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Plans for tobacco to light up aviation industryCrisis in South Korea: Impeachment Motion Against President Yoon
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Notre Dame welcomes back public for mass after five-year refitROME (AP) — Robert Lewandowski joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the only players in Champions League history with 100 or more goals. But Erling Haaland is on a faster pace than anyone by boosting his total to 46 goals at age 24 on Tuesday. Still, Haaland's brace wasn't enough for Manchester City in a 3-3 draw with Feyenoord that extended the Premier League champion's winless streak to six matches. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
TA student delegate for U.S. Senate Youth ProgramWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed likely Wednesday to uphold Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The justices' decision, not expected for several months, could affect similar laws enacted by another 25 states and a range of other efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people, including which sports competitions they can join and which restrooms they can use. The case is being weighed by a conservative-dominated court after a presidential election in which Donald Trump and his allies promised to roll back protections for transgender people. The Biden administration's top Supreme Court lawyer warned a decision favorable to Tennessee also could be used to justify nationwide restrictions on transgender health care for minors. Supporters of transgender rights rally Wednesday outside the Supreme Court in Washington. In arguments that lasted more than two hours, five of the six conservative justices voiced varying degrees of skepticism over arguments made by the administration and Chase Strangio, the ACLU lawyer for Tennessee families challenging the ban. People are also reading... Chief Justice John Roberts, who voted in the majority in a 2020 case in favor of transgender rights, questioned whether judges, rather than lawmakers, should weigh in on a question of regulating medical procedures, an area usually left to the states. "The Constitution leaves that question to the people's representatives, rather than to nine people, none of whom is a doctor," Roberts said in an exchange with Strangio. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion in 2020, said nothing during the arguments. The court's three liberal justices seemed firmly on the side of the challengers, but it's not clear that any conservatives will go along. People attend a rally March 31, 2023, as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility, near the Capitol in Washington. Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushed back against the assertion that the democratic process would be the best way to address objections to the law. She cited a history of laws discriminating against others, noting that transgender people make up less than 1% of the U.S. population, according to studies. There are an estimated 1.3 million adults and 300,000 adolescents ages 13 to 17 who identify as transgender, according the UCLA law school's Williams Institute. "Blacks were a much larger part of the population and it didn't protect them. It didn't protect women for whole centuries," Sotomayor said in an exchange with Tennessee Solicitor General Matt Rice. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she saw some troubling parallels between arguments made by Tennessee and those advanced by Virginia and rejected by a unanimous court, in the 1967 Loving decision that legalized interracial marriage nationwide. Quoting from that decision, Jackson noted that Virginia argued then that "the scientific evidence is substantially in doubt and, consequently, the court should defer to the wisdom of the state legislature." ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, left, and plaintiff Joaquin Carcano address reporters after a June 25, 2018, hearing in Winston-Salem, N.C., on their lawsuit challenging the law that replaced North Carolina's "bathroom bill." Justice Samuel Alito repeatedly pressed Strangio, the first openly transgender lawyer to argue at the nation's highest court, about whether transgender people should be legally designated as a group that's susceptible to discrimination. Strangio answered that being transgender does fit that legal definition, though he acknowledged under Alito's questioning there are a small number of people who de-transition. "So it's not an immutable characteristic, is it?" Alito said. Strangio did not retreat from his view, though he said the court did not have to decide the issue to resolve the case in his clients' favor. There were dueling rallies outside the court in the hours before the arguments. Speeches and music filled the air on the sidewalk below the court's marble steps. Advocates of the ban bore signs like "Champion God's Design" and "Kids Health Matters," while the other side proclaimed "Fight like a Mother for Trans Rights" and "Freedom to be Ourselves." Four years ago, the court ruled in favor of Aimee Stephens, who was fired by a Michigan funeral home after she informed its owner she was a transgender woman. The court held that transgender people, as well as gay and lesbian people, are protected by a landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in the workplace. The Biden administration and the families and health care providers who challenged the Tennessee law urged the justices to apply the same sort of analysis that the majority, made up of liberal and conservative justices, embraced in the case four years ago when it found that "sex plays an unmistakable role" in employers' decisions to punish transgender people for traits and behavior they otherwise tolerate. Demonstrators against transgender rights protest Wednesday during a rally outside of the Supreme Court in Washington. The issue in the Tennessee case is whether the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same. Tennessee's law bans puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors, but allows the same drugs to be used for other purposes. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, called the law sex-based line drawing to ban the use of drugs that have been safely prescribed for decades and said the state "decided to completely override the views of the patients, the parents, the doctors." She contrasted the Tennessee law with one enacted by West Virginia, which set conditions for the health care for transgender minors, but stopped short of an outright ban. Gender-affirming care for youth is supported by every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.The decision by Tesco, Musgrave and the BWG Group came after a woman who said Mr McGregor raped her won a civil claim for damages against him. Nikita Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a case at the High Court in the Irish capital. In a statement, a spokesman for Musgrave said: “Musgrave can confirm these products are no longer available to our store network.” The network includes SuperValu, Centra, Daybreak and Mace. A Tesco spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we are removing Proper No Twelve Whiskey from sale in Tesco stores and online.” A spokesperson for BWG Group said: “The products are no longer listed for distribution across our network of Spar, Eurospar, Mace, Londis and XL stores, including Appleby Westward which operates over 300 Spar stores in the south west of England.” It is understood that other retail outlets including Costcutter and Carry Out will also stop stocking products linked to Mr McGregor. He and some of his business partners sold their majority stake in the Proper Number Twelve Irish whiskey brand. He was reported to have been paid more than £103 million from the sale to Proximo Spirits in 2021. On Monday, a popular video game developer decided to pull content featuring the MMA fighter. The Irish athlete has featured in multiple video games, including voice-acting a character bearing his likeness in additional downloadable content in the Hitman series. Mr McGregor’s character featured as a target for the player-controlled assassin in the game. IO Interactive, the Danish developer and publisher of Hitman, said in a statement: “In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately. “We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. “Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr McGregor from our storefronts starting today.” Last Friday, the High Court jury awarded damages amounting to 248,603.60 euros (around £206,000) to Ms Hand. Mr McGregor made no comment as he left court but later posted on social media that he intended to appeal against the decision.(The Center Square) – As the Washington State Attorney General’s Office continues work on a pilot project for a hotline to report “bias incidents,” it has separately started a task force focused on “extremism and mass violence” from a public health perspective, the first of its kind in the nation. However, concerns have already been raised as to the true purpose of the group and the intent of its members regarding the impact to private citizens’ right to express their views without fear of government retaliation. Speaking during the task force’s first meeting on Friday, Sharon Damoff told the task force that “too often, the government goes after citizens they disagree with politically, such as parents speaking at school board meetings and prolife citizens, these people have been falsely labeled domestic extremists.” “Meanwhile, those committing actual violence, such as Antifa anti-Semitic demonstrators and trans activists are allowed to damage property and assault and threaten others,” she added. “Domestic extremism is a problematic concept.” Parents protesting at local school board meetings was among the activities included in an Anti-Defamation League presentation to the state Legislature last year regarding white supremacy. The presentation also included the following as “conspiratorial” narratives “motivating extremists”: Election Fraud Narratives Anti-Critical Race Theory Narratives Anti-Mask and AntiVaccine Narratives AntiLGBTQ+ “Grooming” Narratives The presentation was in support of House Bill 1333 sponsored by Rep. Bill Ramos, D-Issaquah. The bill failed to clear the Legislature, but this year’s operating budget included a $250,000 proviso funding the task force and directing it to “provide recommendations to establish a comprehensive public health and community-based framework to combat extremism and mass violence.” However, the proviso also explicitly denies the task force the authority to alter “any aspect of criminal law, create new criminal penalties, or increase criminal law enforcement.” Ramos told the task force that “a few years ago, I got involved with a number of people in the community asking for protection from police officers and sheriff's departments and so forth. They weren't being responded to. Law enforcement was not responding to them to protect them from others.” He added that he’s “tired of hearing ‘thoughts and prayers.’” When The Center Square reached out to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs for comment on Ramos' remarks, Executive Director Steve Strachan wrote that "Representative Ramos’ comments, if accurately reported, are very serious allegations. If Representative Ramos has any information that a Washington law enforcement officer committed or attempted to commit a criminal act, or that any Washington law enforcement agency refused to respond because the accused was a law enforcement officer, Representative Ramos should immediately report his accusation. If Representative Ramos needs assistance in reaching the appropriate law enforcement agency, WASPC is here to facilitate." One of the questions not yet answered for the task force is what constitutes “extremism,” a term not defined in the state budget proviso, and how it relates to the task force’s prime objectives. Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall told the task force “we really need to take a deep dive into how we protect our communities from the incoming administration.” In the AGO 2022’s report , State Attorney General Bob Ferguson wrote that “domestic violent extremism” was a term that “encompasses various forms of extremist and political violence like threats, coercion, and intimidation, online disinformation, extremist recruitment and government infiltration efforts, and the general spread of extreme white supremacism and anti-government ideologies.” Consulted for that report was Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a professor at American University’s School of Public Affairs and Director of the Polarization and Extremism Research Lab who participated in the Nov. 22 task force meeting. Miller-Idriss is also a member of the task force. PERIL’s website states that they “use a public health approach to design, test, and scale-up evidence-based tools and strategies that effectively reduce the threat of radicalization to harmful online and offline content including conspiracy theories, mis/disinformation, propaganda, and supremacist ideologies. As an alternative to security-based approaches that rely on surveillance, censorship, and incarceration, our work takes a multidisciplinary and pre-preventative approach to address hate, bias, and radicalization before they manifest into violent extremism.” Yet some testifying during public comment expressed fears of future censorship or biased policymaking. Lisa Templeton with Informed Choice Washington warned of “the potential for this task force to make recommendations possibly based on political motives rather than actual safety motives that could violate medical and religious freedom, parental rights and free speech of all kinds.” “It's not that we in any way support criminal violence, quite the opposite,” she said. “We support law and order, and we peacefully work towards scientific integrity and public health policy and the protection of our civil liberties.” Several others testifying that expressed concerns with the task force included Rebecca Faust, who noted that “when folks set up an unauthorized encampment on a university campus, block pedestrian traffic, harass and effectively discriminate against Jewish students ... instead of being penalized, they are rewarded with concessions from the university that incentivizes bad behavior.” She added that “it is not the government's place to tell people what to think or say. It is the responsibility of government to protect people from violence and from violations of their basic rights. I support enforcing laws and regulations against harm to person or property, but [also] respecting free speech and freedom of thought.” Initiative sponsor Tim Eyman also spoke during public comment, arguing that “we're talking about regular citizens being investigated and interrogated not for some illegal act, but for their views, associations and friends, and there is no judicial oversight, no public viewing. This offers zero confidence of basic constitutional rights like freedom of association and freedom of expression will not be trampled, and it will all be done in private." He added that regular citizens should not be deterred from getting together and associating and communicating with one another, for fear of being investigated ... and possibly jailed.”
Major retailers in UK and Ireland pull products associated with Conor McGregor
NoneWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed likely Wednesday to uphold Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The justices' decision, not expected for several months, could affect similar laws enacted by another 25 states and a range of other efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people, including which sports competitions they can join and which restrooms they can use. The case is being weighed by a conservative-dominated court after a presidential election in which Donald Trump and his allies promised to roll back protections for transgender people. The Biden administration's top Supreme Court lawyer warned a decision favorable to Tennessee also could be used to justify nationwide restrictions on transgender health care for minors. Supporters of transgender rights rally Wednesday outside the Supreme Court in Washington. In arguments that lasted more than two hours, five of the six conservative justices voiced varying degrees of skepticism over arguments made by the administration and Chase Strangio, the ACLU lawyer for Tennessee families challenging the ban. Chief Justice John Roberts, who voted in the majority in a 2020 case in favor of transgender rights, questioned whether judges, rather than lawmakers, should weigh in on a question of regulating medical procedures, an area usually left to the states. "The Constitution leaves that question to the people's representatives, rather than to nine people, none of whom is a doctor," Roberts said in an exchange with Strangio. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion in 2020, said nothing during the arguments. The court's three liberal justices seemed firmly on the side of the challengers, but it's not clear that any conservatives will go along. People attend a rally March 31, 2023, as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility, near the Capitol in Washington. Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushed back against the assertion that the democratic process would be the best way to address objections to the law. She cited a history of laws discriminating against others, noting that transgender people make up less than 1% of the U.S. population, according to studies. There are an estimated 1.3 million adults and 300,000 adolescents ages 13 to 17 who identify as transgender, according the UCLA law school's Williams Institute. "Blacks were a much larger part of the population and it didn't protect them. It didn't protect women for whole centuries," Sotomayor said in an exchange with Tennessee Solicitor General Matt Rice. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she saw some troubling parallels between arguments made by Tennessee and those advanced by Virginia and rejected by a unanimous court, in the 1967 Loving decision that legalized interracial marriage nationwide. Quoting from that decision, Jackson noted that Virginia argued then that "the scientific evidence is substantially in doubt and, consequently, the court should defer to the wisdom of the state legislature." ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, left, and plaintiff Joaquin Carcano address reporters after a June 25, 2018, hearing in Winston-Salem, N.C., on their lawsuit challenging the law that replaced North Carolina's "bathroom bill." Justice Samuel Alito repeatedly pressed Strangio, the first openly transgender lawyer to argue at the nation's highest court, about whether transgender people should be legally designated as a group that's susceptible to discrimination. Strangio answered that being transgender does fit that legal definition, though he acknowledged under Alito's questioning there are a small number of people who de-transition. "So it's not an immutable characteristic, is it?" Alito said. Strangio did not retreat from his view, though he said the court did not have to decide the issue to resolve the case in his clients' favor. There were dueling rallies outside the court in the hours before the arguments. Speeches and music filled the air on the sidewalk below the court's marble steps. Advocates of the ban bore signs like "Champion God's Design" and "Kids Health Matters," while the other side proclaimed "Fight like a Mother for Trans Rights" and "Freedom to be Ourselves." Four years ago, the court ruled in favor of Aimee Stephens, who was fired by a Michigan funeral home after she informed its owner she was a transgender woman. The court held that transgender people, as well as gay and lesbian people, are protected by a landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in the workplace. The Biden administration and the families and health care providers who challenged the Tennessee law urged the justices to apply the same sort of analysis that the majority, made up of liberal and conservative justices, embraced in the case four years ago when it found that "sex plays an unmistakable role" in employers' decisions to punish transgender people for traits and behavior they otherwise tolerate. Demonstrators against transgender rights protest Wednesday during a rally outside of the Supreme Court in Washington. The issue in the Tennessee case is whether the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same. Tennessee's law bans puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors, but allows the same drugs to be used for other purposes. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, called the law sex-based line drawing to ban the use of drugs that have been safely prescribed for decades and said the state "decided to completely override the views of the patients, the parents, the doctors." She contrasted the Tennessee law with one enacted by West Virginia, which set conditions for the health care for transgender minors, but stopped short of an outright ban. Gender-affirming care for youth is supported by every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
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.ngDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — RJ Felton had 21 points in East Carolina's 71-64 victory over Stetson on Friday. Felton also added eight rebounds for the Pirates (5-1). Joran Riley scored 14 points while going 4 of 11 and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line and added five rebounds. Cam Hayes shot 3 for 7 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points. The Hatters (1-5) were led in scoring by Mehki, who finished with 15 points and two steals. Abramo Canka added 14 points for Stetson. Jordan Wood had 12 points. East Carolina led Stetson at the half, 39-33, with Hayes (10 points) its high scorer before the break. East Carolina took the lead for good with 6:56 left in the second half on a free throw from Felton to make it a 60-59 game. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
NoneRajkumar Kanagasingam is author of German memories of Asia . He reflects robustly on the success stories of Malaysia and Singapore . We have heard so much about these stories, but we should never be tired of reading or listening to these stories – stories that are generally referred to as the success stories of Asian Tigers because these are stories we should leverage on. This is why I have decided to share these stories with you today. Kanagasingam recounts how Mahathir Mohammad and Lee Kuan Yew leaders of Malaysia and Singapore transformed their countries from sleepy colonial outposts into Asia ‘s richest nations. He argues Mahathir’s strategies are well reflected in his macro – economic strategies by adopting the open economic policies with the realization in mind that the world trend of globalization and liberalization is irreversible. For him, we are living in an era of globalization and liberalization, a deeply imbedded neo-classical economic thought and its applications everywhere in the globe. He recalls the former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong once said far back in the late nineties, when he was the deputy Prime Minister, “It is better to embrace globalization and liberalization proactively, at our own pace, than face the prospect of one day being swept away by the floodwaters of competition.” He says his realization of embracing the globalization and liberalization might have been inherited into him by the strategies of former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew who in his long tenure, changed Singapore from a sleepy colonial outpost to a prosperous high-tech enclave and applied better open economic policies to make use of the globalization and liberalization in Singapore’s favour. He notes now Singapore ’s per capita GNP is higher than that of its erstwhile colonizer, Great Britain , that it has the world’s busiest port and is the third-largest oil refiner and a major center for global manufacturing and service industries, that this move from poverty to plenty has taken place within one generation. He recounts: “In 1965 Singapore ranked economically with Chile , Argentina and Mexico but today its per capita GNP is four or five times of theirs. Lee Kuan Yew managed this miraculous transformation in Singapore ’s economy while maintaining tight political control over the country. Malaysia and Singapore better managed their economies in Southeast Asia than any other countries in facing the new trends of globalization and liberalization. Mahathir’s strategies have eventually made Malaysia into a Southeast Asian economic superpower with number of megastar Malaysian entrepreneurs. “Tan Sri Ananthakrishnan, who owns the Twin Towers of Malaysia and several other conglomerates, is a role model for many Malaysian entrepreneurs who have given real meaning to the present day Malaysia by transforming Malaysia into one of the Asia ’s wealthiest nations. Tan Sri Anantha Krishnan, a Jaffna origin Malaysian who had a humble beginning as a smalltime bookmaker in Australia and later as a polished dealmaker with a degree from Harvard Business School , became a sophisticated oil trader with connections to many of the Asia’s political and petroleum industry elite with interests in oil and gas fields in the United States . Tan Sri Anandakrishnan later went further into orbit, with the successful launching of MEASAT – 1, the Malaysia ‘s maiden telecommunication satellite. Tan Sri Ananda krishnan’s success provides a compelling testimony to Mahathir’s economic policies and their successful implementations.” Even with Mahathir out of power, Malaysia boasts a diversified and modern economy, which weathered the Asian financial crisis in1997-98 better than many of its peers. How did Malaysia and Singapore achieve this feat? Malaysia’s success has been by diversifying away from the export of palm oil and rubber to the assembly of electronics with the steady provision of political stability by the resolved ethnic divisions by Mahathir – a lesson for Nigeria , isn’t it? Kanagasingam says Mahathir’s keen stewardship of the economy has spawned in various projects and the latest was the Multimedia Super Corridor – a “knowledge-based economy master plan” to upgrade the Malaysia ‘s electronics industry into a hi-tech application industry. “The knowledge-based economy master plan which encourages the new trend of Business and Knowledge Process Outsourcing is a new dimension of Globalization,” he says. Southeast Asia first experienced a new and different wave of globalization from Japan by the transferring of their locations to more labour-intensive and resource-intensive Asian countries so that Japan could continue to form the international cooperation. By this Japanese initiative of global-localization most of the Asian countries are generally favourable towards the globalization trend. The trend of globalization and liberalization is indisputably irreversible. Therefore, it is really a great challenge to developing countries. Kanagasingam holds Singapore and Malaysia are successful in tackling the globalization and liberalization because they were well prepared. He explains:” These Southeast Asian tiger economies, all went through series of distinctive stages of economic transformation with certain common characteristics. Lee Kwan Yew and Mahathir Mohammad had clear long term visions and strong political leadership skills how to make use of the globalization in their countries’ favour. “In Malaysia and Singapore there are strong and efficient technocrats who have the ability to chart the vision into planning with the capability to get things done in a much effective way. The value system which they have reinvented over a short span of time after the independence produced many successful women entrepreneurs in Malaysia and Singapore .” He says of the two countries: “They successfully defined the paths for the emergence of indigenous entrepreneurs by encouraging small and medium size enterprises; they overcome the problems of relatively shallow and weak entrepreneurial group in Malaysia and Singapore compared with well equipped and well experienced thick and abundant entrepreneurial group in developed countries; they altered their countries’ entrepreneurial strength for an equal match of the game if confronted each other directly and instantly; they looked after the private sector until they can stand alone to compete against international challenges to become themselves multi-nationals; they realized well in advance the strength and competence of the private sector which is the main market player in determining a country’s eventual competitiveness.” Malaysia and Singapore , according to him, had constraints, but realized the importance of Government leadership in the very beginning itself, their governments identified and developed the countries’ long-term competitiveness. Put this against the unseriousness with which we handle WTO assignments and reflect on it. What is important to our officials is estacode not discussions at WTO meets. We have the men and women that can do it. We have the technocrats that can do it. But we need the leadership. Government leadership.This new material finally fulfills so many of the promises of aerogel where previous materials fell short. Post this Most forms of aerogel to date have been based on silica, the same substance that makes up window glass. Along with high R-value, silica aerogels exhibit a wide range of useful materials properties, including hydrophobicity and nonflammability. But like glass, silica aerogel-based materials are incredibly brittle, and products based on them are thus extremely dusty. Although industrial insulation products such as fiberglass blankets infused with silica aerogel have seen limited traction in markets such as energy infrastructure and construction, it is estimated that over $500 billion in market opportunities for aerogels remain unaddressed because of the impracticality of existing silica-based products. To address this, non-dusty aerogels based on organic polymers have been recently developed, however have been much more susceptible to moisture and fire than their inorganic counterparts. Now, aerogel manufacturer Aerogel Technologies has developed a new type of aerogel based on a novel waterproof nonflammable polymer that is 10x lighter than plastics yet durable and machinable while being 2x more insulating than fiberglass and stable to over 600°F. Sold under the trade name Airloy® H116, the new aerogel is made of a specially engineered polyimide... Aerogel Technologies, LLC
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — This was not the homecoming scenario Kirk Cousins would have scripted. Cousins' return to Minnesota, his NFL home from 2018 through 2023, on Sunday comes as he is hearing speculation about his job security in Atlanta. Cousins has thrown six interceptions with no touchdowns in the Falcons' three-game losing streak. That includes four picks in last week's to the Los Angeles Chargers, his most in a decade. “It’s kind of the challenge always in pro football to be able to get back up off the mat and get back going,” Cousins said after Wednesday's practice. A vote of confidence from coach Raheem Morris can't silence suggestions that it's time to give rookie first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. a chance to jump-start the Falcons' struggling offense. Morris said Sunday he from the game, and he repeated his support for the veteran on Wednesday. “Got to go to Minnesota and get a big-time win and Kirk’s ready to go,” Morris said before acknowledging Cousins must bounce back from “obviously a tough game.” “You know, realistically, man he is built for this and he’s ready to go,” Morris said. The losing streak has left the Falcons (6-6) struggling to remain on top of the weak NFC South. They hold the tiebreaker advantage with Tampa Bay (6-6), but need Cousins to end his turnover streak. Cousins, 36, was expected to be the reliable leader on offense after he signed He will be in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. He said he expects a loud reception from Minnesota's fans. “They’re great fans, great football fans,” Cousins said. “As a result I think they’ll make it as hostile as they can for us.” Cousins ranks fifth in the league with 3,052 passing yards. He has 17 touchdown passes and his 13 interceptions are only one shy of his career high. Cousins insists he feels strong in his return from last season's torn Achilles tendon. He was critical of his mental mistakes in the loss to the Chargers. He said he rushed some passes, sometimes lacking the necessary velocity on his throws and giving defensive backs the opportunity to step in front of receivers for interceptions. Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson also said Cousins' lack of velocity on his throws “just goes back to, you know, decisiveness, being decisive when you do cut it loose. Certainly those things happen with quarterbacks. There might be times where, you know, you’re not as convicted on a throw. And it shows by the way the football comes out.” Morris said he still has confidence in Cousins' arm and the mental side to his game. “He’s done a great job with us, and I have no real qualms about him bouncing back and him being able to play the game the way it needs to be done,” Morris said. “He’s still an elite processor. He has the ability to make all the throws. He’s shown that throughout the year.” Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores also said he expects Cousins will shake out of his slump. “I know the narrative is he had a tough game last week, but he’s played some good football," Flores said. "I think the people in this building know what Kirk can do. He’s a very, very good quarterback.” Added Flores: “He’s a bounce-back type of guy, as we all know. I’m expecting his best, the best version of Kirk, the best version of that offense. It’s going to be a major challenge for us.” Atlanta's offensive production has dipped while the veteran quarterback’s turnovers have been on the rise. The Falcons were held to under 20 points in each of their three straight losses. “Have to just believe that tough times don’t last, tough people do,” Cousins said. “You have to keep pushing.” AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this report. AP NFL:The Asus NUC 14 Pro is one of the most customizable mini PCs I’ve tested yet, with loads of different configuration options to meet a variety of workflows. You can choose between a slim or a tall case and it’s also available in a barebones configuration, along with a standard one where you don’t have to buy your memory and storage separately. Regardless of which route you go, you then have five different Intel-based processor options to pick from. Despite the NUC 14 Pro’s absolutely tiny size (it’s even smaller than the Mac mini M4), Asus has managed to cram this mini PC full of ports, though it is missing one particularly useful one. It’s also one of the few mini PCs with not one, but two Thunderbolt 4 ports and if you go with the tall case, you can get third-party expansion brackets to add even more ports around back. Depending on how you configure the NUC 14 Pro though, things can get expensive quickly. Likewise, its fan can be a bit on the noisy side when the system is under heavy load. My Asus NUC 14 Pro review will help you decide if this is the best mini PC for you or if you’d be better off buying something less customizable but more affordable. Asus NUC 14 Pro: Cheat sheet Asus NUC 14 Pro: Specs Asus NUC 14 Pro: The ups The Asus NUC 14 Pro can easily be tailored for most workflows thanks to the numerous configuration options available with multiple processors to choose from. Despite its small size, it also packs plenty of ports, along with a spare M.2 slot and even a 2.5-inch bay for a hard drive or SSD. There’s also a rear expansion slot to add even more ports if you opt for the tall chassis. Configurations galore Normally with most mini PCs, you have a few processor options to choose from, along with two options for your RAM (16GB or 32GB) and storage (512GB or 1TB). With the Asus NUC 14 Pro, not only can you pick from five different Intel processors (one Core 3, four Core Ultra), you also get to choose between a slim or a tall chassis. Alternatively, you can buy a barebones version of this mini PC in either size and buy your memory and storage separately. If you’re upgrading from an older Intel NUC, you’ll surely appreciate all of these options. However, if this is your first mini PC, you might be a tad intimidated by all the choices it offers. The configuration of the NUC 14 Pro from Asus that I tested has a tall chassis, an Intel Core Ultra 7 165H processor with Intel Arc Graphics, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Even with just 16GB of RAM, I’ve been able to have dozens of Chrome tabs open in multiple windows and quickly edit photos in GIMP. In fact, I used it as my main computer while covering Black Friday and it never missed a beat. As the Asus NUC 14 Pro is more geared toward productivity and designed for business users, the integrated Intel Arc Graphics aren’t really for gaming. Still, in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, it managed to hit 36 fps at 1080p. You might be able to play some older titles on the NUC 14 Pro, but if you want a mini PC from Asus primarily for gaming, the ROG NUC 970 is a much better, though more expensive choice. A tiny multi-monitor workstation Even though the NUC 14 Pro is actually smaller than Apple’s new Mac mini M4 , Asus didn’t skimp out on ports. On the front, you get two USB Type-A ports along with a USB Type-C port. The Mac mini M4 does have one port on the front that you won’t find on the NUC 14 Pro, but more on that later. Around back, there are two USB Type-A ports, two HDMI 2.1 ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 2.5G Ethernet port, and a power port for the NUC 14 Pro’s barrel jack power connector. It’s worth noting that you get the exact same port selection regardless of whether you go with the slim or tall chassis. With dual HDMI and dual Thunderbolt ports, you can actually run four of the best monitors off of this tiny little mini PC. That’s one more than on the Mac mini M4, and since you have HDMI as well as Thunderbolt, you won’t need any special adapters or a more expensive monitor with USB-C input to easily power a dual monitor setup . While I normally use an ultrawide monitor as my main display with a portable monitor underneath it , I decided to do something different with the NUC 14 Pro to utilize both HDMI ports. To the right of my ultrawide, I set up the LG DualUp monitor so that I can have a vertical display next to my main one to see full-size webpages and documents without having to scroll. Expandable storage and even ports One of my favorite things about the ROG NUC 970 is that it has two spare M.2 slots. Despite being much smaller, Asus has done something similar with the NUC 14 Pro. However, the tall chassis is the better option if you plan on adding multiple drives. With the NUC 14 Pro’s slim chassis, you only get one extra M.2 slot (2242). However, with the extra space in the tall chassis, you can also add a 2.5-inch HDD or SSD on the bottom along with an extra M.2 SSD. Opening the NUC 14 Pro can be tricky the first time, but once you get the hang of it, it’s fairly easy to do. You just need to be careful with the ribbon cable that connects the 2.5-inch bay to the motherboard. Asus claims the NUC 14 Pro has a tool-free design, but I found I needed to use a coin or better yet, a flat-head screwdriver to get the case open. Another interesting thing about Asus’ NUC line of mini PCs is that there’s a whole third-party ecosystem of accessories for them. For instance, I found a company called GORITE that sells expansion brackets and lid replacements that can be used to add extra USB ports or even antennas to the NUC 14 Pro with a tall chassis. This probably won’t be for everyone, but it could be very useful if you want to configure this mini PC for more specialized workflows after the fact. Asus NUC 14 Pro: The downs The Asus NUC 14 Pro almost has every port you’d need on the front and the back, but it’s missing one port in particular that comes standard on every other mini PC. Likewise, its internal fan can get noisy when the system is under heavy load. No audio jack After trying out the Mac mini M2 and then the Mac mini M4 right after it, I really came to appreciate its front ports. Besides the two USB-C ports at the front, you also get a 3.5mm audio jack for quickly connecting wired headphones. It took me a while to notice as I either use my monitor’s built-in speakers or a pair of the best computer speakers connected via USB, but on the NUC 14 Pro, there’s no 3.5mm audio jack on the back either. While this won’t be a deal breaker for most people, it’s a shame that Asus decided to not add a headphone jack to the NUC 14 Pro. There’s a bit of space next to the USB-C port on the front or above the power port on the back where a 3.5mm audio jack would fit perfectly. This can easily be fixed with a USB-to-3.5mm adapter, but one of the reasons to get a Windows-based mini PC over one from Apple is so that you don’t have to deal with dongles. Noisy under load During the weeks I’ve spent testing the NUC 14 Pro, it’s been very quiet for the most part. However, when I had a lot of programs open at once or a very RAM-hungry Chrome tab, I did hear the fan spin up occasionally. It’s loud enough that it can be distracting, but once again, this isn’t a deal breaker by any means. If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative and don’t mind the extra noise, the Acemagic F2A also comes equipped with an Intel Core Ultra processor. Unfortunately, its dual fans spin almost constantly, and during testing, they got as loud as 55db. Meanwhile, the NUC 14 Pro’s single fan reached a max noise level of 50db when under load. Asus NUC 14 Pro: Verdict The Asus NUC 14 Pro is a highly customizable little workstation that delivers where it counts. This mini PC is fast, comes equipped with plenty of ports, and you can even add more storage if need be. I really like the fact that it’s available with either a slim or tall chassis and even the larger one isn’t all that big at just 4.61 x 4.41 x 2.13 inches. Depending on how you can configure the NUC 14 Pro, it can cost up to $1,000 or as little as $400 if you go with the barebones option and a less powerful CPU. Still, it’s nice to have options, especially if you want to purchase multiple NUC 14 Pros for a business or an office. The third-party bracket and lid customization options are also nice to have, even if the stock configuration is good enough for most people. If you want a powerful and expandable mini PC from a more well-known brand for work and don’t want to switch to macOS, the NUC 14 Pro is a great choice. However, if this is your first mini PC, all of the options might be a tad overwhelming.
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