Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

Sales volumes fell by 1.1%, the first contraction in three months and significantly worse than the flat reading economists had expected. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the drop was partly driven by shoppers intentionally holding off on spending until this month's major discount events. Grant Fitzner, ONS chief economist, said many consumers reported waiting for Black Friday deals, which begin next week.

Mack Hansen is set to take his place on the Ireland team despite training with strapping on his right hand today ahead of their final test of the year against South Africa at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow (KO 5.40pm).

"That means that 15 women are affected by intimate partner violence every hour in Germany," said Family Minister Karin Prien. Suspects in domestic violence last year were 75.6 percent male and 24.4 percent female, according to the BKA. Prien noted that the official statistics do not include unreported cases, which may dwarf the official figures. Ongoing research involving victims has shown that as few as five percent of all incidents of intimate partner violence are reported to authorities, according to the BKA.

"full and unwavering" support for Ukraine, adding that a solution to the conflict must preserve its sovereignty and guarantee its future security.

"If a German corvette ship is attacked and sunk by a Russian submarine, you would call that war," Sonke Marahrens, a colonel in the German Armed Forces and a military strategist, said at a recent meeting of German security forces. "But what if metal shavings were thrown into the ship's gears and it is then no longer operational: Is that war? Marahrens is an expert on hybrid threats."

We have a daily flight to Prague, during the draw, all the remaining seats on those flights on the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday were all sold out. So before the draw was even concluded yesterday, we're completely full on our daily flight to Prague. What do we do? We added, within an hour of the draw yesterday, we had an extra 15 flights going out to Prague and returning from Prague on that week. Now the reality of those flights is the returns are empty.

Wetherspoon's is to open its first pub outside the UK, serving alcohol from 6am every day to sun-seeking Britons waiting for their plane in the departure lounge at Alicante airport. The opening in Spain, scheduled for January, will be the first foray on to foreign soil for the pub chain, which said it expects to pursue more footholds on the continent in the coming years.

A grizzly bear has attacked a group of schoolchildren and teachers on a walking trail in British Columbia, Canada, injuring 11 people, two of them critically. The attack happened late on Thursday in Bella Coola, 435 miles (700km) north-west of Vancouver. The Nuxalk Nation said the aggressive bear remained on the loose and police and conservation officers were on the scene. Officers are armed. Remain indoors and off the highway, the First Nation said in a social media post.

Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to be questioned this morning by a parliamentary committee investigating the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The pipeline, along with the earlier built Nord Stream 1, was meant to transport cheap Russian gas to Germany, but certification was halted by Scholz after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Both pipelines were then hit by explosions in September 2022 and currently lie damaged and unused, beneath the Baltic Sea.

A plan to end the war in Ukraine, backed by US President Donald Trump, would force Kyiv to cede large parts of its territory to Russia, cap its military size, and prevent it from joining NATO. The 28-point plan, described by US officials as a "working document," appears to favor Russia, which started the war launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

At first sight, few suspected that Francisco Franco might become a strongman capable of imposing a brutal dictatorship across four decades.

Germany's top diplomat sees the US peace proposal as a list of issues needing urgent discussion.

Under the sweeping 28-point plan backed by US President Donald Trump Ukraine would give up a swathe of eastern territory to Russia and slash the size of its army. Kyiv would also pledge never to join NATO, and would not get the Western peacekeepers they have called for, although European warplanes would be stationed in Poland to protect Ukraine. Russia would meanwhile be readmitted to the G8 group of nations and be rewarded with sanctions relief under the plan.

We are again reminding consumers that when buying goods online from outside the European Union, including from the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland), additional costs can arise before your goods are delivered. Customs formalities apply, and VAT is chargeable on all goods imported into Ireland, regardless of their value. Ms Dalton said consumers can avoid unexpected charges when their goods arrive for delivery.

Over the course of this offseason, the Washington Nationals have been very hard at work in creating positive change within the organization. Everyone who followed the team for a long time knew that operations had gone stale within the walls of the organization, and the way the club operated for a long time ended up costing a lot of people their jobs over the past few months.

Dragon Generations, formerly known as Dragon Ball Online Generations, or DBOG, is a Roblox game which sees you training as a Super Saiyan, just like your favorite heroes from the popular anime series. With Dragon Ball Online Generations codes, that process becomes far easier as you can unlock experience bonuses, currency, and more. If you're falling down the Roblox rabbit hole, we've also got all of the latest Dress to Impress codes, as well as the most up to date Grow a Garden codes.

There's naturally a certain amount of friction in terms of labor law compatibility between European states inside and outside of the European Union (EU). But even within the umbrella of the EU, countries have their own labor, tax, and social security rules that can turn simple payroll procedures into a nightmare. That's because EU labor law is issued via directives that allow member states discretion in how they implement rulings.

A group of Afghan nationals have taken off from Islamabad, Pakistan and are due to arrive in Germany on Thursday, Germany's DPA news agency reported. Some 52 people were on board, sources told DPA. They are due to land in Berlin and Hanover. This would be the sixth group of such Afghans to arrive in the country since the new government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz came to power in May, DPA said.

Broadcaster refuses to apologise during Oireachtas hearing Broadcaster and media coach Ivan Yates has said he has "some regrets" about his comments that Fine Gael should "smear the bejaysus" out of Catherine Connolly during the presidential campaign. But he has refused to apologise for the remarks, which he made in a podcast by Newstalk Radio, saying they were "weaponised" and "deliberately manipulated" by Ms Connolly's campaign.

Andy Farrell has launched a strong defence of his decision to select Sam Prendergast for Saturday's clash with South Africa, dismissing concerns over the Leinster out-half's defence.

A jury in a High Court defamation action taken by two lawyers against businessman Denis O'Brien is expected to begin its deliberations on Friday.

The Spanish Supreme Court has sentenced Spain's chief prosecutor Alvaro Garcia Ortiz to be barred from public office for two years for the crime of leaking confidential information. He has also been ordered to pay fines totalling 7,200 ($8,300) and ordered to pay 10,000 ($11,530) in compensation to businessman Alberto Gonzalez Amador, who has been prosecuted for tax fraud. Ortiz is the partner of Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the premier of the Madrid region, from the conservative Popular Party (PP).

"The problem with a lot of these older town centres, which traditionally have offered free parking, is you get all-day parking - people who are commuters or not actually customers of the shopping centre itself, or very often the retailers and the staff themselves," he said. "To actually free up the spaces, to manage the spaces and ensure a quick turnaround for short-term visitors, the introduction of parking charges is the best way to achieve this." He added: "There's no such thing as free parking - someone has to pay somewhere for maintenance, security, shopping centre management.

A devastating Russian aerial assault on Ternopil in western Ukraine has killed at least 26 people and wounded dozens more, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has confirmed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that 22 people were still missing at the site of Wednesday's Russian attack on Ternopil. Russia unleashed 476 drones and 48 missiles across Ukraine, striking vital energy and transportation infrastructure and forcing emergency power cut-offs during freezing weather. In Ternopil, the attack obliterated the upper floors of a residential building. Smoke billowed from the structure as firefighters battled the blaze while distraught residents gathered below, anxiously awaiting word about missing loved ones.