this month, which were successfully extinguished. Constant said her team has started using the supplies donated to the community to help the new evacuees. 'When we had our fires, automatically Flin Flon and everybody came to help us,' she said. The First Nation has sent its fighters and truckloads of food to help the crews battling the blazes in Flin Flon. Winnipeg places of worship are responding to the call to help host wildfire evacuees. The Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba has reached out to its Winnipeg churches to see what they can do, provincial director John Neufeld said. 'Many of our churches have indicated their availability to respond to whatever the provincial Emergency Management Organization needs,' he said, adding there are some churches in the denomination that have gyms and larger kitchens. The denomination has also contacted its churches in the northern part of the province, along with its Simonhouse Bible Camp near Cranberry-Portage. 'One of the essential instructions of the Bible is to 'do justice and love mercy,'' said Neufeld. 'Mobilizing our resources to serve others like this is a natural expression of our faith.' The Prairie to Pine Regional Council of the United Church of Canada also published a notice asking its churches to monitor local news and prepare to offer assistance. The council is also in touch with Indigenous United Church congregations in the North as they assess threats to the communities they serve, a spokesperson said. Mennonite Church Manitoba has asked pastors to consider preparing their churches to receive evacuees if called upon. In Otterburne, Providence University College has informed the government it can use dormitory space for evacuees. Over 400 Métis citizens have been evacuated from Flin Flon, a spokesperson for The Manitoba Métis Federation told the Free Press. Sites in Winnipegosis, Mafeking and Treherne have been prepared for the evacuees to stay. SUPPLIED The Manitoba MétisFederation command centre at 406 McGregor St. SUPPLIED The Manitoba MétisFederation command centre at 406 McGregor St. A command centre has been set up at 406 McGregor St. in Winnipeg to collect any clothing or food donations, provide hot meals and welcome Métis evacuees. The spokesperson said she was overwhelmed by the support of the Métis community after the federation put out a call for donations late Wednesday evening following the Flin Flon evacuation notice. Hundreds of people responded immediately to the message and offered rooms in their homes, board games, food hampers and clothing, the spokesperson said. Wildfire evacuees relocated to Winnipeg will have free access to the city's YMCAs. The organization is opening its community hubs, including access to showers and children's and recreation programs. 'Wildfires are devastating our communities across the province and Y Winnipeg is a part of that response,' president and CEO Cordella Friesen said in a release. 'We want to make sure all families have a place to go during this emergency in our province and do what we can to support our community.' Y Winnipeg will be working directly with the Canadian Red Cross and the city to co-ordinate available services at four hubs: Darin Hubscher operates Sweet Acres, a farm in Swan River that grows sweet corn, strawberries and pumpkins. The farm is also affiliated with Harvest Hosts, a membership program for RV campers that connects travellers with over 9,500 locations across North America, offering no-fee overnight stays. Hubscher's daughter, after hearing about the mass evacuation of Flin Flon residents, had an idea, he said. 'She thought, 'Why don't we open up our place (for the people) that are coming down from Flin Flon?'' Hubscher offered space for 20 campers free of charge in a post on the Sweet Acres Facebook page late Wednesday night. 'I've had a few texts from people who said they're on their way,' he said. Hubscher also recalled how, a couple of years ago, his son had to evacuate from Kelowna, B.C., when wildfires approached that area — an experience that left a lasting impression. 'It's another inspiration for us,' Hubscher said. 'It's just something we could do for people that have a camper and even a pet or two, that they can run around a little bit.' The Insurance Bureau of Canada is deploying its virtual community assistance mobile pavilion — V-CAMP — to help ease the burden for people affected by the wildfires who will be navigating unfamiliar home-insurance waters. Insurers serve as 'second responders' in the recovery period after catastrophe strikes, IBC said in a release Thursday. IBC's V-CAMP is staffed with trained insurance industry personnel at IBC's Consumer Information Centre (1-844-227-5422 and AskIBCWest@ to help address consumers' general questions about their home, business or vehicle insurance policies. 'Our hearts go out to the individuals and families whose lives have been disrupted by these fires. We thank all the first responders and emergency officials who have been working so diligently to protect lives and property,' IBC's Pacific and Western vice-president Aaron Sutherland, said. 'The situation is extremely concerning, and we want to make sure those being evacuated from their homes can easily access the insurance supports they need at this difficult time. Manitoba's insurers are committed to protecting your tomorrow, by standing with you today.' V-CAMP can also assist evacuees with additional living expenses incurred after being evacuated, the release said. — Compiled by Scott Billeck, Matthew Frank and John Longhurst fpcity@
Sky News AU
07-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Macquarie Bank repeated compliance 'failings' after facing record fine, ASIC's commissioner Simone Constant declares
The corporate watchdog is cracking down on a major bank for an array of 'repeated failings' regarding compliance issues, with some occurring after the bank was hit with a $5m fine in September. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Wednesday took aim at Macquarie Group for major compliance failures. ASIC has intervened with Macquarie over its futures dealing business and its over-the-counter derivatives trading – which are trades done outside of an exchange. The watchdog said Macquarie had failed to stop at least 11 suspicious orders being placed in the futures market, one dating back to over a decade ago. ASIC also identified nine "market conduct matters of concern" in just the past 18 months. The watchdog's commissioner Simone Constant told Sky News' Business Now there were common causes for an array of failings across the major bank. 'There's been some repeated failings and when we think about the failings that we're addressing in these license conditions, another concern is there are common root causes,' Ms Constant said. 'While some are in the ASX 24 futures market and some are in terms of OTC products, root causes seem to be common.' She noted Macquarie had committed repeated failings after it was fined $5m for failing to prevent suspicious orders being placed on the electricity futures market. This was the highest penalty ever imposed by ASIC's Markets Disciplinary Panel (MDP). 'Something that concerned us was even when their attention was drawn to this area of concern and there was… an MDP outcome last year, there actually was repeated failing,' Ms Constant said. 'So it failed again. "Responsibilities of gatekeepers, responsibilities of such significant and of successful organisations in markets like Macquarie and responsibilities for reporting, so that we can understand what's going on in markets in terms of integrity and where the risk is, these are really important responsibilities.' Macquarie will now be forced to identify the root cause of its failures in a remediation plan. It will also have to appoint an independent expert to review Macquarie Bank's plan and address its failures and prevent them happening in the future. Macquarie Bank said it took its role as a licensed entity 'extremely seriously' and would cooperate with the investigation. 'In addition to working constructively with ASIC on these remediation activities, MBL continues to invest in a broader range of existing programs to strengthen its systems, controls and supervisory arrangements,' the bank said in a statement.
New Straits Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Australian regulator launches further crackdown on Macquarie Bank after compliance failures
KUALA LUMPUR: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on Wednesday imposed additional conditions on the Australian financial services licence of Macquarie Bank, owned by Macquarie Group, citing numerous serious compliance failures. The bank's compliance shortcomings, some of which remained unnoticed for a decade, pertained to its futures dealing business and its over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trade reporting, according to the ASIC. The regulator's new conditions require Macquarie to prepare a remediation plan to address these failures and their root causes, enlist an independent expert to review and report on the remediation plan's sufficiency, and have the independent expert assess the effectiveness of Macquarie's remediation activities. Shares of Macquarie Group were down 0.5 per cent by 0041 GMT, compared to a 0.1 per cent uptick in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index. "Our intervention underscores our concern with the recurrent nature of Macquarie's failures, which were caused by ineffective supervision and weak compliance and control management," the ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant said. Constant added that the ASIC was "particularly disappointed" as the company failed to prevent 11 suspicious orders being placed on the electricity futures market via their terminals shortly after the regulator referred similar failures to the Markets Disciplinary Panel, which fined the bank just under US$5 million back in September 2024. The new licence conditions were set after the ASIC identified nine market conduct matters of concern in the last 18 months, it said. The ASIC said these included seven matters relating to misreporting of over 375,000 OTC derivative transactions, and two futures dealing matters concerning the prevention and detection of suspicious trading activity and the withholding of orders on the ASX24 market. Macquarie acknowledged the ASIC's announcement and said it has cooperated with the regulator and consented to the licence conditions.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Yahoo
Harvey man found guilty of ‘machete-type' attempted murder
JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (WGNO) — On Wednesday, Feb. 5 a Harvey man was found guilty of attempted murder using a 'machete-type' knife back in May of 2023. According to Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick Jr., on May 23, 2020, around 9 p.m., 40-year-old Tyrone Constant attacked and tried to kill a 20-year-old employee of a Little Caesars Pizza restaurant in the 1600 block of Gretna Boulevard. Constant had reportedly been to the establishment on several occasions, with both the 20-year-old victim and her 52-year-old co-worker familiar with him by his first name. 18-year-old indicted in St. Tammany Parish murder case On the night of the crime, Constant had reportedly entered the restaurant with a mask, hoodie and cap on. He placed his backpack onto the counter and spoke with the victim before, two minutes later, and without provocation, pulled a knife from the bag, jumped over the counter and chased both employees. The employees exited out the back door, with the 52-year-old heading to a neighboring business to call 911. Behind her, she reportedly saw Constant 'hacking' her younger co-worker amid screams. Once the screams stopped, she assumed that the victim was killed. The victim, however, was playing dead. After Constant had left, she went back into the business before collapsing. Following the attack, she had to undergo 15 surgeries and years of physical therapy. Ponchatoula man arrested in Hammond drug bust After obtaining Constant's full name, a photographic lineup was presented to both the victim and her coworker, who both picked the man out. The coworker even went so far as to claim she was '100% certain.' Constant was later found and arrested on May 27 at a convenience store in the 1600 block of Lapalco Boulevard. Jurors deliberated for 25 minutes before declaring Constant guilty as charged of attempted second-degree murder. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. the weather with these tailgating tips Did New Orleans create America's first cocktail? Harvey man found guilty of 'machete-type' attempted murder Super Bowl Host Committee Parade takes off in the French Quarter Missing Alaska flight found with no survivors: What to know Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
