Latest news with #Order
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Daniel Lanois, Rick Mercer, Blue Rodeo announced for fall events
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. The fall calendar is starting to fill up with big-name concerts and other events. Both musician-producer Daniel Lanois, comedian-TV personality Rock Mercer and Canadian hitmakers Blue Rodeo announced tours that will bring them to Calgary. Celebrating 40 years together, Blue Rodeo is back on the road with an anniversary tour. They swing into the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium for two shows, on Oct. 1 and 2, before moving on to Edmonton for two shows. East Coast soul singer Adam Baldwin opens for them on all dates. Over the years, the band has won numerous Junos, been put on a Canadian stamp, been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, been named to the Order of Canada, and won the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. They've sold more than four million albums with hits like Five Days in July, Head Over Heels, Lost Together, Try and Diamond Mine. Presale tickets are available June 3 on their website, Lanois, well-known as a producer working with such heavyweights as U2, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Robbie Robertson, is also an eclectic musician who can't be pinned down to any one sound. Born in Hull, Quebec, his music spans folk, classical, soul, ambient, rock and electronica. He plays at the Bella Concert Hall on Oct. 11. The presale starts June 4 at Lastly, Rick Mercer brings his sharp wit and political commentary to Edmonton on Sept. 13 and Calgary on Sept. 14 at the Jubilee Auditoriums as part of his Stand Up for Canada Tour. Mercer is best known for CBC comedy shows This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made In Canada and Rick Mercer Report. He has written four bestselling books and won nearly 30 Gemini Awards and Canadian Screen Awards. Tickets go on sale June 6 at Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.
Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
IKEA announces sudden closure of UK store that opened just two years ago after customer backlash
One unhappy customer described the outlet as being 'pointless' PACKING UP IKEA announces sudden closure of UK store that opened just two years ago after customer backlash Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IKEA has announced it is closing down a UK store it opened just two years ago following a backlash from customers. The famous Swedish homewares retailer has confirmed the Plan and Order point at the Stockport Merseyway Shopping Centre will cease in just a fortnight's time on June 16. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 IKEA is closing its Plan and Order outlet in Stockport (file photo) Credit: Getty The store in Greater Manchester is a smaller outlet than its usual out-of-town locations and is focused on kitchen, bedroom and living room planning. The aim was to provide somewhere for customers to go to get advice and expertise on home furnishing and somewhere where they could design their ideal fittings and get individual 3D interior plans from the interior designers. According to IKEA, the decision to close the store permanently was made due to 'a result of valuable learnings' where the company recognised their customers wanted a different retail experience, more along the lines of Click and Collect and return services. While the Stockport branch will close for good, other Plan and Order points, such as the ones in Dundee, York and Hull, will be adapted to meet those new demands and also include a small range of home furnishing accessories to buy. The current Stockport customers are now being directed to the next nearest main IKEA store, the branch in Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside. Locals can also now pick up their IKEA purchases from Tesco Extra in Stockport and the Tesco Extra in Stretford as part of Click and Collect. Salma Azad, IKEA area manager said: 'After careful evaluation, we've made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Plan and Order Point at Merseyway Shopping Centre. 'In the two years since opening, we've taken valuable learnings, including how our customers prefer to meet IKEA, and we'll take these insights into future openings, to serve shoppers in a more impactful way. 'I want to sincerely thank all of the customers that have shopped with us in this time. IKEA Manchester, a store locals know and love, will continue to be the closest hub for home planning, meatballs and everything in between.' Bosses had hoped the Plan and Order in Stockport would 'become more accessible and sustainable for customers in the north west'. I did a haul of the new Oxford Street Ikea whilst on my lunch break & I managed to kit out with bargains under £3 However, it did come under criticism from some shoppers. In a Facebook post about the closure, one person wrote: 'I'm not surprised to be honest. It is very small.' While a second added: 'It wasn't the right shop for that place, they'd have been better off setting up an IKEA homeware and food shop there!' A third critic said: 'Really don't know why it opened in the first place. Pointless.' The news comes after IKEA opened its own hotel in the Canary Islands. The location offers cheap rooms, a swimming pool and breakfast is included while also offering some of their most popular homeware items. Why are retailers closing stores? RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis. High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going. However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024. End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker. It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date. This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023. It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns. The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker. Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations. Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes. Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
Business Wire
11 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Update on Antitrust Clearance for Recommended Cash Acquisition of Spirent Communications by Keysight
SANTA ROSA, Calif. & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) ("Keysight") is pleased to confirm that Keysight and Spirent Communications PLC (London Stock Exchange Symbol: SPT) ('Spirent') have entered into a consent decree with the United States Department of Justice ('DOJ') in connection with its review of Keysight's proposed acquisition of Spirent (the 'Acquisition'), pursuant to which Keysight and Spirent have agreed to divest Spirent's high-speed ethernet, network security, and channel emulation business lines (the 'Divestment Business') to VIAVI Solutions, Inc. ("VIAVI") (NASDAQ: VIAV) or another acquirer approved by DOJ. The consent decree is an important milestone that moves the Acquisition one step closer to closing, pending other regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Pursuant to the settlement process, DOJ has filed in court a proposed settlement ('Proposed Final Judgment') and an Asset Preservation and Hold Separate Stipulation and Order ('APSO'). Keysight and Spirent have also entered into a short side letter in respect to the settlement process with DOJ ('Side Letter'). Copies of the Proposed Final Judgment, APSO, and Side Letter will be made available on Spirent and Keysight's websites at and acquisition-of-spirent/. With support and assistance from Spirent, Keysight remains committed to working quickly and constructively with the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China to obtain clearance for the Acquisition. Proposed Divestment In connection with the consent decree, Keysight notes that, on or around the date of this announcement, Keysight and VIAVI have entered into an amendment agreement in respect of the sale of the Divestment Business, pursuant to which Spirent's channel emulation business line has been added to the scope of the divestiture previously announced by Keysight on March 3, 2025. The sale of the Divestment Business remains subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and completion of the Acquisition. Keysight continues to expect the sale of the Divestment Business to complete shortly after the Acquisition becoming effective. Timing of the Acquisition Completion of the Acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction or (if capable of waiver) waiver of the remaining conditions to the Acquisition set out in Part III of the Scheme Document, (the 'Conditions') including the Condition relating to sanction of the Scheme by the Court. Keysight continues to expect that the Scheme will become effective during the third quarter of Keysight's current fiscal year (period ending July 31, 2025). The parties continue to keep the timetable under close review and will provide any updates as required. Capitalized terms in this announcement, unless otherwise defined, have the same meanings given to them in the Update on Regulatory Clearances announcement in relation to the Acquisition published on December 2, 2024. About Keysight Technologies At Keysight (NYSE: KEYS), we inspire and empower innovators to bring world-changing technologies to life. As an S&P 500 company, we're delivering market-leading design, emulation, and test solutions to help engineers develop and deploy faster, with less risk, throughout the entire product life cycle. We're a global innovation partner enabling customers in communications, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, automotive, semiconductor, and general electronics markets to accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Learn more at Keysight Newsroom and Source: IR-KEYS
The Hindu
a day ago
- Business
- The Hindu
T.N. government gives nod to Chennai Metro Rail's Poonamallee-Parandur corridor
The Tamil Nadu government has accorded in-principle approval to build Chennai Metro Rail's Poonamallee-Sunguvarchatram-Parandur project. This is an extension of corridor 4 of the Phase II Project from Light House to Poonamallee. The government has also given in-principle approval for the 'first phase implementation' of this corridor from Poonamallee to Sunguvarchatram, which covers a distance of 27.9 km and whose cost has been estimated at ₹8,779 crore. If the first phase is constructed expeditiously, commuters will then have easy access to the Kuthambakkam bus terminus in the future. The State government has recommended the project to the Centre. According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the 14 stations, which will come up between Poonamallee and Sunguvarchatram, are Nazarathpet, Chembarambakkam, Kuthambakkam Bus Terminus, Samathuvapuram, Chettipedu, Thandalam, SIPCOT Irungattukottai, Pennalur, Sriperumbudur, Pattunool Chatram, Irungulam Industrial Area, Mambakkam, Thirumangalam, and Sunguvarchatram. Soon, the detailed project report (DPR) will be forwarded for the Centre's approval, to get funding on equity sharing basis and for loan assistance, according to a Government Order from the Department of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives. The entire distance of the Poonamallee-Parandur Project is 52.94 km, whose cost has been estimated at ₹15,906 crore. The consultants who carried out the DPR suggested that the project could be implemented in two phases — from Poonamallee to Sunguvarchatram in Phase I and from Sunguvarchatram to Parandur in Phase II. 'Soon, we are expecting orders to shift utilities and start land acquisition from Poonamallee to Sunguvarchatram. The DPR states that the entire corridor is feasible, but for now, we will begin work for phase I,' a source said. Meanwhile, CMRL is considering the feasibility of having a semi-high-speed system such as the regional rapid transit system (RRTS) to provide connectivity to Parandur.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Appeals court keeps pauses on Trump's mass firings at 21 agencies
May 31 (UPI) -- An three-judge federal appeals panel has kept in place a lower court's decision to pause the Trump administration's plans to downsize the federal workforce through layoffs. Late Friday, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision denied an emergency motion by the federal government to stay U.S. District Judge Susan Illston's order on May 9 that halted terminations at 21 agencies. The layoffs are called reductions in force, or RIFs. In a 45-page ruling, the appeals court in California wrote the challengers likely will win the case on the merits. The appeal panel said the Trump executive order on Feb. 13 "far exceeds the President's supervisory powers under the Constitution." The Trump administration has also asked the Supreme Court to decide and has not acted. "A single judge is attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the Executive Branch," White House spokesman Harrison Fields told CNN in a statement. "The President has the authority to exercise the power of the entire executive branch - singular district court judges cannot abuse the power of the entire judiciary to thwart the President's agenda." Ruling for the plaintiffs were Senior Circuit Judge William Fletcher, an appointee of President Bill Clinton and Lucy Koh, selected by President Joe. Consuelo Maria Callahan, an appointee of President George W. Bush, wrote in her dissent that "the President has the right to direct agencies, and OMB and OPM to guide them, to exercise their statutory authority to lawfully conduct RIFs." Fletcher wrote: "The kind of reorganization contemplated by the Order has long been subject to Congressional approval." Illston, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton and serves in San Francisco, had backed the lawsuit by labor unions and cities filed on April 28, including San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore and Harris County in Houston. She questioned whether Trump's administration was acting lawfully in reducing the federal workforce and felt Congress should have a role. "The President has the authority to seek changes to executive branch agencies, but he must do so in lawful ways and, in the case of large-scale reorganizations, with the cooperation of the legislative branch," Illston wrote after hearing arguments from both sides. "Many presidents have sought this cooperation before; many iterations of Congress have provided it. Nothing prevents the President from requesting this cooperation -- as he did in his prior term of office. Indeed, the Court holds the President likely must request Congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime." The coalition of organizations suing told CNN said after the appeals decision: "We are gratified by the court's decision today to allow the pause of these harmful actions to endure while our case proceeds." After Trump's executive order, the Department of Government Efficiency submitted a Workforce Optimization Initiative and the Office of Personnel Management also issued a memo. During Trump's first 100 days in office, at least 121,000 workers have been laid off or targeted for layoffs, according to a CNN analysis. There are more than 3 million workers among civilian and military personnel. Some of them have taken buyouts, "including those motivated to do so by the threat of upcoming RIFs," according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. That includes 10,000 at the Department of Health and Human Services through RIF as part of a plan to cut 20,000 employees. That includes 20% of the workforce of the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agencies, run by Cabinet-level personnel, sued were Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State and Treasury, Transportation, Veterans Affairs. The Education Department, which Trump wants to dismantle, was not listed, but 50% of the workforce has been let go. Six additional agencies with statutory basis elsewhere in the United States Code were named: AmeriCorps, General Services Administration, National Labor Relations Board, National Science Foundation, Small Business Administration and Environmental Protection Agency. Elon Musk, who officially left Friday as special White House adviser, was named in the suit. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
