sports drawing easy

sports drawing easy CM Stalin's 'jobless' jibe at Ramadoss over Adani-TNEB row kicks up stormPercentages: FG .526, FT .625. 3-Point Goals: 5-14, .357 (Hicks 3-5, P.Johnson 2-3, Carter 0-1, Dilione 0-1, Dunn 0-1, Kern 0-1, Baldwin 0-2). Team Rebounds: 1. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 1 (Konan Niederhauser). Turnovers: 11 (Baldwin 4, Dilione 4, Carter, Dunn, Nzeh). Steals: 5 (Kern 2, Baldwin, Hicks, P.Johnson). Technical Fouls: None. Percentages: FG .481, FT .500. 3-Point Goals: 4-18, .222 (Dean 2-5, Tripp 1-1, Medor 1-2, Pettis 0-1, Smith 0-1, Richardson 0-2, Rivera 0-2, J.Johnson 0-4). Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 1 (Smith). Turnovers: 14 (Tsimbila 3, Dean 2, J.Johnson 2, Medor 2, Richardson 2, Rivera 2, Tripp). Steals: 9 (Tripp 4, J.Johnson 3, Medor, Rivera). Technical Fouls: None. .

Patronis seeks to replace Gaetz for seat in Congress, Gruters aims for CFO job

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AP News Summary at 2:48 p.m. ESTTelangana ACB arrests govt officer for demanding Rs 50k bribeThe Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says a machinery fire this morning at a Delta, B.C., terminal facility has been put out and no injuries were reported. The authority says in a written statement that a coal stacker caught fire at a facility operated by Westshore Terminals, temporarily shutting operations at the terminal and a neighbouring facility operated by GCT Deltaport. The statement says the Delta fire department responded “immediately,” and the blaze has now been put out but fire officials are still on scene to monitor the site. The port authority says no injuries were reported, and Westshore is “continuing to manage” the response with Delta fire officials. Video footage posted online Saturday shows thick black smoke billowing upwards from a conveyor engulfed in flames at the facility. Photos posted on social media also show the smoke on the horizon visible from the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2024.

1 2 3 Kolkata: Online violence against women was cited as one of the "upcoming" threats against the dignity and safety of women by Amrita Dasgupta of NGO Swayam during a discussion organised by the Bengal Obstetric and Gynaecology Society (BOGS). In response to the question of moderator Dr Jaita Chakrabarti's question — if there was a change in how violence against women takes place in their respective fields of expertise — Dasgupta stressed the use of technology on social media platforms to threaten women. Morphing of women's images and using it for " revenge porn " was one of the examples cited by Dasgupta as means used by predators to cause harm. A report published by the United Nations Women in 2022 stated that the prevalence of online and technology-facilitated violence against women and girls ranges from 16% to 58% across the globe. According to the report, such acts of violence include sexual harassment, stalking and zoom bombing, which is the practice of disrupting a video-conference call and showing "racially charged or sexually explicit material to the unexpecting participants". A human rights practitioner at Calcutta High Court, Mrinalini Majumdar, highlighted the need for a legislative mechanism to manage an individual's behaviour on social media platforms.San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will not play Sunday and head coach Kyle Shanahan said the lingering discomfort is a concern. Purdy sat out Friday after he participated in the start of Thursday's practice with the 49ers, then retreated indoors for what Shanahan said was a treatment session. Brandon Allen, 32, will start in Purdy's place, and the 49ers are also without defensive end Nick Bosa (oblique). Shanahan said players believe in Allen, even if he's an unknown. "Outside of here people haven't seen a lot of Brandon. But it's his second year (with the 49ers)," Shanahan said. "Obviously guys want Brock up, but guys are excited to see Brandon play." Shanahan said they are "a little surprised" Purdy experienced tightness and discomfort in his shoulder after an MRI exam on Monday that showed no long-term cause for concern. "The way it responded this week, it's really up in the air for next week," Shanahan said of Purdy. Allen is familiar to Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who was an assistant coach with the Rams during Allen's two-year run in Los Angeles. Allen broke into the NFL in 2016 with the Jaguars and is 2-7 in nine career starts. He went 1-2 with the Broncos in 2019 and 1-5 in six starts over two years with the Bengals in 2020 and ‘21. Shanahan said Allen's confidence grew throughout the week and he doesn't anticipate a major change in how he calls the offense. Left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) also missed practice for the third consecutive day. Without disclosing the nature of the ailment to Purdy's throwing shoulder, general manager John Lynch confirmed Friday an MRI exam took place to determine the severity of any injury. Allen worked with the first team most of Thursday and Friday with Joshua Dobbs also taking snaps. Lynch described Purdy's status for the 49ers (5-5) this week as "tenuous." "Hopefully, he makes progress, and we can have a shot at this weekend, but we'll see," Lynch said in an interview with KNBR in San Francisco. "I think it's tenuous." When Purdy was on the field this week, he primarily worked on the side in position-specific drills with QB coach Brian Griese. Williams played through an ankle injury last week after being listed as questionable but exited the stadium with an exaggerated limp on Sunday. Run game coordinator Chris Foerster said the 49ers aren't where they want to be at 5-5 because they haven't won close games, not because of injuries. "Seven games left is like an eternity," Foerster said. "So much can happen. Do the math. What was our record last year? It was 12-5. I was on a 13-win team that was nowhere near as good as the team last year." With or without Purdy, Foerster said the challenge for the 49ers is not to give up the ball to a defense that has 19 takeaways. The 49ers have 13 giveaways this season. --Field Level Media49ers QB Brock Purdy, DE Nick Bosa out, Brandon Allen to start at Green Bay

AP: YSRCP slams Naidu-led govt for failures in education sector

Venezuela: ‘We must defend transparency, popular sovereignty and the constitution’Salem University, Lokoja, has announced that 41 out of its 499 graduating students will be awarded first-class degrees at the institution’s combined convocation ceremony for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 sets, scheduled for Friday, November 29, 2024. This announcement was made by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alewo Akubo, during a pre-convocation press briefing in Lokoja on Monday. The graduates are from seven colleges of the university: the College of Management and Social Sciences, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, College of Humanities, College of Education, College of Communication and Information Technology, College of Law, and the Postgraduate School. Akubo also revealed that the institution’s eighth college, the College of Basic Health and Medical Sciences, had recently been accredited and will commence operations soon. Akubo emphasised that Salem University had consistently produced graduates who contributed significantly to the development of Kogi State, Nigeria, and the global community. Related News Salem University screens admission seekers ‎NUC accredits five additional courses for Kogi varsity “Our sixth convocation comes up on Friday, November 29, 2024. A total of 499 students will be graduating, with 41 of them earning first-class degrees. Our graduates are change agents, equipped to contribute to the development of Kogi State, Nigeria, and the entire world,” he said. The Vice-Chancellor appealed for support from key stakeholders, including the Kogi State Government, the Federal Government, and well-meaning individuals, to strengthen the university’s ability to continue its developmental contributions. “Private universities are playing a crucial role in producing graduates who serve the world at large. What public universities are doing, private universities are doing much more. The Federal Government should encourage private universities to do more. For sustainable university education in Nigeria, attention must also be paid to private institutions,” he added. As part of the convocation activities, Professor Sam Egwu, a renowned Professor of Political Economy, is scheduled to deliver the convocation lecture on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. Salem University’s commitment to academic excellence and producing impactful graduates remains evident as it celebrates another milestone in its history.

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court should overturn Mississippi’s Jim Crow-era practice of removing voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies, including nonviolent crimes such as forgery and timber theft, attorneys say in new court papers. Most of the people affected are disenfranchised for life because the state provides few options for restoring ballot access. “Mississippi’s harsh and unforgiving felony disenfranchisement scheme is a national outlier,” attorneys representing some who lost voting rights said in an appeal filed Wednesday. They wrote that states “have consistently moved away from lifetime felony disenfranchisement over the past few decades.” This case is the second in recent years — and the third since the late 19th century — that asks the Supreme Court to overturn Mississippi’s disenfranchisement for some felonies. The cases use different legal arguments, and the court rejected the most recent attempt in 2023. The new appeal asks justices to reverse a July ruling from the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said Mississippi legislators, not the courts, must decide whether to change the laws. Stripping away voting rights for some crimes is unconstitutional because it is cruel and unusual punishment, the appeal argues. A majority of justices rejected arguments over cruel and unusual punishment in June when they cleared the way for cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places. Attorneys who sued Mississippi over voting rights say the authors of the state’s 1890 constitution based disenfranchisement on a list of crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit. A majority of the appeals judges wrote that the Supreme Court in 1974 reaffirmed constitutional law allowing states to disenfranchise felons. About 38% of Mississippi residents are Black. Nearly 50,000 people were disenfranchised under the state’s felony voting ban between 1994 and 2017. More than 29,000 of them have completed their sentences, and about 58% of that group are Black, according to an expert who analyzed data for plaintiffs challenging the voting ban. Related Articles National Politics | Matt Gaetz says he won’t return to Congress next year after withdrawing name for attorney general National Politics | Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees? National Politics | Beyond evangelicals, Trump and his allies courted smaller faith groups, from the Amish to Chabad National Politics | Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: ‘Drill.’ National Politics | Trump’s team is delaying transition agreements. What does it mean for security checks and governing? To regain voting rights in Mississippi, a person convicted of a disenfranchising crime must receive a governor’s pardon or win permission from two-thirds of the state House and Senate. In recent years, legislators have restored voting rights for only a few people. The other recent case that went to the Supreme Court argued that authors of Mississippi’s constitution showed racist intent when they chose which felonies would cause people to lose the right to vote. In that ruling, justices declined to reconsider a 2022 appeals court decision that said Mississippi remedied the discriminatory intent of the original provisions in the state constitution by later altering the list of disenfranchising crimes. In 1950, Mississippi dropped burglary from the list. Murder and rape were added in 1968. The Mississippi attorney general issued an opinion in 2009 that expanded the list to 22 crimes, including timber larceny, carjacking, felony-level shoplifting and felony-level writing bad checks. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in a 2023 dissent that Mississippi’s list of disenfranchising crimes was “adopted for an illicit discriminatory purpose.”In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs — including Apple's Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — have joined a parade of business and world leaders in trying to improve their standing with President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January. “The first term, everybody was fighting me,” Trump said in remarks at Mar-a-Lago. “In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.” Tech companies and leaders have now poured millions into his inauguration fund, a sharp increase — in most cases — from past pledges to incoming presidents. But what does the tech industry expect to gain out of their renewed relationships with Trump? A clue to what the industry is looking for came just days before the election when Microsoft executives — who’ve largely tried to show a neutral or bipartisan stance — joined with a close Trump ally, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, to publish a blog post outlining their approach to artificial intelligence policy. “Regulation should be implemented only if its benefits outweigh its costs,” said the document signed by Andreessen, his business partner Ben Horowitz, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the company's president, Brad Smith. They also urged the government to back off on any attempt to strengthen copyright laws that would make it harder for companies to use publicly available data to train their AI systems. And they said, “the government should examine its procurement practices to enable more startups to sell technology to the government.” Trump has pledged to rescind President Joe Biden’s sweeping AI executive order, which sought to protect people’s rights and safety without stifling innovation. He hasn’t specified what he would do in its place, but his campaign said AI development should be “rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.” Trump's choice to head the Interior Department, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, has spoken openly about the need to boost electricity production to meet increased demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. “The AI battle affects everything from defense to healthcare to education to productivity as a country,′′ Burgum said on Nov. 15, referring to artificial intelligence. “And the AI that’s coming in the next 18 months is going to be revolutionary. So there’s just a sense of urgency and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration′′ to address it. Demand for data centers ballooned in recent years due to the rapid growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, and local governments are competing for lucrative deals with big tech companies. But as data centers begin to consume more resources, some residents are pushing back against the world’s most powerful corporations over concerns about the economic, social and environmental health of their communities. “Maybe Big Tech should buy a copy of ‘The Art of The Deal’ to figure out how to best negotiate with this administration,” suggested Paul Swanson, an antitrust attorney for the law firm Holland & Hart. “I won’t be surprised if they find ways to reach some accommodations and we end up seeing more negotiated resolutions and consent decrees.” Although federal regulators began cracking down on Google and Facebook during Trump’s first term as president — and flourished under Biden — most experts expect his second administration to ease up on antitrust enforcement and be more receptive to business mergers. Google may benefit from Trump’s return after he made comments on the campaign trail suggesting a breakup of the company isn’t in the U.S. national interest, after a judge declared its search engine an illegal monopoly. But recent nominations put forward by his transition team have favored those who have been critical of Big Tech companies, suggesting Google won’t be entirely off the hook. Cook’s notoriously rocky relationship with the EU can be traced back to a 2016 ruling from Brussels in a tax case targeting Apple. Cook slammed the bloc’s order for Apple to pay back up to 13 billion euros ($13.7 billion) in Irish back taxes as “total political crap.” Trump, then in his first term as president, piled on, referring to the European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who was spearheading a campaign on special tax deals and a crackdown on Big Tech companies, as the “tax lady” who “really hates the U.S.” Brussels was eventually vindicated after the bloc’s top court rejected Apple’s appeal this year, though it didn’t stop Cook from calling Trump to complain, Trump recounted in a podcast in October. Trump hosted Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. Neither Apple nor the Trump transition team has commented on the nature of their discussions. Altman, Amazon and Meta all pledged to donate $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund. During his first term, Trump criticized Amazon and railed against the political coverage at The Washington Post, which billionaire Bezos owns. Meanwhile, Bezos had criticized some of Trump’s past rhetoric. In 2019, Amazon also argued in a court case that Trump’s bias against the company harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract. More recently, Bezos has struck a more conciliatory tone. He recently said at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York that he was “optimistic” about Trump’s second term, while also endorsing president-elect’s plans to cut regulations. The donation from Meta came just weeks after Zuckerberg met with Trump privately at Mar-a-Lago. During the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate for president, but voiced a more positive stance toward Trump. Earlier this year, he praised Trump’s response to his first assassination attempt. Still, Trump in recent months had continued to attack Zuckerberg publicly. And Altman, who is in a legal dispute with AI rival Elon Musk, has said he is “not that worried” about the Tesla CEO’s influence in the incoming administration. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits.

Sports on TV for Thursday, Dec. 19Putin apologizes for 'tragic incident' but stops short of saying Azerbaijani plane was shot down MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. He stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike as the plane attempted to land on Wednesday. Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.” The Kremlin also says Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are jointly investigating the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. Israel detains the director of one of northern Gaza's last functioning hospitals during a raid DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza's Health Ministry says Israel’s army has detained the director of one of northern Gaza's last functioning hospitals. The announcement on Saturday came after health officials said Israeli troops stormed the hospital and forced many staff and patients outside and told them to strip in winter weather. Israel’s military alleges the hospital director is a suspected Hamas operative and says it detained over 240 others. It acknowledges it ordered people outside and that special forces entered the hospital. It says it “eliminated” militants who fired at its forces. Kamal Adwan officials have denied that Hamas operates in the hospital. Abortions are up in the US. It's a complicated picture as women turn to pills, travel Even with abortion bans in place in most Republican-controlled states, the number of people obtaining them has grown slightly. That's part of a complicated picture of the impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade two and a half years ago. Abortion pills are more common now. So is traveling to other states for care, often on journeys hundreds of miles long. Public support for the right to abortion has also increased since before the ruling. That's been reflected in most ballot measures to add the right to abortion to state constitutions being adopted. Drought, fires and deforestation battered Amazon rainforest in 2024 BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The Amazon rainforest staggered through another difficult year in 2024. A second year of record drought contributed to wildfires that worsened deforestation across the massive forest, which spans Brazil, Peru, Colombia and other Latin American nations and is a critical counterweight to climate change. There were some bright spots. Both Brazil and Colombia reported lower levels of deforestation compared to prior years. Experts say Amazon countries need to do more to strengthen cross-border collaboration and that the global community who reap the benefits of commodities from the rainforest also need to pitch in. Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied by daily combat losses and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk. Some want to stay in the region at all costs. Others question the value of having gone in at all. Battles are so intense that commanders are unable to evacuate their dead. Lags in communication and poorly timed operations have cost lives and commanders say they have little way to counterattack. The overstretched Ukrainians have lost more than 40% of the territory they won in the lightning incursion that seized much of Kursk in August. Afghan forces target Pakistan in retaliation for deadly airstrikes Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says its forces hit several points inside Pakistan in retaliation for deadly airstrikes. Pakistan last Tuesday launched an operation to destroy a training facility and kill insurgents in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province. The strikes killed dozens of people. The ministry said Saturday that its forces hit points “serving as centers and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters who organized and coordinated attacks in Afghanistan.” Pakistan accuses the Taliban of not doing enough to combat cross-border militant activity, a charge the Taliban government denies. Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who instituted economic reforms, cremated in New Delhi NEW DELHI (AP) — Manmohan Singh, the former Indian prime minister widely regarded as the architect of the country’s economic reform program, has been cremated after a state funeral. The veteran leader, who was also credited for a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, died late Thursday at age 92. Singh’s body was taken Saturday to the headquarters of his Congress party in New Delhi, where party leaders and activists paid tributes to him and chanted “Manmohan Singh lives forever.” Later, his body was transported to a crematorium ground for his last rites as soldiers beat drums. A mild-mannered technocrat, Singh was prime minister for 10 years until 2014. Sweden embarks on a sober search for more cemetery space in case of war GOTHENBURG, Sweden (AP) — Burial associations in Sweden are looking to acquire enough land for something they hope they’ll never have to do. And that's to bury thousands of people in the event of war. The search follows new crisis preparedness guidelines from the country's civil defense agency and the military. The issue is seen in a new light after Russia's invasion of Ukraine led formerly neutral Sweden to join NATO. Sweden and Finland sent out updated civil preparedness guides in November with instructions on how to survive in war. The guides are similar to those in Denmark and Norway, though they don't mention Russia by name. Olivia Hussey, star of the 1968 film 'Romeo and Juliet,' dies at 73 LONDON (AP) — Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her family said on social media. She was 73. Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones,” a statement posted to her Instagram account said. Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli cast her in his adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy. “Romeo and Juliet” won two Oscars and Hussey won a Golden Globe for best new actress for her part as Juliet, opposite British actor Leonard Whiting. Decades later, the pair brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures over nude scenes in the film they said they were coerced to perform. The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County judge in 2023. Winning ticket for $1.22 billion lottery jackpot sold in California, Mega Millions says At least one Mega Millions player has plenty of dough to ring in the New Year after drawing the winning number. After three months without anyone winning the top prize in the lottery, a ticket worth an estimated $1.22 billion was sold in California for the drawing Friday night. The California Lottery said the winning ticket was sold at Circle K (Sunshine Food and Gas) on Rhonda Rd. in Cottonwood. The winning ticket matched the white balls 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and the gold Mega Ball 6. The identity of the winner or winners was not immediately known. The estimated jackpot was the fifth-highest ever for Mega Millions.Washington, Dec 8 (AP) President Joe Biden said Sunday that the sudden collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad is a “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but it was “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Mideast. Biden spoke at the White House hours after after rebel groups completed a takeover of the country after more than a dozen years of violent civil war and decades of leadership by Assad and his family. Biden said the United States was unsure of Assad's whereabouts, but was monitoring reports he was seeking refuge in Moscow. The outgoing Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump were working to make sense of new threats and opportunities across the Middle East. Biden credited action by the US and its allies for weakening Syria's backers — Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. He said “for the first time” that they could no longer defend Assad's grip on power. “Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East," Biden said, after a meeting with his national security team at the White House. Trump said Sunday that Assad had fled his country, which his family had ruled for decades, because close ally Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, “was not interested in protecting him any longer.” Those comments on Trump's social media platform came a day after he used another post to decry the possibility of the US intervening militarily in Syria to aid the rebels, declaring, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT." The Biden administration had no intention of intervening, according to President Joe Biden's national security adviser. The US has about 900 troops in Syria, including forces working with Kurdish allies in the opposition-held northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group. Biden said he intended those for troops to remain, adding that US forces on Sunday conducted “dozens” of what he called “precision air strikes" on Islamic State camps and operations in Syria. The Syrian opposition that brought down Assad is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The Biden administration has designated the group as a terrorist organisation and says it has links to al-Qaida, although Hayat Tahrir al-Sham says it has since broken ties with al-Qaida. “We will remain vigilant,” Biden said. “Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses.” He added that the groups are “saying the right things now.” “But as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions,” Biden said. Assad's fall adds to an already tense situation throughout much of region on many fronts, including Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and its fragile cease-fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, 2025, made a connection between the upheaval in Syria and Russia's war in Ukraine, noting that Assad's allies in Moscow, as well as in Iran, the main sponsor of Hamas and Hezbollah, “are in a weakened state right now.” Vice President-elect JD Vance, a veteran of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, wrote on own social media Sunday to express skepticism about the insurgents. “Many of the rebels' are a literal offshoot of ISIS. One can hope they've moderated. Time will tell,” he said, using another acronym for the group. Trump has suggested that Assad's ouster can advance the prospects for an end to fighting in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022. Trump wrote that Putin's government “lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine” and the Republican called for an immediate cease-fire, a day after meeting in Paris with the French and Ukrainian leaders. Daniel B. Shapiro, a deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said the American military presence will continue in eastern Syria but was “solely to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS and has nothing to do with other aspects of this conflict.” “We call on all parties in Syria to protect civilians, particularly those from Syria's minority communities to respect international military norms and to work to achieve a resolution to include the political settlement,” Shapiro said. “Multiple actors in this conflict have a terrible track record to include Assad's horrific crimes, Russia's indiscriminate aerial bomb bombardment, Iranian-back militia involvement and the atrocities of ISIS," he added. Shapiro, however, was careful not to directly say Assad had been deposed by the insurgents. “If confirmed, no one should shed any tears over the Assad regime,” he said. As they pushed toward the Syrian capital of Damascus, the opposition freed political detainees from government prisons. The family of missing US journalist Austin Tice renewed calls to find him. “To everyone in Syria that hears this, please remind people that we're waiting for Austin,” Tice's mother, Debra, said in comments that hostage advocacy groups spread on social media. "We know that when he comes out, he's going to be fairly dazed & he's going to need lots of care & direction. Direct him to his family please!” Tice disappeared in 2012 outside Damascus, amid intensification of what became a civil war stretching more than a decade. We've remained committed to returning him to his family,” Biden said at the White House. "We believe he's alive, we think we can get him back but we have no direct evidence to that yet. And Assad should be held accountable.” The president added: “We have to identify where he is." (AP) GSP (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)

Washington, Dec 19 (AP) Children of the wealthy and connected get special admissions consideration at some elite US universities, according to new filings in a class-action lawsuit originally brought against 17 schools. Georgetown's then-president, for example, listed a prospective student on his "president's list" after meeting her and her wealthy father at an Idaho conference known as "summer camp for billionaires", according to Tuesday court filings in the price-fixing lawsuit filed in Chicago federal court in 2022. Although it has always been assumed that such favouritism exists, the filings offer a rare peek at the often secret deliberations of university heads and admissions officials. They show how schools admit otherwise unqualified wealthy children because their parents have connections and could possibly donate large sums down the line, raising questions about fairness. Stuart Schmill, the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote in a 2018 email that the university admitted four out of six applicants recommended by then-board chairman Robert Millard, including two who "we would really not have otherwise admitted". The two others were not admitted because they were "not in the ball park, or the push from him was not as strong". In the email, Schmill said Millard was careful to play down his influence on admissions decisions, but he said the chair also sent notes on all six students and later met with Schmill to share insight "into who he thought was more of a priority". The filings are the latest salvo in a lawsuit that claims that 17 of the nation's most prestigious colleges colluded to reduce the competition for prospective students and drive down the amount of financial aid they would offer, all while giving special preference to the children of wealthy donors. "That illegal collusion resulted in the defendants providing far less aid to students than would have been provided in a free market," said Robert Gilbert, an attorney for the plaintiffs. Since the lawsuit was filed, 10 of the schools have reached settlements to pay out a total of USD 284 million, including payments of up to USD 2,000 to current or former students whose financial aid might have been shortchanged over a period of more than two decades. They are Brown, the University of Chicago, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt and Yale. Johns Hopkins is working on a settlement and the six schools still fighting the lawsuit are the California Institute of Technology, Cornell, Georgetown, MIT, Notre Dame and the University of Pennsylvania. MIT called the lawsuit and the claims about admissions favouritism baseless. "MIT has no history of wealth favouritism in its admissions; quite the opposite," university spokesperson Kimberly Allen said. "After years of discovery in which millions of documents were produced that provide an overwhelming record of independence in our admissions process, plaintiffs could cite just a single instance in which the recommendation of a board member helped sway the decisions for two undergraduate applicants." In a statement, Penn also said the case is meritless that the evidence shows that it does not favour students whose families have donated or pledged money to the Ivy League school. "Plaintiffs' whole case is an attempt to embarrass the university about its purported admission practices on issues totally unrelated to this case," the school said. Notre Dame officials also called the case baseless. "We are confident that every student admitted to Notre Dame is fully qualified and ready to succeed," a university spokesperson said in a statement. The South Bend, Indiana, school, though, did apparently admit wealthy students with subpar academic backgrounds. According to the new court filings, Don Bishop, who was then associate vice president for enrolment at Notre Dame, bluntly wrote about the "special interest" admits in a 2012 email, saying that year's crop had poorer academic records than the previous year's. The 2012 group included 38 applicants who were given a "very low" academic rating, Bishop wrote. He said those students represented "massive allowances to the power of the family connections and funding history", adding that "we allowed their high gifting or potential gifting to influence our choices more this year than last year". The final line of his email: "Sure hope the wealthy next year raise a few more smart kids!" Some of the examples pointed to in this week's court filings showed that just being able to pay full tuition would give students an advantage. During a deposition, a former Vanderbilt admissions director said that in some cases, a student would get an edge on the waitlist if they did not need financial aid. The 17 schools were part of a decades-old group that got permission from Congress to come up with a shared approach to awarding financial aid. Such an arrangement might otherwise violate antitrust laws, but Congress allowed it as long as the colleges all had need-blind admissions policies, meaning they would not consider a student's financial situation when deciding who gets in. The lawsuit argues that many colleges claimed to be need-blind but routinely favoured the children of alumni and donors. In doing so, the suit says, the colleges violated the Congressional exemption and tainted the entire organisation. The group dissolved in recent years when the provision allowing the collaboration expired. (AP) RC (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)Vice President Kashim Shettima asked banks to rein in Point-of-Sale (Point of Sale) operators He also asked the banks to tackle the issues of cash scarcity at ATMs and the exploitative practices of PoS agents The VP said that Nigerians are bitter about the lack of cash at ATMs, which prevents them from doing minimal transactions PAY ATTENTION: Follow our WhatsApp channel to never miss out on the news that matters to you! Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade. Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has asked banks to tackle cash scarcity at ATMs and exploitative practices by point-of-sale (PoS) operators. The VP spoke at the bankers’ committee meeting recently, saying that Nigerians are bitter about the lack of cash at ATMs and that the scarcity is hampering financial inclusion efforts. Shettima blames PoS operators for cash scarcity Tope Fasua, Special Adviser on Economic Affairs, represented Shettima. He asked banks to address some unethical practices by PoS agents that were responsible for the scarcity. Read also FG launches N20bn loan scheme for Nigerians to acquire Innoson, other locally-assembled vehicles PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app! He said Nigerians cannot access cash for minimal transactions and that there are some adverse selection problems with the connivance of PoS agents. Shettima said: “Nigerians complain about high and arbitrary charges and exploitation by rogue agents, which we are sure you will be able to tackle with concerted efforts.” Shettima praised the recent branch openings by Nigerian banks in France, saying Nigeria’s financial institutions have grown globally. PoS agents increase charges Legit.ng earlier reported that Zenith Bank unveiled its new branch in Paris, the French capital, with the United Bank for Africa disclosing that it signed a business cooperation deal with the French government to begin entire banking operations. Recently, financial technology companies began charging an N50 Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) as the Nigerian Finance Act mandated. The fintech firms notified their customers of the commencement of the EMTL charges, leading to PoS operators increasing their costs . Read also Accounts exempted from FG’s electronic money transfer levy as PoS operators begin new charges Money transfer transactions exempted from EMTL charges Legit.ng earlier reported that some banking transactions are exempted from the EMTL charges. According to the 2023 Finance Act, intra-bank transfers and transactions below N10,000 are ineligible for the EMTL charges. The Nigerian government introduced the EMTL via the Federal Inland Revenue Service for electronic money transfers on transactions of N10,000 and above. PAY ATTENTION : Legit.ng Needs Your Opinion! That's your chance to change your favourite news media. Fill in a short questionnaire Source: Legit.ng

Recap: Gaming studios face increasingly difficult decisions as they grapple with the escalating costs of creating cutting-edge visuals and the diminishing returns these visuals often provide. The challenge lies in striking a balance between visual spectacle, engaging gameplay, and sustainable development practices. For decades, giants in the gaming industry like Sony and Microsoft banked on realistic visuals to captivate audiences. Other publishers like Naughty Dog (The Last of Us, Uncharted series), CD Projekt Red (The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077), Rockstar Games (Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto V), and Guerrilla Games (Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West) have consistently prioritized visual excellence and this approach has led to critical acclaim and commercial success. This strategy has transformed once-flat pixelated worlds into immersive experiences that rival cinematic productions. However, the cost of achieving such realism has skyrocketed, leading to a reevaluation of priorities within the gaming sector. Marvel's Spider-Man 2, released in 2023, is one example. Leveraging the PlayStation 5's processing power, developers at Insomniac Games crafted a visually stunning New York City. Peter Parker's iconic suits were rendered with intricate textures, while skyscrapers reflected sunlight with remarkable accuracy. This level of detail, however, came at a steep price. The game's development reportedly cost around $300 million, more than triple the budget of its predecessor from just five years earlier. There's a scene in The Last of Us 2 where a character just...takes a shirt off, over their head, without any clipping, and it's probably the most technically impressive thing I've ever seen in a game?? Like have you ever seen a character do this in a game before? pic.twitter.com/v4AvYe0JGz Another example of the industry's technical prowess can be seen in a particularly noteworthy scene in The Last of Us: Part II, when the protagonist Ellie removes her shirt, revealing bruises and scrapes on her back. This moment unfolds without any graphical glitches, demonstrating the painstaking attention to detail that has become a hallmark of high-budget game development. While these visuals are impressive, they raise questions about the sustainability of such investments. Despite Spider-Man 2's commercial success, with over 11 million copies sold, Sony announced 900 layoffs in February 2024, which affected the game's developers at Insomniac. In short, the financial returns on these investments are diminishing. At the same time, audience preferences are shifting as well. Jacob Navok, a former executive at Square Enix, told The New York Times that high-fidelity visuals primarily appeal to a specific demographic of gamers in their 40s and 50s. Meanwhile, younger generations are gravitating towards games with simpler graphics but robust social features, such as Minecraft, Roblox, and Fortnite. For many young gamers, "playing is an excuse for hanging out with other people," said Joost van Dreunen, a market analyst and professor at New York University. This social aspect has become a driving force in game design and popularity. As development costs soar and player preferences evolve, some studios are exploring alternative approaches. The live service model, which prioritizes regular content updates over graphical fidelity, has gained traction. Games like Genshin Impact have found tremendous success, generating billions in revenue primarily through mobile platforms. However, this model has risks. High-profile failures like Warner Bros. Discovery's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Sony's short-lived Concord demonstrate the challenges of entering the competitive live service market. Industry professionals are divided on the path forward. Some, like David Reitman of PricewaterhouseCoopers, see potential in artificial intelligence to reduce the costs associated with high-end graphics. Others, like independent developer Rami Ismail, are skeptical of quick technological fixes and worry about the industry's current trajectory.Financial sector should shoulder heavy burden on promoting growth via new market products

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui believes his side “deserved to win” as they sealed a 2-0 victory over Newcastle at St James’ Park. Lopetegui came into the game under pressure following some poor displays from the Hammers in recent weeks but they earned a hard-fought victory to end the Magpies’ three-game winning spell. Despite a promising opening from the hosts, Tomas Soucek headed West Ham in front before Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s first goal for the club after the break wrapped up victory. Lopetegui was pleased with his side’s display following a “tough match”. He said: “I am happy for the three points and am very happy against a good team like Newcastle, who have good players and a fantastic coach. “I think today was a tough match and we were able to compete as a team. “I think we deserved to win. Today they had many moments in the first half, but I think the second half we deserved to win and we are happy because you have to do these kind of matches against this type of team if you want to overcome them.” Newcastle started brightly and had plenty of chances in the first half especially, but the visitors responded after the break by retaining possession well. The win eases the pressure on Lopetegui, whose West Ham side face Arsenal on Saturday, and he believes the victory is an important feeling for his players. He said: “I think the only thing that is under our control is to play football, to improve, to defend well, to convince the players we are able to do better. “Today we did, but I think the only thing we can do is to do the things that are under our control, not today but every day. “So we had to keep with this mentality, but above all let me say we are happy for the players because they need this kind of feeling as a team to believe that we are able to do well as a team, to put the best for each player of the team.” Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admitted defeat was a missed opportunity for his side. The Magpies missed a series of chances in the first half, including efforts from Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff, before Alexander Isak blasted a chance off target. Anthony Gordon also rolled an effort just wide of the post after the break and Isak headed wide of goal. Three points could have seen Newcastle move into the top six and Howe admitted his side need to learn from the match. “Yes, massive because the league is so tight that a couple of wins and the whole picture looks very different,” Howe said. “We’ll kick ourselves tonight because we knew the opportunity we had, a home game, Monday night, a great moment for us potentially in our season, so we have to learn from that and come back stronger.”Natural gas prices hovering near 1-year high as peak winter season approaches

Democrat should return power to Congress, courts

EuroDry Ltd. ( NASDAQ:EDRY – Get Free Report ) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,200 shares, a growth of 928.6% from the November 30th total of 700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Institutional Investors Weigh In On EuroDry An institutional investor recently raised its position in EuroDry stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in EuroDry Ltd. ( NASDAQ:EDRY – Free Report ) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 1.94% of EuroDry worth $1,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.44% of the company’s stock. EuroDry Stock Down 3.4 % Shares of NASDAQ:EDRY opened at $11.34 on Friday. EuroDry has a 1 year low of $10.04 and a 1 year high of $24.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.16 million, a P/E ratio of -5.15 and a beta of 0.73. About EuroDry EuroDry Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides ocean-going transportation services worldwide. It owns and operates a fleet of drybulk carriers that transport major bulks, such as iron ore, coal, and grains; and minor bulks, including bauxite, phosphate, and fertilizers. The company fleet consisted of 13 drybulk carriers comprising five Panamax drybulk carriers, two Kamsarmax, five Ultramax drybulk carriers, and one Supramax drybulk carrier with a total cargo carrying capacity of 918,502 dwt. See Also Receive News & Ratings for EuroDry Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EuroDry and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .