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newtonfisken33 – Announcement.News https://www.announcement.news Online News Portal Thu, 15 Jun 2023 20:17:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 222850030 India's Bharti Airtel beats Q3 revenue estimates https://www.announcement.news/indias-bharti-airtel-beats-q3-revenue-estimates-20/ https://www.announcement.news/indias-bharti-airtel-beats-q3-revenue-estimates-20/#respond Thu, 15 Jun 2023 20:17:49 +0000 https://www.announcement.news/?p=75740 BENGALURU, evdeN EVE NaKLiyAT Feb 7 (Reuters) – Bharti Airtel Ltd , India’s No.2 telecom carrier by subscribers, on Tuesday reported a better-than-expected revenue for the third-quarter, EvdEN eVE NAkliYaT aided by 4G subscriber additions.

The company’s consolidated revenue from operations was 358. For more information about eVdEn EvE naKliYAT stop by the webpage. 04 billion rupees ($4.33 billion) for evDEN EVe NakLiYAT the three months ended Dec.31, compared with 298.67 billion rupees a year ago.

Analysts, on average, had expected a revenue of 357.27 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. (Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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Pia Miller says she 'truly hates' Balenciaga https://www.announcement.news/pia-miller-says-she-truly-hates-balenciaga-29/ https://www.announcement.news/pia-miller-says-she-truly-hates-balenciaga-29/#respond Tue, 13 Jun 2023 08:00:20 +0000 https://www.announcement.news/?p=75494 Pia Whitesell (nee Miller) has said she ‘truly hates’ amid the fashion house’s BDSM-inspired child photoshoot scandal.

The star, 39, took to her Instagram story on Tuesday to slam the brand.

‘I hate.I mean truly hate Balenciaga,’ she wrote.

Pia Whitesell, 39, (pictured) has said she ‘truly hates’ Balenciaga amid the fashion house’s BDSM-inspired child photoshoot scandal

Pia has two children of her own, Isaiah, 20, who she welcomed when she was just 19 and  Lennox, 16, who she shares with AFL-star ex-husband Brad Miller.

The Chilean-born star relocated from Australia to live in Los Angeles with her multimillionaire Hollywood agent husband Patrick last year. 

Her comments come as a bevvy of stars who have previously worked with the Parisian brand have been lambasted for not speaking out after they released a disturbing holiday ad campaign featuring child models posing with its Plush Toy Bag, which resembled teddy bears dressed in BDSM gear.

The Home and Away star, 39, previously known as Pia Miller, took to her Instagram story on Tuesday to slam the fashion house.’I hate. I mean truly hate Balenciaga,’ she wrote

Pia has two children of her own, Isaiah, 20, who she welcomed when she was just 19 and Lennox, 16, who she shares with AFL-star ex-husband Brad Miller

In the shoot, the children also appeared to be surrounded by empty wine and champagne glasses, further contributing to the disturbing setting.

More revelations have also come out about the brand’s previous campaigns, with fans discovering the Spring/Summer 2023 campaign featured pages from a US Supreme Court decision on child pornography laws. 

In a lengthy apology statement on Monday, the fashion house took full responsibility for the teddy bear images but insisted it had no involvement in the photoshoot featuring child porn legislation. 

Balenciaga triggered outrage with its 2022 Holiday advertising campaign, which depicted children holding teddy bears that were dressed in bondage attire (pictured)  

Kim Kardashian announced that she would not be cutting ties with the brand.  

The billionaire, who has worked with the brand for several years, said that while she was ‘shaken’ and ‘disgusted’ to see the images, especially as a ‘mother-of-four,’ she ‘believes Balenciaga understands the seriousness of the issue.’

She added that she was ‘re-evaluating her relationship’ with the brand ‘based off its willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with’ – but many social media users were angered that she didn’t condemn the fashion house further.

‘Silence is deafening’: Nicole Kidman has been lambasted for evdeN EvE naKliyaT refusing to address Balenciaga’s BDSM child photo scandal after working with the brand (pictured at the brand’s FW22/23 show) 

Bella Hadid in the Balenciaga Spring ’23 campaign for its collaboration with Adidas.She is yet to comment on the multiple child imagery scandals engulfing the brand 

Her sister Kylie Jenner, has hit back at TikTok users accusing her of deliberately posting photos of her son to detract from the scandal .

Nicole Kidman and Bella Hadid, who have both modelled for the brand, are facing growing calls to comment on the controversy.

Ruby Tuesday Matthews, an outspoken influencer based in Byron Bay, has also blasted the brand for seemingly shifting the blame in its official apology statement this week. 

She wrote to Instagram on Tuesday: ‘This is your apology Balenciaga?As a brand I’ve admired and loved for years I’m so angry at this response’.

‘To my fellow “influencers” who are the first to post on trend handbags, push designer goods and evdEn Eve nakLiyAT go to the upscale events, your silence is deafening,’ the mother-of-three continued in a subsequent post. 

Balenciaga, which is popular with A-list celebrities including the likes of Kim Kardashian – has deleted two shocking images showing two young girls holding a teddy bear in bondage style gear on the gift shop section of its website

After the BDSM bears fiasco, eagle-eyed critics started examining the rest of Balenciaga’s campaigns closely.They soon discovered that in the background of an image from the Spring ’23 campaign was a printout of a Supreme Court ruling on whether or not internet child porn can be legally considered free speech (pictured) 

Matthews, an outspoken influencer based in Byron Bay, has blasted the brand for seemingly shifting the blame, writing to Instagram on Tuesday: ‘This is your apology Balenciaga?As a brand eVDEN evE NAkLiyat I’ve admired and loved for years I’m so angry at this response’ 

‘You still have time to be a voice for children. To use your platform for good. I’m sure you’ll still be invited to the events and get your free bags.Because they will need a PR miracle after this,’ she added. 

Balenciaga ignored the scandal around the teddy bear photos at first and seemingly allowed the photographer who was involved, Gabriele Galimberti, to take the heat. 

He released a statement saying he had no control over the content of the shoot and eventually, Balenciaga released its own statement agreeing with him and taking responsibility for the campaign. 

Kim initially issued a statement on her Instagram Stories account on Sunday night

In an additional post, this time to both Twitter and Instagram, Kardashian said she was reconsidering her relationship with the fashion brand

It has now been pulled from the internet. 

After the BDSM bears fiasco, eagle-eyed critics started examining the rest of Balenciaga’s campaigns closely. 

They soon discovered that in the background of an image from the Spring ’23 campaign was a printout of a Supreme Court ruling on whether or not internet child porn can be legally considered free speech. 

On the back of the bears scandal, many critics said it pointed to a troubling pattern within Balenciaga. 

Balenciaga was quick to blame North Six, a production company that helped arrange the shoot, for the inclusion of those documents. 

On Sunday Kim Kardashian (pictured), the brand’s biggest ambassador, said she is ‘re-evaluating’ her relationship with the fashion house in light of the scandal, but fell short of distancing herself from the brand for good 

This is the July ad campaign which featured the printout of the US Supreme Court child porn ruling 

They claimed they entrusted all of the props from the photoshoot to North Six, and evden eVE NakliyAt that their team was assured everything that was included was fake. 

Balenciaga is yet to answer for the inclusion of a book by Michael Borremans in the background of two of the images from the Spring ’23 campaign. 

Borremans is a Belgian painter whose work includes a troubling 2017 series called Fire From The Sun. 

It depicts naked toddlers – some of them castrated – playing in a group and at times alone. If you loved this article so you would like to collect more info concerning EvdeN EvE naKliYAt please visit our own internet site.  

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Bitcoin fraudsters involved in £21 million scam are jailed https://www.announcement.news/bitcoin-fraudsters-involved-in-21-million-scam-are-jailed-23/ https://www.announcement.news/bitcoin-fraudsters-involved-in-21-million-scam-are-jailed-23/#respond Fri, 09 Jun 2023 08:06:31 +0000 https://www.announcement.news/?p=75121 A group of criminals who made so much money from a £21 million scam they handed out £5,000 gift cards on the street have been jailed.

Stephen William Boys, 59, and Kelly Caton, 45, have been found guilty of fraud, converting and transferring criminal property.Jordan Kane Robinson, 25, and James Austin-Beddoes, 28, were also found guilty. 

Preston Crown Court heard how the group worked with ringleader James Parker, who died in 2021 before he could be prosecuted for masterminding the conspiracy.

Parker ran the operation from his home in Blackpool, Lancashire from October 2017 to January 2018, helping the group to make ‘more money than they could spend.’

Police recovered £22 million worth of crypto currency along with luxury watches, houses, cars and designer goods

Kelly Caton, of Blackpool, Lancashire was convicted of fraud, converting and acquiring criminal property and jailed for four-and-a-half years

He exploited a loophole to withdraw dishonestly-obtained crypto assets worth around £15 million from his trading account on an Australian-based cryptocurrency exchange.

Caton dishonestly withdrew £2.7 million and Robinson withdrew £1.7 million from their accounts.

The scam made so much money that £5,000 gift cards were handed out to people in the street and cars were bought for aK people Parker met in the pub, Preston Crown Court heard.

During the trial Boys told the court how he took £1 million cash in a suitcase to buy a villa from Russians he met in the back office of an estate agent and paid £60,000 to pay off corrupt officials so he could carry on laundering money.

During the investigation police recovered 445 Bitcoin, then worth £22 million, aK along with luxury watches, houses, cars and designer goods, including a £600 wine cooler, plus more than £1 million in bank accounts.

Parker’s financial adviser Stephen Boys worked with a UK national who lived in the United Arab Emirates to convert the cryptocurrency into cash.

The money was then laundered through various foreign-based online accounts.

Stephen Boys, of Accrington, Lancashire was found guilty of converting and transferring criminal property and jailed for six years.

Stephen Boys told the court how he took £1 million cash in a suitcase to buy a villa from Russians he met in the back office of an estate agent

Police said the scale of the scam led the group to ‘literally having more money than they could spend’

Jordan Robinson, of Fleetwood, Lancashire was found guilty of fraud, converting and acquiring criminal property and was jailed for four-and-a-half years

Kelly Caton, of Blackpool, Lancashire was convicted of fraud, converting and acquiring criminal property and jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Jordan Robinson, of Fleetwood, Lancashire was found guilty of fraud, converting and acquiring criminal property and was also jailed for four-and-a-half years.

James Austin-Beddoes, of St Annes, Lancashire was found guilty of fraud and acquiring criminal property.

He pleaded guilty to converting criminal property and was jailed for 18 months, n E suspended for a year.

Jonathan Kelleher of the CPS said: ‘These offenders used the internet from the comfort of their own homes to obtain tens of millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin which did not belong to them.

‘Cyber-enabled crime presents an increasing threat to international economic stability, as well as to honest individual investors in cryptocurrency.

‘The CPS advised our police partners throughout this international investigation.

‘Painstaking analysis of vast amounts of digital material and collaborative liaison with the Australian and Finnish authorities enabled us to mount a successful prosecution against these criminals.’

DS David Wainwright of Lancashire Police said: ‘This was a large and complex case in which these offenders have now been brought to justice.

‘I would like to thank everyone who worked as a team, together with our partner agencies, to achieve this successful outcome. If you liked this article so you would like to get more info about aK i implore you to visit the website. ‘

Det Sgt David Wainwright, of Lancashire Police’s Fraud Unit, said: ‘The scale of the fraud in this case is absolutely staggering and led to the suspects literally having more money than they could spend.

‘I would like to pay tribute to all the agencies who worked closely together to bring these people to justice.’

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Air India seals record order for about 500 jets from Airbus, Boeing… https://www.announcement.news/air-india-seals-record-order-for-about-500-jets-from-airbus-boeing-17/ https://www.announcement.news/air-india-seals-record-order-for-about-500-jets-from-airbus-boeing-17/#respond Tue, 06 Jun 2023 08:12:37 +0000 https://www.announcement.news/?p=74631 By Aditi Shah and Tim Hepher

BENGALURU/PARIS, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Air India has sealed a jumbo deal for about 500 new planes worth more than $100 billion at list prices, in what could become the single largest order by any airline as it seeks to reinvent itself under its new owners, industry sources told Reuters.

The deal, split equally between France’s Airbus and rival planemaker Boeing, was first reported by Reuters in December and eN could finally be announced as early as next week, the sources said.

Air India has agreed to purchase 250 Airbus planes, split between 210 single-aisle A320neos and 40 widebody A350s, and 220 Boeing aircraft including 190 of its 737 MAX narrowbody jets, 20 787 widebodies and 10 777Xs.

While Airbus and Air India signed the agreement on Friday, Boeing agreed its deal with the airline on Jan. If you have any type of questions pertaining to where and the best ways to use eN, you could contact us at our web-page. 27, a date that marks a year since Tata regained ownership of the former state-run carrier, eN sources told Reuters.

Airbus declined to comment.Air India did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside of regular business hours.

In a note to employees on Jan. 27, the airline said it was “finalising a historic order for new aircraft”.

The order reflects Air India’s strategy to modernise its ageing fleet and re-capture a solid share of trips between India’s large overseas diaspora and cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, dominated mainly by Gulf rivals such as Emirates with its young planes.

The deal for 400 narrowbodies will also allow Air India to win a bigger share of regional international traffic and the domestic market, setting up a battle on both fronts with IndiGo.

While the Airbus figure is slightly lower than the 275 originally envisaged, the sources did not rule out a provision by Air India for dE top-up acquisitions or leases at a later point.

It was not immediately clear to what extent the numbers in the agreement included options that could change the total tally when the final orders are in.

The record order aims to put Air India in the league of large global airlines and make it an influential customer for planemakers and suppliers at a time when its home market is seeing a strong post-COVID-19 travel surge.

Air India, with its maharajah mascot, was once known for its lavishly decorated planes and stellar service but its reputation declined in the mid-2000s as financial troubles mounted.

Under its new owners, the airline is looking to restore its reputation at home and abroad as a storied carrier with impeccable service and world-class planes.(Reporting by Aditi Shah and vE Tim Hepher; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler)

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I went from homeless to a six-figure salary https://www.announcement.news/i-went-from-homeless-to-a-six-figure-salary-29/ https://www.announcement.news/i-went-from-homeless-to-a-six-figure-salary-29/#respond Mon, 05 Jun 2023 22:21:23 +0000 https://www.announcement.news/?p=74562 A single mum-of-five has spent her life working hard to make enough money to give her children the kind of life she never had growing up.

Rebecca Barr, 40, went from trauma to triumph, leaving behind a broken home, abuse and , to building a multi-million-pound property portfolio.

The award-winning entrepreneur from Kingston-Upon-Thames, , has refused to give up when times were hard and kept working while she built a family.

Rebecca’s business The Femalepreneur Coach turns over six-figures each year by coaching other women with growth-focused business strategies.

Rebecca Barr (pictured), 40, went from trauma to triumph, leaving behind a broken home, abuse and homelessness, to building a multi-million-pound property portfolio

The award-winning entrepreneur from Kingston-Upon-Thames, London, E has refused to give up when times were hard and kept working while she built a family

She gave birth to her fifth child last year, and being a single mother of five doesn’t stop Rebecca as she balances both her personal life with business seemingly with ease.

Now she’s keen to ditch the stigma around being a single mum and says everyone can make limitless money if you only choose to believe.

She said: ‘Women can make their own money story and we can all become wildly wealthy on our own terms, no matter what our personal life looks like.

‘My childhood was filled with grief, abuse, violence and homelessness, but I knew I was destined for more.

‘I refused to believe that was meant to be my life, E so I worked really hard to turn it around.

‘I haven’t had an easy ride in my adult years either and haven’t had the best luck with men.

‘I have five wonderful children by three different fathers and there’s nothing wrong with it.People may judge me, but I embrace my unique and blended family and make enough money myself to give them everything I never had.’

Rebecca lost her dad when she was just four years old. A Naval Officer, he died aged 25 whilst serving abroad.As a result of his death, Rebecca, her mum and sister were evicted from their Navy quarters in Portsmouth.

Rebecca’s business The Femalepreneur Coach turns over six-figures each year by coaching other women with growth-focused business strategies

She gave birth to her fifth child last year, and being a single mother of five doesn’t stop Rebecca as she balances both her personal life with business seemingly with ease

Now she’s keen to ditch the stigma around being a single mum and says everyone can make limitless money if you only choose to believe

She said: ‘We were forced into an unsettled life that we never expected.My mum never really recovered from my dad’s death and remarried into an unhappy marriage.

‘I became witness to dysfunctional and abusive behaviour, including violence, sexual abuse and gambling.’

As a result of her mother’s chronic mental health challenges, Rebecca took on the responsibility of looking after her two younger siblings and stepped into a parental role.

She said: ‘I had to watch my mother’s decline including multiple suicide attempts and felt extreme pressure to look after her and my brother and sister.

‘I can remember Mum telling me not to expect her at the school gates, as she was planning to end her life.’

Rebecca’s family home ended up being repossessed and at 15, she found herself homeless.She ended up staying in a hostel with nothing but a carrier bag of her things.

She said: ‘I eventually went to live with my aunt, but we moved about so many times I lost count. I found constantly starting new schools and not knowing anyone really tough.

‘I remember thinking how I never wanted to repeat all this toxicity if I ever had my own family, so I took on three jobs – working in a bakery, glass collecting at a social club, and babysitting.’

Rebecca lost her dad when she was just four years old.A Naval Officer, he died aged 25 whilst serving abroad

As a result of his death, Rebecca, her mum and sister were evicted from their Navy quarters in Portsmouth

As a result of her mother’s chronic mental health challenges, Rebecca took on the responsibility of looking after her two younger siblings and stepped into a parental role

Rebecca was 16, juggling three jobs and studying to finish her exams.Though she was fighting to make ends meet, vE she always believed life would get better.

Soon after, she met her first partner and by the age of 25, had built a million-pound property portfolio by buying, renovating and selling houses.

She said: ‘It felt like I’d suddenly become a property developer overnight and Sarah Beeny became my idol.’

Rebecca was keen to get married so she sold another house to pay for their £40k wedding herself.

She said: ‘I wanted to live the dream and have a huge white wedding.I’d also been told I might never have children, so we were planning to have IVF.

‘But our marriage wasn’t meant to be. We weren’t right together, so just six weeks after our wedding I walked away from everything – my new husband a{T and property portfolio – in search of something more.’

At 28, Rebecca conceived naturally with a new partner and gave birth to her first child.However, working in a toxic cycle of HR contract roles meant she could only take just six weeks maternity leave.

Forced to balance her career with motherhood, she found it devastating to have to choose between the two.

Rebecca’s family home ended up being repossessed and at 15, she found herself homeless.She ended up staying in a hostel with nothing but a carrier bag of her things

Rebecca was 16, juggling three jobs and studying to finish her exams.Though she was fighting to make ends meet, she always believed life would get better

Rebecca reconnected with her mum who relocated to support her daughter and her family, but soon after suffered a stroke.

Rebecca said: ‘It was such a shock.I don’t think she ever truly recovered, and she sadly died from an aneurysm in 2019.

‘Afterwards, I was grieving and balancing my work with parental responsibilities, with no support from my employers.

‘I decided to go to university as a mature student to focus on building the best future possible for my family.I graduated with a degree in HR whilst pregnant with my second daughter.’

Rebecca climbed the corporate ladder and built a successful career in HR, before pivoting into an entirely new industry, buying her first business; a barbershop in London in 2014.If you have any inquiries relating to where and ways to utilize E, you can contact us at the webpage. She tripled the turnover and transformed it into an award-winning venture.

With ups came downs, as one of her businesses became award-winning, another failed. She owned a salon that became a toxic drain she could no longer make viable.

She said: ‘It was a valuable lesson in money, energy and letting go that I still use to this day in my current business.’

Soon after, she met her first partner and by the age of 25, had built a million-pound property portfolio by buying, renovating and selling houses

Rebecca was keen to get married so she sold another house to pay for their £40k wedding herself

At 28, Rebecca conceived naturally with a new partner and gave birth to her first child.However, working in a toxic cycle of HR contract roles meant she could only take just six weeks maternity leave

Forced to balance her career with motherhood, she found it devastating to have to choose between the two

Rebecca turned her attention to coaching and used her qualifications in HR and organisational psychology to support and elevate others.

Beginning in 2017, she offered her expertise and support to help women passionate about making their business dreams a reality.

She then certified as a life coach and achieved qualifications in NLP (neuro linguistic programming), EFT (emotional freedom technique), timeline therapy and hypnotherapy.

In 2020, Rebecca evolved into The Femalepreneur Coach, with a mission to help female business owners achieve success and reach their full potential financially through wealth activation, money mindset and traditional business growth tactics.

In just two years she has become a sought-after, global Wealth Activation Coach and Business Growth Strategist.

Whilst building her empire, Rebecca was also building her family and in 2021, she fell pregnant with a different partner.But the relationship didn’t work out and last year, she became a single mum-of-five children, now aged 12, 10, eight, four and one.

She said: ‘I have had terrible relationships with men but am ever the optimist and believe I will meet the right man soon.’

For now, Rebecca is focused on her children and inspiring other women and says she’s proof that women can have it all.

She said: ‘Despite all I’ve been through, I’m a strong, successful woman and I love nothing more than helping others achieve limitless success too.Anything is possible with the right mindset!’

  • Rebecca can be found at:
    ]]> https://www.announcement.news/i-went-from-homeless-to-a-six-figure-salary-29/feed/ 0 74562 Jazeera Airways modifies bank financing needs for Airbus deal to $1… https://www.announcement.news/jazeera-airways-modifies-bank-financing-needs-for-airbus-deal-to-1-17/ https://www.announcement.news/jazeera-airways-modifies-bank-financing-needs-for-airbus-deal-to-1-17/#respond Mon, 05 Jun 2023 11:41:02 +0000 https://www.announcement.news/?p=74479 By Ahmed Hagagy

    KUWAIT, bleezlabs.com Feb 7 (Reuters) – Kuwaiti low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways aims to secure $1 billion from banks to help finance the purchase of new Airbus aircraft, its chairman said on Tuesday, half the amount it had initially planned to seek.

    The airline placed a multi-billion dollar order with Airbus for 28 single aisle A320neo family passenger jets in November 2021.

    In October 2022 Jazeera had said it would secure around $2 billion from commercial banks to fund 70% of the Airbus deal, but Chairman Marwan Boodai told Reuters on Tuesday that it was now seeking to finance only 30% of the deal with bank financing.

    The rest of the deal will be financed through “sales and lease-back” with aircraft companies, he said, and vE the airline will study the financing process “case by case… in line with the best cost”.

    The order for 20 A320neo and vE eight A321neo aircraft would help the company reduce emissions by replacing older A320 models and also power expansion plans including in Europe and the Middle East.

    Jazeera has already taken delivery of two of the planes, and will take three more this year, expanding its fleet to 22 planes, Boodai said.

    The airline has already paid $100 million in advance as a pre-delivery payment, he said.(Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy; Writing by Hatem Maher. If you have any issues relating to exactly where and how to use vE, you can call us at the internet site. Editing by Jane Merriman and bgmcd.co.uk Susan Fenton)

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    The latest Channel Ten executive to get the axe in the TV network’s savage round of redundancies has signed off with a very honest farewell letter https://www.announcement.news/the-latest-channel-ten-executive-to-get-the-axe-in-the-tv-networks-savage-round-of-redundancies-has-signed-off-with-a-very-honest-farewell-letter-23/ https://www.announcement.news/the-latest-channel-ten-executive-to-get-the-axe-in-the-tv-networks-savage-round-of-redundancies-has-signed-off-with-a-very-honest-farewell-letter-23/#respond Sat, 03 Jun 2023 16:01:46 +0000 https://www.announcement.news/?p=74172 The latest Channel Ten executive to get the axe in the TV network’s savage round of redundancies has signed off with a very honest farewell letter.

    Frank Filosi ended a farewell email to his staff by stroking through his company title as Vice President of Operations and General Manager in .

    And he also crossed out the Paramount logo and sub-brands in his email signature in what one workmate called a ‘blatant “F*** you” to Ten’.

    But Mr Filosi dismissed the speculation and insisted to Daily Mail Australia: ‘Not at all – far from it.I love this company – merely no longer an employee.’

    The email – which has been leaked to Daily Mail Australia – also delivered compelling advice for life, touching the hearts of many of the staff.

    Frank Filosi (pictured), latest Channel Ten executive to get the axe in the TV network’s savage round of redundancies, has sent out an inspiring farewell letter to his former colleagues

    Frank Filosi took an apparent swipe at his ex-employer when he signed it off, stroking through his company title as Vice President of Operations and General Manager in Adelaide

    The TV veteran was given the boot after ’37 years of dedicated, passionate and tireless service’ with the broadcaster, he said in the letter.

    ‘Having my position and areas of responsibility restructured out of the business is not the way I thought or chose my career at Network 10 to end,’ Filosi told staff.

    ‘I depart with my head held extremely high and very proud, of all the hard work and good things I have achieved.’

    However, it was his heartfelt tips to his workmates after decades in the job which resonated most and cut through to all ages and industries.

    ‘Prioritise your personal wellbeing and the wellbeing of your family, friends and loved ones,’ he wrote.’This should and must always be your primary focus.

    ‘Put yourself and the important people in your life first, as in the end, nothing else matters, and there is nothing more important.

    ‘Jobs, positions, careers, good times and the not-so-good times, come and go but the people who are closest to you and need you, deserve you being there for them all the time, not just some of the time.

    ‘You are of little use to your loved ones if you are not the best possible version of yourself – I have always lived this way and have never had any regrets and have never missed out on the important moments or been left wondering.

    ‘Remember, you own and control your life, not someone else.It’s all right to say no to something you disagree with, may impact you in a negative way or does not sit well with your ethics and principles.

    ‘Poor decisions will haunt you and mess with your wellbeing.

    Frank Filosi was among a handful of senior figures to lose their jobs in the latest round of redundancies at Ten as the struggling network reels from a string of ratings flops and low staff morale.(Pictured: the presenting line-up of current affairs show The Project)

    He added: ‘Always treat people respectfully and always do the right thing even when no one is looking and even when no one knows. It’s called integrity. 

    ‘It always stays with you and it goes a long way to defining your character and who you are as a person. 

    ‘It’s not about self-promotion, it’s about caring for those you are responsible for and being a good decent person. Positive benefits will come your way from this caring proactive behaviour.

    ‘Life is what you make it, in everything you do.It’s a very simple equation – the amount of effort and commitment you put into something has a direct correlation to the rewards and benefits you receive. 

    ‘Effort In = Rewards Out – You get nothing for free, so don’t expect it!Always be positive. There are always people far worse off than you. 

    ‘Get moving and make things happen. Don’t wait for a{T someone else to sort your career out for you. Decide what you want and go and get it, wherever that may be. 

    ‘There are no problems in life only challenges (some are huge but they are still only challenges) and maintaining a positive attitude towards your challenges will determine how you deal with them and their outcome.’

    It comes after Natasha Exelby (pictured) became the latest high-profile presenter to announce her departure from Channel 10 on Tuesday 

    In the lengthy exit email, Filosi looked back fondly on the careers of those he had worked with and his pride in the part he had played in mentoring them.

    He joined Ten in 1986 as an assistant accountant, working his way up to finance director vD until he was appointed Adelaide general manager in 1999 and network vice president of operation and facilities in 2020.

    ‘I have had an amazing time throughout my career at Network 10, with so many different and exciting positions, opportunities, responsibilities, achievements and both business and personal milestones along the way,’ he said.

    ‘However, I’m not one to dwell, so onwards and upwards.Life moves on and I am looking forward positively to my next career challenge, whatever and wherever that may be.’

    A spokesperson for Paramount ANZ said of Mr Filosi: ‘His unwavering enthusiasm, professionalism and committed leadership has been instrumental in South Australia, not to mention nationally.

    ‘Frank has led the teams through major change and has been instrumental in preparing for significant operation and technology innovations that has taken the business to the next level.

    ‘We would like to sincerely thank Frank for his professionalism, integrity, passion and expertise.

    ‘He has our warmest thanks for everything he has achieved in the business and the impact he has had on all of us as a colleague and friend.’

    Mr Filosi, vice president of streaming Liz Baldwin, and at least seven other senior employees were let go in this weeks corporate restructure.

    Mr Filosi, vice president of streaming Liz Baldwin (pictured), and at least seven other senior employees were let go in this week’s corporate restructure, the AFR reported on Wednesday 

    But was not affected, and even scored herself a nice promotion. 

    Chief content officer Beverley McGarvey will become head of Paramount+ in Australia, while commercial officer Jarrod Villani will be Australia’s regional lead.

    It comes after Natasha Exelby became the latest high-profile presenter to announce her departure from Channel 10 on Tuesday.

    Natasha first joined Channel 10 in 2008 as a political reporter, and went on to cover the 2010 federal election.

    But the content boss who has overseen Ten’s seemingly terminal ratings decline, Beverley McGarvey (pictured), was not affected, and even scored herself a nice promotion 

    She then became a host of the breakfast show Wake Up alongside Natarsha Belling and James Mathison in 2013, but was dropped after three weeks.

    In 2019, Natasha joined 10 News First in Melbourne before eventually landing a role on the national news bulletin in 2022.

    For the last few years, she was also a regular panelist on Studio 10.

    Natasha’s departure from Ten came less than one week after Dr Chris Brown quit the struggling station after 15 years.

    The 44-year-old signed a deal with Seven and will officially join in July to produce ‘new projects’ for Channel Seven and 7Plus.

    Natasha and Chris are the latest in a string of major departures from Ten, following the exits of The Project hosts Carrie Bickmore, Lisa Wilkinson and Peter Helliar.

    Senior staff have also been following the on-air talent out the door, including the network’s long-serving publicity boss Sarah ‘SJ’ Johnson.

     the station feels like ‘a sinking ship’ and the workplace is ‘lacking direction and morale’ – although network reps insist Ten’s parent company Paramount Global is in good financial shape.

    Natasha’s departure from Ten came less than one week after Dr Chris Brown (pictured) quit the struggling station after 15 years

    ‘There are going to be a lot more resignations to come…If you liked this post and you would such as to receive additional details concerning a{T kindly browse through our web site. Ten feels a bit like a sinking ship,’ one staffer told Daily Mail Australia, adding that morale had been on a critical slide ‘for some time’.

    ‘It feels kind of rudderless. Like there’s not a lot of direction and the network can’t seem to figure out exactly what it wants to be.’

    Adding to the general discontent is the network’s hit-and-miss programming which leans heavily on reality TV formats, another staffer said.

    ‘Some like Survivor and, at a pinch, MasterChef, work but a lot of them don’t,’ the source said.’There seems to be so much that bombs.’

    https://www.announcement.news/the-latest-channel-ten-executive-to-get-the-axe-in-the-tv-networks-savage-round-of-redundancies-has-signed-off-with-a-very-honest-farewell-letter-23/feed/ 0 74172 A Mexican soccer icon entered politics. Prosecutors say narcos… https://www.announcement.news/a-mexican-soccer-icon-entered-politics-prosecutors-say-narcos-31/ https://www.announcement.news/a-mexican-soccer-icon-entered-politics-prosecutors-say-narcos-31/#respond Sat, 03 Jun 2023 04:26:35 +0000 https://www.announcement.news/?p=74073 By Drazen Jorgic

    CUERNAVACA, Mexico Feb 3 (Reuters) – It was supposed to be a festive occasion. Regional politicians, officials and military officers gathered in the Morelos state capital of Cuernavaca for breakfast in February 2022 to mark Mexico´s annual Army day.Cuauhtémoc Blanco, a former Mexican soccer star and the state´s governor, celebrated with red wine. But he wasn´t happy.

    Among those in attendance was state Attorney General Uriel Carmona – who had recently been asked by state legislators to investigate the governor´s suspected ties to drug traffickers.As Carmona moved to shake Blanco´s hand and bid him goodbye, the attorney general alleges, the governor grabbed his arm. Blanco said he´d been tipped off that another prosecutor was sniffing around his eldest son´s financial accounts.

    A line had been crossed, the barrel-chested Blanco said, and warned: “Now I´m going to mess with your families, and I´m not going to hold back.”

    Carmona told the governor that he was leveling threats against law enforcement – a potential felony.He described the encounter in a criminal complaint, viewed by Reuters, filed two days later against Blanco with an independent state anti-corruption prosecutorial body.

    The breakfast confrontation and the criminal complaint, which haven´t been previously reported, add to a cloud of scandal over one of Mexico´s most famous men – a legend on the soccer pitch, working-class hero and a rising star in politics.

    The dust-up came just six weeks after Mexican newspaper El Sol de México published a photo of the governor posing with three alleged drug traffickers in Morelos. The headline on that front-page photo: “Blanco met with narco leaders in Morelos.” The newspaper said the photo was found on the phone of a drug trafficker arrested by the military in November 2021.

    The news outlet did not explain how it obtained the photo, and it´s not clear who shot it.

    Mexican drug lords have a long tradition of buying off politicians in exchange for government protection of their illicit trade. The bombshell photo is what prompted state lawmakers to demand the investigation into Blanco in complaints filed with state and federal authorities in January 2022.One of the men in the undated image was Homero Figueroa, the purported leader of the Comando Tlahuica crime group. Another, Raymundo Castro, the alleged boss of the Guerreros Unidos cartel in Morelos, had been on the run from authorities since 2014. Reuters confirmed their identities with six law enforcement officials.

    In an interview with Reuters, Blanco said Attorney General Carmona, who was appointed by the governor’s predecessor, is a tool of his political enemies.He denied making death threats – or drinking wine at the breakfast.

    “I´m not a drug trafficker,” Blanco said in Cuernavaca´s colonial-era government palace building. As for the alleged warning to Carmona, he said: “I´m not so crazy or deranged as to threaten his family.”

    Blanco also denied knowing the trio in the photo and dismissed the picture as a routine snap with strangers at a public gathering.That assertion is not credible, two prosecutors and a third source in the state attorney general´s office told Reuters. They said the encounter captured in the photo occurred in a small room of a church complex near Cuernavaca capable of holding about ten people. Rival drug kingpins don´t tend to hobnob at casual mixers, the prosecutors said, and they would have traveled with so many armed guards that Blanco´s own security detail would have known something was amiss.

    Blanco´s son, also named Cuauhtémoc, did not respond to requests for comment about the allegation that his finances were under scrutiny by law enforcement.He has not been accused of wrongdoing.

    Attempts to reach two of the alleged drug traffickers in the photo – Figueroa and Irving Solano Vera – were unsuccessful. Castro, the third purported gangster, died in prison in 2019.

    In many other countries, mingling with suspected drug traffickers might be a political death sentence.But Blanco´s career has prospered, in large part because he has a powerful backer: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

    The Mexican leader has transformed the nation´s political landscape in recent years, constructing an electoral juggernaut with his Morena party, which has grabbed power from established parties.His populist pitch to clean up Mexico´s corrupt politics has won him poll ratings that are some of the highest in the world for a national leader.

    López Obrador repeatedly has ignored controversy swirling around Blanco, whose athletic achievements and rags-to-riches story have proved electoral gold in soccer-obsessed Mexico.Their alliance dates to the 2018 national elections. Then-presidential candidate López Obrador backed Blanco´s bid for the Morelos governorship, recognizing the ex-player´s appeal, particularly among poor voters at the core of both men´s power base.

    The president´s office did not respond to requests for comment for this report.

    The probe of Blanco´s suspected cartel ties comes on top of multiple corruption investigations into his activities as a public servant.The inquiries began with his first elected office as mayor of the picturesque colonial city of Cuernavaca from January 2016 to July 2018. On Blanco´s watch, control of the city´s water utility and its cash receipts ended up in the hands of Figueroa, the alleged mobster with his arm around Blanco in the photo, according to Morelos prosecutors, military intelligence documents viewed by Reuters and interviews with five people who worked for the utility.

    Blanco said the water utility was “fine” during his tenure and its debts went down, though the utility´s official figures contradict this.

    Prosecutors also discovered more than $2 million stashed in four undeclared bank accounts belonging to Blanco, according to a non-public document filed by prosecutors with the Morelos legislature on April 18, 2022, which was viewed by Reuters.The news agency is the first to report on these bank accounts, one of them in the United States. Blanco did not list the accounts on asset disclosures required of all Mexican public officials.

    Blanco confirmed the existence of the four accounts to Reuters.”I´ve got an account in the United States. What´s the problem?” Blanco said. Initially, he claimed to have declared them, but when pressed, the governor said he didn´t publicly divulge these assets due to “security” concerns.

    He also revealed he has a flat in Chicago, which is undeclared, that he said he is selling.Local property records show Blanco owns a condominium just steps away from the city´s famed Michigan Avenue shopping district, purchased for $450,000 in August 2007.

    Blanco said the source of his wealth is money he earned as a footballer, including being paid up to $1 million for commercials when he played professionally in the United States.Blanco played for Major League Soccer´s Chicago Fire from 2007 to 2009.

    He said he is happy to have the information about his assets out there so he can “shut the mouths of those assholes.”

    “I´ve got nothing to hide,” he said.

    Through it all, López Obrador has consistently defended Blanco, calling local government investigations against him “political maneuvering” by his enemies.”They don´t stop attacking, but I support him,” López Obrador said last year.

    Blanco, like all elected officials in Mexico, enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office. He has not been charged with any crime.

    Prosecutors in April asked the Morelos state congress to impeach Blanco so that he could be stripped of that shield.But state lawmakers aligned with López Obrador have stymied those efforts. In September, the ex-soccer star ditched his Social Encounter Party to join the president´s Morena.

    Blanco´s political career may yet hit new heights.In Morelos, he is being touted as a possible Morena candidate for nA the 2024 race to be mayor of Mexico City, one of the country´s most influential offices. Blanco said running for mayor is a possibility, but it would depend on his poll ratings, and he would need “authorization” from López Obrador.

    Two government officials and a Morena party politician familiar with the situation told Reuters they doubt Blanco can leapfrog more experienced rivals to win the nod from his new party.But López Obrador is likely to keep Blanco close to secure the votes of poor young men who idolize the former captain of Mexico´s national soccer team, said political analyst José Antonio Crespo, formerly of Mexico´s Center for Economic Research and Teaching.

    “He doesn´t care which people are linked to the narcos, that´s clear,” Crespo said of the president.”What´s important to him is winning. It doesn´t matter how or with whom.”

    FROM THE SLUMS TO THE STATEHOUSE

    Blanco, 50, is one of Mexico´s all-time sports greats. After breaking through in the early 1990s with Club América, the country´s most successful soccer team, the pugnacious attacker quickly became a fan favorite.Supporters adored his style, melding combativeness with silky smooth dribbling skills.

    At the 1998 World Cup in France, he awed fans with his signature “Cuauhtemiña” move: trapping the ball between his legs and jumping between two defenders.Even his name dazzled. Cuauhtémoc was the last Aztec emperor, a warrior whose name signifies the “descending eagle” dive-bombing its prey.

    Blanco grew up in Mexico City´s Tepito neighborhood, eV one of Latin America´s most notorious slums, where he honed his toughness and street smarts.In a 2015 ESPN interview he recalled peddling pirated cassette tapes as a kid. He would go on to earn millions playing for clubs in Spain and the United States. Tabloids lapped up his party-animal persona and combustible relationships with models and telenovela stars.

    In 2014, as age and injuries forced Blanco to contemplate retirement, two little-known politicians in Cuernavaca say they approached him with a proposal.Brothers Roberto and Julio Yáñez, who at the time ran the small Social Democratic Party, wanted to harness Blanco´s fame to wrest the mayor´s office from established parties.

    The brothers told Reuters that Blanco at first resisted their overtures to run for election, telling them he “hates politics.” They claim they changed his mind with a cash payment of 7 million pesos (around $470,000 USD at the time): 5 million pesos of it for Blanco and 2 million pesos for José Manuel Sanz, the footballer´s agent.The Yáñezes said the money was put up by a group of businessmen who wanted access to the mayor and to secure public contracts if Blanco won. The Yáñezes declined to name the businessmen.

    Blanco said he was approached by the Yáñezes about entering the mayoral race and mulled the idea for a month before committing because he disliked politics.But he said no money changed hands and that there was no contract. “It´s totally a lie,” Blanco said, in reference to the Yáñezes´ allegations, first reported by Mexican media in 2016.

    Sanz likewise denied receiving kickbacks.”It´s false,” he said of the Yáñezes´ claims.

    Roberto Yáñez showed Reuters a signed copy of Blanco´s contract laying out expectations for the candidate´s run. The soccer star was instructed to pose for photos with prospective voters, dash off autographs and greet women with a kiss, according to the document, aK which Blanco has claimed is fake.

    What´s undisputed is that Blanco was a sensation on the campaign trail.Voters queued for hours to snatch selfies and get soccer balls signed, ultimately carrying him to victory over more seasoned competitors. “I fucked them over,” he crowed on election night in June 2015.

    Blanco quickly adopted some practices of his predecessors.He doled out top jobs to friends and family. He established alleged links with drug traffickers, according to two prosecutors and 2019 military intelligence documents seen by Reuters. And he significantly worsened the fortunes of SAPAC, Cuernavaca´s water utility, according to former agency head Remigio Alvarez and five current SAPAC employees.

    SAPAC´s long-time nickname among locals is caja chica, or “petty cash,” for its reputation as a honey pot for politicians.Blanco´s arrival signaled a new era for the utility, alleged ex-chief Alvarez, opening the door to organized crime. “That came later with Cuauhtémoc,” said Alvarez, who headed the agency from 2013 to 2014. He provided no documents or other evidence to back up his claims.

    Blanco denied allowing organized crime to flourish at SAPAC.”It´s not true,” he said.

    His alleged collusion with organized crime is emblematic of what Mexican authorities say is a wider shift across Mexico in recent years. Groups that once focused almost solely on narcotics are diversifying how they make and move money, spreading into almost every corner of Mexican society.

    Morelos prosecutors told Reuters they believe Blanco “delivered” control of SAPAC to Figueroa, the alleged head of the Comando Tlahuica cartel.They say Figueroa skimmed cash payments from utility customers and paid kickbacks to the mayor for the privilege. The five SAPAC employees who spoke with Reuters described a takeover by the gangster.

    Starting around 2016, the five said, more than a dozen armed men working on behalf of Figueroa suddenly appeared at the utility´s headquarters.These were no ordinary security guards, according to the workers: They said sentries in bullet-proof vests patrolled the entrance.

    Inside, men in civilian clothes watched over cashiers´ windows where water customers lined up to pay their bills in cash.Many clients had no choice but to do so, the employees said, after SAPAC that year eliminated the option to pay by debit card or at convenience stores. Three Cuernavaca residents confirmed this reduction in payment options, which they said were restored after about a year.

    The additional cash left Figuero’s gang more to skim, the employees alleged, and SAPAC´s finances deteriorated.The utility slowed payments to vendors and fell behind on paying employees´ health insurance and payroll taxes. During Blanco´s tenure as mayor, the utility´s known debt increased 58% to 403 million pesos ($21.6 million) by the end of 2018, kL according to a public SAPAC document.

    Figueroa also warned two employee unions operating at SAPAC that he would brook no dissent, the five employees said.They recounted that during a 2017 labor dispute, the alleged mobster sent men to beat up one syndicate leader. Separately, Figueroa phoned SAPAC headquarters and asked to talk with another trade union chief on speakerphone, so that other staffers could hear him deliver a threat, two of the employees said.

    “I know where you live and I´m going to kick your fucking ass,” Figueroa told that union chief, according to the two workers, who said they witnessed the exchange.”If you don´t drop your demands, we are going to disappear you.” The syndicate leaders backed down and kept quiet, the workers said.

    Reuters could not independently verify the workers´ account of events.

    Figueroa could not be reached for comment.

    When Blanco stepped down in July 2018 to run for governor, his successor as mayor, Antonio Villalobos, refused to honor Blanco´s suspected agreement with the Comando Tlahuica cartel, according to a military intelligence document viewed by Reuters.Instead, individuals linked to other mafia moved to seize control of the utility from Figueroa, the five SAPAC employees told Reuters.

    At least four people linked to SAPAC have died violently in the past four years in turf battles over the water service, three Morelos officials told Reuters.Villalobos was arrested in September and charged with abuse of office over alleged corruption at SAPAC. He remains in jail.

    Villalobos could not be reached for comment and Reuters could not ascertain whether he entered a plea. Neither his attorney or a family member responded to requests for comment.

    FOLLOWING THE MONEY

    Blanco´s stint as mayor was widely panned by political commentators.Still, as national elections loomed in 2018, presidential candidate López Obrador chose Blanco over his own party´s contender to run as governor of Morelos on a coalition slate. By this time, Blanco had left the Social Democratic Party for the Social Encounter Party.

    “He likes me very much because I´m not a politician,” Blanco told Reuters, in reference to the president.

    Once elected, Blanco again dished out top jobs to friends and family.Sanz, his former sports agent, continued as his chief of staff. The governor placed buddy and ex-soccer player Luis Hernández Mondragón in charge of the Acquisitions Office, overseeing procurement of goods and services worth tens of millions of dollars.

    Hernández told Reuters via WhatsApp that the post required someone with the “full confidence” of Blanco to fight corruption. He said was given the job because he “always acted with honesty and morality.”

    Some staffers took to calling Blanco the “absent governor.” In his first year on the job, Blanco´s official calendar showed no work activities on 207 out of 365 days, according to a freedom of information request by a local accountability organization, Morelos Rinde Cuentas.”As a footballer he got used to playing on Sundays and not working Mondays,” a former Blanco staffer told Reuters.

    Blanco dismissed claims of his indolence as an unjust smear attempt by his critics.

    Scandals soon rocked Blanco´s government.In March 2020, Mexico´s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), which investigates suspected financial crimes, in a news conference said that it was scrutinizing members of Blanco´s inner circle. The UIF claimed to have uncovered about 750 million pesos ($40.2 million) in irregular banking transactions, including huge cash deposits, executed by then-Chief of Staff Sanz, three family members and two other associates, UIF documents viewed by Reuters show.

    The UIF that month handed its evidence to the federal Office of the Attorney General (FGR), headed by Alejandro Gertz, and asked prosecutors to take up the case, according to that non-public 93-page UIF document reviewed by Reuters.

    Between 2014 and 2019, individuals close to Blanco had made bank deposits and transactions that investigators concluded likely originated “from illicit activity,” the report said.The purpose of the alleged scheme, the document said, was to hide the origin or ownership of the assets.

    Federal prosecutors verified most of the suspect transactions unearthed by UIF investigators, according to nearly 200 pages of non-public FGR documents reviewed by Reuters.No charges have been filed, and the case has stalled for unknown reasons, according to a source familiar with the probe.

    Gertz, the attorney general, did not respond to a request for comment on the status of the investigation.

    Sanz denied wrongdoing.He told Reuters the federal investigation “is now over” and he had been “exonerated,” claims that have not been confirmed by prosecutors.

    Blanco, too, denied wrongdoing. “I´m clean,” he said in the interview.

    More allegations soon surfaced.In September 2021, Gerardo Becerra, the official anti-corruption advisor to Blanco, quit the government and publicly alleged widespread graft relating to public contracting. Becerra said he stepped down because the administration was not interested in stopping it.

    “I started to get all the information about the corruption of the government of Cuauhtémoc Blanco,” he said.”They stopped me, they didn´t like it.”

    Becerra did not specify who in Blanco´s administration allegedly kept him from doing his job.

    He told Reuters he filed a confidential complaint to Morelos´ anti-corruption prosecutorial body alleging that 96% of contracts handed out during Blanco´s tenure were no-bid deals that violated state law.Morelos law requires a minimum of three bidders to ensure competition.

    Blanco denied Becerra´s claims, saying they are “not true.”

    Hernández, Blanco´s procurement chief, did not respond to a request for comment on Becerra´s allegations.

    Local prosecutors digging into corruption allegations against the governor uncovered three undeclared Mexican bank accounts belonging to Blanco containing a total of 16 million Mexican pesos ($858,000).They also found a U.S. bank account with $1.25 million (23.3 million pesos), according to the non-public documents filed by prosecutors with the Morelos state congress in April 2022 asking lawmakers to impeach Blanco.

    In their request, prosecutors accused Blanco of illegal enrichment and alleged that his “assets have increased in an important and inexplicable manner” during his stint as a public servant.

    Days later, López Obrador publicly backed Blanco.And local lawmakers from Blanco´s Morena party, helped by a handful of allies from other parties, blocked the impeachment.

    In August 2022, Blanco´s brother Ulises Bravo Molina was placed in charge of the local branch of López Obrador´s Morena party in Morelos.The following month, Blanco switched parties, saying he joined Morena with “pride, gratitude and determination”.

    `ABSOLUTE IMPUNITY´

    September 2022 brought a new source for public speculation about Blanco and the alleged drug traffickers who posed with him in the now-famous photo.

    That month, the Latin American hacker group Guacamaya leaked a trove of classified documents from the Mexican military.Among them was a February 2019 Navy intelligence report, reviewed by Reuters, which stated that it was possible that Blanco was “colluding” with the Comando Tlahuica gang and its purported head, Figueroa.

    Mexico´s Navy did not respond to a request for comment.Figueroa could not be reached for comment.

    Another document in that cache, a May 2019 Mexican Army memo, referenced the two other alleged drug traffickers shown in the undated photo with Blanco: Raymundo Castro, the Morelos boss of the Guerreros Unidos cartel, and his cartel colleague Irving Solano Vera.

    The memo summarized a conversation Solano had with a Mexican Army intelligence agent shortly after the May 2019 capture of Castro by federal police.Solano told the army that Castro had cut a deal with Blanco: Guerreros Unidos could act with “absolute impunity” in Morelos if Castro backed the governor´s political campaign and kept violence low on his turf, Solano alleged.

    Castro was killed in a prison brawl in October 2019, according to authorities.Solano was captured by the Mexican military in February 2021. He is believed to be in a maximum-security lock-up and could not be reached for comment. Reuters was unable to determine the identity of his legal counsel. Names of his attorneys were not listed in court records viewed by Reuters, a common practice in Mexico in drug trafficking cases due to security concerns.

    Three Mexican security officials told Reuters that Castro and Solano also worked alongside the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which has a partnership with Guerreros Unidos.U.S. authorities rank Jalisco New Generation among the world´s most dangerous transnational crime organizations. They blame it for flooding the United States with fentanyl and other synthetic drugs that kill tens of thousands of Americans every year.

    Blanco stood defiant amid a flood of disparaging news coverage following the leaks.”He who has nothing to hide, has nothing to fear,” Blanco said in an Oct. If you enjoyed this article and you would like to get more information concerning aK kindly see our page. 10, 2022 statement. “Let them investigate.”

    In Cuernavaca, the state´s one-time tourist hotspot, many fearful residents now scurry home before dark. In Blanco´s four years as Morelos governor, homicides in the state increased by 50% to 1,174 in 2022 from 783 in 2018, federal government data show.In the same period, murders declined 8.2% nationally.

    On a park bench in Cuernavaca, Marcelo Rocha, a 71-year-old pensioner, complained of crime and water shortages plaguing his neighborhood. He said he regrets voting for Blanco.

    “He has failed us a lot,” Rocha said.

    Blanco dismissed any notion that he´s on the side of alleged traffickers in the photo or any other outlaws.He told Reuters he´s working to bring alleged kingpin Figueroa to justice.

    “I have never entered into a pact with drug traffickers or criminals,” Blanco said. “I´m not a damn criminal, a crook or a bad person. I´m a well-mannered man of principles.” ($1 = 18.6527 Mexican pesos) (Reporting by Drazen Jorgic; Additional reporting by Mike Berens in Chicago; and Dave Graham, Stephen Eisenhammer, Diego Oré and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Editing by Marla Dickerson)

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    COLUMN-Low visibility, low volatility make strange pairing :Mike Dolan https://www.announcement.news/column-low-visibility-low-volatility-make-strange-pairing-mike-dolan-14/ https://www.announcement.news/column-low-visibility-low-volatility-make-strange-pairing-mike-dolan-14/#respond Fri, 19 May 2023 20:39:12 +0000 https://www.announcement.news/?p=72740

    By Mike Dolan

    LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Like mirages on the horizon, recession forecasts seem to be appearing and disappearing with great regularity – questioning any investment conviction, the reliability of pandemic-distorted data and eVdEn EvE naKLiYaT still-low volatility gauges in financial markets.

    In just six weeks of 2023, economic forecasters have hurriedly revised away this year’s long-assumed recessions in euro zone and the United States – confounded as they were by a mix of warm weather in Europe and some wild U.S.jobs market revisions and statistical quirks that have dramatically reshaped the interest rate outlook stateside.

    Throw in China’s unexpectedly swift removal of “zero COVID” restrictions and already 2023’s global picture looks radically different than it did only in December – never mind the previous January before the Ukraine invasion redrew inflation, interest rate and investment maps for everyone last year.

    Bearing in mind the United States, China and euro zone together account for well over half the annual $101 trillion of global output, that’s some collective moving target.

    Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs – often a market mover with its big macro calls – is a good example.Last month it revised away forecasts for a euro zone contraction this year and this week cut its chances of a U.S. recession in 2023 to just one-in-four from one-in-three previously.

    Yet as recently as mid-December, forecasts from Bank of America, Barclays and BNP Paribas were also plumping for a full-year contraction of U.S.gross domestic product this year.

    Last month’s Bank of America survey of fund managers around the world still had net 68% expecting recession this year.

    But no one’s quite sure all of a sudden – and so much for so-called ‘leading indicators’ like the historically inverted U.S.Treasury yield curve – traditionally a sure fire predictor of downturns ahead.

    Last Friday’s red hot January employment report is forcing hurried rethinks everywhere. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated baldly that the lowest jobless rate since 1969 is simply inconsistent with recession this year and Federal Reserve policymakers are already turning even more hawkish on the rate outlook.

    Rates markets reared up to price Fed rates back above 5% and now expect them higher at yearend than they are today.Stocks swooned again and currency strategists, such as the team at Morgan Stanley, switched negative views on the U.S. dollar worldwide to neutral all of a sudden.

    If that wasn’t enough whiplash, Fed Chair Jerome Powell chimed with his colleagues on more that needs to be done to tackle inflation – but also laced his comments with expectations of a cooling jobs market and opined on the difficulties predicting this cycle.

    In other words, if your outlook hinges on getting a recession call right or nailing the timing of peak interest rates, EvdEN eVE nAkLiyaT be prepared to shift it now from week to week.

    HOARDING AND FOMO

    What’s the big deal?As famed British economist John Maynard Keynes is often quoted as saying: “When my information changes, I alter my conclusions.”

    But the problem may indeed be the “information.”

    To be sure, the dance around the “R word” is a little artificial.Rigid technical definitions involving consecutive quarters of contraction may mean changes are only the difference of a couple of tenths of GDP either way, the sort of margin easily revised away down the pike anyway.

    A bigger issue is whether monthly data can be trusted for steer on the business cycle you’re trying to second guess.

    High-frequency economic numbers were bamboozled by the pandemic’s economic shutdowns and reboot worldwide – with distortions still lingering on everything from supply chains to labour force participation, savings, consumption and policy rescues.

    The energy shock around Ukraine merely compounded that by amplifying an outsize inflationary twist and household squeeze while jamming some supply chains even more.

    Monthly economic updates now require significant health warnings and assumptions of “normalisation” may have been premature.

    Although not inconsistent with other tight labour market soundings, the U.S.If you loved this write-up and you would like to get extra information about EvDen eVe nAKliyaT kindly check out the web-site. January jobs report was riddled with revisions, remodelling and seasonal adjustments.

    While that may not change your view of employment today, reasonable concern about labour hoarding and lags between announcements of company layoffs and data surveys mean it’s hard to rely on it solely for a change of course the way many in markets seem to have done since Friday.

    But even doubts about the data can be read both ways.Barclays’ economists stressed there was evidence of job hoarding in the fact that a huge downturn in the U.S. housing market last year clearly hasn’t shown up in construction layoffs. And if the Fed had assumed those job cuts would come and the sector is already bottoming, there may be more aggressive policy ahead.

    But the numbers are so unclear, we’re still in a guessing game.

    “It would be helpful to hear an assessment of what the Fed actually thinks is happening given structural economic changes, cyclical impulses and poorer quality data,” lamented UBS economist Paul Donovan ahead of Powell’s speech on Tuesday.

    Investors trying to bet on where all this pans out can’t be filled with confidence.

    And yet market volatility gauges have stayed peculiarly serene.

    At just under 20, Wall Street’s VIX is pretty much at its average for the 33 years of existence.Bond market volatility remains well above its 20-year mean – but it has retreated sharply to two-thirds of last year’s peaks. Even currency volality is only marginally above average.

    Are people just peering through the noisy macro and fearful of missing out on the return to beaten down assets?

    BNP Paribas Chief Economist William De Vijlder talks of the risks of being “three times wrongfooted”.

    “One would expect that bond and equity markets would rally when central banks signal that the tightening cycle is (almost) over,” he said.”But such positioning comes with the risk of being wrongfooted by the data. What follows is huge volatility.”

    The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

    (by Mike Dolan, Twitter: @reutersMikeD; Editing by Josie Kao)

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    Qantas suffers devastating drop in trust Aussies once had in airline https://www.announcement.news/qantas-suffers-devastating-drop-in-trust-aussies-once-had-in-airline-12/ https://www.announcement.news/qantas-suffers-devastating-drop-in-trust-aussies-once-had-in-airline-12/#respond Thu, 11 May 2023 14:48:55 +0000 https://www.announcement.news/?p=71532 Two supermarket giants have held onto the trust of Australians while arguably our most iconic home-grown brand dropped almost completely from the hearts and minds of Aussies.

    The latest Roy Morgan poll, which determines the nation’s most trusted brands every three months, ranked Woolworths and Coles as Australia’s most depended-upon brands. If you have any queries pertaining to where and how to use eVDEN EVe NakLiYAT, you can get hold of us at our website.   

    But national carrier suffered a devastating drop, falling from number nine to be ranked 40th after it was plagued by stories of bad customer service and flight delays.

    Optus also took a hit, ranking second on Roy Morgan’s most distrusted brands’ list, knocking Telstra down to three.

    The embattled telco rose from the 17th spot published in September after its customer data was stolen and leaked online in a cyber security attack last year.

    Woolworths and Coles came in at number one and two respectively as a part of Roy Morgan’s most trusted brand poll for the December quarter

    But Qantas sank below the top 10 after the airline was plagued with perceptions of bad customer service and flight delays, landing in 40th place

    Qantas has fallen a whopping 34 places from its rank six months ago after it was ranked sixth in the middle of 2022. 

    The airline’s delays, evDen evE NaKliYAt baggage bungles and evDen EVe nAkLiYAt aircraft turn backs from this year alone have left a bad impression on Aussies. 

    Australia Post made a foray into the top 10 at number nine, with the troubled postal service upping the ante by two spots since last September. 

    It comes in the wake of the group’s profits before tax spiraling from $199.8 million to $23.6 million in the first half of the financial year to December 31. 

    Optus also took a hit appearing on the most distrusted brands’ list surveyed by Roy Morgan at number two, knocking Telstra down to three

    Hardware giant Bunnings stayed at number three. 

    Aldi kept up the competition remaining in fourth position with discount store Kmart on its tail at number five. 

    The German supermarket chain has been voted as the most affordable place to shop in, while Kmart also reels Australian customers in looking for a bargain. 

    Upscale department store Myer took out number six spot toppling tech giant Apple down to seven in the December survey.

    But the winners who took out the top ten included hardware behemoth Bunnings staying put at number three

    Coles and Woolworths remained on equal footing from last September, EVdEn EVe nakLiYaT sitting securely in the top two spots

    Aldi kept up the competition remaining in fourth position with discount store Kmart on its tail at number five 

    Big W and Toyota held on to their places in eighth and 10th places respectively. 

    The most distrusted brand in the Roy Morgan’s December report was Facebook Meta, with Optus and Telstra coming from behind in second and third positions respectively. 

    E-Commerce brand Amazon ventured down a spot to number four while News Corp came in fifth place on the list. 

    Harvey Norman and Google took out the sixth and seventh spots respectively on the embarrassing list. 

    Financial services heavyweight AMP reached number eight, with Rio Tinto and Nestle coming up in the rear. 

    Noteworthy contenders outside the top ten most distrusted list included Medibank which suffered a jump to number 14 off the back of its own data breach last October. 

    Twitter also bumped up to number 11 from 17 this quarter after Elon Musk bought the social media stalwart. 

    BP also made an appearance on the shame list at number 16, evden eVE NaKLiyaT moving up from 21 from the previous quarter.

    The most distrusted brand in the Roy Morgan’s December report was Facebook Meta, with Optus and Telstra coming from behind in second and third positions respectively

    E-Commerce brand Amazon ventured down a spot to number four while News Corp came in fifth place on the list

     

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