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NEW YORK – President-elect Donald Trump wants to turn the lights out on daylight saving time. In a post on his social media site Friday, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office. Recommended Videos “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” he wrote. Setting clocks forward one hour in the spring and back an hour in the fall is intended to maximize daylight during summer months, but has long been subject to scrutiny. Daylight saving time was first adopted as a wartime measure in 1942. Lawmakers have occasionally proposed getting rid of the time change altogether. The most prominent recent attempt, a now-stalled bipartisan bill named the Sunshine Protection Act , had proposed making daylight saving time permanent. The measure was sponsored by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio , whom Trump has tapped to helm the State Department. “Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said as the Senate voted in favor of the measure. Health experts have said that lawmakers have it backward and that standard time should be made permanent. Some health groups , including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have said that it’s time to do away with time switches and that sticking with standard time aligns better with the sun — and human biology. Most countries do not observe daylight saving time. For those that do, the date that clocks are changed varies, creating a complicated tapestry of changing time differences. Arizona and Hawaii don't change their clocks at all.The Minster of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has urged the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to work towards a fair and equitable work environment beneficial to both the strong and weak in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration. The Minister who gave assurances all agencies under the ministry would enrol to the Employees Compensation Scheme(ECS), noted that the Employees’ Compensation Act was a law that must be obeyed to guarantee social safety net to workers in the formal and informal sectors. Speaking during an advocacy visit by the Managing Director of the NSITF, Oluwaseun Faleye, over the weekend, Tunji-Ojo emphasized that the Employees’ Compensation Scheme was a creation of the law and pledged the compliance of all the agencies under the Ministry of Interior to the scheme. He said, “ What the President wants is a new Nigeria, a Nigeria that will work not just for the strong but also for the weak, a renewed hope: to give hope even in the most hopeless situation, that’s what he wants. “And I believe that as young people, we are in a better position to to think out of the box, to be able to create a new Nigeria, to change the story, re-write it that generations coming can be proud of. Nobody can write such a story better than we can. “For us as Ministry of Interior, Federal Fire Service, Correctional Service, Immigration Service, National Identity Management Commission, NSCDC, others, we will obey the law. “Putting it in proper perspective, the risk my officers take every day is huge, my officers at the border, when they are there, you never know what can happen. They don’t sleep so that we all can sleep. “They go hungry so that we can eat, they sacrifice their blood, their sweat, and everything for this country. We will make sure that all the agencies under the boards of the ministry obey the law. It is a law, and compliance is mandatory,” he said. The Minister also highlighted the need for direct deductions of ECS contributions from the accounts of ministries, parastatals and agencies of the federal government in line with the law, but stressed the need for accountable and transparent use of all funds. The Managing Director of the NSITF, Oluwaseun Faleye in his address underlined the preparedness of the NSITF to support the economic renaissance of the President and further spoke extensively on the benefits of the ECS to workers and employers. He stated that the Interior Ministry with agencies whose employees work in difficult terrains are better assured of better safety cover with the ECS. “It is also very important to speak about the benefits that are expected if there is compliance with the law. I have mentioned the payment of medical refunds, where there is any injury or sickness that is work related, NSITF will step in and be responsible for such medical bills. “In the unfortunate occurrence of death arising out of work, we will pay compensation to family members of the bereaved up to a certain threshold. There is also the payment of loss of productivity where employers are able to recoup loss of productivity that is associated with the death of an employee or sickness arising from work. “All of these we believe are important social safety nets that ultimately improve productivity in the country and that is our contribution to the economic renaissance that is being led by the President of the federal republic of Nigeria. “So our visit essentially is to really look at all of these issues, address the compliance barriers that may be between us and the relevant agencies and drive strategic initiatives together to the benefits to the nation’s workforce.” Recall that wide and intensive stakeholder engagement is one of the key agenda of the new administration of the NSITF which aims to broaden participation in the scheme, taking the benefits of the scheme to the doorstep of all Nigerian workers. Remember, too, that the Federal Government had in October 2021 issued a circular for the commencement of the mandatory contributions of one percent of the emoluments of all public servants to the NSITF’s Employees’ Compensation Schemebookmaker us 。

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Chrystia Freeland promises a fall fiscal update as clock ticks down on 2024Syrians poured into streets in celebration on Sunday after a stunning rebel advance reached the capital, ending the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule . Russian state news agencies were reporting that President Bashar Assad and his family had arrived in Moscow and were given asylum. Russia said Assad left the country after negotiations with rebel groups and that he had given instructions to transfer power peacefully. Joyful crowds gathered in central squares in Damascus, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag. Others ransacked the presidential palace and residence. Abu Mohammed al-Golani , a former al-Qaida commander who cut ties with the group years ago leads the biggest rebel faction in Syria and is poised to chart the country’s future. He made his first public appearance since fighters entered the Damascus suburbs Saturday, at the capital’s sprawling Umayyad Mosque, and called himself by his given name, Ahmad al-Sharaa. He said Assad’s fall was “a victory to the Islamic nation.” The rapidly developing events have shaken the region. Lebanon said it was closing all its land border crossings with Syria except for one that links Beirut with Damascus. Jordan closed a border crossing with Syria, too. Israel has issued warnings to villages in southern Syria and its forces seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights. Here's the Latest: The Israeli military said on Sunday it was reinforcing a barrier along its border with Syria as part of its “enhanced preparedness” in the area following the fall of the Assad regime. Israel released images of the construction, which showed bulldozers digging what appeared to be a trench. The army said in a statement that the barrier was named “New East.” Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press show that as early as September, Israel began building what could be a new road right along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria . The United Nations confirmed that Israeli troops entered the demilitarized zone during the work. Over the weekend, the Israeli military sent additional troops to the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights to bolster Israel’s presence along the border with Syria. Russian state news agencies reported that ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad has arrived in Moscow with his family and been given asylum. The agencies, Tass and RIA, cited an unidentified Kremlin source. The Associated Press was not immediately able to verify the reports but had contacted the Kremlin for comment. CAIRO — The Arab League on Sunday condemned Israel for taking advantage of Syrian President Bashar Assad's downfall by moving into more Syrian territory. Hours after Assad’s overthrow, Israel announced it had seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights that was established by a cease-fire agreement with Syria in 1974. In a statement, the Arab League said Israel illegally sought to occupy more territories. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the 50-year-old agreement regarding Syrian territory had collapsed and that Syrian troops had abandoned their positions, necessitating Israel taking over as a “temporary defensive position.” UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations secretary-general is marking the “fall of the dictatorial regime” in Syria and says the future of the country is “is a matter for the Syrians to determine.” A statement by Antonio Guterres also called for calm and the protection of the rights of all Syrians as well as of diplomatic and consular facilities in Syria. He said there is much work ahead to ensure an “orderly political transition to renewed institutions,” and he called on the international community to ensure that “any political transition is inclusive and comprehensive and that it meets the legitimate aspirations of the people of Syria, in all their diversity.” KYIV, Ukraine - Ukraine’s top diplomat on Sunday responded to Assad’s ouster by describing him as a “dictator” who relied on Russia to prop up his rule - a reference to the military campaign Moscow has waged in Syria since September 2015, teaming up with Iran to allow Assad’s government to fight armed opposition groups and reclaim control over most of the country. "Assad has fallen. This has always been and will be the case with all dictators who bet on Putin. He always betrays those who rely on him,” foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X. In a separate update on the social network, Sybiha said Kyiv was ready to take steps towards restoring relations with Syria, severed months into Russia’s full-scale invasion of the neighboring state. Kyiv broke off diplomatic ties after Damascus in June 2022 recognized Kremlin-occupied parts of eastern Ukraine as independent territories, in a move welcomed by Moscow and decried by the West as a clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. JERUSALEM — The Israeli military has issued a warning to residents of five villages and towns in southern Syria to stay inside their homes for their safety. “The fighting in your area is forcing the IDF to act,” the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman said on X. The military didn’t respond to questions. Earlier, Israel said its troops had seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established in 1974, saying it was to protect Israeli residents after Syrian troops abandoned their positions. Defense Minister Israel Katz said on X that the IDF has been instructed to “seize the buffer zone and control points to ensure the protection of all Israeli communities in the Golan Heights – Jewish and Druze – so that they are not exposed to threats from the other side.” Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it. The international community, except for the United States, views it as occupied. BEIRUT - The leader of the largest insurgent group in Syria visited the Syrian capital’s sprawling Umayyad Mosque and declared that the victory against President Bashar Assad “is a victory to the Islamic nation.” Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, made his first public appearance and remarks since fighters entered Damascus. He told hundreds of people at the historic mosque that Assad had made Syria “a farm for Iran’s greed.” He added that Assad made Syria a base for the illegal amphetamine Captagon that brought cash to Assad’s circles. Al-Sharaa, the leader of the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, said Sunday that the victory was achieved because of “God and the blood of martyrs.” He said that he left Syria 20 years ago and since then his heart has longed for this movement. AMMAN, Jordan — The vast majority of the Jordanian people are welcoming the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the success of the Syrian revolution. “There is no doubt that I felt overwhelming joy at the fall of the Assad regime," said Badi Al-Rafaia, Engineer, union activist and member of the Islamic Action Front. "There is no doubt that we are happy with what happened in Syria, happy with the success of the revolution, happy with the Syrian people getting rid of an oppressor and criminal who treated the Syrian people and made the Syrian state a failed state.” Al-Rafaia said that Jordan is benefiting from what happened in Syria, and "we hope that Jordan will help the revolution succeed and not work against it.” Amman resident Muhab al-Majali said the fall of the Assad regime is “The end of every unjust and tyrannical rule, and more than that, it mortgaged the country and its people to the Iranians, who abandoned it in minutes... I believe that the future is beautiful and prosperous for the Syrians.” BERLIN — The International Committee of the Red Cross is calling for safe humanitarian access and protection of civilians in Syria after the fall of Bashir Assad’s government. “Our teams in Syria, including in Damascus, have been closely monitoring the fast-evolving security and humanitarian situation in coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent,” the ICRC’s head of delegation in Syria, Stephan Sakalian, said in a written statement Sunday. The ICRC is “responding wherever possible, with further efforts underway, as hundreds of thousands of people need care and humanitarian assistance,” he said. Sakalian called “on all parties to urgently enable safe and unhindered access for medical and humanitarian workers to reach those in need, to protect civilians, and to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.” BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government said in a statement Sunday that it “supports all international and regional efforts seeking to open a dialogue” for Syria “leading to the adoption of a pluralistic constitution that preserves the human and civil rights of Syrians, and supports cultural, ethnic and religious diversity.” The statement from government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi, said that Iraq understands “the necessity of respecting the free will of all Syrians, and stresses that the security of Syria, the unity of its territories, and the preservation of its independence are of utmost importance, not only for Iraq but also for its connection to the security and stability of the region.” It cautioned against “interfering in Syria’s internal affairs, or supporting one party for the benefit of another.” Iraq, which has a close relationship with Iran - once a strong ally of former Syrian President Bashar Assad - has taken in some 2,000 Syrian army soldiers who fled the country amid the advance of armed opposition groups. CAIRO — The head of Yemen’s internationally recognized government welcomed the fall of the government of President Bashar Assad of Syria. “It’s a historic moment,” Rashad al-Alimi, who chairs the ruling presidential council, wrote on X platform of Assad’s downfall. “It’s time for the Iranian regime to stop meddling in Yemen, respect its sovereignty and identity.” Al-Alimi, who is backed by Saudi Arabia, was referring to Iran’s support of Houthi rebels who are at war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government for a decade. DAMASCUS — Families wandered through the high-ceilinged halls of the presidential palace in Damascus on Sunday, along with some armed men. Some paused to take family portraits or selfies on the few remaining couches against the backdrop of mosaiced walls, while others walked out with chairs and other items under their arms. On the massive parking lot out front, cars drove in circles honking ecstatically. In central Damascus’ Umayyad Square, drivers passing by also honked jubilantly, while young men piled onto a tank abandoned in the square. But for some the celebration was bittersweet. “I am very happy, but this happiness will not be completed until I can see my son out of the prison and know where is he is,” said Damascus resident Bassam Masr. “I have been searching for him for two hours - he has been detained for 13 years.” TEL AVIV, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli forces have seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria. He spoke from an overlook near the border between Syria and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, after Syrian rebels tore through the country and dramatically ended Assad’s rule on Sunday morning. Netanyahu said the 50-year-old agreement had collapsed and that Syrian troops had abandoned their positions, necessitating the Israeli takeover as a “temporary defensive position.” Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it. The international community, except for the United States, views it as occupied Syrian territory. Satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press show that as early as September, Israel began construction of what could possibly be a new road right along the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria . The United Nations confirmed that Israeli troops entered the demilitarized zone during the work. The United Nations maintains a peacekeeping force in the demilitarized zone called the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, or UNDOF, with around 1,100 peacekeepers from Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal, and Uruguay. After the 1973 Mideast war, the U.N. Secretary Council voted to create UNDOF to patrol a roughly 400 square kilometer (155 square mile) demilitarized zone and maintain the peace there. DAMASCUS, Syria — An Associated Press journalist in Damascus reported airstrikes in the area of the Mezzeh military airport, southwest of the capital Sunday. The airport has previously been targeted in Israeli airstrikes, but it was not immediately clear who launched Sunday's strike. The Israeli military refused to comment on the airport strike. Israel often does not publicly claim responsibility for attacks in Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported that Israeli warplanes also targeted warehouses belonging to the Syrian army’s Fourth Division and another former military site outside of Damascus Sunday. On Saturday and Sunday, the Israeli military sent additional troops to the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights to bolster Israel’s presence along the border between Israel and Syria. Agricultural areas along the border were declared closed military zones and some schools shifted to online classes in anticipation of unrest.Clashes between Syrian Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed Syrian militias could be one of the biggest potential problems in Syria as the country grapples with life after dictator Bashar Assad. One of the biggest risks for Syria's peaceful transition lies in the country's northeast. While many Syrian Arabs around the country were celebrating the demise of the regime headed by Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and the end of a long-running civil war, Syrian Kurds in the northeast were facing an existential crisis. Clashes between Syrian fighters backed by Turkey and Syrian Kurdish forces were of great concern United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pederson said this week. The other immediate areas of concern are Israel's ongoing incursions into Syria and the protection of Syria's minorities. What is happening in the northeast? Fighting in the Syrian civil war had been frozen for years, and the opposition groups controlling their different areas in the north tended not to clash. But over the past few days, fighting erupted again. After the fall of the Assad regime , the so-called Syrian National Army (SNA), a group of fighters backed by Turkey, has tried to advance into areas controlled by Syrian Kurds. The Turkish government opposes the Kurdish presence on their border, seeing them as a threat. This is because of a long-running Kurdish struggle for independence in Turkey that has often turned violent. As the Turkish-backed militias have advanced, the Syrian Kurdish forces there, known as the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), have lost territory. Turkey has also used airstrikes and drones to support the SNA's advance. On Tuesday, the two parties said they negotiated a ceasefire agreement with help from the United States. This will involve the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish forces from some of the areas they previously controlled. Another rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has taken control of the Arab-majority city of Deir al-Zour . The SDF withdrew from there following local unrest. The US-trained Syrian Free Army (SFA) has also taken some terrain here. The SDF has now said it is open to participating in a new political process in Syria. Why is it happening? The Kurdish people are often described as one of the biggest ethnic groups in the world without a country of their own. If they did have a country, it would lie in the Kurdish-majority areas where Iraq , Iran, Syria and Turkey meet. There is a Kurdish independence movement in each of those countries, whose members have lobbied and even fought for an independent state or Kurdish autonomy, with varying degrees of success. Kurdish independence movements in each of the countries have also been repressed by their respective governments — also with varying degrees of success. In Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, turned to violence to try to achieve their aims. In Syria, near the start of the civil war, around 2012, the forces of now-deposed dictator Assad, withdrew from Kurdish-majority areas in northeastern and eastern Syria without much of a fight. The move was not without controversy . Syrian Arab revolutionaries said they didn't want the Kurds to be independent from Syria and that the country should remain united. There was also scurrilous talk about whether the Kurds had betrayed the original objectives of Syria's revolutionaries, to overthrow the regime, and that in a bid to pursue their own goal of Kurdish independence, the Kurds would maintain neutrality in the civil war. The Kurds never really fought against Assad's forces, and this alleged "betrayal" caused antipathy between Syrian Arabs and Syrian Kurds, layered on top of previous ethnic tensions and racism. During the 13-year civil war, the US got involved with Syria's Kurds, allying with them to combat the extremist group known as the "Islamic State" (IS) . The group came from Iraq and, taking advantage of the chaos of the civil war, set up a "Syrian capital" for its planned "caliphate" in Raqqa. US and Kurdish forces were the major players in the fight against the IS group in Syria. And while fighting against the IS group, Syrian Kurds also expanded the terrain under their control, including Arab-majority areas like Raqqa and Deir al-Zour. Locals have protested against the Kurdish leadership there, including this week when they insisted the Kurdish forces allow other rebel groups to enter. All these issues, past and present, remain at the root of the problems the Syrian Kurds are now dealing with. Now that the Assad regime has gone, they are being squeezed between Syrian Arab groups and Turkey, with the US as their only ally. In fact, one of the questions that most worries Syria's Kurds is how long the American alliance will last after President-elect Donald Trump reenters the White House. There are fears the incoming Trump administration will withdraw US soldiers from Syria altogether, abandoning the Kurds. Currently, there are still an estimated 900 US soldiers in the country. Syrian minorities wary of HTS's promises of inclusivity To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Why does it matter? An estimated 4.6 million people were previously living in the Kurdish-controlled Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, or AANES. The area is also often called Rojava by local Kurds and was also home to Kurds from Iraq, Turkey and Iran. Since fighting began this week, the UN estimates over 100,000 people in the area have fled the fighting, most of them Kurds. Several hundred people have been killed in the fighting. Apart from the humanitarian aspects of the situation, the territory the Kurds held included most of Syria's oil fields and was also a major wheat producer. In particular, control over Syria's oil fields will be important to the new government, as income from them will help the country's devastated economy . Experts also suggest the Turkish-backed SNA's race to grab as much territory as possible goes beyond Turkish aims to get the Kurds off the border. Territorial control is also about leverage and power as the next Syrian government is formed. Additionally, the SDF runs large prison camps in northeastern Syria, which house thousands of former IS extremists. Previously, SDF fighters have said that if they are attacked, they'll be forced to leave the prison camps unguarded. Edited by: Sean M. Sinico

Women I-T returns filers in K’taka see steady rise

D ear Heloise: I’m having a buffet luncheon this month to celebrate the holidays with the women of a club to which I belong. I’m serving ham and roast beef with side dishes. However, several of the members have asked to bring a dish that they make and enjoy. Two want to bring a pie, one wants to bring a pasta dish, and another woman wants to bring her mother’s chocolate cake. Even my sister wants to bring a dish — a large fruit salad. How do I politely say, “No, thanks,” to these kind offers? They mean well, but I’ve already planned the menu. — H.K., in Connecticut H.K., why would you say, “No, thanks”? These ladies want to help you with the cost and work of doing a luncheon for the club. No menu should be so rigid that it can’t accommodate a few additional items. When someone arrives with a dish to share, thank them graciously and place the dish on the serving table. Before everyone starts to serve themselves, announce who brought what. A good host knows how to adapt with grace. — Heloise Dear Heloise: I get paint splatter all over my clothes and in my hair when I paint. What can I do to minimize this problem? — J.D., in Nebraska J.D., I had the very same problem, but I figured it out. First, get an apron made of very thick material. (You can usually find something like this at a hardware store.) Keep this if you like painting or plan to do more painting in the future. Next, get a shower cap to cover your hair. You can either use latex gloves to cover your hands or take a piece of round cardboard and cut a slit or hole big enough to slide the handle of your paint brush through. It acts as a shield for your hand. — Heloise Dear Heloise: There is little to no reason to use throwaway items to open a jar, as gadgets have been made for this purpose for years. For this reason, I’ve had my rubber disc for perhaps 40 years and a shaped grip for 25 or more years. It’s similar to buying plastic bottles; why use them when there are reusable ones available that can be washed time and time again? Thanks for all that you offer us. — R., in California Dear Heloise: My husband and I wear a medical dog tag with our name and phone numbers in case of an emergency. On the back side are our Medicare number and secondary insurance number. It’s just for peace of mind when we’re out in public, walking, driving, at the gym, etc. Don’t forget an ID for your furry friends as well. Love your suggestions. — P., via email Dear Heloise: After purchasing odd-sized toys and finding them too large for some bags but too small for others, I found a solution at the dollar store: plastic holiday tablecloths! They’re sturdy for wrapping and easy to cut with scissors, with the plus of nothing poking through like with wrapping paper. Joy to the world! — J.M., in Connecticut Send a money-saving or time-saving hint to Heloise@Heloise.com . Get local news delivered to your inbox!