magic. ocean. song

Dejan Kulusevski cannot wait for the opportunity to play against Manchester City again after Tottenham ran riot at the Etihad Stadium. The Sweden midfielder hailed Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing of the champions as the best game of his career. The 24-year-old delivered an outstanding performance as Spurs shattered the champions’ 52-game unbeaten home run, helping start the rout with a superb cross for James Maddison’s opening goal. Kulusevski said: “I believed (we would win) this because in the past years, we’ve come here and played really well. “So this is the game I look forward to most in the year and, once again, it happened – glory to God. “I’d say it’s the best result ever in my career. It’s a big night for the whole club, for the coach, for the players. “Because City have a lot of the ball sometimes, we can rest when we defend. There’s also so much space up there, we play one against one and then it’s always dangerous because we have a lot of quality. “It’s always great to play great teams because they always want to play football. When you play lower teams, sometimes it’s not. There’s not much football played because they are a lot of fouls, a lot of injuries and it’s slow going.” Maddison stole the show with two goals in quick succession in the first half while Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson later got on the scoresheet. Kulu-chef-ski cooked 👨‍🍳 📊 — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) Yet Kulusevski’s performance was also eye-catching and the player himself believes there is plenty more to come from him. Asked if his form made him feel “unstoppable”, Kulusevski said: “I feel like that. I feel very good and I’m trying to keep this way. I’m very happy, I’m trying to improve. “I started the season good but there is over half of the season left and I hope I can do much better. “I think I have something that no other player has. With my engine, with my heart – I don’t get tired – I feel like I can do a lot still in my career.” Spurs have won more matches against Pep Guardiola's Man City than any other side 👀 — Premier League (@premierleague) Tottenham’s scintillating performance marked a spectacular return to form after their dismal loss to Ipswich in their previous Premier League outing. Kulusevski said: “We have to be much more consistent. It’s not a turning point. We just have to be better in other games. “This game suited us perfectly but we have a lot of improvement to make in the other games.”Trump calls for ceasefire in Ukraine immediatelyI hear that the National Assembly has approved the external borrowing of $2.2 billion for the Tinubu administration to address the fiscal deficit in the 2024 Budget” “Bros, I tire. I just tire. What on earth do they do with all these borrowings?” “There is actually a deficit of $9.17 billion deficit in the 2024 budget when you add Eurobonds, interest on Ways and Means, foreign debt and domestic debt, and I hear that Nigeria can borrow more in line with Section 21(1) and Section 27(1) of the Debt Management Office (DMO) Establishment Act of 2003.” Related Stories Nigeria raises $2.2 billion from latest Eurobond auction FG Promissory Notes rise to N1.65 trillion, up 114% in one year under Tinubu “The DMO will quote anything to please any government in power. Is that woman still there? My concern is what they do with all the money” “They want to service debts and finance capital projects” “In November? I would have thought that by now, we should have been talking about Budget 2025. This is November. We are rushing to borrow more money as the year ends. Don’t they want to maintain the budget cycle again? I am confused. And which capital projects is anyone talking about? SUVs, for the lawmakers? Presidential jets? Foreign trips? I am sorry I can’t see any capital projects. They just want to borrow more money for consumption, not productivity. The roads are bad. Nobody talks about the railway system in the country anymore. Air travel is a nightmare. The refineries are still not working. The cost of living is high. The average man cannot breathe, cannot eat, cannot live. Yet, the Federal Executive Council approved more external borrowing and it took the National Assembly 48 hours to rubber-stamp the loan.” “Did you expect anything different? The National Assembly is an extension of the Executive arm of government. It will rubber stamp anything that comes from the Executive and that is the case with the VAT Bill too.” “But if it is a bill on things that would pave the way for good governance, the same National Assembly could spend years huffing and puffing, but anything that would benefit the elite and make it easier to have access to more of the state’s resources, the APC-dominated National Assembly would act quickly. The real wonderful in wonderland.”. “Have you heard?” “You and your rumours.” “This one is hot oh” “The problem with you people in this country is rumour-mongering. Una too dey carry gist. Una carry gist so tey, you even carry phone spread rumour that Otunba Mike Adenuga had died. This is a man who gave many of you the opportunity to use mobile phones in your life. The Spirit of Africa. A Patriot. I am sure it must have been one yeye man, using a useless, miserable phone. Nigerians are something else.” “In Yoruba culture, when your death is prematurely and wrongly announced, it means the person will live long. We pray for a long life for Otunba Mike Adenuga, in very good health, upstairs and downstairs and in all ways, with more grace and prosperity. Do you remember the story of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, nationalist, founding father of the nation, pan-Africanist. On November 8, 1989, his death was announced meanwhile the man was hale and hearty and working on a book in his library when he read his own obituary. NTA had rushed to do a documentary on the life and times of the inimitable Zik. Newspapers showed up the following morning with editorials. Columnists wanted to be the first to announce Zik’s death. Such was the force of his impact in politics, business and newspapering. Except that Zik was alive and he lived for another seven years. A burial committee was even announced. Bros, some of the members of that burial committee died before Zik. In Yoruba culture, when people wish you dead, they are actually praying inadvertently for your longevity. May Otunba Mike Adenuga live longer than those who want him buried before his time. So shall it be. Amen.” “Is it not journalists? When journalists are not killing people, they are sending them to jail, without conviction. Who is a journalist these days?” “I don’t know. I guess things are so bad now that anybody with access to the internet can put any information out there on social media. It is the price that the world is paying for the democratization of the information process, the Indomie-nation of news, the collapse of traditional media systems and the emergence of charlatans in what was once a sacred profession. But let me give you my gist now?” “Okay. Fire! Just make sure it is not a fabrication by some ignoramus”. “Hen. Hen. I hear that” “You heard. Hen Hen.” “I heard that principal officers of the National Assembly, in fact, two of them from the South, locked horns, with one holding the other’s agbada around the neck, both trying to suffocate each other. A blow. A jab. I don’t want to mention names. One Northern Senator had to wade in to prevent bloodshed.” “The story sounds fabulous. Mention names” “I hear they are trying very hard to cover it up and to prevent pictures of the ugly tiff from getting to the media. My source is impeccable.” “Oh. Oh. Oh. Story. Story. But what has this got to do with the external borrowing approval? What we hear is that the lawmakers all agreed on that. So, what could be the problem after they passed one of the fastest pieces of legislation in Nigeria? No public hearing. Nothing.” “It was a fight over who could show that he was more loyal to the Presidential Villa.” “Must be a fight over who gets what for his own stomach or for his own people. After all, you said a Northern Senator waded in. He shouldn’t have if that is true. What is wrong with that Senator? Who asked him to stop whatever could have been like a Jake Paul/Mike Tyson fight or a Joshua/Dubois fight, He should have allowed the two gladiators to beat each other up, and by now, we would have known more. I like it when politicians fight. We get to know more because it is we, the people who suffer in the long run.” “Just as the people of Rivers state are the ones going to suffer if the Court of Appeal declares when it delivers its reserved judgement in the FAAC Allocation matter, that the Rivers State Government led by Governor Sim Fubara cannot receive any further Federal Allocations if it does not have a properly presented, passed and legally valid Budget. Who suffers?” “The people suffer, and that is because we are running a bowl-in-hand Federation. The states are so dependent on the Federal Government for manna. But nobody should blame the judiciary. The source of the problem is the political gladiators of Rivers State and the elders in that state who talk from both sides of the mouth and serve both Wike and Fubara. One state. Two masters. They have all managed to turn Rivers State into an atomistic society perpetually at war against itself.” “I know that phrase. It sounds familiar. That must be Professor Emmanuel Ayandele, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar describing the old Cross Rivers state of the 80s, in the days of late Professor OkonEdetUya who used to talk about Oron-phobia But those ones were even intellectualizing the politics of Cross Rivers State. What you have in Rivers State is sheer elite thuggery, politics without conscience, agbero politics and the dictatorship of one man who thinks he is the lord and master of Rivers politics.” “So, I insist that whatever the judiciary decides is not the problem. The problem in Rivers state will not go away whatever the Court of Appeal decides except President Tinubu intervenes and cuts off the oxygen that is fuelling the chaos in that state.” “No. President Tinubu is not the headmaster of any state of Nigeria. It is the people of Rivers State that should resolve their own problems. Let the critical actors solve their own problems. For all I care at this stage, they should lock themselves up in a room and have a slugfest. Whoever comes out alive is the winner.” “What kind of talk is that? You are recommending jungle justice. Do you want to kill someone? Just look at it. If you lock up Sim Fubara and Nyesom Wike, who says nobody can take Rivers away from him in a room, what will be the likely outcome?” “I don’t know. This is no longer a matter for the courts. Let them fight, and let us know who the man is” “This is a democracy. Only Barbarians resort to a fist-fight.” “Then let President Tinubu wade into the matter. This is the point I am making. Wike is his Minister. He is so powerful in Rivers State because he is a big chief in the Federal Capital Territory. The President should remove the rug from his feet. Take the oxygen that makes it possible for him to Buga oh, from him and you will see there will be peace in Rivers State.” “Now, I am convinced that you do not understand politics. That is not how politics works. President Tinubu needs Wike as much as Wike needs him. It is not about Tinubu sacking Wike. Who told you that will guarantee peace in Rivers? Why should Rivers be important to Tinubu? Is it possible that a strong, properly empowered Wike is politically more relevant to Tinubu than the whole of Rivers state put together?” “How can one man be so important?” “In politics, what you don’t know, you don’t know. Politics is the ultimate magic, the topmost art of illusion, known to man. Why do you think President Donald Trump is on his way back as the President of the largest economy in the world, despite his many shortcomings including being a convicted felon?” “Politics does not always throw up the best people in the society. I know. I guess we must know that. And the people who vote have their own ideas. We just need to let the people know that whatever you decide, you must be ready to live with it. In four years, you can change your mind.” “Yeah. Yeah. I hope the people of Rivers State are learning and learning good. And we will see how the Americans would learn their own lessons under Trump 2.0 too.” “Trump has just named his full complement of Ministerial nominees, 15 in total.” “I saw that, but I won’t say I am impressed with the list. Just a collection of MAGA loyalists, yes men and women and a few old rivals, completely eclectic. What is Robert Kennedy Jr. doing as nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services for example? Another nominee is a wrestling CEO, named as Linda McMahon to take charge of the Education Department, a more or less inexperienced choice. Pete Hegseth has sexual abuse issues, like MattGaetz, hanging around his neck. At least Gaetz stepped down before he could be openly disgraced by the Ethics Committee of the House of Representatives. And then this Scott Bessent – an openly gay man appointed by Trump who touts Christian evangelism and far-right ideology even when he may not be able to quote the Bible. Politicians are the same everywhere. They just look out for themselves first. America first in my view means Donald Trump first. But let the Americans live with it. They have made their choice.” “All said and done, America has nominated just 15 people, not a nominee per state or per ethnicity. I have not seen anybody saying their own ethnic group has not been represented. No Black. No Latino. No Arab-American and yet no issue.” “It is their Constitution and their culture. We are talking about America not your “whatever” countries in the Third World, please. This is the richest country. The budget that Brooke Rollins as Agriculture Secretary will control is more than the annual budget of some three African countries! What matters is what a Trump Presidency means for the world, climate change, global peace, and competition with China. But I don’t even want to beat myself over other people’s problems. In two days, America will celebrate Thanksgiving. I have been seeing some pictures of very regal, fleshy Turkeys. Chop time! Fun time.” “You like food too much. You are reading about American Thanksgiving and you are already doing a long throat. I don’t have Thanksgiving on my mind. I am thinking of Christmas. Will there be money for Christmas? School fees? Money for gifts. I hope you know that today, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria is going to announce their usual benchmark rate, CRR, MPR, and asymmetric corridor which will tell us how hard life is, how harder it may become and whether or not we can breathe a little. With an inflation rate close to 40%, may the Lord help us.” “You may be surprised. Benchmark rate may actually come down” “I want to be surprised. But I actually also know this country so well that when things go up, they don’t come down.” “Not quite my friend. The ex-depot price of fuel has just come down from N990 per litre to N970 per litre. And that is a fact. Christmas gift from Dangote Refinery through the now peaceful oil marketers to us” “What a wonderful fact!” “Our God has answered our prayers, He has sent to us, early ahead of Christmas, a Father who cares.” “You are right. You are absolutely right.” “Hear! Hear!”magic. ocean. song 。

'I'm a neurosurgeon and I do these four things each day to avoid dementia'Peter Roff: AI, blockchain and the coming online economic boom( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) Antminer Loki Rig Mods with APW3 Side Hodler Loki Kits, with a Antminer Hashboard and a Skull of Satoshi Antminer Slim v3 D-Central unveils Antminer Slim, Loki, and Pivotal Editions, empowering pleb miners as bitcoin surges past $106,000 amid historic adoption. Jonathan Bertrand D-Central +1 8557539997 email us here Visit us on social media: Facebook X LinkedIn YouTube TikTok Other Modified APW12 PSU – Perfect for Antminer Loki Edition | Step-by-Step 110V Home Bitcoin Mining Mod Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above. MENAFN15122024003118003196ID1108995590 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.

Albanese struggles to offload Dulwich Hill investment property

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points and the visiting Milwaukee Bucks rallied for an 118-113 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. The Bucks bounced back from losses to the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics for their eighth win in 10 games and improved to 10-3 since dropping eight of their first 10, including a 13-point loss at Brooklyn on Oct. 27. Antetokounmpo shot 14-of-22 and grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with four assists and three blocks. Bobby Portis added 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, including an open 3 from the left side that followed a steal by Andre Jackson Jr. and gave the Bucks a 109-108 lead with 2:08 left. The reserve forward made 9 of 10 shots and was a perfect 5-of-5 from behind the arc, and he added a block of Dennis Schroder that set up Antetokounmpo's dunk with 1:09 left. Gary Trent Jr. contributed 20 as the Bucks shot 57.4 percent and hit 15 3s. Damian Lillard chipped 15 points and 11 assists while Khris Middleton finished with 11 points in his second game back from an ankle injury. Schroder scored a season-high 34 and added 11 assists but the Nets lost for the fourth time in five games. Cameron Johnson added 26 points and Nic Claxton contributed a season-high 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Nets shot 50.6 percent but blew a 12-point lead late in the third. Antetokounmpo scored 11 as the Bucks shot nearly 53 percent and held a 27-25 lead through the opening quarter. Schroder capped his 19-point opening half with a short jumper right before the buzzer to give the Nets a 52-51 lead by halftime. Claxton converted a three-point play and a baseline dunk on consecutive trips to give the Nets a 63-58 lead with 8:26 left. Johnson scored six straight Brooklyn points, and his transition layup gave the Nets a 74-66 lead with about 5 1/2 minutes left. Two free throws by Day'Ron Sharpe put Brooklyn ahead 83-71, but Milwaukee outscored the Nets 15-3 over the final 3:17 to forge an 86-86 tie into the fourth. The Nets held a 98-93 lead when Antetokounmpo returned with 8:02 left and a 106-101 lead after Johnson's 3 with 3:47 left. --Field Level MediaPep Guardiola: If I can’t reverse Manchester City slide then I have to go

The Buffalo Bills will emerge from their bye week hoping to continue their blistering form, which saw them rattle off six straight wins, including handing the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season. With Josh Allen playing perhaps the best football of his career, wheeling and dealing in Joe Brady's offense, there aren't the worries over No. 17 as there were once in preseason. No Stefon Diggs nor Gabriel Davis had many wondering if this would be a down year for Allen, who had a receiver-by-committee approach on offense. Well, through 11 weeks, it looks like those fears were misplaced. As we head toward Thanksgiving , CBS Sports has named one thing that Buffalo can be thankful for, and to no one's surprise, it's centered around Allen. "Josh Allen doesn't need an all-world setup," CBS Sports writes . "With a reshuffled and occasionally injury-plagued receiving corps, he's remained a one-man show to keep the Bills among the AFC powers. Another run is on tap." (Mark Konezny-Imagn Images) With the Bills offense humming of late, scoring at least 30 points in their last five games, Allen is doing a superb job at distributing the football to whichever receiver is open. Related: Could Bye Week Slow Bills' Flow? That creates confusion for defenses as there is no No. 1 receiver to zero in on, with Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Dalton Kincaid, Mack Hollins, Dawson Knox, and Curtis Samuel all having their moments in the sun this season. But that all happens because of the play of Allen, who has proved that he doesn't need the "all-world" setup as CBS described; he can take an offense full of players that aren't household names and wins with them. And that is something the Bills organization is no doubt thankful for. Related: It's Bills’ Josh Allen vs. 'The Unknown Mystery' of the 49ersNoneOn the sidelines of the happy event of the inauguration of the Thessaloniki Metro, a merry-go-round of tensions and reactions has emerged. It is easy to focus on the occasional and ignore the timeless. Current events, besides being a mirror of society, are also a mechanism for reducing pressures. What the media was preoccupied with was a senior executive of a local soccer club who informed Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Nikos Tachiaos that fans of the team are preparing to “smash up” the inauguration ceremony of the city’s new metro because their team was punished with two games behind closed doors. The deputy minister does the right thing and files a report with the local prosecutor’s office. The senior executive replies that he was misinterpreted, that he respects legality and that his communication “was intended to prevent any illegal activities related to the behavior of individuals outside the control of the club.” In the meantime, the Athens Administrative Court of Appeal decides – apparently out of fear of violence – to temporarily suspend the sentence imposed on the soccer club. On the one hand, we have the uncontrolled hooligans, on the other, a state that is having difficulty imposing the law – if not an inability. The inauguration of the metro, the visits of the officials, the planned opening, could not be postponed. The impasse is obvious, fear reigns supreme, and public property is constantly held hostage. A metro is one of the infrastructure projects that changes the life of the city, not superficially or temporarily but decisively. In addition to the transport and psychology of its residents, it affects everyone’s relationship with time and the city. The layers of history through archaeological findings contribute to knowledge, strengthen or shift narratives, illuminate everyday life in a different way. But none of this matters when there is a risk of soccer matches being held behind closed doors! The “unveiling of Thessaloniki’s metro” could not have happened outside of reality and society. The unveiling does not always bring to the surface the behaviors we desire, but also what we abhor and condemn. What matters is the way in which the political leadership and the authorities operate. They are proud on the one hand, they give in to threats, on the other. These are actions dictated by fear. The message is distorted.

Romad Dean scores 16 to lead Fordham over Maine 87-72The assisted dying bill would place “serious logistical problems” on judges and the courts, senior judicial figures have warned. The bill, which will be voted on for the first time on Friday, would require a High Court judge to approve an assisted death. The judge would need to certify that the person deciding to end their life had mental capacity, was free from coercion and had had the application approved by two independent doctors. The role of judges is causing concern among the judiciary, The Times has been told. An analysis of the impact on the judiciary by Sir James Munby, the former head of the family division of the High Court, calculated that the bill would require 34,000 hours of judicial involvement each year,

Pep Guardiola: If I can’t reverse Manchester City slide then I have to go850+ PHOTOS: Dazzling moments from Sunshine Coast 2024 formalsNoneRoy brushes off Hegseth allegations, saying everyone has 'indiscretions'

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Themus Fulks scored 23 points as Milwaukee beat Akron 100-81 on Sunday. Fulks had five rebounds and seven assists for the Panthers (8-4, 2-0 Horizon League). Kentrell Pullian added 19 points while shooting 7 for 13 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line while they also had six rebounds and five steals. Jamichael Stillwell had 17 points and shot 5 of 9 from the field and 5 for 7 from the line. The Zips (6-3) were led by Tavari Johnson, who posted 22 points and two steals. Nate Johnson added 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for Akron. Sharron Young had 11 points and three steals. The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the Zips. Milwaukee took the lead with 16:39 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 58-45 at halftime, with Erik Pratt racking up 14 points. Fulks scored 16 points in the second half to help lead the way as Milwaukee went on to secure a victory, outscoring Akron by six points in the second half. Milwaukee's next game is Sunday against North Central (IL) at home, and Akron squares off against Yale on Friday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .NoneAI was everywhere in 2024. Here are the biggest stories of the year.

Bangladesh tolerance festival scrapped after Islamist threats Devotees of Lalon Shah, organised two-day festival or “mela” in city of Narayanganj later this month DHAKA: A Bangladeshi mystic sect promoting religious tolerance has cancelled their popular music festival after Islamist threats, the latest victim of turbulent religious relations since a student-led August revolution. The overthrow of long-time autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina has seen a spate of protests in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, including a surge in Islamist groups emboldened to take to the streets after years of being suppressed. In the immediate chaotic days following Hasina’s ouster, there were a string of reprisals on Hindus -- seen by some as disproportionate supporters of her regime -- as well as attacks on Muslim Sufi shrines by Islamic hardliners. Devotees of Lalon Shah, a 17th-century Bengali social reformer whose moving songs of religious tolerance remain hugely influential, had organised a two-day festival or “mela” in the city of Narayanganj later this month. More than 10,000 people attended the event last year, listening to musicians promoting the sect’s philosophy -- a mix of Hinduism and Sufism rather than one specific religion -- which angered some Islamic hardliners. Narayanganj deputy commissioner Mohammad Mahmudul Hoque said city authorities had not approved the programme due to concerns about potential violence after assessing security risks. “This area is a stronghold of groups with opposing views,” Hoque said. Festival organiser Shah Jalal said it was the first time he had to cancel. Abdul Awal, a committee leader of Hefazat-e-Islam -- a coalition of Islamist organisations with significant influence -- led marches earlier this month demanding the festival be stopped. “We cannot allow activities that contradict the true spirit of Islam,” Awal said. “In the name of celebration, they promote indecency, with women singing and dancing, gambling, and the smoking of weed (cannabis),” he alleged. Lalon’s followers, ascetic “Baul” singers who wander on foot from town to town singing and begging for alms, are branded heretics by some Islamists. “The cancellation of Lalon Mela is a bad omen for all of us,” said cultural activist Rafiur Rabbi. “It is disheartening that the government is yielding to majority pressure. Does this mean minorities will no longer have a voice?” But the interim government’s cultural affairs advisor, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, said they were doing what they could. “Sheikh Hasina’s fall and her fleeing the country created a vacuum that led to a series of incidents, but we have managed to regain control,” he said.Writing in the November bulletin of the North Dakota Newspaper Association, Executive Director Cecile Wehrman said: “Well, it was nice while it lasted. ADVERTISEMENT “For several weeks after the postal roundtable held in Grand Forks on Aug. 26, I was getting a few messages from eastern (N.D.) newspapers expressing surprise that they were suddenly getting their newspapers (delivered) on time. “Of course, it didn’t last.” Wehrman, who is an accomplished journalist and former publisher/editor of weekly newspapers, was commenting on the ever-worsening level of service to North Dakota’s weekly newspapers from the United States Postal Service. (It’s the same for daily papers.) Her column was headlined “Postal issues still not resolved” — an understatement if ever there was one. At a time when community newspapers that have been mainstays of towns and counties for generations are struggling because of changes in the rural economy, USPS is making a challenging situation worse. In some cases, shoddy service from USPS has hastened, or even guaranteed, a newspaper’s demise. Weekly newspapers depend on the postal service to actually provide the service it is required to provide. Instead, deliveries are unreliable, unpredictable and sometimes so late that the content of the newspapers — news and advertising — is meaningless. Some advertisers have demanded refunds from publishers because ads didn’t get to readers in a timely fashion. Think of what that does to the bottom line of a small newspaper that counts on every advertising dollar. So what’s wrong with USPS? These days, just about everything. But at its core is a long-festering systemic fiasco that dates to the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act that reduced USPS from a cabinet-level department to an independent quasi-business agency. It’s an incompatible hybrid of half-baked privatization and fumbled government obligation. It was a mistake of historic proportions, and the years since have proved as much. It was an ideology-driven congressional manipulation of the constitutional mandate (Article I, Section 8), which gives Congress the power to establish post offices and post roads. ADVERTISEMENT The doctrine of universal service (getting first-class mail to you wherever you are) is what the framers envisioned. They did not enable a system that was going to be profitable commerce. The universal service obligation is not a profit model; and attempts since 1970 to make it so have failed. The USPS is a mess for many reasons: union intransigence, competition, the digital revolution, mismanagement, political interference and corruption. Nonetheless, mail delivery should be adequately federally funded, not dependent on a demonstrably unworkable profit pretense. It’s a constitutional obligation, much like providing for the common defense and the general welfare. Do we expect the Department of Defense to make a profit? Do national parks pay for themselves? The interstate highway system? Farm subsidies? Congress appropriates funds to meet those obligations. It should be the same for the postal service. As the Constitution directs: deliver the mail — and those weekly newspapers — everywhere and on time. Benjamin Franklin, the first postmaster and a weekly newspaper owner, would expect no less.

Forty-eight hours before Romanians were due to vote in a presidential election run-off, the whole process was scrapped because of an unprecedented ruling by the constitutional court. The court's decision to annul the first round came after a far-right independent candidate, Calin Georgescu, came out of almost nowhere to lead the first round two weeks ago amid allegations of Russian interference. Georgescu has condemned the ruling as a coup and Romania may have to wait months to vote again. Romania is a key Nato member on its eastern flank and shares a long border with Ukraine. It is not the first Eastern European state to fend off Russia's hybrid war, and the constitutional court has ruled that intelligence revelations of Russian meddling are sufficiently serious to put the presidential vote on hold. Moldova's recent presidential vote was held amid alleged Russian interference and voter fraud, and across the Black Sea in Georgia , the pro-Western opposition says contested elections there were hit by Kremlin meddling. Opinion polls were almost neck and neck going into Sunday's race. Almost 19 million Romanians were eligible to choose between Calin Georgescu and liberal mayor and former TV journalist Elena Lasconi. Latest polls even gave Lasconi the edge in the run-off. But then on Wednesday Romania's outgoing President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence documents from the supreme council for national defence suggesting that almost 800 Tiktok accounts created by a "foreign state" in 2016 were suddenly activated last month to full capacity, backing Georgescu. Another 25,000 TikTok accounts had become active only two weeks before the first round. Romanian foreign intelligence said Russia was the "enemy state" involved and had engaged in hybrid attacks including tens of thousands of cyber attacks and other sabotage. Domestic intelligence put Georgescu's sudden surge in popularity down to a "highly organised" and "guerilla" social media campaign" that involved identical messaging and social media influencers. TikToks promoting him were not marked as election content, violating Romania's laws, it said, while one account paid out $381,000 (£300,000) in the space of a month to users who pushed Georgescu's candidacy, while he said he had not paid anything for his campaign. That decision to declassify intelligence documents changed everything. Judges from the constitutional court met on Friday to consider a large number of requests to annul the first round. It was a complete about-turn from a decision four days before that approved the initial 24 November vote after a complete recount of 9.4 million votes. In its single-page judgement, the constitutional court says that in order to ensure the fairness and legality of the electoral process it has unanimously decided to annul the entire vote and the government must establish a new date for a re-run. The court says cites its role under the constitution "to guard the observance of the procedure" of presidential elections. It stresses the decision is final and binding. The president in Romania wields considerable power as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and with the task of appointing the prime minister. Calin Georgescu, who calls himself a university teacher, was a relative unknown in the presidential race. He denies he is a fan of Vladimir Putin, although he sees the Russian leader as a "patriot and a leader" and wants to put an end to political and military aid to Ukraine. "Zero. Everything stops," he told the BBC's Sarah Rainsford. "I have to take care just about my people. We have a lot of problems ourselves," in words that reflect his Romania-first stance. He says while Romania should remain in international organisations such as the EU and Nato, it must end its "subservient" role. He also condemns allegations that Russia was behind his electoral success as intelligence "lies". A 62-year-old agricultural engineer by profession, he held high-ranking civil service jobs years ago at Romania's environment and foreign ministries. He is also a conspiracy theorist who believes Man never landed on the Moon and the Covid-19 pandemic never happened, despite the seven million deaths worldwide , reported by the World Health Organization. Read more: Far-right candidate vowing to end aid to Ukraine Romanians are split over the constitutional court decision. "Today the Romanian state trampled democracy underfoot," liberal candidate Elena Lasconi complained. Crin Antonescu, former leader of the National Liberal party however welcomed the court ruling and said he could not understand Lasconi's reaction. "This is exactly right, to start [the whole race] again from scratch," he told Romanian media. There has been anger from supporters of Calin Georgescu. "We are witnessing a lying political class scared of losing power and capable of any injustice to keep their power and positions," Eugen, an entrepreneur in the western city of Timisoara told the BBC. Romanians who have been unenthusiastic about both candidates are unsure whether to be glad they do not have to decide on Sunday, or concerned for the future of Romanian democracy. The election starts all over again in three or four months' time, to give candidates a chance to gather endorsements to run. In the meantime, incumbent President Klaus Iohannis has said he will remain in post until the next president is elected. There is no reason why Georgescu cannot run again, although he may face criminal proceedings as a result of the allegations made against him which he denies. Romania has only just held parliamentary elections in which the centrist parties did better than expected. The Social Democrats are likely to led the next coalition government. However, three far-right parties between them polled 32% of the vote, and one of them, George Simion's AUR, came second. Another factor of uncertainty is how Georgescu supporters will react to the annulment. Will they take to the streets, or look to support Calin Georgescu or another nationalist candidate when Romania eventually returns to the ballot box.'We've had enough': Community anger over e-bikes expressed at Cronulla forum

Instagram may be actively encouraging the spread of self harm among teenagers according to a new study and Meta is being blamed for not removing explicit images on the social media site. Danish researchers have been trying to get to the bottom of how Instagram may be prompting teenagers to engage in self-harm practices and has slammed the social media platform for not controlling content and inciting social media followers to engage with content and befriend one another. It has said that its moderation is “extremely inadequate.” To investigate further, Danish researchers created a private self-harm network on Instagram, which included fake profiles of teenagers as young as 13 years old. Here, they shared 85 pieces of self-harm-related content gradually increasing in severity, including blood, razor blades and promotion of self-harm. The study had the objective of putting Meta’s claim to the test: it claimed to have significantly improved removal of harmful content using artificial intelligence (AI). It has also claimed to remove about 99 per cent of harmful content before users are able to report it. Most Read on Euro Weekly News Rise of the 'soft girl' making waves across Sweden Devastating explosion in The Hague: One dead, three hospitalised World leaders attend prestigious Notre Dame reopening Instagram slammed for not removing explicit self-harm images Digitalt Ansvar (Digital Accountability), an organisation that promotes responsible digital development, negated these claims, discovering that not a single image was removed in the month-long experiment. Instagram was clearly not complying with its policy or with EU law. The Digital Services Act obliges large digital services to identify and remove risks which may provoke serious negative consequences for physical or mental health. Meta had said: “Content that encourages self-injury is against our policies and we remove this content when we detect it. In the first half of 2024, we removed more than 12m pieces related to suicide and self-injury on Instagram, 99% of which we proactively took down. Earlier this year, we launched Instagram Teen Accounts, which will place teenagers into the strictest setting of our sensitive content control, so they’re even less likely to be recommended sensitive content and in many cases we hide this content altogether.” However, the Danish study discovered that Instagram’s algorithm was actually encouraging the expansion of damaging pages and self-harm networks. Instagram’s algorithms promote the expansion of self-harm sites The Danish study found that rather than attempt to shut down the self-harm network, Instagram’s algorithm was actively helping it to expand. The chief executive of Digitalt Ansvar commented on how surprised she was that even though images were severe, the platform appeared to show no reaction and AI was inefficient in removing them. The issue that arises is that self-harm images can result in “severe consequences” including suicide. Self harming groups tend to be small but if there is no modertation or awareness, they will continue to flourish as Meta continues promoting their growth. Psychologist Lotte Rubæk left a global expert group after accusing Meta of “turning a blind eye” to harmful Instagram content. She added: “I wouldn’t have thought that it would be zero out of 85 posts that they removed. I hoped that it would be better.” In the meantime, there is the fear that Meta is not complying with its promises and that the failure to remove images of self harm is “triggering” vulnerable young women and girls to further harm themselves which could be a factor in rising suicide figures. Read more about DenmarkAP News Summary at 3:32 p.m. EST

Genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping held extensive, fruitful meetings with socialist Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday that concluded with the countries agreeing to elevate their diplomatic ties to that of “Community for a Shared Brazil-China Future for a More Just World and More Sustainable Planet.” That elevation consisted in part of the signing of 37 different agreements, the Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported , that span “agricultural products, educational exchange, and technological cooperation in areas such as trade, investments, infrastructure, industry, energy, mining, finance, communications, sustainable development, tourism, sports, health, and culture.” The two leaders agreed to expand the scope of their cooperation as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure plan in which China offers predatory loans to poor countries to be used to fund cost-prohibitive infrastructure projects. When the countries cannot pay the loans back, China uses the opportunity to seize the projects themselves or otherwise compromise the sovereignty of the country in question, as has happened to Sri Lanka and Zambia . Some reports indicate China also exploits BRI projects to gather intelligence in targeted countries. Lula, a radical leftist, has invested heavily in expanding China’s influence in his country since his first term in office began in 2003. In addition to joining the BRI, Lula helped found the BRICS coalition, an anti-American group initially consisting of China and Brazil alongside Russia, India, and South Africa. Lula served his first two terms from 2003 to 2011 and was repeatedly convicted on corruption charges related to a massive infrastructure fraud scheme known as “Operation Car Wash.” He won the 2022 presidential election after Brazil’s top court overturned his prison sentences on procedural grounds. “Chinese companies have been bidding for infrastructure projects and have been partners in ventures such as the construction of hydroelectric installations and railroads. This means jobs, income and sustainability for Brazil,” Lula declared in a speech alongside Xi on Wednesday. “Brazilian industries are also expanding their presence in China, such as WEG, Suzano and Randon. At the same time, agribusiness continues to ensure Chinese food security. Since 2017, Brazil has been China’s largest food supplier.” Xi declared the relationship between Brazil and China to be “at the best in its history” and celebrated the two countries for making “outstanding contributions to world peace and stability.” In reality, Beijing is a primary enabler of some of the most nefarious rogue regimes in the world, including Iran, North Korea, and Cuba, while Brazil under Lula has vocally opposed sanctions and other actions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Brazil and China have united to pressure Ukraine to accept terms favorable to Russia in exchange for ending the invasion, which Lula celebrated in his remarks. “China and Brazil prioritize peace, diplomacy, and dialogue. Our common understanding of the Ukraine crisis is an example of our convergence on international security matters,” he said. Xi chose to emphasize the expansion of the BRI and Brazil’s support for China’s “core interests,” typically including China’s false claims to the nation of Taiwan as a renegade province. “Xi called on the two sides to firmly support each other on issues concerning core interests such as sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” the state-run Global Times reported , “be strategic partners of mutual trust and set a good example of solidarity, cooperation, mutual benefit and common development for countries in the Global South.” The “Global South” is a term typically used to mean the world’s poor and developing countries; China includes itself as a leader of the “Global South” despite being the world’s second-largest economy and being located in the Northern Hemisphere. The provisions of the official declaration on elevating bilateral ties indeed mentions China’s false claims to Taiwan. “The Brazilian side reiterated that it firmly adheres to the One China principle, recognized that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory,” the text read, “while the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legal government representing all of China.” “Brazil supports China’s efforts to achieve peaceful national reunification. The Chinese side expressed great appreciation in this regard,” it added. The declaration also listed “finance, infrastructure, supply chain development, investments, ecological transformation, science, and technology and innovation” as areas of cooperation. Xi is currently concluding a South America tour that began in Peru, where he helped inaugurate an incomplete deep-water port alongside President Dina Boluarte and attended the annual support of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group. He then traveled to Rio de Janeiro to attend the G20 summit and concluded his trip with a stop in Brasilia for the official state visit to Brazil. The Chinese dictator was a dominant presence at both the APEC summit and the G20, particularly in the absence of any meaningful American leadership. Outgoing President Joe Biden attended both summits but made little impact and appeared to be routinely ignored or sidelined by the other participants. The G20 was nonetheless the site of significant discord, reports on the ground indicated, as many countries’ diplomats navigated apprehension about the return of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House. The ultimate joint statement from the summit avoided specific promises on many critical issues, opting instead to generally call for an end to hunger and war. Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.