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super. ace Fantasy plays: Players to start and sit for NFL Week 13Renfrew – A December 4 special council meeting included a staff recommendation to approve the awarding of the town’s Information Technology (IT) contract to one of six service providers that submitted quotes during an RFP process. However, Renfrew council did not endorse the recommendation citing both a lack of financial information and scoring information as the reason to table the tender award until the next meeting for them to review all relevant information. A week later the item was discussed during the December 10 closed session and when council resumed the open meeting, it was announced that council reversed its decision and agreed to issue the award to the recommended IT service provider. Although not formally rejected at the December 4 meeting, there was consensus the contract could not be issued. The main reason council refused to adopt the staff recommendation was a lack of any documentation justifying an increase of 400 per cent over the budgeted amount. Staff Recommendation During the December 4 meeting, Charlene Jackson, Treasurer/Director of Finance and Corporate Services, introduced the recommendation and said the three-year contract would increase from the 2025 budgeted amount of $21,600 to $84,500. She told council staff were directed to complete an IT assessment and review options for IT support ahead of the 2025 fiscal year. She said that during the assessment, staff were informed by the current IT service provider he was planning to retire before the end of 2024. Upon receipt of that information, a new Request for Proposal (RFP) for a three-year contract for an IT service provider was issued. It was issued on October 25 with a closing date of November 15. “This is coming forward and we are not recommending the lowest bidder,” Ms. Jackson said. “We did have a scoring evaluation for each of the six bidders but we did not want to provide the entire scoring mechanism because it does outline a number of items that could be detrimental to any service provider.” She said six submissions were received and the evaluation team consisted of the Treasurer/Director of Finance & Corporate Services, Deputy Treasurer/Manager of Finance, and the IT Support representative from Nestor IT Services. The bids were presented to council in order of a ranking system from zero to 100. The ranking of the six companies were: OnServe 91 points; IC 360 85 points; Pathway 75 points; Valley Bytes 58 points; NOVA 56 points and Tenetech 48 points. Ms. Jackson said the recommendation coming from staff was that OnServe be awarded the contract for IT Services and the duration of the contract be for three years effective December 1, 2024 until December 31, 2027. Council Shocked With Lack of Information Ms. Jackson completed her presentation asking if council had any questions or concerns. It took less than two seconds for Councillor Kyle Cybulski to raise his hand stating he had many. “I have many concerns with respect to the way the report was presented to us in terms of demeanor and the timeline and the amount of information provided,” he said. “I understand some of the information not being provided in order to protect ourselves. However, this is the only option we were given because the score is the best, yet there is no information on the top two or three in order to be given a realistic way of coming towards a proper solution.” Coun. Cybulski asked if the company that performed the IT network security analysis prior to the October 25 RFP was awarded the security project through an RFP competitive process or if it was a sole-sourced contract. Clerk Carolynn Errett stated the previous CAO directed the finance department to be the lead of IT network analysis. She said both the former CAO and finance department staff identified the need for a complete security analysis and staff followed standard procurement policies when awarding the contract. Although Ms. Errett did not specifically state if the contract was sole-sourced or was an RFP, Coun. Cybulski, who appears to be well versed in the town’s procurement policies, was able to decipher Ms. Everett’s vague answer and immediately posed a follow-up question. “So a sole-source company did the evaluation, they wrote the RFP and now we are being asked to award them an opportunity to do this service at a massive over-budget and yet we do not understand or know what the second or third place cost is to provide this service,” Coun. Cybulski stated. “I am not happy with this and I have told my fellow councillors this is not what we are expecting in a report when we are being asked to make a major decision.” Ms. Jackson followed his comments by stating OnServe did not write the RFP for a security analysis of the IT network. She said it was written and issued by town staff. Coun. Cybulski argued the lack of crucial information within the report limited council’s option to make a decision. He identified a section of the report where it was stated if the recommendation to go with OnServe is rejected, the only option available to council is to start over and re-issue an RFP which would go past the announced retirement of the current service provider. It was obvious Coun. Cybulski was becoming increasingly frustrated. He expressed his concerns over the content of the report and said if the report contained vital information from the five other bids, including the actual dollar amounts, a list of services provided and other relevant information, it would provide council with five other options to explore before issuing a second RFP. Councillor Clint McWhirter followed up on the Coun. Cybulski’s point and asked if the financial numbers provided by the top three bids could be made available to council so they could see the actual differences and a description of what services were offered with each bid. Ms. Jackson informed council the bid submitted by IC360 was $30,000 higher than the next closest bid and she recommended the details of services provided be discussed in closed session due to possible exposure of the town’s IT network in a public forum. Councillor John McDonald supported the idea of a closed session to discuss the network security issues and the overall bids for council to understand the scope of the winning bid. He requested the report be tabled. Council agreed to add the IT report to the closed session portion of the December 10 council meeting. Following that closed session the agenda included an item identified as “I.T. Requirements as it relates to I.T. RFP Evaluation.” When Mayor Tom Sidney announced council voted in favour of awarding the IT network RFP to OnServe for a three-year term, he did not include any information, including the value of the contract. The Leader has submitted a written request to the Clerk’s office requesting the dollar amount issued for the three-year contract.NCAA MEN’S HOCKEY: Breen’s natural hat trick helps No. 5 Maine drub RPINEW YORK , Nov. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Report with market evolution powered by AI - The global data center IT equipment market size is estimated to grow by USD 73.6 million from 2024-2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.44% during the forecast period. Rise in adoption of multi-cloud and network upgrades to support 5g is driving market growth, with a trend towards growing need for edge computing. However, increasing focus on data center consolidation poses a challenge.Key market players include Arista Networks Inc., China Huaxin Post and Telecom Technologies Co. Ltd., Cisco Systems Inc., CoreSite Realty Corp., CyrusOne LLC, Eaton Corp. Plc, Equinix Inc., Extreme Networks Inc., Fortinet Inc., Fujitsu Ltd., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., IEI Integration Corp., Infineon Technologies AG, International Business Machines Corp., Juniper Networks Inc., NetApp Inc., Nokia Corp., Oracle Corp., and Schneider Electric SE. AI-Powered Market Evolution Insights. Our comprehensive market report ready with the latest trends, growth opportunities, and strategic analysis- View Free Sample Report PDF Forecast period 2024-2028 Base Year 2023 Historic Data 2017 - 2021 Segment Covered Product (Server equipment, Storage equipment, Network equipment, and Others), End-user (IT and telecommunication, BFSI, Government and public, Healthcare, and Others), and Geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa) Region Covered North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Key companies profiled Arista Networks Inc., China Huaxin Post and Telecom Technologies Co. Ltd., Cisco Systems Inc., CoreSite Realty Corp., CyrusOne LLC, Eaton Corp. Plc, Equinix Inc., Extreme Networks Inc., Fortinet Inc., Fujitsu Ltd., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., IEI Integration Corp., Infineon Technologies AG, International Business Machines Corp., Juniper Networks Inc., NetApp Inc., Nokia Corp., Oracle Corp., and Schneider Electric SE Key Market Trends Fueling Growth The Data Center IT Equipment market is experiencing significant trends in the Foodservice Disposables sector. The Plastic segment is currently dominating, but Biodegradable plates are gaining popularity due to increasing Environmental concerns and Sustainability initiatives. The Household sector and Fast food consumption are major drivers, with the Coronavirus pandemic accelerating the shift towards Takeaway food and Food delivery apps. Urbanization and Changing consumer lifestyles are also contributing factors. Industry sources report that Biodegradable plates, particularly those made from renewable resources like sugarcane and cornstarch, are in high demand. The Westernization of food culture, including the growth of Fast-food chains and Small commercial eateries, is also driving sales. Events and Roadside vendors are adopting these eco-friendly options for their Foodservice industry needs. Manufacturing businesses are innovating to meet this demand, offering Customized disposable plates and Sustainable packaging solutions. The Food delivery industry, particularly Foodservice disposables market, is a major sales channel. Millennial consumers, who prioritize Convenience and Hygiene and safety, are a key demographic. However, there are Restraint Factors, including the Environmental impact and the need for Sturdiness and durability, that must be addressed. Overall, the market is expected to continue growing as the Foodservice industry adapts to evolving consumer preferences and Sustainable practices. The edge computing model, which processes IoT-generated data near its source, gained significant traction as the number of Internet-connected devices reached an estimated 11.7 billion in 2020. This massive growth in connected devices has led to the generation of vast amounts of data, driving demand for the global data center IT equipment market. The concept of IoT was popularized in the late 1990s through the use of RFID sensors in logistics and warehouses. As the number of connected devices continues to increase, the demand for data processing and storage solutions will follow suit. Insights on how AI is driving innovation, efficiency, and market growth- Request Sample! Market Challenges Insights into how AI is reshaping industries and driving growth- Download a Sample Report Segment Overview This data center it equipment market report extensively covers market segmentation by 1.1 Server equipment- Data center servers play a crucial role in processing, storing, and distributing data for various applications and workloads. Enterprises and service providers rely on servers to support their operations, with rack servers being the most widely used type. These servers can be installed in frames called racks, accommodating other hardware equipment. Rack servers are popular among enterprises and SMEs due to their suitability for fixed business requirements and efficient use of space. The data center server infrastructure segment has seen significant growth in the past five years and is expected to continue expanding. This growth is driven by the increasing adoption of cloud services, data-intensive applications, and the need for scalable and high-performance computing solutions. The server equipment market is expected to grow steadily during the forecast period, with investments being made in the expansion and building of new data centers, as well as technology refresh cycles. Other server types include blade, tower, and modular servers, each catering to diverse computing requirements. Despite the capital expenditure (CAPEX) model's dominance, there is a shift towards the operational expenditure (OPEX) model to optimize server infrastructure utilization and reduce costs. This trend has also fueled the demand for server consolidation, virtualization, and containerization. Download complimentary Sample Report to gain insights into AI's impact on market dynamics, emerging trends, and future opportunities- including forecast (2024-2028) and historic data (2017 - 2021) Research Analysis The Data Center IT Equipment Market is experiencing significant growth, driven by various factors in the foodservice industry. The plastic segment is currently dominating the disposable plates market due to its affordability and convenience. However, the household sector is shifting towards biodegradable plates as part of a growing trend towards sustainable practices. The coronavirus pandemic has further accelerated this trend as consumers demand more hygienic and disposable options. Urbanization and Westernization have led to an increase in fast food consumption and takeaway food chains, driving demand for disposable plates. Biodegradable plates made from renewable resources, such as sugarcane, corn starch, and potato starch, are gaining popularity due to their biodegradability and eco-friendliness. The food packaging industry is also embracing sustainability, with an increasing focus on sustainable packaging solutions. Millennials, who prioritize convenience and environmental concerns, are a key consumer demographic driving this trend. Restaurants, hotels, and commercial places are adopting customized disposable plates to enhance their branding and customer experience. Sales channels, including food delivery apps and roadside vendors, are also adopting biodegradable plates to meet consumer demand. Manufacturing businesses and the food delivery industry are investing in product innovations to meet the growing demand for sustainable and hygienic disposable plates. Environmental concerns, sustainability, and hygiene and safety are the key driving factors for the market, while restraints include cost and availability of raw materials. Market Research Overview The Data Center IT Equipment Market is experiencing significant growth due to the increasing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly solutions in various industries. One such segment witnessing is the Foodservice Disposables Market, which includes biodegradable plates made of plastic. The household sector, fast food consumption, and takeaway food chains are major contributors to this market's growth. The coronavirus pandemic has further accelerated the trend towards disposable plates due to hygiene and safety concerns. Biodegradable plates are gaining popularity due to their environmental benefits, aligning with the growing trend of sustainable packaging. Urbanization and Westernization have led to an increase in the number of commercial places, hotels, and restaurants, driving the demand for disposable plates. The foodservice industry, including roadside vendors and events, also contributes significantly to the market's growth. Product innovations, such as customized disposable plates, are trending, catering to the changing consumer lifestyles and preferences of millennials. The food delivery industry, including food delivery apps, is also driving the demand for biodegradable plates due to their convenience and sustainability. However, the market faces restraints due to the environmental impact and the need for sturdiness and durability. Overall, the Data Center IT Equipment Market's growth is influenced by various factors, including sustainability, convenience, changing consumer lifestyles, and environmental concerns. Industry sources suggest that manufacturing businesses are focusing on product innovations to cater to the evolving market demands. Table of Contents: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 3 Market Sizing 4 Historic Market Size 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation 7 Customer Landscape 8 Geographic Landscape 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10 Company Landscape 11 Company Analysis 12 Appendix About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/data-center-it-equipment-market-to-grow-by-usd-73-6-million-2024-2028-driven-by-multi-cloud-adoption-and-5g-network-upgrades-ai-redefining-market-landscape---technavio-302314113.html SOURCE Technavio

Report: Chargers expect WR Ladd McConkey, LB Khalil Mack to play vs. RavensKaapo Kakko's late goal lifts Rangers past CanadiensATLANTA — As she checked into a recent flight to Mexico for vacation, Teja Smith chuckled at the idea of joining another Women’s March on Washington. As a Black woman, she just couldn’t see herself helping to replicate the largest act of resistance against then-President Donald Trump’s first term in January 2017. Even in an election this year where Trump questioned his opponent’s race, held rallies featuring racist insults and falsely claimed Black migrants in Ohio were eating their neighbors’ pets, he didn't just win a second term. He became the first Republican in two decades to clinch the popular vote, although by a small margin. Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris hold their fists in the air after she delivered a concession speech after the 2024 presidential election Nov. 6 on the campus of Howard University in Washington. “It’s like the people have spoken and this is what America looks like,” said Smith, the Los Angeles-based founder of the advocacy social media agency, Get Social. “And there’s not too much more fighting that you’re going to be able to do without losing your own sanity.” After Trump was declared the winner over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, many politically engaged Black women said they were so dismayed by the outcome that they were reassessing — but not completely abandoning — their enthusiasm for electoral politics and movement organizing. Black women often carry much of the work of getting out the vote in their communities. They had vigorously supported the historic candidacy of Harris, who would have been the first woman of Black and South Asian descent to win the presidency. Harris' loss spurred a wave of Black women across social media resolving to prioritize themselves, before giving so much to a country that over and over has shown its indifference to their concerns. AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters, found that 6 in 10 Black women said the future of democracy in the United States was the single most important factor for their vote this year, a higher share than for other demographic groups. But now, with Trump set to return to office in two months, some Black women are renewing calls to emphasize rest, focus on mental health and become more selective about what fight they lend their organizing power to. “America is going to have to save herself,” said LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the national voting rights group Black Voters Matter. She compared Black women’s presence in social justice movements as “core strategists and core organizers” to the North Star, known as the most consistent and dependable star in the galaxy because of its seemingly fixed position in the sky. People can rely on Black women to lead change, Brown said, but the next four years will look different. “That’s not a herculean task that’s for us. We don’t want that title. ... I have no goals to be a martyr for a nation that cares nothing about me,” she said. Supporters cheer during a community rally with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris on Oct. 27 in Philadelphia. AP VoteCast paints a clear picture of Black women's concerns. Black female voters were most likely to say that democracy was the single most important factor for their vote, compared to other motivators such as high prices or abortion. More than 7 in 10 Black female voters said they were “very concerned” that electing Trump would lead the nation toward authoritarianism, while only about 2 in 10 said this about Harris. About 9 in 10 Black female voters supported Harris in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, similar to the share that backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Trump received support from more than half of white voters, who made up the vast majority of his coalition in both years. Like voters overall, Black women were most likely to say the economy and jobs were the most important issues facing the country, with about one-third saying that. But they were more likely than many other groups to say that abortion and racism were the top issues, and much less likely than other groups to say immigration was the top issue. Despite those concerns, which were well-voiced by Black women throughout the campaign, increased support from young men of color and white women helped expand Trump’s lead and secured his victory. Politically engaged Black women said they don’t plan to continue positioning themselves in the vertebrae of the “backbone” of America’s democracy. The growing movement prompting Black women to withdraw is a shift from history, where they are often present and at the forefront of political and social change. One of the earliest examples is the women’s suffrage movement that led to ratification in 1920 of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. Black women, however, were prevented from voting for decades afterward because of Jim Crow-era literacy tests, poll taxes and laws that blocked the grandchildren of slaves from voting. Most Black women couldn’t vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Black women were among the organizers and counted among the marchers brutalized on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, during the historic march in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery that preceded federal legislation. Decades later, Black women were prominent organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police and vigilantes. In his 2024 campaign, Trump called for leveraging federal money to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government and discussions of race, gender or sexual orientation in schools. His rhetoric on immigration, including false claims that Black Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating cats and dogs, drove support for his plan to deport millions of people. Tenita Taylor, a Black resident of Atlanta who supported Trump this year, said she was initially excited about Harris’ candidacy. But after thinking about how high her grocery bills have been, she feels that voting for Trump in hopes of finally getting lower prices was a form of self-prioritization. “People say, ‘Well, that’s selfish, it was gonna be better for the greater good,''' she said. “I’m a mother of five kids. ... The things that (Democrats) do either affect the rich or the poor.” Where can Black women feel supported and flourish financially? When posed that question, Dr. Lori Martin, a professor of African and African American studies and sociology at Louisiana State University, had this to say: "A livable place for Black women is safe, and for women with children, it is home to schools where all students have access to an excellent education. It would also be diverse, with a visible and thriving Black community, including Black businesses." While the socioeconomic realities of our current time touch all corners of the country, there are pockets of the U.S. where the wealth gap narrows and Black women have more opportunities. MoneyGeek analyzed data on income, the cost of crime , homeownership , and poverty levels from 164 cities across the United States to rank the best — and worst — cities for Black women to live and financially flourish in. MoneyGeek ranked 164 cities with populations greater than 65,000 from the best to the worst for Black women. The ranking includes analysis of income, poverty rate, homeownership, educational attainment and health insurance gaps between Black women and the entire population nationally and locally. The size of the local Black population and the cost of crime in the area were included in the ranking to reflect the presence of the Black community and safety, respectively. Southfield — a suburb of Detroit — and Pearland — a Houston suburb — ranked as the top two cities in the analysis. Notably, Southern cities make up the majority of cities in the top 25, with 13 located in this region. In contrast, Minneapolis, Minnesota, ranked as the worst city for Black women. In Minneapolis, Black women face high poverty rates in absolute and relative terms and have low rates of health insurance coverage compared to the cities analyzed. Meanwhile, Miami ranks as the second least favorable city, with a significant local income gap — there, white men earn almost triple the income of Black women. Income disparity is a key measure of how well Black women are doing today. For each city in the analysis, we calculated the local Equal Pay Day — the day in the following year when Black women would make an equivalent amount as white men — using the median income of Black women working full time and the median income of white men working full time in each locality. In Carson, California, the median pay of Black women is higher than the median pay of white men. However, in Evanston, Illinois, Black women make just over a third of white men's earnings, meaning they would need to work until September 24, 2024, to earn the equivalent of a white man's 2022 pay. Economic challenges faced by Black women include restricted career advancement opportunities, insufficient health insurance, and inadequate retirement savings. Survey data from Goldman Sachs indicates that 42% of Black women perceive limited career growth opportunities compared to 35% of U.S. adults, and merely 43% are able to obtain health insurance through their employer, in contrast to 53% nationwide. Additionally, 71% of Black women feel they are living paycheck to paycheck, compared to 63% of the general population. The intersection of racial and gender bias contributes to these challenges, resulting in low-wage jobs and a considerable wealth gap. Our analysis validates this, demonstrating that Black women who work full-time, year-round, earn 64 cents for every dollar white men earn working full-time, year-round. Less access to economic opportunities puts Black women at a disadvantage in building wealth. The FDIC's National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households found that 11.3% of Black households were unbanked compared to just 2.1% of white households. Unbanked households are credit invisible — that is, they don't have a credit history and, therefore, can't build credit. Having no credit history makes it difficult to utilize credit cards to manage cash needs and mortgages to buy homes. Advocating for economic opportunities for Black women The struggle for economic equity remains a persistent challenge for Black women in America, who have historically faced systemic wage disparities and employment obstacles. However, there are tools and resources that can provide Black women with economic opportunities and empowerment. Dr. Ukanwa shares additional solutions, such as: 1. Invest in education: Research has already shown that degrees increase lifetime earnings, close some societal gaps, and increase job security. But if degrees are not your path, it also means continuing to build that knowledge and expertise in something you can be the best at. Figure out your expertise and what you bring to the table. 2. After building your expertise in a field, build your reputation and personal brand: With an excellent reputation and personal brand, people will start to seek you out rather than the other way around. This increases the worth of your expertise. 3. Find out what your expertise is worth: Educate yourself on how to negotiate . Negotiate to be paid what you are worth. 4. Get into the habit of ownership: Build your own equity, which decreases the dependence on someone else for your income. For example, this could be your own business, stocks , or real estate. To rank the best cities for Black women, MoneyGeek analyzed data from the American Community Survey , MoneyGeek's Safest Cities and Safest Small Cities and Towns studies, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The analysis started with over 500 places in America with populations of 65,000 or more. Places without granular data about Black women or lacking other data points for the analysis were removed to get to the final set of 164 cities. The ranking of the best cities for Black women was based on eight factors: safety, Black population, educational attainment, poverty rates, income, employment, health insurance, and homeownership. Each factor was weighted equally and scaled to a score between 0 and 1. The factors were calculated as follows: Safety (full weight): This metric equally comprises two metrics. Percent of local population that is Black (full weight): This percentage represents the proportion of Black individuals within a city's total population, as reported by the United States Census Bureau's five-year American Community Survey (ACS) from 2021, the most recent data available. Educational attainment (full weight): This metric equally comprises two metrics. Poverty rate (full weight): The percentage point difference between the city's rate of Black women earning at or above the poverty level and the rate of all women living above the poverty level nationally. This finding comes from the 2021 Census ACS five-year data, the latest available source covering over 200 cities. Income (full weight): This factor equally comprises two metrics. Employment (full weight): The difference in percentage points between the Black female employment rate and the white male employment rate in the locality. Health insurance (full weight): This metric reveals the percentage point difference between Black women (ages 19-64) and white men (ages 19-64) with health insurance. This information comes from the Census ACS five-year data from 2021, the most recent data source available. Black female homeownership (full weight): This factor comprises three metrics. The full data set can be found here . This story was produced by MoneyGeek and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Northwest B.C. First Nation Nadleh Whut’en has confirmed the identification of potential unmarked graves at the site of the former Lejac Indian Residential School, located at Tseyaz Bunk’ut near Fraser Lake. Earlier in May, the First Nation had said it would search the residential school site using both ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry to detect irregularities underground. Lejac Indian Residential School operated from 1922 to 1976, impacting children from over 70 Nations. Nadleh Whut’en's announcement on November 30 follows nearly two years of geophysical surveys that began after Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation revealed in 2021 that they had identified around 200 potential burial sites at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Nadleh Whut’en said the preliminary findings from GPR and magnetometry surveys at Lejac uncovered geophysical signatures consistent with burials. These results are part of ongoing efforts to locate and honour the children who died while attending residential schools in Canada, the First Nation said. The survey, conducted by the guiding team of the project, which translates to "Let's Look for our Children" in Dakelh, covers a 142,500 square-meter area (about 27 football fields). The research is a response to survivor testimony and archival records that suggest numerous children may have been buried in unmarked graves at Lejac. During its operation, at least 7,850 Indigenous children, including day scholars, attended the residential school, which subjected students to harsh conditions, including forced labor, abuse, and the loss of cultural identity. The school’s cemetery, where some graves are marked, has long been known to survivors. However, the recent surveys suggest there are additional unmarked graves that have not been accounted for. “The work is hard and it takes a long time – and we are bringing information forward as we receive it because survivors have a right to know,” Nadleh Whut’en Chief Beverly Ketlo said about the importance of these findings. The Lejac Indian Residential School has had an active cemetery on the grounds since it was founded in 1922. "We have always known that there were children buried at Lejac because many of their graves are marked in a cemetery. I want you to ask yourself if your elementary school had a cemetery,” Ketlo added. Ketlo said this is not just a thing of the past but the horrors experienced at Lejac are still very real for the survivors who lived through this "genocide.” “Lejac relentlessly taught the children that they were inferior. They were forcibly taken from their families, lands, and cultures, leading them to believe that everything about their identity was wrong,” she said. The geophysical surveys, which were conducted in winter 2023 and spring/summer 2024, used advanced technologies to detect disturbances beneath the surface that could indicate burial sites. GPR sends radar pulses into the ground, revealing underground conditions, while magnetometry detects metal objects and magnetic changes. This data is being analyzed by two independent teams of experts and will guide future steps in the search for missing children. Former Chief Archie Patrick of Stellat’en First Nation, a survivor of Lejac, expressed hope that these efforts would help bring justice to those affected. “Lejac is still with me. I continue to deal with the upheaval of being taken from my parents, and the daily trauma of living at that place. But I am so pleased that the stories of survivors are finally being brought to light.” The findings are part of ongoing work, and no immediate plans for excavation or exhumation have been made. The guiding team, made up of survivors and inter-generational survivors, is overseeing the research and will determine the next steps. The federal government has committed to funding these efforts, and an estimated 20 years of work remain to uncover the full truth about the missing children from residential schools across Canada.

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Nvidia Q3: It's Only A Matter Of Time Before The Cycle Starts AgainNoneAs America’s cities grapple with post-pandemic challenges like rising crime, economic uncertainty and strained public services, urban leaders are rethinking how to govern, collaborate and rebuild. Winter Issue explores these dynamics, highlighting how mayors, philanthropies and city planners are reshaping the urban landscape through redevelopment projects, innovative partnerships and efforts to reclaim public spaces — while confronting persistent policy hurdles like artificial intelligence regulation and social media’s societal impact. Editor and Senior Writer join the podcast to discuss their reporting on the future of American cities. Here are the top-five takeaways from this episode: to stories referenced in the episode will post on governing.com on Jan. 3, 2025. Governing Government Technology

As America prepares to transition to a new presidential administration, I want to take stock of the progress we have made together in laying the foundations for an economy that creates opportunity for all Americans. Over the last four years, we’ve faced some of the most challenging economic conditions in our history. Not only have we recovered, we’ve come out stronger, and have laid foundations for a promising new chapter in our American comeback story. It will take years to see the full effects in terms of new jobs and new investments all around the country, but we have planted the seeds that are making this happen. If these investments and actions are built upon, U.S. economic leadership will be stronger and the middle class more secure in the years and decades ahead. When I took office, the economy wasn’t working for most Americans. It was clear that a fundamentally new playbook was essential. My focus was to transform the economy to improve the lives of regular Americans, the kinds of people I grew up with. That’s why I fought to invest in the jobs of the future, lower costs, raise wages, and strengthen workers and small businesses—because I know this will help American families and build the economy from the middle out and bottom up. At that time, economic policy was in the grip of a failed approach called trickle-down economics. Trickle-down tried to grow the economy from the top down. It slashed taxes for the wealthy and large corporations and tried to get government “out of the way,” instead of delivering for working people, investing in infrastructure, and ensuring America stays at the leading edge of innovation. But this approach failed. Too many Americans saw an economy that was stacked against them with failing infrastructure, communities that had been hollowed out, manufacturing jobs that were offshored to China, prescription drugs that cost than in any other developed country, and workers who had been left behind. I believe that, from America’s earliest days, we have been at our best when we have taken on important challenges and fought to deliver big things on behalf of the American people—from the Erie Canal to the transcontinental railroad, from the Hoover Dam to rural electrification, from the Social Security system to the National Highway System. As president, I fought to write a new economic playbook that builds the economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down. I fought to make smart investments in America’s future that put us in the lead globally. I fought to create good jobs that give working families and the middle class a fair shot and the chance to get ahead. I fought to lower costs for consumers and give smaller businesses a fair chance to compete. In what follows, I describe why this new approach is so important. I have always seen the economy from the perspective of the small city where I grew up—a city with a proud history of making things in America, a city that fell on hard times when politicians turned their backs on communities like mine. Too many corporations moved their supply chains overseas and focused on quarterly profits and share buybacks instead of investing in their workers and communities here at home. Our fell further and further behind, and a flood of cheap, subsidized imports from China and other countries our factory towns. Economic opportunity and innovation became more and more in a few major cities, while heartland communities were left behind. Scientific discoveries and inventions developed in America were in countries abroad, bolstering their manufacturing instead of ours. I came to office with a different vision. When I said I was president of all America, I meant it. I was determined we would invest in the places that have suffered from neglect and disinvestment: rural areas, manufacturing towns, coal and power plant communities, in red states and blue states. I was determined to create good jobs with family-sustaining wages that don’t require a four-year college degree. I vowed to restore U.S. leadership in the industries of the future—like semiconductors and clean energy—while fortifying our infrastructure and supply chains. I committed to putting the United States back in a position of clean-energy leadership and building a 100 percent clean power grid. We succeeded in securing historic investment laws to turn those goals into reality. My Investing in America Agenda—the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—together mark the most in the United States since the New Deal. For many years, this country’s infrastructure was underresourced and neglected. Since the passage of the BIL, we have been hard at work expanding high-speed internet, replacing pipes to provide clean drinking water in every community, and rebuilding roads and bridges and ports and airports . These projects are creating millions of good jobs—many of them unionized—so American families across America will share in the benefits of the infrastructure investments. In the years since I took office, we’ve funded over infrastructure and clean-energy projects in every state and territory in the country. The has hit record highs. Already, tens of thousands of skilled construction workers are hard at work building the factories of the future. Soon, these factories will be hiring advanced manufacturing workers, and products from semiconductors to batteries to electric vehicles will be rolling off of these new, American production lines. The Inflation Reduction Act is the single investment in clean energy in the history of the world. It is creating good-paying jobs and investing in American manufacturing, while also taking action to reduce emissions. It is spurring investments to build solar panels in ; to build wind towers in ; and to manufacture and recycle batteries in . Our place-based investment approach is creating economic opportunity in communities across the country that had been . Our investments in high-speed internet and transportation networks are reconnecting these communities to jobs and revitalizing small businesses. We are investing in technology and innovation engines in every region of the country that will sustain economic development for years to come. We are supporting farmers that use climate-smart agriculture practices and ensuring rural small businesses can access historic development resources that will cut energy costs and increase energy efficiency. Communities across the country are poised for economic comebacks. With the benefit of our special investment incentives, the places hit hardest by and by are receiving a disproportionate share of new investment, bringing hope to communities that have been . For instance, the first in 40 years will be built in Kentucky, powered entirely by clean energy. We have taken on behalf of American workers, businesses, and factory towns to counter violations of our trade laws. China is using unfair practices to flood global markets with underpriced goods in sectors like vehicles and solar cells and wafers. That’s why we imposed tariffs on imports from China in key sectors. A on Chinese electric vehicles, for instance, is enabling American auto communities to continue powering the global car industry. But tariffs by themselves are no panacea. To regain and sustain America’s lead in areas from clean energy to semiconductors, it is vital to couple targeted tariffs with strong investments in manufacturing, R&D, and workforce. While semiconductors were invented in America, for too many years politicians in Washington gave up on the semiconductor industry, and leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing moved to Asia. But thanks to the CHIPS and Science Act, some of the most advanced semiconductors in the world will be built in ; ; ; and . Before the CHIPS and Science Act, of the world’s leading-edge chips were manufactured in Taiwan. Some skeptics said America could never compete. They were wrong. With the benefit of a CHIPS award, not only has global leader TSMC committed to build three - manufacturing plants in Arizona, but in October it was early production yields at one of those plants met those at manufacturing plants in Taiwan. And America will be the only economy in the world to have all five of the most advanced semiconductor manufacturers in the world operating on its shores—no other economy has more than two. My investment agenda is already attracting in commitments of private capital so far, not crowding it out. These investments are helping to strengthen our supply chains, so that we won’t be dependent on a single foreign country for the semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, or critical minerals that we need. And they are starting to create opportunities for workers, businesses, and communities to contribute to the economy in the world. This is my vision—a future that is made by American workers across America. It will take years to see the full effects in terms of new jobs and new investments all around the country, but we have laid strong foundations, and now it is important to build on and not reverse the progress we have made. I’ve long seen the economy through the eyes of my dad, who used to say, “A job is a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about your place in the community.” But trickle-down economics ignored this basic truth. Tax cuts for the wealthy create opportunities for workers and their families. Instead, factory towns were hollowed out, and fewer Americans ended up than their parents. My middle-out/bottom-up economic playbook instead puts working families and the middle class at the center of all of my economic policies. When I took office, the economy was in chaos. of businesses were shut down, and of Americans were out of a job. As soon as I came to office, I signed the American Rescue Plan that vaccinated the nation and got our economy going again. As a result, America returned to full employment than other advanced economies, and has seen the lowest average of any administration in 50 years. The share of working-age Americans who are employed is at a multi-decade high, at over . We’ve also seen record lows in unemployment for workers who have often been previous recoveries. In our full-employment expansion, the real pay of low-wage workers that of higher-paid workers, the reverse of what we saw under trickle-down. The pandemic and the inflation it created caused enormous pain and hardship for families across America. That’s true not just for us but for every major economy in the world. But now, inflation has come down in the United States— than almost any of the world’s other advanced economies. I know how important it is to provide pathways to middle-class careers for the who choose not to pursue a four-year college degree. The many investments I described above have provided an unprecedented opportunity to create good jobs in construction and manufacturing. We created in areas with new investments to align high schools, community colleges, unions, businesses, and local governments around stackable credentials that enable students to move seamlessly from the classroom to careers, and allow workers to upskill and secure better jobs. To build the pipeline of skilled and trained workers for the industries of the future, we’ve also invested in registered apprenticeships and career technical education programs than any previous administration, with hired during my time in office. Many of these apprenticeship programs are sponsored by unions, which means that graduates will earn a good union wage with benefits and retirement. The middle-out/bottom-up playbook supports unions because unions have been vital to building the middle class by providing pathways to family-sustaining careers. When I came to office, union workers and retirees faced cuts of or more to their earned benefits through no fault of their own. But we fought for and secured the Butch Lewis Act to restore and protect the pension benefits they earned. Because of this law, we have protected the pensions of union workers and retirees so far. Expanding unionization is essential to creating a fairer economy. The evidence is clear: Unions are the best way for American workers to get their fair share. I was proud to be the president to walk a picket line with workers. I appointed members to the National Labor Relations Board to enforce our labor laws rather than undermine them, as happened under the previous administration. It is no accident that union election petitions have since I took office. Support for unions is the it’s been in more than half a century, and the labor movement is expanding to new companies and industries. The middle-out/bottom-up playbook is not just about giving working families a fair shot, it is also about asking the very wealthy and most profitable corporations to pay their fair share. We need to balance our tax system to work in favor of the middle class and working families, not the rich and well-connected. Tax fairness is central to building an economy that works for all Americans—where growth is broadly shared and we keep our commitments to seniors and have the resources to meet key national needs over the long run. I promised not to raise taxes on middle-class families, and I kept my promise. Instead, I delivered tax cuts to help families raise children and afford health care. I fought hard to expand the Child Tax Credit because it is one of the investments we can make, cutting child poverty nearly in in 2021. I also secured an expansion of the premium tax credits to make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans, which helped lift health insurance coverage to levels and doubled Black and Hispanic enrollment, with over people enrolled. I also secured investments to make sure wealthy taxpayers pay what they owe and play by the same rules. After a decade of severe underfunding, I fought hard to secure an investment in modernizing the IRS that is already paying off. The IRS is already collecting over a from wealthy tax cheats. It has successfully rolled out Direct File, offering millions of Americans a free and easy way to file their taxes for the first time. I’ve also long seen the economy from the perspective of my family’s kitchen table growing up, so I know that the high prices from the pandemic have been hard on American consumers. That’s why I have been laser-focused on lowering costs for hardworking Americans. Our work to help unsnarl supply chains helped bring inflation back down to the levels right before the pandemic. But even with pandemic inflation back down, many consumer prices are too high. In some sectors of the economy, high prices reflect inadequate competition. And too often, politicians in Washington haven’t had the courage to take on big corporate interests when they use their market power to mark up their prices. Promoting competition is central to my vision for an American economy that grows from the bottom up and the middle out. I came to office determined to make promoting competition a priority for every agency. Fair competition means better choices, a fair shot for small businesses, a more resilient economy, and lower prices. This is particularly important in health care. It’s not right that Americans more to buy a prescription drug in Chicago than it costs elsewhere in the world. I am proud that I took on the pricing power of Big Pharma and secured major cost savings in the Inflation Reduction Act. Due to the IRA, people with Medicare pay no more than $35 a month for insulin, down from as much as $400. Out-of-pocket drug costs for people with Medicare will be capped at $2,000 starting next year. But seniors are already saving on lower prescription drug costs thanks to the IRA. In just the first six months of 2024, seniors got $1 billion back in their pockets with additional savings in the years ahead thanks to this historic legislation. Starting in 2026, prices will be reduced by on key drugs for people with Medicare, and taxpayers will save roughly $160 billion over a decade. We also worked to lower gas prices. After Russia’s war against Ukraine caused gas prices to spike globally, I undertook the biggest of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in history. I also encouraged oil and gas companies to take their record profits and invest in more production. Today, American energy production is at —including record oil and gas production—and the price of a gallon of gas is below the level before the time of the invasion. In addition, we have successfully replenished all of our reserves while making taxpayers a profit . By , we lowered costs for families while securing a good deal for U.S. taxpayers. Fair competition is especially important for small businesses, which need a level playing field to have a fair shot to compete and win. Our competition and investment policies are unleashing a wave of new business startups on Main Streets in towns and cities across the country. In fact, we have seen new business applications during this administration—the three strongest years on record. Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs have been leaders of this small-business boom, with Black business ownership and Hispanic business ownership since before the pandemic. The share of women business owners is also on the . The bottom line is, the past four years have been marked by some of the toughest economic challenges in American history. We took decisive action and it paid off, with the strongest economic comeback in the world. Even while managing that recovery, we made generational investments in our economy and balanced the scales more toward workers and the middle class. Outside have noted that due to our policies, “President-elect Trump is receiving the strongest economy in modern history which is the envy of the world.” It is worth reviewing the facts on the U.S. economy that I am handing off to my successor: Unemployment has been at the lowest average rate of any administration in 50 years. We have created over 16 million new jobs, and more than 1.5 million of those are in manufacturing and construction. Inflation has been brought down close to 2 percent, the same level as right before the pandemic. Incomes are up adjusted for inflation, and unions have won wage increases in industries like autos, ports, aerospace, and trucking. We’ve seen 20 million applications to start small businesses. Our economy has grown 3 percent per year on average the last four years— than any other advanced economy. Domestic energy production is at a record high, and gas prices are around $3 per gallon. When I came to office, I believed the only way for a president to lead America was to lead of America. In fact, the historic investments I made went more to red states than blue states. I believe that the economy as I leave is stronger for Americans. And I believe there is no country on Earth better positioned to lead the world in the years to come than America today. Now we are at an inflection point. The next four years will determine whether the incoming administration builds on this strength. If it does, then 10 or even 50 years from now, U.S. economic leadership will be even stronger than it is today—proving that when the middle class does well, we all do well.

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. "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 Senator Marco Rubio, whom Trump has tapped to helm the State Department. "Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary," Republican Senator 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. The U.S. states of Arizona and Hawaii don't change their clocks at all.Georgia prison reforms get Senate committee backing

ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — AJ Clayton scored 16 points as Ohio beat Robert Morris 84-68 on Saturday. Clayton had seven rebounds for the Bobcats (3-5). Victor Searls scored 14 points and added seven rebounds. Jackson Paveletzke and Aidan Hadaway both scored 11 points. The Colonials (6-3) were led by Josh Omojafo, who recorded 15 points. Antallah Sandlin'El added 14 points for Robert Morris. Alvaro Folgueiras finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Colonials. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

Membership warehouse chain is axing most of its book sections, ending year-round sales of books at most of its over 600 U.S. locations starting in January. The first rumblings of the move came last summer when the retailer told publishers that books would be stocked during only the holiday season from September to December starting in 2025, unnamed publishing executives told The New York Times. Stores in some markets, like Alaska and Hawaii, had already stopped book sales. Around 100 stores will keep books out for sale all year, and publishers can put up promotional pallets of books for sale in the other stores, unnamed sources told industry publication Publishers Weekly last week. The book sections were too labor-intensive to maintain all year at all of its stores, told publishing executives. As opposed to many of the other items sold individually or in bulk at , books must be placed on tables and removed by hand, with unsold books cycled out and new releases dropping every Tuesday. sources told Publishers Weekly that book sections would need to become easier to maintain for the company to keep them around. The unnamed sources also told Publishers Weekly that leaders want to see how well the “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” book, which went on sale Friday exclusively at Target, sells. Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. . Click to Read More and View Comments Click to Hide

As Trump prepares to take office, ports and dockworkers are facing down a new strikeHOUSTON (AP) — C.J. Stroud was far from the only Houston Texan who struggled Sunday in an embarrassing loss to the Tennessee Titans. But it was the second-year quarterback who was the most vocal in taking the blame . “It’s no secret, I haven’t been playing well personally, for my standard,” he said. “I have a couple good drives and plays here, but it’s up and down ... I’ve got to be hard on myself and realize that games can come down to me making plays.” Stroud threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions as the Texans lost for the third time in four games after a 5-1 start. “I’ve got to just be better, and I know that,” he said. Stroud has thrown five interceptions combined in the past three games to give him nine this season after he had just five in 15 games as a rookie. The Texans (7-5) got a touchdown on an interception return by Jimmie Ward in the third quarter Sunday, but the offense managed only a field goal after halftime as the unit’s second-half struggles continued. Houston’s offense scored 10 points after halftime in a 34-10 win over the Cowboys on Monday night, but has combined for just nine points in the second half of its past three losses. “We have to create positive plays,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Too many times, whether it’s run or pass, we have a negative play which kills our drive. First things first, how can we sustain positive plays and build drives? Too many drives were stalled out before we could even get started.” Despite the offensive struggles, the Texans still had a chance to tie the game with less than two minutes to go. But Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 28-yard field goal sailed wide left. What’s working The Texans tied a franchise record with eight sacks Sunday. Danielle Hunter had a season-high three to give him 10 1/2 this season, which leads the team. Will Anderson Jr. added two in his return after missing two games with an ankle injury and has a career-high 9 1/2 this season. Houston ranks second in the NFL with 42 sacks entering Monday. What needs help Houston had just 40 yards rushing Sunday in a game where Joe Mixon had his worst performance of the season. Mixon, who ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns against the Cowboys, had a season-low 22 yards on 14 carries. “They’re a really good front, we knew that going into the game,” Ryans said. “But it doesn’t matter. Every front is good. You have to own the line of scrimmage. You have to be able to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball. We didn’t. We had too many negative plays in the running game.” The performance was Houston’s second-worst rushing game of the season after the team had 38 yards rushing in a loss to Minnesota in Week 3 when Mixon was out with an injury. Stock up Dameon Pierce had three kick returns for 135 yards Sunday, highlighted by an 80-yard return on the opening kickoff that set up Houston’s first touchdown. Stock down There have only been four missed field goals from 28 yards or closer in the NFL this season and Fairbairn has two of them. Fairbairn’s miss Sunday came after he missed a 27-yard attempt in a loss to the Jets. Injuries S Jalen Pitre left Sunday’s game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. ... CB Ka’dar Hollman left in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. ... OT Blake Fisher missed a second straight game in the concussion protocol. Key number 23% — Houston converted just 3 of 13 third down attempts or 23% of its chances Sunday. Next steps The Texans, who lead the AFC South, will look to regroup to avoid another letdown next week when they visit the Jaguars (2-9), who have lost four in a row. “We made a lot of mistakes,” Hunter said. “We weren’t as locked in as we should have been. The biggest thing is just learning from this and just moving on to the next game.” Houston has its bye after facing Jacksonville before playing the Dolphins, Chiefs and Ravens in a 10-day stretch from Dec. 15-25. ___ AP NFL:

Creator of the Chill Guy meme threatens takedowns after doxxing, crypto coin surge

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries expressed their support for Ukraine on November 26 in the final statement following their summit in Italy. They also condemned what they described as Russia's "irresponsible and threatening nuclear rhetoric." The G7 ministers’ statement also warned that North Korean support for Russia marked a dangerous expansion of the war, condemning the development and saying Russia’s procurement of North Korean ballistic missiles and munitions was a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. “We stand firm against Russia’s war of aggression. We vehemently condemn the brutal attacks against Ukraine’s cities and critical civilian infrastructure and its unacceptable toll on the civilian population,” the minister said in a joint statement at the conclusion of their two-day meeting. The foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States noted Russia’s use of an intermediate range ballistic missile on November 21, saying it is “further evidence of its reckless and escalatory behavior.” They also said their support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence “will remain unwavering.” The ministers, who were joined by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and the EU’s foreign policy chief at their meeting in Fiuggi, a spa town southeast of Rome, added that they hoped to start distributing a $50 billion loan package stemming from frozen Russian assets by the end of the year. They also pledged to act against groups helping Russia to evade sanctions and called on China, a long-standing ally of North Korea, to act against the deployment of North Korean troops to the battlefield. The ministers also tried to raise the pressure on Israel to accept a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying "now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement." They called on the Israeli government to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. "We express our strongest condemnation for the rise in extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians, which undermines security and stability in the West Bank and threatens prospects for a lasting peace," the statement added. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has written an autobiography in which she reaffirms her decision to push back against offering Ukraine future membership in NATO at a summit in 2008 despite criticism that such a move may have prevented Russia from invading Ukraine. In the book, Merkel reflects on how that decision and others during her 16 years in office have fared over time and recalls her relationships with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Freedom: Memoirs 1954-2021 was launched in Berlin on November 26 nearly three years to the day after she left office and ahead of a promotional tour of major European cities and the United States. The 70-year-old Merkel, known for her calm and unflappable leadership style, in the book rejects blame for any of the current strain in the West's relations with Russia in a rare commentary on her time in office. Concerning the 2008 Bucharest NATO summit, Merkel noted a pledge that Ukraine and Georgia would eventually join the western military alliance was a "battle cry" to the Russian leader, adding that he later told her: "You won't be Chancellor forever. And then they'll become a member of NATO. And I want to prevent that." Six years later Putin launched the Russian occupation and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and followed that with the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which the Russian president has justified in part by citing Kyiv's NATO membership desires. Russia Is 'An Indispensable Geopolitical Factor' Putin was always on guard not to be treated badly and engaged in power games, according to the book. Merkel wrote about his inclination to make others wait and recalls how, despite her fear of dogs, he allowed his black Labrador to be in the room during a meeting in 2007 in Sochi. “You could find all this childish, reprehensible, you could shake your head at it,” she writes. “But that didn’t make Russia disappear from the map. Russia with its nuclear arsenal exists and remains “an indispensable geopolitical factor.” Merkel also details her experience with Trump during his first term as president, saying he “judged everything from the perspective of the real estate developer he had been before entering politics.” She writes that they “talked on two different levels,” in their March 2017 meeting at the White House. “Trump on an emotional level, me on a factual one.” Trump 'Captivated' By 'Dictatorial Tendencies' She added that Trump, who won a second non-consecutive term on November 5, did not share her conviction that cooperation could benefit all but instead believed that all countries were in competition with each other. “He did not believe that prosperity of all could be increased through cooperation,” she writes of the U.S. president, who "was captivated by politicians with autocratic and dictatorial tendencies." Merkel also writes about the difficulties of being the first female candidate for chancellor and her decision to welcome large numbers of migrants and displaced people in 2015 in the 700-plus page memoir, which is being simultaneously published as an audiobook and translated into more than two dozen languages, including French and English. She will make a special presentation in Washington on her book tour to to present it in the United States on December 2 alongside former U.S. President Barack Obama. The book is being published as Germans rethink her legacy, including her policy on migration, which many in Germany believe led to a surge in the far right. The former leader of Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) uses the book to justify the decisions she made regarding Russia, which launched its invasion of Ukraine just five months after Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats (SPD) was elected to succeed Merkel, who had decided not to seek reelection. Under Scholz the German economy has stagnated. The war in Ukraine prompted Berlin to wean itself off cheap Russia gas. At the same time the country has had to deal with a reduction in exports to China. Scholz now faces a challenging campaign for reelection after the collapse of his coalition government. The flight recorders of a cargo plane belonging to global courier DHL that crashed near Vilnius on November 25 have been found as investigators continue to search for the cause of the deadly accident. The Boeing 737-476 aircraft crashed as it attempted to land at Vilnius International Airport, killing the jet's Spanish pilot and injuring another Spanish crew member, a German, and a Lithuanian. The crash came amid concerns among Western security officials that Russian intelligence is preparing acts of sabotage targeting Western cargo aircraft, though officials have said so far they have no evidence of a link. The plane's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, the so-called black boxes, "were found and removed from the wreckage," Lithuania's Justice Ministry said in a statement , adding that investigators are analyzing the data on the two devices. "The goal of a safety investigation is to prevent future accidents," the statement said, adding the probe "does not seek to determine who is at fault or responsible." Lithuanian Chief Prosecutor Arturas Urbelis separately said at least 19 witnesses were interviewed in connection with the incident but so far no indication has been found of "more serious actions." The plane that departed Leipzig, Germany, about 90 minutes before the crash hit several buildings as it skidded hundreds of meters, according to the police and DHL. One of the buildings hit by the plane was a house whose occupants survived, authorities said. Firefighters were not able to determine whether the plane began burning or breaking up while still in the air, and authorities have appealed to the public to hand over possible video recordings of the crash. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the crash could have been a "hybrid incident" with outside involvement. "We must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident or whether it was another hybrid incident," Baerbock told reporters at a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy. "We have recently seen multiple hybrid attacks in Europe, often targeting individuals and infrastructure, whether underwater or hard infrastructure," she said, alluding to the recent severing of telecom cables in the Baltic Sea that officials have said could have been sabotage. German authorities are working very closely with the Lithuanian authorities to get to the bottom of the crash, she added. Lithuanian authorities have so far stopped short of making the same link. "We cannot reject the possibility of terrorism...but at the moment we can't make attributions or point fingers because we don't have such information," Lithuanian counterintelligence chief Darius Jauniskis told reporters. Many Western intelligence agencies have accused Moscow of involvement in sabotage acts in Europe, which they have said are aimed at destabilizing allies of Ukraine as it relies on Western governments in its war against Russia's full-scale invasion. Lithuanian Commissioner-General of Police Arunas Paulauskas said surviving crew members told investigators there was no smoke, fire, or other emergency situation in the cabin prior to the crash. He also said the probability of an external force impact was very low. The crash came after a series of fires at DHL depots in Britain and Germany during the summer. Western security officials were quoted in a news report earlier this month linking the fires to a test run of an alleged Russian operation aimed at igniting fires on cargo or passenger aircraft bound for North America. The Wall Street Journal quoted security officials as saying devices that ignited in July in DHL depots in Leipzig and the British city of Birmingham were part of the test run. Last month, Polish officials said four people had been detained as a result of the investigation into parcels that caught fire while en route to United States and Canada. The activities of the four people "consisted of sabotage and diversion related to sending parcels containing camouflaged explosives and dangerous materials via courier companies to European Union countries and Great Britain, which spontaneously ignited or detonated during land and air transport," Polish prosecutors said in a statement on October 25. "The group's goal was also to test the transfer channel for such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada," the statement said, adding that foreign intelligence services were to blame. The statement did not directly accuse Russia of involvement. Canada in early November expressed concern to Russian officials after he arrests were announced. Russia responded by summoning a Canadian diplomat on November 8 to rebut allegations that Russia's secret services had orchestrated the campaign to mail explosive packages. Russia has expelled Edward Prior Wilks, a second secretary in the Political Department of the British Embassy in Moscow, accusing him of espionage under diplomatic cover. The Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the decision on November 26, claiming Wilks was part of an "undeclared intelligence presence" in Russia, deepening tensions between Moscow and London. According to the FSB, Wilks entered Russia with false information and engaged in "intelligence and subversive activities" that posed a threat to national security. The diplomat, reportedly linked to the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Directorate for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, has had his accreditation revoked. Russian authorities have given him two weeks to leave the country. The expulsion follows the removal of six British intelligence officers in August amid strained relations between the two nations over issues ranging from the war in Ukraine to alleged interference in domestic affairs. The move comes on the same day Russia’s Foreign Ministry expanded its sanctions list, barring 30 prominent U.K. officials, military personnel, and journalists from entering the country. The list includes Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and high-profile figures in the defense and technology sectors. In a statement, Moscow accused Britain of pursuing an "aggressive, Russophobic policy," including support for Ukraine, disinformation about Russia, and direct involvement in the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin warned London to abandon its "futile course" and engage in constructive dialogue. The announcements mark a further escalation in the strained relations, reflecting the deepening crisis in relations between the Kremlin and the West over Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s actions highlight a deliberate strategy to challenge what it perceives as Western interference. By targeting both diplomatic channels and influential figures, Moscow is signaling that it will not tolerate perceived provocations. At the same time, these moves are part of a broader pattern of Russia asserting its geopolitical stance against the West amid ongoing tensions over Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The diplomatic expulsion, coupled with expanded sanctions, reflects the Kremlin’s view of the United Kingdom as a central player in the Western coalition supporting Ukraine, escalating an already hostile dynamic. The so-called Supreme Court in Ukraine's Russian-occupied Donetsk region has sentenced Mamuka Mamulashvili, leader of the Georgian Legion, to 23 years in prison in absentia. The court, operating under Russia’s authority in the illegally annexed region, accused Mamulashvili of recruiting and training foreign mercenaries to fight against Russian forces in Ukraine. According to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the 46-year-old Mamulashvili, who says he has been the focus of several poisoning attempts, was found guilty under several articles of the Russian Criminal Code. While the ruling will likely have no practical impact on Mamulashvili or the Georgian Legion’s operations, it provides valuable propaganda for the Kremlin as it continues its campaign to suppress dissent and isolate Ukraine diplomatically. For Ukraine and its allies, the verdict underscores the ongoing challenges in countering Russia’s narrative both on and off the battlefield. The charges allege that from 2014 to 2024 Mamulashvili recruited ex-military personnel from Georgia and other nations not directly involved in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Prosecutors claimed Mamulashvili provided training, weapons, and logistical support to these recruits, enabling their participation in military operations. The court further stated Mamulashvili received compensation equivalent to over 23 million rubles ($221.500) for his activities. Russian authorities also highlighted an April 2022 interview Mamulashvili gave to the Khodorkovsky-LIVE YouTube channel where he voiced staunchly anti-Russian sentiments and criticized Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. In addition to Mamulashvili, three other Georgian fighters -- Giorgi Rusitashvili, Nodar Petriashvili, and Vano Nadiradze -- were sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison each. They were convicted of participating as mercenaries in an armed conflict. The Russian prosecutor’s office stated that all four individuals would serve their sentences in a strict-regime penal colony if captured. The Georgian Legion, founded in 2014, is a volunteer military unit supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. Composed primarily of Georgian ex-soldiers, the group has been actively involved in key battles across eastern Ukraine. Russia has labeled the Georgian Legion a terrorist organization, aligning with its broader narrative of framing foreign support for Ukraine as illegitimate and criminal. The in absentia sentencing of Mamulashvili and other Georgian fighters appears to serve several purposes beyond legal action. It reinforces Moscow’s portrayal of foreign volunteers aiding Ukraine as mercenaries and terrorists, undermining their legitimacy. By focusing on Mamulashvili’s recruitment efforts and financial rewards, Russian authorities aim to discredit the broader network of international support for Ukraine’s resistance. The verdict also underscores Russia’s effort to project authority over Donetsk, a region it annexed in violation of international law. Issuing high-profile verdicts from a “Supreme Court” in the occupied territory serves to normalize its judicial and political structures in the eyes of its domestic audience, despite their lack of international recognition. Russia's Investigative Committee announced on November 26 that it had opened a criminal case against James Scott Rhys Anderson, a British citizen accused of committing terrorism and mercenary activities. Anderson, who is alleged to have fought for Ukraine's International Legion, was detained in Russia's Kursk region after crossing the border in mid-November. His case underscores the growing complexities of international involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war and the heightened risks faced by foreign volunteers. According to the Investigative Committee , Anderson, alongside other members of Ukrainian forces and foreign mercenaries, illegally entered Kursk with weapons, military equipment, and drones armed with explosive devices. Russian authorities claim the group carried out actions intended to intimidate the local population, cause "significant" property damage, and destabilize government operations. A statement from the Investigative Committee said Anderson and his associates were armed with automatic firearms, missile systems, and drones, underscoring the technological capabilities of Ukraine's forces and their international allies. The authorities allege these actions constitute terrorism under Russian law. A video circulated on pro-Russian Telegram channels and by the state news agency TASS over the weekend showed a man identifying himself as James Scott Rhys Anderson, a 22-year-old former British Army signalman who joined Ukraine's International Legion after leaving military service in 2023. Speaking with a clear British accent, Anderson confirmed his identity and discussed his role in the ongoing war. However, the footage has not been independently verified, raising questions about the circumstances surrounding its recording. Anderson's situation highlights the dangers faced by foreign volunteers in Ukraine's resistance, as well as the propaganda value such incidents hold for Russia. The Kremlin has consistently sought to portray foreign fighters as illegitimate actors, using their presence to bolster its narrative that Ukraine's defense is dependent on mercenaries and extremists. Since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's 2022 call for international recruits, thousands of foreign volunteers have joined Ukraine’s International Legion. The elite unit, integrated into Ukraine’s military, has attracted fighters from across the globe, including Western nations. For many, the war represents a fight against Russian aggression and a defense of democratic values, but their participation also exposes them to legal and physical risks. Anderson's case is not the first instance of a foreign fighter being captured or accused by Russia. Moscow has consistently sought to criminalize foreign involvement, labeling such fighters as mercenaries -- a status not protected under international law -- and often accusing them of terrorism. This tactic not only targets individual fighters but also aims to deter further international participation in Ukraine's defense. The announcement of Anderson's detainment comes amid shifting dynamics in the border regions, including Kursk. Ukraine's recent cross-border operations signal an escalation in tactics, challenging Russian defenses within its own territory. These incursions, while symbolic of Ukraine's bold resistance, also amplify Moscow's narrative of external aggression threatening its sovereignty. At the same time, reports of Russia employing North Korean soldiers and pushing to reclaim territory lost during Ukraine's August counteroffensive suggest a deepening of the conflict. Russia's efforts to portray foreign fighters like Anderson as central to these operations serve as both a legal and propaganda tool, distracting from its own controversial use of international personnel and tactics. A court in the Siberian city of Chita has sentenced journalist Nika Novak, a former RFE/RL contributor, to four years in prison. Sources close to the investigation told RFE/RL on November 26 that Novak was found guilty of "collaboration with a foreign organization on a confidential basis." Novak was arrested in Moscow last year and transferred to Siberia. Her case was marked as classified, and the details were not publicized. Novak had worked for ChitaMedia and was editor in chief of the Zab.ru website. She contributed to programs by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities in 2022. RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus condemned Novak's conviction, saying the charges against her were politically motivated and "intended to silence individual reporters and cause a chilling effect." He also called for her immediate release. The law criminalizing collaboration with foreign organizations on a confidential basis allows prosecution for sharing nonclassified information with foreign organizations. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here . Russia overnight launched 188 drones and four cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine -- a record number of projectiles in a single attack, Kyiv's air force said, as NATO and Ukrainian envoys prepared to gather in Brussels to assess Moscow's launching last week of an experimental missile at a Ukrainian city. Ukrainian air-defense systems "tracked 192 air targets -- four Iskander ballistic missiles and 188 enemy drones," the air force said in a message on Telegram. It added that 76 Russian drones were shot down over 17 Ukrainian regions, while another 95 drones "were lost in location" after their navigation systems had been jammed by Ukrainian electronic warfare systems. Five more drones changed course and flew toward Belarus, it said. No casualties were immediately reported in any of the 17 regions targeted, but critical infrastructure facilities such as the country's power grid and high-rise apartment buildings were damaged in several regions, officials said. During the attack, the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil was temporarily left without electricity. For the past several months, Russia has been battering Ukrainian cities with increasingly heavy drone, missile, and glide bomb strikes, causing casualties and damaging energy infrastructure as the cold season settles in. In Brussels, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) is to discuss on November 26 Russia's launching of an experimental hypersonic intermediate-range missile at Ukraine last week. The NUC was established at a NATO summit in Vilnius last year to step up the alliance's collaboration with Kyiv and support Ukraine's aspirations for NATO membership. The NUC meeting of envoys from Ukraine and the 32 member states of the alliance was called by Kyiv after Russia on November 21 struck the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with what President Vladimir Putin said was a new missile called Oreshnik. Putin said the move was part of Moscow's response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil with U.S.-supplied ATACMS and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. Putin said the Oreshnik is new and not an upgrade of previous Soviet-designed weaponry. The United States said the new missile is "experimental" and based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Ukraine initially accused Russia of having used an ICBM in the Dnipro attack. An ICBM has never been used in a war. The Pakistani military has deployed troops in Islamabad as thousands of protesters demanding the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to call off their march on the capital amid clashes with security forces. The military reportedly received orders to shoot on sight early on November 26 following the deaths of at least three army rangers in a car-ramming incident overnight. Dozens of security forces were wounded in the clashes, some seriously. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued a statement strongly condemning the killing of security forces by supporters of Khan's party, Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI). Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Khan supporters after thousands defied roadblocks to march some 150 kilometers from the northwest toward Islamabad despite a lockdown and a ban on public gatherings. PTI claimed on X that the police in Islamabad fired directly at protestors and published a video in which a top Karachi official said that in the history of Pakistan there has not been an injustice equal to what he says is going on in Islamabad. The city has been locked down since late on November 23 and mobile Internet services have been sporadically cut. The Islamabad city administration last week announced a two-month ban on public gatherings, but convoys of Khan supporters traveled from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province determined to enter the city. The leadership of PTI went ahead with their plans to travel to the capital even as Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka arrived for a three-day visit. He was received at an airport near the capital by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif late on November 25. Meanwhile, the government was in talks with Khan's party to avoid any further violence, officials said. Naqvi told reporters that the government was willing to allow Khan supporters to rally on the outskirts of Islamabad, but he threatened extreme measures if they entered the city to protest. PTI's chief demand is the release of Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The 72-year-old former cricket superstar turned politician, has been in jail for more than a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases, although he enjoys huge popularity among Pakistanis. PTI has said the cases are politically motivated. PTI has defied a government crackdown since Khan was barred from running in elections in February with regular demonstrations aiming to seize public spaces in Islamabad and other large cities. The party is also protesting alleged tampering in the February polls and a recent government-backed constitutional amendment giving it more power over the courts, where Khan is tangled in dozens of cases. Sharif's government has come under increasing criticism for deploying heavy-handed measures to quash PTI's protests. The protests have largely cut off Islamabad from the rest of the country, with travel to other parts of Pakistan almost at a standstill. The key Grand Trunk Road highway in Punjab Province has been blocked by authorities with shipping containers, prompting protesters to use heavy machinery to remove the containers. Thousands of protesters calling for the release of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan defied roadblocks and tear gas on November 25 to march toward Islamabad despite a lockdown and a ban on public gatherings. Protesters clashed early on November 26 with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets at Khan supporters to stop them from entering the capital. The government said one police officer had been killed and dozens were critically wounded in clashes with demonstrators as they closed in on Islamabad. Islamabad has been locked down since late on November 23 and mobile Internet services have been sporadically cut. The Islamabad city administration last week announced a two-month ban on public gatherings, but convoys of Khan supporters traveled from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province determined to enter the city. Security officials say they expected between 9,000 and 11,000 demonstrators, while Khan's party, Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI), said the number would be much higher. Video on social media showed Khan supporters donning gas masks and protective goggles. The leadership of Khan's party went ahead with their plans to travel to the capital even as Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka arrived for a three-day visit. He was received at an airport near the capital by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif late on November 25. Meanwhile, the government was in talks with Khan's party to avoid any further violence, officials said. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters that the government was willing to allow Khan supporters to rally on the outskirts of Islamabad, but he threatened extreme measures if they entered the city to protest. Khan, who has been in jail for over a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases, remains popular. PTI has said the cases are politically motivated. PTI has defied a government crackdown since Khan was barred from running in elections in February with regular demonstrations aiming to seize public spaces in Islamabad and other large cities. PTI's chief demand is the release of Khan, the charismatic, 72-year-old former cricket star who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is also protesting alleged tampering in the February polls and a recent government-backed constitutional amendment giving it more power over the courts, where Khan is tangled in dozens of cases. Sharif's government has come under increasing criticism for deploying heavy-handed measures to quash PTI's protests. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the deadly crash of a cargo plane in Lithuania on November 25 could have been a " hybrid incident " with outside involvement. "We must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident or whether it was another hybrid incident," Baerbock told reporters at a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy. "We have recently seen multiple hybrid attacks in Europe, often targeting individuals and infrastructure, whether underwater or hard infrastructure," she said, alluding to the recent severing of telecom cables in the Baltic Sea that officials have said could have been sabotage. German authorities are working very closely with the Lithuanian authorities to get to the bottom of the crash, she added. Lithuanian authorities have so far stopped short of making the same link. "We cannot reject the possibility of terrorism.... But at the moment we can't make attributions or point fingers because we don't have such information," Lithuanian counterintelligence chief Darius Jauniskis told reporters. Marius Baranauskas, head of the Lithuanian National Aviation Authority, said the communications between the pilots and the control tower indicated nothing extraordinary, adding that investigators need to examine the black-box recordings to know what was happening in the aircraft. Many Western intelligence agencies have accused Moscow of involvement in sabotage acts in Europe, which they have said are aimed at destabilizing allies of Ukraine as it relies on Western governments in its war against Russia's full-scale invasion. The cargo plane, which belonged to global courier DHL, crashed as it attempted to land at Vilnius airport, killing the jet's Spanish pilot and injuring another Spanish crew member, a German, and a Lithuanian, according to airport and police officials cited by Reuters. At least one of the injured was in critical condition. The plane, a Boeing 737-400 jet that had departed Leipzig, Germany, about 90 minutes before the crash, hit several buildings as it skidded hundreds meters, according to the police and DHL. A spokesperson for the governmental National Crisis Management Center said one of the buildings hit was a house whose occupants survived. Firefighters were not able to determine whether the plane began burning or breaking up while still in the air, and authorities were still looking for the black boxes that record flight data. A DHL statement said the plane "made a forced landing" about 1 kilometer from the Vilnius airport and the cause of the crash was still unknown. Lithuanian Commissioner-General of Police Arunas Paulauskas said surviving crew members told investigators there was no smoke, fire, or other emergency situation in the cabin prior to the crash. He also said the probability of an external force impact was very low. The crash came after a series of fires at DHL depots in Britain and Germany during the summer. Western security officials were quoted in a news report earlier this month linking the fires to a test run of an alleged Russian operation aimed at igniting fires on cargo or passenger aircraft bound for North America. The Wall Street Journal quoted security officials as saying that devices that ignited in July in DHL depots in Leipzig and the British city of Birmingham were part of the test run. Last month, Polish officials said four people had been detained as a result of the investigation into parcels that caught fire while en route to United States and Canada. The activities of the four people "consisted of sabotage and diversion related to sending parcels containing camouflaged explosives and dangerous materials via courier companies to European Union countries and Great Britain, which spontaneously ignited or detonated during land and air transport," Polish prosecutors said in a statement on October 25. "The group's goal was also to test the transfer channel for such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada," the statement said, adding that foreign intelligence services were to blame. The statement did not directly accuse Russia of involvement. Canada in early November expressed concern to Russian officials after he arrests were announced. Russia responded by summoning a Canadian diplomat on November 8 to rebut allegations that Russia's secret services had orchestrated the campaign to mail explosive packages . Serbian lawmakers scuffled in parliament on November 25 after opposition members accused the ruling coalition of failing to address the deadly collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station in Serbia's second-largest city earlier this month. A scuffle broke out after Radomir Lazovic, a member of the opposition Green-Left Front party, placed a poster showing a red hand imprint with the words "You have blood on your hands" on the speaker's platform. After Health Minister Zatibor Loncar approached Lazovic and started arguing, other deputies rushed in shouting, pulling, and hitting one another. Lazovic told N1 television that he was "attacked" by Loncar, and after a fight with him, there was a "general fight" in the assembly hall. Lazovic said several deputies were injured. The audio of the parliament's internal broadcast was turned off, so it was not possible to hear what the deputies were saying to each other. They were separated by security guards. While the government accused the opposition of trying to "seize power by force," opposition members said they were also attacked by government representatives in the hall of the parliament building and accused them of starting the fight. The collapse of the concrete canopy on November 1 at the station in Novi Sad has turned into a political headache for President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling party. The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad announced on November 21 that 11 people had been arrested. The huge canopy collapsed on November 1, killing 15 people and seriously injuring another two. The accident occurred after the railway station, built in 1964, had been renovated twice in recent years by the consortium China Railway International and China Communications Construction Company. The most recent renovation was included in a project involving several companies that were in charge of the expert supervision of the reconstruction of the railway line from Novi Sad to the border with Hungary. The main contractor for the project was the company Project Biro Utiber of Novi Sad. The opposition has called on Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, who was mayor of Novi Sad when construction started, to resign. The ruling coalition denies the allegations and accuses the opposition of triggering clashes with police in protests at the station. The parliament was due to debate the 2025 budget on November 25, but the opposition demanded a debate on the collapse of the canopy. They also filed a no-confidence motion against the government, but speaker Ana Brnabic said it would not be on the agenda. The session was interrupted for almost two hours before resuming, but opposition deputies continued disrupting the session as Brnabic spoke surrounded by security guards who prevented opposition legislators from approaching her. "This is what freedom of speech looks like in their interpretation," Brnabic said as opposition deputies blew whistles in the hall. Brnabic accused the opposition of an "attempt to seize power by force." She told reporters at a news conference that opposition deputies damaged a microphone and a monitor in the hall after the session was adjourned. The session began with a minute of silence for those killed in at the railway station and with Brnabic asking that the session be dignified. "Unfortunately, this is anything but a dignified tribute to the deceased and their families," Brnabic said at the news conference. Nikita Zhuravel, a Russian political prisoner who was beaten by the teenage son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov while in pretrial detention, has been sentenced to 13 1/2 years in prison for high treason. The Volgograd regional court sentenced the 20-year-old Zhuravel on November 25 after finding him guilty of sending a video to a representative of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) that allegedly contained footage of military equipment being transported by train, images of military aircraft, and details of a service vehicle's movements. Zhuravel is already serving a 3 1/2-year prison sentence handed down by a court in Chechnya in February after being convicted of hooliganism for publicly burning a Koran in his hometown of Volgograd. He was also sentenced to 300 hours of community service for insulting religious believers. It was not immediately clear whether the sentences would be served concurrently or consecutively. During the trial, Zhuravel apologized to the Muslim community, acknowledging his actions but claiming he had no intention of offending anyone. The case drew widespread attention when it was revealed that while Zhuravel was in custody in Chechnya, he was attacked by Adam Kadyrov, the then-15-year-old son of Ramzan Kadyrov. A video of the assault in a jail was shared on social media by the elder Kadyrov, sparking public outrage. Despite this, law enforcement in Chechnya declined to pursue a criminal investigation, citing a lack of evidence. Kadyrov defended his son's actions, publicly stating that it would have been better if his son had killed Zhuravel. Adam Kadyrov was later awarded the title of "Hero of the Republic of Chechnya," the highest honor in the region, and received further accolades from several Russian regions. The human rights group Memorial has recognized Zhuravel as a political prisoner, raising doubts about the Koran-burning accusations and criticizing his transfer from Volgograd to mostly Muslim-populated Chechnya for investigation and trial. The organization has also condemned the violence Zhuravel endured in detention as a serious legal violation. RFE/RL journalist Andrey Kuznechyk marked his third year in prison on November 25 on charges , he, his employer, and human rights organizations call politically motivated. Kuznechyk, a father of two, was arrested on November 25, 2021, and initially sentenced to 10 days in jail on hooliganism charges that he rejected. After serving that penalty, Kuznechyk was not released but charged with creating an extremist group, a move that officials didn't reveal to Kuznechyk's relatives and colleagues for months. On June 8, 2022, the Mahilyou regional court in the country's east found Kuznechyk guilty and sentenced him to six years in prison. The trial lasted just one day. Human rights groups in Belarus have recognized Kuznechyk, who works for RFE/RL's Belarus Service , known locally as Radio Svaboda, as a political prisoner. Kuznechyk, who has maintained his innocence, and some 150 other Belarusian political prisoners, including another RFE/RL journalist, Ihar Losik, and former would-be presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, are serving sentences at the same prison in the northern city of Navapolatsk. The facility is known as one of the most restrictive penitentiaries in the country. Initially, the site was occupied by a number of temporary houses built for workers at a then-newly built oil refinery in 1958. The territory was later turned into a prison where mostly members of organized criminal groups, noted crime kingpins, and so-called thieves-in-law served their terms. Belarusian authorities started sending political prisoners there in 2010. Since a disputed August 2020 presidential election sparked mass protests over authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka's victory, tens of thousands of Belarusians have been arrested for voicing any dissent against the regime. The crackdown has pushed most opposition politicians, who say the vote was rigged, to leave the country fearing for their safety and freedom. Many Western governments have refused to recognize the results of the election and do not consider Lukashenka to be the country's legitimate leader. Many countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions against his regime in response to the suppression of dissent in the country. Kuznechyk is one of three RFE/RL journalists -- Losik and Vladyslav Yesypenko are the other two -- currently imprisoned on charges related to their work. Rights groups and RFE/RL have called repeatedly for the release of all three, saying they have been wrongly detained. Losik is a blogger and contributor for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service who was convicted in December 2021 on several charges including the "organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order" and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Yesypenko, a dual Ukrainian-Russian citizen who contributed to Crimea.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, was sentenced in February 2022 to six years in prison by a Russian judge in occupied Crimea after a closed-door trial. He was convicted of “possession and transport of explosives,” a charge he steadfastly denies. A British national fighting for Ukraine has reportedly been captured by Russian forces in Russia's Kursk region, marking a significant development in the ongoing war. A video released on pro-Russian Telegram channels and TASS news agency over the weekend shows a man in a military uniform identifying himself as 22-year-old James Scott Rhys Anderson from the United Kingdom. Speaking with a clear English accent, Anderson says he previously served as a signalman in the British Army until 2023 and later joined Ukraine's International Legion to fight against Russia. The footage has not been independently verified, and it remains unclear when or where the video was recorded. Anderson's alleged capture highlights the broader involvement of foreign volunteers in Ukraine's resistance against Russia. Since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's 2022 call for international recruits, thousands of fighters have joined the conflict, many enlisting in the International Legion, a highly selective unit integrated into Ukraine's ground forces. The British man's capture also comes amid shifting dynamics in the Kursk region. While Ukraine initially gained significant ground in its August offensive, recent reports suggest it has lost over 40 percent of the territory it seized. Russia’s apparent use of North Korean soldiers in the region and its push to reclaim lost ground signal a deepening of the war, while Ukraine’s cross-border operations represent a bold challenge to Moscow’s defenses. As the war drags on, the fate of foreign fighters like Anderson remains emblematic of the broader stakes and human costs of this conflict. The United Arab Emirates on November 25 disclosed the names of three suspects detained in the killing of a 28-year-old Israeli-Moldovan ultra-Orthodox rabbi saying they were Uzbek nationals. The suspects were arrested a day earlier after the body of Zvi Kogan, who ran a Kosher grocery store in Dubai and was also a representative of the Orthodox Jewish group Chabad, was discovered by security services. U.A.E. authorities identified the suspects as Mahmudjon Abdurahim, 28, Olimboi Tohirovich, 28, and Azizbek Kamilovich, 33, apparently giving patronymic names of the last two men instead their last names. They did not say if official charges have been filed against the suspects. "Hate has no place in our world. Our thoughts are with his family, the Jewish community, and all who grieve. We are in contact with Israel and the U.A.E.," Moldovan President Maia Sandu said in a statement . Kogan had been reported missing on November 22. His body was found later in the city of Al Ain. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the killing of Kogan, calling it a "heinous anti-Semitic terrorist act." While Israeli officials have not publicly accused archrival Iran for the deadly attack, analysts noted that Tehran has been threatening retaliation against Israel for recent air strikes it carried out on Iranian soil after Iran launched a missile attack against Israel. Tehran has denied any involvement in the murder of Kogan. The Muslim-majority Gulf state with an overwhelmingly expatriate population prides itself on its safety, stability, and religious tolerance. The Chabad Hasidic movement is known for its outreach efforts worldwide. The U.A.E. normalized relations with Israel in 2020 alongside Bahrain and Morocco in a series of U.S.-brokered agreements known as the Abraham Accords. There is no figure for the number of Jews in the U.A.E., but an Israeli official has told AFP there were about 2,000 Israelis in the Gulf country, with the Jewish community estimated to be up to twice that figure. The White House also condemned the killing on November 24. "This was a horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance, and coexistence. It was an assault as well on U.A.E. and its rejection of violent extremism across the board," the White House said in a statement on November 24. Georgia's new parliament met for its first session since the Moscow-friendly Georgian Dream party won elections last month that ignited calls for fresh polls amid accusations the balloting was rigged, as protesters gathered outside and pelted the building with eggs. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the session on November 25 after calling on foreign diplomats not to legitimize the new parliament by attending the first session. EU and other Western officials have expressed serious doubts about the October 26 elections in which Georgian Dream officially won 53.9 percent of the vote. The first item on the agenda for the opening session, which will be attended by the head of the Central Election Commission (CEC), is recognizing the authority of all 150 parliament members. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, however, has refused to recognize the result validated by the CEC. Zurabishvili has filed a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court "requesting annulment of the election results as unconstitutional." Protesters allege there was widespread fraud during the campaign and vote and that Russia heavily influenced the outcome favoring Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012. They gathered outside the parliament but were not able to block the entrance amid a heavy police presence. "Black Monday in Georgia: Police...guarding the doors behind which 'Georgian Dream slaves' are killing our Constitution and making a mockery of our Parliament," Zurabishvili said in a post on X. Police have moved quickly -- sometimes using violence -- to shut down previous demonstrations, but no altercations were reported on November 25. Georgian Dream's billionaire founder and "honorary chairman," Bidzina Ivanishvili, attended the session and holds the right to nominate a prime minister. Ivanishvili, who is widely regarded as dominating the government even though he does not hold an official position, is expected to push for lawmakers to approve current Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze to continue as head of the government. Georgia has been a candidate for EU membership since last year, but a "foreign influence" law and anti-LGBT measures enacted under Georgian Dream's leadership have stalled that effort. The United States in July announced it would pause more than $95 million in assistance to the Georgian government, warning that it was backsliding on democracy. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity during the conflict in Gaza are "not enough." Khamenei told a gathering of the Basij volunteer corps on November 25 that the two Israeli leaders should face the death penalty. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan issued the warrant and judges said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu and Gallant "intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival" as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza." Israel has called the warrants "absurd." The current war in the Gaza Strip was sparked by an attack on Israel by Iran-backed Hamas, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU. Some 1,200 people died in the attack, with around 240 more taken hostage back to Gaza. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here . Ukraine's military said it struck an oil depot overnight in Russia's western Kaluga region and "a number of important targets" in two other Russian regions after Russia shelled the center of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement on social media that the early morning attacks focused on Bryansk, Kaluga, and Kursk. "There is confirmation of a successful impact of the oil base in the Kaluga region," it said. Vladislav Shapsha, the governor of Kaluga, said on Telegram that eight Ukrainian drones were shot down in the region, with debris from one of the downed drones sparking a fire at an industrial site. The fire has been extinguished, and no casualties were reported, Shapsha said. Unconfirmed reports from the Telegram channels Ostorozhno, novosti , and Baza claim the fire affected a tank at a local oil depot and the Kaluga instrument-making plant Typhoon. Videos allegedly showing the fire at the refinery have surfaced online, though official verification is pending. The attack came as the mayor of Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, said at least 15 people were wounded in an attack that targeted residential areas, adding to the series of strikes the city has faced in recent weeks that have caused significant casualties and damage to civil and energy infrastructure. In Ukraine’s southern Mykolayiv region, Russian strikes hit energy infrastructure overnight, regional Governor Vitaliy Kim reported. Engineers managed to restore power to most affected areas, and no casualties were reported. Meanwhile, in the southeastern Zaporizhzhya region, Russian forces launched attacks on industrial facilities using "dozens of drones," according to regional Governor Ivan Fedorov. One child was reportedly wounded in these strikes. Sources at the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense (HUR) told Ukrayinska pravda that the attack on the Kaluga oil depot was planned by Ukrainian special services. The targeted depot is reportedly linked to Russia’s military operations against Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that on the night of November 25, air-defense systems intercepted and destroyed 23 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions. These included eight drones over Kaluga, seven over Kursk, five over Bryansk, and three over Belgorod, the ministry said. The overnight strikes highlight the growing intensity of Ukraine's efforts to stop Russia's ongoing invasion that Moscow launched in February 2022. The situation continues to evolve as both sides accuse the other of escalating the violence. BUCHAREST -- Pro-Russian far-right candidate Calin Georgescu has won a surprise victory in the first round of EU and NATO member Romania's presidential vote and will face pro-Western center-right candidate Elena Lasconi in the December 8 runoff. Complete preliminary results of the November 24 election showed independent Georgescu -- who has been criticized for his anti-NATO and anti-Semitic statements -- won with 22.94 percent of the vote. Lasconi, a former TV journalist and small-town mayor for the center-right Save Romania Union (USR), trailed in early results reporting, but edged ahead of the initial favorite, leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. With 19.17 percent of the vote, Lasconi advanced by a wafer-thin margin over Ciolacu's 19.15 percent, which prompted Ciolacu to concede and announce his resignation as leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). The margin between the two was just 2,742 votes. "I sent a message to Mrs. Lasconi and extended my congratulations," Ciolacu told the media. Ciolacu's third-place finish means that for the first time since 1989, the PSD, the heir to Romania's Communist Party, won't have a candidate in the presidential runoff. Lasconi has yet to declare victory, telling journalists just that "it's been devilishly difficult." Hundreds of pro-Lasconi protesters, mostly students and other young people, demonstrated on the evening of November 25 in downtown Bucharest on University Square in front of the National Theater to show their dissatisfaction with Georgescu. They shouted, "Do not vote for a dictator" as they gathered peacefully, though there was a minor incident with a pro-Georgescu supporter carrying a Bible. Georgescu frequently quoted biblical phrases in his campaign. When the man appeared in front of the demonstrators, they booed him and he started running between cars on the road. Romanian police said he tried to provoke the demonstrators. Police officers intervened to prevent a possible conflict, the police said in a statement. The man tried to flee and was "immobilized and taken to the police station," the statement said. The protest continued without further incident. Some demonstrators expressed surprise that Georgescu came first in the elections. "Like everyone else, I expected this man to take what he had in the polls, somewhere around 5 percent," Alex Zlavog said. "It was a surprise, and I think we have to ask ourselves very serious problems about polling agencies and what happens with these polls." Georgescu thanked his voters, telling them, "Your voice was heard." He also rejected the accusations of extremism and fascism, saying they were "totally false" and he is "completely dedicated to the Romanian people." The runoff will be held a week after the parliamentary elections on December 1 -- a faceoff the media is portraying as a battle between East and West. George Simion of the ultranationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) had 13.86 percent, a surprisingly low score after many predicted he would advance to the runoff together with Ciolacu. Critics have charged Simion with also being Russian-friendly and, while he wants Romania to remain in NATO, he has also said Bucharest should be neutral. The winner of the second round will succeed the outgoing center-right incumbent, Klaus Iohannis, who is completing his second and final term after a decade in office. Fourteen candidates officially registered in the race, but liberal ex-Prime Minister Ludovic Orban last week announced he was withdrawing and threw his weight behind Lasconi. Election officials put the turnout at just over 52 percent, or about 9.44 million voters casting their ballots. In 2019, total first-round turnout was 51.18 percent. In the second round, it rose to 55.1 percent. Georgescu, an obscure figure who held positions in Romania's Foreign Ministry and at the UN environmental agency UNEP, started as a member of AUR and was twice put forward as a possible prime minister by Simion's party. But Georgescu's anti-Semitic statements made him too radical even for AUR, which eventually broke with him when the authorities opened a criminal investigation on his radical views. However, even without the overt backing of a party, Georgescu performed unexpectedly well both inside the country and in Romania's Western diaspora, where he took more than 43 percent of the vote, ostensibly by using the TikTok social media platform to call for an end to Romania's aid to Ukraine. Under the incumbent Iohannis, Romania has turned into a key ally of Ukraine, not only providing training and military equipment but playing a key role in transporting Ukrainian grain and other agricultural goods to global markets. The 62-year-old, who has been criticized in the Romanian media for his pro-Russian and anti-NATO statements, claimed his shocking victory was a vote for "peace," echoing statements by other pro-Moscow European leaders such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. "Tonight, the Romanian people cried out for peace. And they shouted very loudly, extremely loudly", he said late on November 24. In previous interviews, Georgescu urged closer ties with Moscow, claiming that "Russian wisdom" was Romania's best chance, although he has not publicly backed Russia's war in Ukraine. Asked about Georgescu's upset victory, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on November 25 said Russia did not know much about him or his opinions. "I would not make any predictions yet. We probably cannot say that we are that familiar with the world view of this candidate as far as relations with our country are concerned." Lasconi, a former small-town mayor and TV journalist, was the only presidential candidate who opposed the idea of Ukraine giving up land to Russia in a peace deal, saying doing so would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin. "If Ukraine cedes territory, Putin won't stop," she had said. "We need to help Ukraine win this war," she said during the only presidential debate, held last week. She was also the most bullish among the top candidates on NATO, calling for the military alliance to have a greater presence in Romania. Lasconi garnered 56 percent of the Romanian vote in Moldova, where more than 80,000 Romanian passport holders showed up to vote. Moldova was part of Romania before World War II and the countries share a common language and history. Many Moldovans have acquired Romanian citizenship, which gives them the right to travel and work in the West. Some analysts said Georgescu's shock victory was also a result of mounting disillusion with Romania's entrenched political elites among young Romanians, many of whom leave the country because of what they say is a lack of opportunities. Rima, a voter at a Bucharest polling station, told RFE/RL, "There should be more opportunities for young people, so we don't have to leave the country after we graduate from high school or college." "The president should be more open-minded on some topics, especially international ones. That's what I want: to live in a free country where we as young people have a voice," she said, without specifying her candidate. Romania's president has significant decision-making powers, including on matters of national security and foreign policy. Elected for a five-year term, the president can also reject party nominees for prime minister and government nominees for judicial appointments. The White House has condemned the killing in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi in an assault that Israel called an anti-Semitic "terrorist attack." "This was a horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance, and coexistence. It was an assault as well on UAE and its rejection of violent extremism across the board," the White House said in a statement on November 24. Hours earlier, U.A.E. authorities said three suspects have been arrested in the killing of a man identified as Zvi Kogan, who worked in the U.A.E. for the Orthodox Jewish group Chabad, which supports Jewish visitors and residents in the country. The victim had been reported missing on November 22. His body was found in the city of Al Ain near the Omani border, but it was not clear where he had been killed. The U.A.E. Interior Ministry did not provide further details on the suspects held in the matter. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also denounced the killing of the 28-year-old rabbi, calling it a "heinous anti-Semitic terrorist act." Moldova's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it is "in contact with the authorities of the United Arab Emirates to clarify the circumstances of this case." It gave no further details. According to Reuters, Iran quickly rejected any implication that it was involved in the killing. The Iranian embassy in the UAE "categorically rejects the allegations of Iran’s involvement in the murder of this individual," the news agency quoted the embassy as saying. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) on November 24 said three suspects have been arrested in the killing of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi in an assault that Israel called an anti-Semitic "terrorist attack." The victim, who was reported missing on November 22, was identified as Zvi Kogan, who worked in the U.A.E. for the Orthodox Jewish group Chabad, which supports Jewish visitors and residents in the country. His body was found in the city of Al Ain near the Omani border, but it was not clear where he had been killed. The U.A.E. Interior Ministry did not provide further details on the suspects held in the matter. The first train carrying goods from China to Afghanistan arrived in Mazar-e Sharif on November 23 after crossing through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the de facto Taliban rulers said. The Taliban said 55 containers arrived in Afghanistan after a 22-day journey, marking the inauguration of the first direct train link between China and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The train is expected to take Afghan goods back to China for sale there. Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, no country, including China, has formally recognized the extremist group -- which has been accused of massive rights violations -- but Beijing has attempted to increase ties as part of its economic push in the region, including its Belt and Road initiative. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here . Aleksandr Darchiyev is slated soon to be appointed as Russia's ambassador to Washington, the Kommersant newspaper reported on November 24, citing three unidentified sources. Darchiyev, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's North American section, was ambassador to Canada from October 2014 to January 2021. He would succeed Anatoly Antonov, who concluded his term in October. The move would come at a time of high tensions between Washington and Moscow and just ahead of the return of Donald Trump to the presidency on January 20. The United States, under President Joe Biden, has been the top foreign supporter of Ukraine in its battle against Russia's full-scale invasion, while Trump has suggested aid could be curtailed. The Financial Times reports that Russia has recruited hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in Ukraine, lured by the promise of high salaries and potential Russian citizenship. The November 23 report said they were helped by a Huthi-linked company to travel to Russia, then forcibly inducted into the Russian Army and sent to the front lines in Ukraine . The report said the action illustrates how the Kremlin is desperately trying to avoid a full mobilization of its society by using foreign fighters following reports that North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to train and fight alongside Russian forces.

Li Auto Inc. November 2024 Delivery Update~ Deepens Investor’s Dedication to Horizon Aircraft Supporting Continued Operations and Development ~ TORONTO, Dec. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Horizon Aircraft Ltd. (NASDAQ: HOVR), doing business as Horizon Aircraft (“Horizon Aircraft” or the “Company”), a leading hybrid electric Vertical TakeOff and Landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft developer, announced today it has received an investment from a strategic investor (the “Investor”) and aerospace supporter, for aggregate proceeds of $8.4 million (the “Investment”). The strategic financing will fortify Horizon Aircraft’s balance sheet, provide stability in the operations, governance and regulatory priorities, and fund further development and flight testing of its hybrid eVTOL, the Cavorite X7. Brandon Robinson, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Horizon Aircraft commented, "We are deeply appreciative for this second investment from our strategic partner. The principle’s continued support through this second tranche of funding provides our business with a solid working capital position in support of our initiatives. With this commitment Horizon Aircraft is on solid footing, and our focus is on the development of our full-scale hybrid eVTOL." Under the terms of the Investment, the Investor will receive an aggregate $2.1 million in Horizon Class A ordinary shares totaling 4,166,667 shares offered at $0.50 CAD per share to be issued from treasury (the “Common Shares”). Additionally, the Investor will exchange $6.3 million for 4,500 preferred shares to be issued from treasury (the “Preferred Shares”), each will be convertible to Common Shares at a price of $0.63 CAD per share for a period of five (5) years. The Preferred Shares shall have a priority liquidation preference over the Common Shares. The Company shall register the Common Shares with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission as soon as practically possible, but no later than 90 calendar days from filing. About Horizon Aircraft Horizon Aircraft (NASDAQ: HOVR) is an advanced aerospace engineering company that is developing one of the world’s first hybrid eVTOL that is to be able to fly most of its mission exactly like a normal aircraft while offering industry-leading speed, range, and operational utility. Horizon’s unique designs put the mission first and prioritize safety, performance, and utility. Horizon hopes to successfully complete testing and certification of its Cavorite X7 eVTOL quickly and then enter the market and service a broad spectrum of early use cases. Visit www.horizonaircraft.com for more information. Forward-Looking Statements The information in this press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “aim,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result” and similar expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) changes in the markets in which Horizon competes, including with respect to its competitive landscape, technology evolution or regulatory changes; (ii) the risk that Horizon will need to raise additional capital to execute its business plans, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; (iii) the ability of the parties to recognize the benefits of the business combination agreement and the business combination; (iv) the lack of useful financial information for an accurate estimate of future capital expenditures and future revenue; (v) statements regarding Horizon’s industry and market size; (vi) financial condition and performance of Horizon, including the anticipated benefits, the implied enterprise value, the expected financial impacts of the business combination, the financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, the products, the expected future performance and market opportunities of Horizon; (vii) Horizon’s ability to develop, certify, and manufacture an aircraft that meets its performance expectations; (viii) successful completion of testing and certification of Horizon’s Cavorite X7 eVTOL; (ix) the targeted future production of Horizon’s Cavorite X7 aircraft; and (x) those factors discussed in our filings with the SEC. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described and to be described in New Horizon’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Comission. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward- looking statements, and while Horizon may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, they assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law. Horizon does not give any assurance that Horizon will achieve its expectations. Contacts Horizon Aircraft Inquiries (PR): Phil Anderson Phone: +44 (0)7767 491 519 Phil@perceptiona.com Investor Contacts: Shannon Devine and Rory Rumore MZ Group Phone: (203) 741-8841 HorizonAircraft@mzgroup.us

Salt Lake City, Utah, Dec. 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Recursion”) (NASDAQ: RXRX), a leading clinical stage TechBio company decoding biology to industrialize drug discovery, today announced that on December 19, 2024, the Compensation Committee of Recursion's Board of Directors approved the grant of inducement restricted stock unit (RSU) awards covering 7,952,836 shares of its class A common stock in the aggregate to 230 new employees under Recursion's 2024 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan (the “2024 Plan”). Each award was granted as an inducement material to the employee's commencement of employment with a subsidiary of Recursion in connection with Recursion's acquisition of Exscientia plc and pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). Each inducement RSU award will vest as to 1/16th of the shares subject to the award quarterly on each of February 15, May 15, August 15, and November 15, beginning with February 15, 2025 until the inducement RSU award is fully vested, subject to the inducement RSU award recipient’s continued employment through the Company Vesting Dates. Each inducement RSU award is subject to the terms and conditions of the 2024 Plan and the grant agreements covering the awards. About Recursion Pharmaceuticals Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RXRX) is a leading clinical stage TechBio company decoding biology to industrialize drug discovery. Enabling its mission is the Recursion OS, a platform built across diverse technologies that continuously generate one of the world’s largest proprietary biological and chemical datasets. Recursion leverages sophisticated machine-learning algorithms to distill from its dataset a collection of trillions of searchable relationships across biology and chemistry unconstrained by human bias. By commanding massive experimental scale — up to millions of wet lab experiments weekly — and massive computational scale — owning and operating one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, Recursion is uniting technology, biology and chemistry to advance the future of medicine. Recursion is headquartered in Salt Lake City, where it is a founding member of BioHive, the Utah life sciences industry collective. Recursion also has offices in Toronto, Montréal, New York, London, Oxford area, and the San Francisco Bay area. Learn more at www.Recursion.com , or connect on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn. Media Contact Media@Recursion.com Investor Contact Investor@Recursion.comHow does a champion motivate itself? The Celtics are figuring it out