Latest news with #DavidGibson
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Enthusiasts chart history of Britain's railways
The history of Britain's modern railways has been charted in a book celebrating their 200-year anniversary. Enthusiasts across Essex and Suffolk designed the 45-page text with the help of children from three schools. It was designed for Railway 200, which is marking the bicentenary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway opening on 27 September 1825. Jayne Sumner, who helped to create the book, said all involved were "absolutely thrilled" with the end product. It has been authored by rail expert David Gibson, with pictures drawn by pupils from Maltings Academy, in Witham, and primary schools in Great Totham and Terling. The book describes the beginnings of the railway and how it changed the world, including its importance during two world wars. Ms Sumner, of the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership, said it took "months of research and development". She added: "I am so grateful to everyone who helped to put it together. "Especially David Gibson for his knowledge and commitment, and all the local schoolchildren whose amazing drawings and designs have added so much to the book and really brought it to life." Copies of the book are available on request by emailing Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk. Best-loved railway art unveiled after global vote Celebrating 200 years of pioneering railway Heritage railway marks bicentenary celebrations Railway 200
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Enthusiasts chart history of Britain's railways
The history of Britain's modern railways has been charted in a book celebrating their 200-year anniversary. Enthusiasts across Essex and Suffolk designed the 45-page text with the help of children from three schools. It was designed for Railway 200, which is marking the bicentenary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway opening on 27 September 1825. Jayne Sumner, who helped to create the book, said all involved were "absolutely thrilled" with the end product. It has been authored by rail expert David Gibson, with pictures drawn by pupils from Maltings Academy, in Witham, and primary schools in Great Totham and Terling. The book describes the beginnings of the railway and how it changed the world, including its importance during two world wars. Ms Sumner, of the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership, said it took "months of research and development". She added: "I am so grateful to everyone who helped to put it together. "Especially David Gibson for his knowledge and commitment, and all the local schoolchildren whose amazing drawings and designs have added so much to the book and really brought it to life." Copies of the book are available on request by emailing Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk. Best-loved railway art unveiled after global vote Celebrating 200 years of pioneering railway Heritage railway marks bicentenary celebrations Railway 200
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Railway 200 book created by Essex and Suffolk enthusiasts
The history of Britain's modern railways has been charted in a book celebrating their 200-year across Essex and Suffolk designed the 45-page text with the help of children from three was designed for Railway 200, which is marking the bicentenary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway opening on 27 September Sumner, who helped to create the book, said all involved were "absolutely thrilled" with the end product. It has been authored by rail expert David Gibson, with pictures drawn by pupils from Maltings Academy, in Witham, and primary schools in Great Totham and book describes the beginnings of the railway and how it changed the world, including its importance during two world Sumner, of the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership, said it took "months of research and development".She added: "I am so grateful to everyone who helped to put it together."Especially David Gibson for his knowledge and commitment, and all the local schoolchildren whose amazing drawings and designs have added so much to the book and really brought it to life."Copies of the book are available on request by emailing Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Trump and Pope Leo are now Earth's most powerful Americans. They lead in different roles and realms
The motto of one newly elected American world leader: " Fight! " The other introduced himself to the world with his first public word as pope: ' Peace.' The contrast between President Donald Trump and Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV couldn't be more stark — politically, personally or in their world views. They lead in different roles and realms. But Leo's historic election last week to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics as the first U.S.-born pope means that the two most powerful people on the planet are Americans. That raises questions about American influence at a time when Trump's tariff wars and 'one way or the other' threats have upended eight decades of global order and sparked distrust among allies toward the United States. The prospect of too much American power in geopolitics is widely considered one reason that the Catholic Church had not elected an American to the papacy across the country's nearly 250-year history. Until, that is, the former Cardinal Robert F. Prevost of Chicago — Pope Leo XIV — was chosen last week to be the 267th pontiff. 'The irony of Leo's election is that many in the rest of the world will view it as a sign of hope — as an American who can speak for them rather than act against them,' said David Gibson, director of Fordham University's Center on Religion and Culture. Pope Leo is another kind of American on the world stage The shock and delight of the not-well-known cardinal's election soon shifted into robust discussion about how the top of the global pecking order could be populated by two Americans. Trump is known to not enjoy sharing attention or primacy, as his 'America first' foreign policy approach makes clear. American Catholics chose Trump over his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris. In one apparent appeal to them, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed as a pope during the days of mourning for Pope Francis, who died April 21. The move was not appreciated by some Catholics and Italians. Trump denied posting the image himself and said anyone who was offended 'can't take a joke.' He insisted that 'the Catholics loved it.' Even so, Trump wished Leo well and called it a 'great honor' that the new pope was American. Pope Leo, meanwhile, is in some senses a politician as well, with a calm manner and the approach of talking to his fellow cardinals in small groups before the conclave, they said. Though he was born in Chicago, Leo — then Prevost — spent two decades as a missionary in Peru before being appointed by Pope Francis in 2023 to lead the Vatican's powerful office that vets bishops around the world. He wouldn't be the first pope to wade into world politics. Pope John Paul II, for example, is rightly credited with helping bring down communism. But Leo enters the papacy having already criticized Vice President JD Vance, the highest-profile Catholic in American politics, on social media. Leo is at odds with the administration on such policy issues as immigration — Trump's signature issue — and the environment. Like Trump, Leo has turned his attention to the media. On Monday in Vatican City, he called for the release of imprisoned journalists and affirmed the calling for 'all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press.' In contrast, Trump's approach to journalists has been combative, from the White House to the courts. Trump and Pope Leo are in 'different lanes' as leaders In early February, Leo — then still Prevost — shared an article from a Catholic publication with the headline, 'JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others.' It came days after Vance — a convert to Catholicism — discussed immigration in a Fox News interview by referencing a Christian tenet 'that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world.' Leo, speaking Italian to thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square, described a different vision for the Church and human relations: 'We have to be a church that works together to build bridges and to keep our arms open, like this very piazza, welcoming.' Vance suggested the papacy is 'bigger' than politics and social media. 'It's very hard to fit a 2,000-year-old institution into the politics of 2025 America,' he said during an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, adding that 'it's better for all of us if we allow the church to be about the saving of souls.' In the rise of Trump at the same time as Leo, 'the gospel meets the culture,' said Steven Millies, director of The Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Religion and politics, he added, are misaligned because they are 'oriented toward different purposes.' 'What both Francis and then Cardinal Prevost were doing was being bishops — teaching the Gospel, and reminding us the Gospel always is on the side of the poor, the afflicted, the suffering,' Millies said in an email. 'That's not Trump's lane as a president, a reality TV star or a businessman.' How American is Pope Leo's world view, anyway? Leo's decades in Peru — he is a citizen of both countries — can give him a broader view of humanity and power, and religion and politics, scholars say. Beyond the obvious personality differences with Trump, Leo is expected to wield power differently — to the neediest people first, for example, whereas Trump cut off American aid. Leo did not mention his American roots during his first speech, nor did he speak in English — a sign, some Vatican watchers said, of his global priorities. 'Even though it is factually true that Leo is the first U.S.-born pope, it makes more sense to think about him as the second pope of the Americas. This challenges 'America first' approaches and imagines the region more holistically, as Pope Francis did first, with its center of gravity in the global south,' said Raul Zegarra, assistant professor of Roman Catholic theological studies at Harvard Divinity School. 'All of this points to a pope that understands global leadership through dialogue instead of isolation; who understands power through service, instead of domination,' he said. 'It is hard to imagine a sharper contrast with the current administration in the U.S.' To hear some of the American cardinals tell it, Leo actually is not all that American in style or outlook, and his U.S. heritage played little if any part in his selection as pope. But Trump hovered over the proceedings. Six American cardinals who had participated in the conclave took the stage at a press conference as 'Born in the USA' and 'American Pie' blared from speakers. Then, one after another downplayed Leo's American roots. One quoted a phrase that was going around, that Leo is 'the least American of the American' cardinals. Several said they expected Leo to be a 'bridge-builder' with the Trump administration — the meaning of the Latin word 'pontiff.' Asked whether the cardinals elected Leo to offset Trump, several said no. 'I don't think at all my brother cardinals would have thought of him as a counterweight to any one person,' said Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York. 'Obviously the cardinals were quite aware of things that have occurred in the United States, statements that have been made, political actions that have been taken,' said Wilton Gregory, archbishop emeritus of Washington. But the conclave's goal, he said, was choosing 'who among us' could strengthen the faith. Said Millies: 'It's not that the world should fear a U.S.-born pope. Quite the reverse: As 'the least American of the Americans,' he is untainted by our recent politics and may seem safer even as, still, he is an American intimately familiar with this nation's better angels.' ___ Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
IOL News
09-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Nintendo forecasts 15 million Switch 2 sales in 2025-26
The successor to the Switch -- the third best-selling console ever behind Sony's PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS -- is set to hit shelves worldwide on June 5. Image: File Japanese gaming giant Nintendo forecast Thursday that it would sell 15 million units of its hotly awaited Switch 2 console in the current financial year but warned US tariffs could hit its bottom line. The successor to the Switch -- the third best-selling console ever behind Sony's PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS -- is set to hit shelves worldwide on June 5. While the "Super Mario" maker is diversifying into theme parks and hit movies, around 90 percent of its revenue still comes from the Switch business, analysts say. However the unit sales forecast is more conservative than the 16.8 million expected in a survey of Bloomberg economists. The Switch, a handheld and TV-compatible device that became a must-have gadget during pandemic lockdowns, has sold around 150 million units since its launch in 2017. For the financial year that ended on March 31, Nintendo reported a 43.2 percent fall in full-year net profit to 278.8 billion yen ($1.9 billion), as gamers wait to splash their cash on the Switch 2. It sold 10.8 million Switches, down 31.2 percent year-on-year, while software sales hit 155.4 million units, a decrease of 22.2 percent. Nintendo forecast a net profit of 300 billion yen for the current financial year but warned that US trade tariffs could impact its earnings. "Changes to tariff rates may affect our financial forecast. We will continue to monitor the situation to respond to changes in market conditions," it said. Hot pre-orders The company last month revealed details about the Switch 2, a hybrid console like its predecessor. However the price has raised eyebrows at over a third more than the original Switch in major markets including the United States, where it will cost $449.99. A Japanese-only version for domestic consumers will cost 49,980 yen ($350). Nintendo delayed pre-orders for the Switch 2 in the United States by two weeks as it assessed the fallout from President Donald Trump's trade levies. But last month it boasted of higher-than-expected demand in Japan for pre-orders of the new console. "If final tariffs do not come down... then prices will need to rise further, which will dampen demand," David Gibson of MST Financial told AFP ahead of the earnings release. "But keep in mind Nintendo tends to set the price of its hardware and not change them," he said. Since Trump's first term, Nintendo has been shifting production from China to Vietnam, Gibson said. "So it is likely that 70 percent plus of shipments to the USA for Switch 2 can come from Vietnam and tariffs can be minimised."
