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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump's movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire and fellow entrepreneur and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump's Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer's comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." Musk and Ramaswamy, , weighed in, defending the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump's world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world's richest man who has , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump's movement but his stance on the tech industry's hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry's need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent," he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump's own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump's businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country" and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country," he told the “All-In" podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump's budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.
AFC standouts meet when Herbert, Chargers host Jackson's Ravens on Monday nightTaylor Cagnacci moved from California to Tennessee with hopes of starting a new chapter in a state that touts a low cost of living and natural beauty. But she's infuriated by Tennessee's meager social services, which leave her and many other moms struggling in a state where abortion is banned with limited exceptions. “I was going to have my child no matter what, but for other women, that’s kind of a crappy situation that they put you in," said Cagnacci, a 29-year-old Kingsport mom who relies on Medicaid and a federally funded nutrition program. "You have to have your child. But where’s the assistance afterward?” Tennessee has a porous safety net for mothers and young children, recent research and an analysis by The Associated Press found. It’s unknown how many women in the state have given birth because they didn’t have access to abortion, but it is clear that from the time a Tennessee woman gets pregnant, she faces greater obstacles to a healthy pregnancy, a healthy child and a financially stable family than the average American mom. Like other states with strict abortion bans, Tennesseans of childbearing age are more likely to live in maternal care deserts and face overall doctor shortages. Women, infants and children are less likely to be enrolled in a government nutrition program known as WIC. And Tennessee is one of only 10 states that hasn't expanded Medicaid to a greater share of low-income families. “It’s survival, every day,” said Janie Busbee, founder of Mother to Mother, a Nashville-based nonprofit providing baby supplies for low-income moms. “If we took some of that stress off of them, then maybe they’d have time to dream.” GOP state leaders in Tennessee and other states that banned abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 argue that they are bolstering services for families. Tennessee boosted its Medicaid coverage for mothers in 2022 from 60 days postpartum to a year, which allowed an additional 3,000 moms to use the program each year. The state also raised the Medicaid income limit for parents to the poverty level — nearly $26,000 for a family of three — and offers recipients 100 free diapers a month for babies under 2. According to the governor's office, these changes have resulted in thousands of new parents accessing government services. “Pro-life is much more than defending the lives of the unborn,” Republican Gov. Bill Lee said in his 2023 annual address to lawmakers and echoed more recently on social media. “This is not a matter of politics. This is about human dignity.” Yet, nonprofit leaders and mothers told the AP there are still significant gaps in the safety net. Anika Chillis, a 39-year-old single mom in Memphis, has Medicaid, WIC and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps). While she’s deeply grateful for the help, she said it also can disappear — like when she temporarily lost WIC. “It’s hard,” she said, sitting on a park bench as her 2-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter played nearby. “Groceries are constantly going up.” And being a single mom “makes it doubly hard on you.” Anika Chillis spends time with her children, Makhi 2, and Myla 9, at a playground Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. Tennessee fared poorly at WIC enrollment, Medicaid, having enough maternal care and requirements for paid family and medical leave, an October study found. Other states with similarly restrictive abortion laws — such as Idaho, Alabama, Missouri, Georgia and Mississippi — ranked poorly on numerous measures, too. Researchers said restrictive states had a slightly higher average birth rate and a much lower average abortion rate than the least restrictive states. “In general, these states that restrict abortion are the more fiscally conservative, the more socially conservative states,” said Dr. Nigel Madden, lead author of the study published in the American Journal of Public Health. The Republican supermajority in the Tennessee legislature has long rebuffed efforts to expand Medicaid to people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level — about $35,600 for a family of three. And TennCare faces criticism already, with a federal judge ruling earlier this year that the state unlawfully terminated coverage for thousands of families and had a “lethargic” response to nearly 250,000 children losing coverage because of paperwork problems caused by the state. DiJuana Davis, 44, was among the plaintiffs. In 2019, the Nashville resident was supposed to have surgery to prevent pregnancy and ease her chronic anemia. Days before the procedure, she was informed her Medicaid coverage had been cut off and the hospital was canceling. She later found out her renewal paperwork went to the wrong address, an error that left her uninsured for two months — during which she became pregnant and developed preeclampsia. Doctors induced labor to save her life, and her son was born prematurely. “The system is broken,” she said, “and it needs to be fixed.” More than 3% of the 83,000 babies born in Tennessee in 2023 had mothers who didn’t receive prenatal care. Only seven states had a higher share, according to an AP analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After birth, doctor shortages impede ongoing care. Around a third of Tennesseans live in a primary care shortage area — a greater share than in all but 10 other states — according to an AP analysis of data from the Census Bureau and the Health Resources and Services Administration. Moms described several aid programs as frustrating to navigate. Chillis was on WIC for several months after her son was born, but then went without because of a mistake during the renewal process — eventually getting it restored with help from the nonprofit Tennessee Justice Center. Chillis credits a nonprofit preschool provider with linking her to aid programs in the first place: “I don't see a lot of advertisements about, you know, how you can join this program or go get this” service, she said. “People just don’t have the knowledge.” Cagnacci, who is pregnant and has a 1-year-old, said she was on SNAP for a while but missed an appointment and was unclear about the steps after that. The process to get recertified was "such a headache” that she's going without it. “I just felt like it was purposely being made difficult so that I would just give up,” she said. Tatayanna Johnson carries a box of diapers from the Pharmalife Community Pharmacy on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Johnson participates in the state's TennCare Diaper Benefit, which provides free diapers for children under the age of two. Women with young children in states where abortion is banned or limited to early weeks of pregnancy said it can be tough to get social services there, according to a survey by the health policy research organization KFF. Nearly half said it’s difficult for women in their state to get food stamps, for example, compared with 3 in 10 in states where abortion is generally available. “People who claim to be pro-life, who advocated for these abortion bans, often suggest that these policies are designed to protect children, women and families,” said Madden, the researcher. But the weakness of the safety net shows “the hypocrisy of that argument.” Tennessee’s new diaper program shows the deep political divisions surrounding aid programs. The Republican governor described it as an effort to strengthen families while Democratic state Sen. London Lamar said GOP leaders are “trying to put a little bow on an abortion ban." And GOP state Sen. Mark Pody recently told the right-leaning news website Tennessee Conservative that “it is not the state’s responsibility to have a diaper for every single baby" and floated the possibility of cutting the program. Of Tennessee's 2.8 million households, 30% earn above the poverty level but not enough to afford the basic cost of living in their counties, according to a recent report . Often, they don't qualify for government help. “Some are working three jobs and still can’t survive,” said Busbee, of Mother to Mother. A fragmented patchwork of charities can help, but they don’t cover the entire state. The Nashville Diaper Connection, for example, serves 30 counties, working with partners to provide 50 diapers a month, mostly to working families who make a bit too much for Medicaid. Other nonprofits are hindered in helping by government agencies' income rules. And most charities are constrained by the ebb and flow of donations. Nonprofit leaders fear their job may get harder with a new administration in Washington and a GOP-controlled Congress. Republicans could seek significant changes to federal assistance programs they’ve long criticized, like Medicaid and food stamps. “We’ve been through four years of a Trump administration, and the goal under the Trump administration was to cut social services,” said Signe Anderson, the justice center's senior director of nutrition advocacy. “I’m concerned ... for families in Tennessee and across the country.”
The recalentado (literally “reheating”) is a beloved tradition in many households across Mexico and other Latin American countries. It involves reheating the leftover dishes from the Christmas Eve dinner to enjoy them over the following days, especially on December 25th, after the main festivities. What Is the Recalentado? The recalentado is more than just reheating food—it is a celebration in itself. It brings family and friends together once again to share Christmas dishes in a relaxed and cozy atmosphere. In Mexico, for example, it is customary for families to gather on Christmas Day to enjoy the leftovers from the previous night’s festivities. The dishes typically reheated during the recalentado vary depending on the region and family traditions, but common favorites include: Turkey or pork leg. Salads such as apple salad or the ensalada de Nochebuena. Tamales. Bacalao (salted cod). Soups or broths. Traditional drinks like rompope, Christmas punch, or cider. The Meaning of the Recalentado The recalentado holds several cultural meanings in Mexican tradition: Family Reunion: After the grand celebration of Christmas Eve, the recalentado offers another opportunity to spend time with loved ones, enjoying food and the festive spirit. Appreciation of Food: In Mexico, where food carries deep emotional and cultural significance, the recalentado highlights the importance of meals as a unifying force. It’s a way to honor the effort put into preparing the dishes while making the most of the leftovers. Extending Christmas Joy: While the main celebrations happen on December 24th, the recalentado prolongs the Christmas spirit. Sharing leftovers keeps the festivities alive a little longer. Simplicity and Enjoyment: Unlike the formal Christmas Eve dinner, the recalentado is more relaxed and spontaneous. It’s about enjoying food informally, sharing stories, and savoring the moment. The recalentado is a way to continue the celebrations, share the abundance of Christmas, and keep the spirit of joy and unity alive. Though deeply rooted in Mexican culture, it has become a common event in many Latin American families and even in regions outside of the continent where Christmas is celebrated. A Tradition Embraced by Tourists In tourist destinations like Puerto Vallarta and other parts of Mexico, visitors often eagerly participate in the recalentado for reasons that go beyond mere curiosity. Here are some of the motivations that make this tradition appealing: Cultural Immersion: For tourists, the recalentado is a unique opportunity to experience one of Mexico’s most heartfelt traditions. Visitors seek authentic experiences, and this celebration provides a meaningful way to connect with the community through food and family bonds. Mexican Hospitality: Known for its warmth, Mexican hospitality naturally extends to the recalentado. Locals often invite tourists to join the festivities, treating them like family for the day. This inclusivity creates a sense of belonging and a memorable cultural exchange. Culinary Experience: The recalentado is a feast of traditional flavors, offering dishes like tamales, bacalao, turkey, and more. For tourists, sampling these homemade delicacies is a special culinary journey, deepening their connection to Mexican culture. Relaxed Atmosphere: Compared to the formal Christmas Eve dinner, the recalentado is more casual and welcoming. Tourists appreciate the laid-back ambiance filled with music, laughter, and a sense of community. Learning Traditions: The recalentado provides an opportunity for visitors to learn about Mexican gastronomy, rituals, and customs. Participating in this tradition allows them to gain insights into the everyday lives and festive practices of locals. Cultural Exchange: The recalentado fosters conversations and connections between locals and tourists. While visitors learn about Mexican traditions, residents also gain perspectives from different parts of the world, creating a rich exchange of ideas and experiences. Sense of Belonging: For tourists far from home during the holidays, the recalentado offers warmth and familiarity. Even if they don’t celebrate Christmas in the same way, participating in this tradition gives them a sense of inclusion and shared humanity. The recalentado is not just about enjoying delicious food; it’s a moment of cultural connection, hospitality, and shared joy. Tourists join in this cherished tradition not only to savor the cuisine but also to celebrate community and the authentic spirit of Mexican Christmas.
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1 2 Nagpur: CM Devendra Fadnavis informed the legislative council on Friday that Maharashtra is increasingly using AI and other technology tools to catch GST frauds. Speaking in the upper house, after cabinet colleague Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil presented the Maharashtra Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act 2024, Fadnavis said, "Maharashtra is the first state to have used AI to trace GST frauds. Now other states have started to use our model." The bill was passed unanimously by the council. Fadnavis added that more and more use of technology will be done. "We are creating other technological tools so that forgery like creation of PAN cards in name of poor people, and then to use it for forming companies, will be detected. What happens is that such companies are created where they keep selling stuff to each other," said Fadnavis, hinting at how GST frauds happen. Vikhe-Patil, had earlier mentioned that the new bill will usher in crucial changes to improve the efficiency of tax collection and close loopholes in the existing system. The bill's amendment addresses a practice involving traders supplying petrol and diesel to boats in deep-sea operations. These traders often procure fuel from oil companies and deliver it in barrels, benefiting from tax exemptions as the supply is treated as being routed through conventional petrol pumps. The proposed bill includes a redefinition of ‘retail outlets' and ‘retail sales', which will help plug this gap and prevent potential tax evasion in such transactions. "Now such a sale will be treated as retail sale only. This bill gives complete clarity on what constitutes a retail sale, and shall be taxed accordingly," said Fadnavis. Additionally, the amendment seeks to clarify relevant sections of the Act, bringing sales made by clubs or organizations to their members within the purview of VAT. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .
By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution’s suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea “absurd.” Related Articles National Politics | Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time National Politics | Ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies National Politics | A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list National Politics | Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg National Politics | Veteran Daniel Penny, acquitted in NYC subway chokehold, will join Trump’s suite at football game The Manhattan district attorney’s office is asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to “pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a blistering 23-page response. In court papers made public Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump’s lawyers filed paperwork earlier this month asking for the case to be dismissed. They include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won’t include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn’t sentenced and his appeal wasn’t resolved because of presidential immunity. Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday their position that the only acceptable option is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country. The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment. It’s unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump’s request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution’s suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution’s suggestions. Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the “ongoing threat” that he’ll be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. “To be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in response to these thuggish tactics,” the defense lawyers wrote. “However, the threat itself is unconstitutional.” The prosecution’s suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. The immunity statute requires dropping the case, not merely limiting sentencing options, they argued. Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump has tabbed for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution’s novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump had died. Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to “fabricate” a solution “based on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump” who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September “and a hypothetical dead defendant.” Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what’s already a unique case. “This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding,” prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn’t “precipitously discard” the “meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers.” Prosecutors acknowledged that “presidential immunity requires accommodation” during Trump’s impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend the jury’s verdict, which came when he was out of office. Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution . Other world leaders don’t enjoy the same protection. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges even as he leads that nation’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza . Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records . Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies. In their filing Friday, Trump’s lawyers citing a social media post in which Sen. John Fetterman used profane language to criticize Trump’s hush money prosecution. The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of President Joe Biden’s pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . “Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,” Fetterman wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. Trump’s hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon — issued by Biden or himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases , which pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in all. Trump had been scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November. But following Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president’s sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump’s conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) must be a major force in attaining our economic development through nutrition. This was the conclusion that the Alyansa Agrikultura reached after the Dec. 11 hearing conducted jointly by five committees at the House of Representatives. The hearing’s agenda included the critical issue of nutrition. A lead resource person for this was Regis Chapman, head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Philippines. He pointed out that good nutrition is necessary for economic development and that the national school feeding program has a very high return on investment. This is supported by the World Bank when it stated: “For every dollar invested in addressing malnutrition, a return of $23 is expected. The economic benefits of nutrition far outweigh the costs of inaction.” Fortunately, our inaction was partly corrected last year with an P11-billion budget for school feeding last year. This was significantly increased by 50 percent to P16 billion this year. This past nutrition inaction has had disastrous consequences. The WFP website states: “The Philippines is among the countries grappling with extremely high learning poverty. Nine out of 10 children aged 10 years and older are unable to read and understand the age-appropriate text. The national learning poverty rate in the Philippines (9 percent) is much higher than the average for East Asia and the Pacific region (3 percent).” A key to solving this is identified: “Children require optimal nutrition to think, learn, and require skills that will fully develop their potential. The Philippines still faces the burden of malnutrition.” In the feeding program of the ADMU 616569 Foundation, which has so far covered 350,000 schoolchildren, three deficiencies were identified. First, when a feeding program targets only the malnourished, there is a social stigma on these participants, which limits the program’s effectiveness. Second, the national feeding program covered only the first half of 2023, losing the gains achieved then over the second half (thankfully, this was corrected for 2024). Third, the program must not only measure physical accomplishment, such as increases in weight and height, but also academic achievement in grade improvement for subjects such as mathematics, science, and English. However, what has been missing in the discussions is the emphasis on a circular economy. This means a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, reusing and recycling. The materials are kept within the economy and reused to create further value. For the school feeding program, this means sourcing the food from the community instead of importing and relying on distant sources. The waste from the feeding program can then be used as fertilizer for the farmers. Other opportunities arise when using the circular economy approach. The WFP states that an innovative Home Grown School Feeding “promotes nutrition and learning for schoolchildren while linking with local smallholder farmers to procure food. It creates market opportunities for these farmers.” DA Undersecretary Cheryl Caballero is now taking steps for the DA to be more involved with the Department of Education’s (DepEd) school feeding program. The DA now plans to provide farmers who will provide the food for the program with assistance in production, technology transfer, logistics, marketing and possibly even credit. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Caballero is now spearheading an effort to build on the current DepEd Gulayan sa Paaralan and LGU Gulayan sa Barangay with a supporting DA Gulayan sa Bayan. This will also use a mass-based household and community approach involving several government and private sector partners to address our severe malnutrition problem. This will link to the school feeding program to achieve our government’s stated objective “to expand the national school feeding program to reach 32 million children and create transformative change for 1.6 million smallholder farmers and families by 2028.” Indonesia plans to spend P266 billion on its school feeding program next year. This is more than 10 times our budget for the same objective. Our poverty learning rate is 91 percent, almost twice worse than Indonesia’s 53 percent. But if we are constrained by a low budget, the DA must work more closely with the DepEd using a circular economy framework to achieve physical and academic achievement, which must be paired with farmer improvement and empowerment. This way, our economic development will then be hastened.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake ReviewBOSTON , Dec. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The China Fund, Inc. (NYSE: CHN) (the "Fund") announced today that the Fund's annual stockholder meeting (the "Meeting") will be scheduled for Thursday, March 13, 2025 , via a virtual forum at 11:00 a.m. ET . Stockholders of record as of January 15, 2025 will be entitled to notice of, and to attend and vote at, the Meeting. The notice for the Meeting will be mailed to shareholders on or about February 10, 2025 . The Fund is a closed-end management investment company with the objective of seeking long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities (i) of companies for which the principal securities trading market is in the People's Republic of China (" China "), or (ii) of companies for which the principal securities trading market is outside of China , or constituting direct equity investments in companies organized outside of China , that in both cases derive at least 50% of their revenues from goods and services sold or produced, or have at least 50% of their assets, in China . While the Fund is permitted to invest in direct equity investments of companies organized in China , it presently holds no such investments. Shares of the Fund are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CHN". The Fund's investment manager is Matthews International Capital Management, LLC. For further information regarding the Fund and the Fund's holdings, please call (888)-CHN-CALL (246-2255) or visit the Fund's website at www.chinafundinc.com . View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-china-fund-inc-announces-date-of-annual-meeting-of-stockholders-302331705.html SOURCE The China Fund, Inc.
Josh Hoover passes TCU to rout of Louisiana in New Mexico BowlSave articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. At the beginning of the year, we looked to our correspondents for tips of what to expect around the world in 2024. Among them was hope for change for millions of people who were to vote in elections in 50 countries. At least in the United States, that change turned out to be more of the same. Among the surprises, however, there was the end of a dynasty in Syria and the beginning of another in Indonesia. Here are some of the biggest stories of the past 12 months: Europe If 1992 was the late Queen Elizabeth II’s annus horribilis , then it’s hard to know how she’d have ranked this year for Britain ’s royal family. In January, her son and successor, Charles III, put out a rather benign statement that he would attend hospital the following week for a “corrective procedure” on his enlarged prostate . King Charles, Princess Catherine and Princess Charlotte at the Trooping of the Colours in June. Credit: Getty Images The statement was made shortly after it was revealed his daughter-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, was expected to be in hospital for 10 to 14 days after undergoing abdominal surgery. Things would snowball from there. Weeks later, the King would announce he had been diagnosed with cancer. Catherine’s recovery was kept under wraps until the rumour mill went into overdrive . A family photo was released, and it was a disaster. Even more questions were asked. Suddenly came an announcement: she, too, had cancer . Neither have been given the all-clear but have returned to light duties. Charles joined with Queen Camilla for a royal visit to Australia. But his relationships with son Harry and brother Andrew have continued to plague him. Australian-born Queen Mary and King Frederik of Denmark. Credit: Steen Evald Our own Princess Mary, was crowned Queen of Denmark in January after her mother-in-law, Margrethe, stepped down to make way for her son, Frederik. Two decades on from Mary’s fairytale wedding, she waved to the crowds in Copenhagen as the sovereign’s wife. Rumours have swirled about her marriage, too , and the Danish royals showed it ain’t just the Brits who have their problems. But 2024 was the year of the election. In Britain, Labor was swept to power after 14 years of Conservative rule, with Keir Starmer moving into 10 Downing Street in a landslide victory. Within weeks, however, his popularity would start to tumble in a string of scandals and misjudgments. In the European Union elections, success by right-wing populist movements delivered a major shock across the continent. Germany ’s far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany) was jubilant after beating Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left SPD to second place in the European Parliament elections with 16 per cent. His problems at home reached a peak in December when he lost a confidence vote. In France , the EU results triggered an electoral earthquake. President Emmanuel Macron called a bombshell snap parliamentary election after his party was resoundingly defeated by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally. That result left the country without a clear winner but one clear loser: Macron. He continues to struggle to grasp any real power. But it was another story in France that shocked the nation and the world. Seventy-two-year-old grandmother Gisele Pelicot bravely retold the horrors done to her by her husband of 50 years and his 50 accomplices , to stop rape from being swept under the carpet. Gisele Pelicot exits the Avignon courthouse, in southern France, after all the men accused along with her husband of raping her were found guilty. Credit: AP In Georgia, mass protests were sparked by the government’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the EU and push back on Russian influence. In the end, a pro-Russia former Manchester City footballer, Mikheil Kavelashvili, became president . An election in Romania was also plagued by interference , with the result annulled and voters to go back to the polls next year. In May, Slovakia ’s Prime Minister Robert Fico survived a “politically motivated” assassination attempt, during which he was shot five times. He recovered and is one of many populists slowly diluting Europe’s unity towards Ukraine and against Russia . Another blow for that cause was Austria ’s far-right Freedom Party, as they celebrated an unprecedented election victory. Its leader, Herbert Kickl , aligned himself closely with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his self-styled “illiberal democracy”. Kickl had also spoken of becoming Volkskanzler (people’s chancellor), which for some Austrians carries echoes of the term used to describe Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. War continues in Ukraine after almost three years. Where and when it ends, no one knows. Children are struggling with the turmoil . President Volodymyr Zelensky has laid out a plan for peace. It’s likely many will die before that happens. Russia’ s Vladimir Putin is scrambling to conquer as much territory as possible before those peace talks begin. Last month, Russia captured an area the size of London while suffering its highest casualty rates of the war. – Rob Harris, Europe correspondent North Asia This year, China continued its re-engagement strategy with Australia, and finally agreed to remove the remaining trade restrictions on the live lobster trade and two beef exporters, ending the $20 billion of economic sanctions slapped on Australian industries during the Morrison government. China lifted its import ban on Australian lobsters. Credit: Joe Armao Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers was the first Australian treasurer to visit China in seven years when he went to Beijing in September. His trip tapped into ongoing concerns about China’s struggling economy and the flow-on impact on Australia. But the rapprochement has not dimmed security concerns posed by China’s increasingly aggressive tactics in the Indo-Pacific, which included confrontations with Australian naval forces and repeated clashes with Filipino vessels in the South China Sea this year that heightened fears of sparking a full-blown conflict. In the face of a drumbeat of negativity from economic analysts and investors, Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared to reverse course in the second half of the year and began pursuing stimulus measures aimed at pumping money and confidence into his beleaguered housing sector. Taiwan inaugurated new president William Lai in May, drawing the ire of Beijing, which regards him as a “dangerous separatist” and responded by launching a round of war drills encircling the island. A second round of drills in October piled pressure onto Taiwan’s stretched defence systems. Japan ’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stepped down in September as his government slid to record low approval ratings. His replacement Shigeru Ishiba’s gamble in calling a snap election proved costly, leaving the governing Liberal Democratic Party scrambling to form a minority government. In November, Hong Kong jailed Australian Gordon Ng and 44 other pro-democracy protesters on subversion charges under its Beijing-led national security crackdown, in a case that drew international condemnation for its perceived silencing of political dissent. It also reignited the debate about the role of Australian judges serving in Hong Kong’s top court . And in December, South Korea virtually imploded under President Yoon Suk Yeol who misread his electorate and fellow politicians, and declared martial law as a political manoeuvre, only to have to retract it when he was overruled by parliament . Having been impeached , he now awaits a court decision to confirm the parliamentary move. Members of the national federation of farmers, known as “Junnong”, and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, with effigies of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (right) and his wife, Kim Keon-hee. Credit: AP The year closed with the future of the Sino-American relationship, and hence global stability, facing a new era of uncertainty under the incoming second presidency of Donald Trump. Trump’s appointment of China hawks Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz to key administration positions, and his pledged to impose 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports , has set the stage for more turbulence between the two nations. – Lisa Visentin, North Asia correspondent South-East Asia After two failed attempts against Joko Widodo, Prabowo Subianto finally realised his decades-long dream of becoming president of Indonesia . Widodo was constitutionally barred from running for a third term, so when his sniffing around for ways to run again went nowhere, the president and Prabowo teamed up for some win-win. Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto (right) and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, (Joko Widodo’s son) at a post-election party. TikTok helped the strongman dance his way to the presidential palace. Credit: AP Prabowo, the former son-in-law of late autocrat Suharto, enlisted Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to be his vice presidential running mate. Widodo then turned his back on his own party and threw his considerable political and popular weight behind his former enemy. Never mind his dodgy human rights track record as a military strongman, Prabowo won the February elections in a canter. After backroom deals with self-interested politicians and parties in the months leading up to October’s inauguration, the 73-year-old now sits atop a massive coalition, troubling democracy watchers. Singapore changed prime ministers for the first time in 20 years. Credit: iStock Singapore , too, underwent a rare change of boss . Lee Hsien Loong stepped down in May after 20 years as prime minister, handing the reins to his deputy, Lawrence Wong. Wong inherited a middle power punching way above its weight division, a stable and wealthy nation in a region of regular upheaval. He is an erudite statesman and seems eminently capable, but he has shown little interest in loosening the government’s tight grip on free expression. Thailand’s leadership transition, meanwhile, was a bin fire. Srettha Thavisin was tossed out by order of the dubious court system , which many Thais and observers consider a big-time cog in the self-serving military and royalist establishment. Pita Limjaroenrat’s Move Forward Party won the most votes in the 2023 election but was blocked from forming government by an unelected senate. Amid the chaos, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of controversial and once-exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, became prime minister. Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte’s hatred for her boss , President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, crossed into the unhinged. In October, she warned “Bong Bong” she would dig up his old man’s bones and throw them into the sea. Last month, she told the press of her done deal with an assassin to have the president killed if she was killed first. She really said this. Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte’s death threat was taken seriously, though she later tried to walk back the remarks. Credit: AP The feud is unfolding amid investigations into Duterte’s alleged misuse of funds and her dad’s bloody “war on drugs”. It is not a great time for toxic politics in the Philippines, which is clashing almost weekly with China in the West Philippine Sea. In Vietnam , which has its own claims to the South China Sea, To Lam inherited the job of Communist Party secretary-general after 80-year-old statesman Nguyen Phu Trong died in July . In his 12 years at the top (not to mention nearly three decades in the Politburo), Trong significantly reduced poverty rates, strengthened ties with the United States and implemented a fierce anti-corruption drive dubbed the “blazing furnace”. As is often the case in South-East Asia, and Communist regimes more broadly, he also preferred his dissenters in jail. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet inspects an honour guard during a visit to Malaysia. The prime minister’s family retains control of many senior roles in the Cambodian government. Credit: AP Meanwhile, those who hoped Cambodian leader Hun Manet’s considerable Western education might yield democratic changes were sorely disappointed in his first full year as prime minister . He was gifted the job by his ruthless and ageing father Hun Sen, who still pulls strings, only now as president of the Senate. If anything, the intimidation of opposition and arrests of protesters have only increased. The most high-profile arrest was journalist Mech Dara, whose reporting touched on the businesses of Ly Yong Phat, a senator, tycoon and Hun Sen adviser, who was sanctioned by the US in September . Dara was bailed several weeks after his October arrest after a coerced public apology, a typical ploy of the Huns’ regime that they think demonstrates their beneficence. Myanmar , a nation with so much economic potential, continued to suffer repeated wrecking by military men. Min Aung Hlaing, who ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, still holds onto power through force despite serious losses to myriad armed opposition groups. ASEAN, a wet lettuce leaf among regional blocs, has been unable to bring the general to heel. Underscoring the complexity of this multi-front civil war, one of the worst atrocities came at the hands of a group fighting the junta, when the Arakan Army slaughtered hundreds of innocent Rohingya Muslims near the border of Bangladesh in August. In recent weeks, however, two major armed rebel groups – Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and ally the Ta’ang National Liberation Army – signalled they were ready for peace talks. Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones died after a suspected mass drink poisoning. The most tragic case closer to Australia in South East Asia was the methanol poisoning of backpackers in Laos in November, Australian 19-year-olds Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles among them. Several hostel staff have been detained , and investigations continue. – Zach Hope, South-East Asia correspondent South Asia The biggest election ever staged delivered a shock result in India . Ahead of the national poll, concluded on June 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to romp home. But once the 642 million ballots were counted his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost a swag of seats , he needed to rely on other parties to control parliament. Modi has dominated Indian politics for the past decade, but now faces a more uncertain era of coalition government. Elsewhere on the subcontinent, 2024 was marked by political turmoil. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP won power in 2014. This year, he was expected to romp it in, but his party lost many seats, complicating his rule. Credit: AP In Bangladesh , Sheikh Hasina, prime minister for 20 of the past 28 years, was driven out by a vast display of people power on the streets of the capital city, Dhaka. After she made a dramatic escape to neighbouring India on August 5, her government was replaced by military-backed caretaker regime led by Muhammad Yunus , an 84-year-old Nobel Laureate, economist and social entrepreneur. Yunus has the difficult task of building consensus for much-needed reforms and staging a fair election. There was political change in Sri Lanka as well when the little-known former Marxist, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, emerged the surprise winner in a presidential election held in September. The country continues to grapple with the aftermath of a debilitating financial crisis in 2022. In Pakistan, the incarceration of cricket great and former prime minister Imran Khan continues to roil politics and society. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), did surprisingly well in February elections and his supporters have since staged huge and sometime violent protests demanding his release. – Matt Wade, former India correspondent Middle East The power dynamics in the Middle East were dramatically reshaped this year, with Israel on the ascendancy and its bitter rival, Iran , substantially weakened. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May, and things only got worse from there for the hard-line rulers in Tehran. Israel and Iran traded missile fire at several points throughout the year, setting off fears of an all-out regional war. Thanks to Israel’s Iron Dome system and support from Western nations, the Iranian strikes caused minimal damage, while Iran’s missile-production capability was crippled. After the monumental intelligence failure of last year’s October 7 attacks, the Jewish state regrouped and achieved some significant strategic victories. The Israeli military assassinated the mastermind of the October 7 attacks, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar , in Gaza and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. After a year of tit-for-tat fighting on its border with Lebanon, Israel escalated the fight against Hezbollah. This began with the shock September pager and walkie-talkie attacks against the Iranian proxy group and culminated in a ground invasion and air strikes on Lebanon. It ended on favourable terms for Israel, with Lebanese civilians paying a heavy price for a conflict many did not want to be involved in. Israeli bombardment and ground invasions have left vast areas of Gaza in ruins. Credit: Getty Images Meanwhile, the devastating war in Gaza continues and there is still no clear vision for what will come when it is over. Almost 45,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the war and over 100 Israeli hostages still remain in Gaza. In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, reflecting widespread international horror at the war. At home, though, Netanyahu’s popularity has been creeping up. In the most surprising development of all, Syria ’s President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime was swept from power in a matter of days in December. A defaced portrait of Bashar al-Assad inside the presidential palace. Credit: Nicole Tung/The New York Times Syrian rebels from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took advantage of Assad’s key allies – Russia and Iran – being distracted by fighting elsewhere and stormed into Damascus with remarkable ease. This has injected new uncertainty into the region, with Iran again the loser after losing a crucial ally in Assad. By contrast, Turkey ’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is emboldened and empowered after backing the rebel forces. – Matthew Knott, Foreign Affairs correspondent North America This year was meant to culminate in an election rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But after imploding on a debate stage in June, the United States ’ oldest president was forced to withdraw his bid for a second term, setting in motion one of the most extraordinary political comebacks in history. Donald Trump celebrates his victory flanked by daughter-in-law Lara Trump (left) and his wife, Melania. Credit: AP While Biden’s decision to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris upended the trajectory of the 2024 campaign and sparked fresh enthusiasm among voters, it was not enough to dent the anger millions of Americans felt over soaring cost-of-living pressures or immigration. In a victory so resounding even some Republicans were shocked, Trump not only won all seven battleground states, he also narrowly secured the popular vote and helped Republicans take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It was a remarkable turnaround for a former president who began the year facing 91 charges and four criminal trials: one in Washington for trying to subvert the 2020 election; one in Georgia for election interference in that state; another in Florida for mishandling classified documents; and one in New York for falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal with a porn star . In the end, only the New York “hush money” trial would eventuate, resulting in Trump becoming the first convicted felon to run for the White House. A US Supreme Court decision to grant presidents substantial immunity for acts conducted in office helped him thwart all the other trials. Trump’s ascendancy was also fuelled by an attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania – an event that shocked the world, reignited the debate over political violence, and created one of the most iconic images in political history. Assassination attempt: A defiant Trump raises a fist to the crowd after his right ear was nicked by a sniper’s bullet in July. Credit: AP Two months later came another assassination plot – this time by a lone gunman hiding in the bushes of his golfing resort in West Palm Beach, Florida. In other North America news, environmental scientist Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico ’s first female president; the war in Gaza sparked student uprisings at elite universities across the US; and Taylor Swift continued her global dominance, concluding her 149-show Eras Tour in Canada after becoming the most-awarded artist in VMA history. – Farrah Tomazin, North America correspondent South America Interest in South America rose briefly in Australian minds last month owing to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Lima, Peru , for the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation annual summit, overshadowed by incoming US president Donald Trump’s economic agenda. Albanese then went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for this year’s G20. Neither gathering produced groundbreaking deals , except to serve as further demonstration of China’s continued geopolitical wins and deepening ties in the region where it has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (front, second from right), holds hands with China’s Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Take the new $5.6 billion port President Xi Jinping – who arrived pushing for an “orderly multipolar world” – inaugurated in Chancay, north of Lima. The intended continental logistics hub creates a direct route between Asia and South America across the Pacific Ocean. Apart from allowing Beijing to look beyond Australia and Asia for imports such as iron ore, wine and soybeans, the port could also, says the US, be used as a foothold by Chinese military ships in the Americas . China’s influence in the region could also extend to ground stations for Chinese satellites. In Brazil, former president Jair Bolsonaro was indicted along with 36 others in a failed coup to reverse the last election and overthrow the government of President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in a US Capitol-inspired takeover of Congress in 2022. He denies the charges, which add to his long list of legal woes. Lula, 79, had emergency brain surgery to relieve bleeding but was back to work in a few days. In Argentina, the election of right-wing Trump-like disruptor and cloned-dog owner President Javier Milei provided some relief to the US, after Milei declared a preference for traditional Western alliances to the alternative BRICS – the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa group that has evolved to admit myriad other countries, and hopes to launch an alternative trade currency to the US dollar. Argentinian President Javier Milei at home with his cloned mastiff puppies. Credit: Marcelo Dubini/Caras via The New York Times In Venezuela, new elections returned President Nicolas Maduro to power, but no one believed the results, which the opposition said were stolen and the UN human rights watchdog is investigating. The crisis-torn country was also in the headlines owing to campaign-mode Trump blaming “Venezuelan gangs” for rampant crime in the US. In December, prominent human rights lawyer Claudio Grossman quit the International Criminal Court in The Hague over what he said was its failure to prosecute members of Maduro’s government for crimes against humanity. In early December, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay , Paraguay and Bolivia , under the bloc Mercosur , signed a blockbuster free trade deal with the European Union. If ratified, it will create one of the world’s largest free trade zones, covering a market of 780 million people. But in France, the Netherlands and other countries with big dairy and beef industries, critics say it will create unfair competition. – Lia Timson, Deputy World Editor Oceania In New Zealand , the year started with a large “unity meeting” convened by Maori King Tuheitia to discuss action against changes proposed by the new coalition government of Prime Minister Chris Luxon, including the watering down of policies previously designed to elevate Maori language and recognition. Tuheitia said the Treaty of Waitangi was not open for reinterpretation. Tuheitia died in August , with King Charles leading the tributes, saying “a mighty tree has fallen”. His daughter, 27-year-old Nga Wai Hono i te Po Paki , was chosen by a council of 12 male elders to succeed him, over her two older brothers, although the crown is not automatically inherited. Tensions over the government’s “race-based” changes, and the introduction of a bill to reinterpret the treaty, spilt over when thousands participated in a seven-day march that ended in parliament , where Maori MPs interrupted proceedings with a haka that made headlines around the world. France declared a state of emergency in its Pacific territory, New Caledonia , in May after an electoral reform approved in Paris triggered protests and the death of three indigenous Kanak and a police official . It sent hundreds of police to help stem the riots, including soldiers to secure the port and airports, which were closed, trapping tourists on the otherwise idyllic islands . Macron then followed with a visit but was criticised as being out of touch . His government later blamed Azerbaijan and Russia for causing the chaos and stoking separatism . Continuing its efforts to keep Papua New Guinea closer to Australia than to China, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese headed to PNG and along with Prime Minister James Marape, did a two-day Kokoda hike, complete with birthday cake for his counterpart . It was all part of Anzac commemorations and soft diplomacy, which continues with the inclusion of a PNG rugby team in the NRL , helped along by $600 million from Australian taxpayers over 10 years . And a devastating earthquake struck Vanuatu in later December, causing many deaths, hundreds of injuries and crippling the nation’s electricity, water and communications systems. – Lia Timson, Deputy World Editor Prime ministers Anthony Albanese and James Marape take a selfie after the Anzac Day dawn service at the Isurava memorial site on the Kokoda Track in PNG. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer Africa In South Africa , Nelson Mandela’s party ANC lost its parliamentary majority 30 years after the vote that ended apartheid and brought it to power. President Cyril Ramaphosa managed to retain his job after a coalition deal with the country’s second-biggest party, the Democratic Alliance. In Kenya, the discovery of footprints near a lake added to evidence that two human species lived side-by-side 1.5 million years ago, in a closing reminder that humans are capable of getting along. with agencies Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here .
Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. If ever a year deserved to be summed up in a cheap meme, it was 2024. It was the year that felt like being awake during surgery . Sometimes the social media chuckle gallery hits the nail right on the head, but for all the spot-on accuracy of that assessment, it’s also a year that warranted a search for its better angels; a sifting through the flotsam and jetsam for the fairy dust and joy. And there were halos to be found if you looked hard enough. “This is the biggest show we’ve done on this tour or any tour,” Taylor Swift told the crowd of 96,000 at the MCG. Credit: Jason South There was, for instance, a moment back in February when the MCG – traditionally a place that brings the feels during footy in September or the cricket on Boxing Day – seemed to swallow the entire city in a joyous embrace as host to the largest crowd of Taylor Swift’s entire 149-show Eras Tour . It was a tour, and a show, unlike anything Australia or Swift herself had ever seen. “You’re making me feel like I get to play a show for 96,000 beautiful people in Melbourne tonight,” a visibly stunned Swift told the heaving crowd, which was boosted by several thousand more fans “Taylor-gating” outside the stadium. “This is the biggest show that we have done on this tour, or any tour, ever.” The Swiftian joyfest then moved north to Sydney, where the total turnout was even bigger (320,000 across four shows). “Sydney, you are making me feel absolutely phenomenal,” she declared. The feeling was clearly mutual and spread far beyond the venues. As she had done on other stops on the Eras tour, Swift proved a human tonic to everything that ails us — from economic worries (Swiftonomics became a subject worthy of study) to general social malaise. We spend much of our time worrying about the yoof; especially young women. Well, in 2024 Taylor Swift turned up to show us that the kids are alright. And she wasn’t alone. Swiftmania was the herald of what would become the year that “girl power” – a worn and slightly tatty ’90s concept – received a fresh, ferocious update for the 21st century as something deeper, stronger and powered by a kind of worldly-wise joy. Year of the brat Forget sense and sensibility; 2024 was all sass and sensibility. Sabrina Carpenter parlayed her supporting status on the Eras Tour into a blockbuster year that elevated her to near the very top of the tree with no need for Swift’s booster seat. In Carpenter, pop music added another voice that was savvy, sassy, sexy and smart — from the unavoidable bop of Espresso to the come-to-bed brashness of her smash album Short n’ Sweet . Charli XCX took things a step further. The British singer staked her claim to the year by giving 2024 a word, a colour and an attitude all wrapped up in one album – Brat . She summed it up like this: “You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes. Who feels herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like, parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.” Was 2024 the year of the brat? Charli XCX fans certainly thought so. If it doesn’t make sense to you, that’s probably because it isn’t meant to. But as a sensibility, it rode a cultural wave – the joy wave – so adroitly Kamala Harris even hitched her (ill-fated) Joy Wagon to the phenomenon. On a similar train was American Chappell Roan – dubbed the Joy Rebel of the Year – whose success confirmed young women were increasingly sailing different seas from the rest of the culture, and landing in happier places. Gold medal to Celine Dion’s Paris Olympics performance. Credit: Screengrab by IOC via Getty Images In July, it was a diva of a different era who elevated the Paris Olympics, as a wet and occasionally weird opening ceremony gave way to the thing we mostly remember about it – the moment we heard the voice and then spotted the figure of a glistening Celine Dion perched within the Eiffel Tower . It was a moment of extraordinary power – of personal resilience and vocal artistry – that lifted the event out of the damp Paris streets and elevated it to a moment of genuine collective emotion. Paris in summer was where we went looking for hope during the Australian winter, and our team delivered. Well, the women did anyway, bringing home 13 of the 18 gold and 27 of the 45 medals overall for our greatest Games ever. Alongside the usual heroics in the pool ( Kaylee McKeown became the first Australian to win four individual gold was one stand-out among a team of them) there were more eccentric goings-on elsewhere in the Olympic city. You could, if you so chose, react to Rachael “Raygun” Gunn’s zero-point car crash with a scowl and a sneer, and many did, but the open-hearted were able to see the funny side. As were comedians around the world, who found in the Australian breakdancer one of the year’s true unifying comedic moments . In a year of much misery, this achievement should not be underappreciated. There were happy cultural warriors elsewhere, too. In Hollywood, Nicole Kidman seemed to star in every other movie and series – as Steve Martin quipped at the Emmys , “when I see an actor I don’t know, I just say, ‘I loved your scene with Nicole Kidman’, and nine times out of 10, I’m right”. Our Nic took time out from starring in everything to win everything. This included inhaling the very rare air of an American Film Institute Life Achievement Award . Flying the flag for the younger generation, Adelaide’s Sarah Snook carted home an Emmy and a Golden Globe and warmed up for her 2025 Broadway run in The Picture Of Dorian Gray with a Laurence Olivier Award for the same tour de force in London. Ms Everywhere: It was a big year for Nicole Kidman. Credit: Dave Benett/WireImage Loyalty to royalty Acting royalty elevated us to higher planes. Garden variety royalty also played its part. Mary Donaldson, erstwhile of Hobart and Sydney, became Queen of Denmark in January, giving hope to everyone who met someone in a bar during the Sydney Olympics almost 25 years ago. You don’t have to love royalty to breathe the occasional sigh of relief at the distraction they provide from the daily grind, and you don’t have to be a monarchist to be pleased that the Princess of Wales faced and emerged from a cancer diagnosis in strong and dignified spirit. In the natural world, bad news abounds when it comes to climate change – but there were bright spots. Did you know Britain closed its last coal power station in September ? Or that renewables surged even in the US, where wind generation outpaced coal for the first time? Or that in the Amazon, deforestation reached record lows this year? It did. All is not lost yet. For some old-fashioned cheer from Mother Nature, you could wallow in dog and cat videos on social media (and millions of us did) – or you could turn your gaze to another heroine we didn’t know we needed, the Tay Tay of the Choeropsis liberiensis world. In September, the world fell in love with Moo Deng , a pygmy hippo, a girl whose social media fame drew attention to the plight and past of her species. Who knew the pygmy hippo came with a history this rich, star of a Liberian legend in which Moo Deng’s kind find their way through the forest at night by carrying diamonds in their mouths to light the way? This pigmy hippo has become a viral sensation. Credit: Khao Kheow Open Zoo Now we know, and we are the better for it. Closer to home, Pesto the king penguin gained global fame as a social media superstar , famous on TikTok as the largest chick Melbourne’s Sea Life aquarium has ever seen. Big, beautiful and comfortable in his own skin, Pesto was the kind of hero – “calm, curious and friendly” – we needed in a year when male humans to admire were thin on the ground. For other bright lights in the darkness, we needed look no further than our own southern skies, with the return on several occasions of the Aurora Australis , which made rare and spectacular appearances as far north as Queensland in May, September and October. Scientists and citizens alike were dazzled by a liquid light show of pinks and whites and purples and greens. Was there a better symbol of hope than this – a phenomenon named for Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, announcing the arrival of a new day? It was as if we had been given a celestial preview of what would become the year’s biggest cultural event, one that also asked us to look skyward – or in the words of the song of the year, Defying Gravity , “look to the western sky”. Bright lights, all right. Aurora Australis seen in Victoria. Credit: Facebook/Travis Carroll The screen adaptation of Wicked landed in cinemas in mid-November, amid one of the strangest promotional tours in memory and hot on the heels of an American political earthquake two weeks earlier. The weird on-camera adventures of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were at times almost as entertaining as the film they starred in. And the movie’s storyline, adapted from the 2003 stage musical, could have been taken as a contemporary riff on the state of the world , very specifically, at the end of 2024. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star in Wicked. Credit: Out.com Wicked is a tale of defiance and friendship forged in the most difficult of circumstances; of surmounting challenges and differences; of flying, literally, in the face of a world that seeks to define you. It was, as so many of the hopeful things were in 2024, a message delivered by and to young women startling in their confidence and talent, happy to defy the doom with which the times seek to burden them. The song that ends the film became the year’s musical battle cry – a moment when art and heart met irresistible force, and art and heart won. If ever a year needed an anthem , it was this one – and in Defying Gravity it found it. In a year that insisted we be sad and scared – or summed up in a cheap meme – it was proof there was still space for hearts and minds to soar. Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter .Legacy Housing chairman Curtis Hodgson sells $153,600 in stock
