Author: Press Room

Australians are still not spending despite back-to-back public holidays in April, official figures show.The latest figures by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows retail sales fell by 0.1 per cent in the month of April despite having two holidays.This follows growth of 0.3 per cent in March 2025 and 0.2 per cent in February 2025.Food-related spending was up, with growth in cafes, restaurants and takeway services growing 1.1 per cent to be the standout.ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said retail spending eased in April, particluarly on clothing.“Falls were partly offset by a bounce-back in Queensland as businesses recovered…

NEW YORK: Former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner was sentenced to two years in prison by a judge in a New York court on Thursday (May 29) after playing a key role in a multi-billion dollar scandal involving Malaysia’s sovereign fund 1MDB. Malaysian and US authorities estimated US$4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB in an elaborate scheme that spanned the globe and implicated high-level officials in the fund, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Goldman executives and others. Leissner, a former Southeast Asia chairman for Goldman, pleaded guilty in 2018 to a conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act…

A ceasefire proposal with Israel tabled by the administration of United States President Donald Trump is “still under discussion” by Hamas, but in its current form will only result in “the continuation of killing and famine” in Gaza, an official from the Palestinian group has said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Israel had “signed off” on the ceasefire proposal, and the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had submitted it to Hamas for consideration. Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim told the Reuters news agency that the deal “does not meet any of our…

The Trump administration is shaking up Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership amid continued frustrations within the White House about the level of immigration arrests and deportations conducted by the agency, officials announced Thursday.Kenneth Genalo will no longer lead Enforcement and Removal Operations, the ICE branch tasked with carrying out arrests and deportations. Genalo, a longtime ICE official, is retiring and plans to advise agency leaders as a special government employee, officials said.ERO has been spearheading the Trump administration’s aggressive and government-wide campaign to ramp up efforts to locate, arrest and deport unauthorized migrants across the country.Meanwhile, Robert Hammer, the head…

Bernie Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner who was hailed as a hero after 9/11, has died at 69 years old.His death was announced by FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday night, who wrote that Kerik “passed away after a private battle with illness.””Rest easy, Commissioner. Your watch has ended, but your impact will never fade,” Patel wrote.Kerik’s rise to national prominence came during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, where he became a steady figure alongside then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. KASH PATEL FLIPS SCRIPT ON DEM SENATOR AFTER BEING GRILLED ON J6 PARDONS: ‘BRUTAL REALITY CHECK’ Former New York…

The City of Edmonton is marking a milestone for transit in the city on Thursday, putting shovels in the ground for the Capital Line LRT south extension. It comes as the city deals with a growing population.Edmonton transit users at Century Park, like Penelope Siame, are eagerly awaiting the expansion of the transit system.“I live in Allard, which is quite far (south), so it really takes a long time to get to school and get home,” said Siame.Other transit users like Isabel Luzio say taking multiple buses can make for a long commute.“It would definitely make it easier. Currently, it’s…

US President Donald Trump has praised Elon Musk and says he will hold a press conference with the tech billionaire, whose tenure in the administration ended.”This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Elon is terrific!”The president said the press conference will be held in the Oval Office on Friday.Musk announced he was stepping down from his White House stint on Wednesday, giving Tesla investors some succour after shares slumped this year in part due to the backlash to his…

Washington, DC – For Anson, hearing the news that Chinese student visas were the latest target of US President Donald Trump’s administration was “heartbreaking”. The Chinese graduate student, who is studying foreign service at Georgetown University, told Al Jazeera that he feels uncertain about the future of students like himself after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the US would begin to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields”. “There is definitely a degree of uncertainty and anxiety observed amongst us,” Anson said, asking that only…

The Department of Homeland Security is warning would-be disrupters to avoid interfering with federal immigration enforcement operations after it said a demonstrator attempted to disrupt a federal immigration arrest in New York City on Wednesday.Nearly two dozen anti-ICE protesters were also detained in another part of the city later that day. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that ICE agents contacted Federal Protective Service (FPS) on Wednesday morning and “requested assistance as their officers were conducting arrests” in the lobby of a federal immigration court building.McLaughlin said FPS officers responded and saw several protesters filming and taking pictures of…

Harrison Ruffin Tyler, the grandson of John Tyler, the 10th U.S. president, has died at the age of 96.Harrison Tyler died May 25, according to a statement shared by the Sherwood Forest Plantation Foundation, which operates the Tyler family’s historic home in Virginia.”A beloved father and grandfather, he will be missed immeasurably by those who survive him. His accomplishments in business changed the lives of countless employees of ChemTreat, the company he co-founded in 1968,” the foundation shared in a statement on Facebook. JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DEAD AT 100″His love of history and his birthplace, Charles…