ZAGREB, Croatia The Social Democratic Party (SDP)-backed Zoran Milanovic won a second term as Croatia's president on Sunday, according to exit polls. Based on Ipsos polls, Milanovic secured 50.74% of the votes in the first round, earning him another term as president without having to compete in a second round. Milanovic expressed his gratitude through a brief message on social media, saying simply: "Thank you." Milanovic's main challenger, Dragan Primorac, candidate of the ruling center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and a former education minister, reportedly trailed with 19.04% of the vote, finishing a distant second. Croatia’s left-leaning president Milanovic is known for his outspoken criticism of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. *Writing by Muhammed Enes Calli2025 brings a host of changes to law both within and outside of the UK that are destined to affect every Brit. Spanning from Labour ’s push to hit net zero targets to Schengen border changes, these are the new rules you’ll be held to over the next 12 months, with more due to add on in 2026. This nationwide ban will forbid the sale of single-use vapes to “end this nation’s throwaway culture” according to circular economy minister Mary Creagh. The legislation is currently making its way through Parliament and if approved will come into force on June 1, 2025. Businesses have been advised by Defra to sell their remaining stock before the ban, reports the MEN . This new bill holds a lot of the controversial smoking-related laws that have garnered headlines this year including increasing the age limit of buying tobacco products so that children currently aged 15 and under will never be able to legally purchase it. Additionally, it also extends the power to ban smoking in specific outdoor spaces like children’s playgrounds. One of the more controversial new laws is the ban on TV adverts for junk food products being advertised before 9pm. The rule is set to come into play from October in order to curb childhood obesity. However, experts have debated the criteria used by the government to classify “junk food”. National Living Wage, minimum hourly wage for apprentices and the National Minimum Wage are increasing in April with the minimum earnings for 18 to 20-year-olds rising by the highest amount on record, £1.40, to a new high of £10 an hour. There are reportedly plans to eventually create a single rate of minimum wage and national living wage for adults, phasing out the age brackets. From next September, parents of children aged nine months and older will be entitled to up to 30 hours of free childcare per week until their child starts school. This is to ensure eligible working parents, classified as people who individually earn more than £9,518 but less than £100,000 per year, are able to get to work. Some parents may also be able to access 30 minutes of free childcare before school as part of the new breakfast club rollout. The first of which are set to be open from April. New, higher rates for parental leave pay and statutory sick pay will come into effect from April. This includes new rates of statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay, statutory shared parental pay and statutory parental bereavement pay will all go up to £187.18 per week and statutory sick pay at £118.75 per week. Labour’s plans to renationalise British rails starts next year with new laws making public ownership of operators the default option, with a total of three operators to be brought into public ownership over the next year. This includes South Western Railway, the c2c and Greater Anglia. April 1, 2025 could bring the first tax bills for EV drivers through the Vehicle Excise Duty as their exemption to the tax ends. This decision was actually put in place by the former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt. EVs registered on or after the tax comes into play will get the lower first-year rate of £10 while those registered before this will face the standard rate of £190 a year. The exemption EVs have for the Expensive Car Supplement is also ending meaning those still liable will have to pay an additional £410 a year for the first five years of ownership if their car is worth more than £40,000. As of April 2025, employers will face a 1.2% higher rate of NI and a lower threshold for when this tax is applicable, dropping from £9,100 per year to £5,000. Small businesses, however, will also see an increase in Employment Allowance which allows them to reduce their NI liability, rising from £5,000 to £10,500. Brits with permanent homes outside the UK will be facing a new tax regime next year which should close the loophole that allows wealthy people to earn income in lower tax countries by nominating it as their primary domicile and not be liable to UK taxes. It will be replaced with a residence-based test, as chancellor Rachel Reeves declared during her autumn budget: “I have always said that if you make Britain your home, you should pay your tax here.” One of Labour’s more ambitious legislative changes is the Renters' Rights Bill, which aims to end no-fault evictions and provide renters with extra protection against being evicted and rent increases. The new legislation would remove the power landlords have to evict tenants without a valid reason like wanting to sell their property . The Bill is currently making its way through parliament but will hopefully come into force over the summer. It will also give renters a one-year period of protection at the start of their tenancy during which the landlord can’t evict them to move in or sell the property. Finally, it also aims to tackle unreasonable rent increases ensuring landlords can only raise the rent once a year at market rate. The government hopes to update the “feudal” leasehold system by protecting them from “excessive, opaque and escalating costs” imposed by freeholders that own the land their property is on. Starting this week, the rule that leaseholders need to wait two years before buying their freehold or extending their lease will be removed. In the spring, Right to Manage rules will also come into play, ensuring owners in mixed-use buildings can take over management. Lastly, the government hopes to introduce the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, which is currently in its draft stage, in late 2025 to transition to a commonhold system. This would treat flats and apartments as individual freehold properties and common areas will be managed by a commonhold association owned by the flat freeholders. While not part of the UK’s legislation changes, travellers must be warned that as they may need the new ETIAS permit to travel within the Schengen zone in Europe. This will cost around €7 for people aged 18 to 70 and will be mandatory for non-EU and non-Schengen citizens if they don’t need a visa to enter the country. The ETIAS scheme has been delayed multiple times but governments are assuring it will be implemented six months after the ESS adoption. This second scheme will affect non-EU citizens travelling in the EU, registering travellers with an automated system every time they cross an external EU border, meaning travellers may have to provide biometric data at EU borders instead of getting passport stamps. Back in the UK, tourists need to be aware of the new ETA scheme to be rolled out in full next year. It costs £10 and allows multiple journeys to the UK for stays of up to six months at a time. ETAs are digitally linked to a traveller’s passport and is meant to provide more robust security checks at UK borders. By January 8, all non-Europeans will need an ETA to travel to the UK. This will then be continually extended to different nationalities, until April 2025 when all visitors to the UK will need either an ETA or an eVisa to travel through the UK. British and Irish citizens will reportedly be exempted from the ETA system.
Trump says he can't guarantee tariffs won't raise prices, won't rule out revenge prosecutionsSEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks rode their dominant defense to a big win over a division rival to vault into first place in the NFC West. No, it isn’t 2013. These are the 2024 Seahawks, who, after struggling mightily against the run earlier this season, held the visiting Arizona Cardinals to 49 rushing yards in Sunday's 16-6 victory .
TORONTO — The Winnipeg Jets had payback on their minds and top spot in the National Hockey League in their final game before the holiday break. The Jets made good on both accounts with a 5-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs before 18,923 at Scotiabank Arena on Monday. The win avenged a 6-4 home loss to Toronto on Oct. 28, that halted the Jets' eight-game win streak to begin the season. It also pushed the Jets into first overall. "They don't hand out awards at Christmas, but obviously, we're happy," said Jets centre Mark Scheifele, who enjoyed a three-goal, four-point outing. "It's good to get a couple of days off, get recharged and get going for the next half of the season." Surprisingly, the Jets (25-10-1) are only one point ahead of the 36-game pace of 23-9-4 set a year ago. "We've been good from top to bottom and we need everybody in this group," said Kyle O'Connor, who scored the Jets first two goals and helped set up Scheifele for his first of three third-period goals. "I just think our ability to roll over lines and be hungry, and not to be satisfied with anything. We also have taken a day-to-day approach, learning what we can improve on from wins and losses and implementing the adjustments." Besides defeating the Maple Leafs after what transpired in late October, Scheifele had extra motivation after being left off Canada's roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. In the 10 games since Canada's roster was announced, Scheifele has eight goals and 15 points. "You're disappointed, but at the end of the day, you just want to play well for your group of guys," Scheifele said. "There's always a bit of motivation you can draw from in every game. But it's just a matter of playing good for the Winnipeg Jets and controlling what I can control." He also enjoys playing in Toronto, an hour from his hometown of Kitchener. "I love coming to Toronto to have the opportunity to play in front of a lot of friends and family," Scheifele said. "Being so close to home, I get a little extra excited to play here. "I think the biggest thing is we didn't play our best when we played them last. We were excited to get another crack at them and how them the game we can play. All in all, it's a big win for us." MATTHEWS STILL OUT WITH INJURY While the Jets enter the Christmas break with back-to-back wins, the Maple Leafs dropped their second in a row at home without wounded captain Auston Matthews, out with an upper-body injury. "We just have to clean up some things off the rush, the transition part especially against a team that's obviously very good with their top line that takes advantage of time and space," said Maple Leafs centre John Tavares, who scored both Toronto goals. The Maple Leafs have gone 7-4-0 with Matthews on the sidelines this season and 42-23-2 in his career. Toronto was also missing defenceman Chris Tanev, out day-to-day with a lower-body ailment. Tanev missed his first game after skating in the pre-game warm-up. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2024. Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press
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(All times Eastern) Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts Tuesday, Nov. 26 CANADIAN HOCKEY LEAGUE 7 p.m. NHLN — CHL/USA Prospects Challenge: From London, Ontario COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S) 1:30 p.m. CBSSN — Sunshine Slam Beach Bracket: TBD, Third-Place Game, Daytona Beach, Fla. 2 p.m. TBS — Players Era Festival: San Diego St. vs. Creighton, Las Vegas 3:30 p.m. ESPN2 — Maui Invitational: TBD, Consolation Semifinal, Maui, Hawaii 4 p.m. CBSSN — Sunshine Slam Beach Bracket: TBD, Championship, Daytona Beach, Fla. 4:30 p.m. TBS — Oregon vs. Texas A&M, Las Vegas 6 p.m. CBSSN — Sunshine Slam Ocean Bracket: Wyoming vs. Tulane, Semifinal, Riviera Maya, Mexico ESPN — Maui Invitational: TBD, Semifinal, Maui, Hawaii 6:30 p.m. ESPNU — W. Kentucky at Kentucky 7 p.m. ACCN — Manhattan at Virginia FS1 — Wagner at Georgetown TRUTV — Acrisure Holiday Invitational: Grand Canyon vs. Stanford, Semifinal, Palm Springs, Calif. 8 p.m. BTN — SC-Upstate at Iowa TBS — Players Era Festival: Houston vs. Alabama, Las Vegas 8:30 p.m. CBSSN — Sunshine Slam Ocean Bracket: Loyola Marymount vs. Belmont, Semifinal, Riviera Maya, Mexico ESPNU — Maui Invitational: TBD, Consolation Semifinal, Maui, Hawaii 9 p.m. ESPN — Vegas Showdown: Kansas vs. Duke, Las Vegas 9:30 p.m. TRUTV — Acrisure Holiday Invitational: California Baptist vs. SMU, Semifinal, Palm Springs, Calif. 10 p.m. BTN — S. Utah at UCLA 10:30 p.m. TBS — Players Era Festival: Rutgers vs. Notre Dame, Las Vegas 11 p.m. ESPN — Maui Invitational: TBD, Semifinal, Maui, Hawaii 11:30 p.m. ESPNU — Vegas Showdown: Seattle vs. Furman, Las Vegas Midnight TRUTV — Acrisure Holiday Invitational: Fresno St. vs. Washington St., Semifinal, Palm Springs, Calif. COLLEGE BASKETBALL (WOMEN’S) 2 p.m. TRUTV — Acrisure Holiday Invitational: Michigan St. vs. California, Semifinal, Palm Springs, Calif. 4:30 p.m. TRUTV — Acrisure Holiday Invitational: Arizona vs. Vanderbilt, Semifinal, Palm Springs, Calif. 7 p.m. SECN — Western Carolina at Tennessee COLLEGE FOOTBALL 7 p.m. ESPN2 — Toledo at Akron 8 p.m. ESPN — CFP Rankings Show GOLF 4 a.m. (Wednesday) GOLF — Asian Tour: The International Series Qatar, First Round, Doha Golf Club, Doha, Qatar NBA BASKETBALL 7:30 p.m. TNT — Milwaukee at Miami 10 p.m. TNT — L.A. Lakers at Phoenix The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive TV listings provided by LiveSportsOnTV .
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Palantir Technologies ( PLTR -3.72% ) is currently the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC -1.11% ) in 2024. Shares have advanced 360% year to date because of a series of increasingly stronger financial reports driven by demand for its new artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Many analysts have been bearish the whole way up, but Dan Ives at Wedbush Securities has been consistently bullish. He has touted Palantir as the next Oracle , and the best pure-play AI name. But his most surprising take is that Palantir may eventually be a trillion-dollar company if it continues to execute. Ives made that comment during an interview with Schwab Network in November, and it implies 450% upside from the current market value of $180 billion. Here's what investors should know about Palantir. What sets Palantir apart from competing software companies Palantir sells analytics software that helps enterprises make sense of complex information. Its core platforms, Gotham and Foundry, integrate data sets and machine learning models into an ontology, a framework that connects digital information to real-world objects. Users can query the ontology with analytical applications to gain insights that improves decision-making. Last year, Palantir supercharged its core software with a new artificial intelligence (AI) platform called AIP. It adds support for large language models to Gotham and Foundry, letting users engage the platforms with natural language . For example, an enterprise that uses Foundry to monitor its supply chain could prompt the platform to flag potential issues and recommend solutions. Earlier this year, CEO Alex Karp explained in a CNBC interview what sets Palantir apart from its competitors. In a nutshell, he believes the software is built differently, works better, and creates more value for customers than other products on the market. When Karp says the software is built differently, he is referring to the ontology-centric architecture. That is what lets businesses pull actionable insights from large volumes of raw data. Palantir also revamped its go-to-market strategy around its AI platform. The company runs AIP boot camps, which are interactive workshops where prospective customers learn to use the product on their own data in as little as five days. That has led to strong adoption. In fact, Palantir was one of two top-ranked vendors in the Dresner Advisory Services 2024 market study on artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning software. Palantir impressed investors with its third-quarter earnings report Palantir reported strong financial results for the third quarter, beating estimates on the top and bottom lines. Its customer count rose 39% to 629, and the average existing customer spent 18% more. Revenue increased 30% to $726 million, marking the fifth consecutive acceleration, and non-GAAP net income increased 42% to $0.10 per diluted share. CEO Alex Karp attributed the strong numbers to demand for AIP. "The growth of our business is accelerating, and our financial performance is exceeding expectations as we meet an unwavering demand for the most advanced artificial intelligence technologies from our U.S. government and commercial customers," he wrote in his letter to shareholders. Palantir also raised its full-year guidance, such that revenue is now expected to grow 26% in 2024. That would be a material acceleration from 17% revenue growth in 2023. And recent updates suggest that momentum may carry into next year. Palantir in December received FedRAMP High Authorization, meaning its full portfolio can be used by the U.S. government to "process the most sensitive unclassified workloads." More recently, the company announced a $618.9 million contract with the U.S. Army that will expand its long-standing support of the Army's data-driven decision-making platform. "Our continuous addition of new AI capabilities enables the Army's own ability to develop applications and incorporate the benefits of effective data analysis across nearly every high-priority mission," said Akash Jain, President of U.S. government business at Palantir. Palantir stock is very expensive compared to future earnings forecasts In summary, Palantir is executing on what promises to be a massive opportunity with AIP. The International Data Corporation estimates that spending on AI platforms will increase at 51% annually through 2028, making it the "fastest growing" cloud technology in the next few years. However, investors should bear in mind that no stock is worth buying at any price, no matter how well the business is executing. Palantir shares currently trade at 225 times adjusted earnings. That valuation looks particularly absurd when the company's earnings are projected to increase 31% in the next 12 months. Consequently, Wall Street analysts are quite pessimistic about the stock. Its median 12-month target price of $39 per share implies 50% downside from the current share price of $79. Even Dan Ives, whose target price is set at $75 per share, anticipates downside in the stock in the near term. Here is the bottom line: Palantir could grow into a trillion-dollar company in the future, as Ives suggests. So, patient shareholders comfortable with extreme volatility can sit tight. However, prospective investors should consider waiting for a better entry point. I believe more attractive buying opportunities will arise in the coming months.Truckloads of Cheer: Truck Master Warranty Donates Toy Trucks to Children's Hospitals for the Holidaysis tired of folks thinking —and he’s finally putting his foot down about it. In a new interview with Baller Alert, Cube made it absolutely clear where he stands with Trump, explicitly coming out and saying that he isn’t a supporter of him nor the Republicans. “People who think I’m MAGA or a Trump supporter and all that and went out there anD voted for the Republicans—they got me fucked up. I never said that, they have no proof. I ain’t never endorsed a candidate. So I think they got me fucked up. It’s just a narrative that’s wrong,” he explained. He then went on to share how he felt he got incorrectly mislabeled as a Trump supporter citing to share his While the Democrats said that they’d possibly adopt some of his ideas after they won the election, the Republicans asked to use a few of his ideas for their own “Platinum Plan” that was done “in their own think tank,” per Cube. Thanks to that, his name was unfortunately etched in connection with the party. But he alleges he was just a political pawn that they were trying to use. “People are saying that was my plan and so they’re running with it. But they’re the ones [who are] stupid because that’s not the truth. Once you are an impactful person and you talk to politicians, they will always try to use you as a political football and that’s what happened,” Cube said. “Everybody want me on their team...it’s the game but we got to be smart enough to know it’s a game.” He went on to say that he could understand the criticism if he was out here campaigning and at conventions rallying for Trump but since he didn’t he doesn’t get it. He also made it clear that he didn’t and won’t encourage people not to vote but rather the fact that they should be able to get something back for their vote instead. On social media, however, it doesn’t look like his explanation did well enough to convince some folks that he wasn’t #TeamTrump. “He def voted Trump but he don’t want the backlash that comes with it,” wrote one user in the comments section of the above post on Instagram. “Long story long you voted for Trump, gotcha,” said another. “Cube definitely voted for Trump, he’s just sparing the controversy,” another wrote. Yet and still, there were still some that came to the legendary rapper’s defense. “Anybody who thinks he’s wrong for voting for Trump has not been paying attention,” wrote one person. “He’s allowed to vote for whoever he pleases, end of discussions,” another wrote. “Black people can’t fathom the idea that we have Black people who really don’t trust the government. This new generation is weird!!” said another.LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Dec, 2024) wedding-hall owners and those starting a hall in the province must obtain a mandatory licence the Food Authority (PFA), according to a release issued here. The PFA formulates standards, procedures, processes and guidelines related to any aspect of food, including , food labeling, food additives and a description of the appropriate enforcement system. This body issues permits for food businesses across to enforce food safety and quality standards. The hall is directly related to the food items that are served to guests at events. Similarly, the PFA issues a hall license after reviewing every aspect related to the quality and process of the food, for which a specific fee is also charged. The Food Authority has made it easy to register a online, by filling a form. The applicant can also calculate the hall licence fee by providing details through the online form. The details you have to provide include category, investment or stock position, daily sales, , number of employees, location and utility bills. The licence fee for a hall with an investment of up to Rs3 and a seating capacity of more than 75 people is around Rs. 50,000.
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