state | Common News Update

Apr82021 by adminNo Comments

Co-op to pay bonuses despite withholding £65m in state funds

Business

The Co-op Group is to hand annual bonuses to senior executives despite refusing to repay £65m in business rates relief it received from the government to support it through the pandemic.Sky News can reveal that the mutual's remuneration committee has decided to reward chief executive Steve Murrells and senior colleagues for their work last year - a move that insiders say could spark a fierce backlash from members and employees. The size of the bonuses to be handed to executives will be disclosed in the Co-op's annual report in the coming weeks, and was unclear on Thursday. Image: Tesco led the way in repaying business rates relief Confirming a report by Sky News, the Co-op said it would give back only part of the state support it rece...

Mar292021 by adminNo Comments

Authorities recover body of second victim in Iowa State crew club boat accident

Sports

March 29 (UPI) -- Authorities on Monday confirmed the death of a second student after a boat capsized during an Iowa State University crew club practice in Jewell, Iowa, over the weekend. The accident occurred Sunday morning on Little Wall Lake in Hamilton County. Three of the five students on the capsized boat were rescued from the water, treated at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames and released. Advertisement "The Iowa State community is heartbroken to learn of this tragic accident at Little Wall Lake," Iowa State president Wendy Wintersteen said in a statement. "At this time, we are focused on providing support to club members, their families and friends. We ask that everyone keep them in their thoughts during this very difficult time." A dive team initially recovered the body of on...

Mar212021 by adminNo Comments

‘My mother forced me to join… then they shot me’: The return of Islamic State to Syrian refugee camps

World

We'd been asked into the clinic of a camp called Al Hol to meet a young woman.Seventeen years old, we were told, and here because she'd been shot. We are protecting her identity and we have changed her name. She asked us to call her Mona.If only we could show you her face. It's one of innocence that was ripped from her when she was just 11. Image: Mona was married at 11 years old Married at 11 years old Advertisement ...

Mar112021 by adminNo Comments

Mexican court blocks law favoring state electricity plants

World

A court in Mexico has blocked the implementation of a law favoring government-owned power generation over cleaner private electrical plantsBy MARK STEVENSON Associated PressMarch 11, 2021, 8:35 PM• 3 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleMEXICO CITY -- Even sooner than critics had expected, a court in Mexico issued an injunction Thursday to block a new law that favors government-owned power generation over cleaner private electrical plants.The law went into effect Tuesday, and within two days the court granted an injunction to block it. The ruling was sought by a company that operates a 160-megawatt wind farm in the southern Pacific coast state of Oaxaca.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said the law is meant protect government-owned fossil-fuel plants against ...

Mar72021 by adminNo Comments

Pope Francis visits regions of Iraq once held by Islamic State

World

ReutersPope Francis is visiting parts of northern Iraq that were held by Islamic State (IS) militants on the third day of his historic trip to the country.Christians were among those targeted by IS when they seized the region in 2014, carrying out human rights abuses.The Pope has arrived in the city of Mosul where he is praying among the ruins of its churches, several of which were destroyed during the fighting.Later he will celebrate Mass in Irbil, with up to 10,000 attendees expected.There are fears the service could become a coronavirus super-spreader event.Iraq has seen a sharp rise in Covid-19 infections over the past month. The 84-year-old leader of the Catholic Church and his entourage have all been vaccinated, but Iraq only received its first batch of doses last week.'Pope's visit ...