News

Canterbury District’s front-line police on the southern island will be armed until any further notice, as per Reuters reports. Reports says that this action is after three shooting incidents that leads to a debate on whether all police should carry fire arms.

In New Zealand, the police do not carry guns on their general duty. But, hand guns, rifles and tasers will be kept in their vehicles. These weapons should only be used with a supervisor’s permission.

A shootout between one Christchurch resident and police on Tuesday leads to the decision to arm police in the Canterbury district. The man was shot by police and is in hospital in a stable condition, but another suspect in the shooting is still at large and may be armed, said police. The Canterbury District Commander John Price said all police will carry firearms until the man is caught or surrenders.

“Our officers, who are dedicated to keeping our communities safe, are currently operating in an environment of heightened risk and they deserve to be kept safe,” Price told a news conference.

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News

Rolls-Royce said that they had withdrawn from a competition that intends to power Boeing’s planned mid-market aircraft, as per the reuters reports. They took the decision since it could not meet the timetable, as costs related to its Trent 1000 engine resulted in a full-year operating loss of 1.16 billion pounds.

Reports says that Boeing has proposed to launch a new mid-sized jetliner to fill a gap between the narrow and wide-body aircraft. Rolls-Royce said that “We are unable to commit to the proposed timetable to ensure we have a sufficiently mature product which supports Boeing’s ambition for the aircraft,”

The aerospace engineer said that it had increased the charge it had taken on fixing Trent 1000 problems to 790 million pounds from 554 million pounds at the half year. Warren East, the Chief Executive said that the company achieved solid progress despite of all the challenges it faced on Trent 1000 in-service issues.

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Food Trending

Spanakopita is a Greek savory pastry. The filling comprises of chopped spinach, feta cheese, onions or spring onions, egg, and seasoning.

Ingredients:

For the filling

  • 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 (10-oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed
  • 1/2 finely chopped onion
  • 2 thinly sliced green onions
  • 2 minced cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 c. chopped dill
  • 1 tsp. lemon zest
  • 1 c. crumbled feta
  • Pinch nutmeg

For Wrapper

  • 3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
  • 10 (17″-x-12″) phyllo sheets, thawed if frozen

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375° and line two medium baking sheets with parchment paper. With a clean towel, squeeze all excess moisture out of spinach. Transfer to a large bowl. In a skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and green onions and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes if using, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to bowl with spinach.

Add dill, lemon zest, feta, and nutmeg to the bowl with spinach and stir until all ingredients are mixed properly and season again with salt and pepper, if needed. Remove phyllo from refrigerator and cover with a kitchen towel. Take 1 phyllo sheet and place on a clean surface. Brush all over with melted butter, then top with another sheet of phyllo. Brush second sheet of phyllo all over with butter. Slice into 6 long, evenly sized strips (They should be about 12′ by 3′ each).

Place a tablespoon of spinach mixture on the corner nearest you of one strip of phyllo. Fold corner over mixture to make a triangle, then continue folding (like a flag) until phyllo strip is completely folded over spinach mixture. Repeat until all filling and all phyllo is used. Place all folded triangles seam side down on prepared baking sheets and brush with butter. Bake until golden and crisp, 20 to 23 minutes. Let cool slightly and then serve.

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News

In a statement, the council’s human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatovic said that the French authorities should halt the use of LBDs during operations aimed at maintaining public order.

France uses the so-called defence ball launchers, known as LBDs, which can shoot 40-millimeter rubber projectiles that are considered non-lethal. This causes dozens of injuries to anti-government protesters in recent weeks.

Dunja Mijatovic also asked the government to review its regulations soon on the use of so-called intermediate weapons for riot control, to ensure they respect law enforcement’s primary task of protecting “citizens and their human rights.”

These rubber bullets were used by the Police for the weekly ‘yellow vest’ protests in Paris and other cities since November. This have often degenerated into clashes with police and vandalism.

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News

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido was to visit Brazil on Wednesday night to meet with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Guido plans this as a part of tour to various nations intended to ratchet up international pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to step down.

Guido had declared himself as the country’s interim president last month. He has been recognized by most Western nations – including Brazil – as Venezuela’s leader.

Guaido will be traveling to Brasilia for a two-day visit from Bogota. He had attended a meeting there with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and the regional Lima group regarding how to resolve the political and economic crisis in Venezuela.

It is reported that after today’s meeting at 2.00 pm (1700 GMT), Guido will be organising a news conference.

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News

According to the Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro, the tourists will be forced to pay admission fees. The tourists who stays overnight in Venice pays between €1 (90p) and €5 per person as hotel tax now.

On Twitter, the mayor announced that he will take advantage of Italy’s liberalised budget laws to introduce what is called a contributo di sbarco – literally a disembarkation contribution for tourists.

“This is a significant turning point in the management of Venice’s tourist flows,” – Luigi Brugnaro. The Veneto governor Luca Zaia, on Wednesday said that “Venice needs respect, and as is the case with museums, sports stadiums, cinemas, trains and airplanes, it needs to have planned visits… which makes it sustainable both for tourists and the city,”

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Lifestyle News

Ted Baker plc, the fashion retailer estimates more than 10 million pounds fall in full-year pretax profit, blaming the impact of foreign exchange rates, higher amounts to upgrade its systems and inventory write-downs.

It is reported by reuters that the company expects to post profit before tax of about 63 million pounds for the year ended Jan. 26, lower than the 73.5 million pounds reported last year.

Ted Baker plc is a British luxury clothing retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The company is having its Headquarters at London, United Kingdom.

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Food

Make way for some Croatian desserts! Fritule, the festive Croatian pastry are made particularly for Christmas. They resemble little doughnuts, the Italian zeppole, Venetian frìtole, and the Dutch Christmas snack “oliebollen”. Check out this delicious recipe!

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams of flour
  • 20 grams fresh yeast
  • 2 egg yolk
  • 80 grams raisins
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 50 grams white sugar
  • 20 grams melted butter
  • 150-200 ml warm milk
  • 50 ml brandy
  • 5 grams salt
  • 500 ml oil
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Preparation:

Sift flour into a bowl. Combine egg yolk raisins, salt, sugar, butter, grated lemon zest and 25 ml of brandy in a large bowl. In a large glass, dissolve yeast with 100 ml milk and 2 tablespoon sugar, cover and let rise to fill the glass.

Add yeast to the flour and add enough milk so it forms a soft dough. Allow it to rest covered for approximately 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan. Take the dough as pieces with a spoon and drop it into the frying oil. Fry each balls until all sides turn golden brown.

Take out each ball and let it rest on a towel to drain out the excess oil. Once all the Fritule balls are ready, pour the rest of brandy over it. Transfer it into a serving bowl and dust with powdered sugar.

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News

Cardinal George Pell was remanded into custody on Wednesday for child sex offences. George Pell is Australia’s most senior Catholic cardinal and a former top adviser to Pope Francis. A jury found that he had sexually abused two 13-year-olds in 1996 and 1997, in the rooms of a Melbourne cathedral. George Pell, the Vatican treasurer is the third most senior Catholic in the world.

Pell will be formally sentenced on March 13. Pell was found guilty of child sex abuse in December. The guilty verdict was revealed on Tuesday after a court suppression order was dropped.

The pre-sentencing hearing was told Pell’s child sex crimes each carry maximum jail terms of 10 years. Prosecutor Mark Gibson SC told Chief Judge Peter Kidd that Pell’s offending involved two vulnerable boys and should be classed as serious.

“These acts … were, in our submission, humiliating and degrading towards each boy and gave rise to distress in each boy,” he said. “There has been a breach of trust in this case in the sense that Cardinal Pell was the driving force and in charge of this cathedral and these two choristers were a cog in the cathedral wheel … in Sunday masses.”

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Food

The ever favorite Swiss Chocolate..! What else would get into your mind when you hear the word ‘Swiss’? Switzerland is a magical world of Chocolates. And chocolates are loved by all. Switzerland’s chocolates have earned an international reputation for high quality with many famous international chocolate brands. Lets make some Swiss Chocolate Bars!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup butter, cubed
  • 1-1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

For Frosting:

  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, cubed
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1-1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pecan halves

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, combine eggs and sour cream. In a small saucepan, cook and stir water, butter and chocolate just until melted. Stir into dry ingredients. Stir in sour cream mixture until well blended. Pour into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, for frosting, place confectioner’s sugar in a large bowl; set aside. In a small saucepan combine the butter, milk and chocolate. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Beat into confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Let stand for 5 minutes. Spread over warm bars. Top with pecan halves. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

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