Mayfield throws 5 TD passes and Bucs keep playoff, NFC South hopes alive with 48-14 rout of PanthersBloomberry sells shares for patronsjiliplay 999 。

Dibrugarh: State water resources minister Pijush Hazarika on Thursday announced an ambitious plan to revitalise natural water bodies and construct artificial reservoirs in Dibrugarh district as part of govt’s comprehensive flood management strategy . The initiative is a response to the district's recurring flood challenges during the monsoon season . The proposed network of natural and artificial reservoirs is expected to act as a crucial buffer system, helping regulate water levels and reduce the impact of heavy rainfall on urban areas. “Our primary focus is cleaning and restoring existing water bodies to enhance their capacity as natural reservoirs during the monsoon season. Additionally, we will create new artificial water bodies through strategic excavation to further strengthen our flood control infrastructure,” said Hazarika during an inspection of flood and erosion-affected areas of Dibrugarh. The minister, accompanied by Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan, Lahowal MLA Binod Hazarika and Assam Tourism Development Corporation chairman Rituparna Baruah, conducted a detailed assessment of the flood and erosion-affected areas. We also published the following articles recently Min unveils plans to revitalise lakes, create artificial reservoirs to tackle Dibrugarh floods Dibrugarh is implementing a new flood management strategy involving revitalizing natural water bodies and constructing artificial reservoirs. Water resources minister Pijush Hazarika, along with local MLAs, inspected flood-prone areas and announced the initiative. The project aims to enhance the district's flood control infrastructure and mitigate the impact of heavy monsoon rainfall. Rs 321cr project launched to strengthen Dibrugarhs flood defence Dibrugarh MLA Prasanta Phukan launched a Rs 321 crore anti-erosion project along the Brahmaputra riverbank, funded by the Asian Development Bank. The 8-km project from Chota Mothola to Mohanaghat will employ advanced technology, including geo-bags and concrete porcupines, to reinforce existing embankments and construct new ones. Dibrugarh villagers capture black panther Villagers in Dibrugarh, India, captured a black panther that had been terrorizing their livestock for over ten days. Using a hen as bait, they trapped the panther, nicknamed "Ghoong," in an iron cage. The panther, responsible for killing numerous goats and chickens, was captured early Saturday, bringing relief to the fearful community. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .Explore incredible classic car junkyard with amazing motors forgotten by time – including Mustangs, GTOs and CorvettesU.S. President Jimmy Carter's Democratic presidency was marred by the 444-day Iran hostage crisis but he was hailed as a humanitarian figure later in life, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Carter died at age 100 on December 29. Here is a roundup of reactions from leaders around the world following news of his death. U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN : “America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian. “Over six decades, we had the honor of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well. “ U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP : “The challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.” FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA : "Elected in the shadow of Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised voters that he would always tell the truth. And he did — advocating for the public good, consequences be damned. He believed some things were more important than reelection — things like integrity, respect, and compassion. "Because Jimmy Carter believed, as deeply as he believed anything, that we are all created in God’s image." FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH : Carter's legacy will "inspire Americans for generations [and he] set an example of service that will inspire Americans for generations. "He was loyal to his family, his community, and his country. President Carter dignified the office." FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: " From his commitment to civil rights as a state senator and governor of Georgia; to his efforts as president to protect our natural resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, make energy conservation a national priority, return the Panama Canal to Panama, and secure peace between Egypt and Israel at Camp David; to his post-Presidential efforts at the Carter Center supporting honest elections, advancing peace, combating disease, and promoting democracy; to his and Rosalynn’s devotion and hard work at Habitat for Humanity—he worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world." FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: "Throughout his life, Jimmy Carter has been a steadfast advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable and has tirelessly fought for peace. France sends its heartfelt thoughts to his family and to the American people." BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER: "I would like to pay tribute to his decades of selfless public service. "His presidency will be remembered for the historic Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, and it was that lifelong dedication to peace that saw him receive the Nobel Peace prize. "Motivated by his strong faith and values, President Carter redefined the post-presidency with a remarkable commitment to social justice and human rights at home and abroad." HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH : “Jimmy Carter, former US president who was committed to human rights, has died. He was 100 years old. "Carter set a powerful example for world leaders to make human rights a priority, and he continued to fight for human rights after he left office.” WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CHIEF TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: "His unwavering commitment to people's wellbeing in the United States and around the world will be remembered forever. "His work through the Carter Center has saved countless lives and helped bring many neglected tropical diseases close to elimination." Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, whose presidency was marred by the 444-day Iran hostage crisis, has died at age 100. "Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, died peacefully Sunday, December 29, at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family," the Carter Center in his home state of Georgia said in a statement . U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that “America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian.” Biden said he will order a state funeral to be held in Washington, D.C., although he did not set a date as of yet. President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “the challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans.” “For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.” Human Rights Watch said in a statement that "Carter set a powerful example for world leaders to make human rights a priority, and he continued to fight for human rights after he left office." The iconic Empire State Building in New York City was lit up in red, white, and blue to honor Carter. Carter, a one-term leader, is also remembered for having brokered a peace deal between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work and efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts. But it was the Iranian hostage crisis that would come to define Carter's presidency from 1977 to 1981. The Islamic Revolution in 1979 toppled the U.S.-backed shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and brought to power a group of clerics led by exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Carter granted the ailing shah political asylum, to the anger of many Iranians. In late 1979, a group of hardline Iranian students who were believed to have had the tacit support of Khomeini stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage. They demanded the return of the shah and an apology for past actions by the United States in Iran. Carter said the United States could not give in to the hostage-takers, and the crisis dragged on for over a year. "It's vital to the United States and to every other nation that the lives of diplomatic personnel and other citizens abroad be protected, and that we refuse to permit the use of terrorism, and the seizure and the holding of hostages, to impose political demands,” he said. “No one should underestimate the resolve of the American government and the American people in this matter." With negotiations with the Iranians proving fruitless, Carter ordered U.S. Special Forces to try to rescue the American hostages in April 1980. The mission ended in disaster, and eight U.S. soldiers died in an accident caused by equipment failure. Carter announced the failed rescue mission to the nation: "I share the disappointment of the American people that this rescue mission was not successful. And I also share the grief of our nation because we had Americans who were casualties in this effort to seek freedom for their fellow citizens who have been held hostage for so long. But I also share a deep pride in the commitment and courage and the integrity and the competence and determination of those who went on this mission." The Iranian hostage crisis -- and Carter's inability to resolve it -- dominated the news in the United States throughout 1980, a presidential election year. He was easily defeated in his reelection bid by Ronald Reagan, a former Hollywood actor who had energized the Republican party with his smooth appearance and supply-side economic policies. In a final insult to Carter, Iran decided to release the hostages on January 20, 1981, the day Carter left office and Reagan was inaugurated as president. One of Carter's first goals after becoming president was to work on a second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, known as SALT II, with the Soviet Union. The treaty was designed to further limit the number of nuclear weapons held by both countries. Negotiating the treaty with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was difficult because of Carter's persistent criticism of Moscow's human rights record. But in June 1979 the two leaders signed SALT II. The U.S. Senate did not ratify the treaty following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, but its terms were honored by both sides. In response to the Soviet invasion, the president announced what came to be known as the Carter Doctrine -- that the United States would defend its interests in the Persian Gulf with military force if necessary. The United States also boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. "I have given notice that the United States will not attend the Moscow Olympics unless the Soviet invasion forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan before February 20,” said Carter at the time. “That deadline is tomorrow, and it will not be changed." Though his term in office is often characterized as a failure, Carter's presidency had its share of triumphs. He established an effective national energy policy and encouraged the creation of 8 million new jobs, although at the cost of high inflation. He also improved the operation of the U.S. federal government through reform of the civil service. Carter's greatest achievement as U.S. president was the 1978 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, brokered at the Camp David presidential retreat. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts. Carter's wife, Rosalynn, died in November 2023, at age 96. New Syrian de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television channel that he wants relations with Iran and Russia, but he insisted any ties must be based on mutual "respect." Russia and Iran were major allies of Syria under the regime of President Bashar al-Assad until the totalitarian leader was ousted by rebels in early December. The West is closely watching the new ruler's actions, including the depth of any future ties with Tehran and Moscow. "Syria cannot continue without relations with an important regional country like Iran," Sharaa told Al Arabiya in a wide-ranging interview on December 29. But relations "must be based on respect for the sovereignty of both countries and noninterference in the affairs of both countries," he added. Sharaa urged Tehran to rethink its regional policies and interventions and pointed out that opposition forces protected Iranian positions during the fighting to oust Assad, even though rebels knew Iran was a major backer of the president. Sharaa said he had expected positive overtures from Iran following these actions but said they have not been forthcoming. Sharaa, previously known by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, said that while he expects Moscow to withdraw its forces from Syria, he also spoke of "deep strategic interests" with the "second most powerful country in the world." "We don't want Russia to exit Syria in a way that undermines its relationship with our country,” he told Al-Arabiya, without providing details. "All of Syria's arms are of Russian origin, and many power plants are managed by Russian experts.... We do not want Russia to leave Syria in the way that some wish," he said. According to flight data analyzed by RFE/RL, Russia is reducing its military footprint in Syria and shifting some of its assets from the Middle Eastern country to Africa. To offset the potential loss of its air base in Hmeimim and naval base in Tartus, Russia appears to be increasing its presence in Libya, Mali, and Sudan, although experts say the loss of Syrian bases is a major blow to the Kremlin. Meanwhile, Sharaa also said that organizing elections in the country could take up to four years and that a new constitution could require three years to be finalized. The leader expressed hope that the new U.S. administration under Donald Trump -- set to take office on January 20 -- would lift sanctions on his country. "We hope the incoming Trump administration will not follow the policy of its predecessor," Sharaa said. The rebels who ousted Assad were led by Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist group, a U.S. and EU-designated terrorist organization. Sharaa has publicly pledged to adopt moderate policies regarding women's rights, national reconciliation, and relations with the international community, although world leaders say they remain wary of the new rulers pending concrete actions. Russia on December 29 claimed to have seized another town in Ukraine's Donetsk region as it continues its long, bloody drive against the strategic -- but nearly destroyed -- southern logistics hub of Pokrovsk . Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces have captured Novotroyitske, a settlement with a prewar population 6,300 about 16 kilometers south of Pokrovsk. The Ukrainian military did not comment specifically about Novotroyitske, but it said Russian troops had carried out 133 attacks on its positions as of 4 p.m. on December 29 -- the largest number in the Pokrovsk area. "In the Pokrovsk direction, since the beginning of the day, the occupiers have already made 26 attempts to push our defenders out of their positions" in several settlements, it said. On December 15, British intelligence said Russian forces had made gains south of Pokrovsk, but it is not clear what the Kremlin forces' next steps will be. The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said geolocation data suggested the Russian military was about 10 kilometers from the border of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin may be putting pressure on the Russian military command to advance to the border, and not to cover Pokrovsk at this time," it wrote. Heavy fighting was also reported in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces battle to hold territory taken earlier this year. "In the Kursk region, Ukrainian defenders repelled 16 attacks by Russian invaders today, 19 clashes continue. In addition, the enemy launched 152 artillery attacks," the military said. Meanwhile, Russia's assault on Ukraine's Mykolayiv region in the south also intensified. Regional Governor Vitaliy Kim on December 29 said defense forces had shot down at least nine Iranian-made Shahed drones, although falling debris hit one of the targets -- an energy infrastructure facility -- causing a fire and injuring one person. On December 28, the military said Ukrainian defenders had neutralized all 16 drones launched by Russia in Mykolayiv city, the capital of the region adjacent to Kherson. Russia and Ukraine have used drones regularly since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, with the Kremlin increasingly targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure as the winter cold sets in. Russia has denied it targets civilian infrastructure sites, despite widespread evidence of such attacks, as the Kremlin seeks to solidify positions in the territories it has occupied, not only since the February 2022 full-scale invasion but since its invasion of 2014. In an interview with RFE/RL, Viktor Muzhenko, the former Ukrainian military commander, said any truce between Kyiv and Moscow that leaves swaths of Ukrainian territory under Russian control would represent a victory for the Kremlin and "fully compensate [it] for its costs of the war." Muzhenko, who led the military from 2014-19, said the situation with the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and parts of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions is "critical" -- "not only for the loss of territories, but also [the loss of] half of the resource base of Ukraine." On the foreign-aid front, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on December 29 said Kyiv had received an additional 150 million euros ($156 million) in aid from Denmark, France, and Lithuania to help finance the country's defense industry. "These funds, in particular, will be used for the production of missiles, deep-strike drones and artillery installations.," he said in a Facebook post. Meanwhile, outgoing German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she does not expect the next government in Berlin to "abandon" Ukraine in its fight against Russia. "No German government devoted to the security of Germany and Europe will abandon the people of Ukraine," she said in an interview published by Bild newspaper on December 29. Germany will vote on February 23, a day after the anniversary of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. after a coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed last month. Berlin trails only Washington in the amount of support provided to Ukraine, although Scholz has been reluctant to send heavy weaponry to Kyiv, often angering the Ukrainian leadership. Addressing worries that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may push a peace deal detrimental to Kyiv following his January 20 inauguration, Baerbock underlined the importance of providing for Ukraine's security needs in any such agreements. "Only reliable, long-term and, above all, truly sustainable security guarantees will prevent [Russian President Vladimir] Putin from resorting to further campaigns of conquest. Only then will there be lasting peace and stability in Ukraine," she told Bild, without being specific. A Russian man arrested in October for operating a travel agency for gay customers was found dead in his Moscow cell while in pretrial detention, the OVD-Info rights group said on December 29. The group quoted the lawyer of Andrei Kotov, 48, as saying the man had died by suicide in his cell, although the report cannot independently be confirmed. Kotov was director of the Men Travel agency, and was facing charges of "organizing extremist activity and participating in it." Russia in recent years has intensified its relentless crackdown on LGBT rights, often accusing suspects of extremist activities. To read the original story by Current Time, click here . Kazakh authorities on December 29 said the cockpit recorders of the Brazilian-made plane involved in a deadly crash are being sent to Brazil for investigation amid accusations by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that Russia is trying to "cover up" the cause of the tragedy. The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to Grozny in Russia's Chechnya region on December 25 when it was diverted and crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board. There has been growing evidence that the jet was hit by a Russian air-defense missile in Chechnya before it went down near the city of Aqtau in western Kazakhstan. The Kazakh Transport Ministry said the commission in charge of the probe had "decided to send the flight recorders to the Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents in Brazil" -- the country that manufactured the popular Embraer-190 jet, utilized mainly for flights of less than three hours. Aliyev said the plane was mistakenly shot down while approaching Grozny, adding that the jet's GPS systems were affected by electronic jamming. "Our plane was hit by accident," Aliyev told state television on December 29. "Therefore, admitting the guilt, apologizing in a timely manner to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about this -- all these were measures and steps that should have been taken." "Unfortunately, for the first three days, we heard nothing from Russia except for some absurd theories," added Aliyev, citing statements in Russia that attributed the crash to birds or the explosion of some sort of gas cylinder on the plane. Those theories, Aliyev said, showed "that the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue." Aliyev's comments came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev but did not accept blame for the plane crash. In a phone call with Aliyev, Putin said Russian air defenses were repelling an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Grozny when the plane was trying to land at the airport there, a Kremlin statement said. Putin "conveyed his apologies in connection with the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace," the statement said, indicating that Putin acknowledged the plane was damaged over Chechnya but stopped short of stating a Russian missile strike was the cause. Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the possible violation of flight safety rules, the statement said. It said two Azerbaijani prosecutors were working with Russian law enforcement in Grozny and that Russian, Azerbaijani, and Kazakh authorities were working together at the crash site in Kazakhstan. The Kremlin statement is likely to further increase suspicions that a Russian missile damaged the Embraer-190 jet before it was diverted to Aktau, across the Caspian Sea from Chechnya, where it crashed near the shore after a steep descent and burst into flames. Evidence of a missile strike includes footage of damage inside the plane before the crash and images of the hole-pocked tail section after the crash, as well as comments from survivors who said they heard at least one explosion outside the plane over Chechnya. Azerbaijani lawmaker Hikmat Babaoghlu told RFE/RL on December 27 that there is a "very strong" possibility that the plane was damaged by a Russian air-defense missile. He said that the "observations and conclusions drawn so far support the idea that the plane being shot down is the closest to the truth." TBILISI -- Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former soccer player and right-wing populist, has been sworn in as Georgia's new president amid a monthslong political crisis , likely further complicating the country's prospects for European Union membership. Outgoing President Salome Zurabishvili left her residence in the presidential palace in the capital, Tbilisi, on the same day but said she remained the legitimate head of state. The pro-Western Zurabishvili, whose term ended on December 29, had said she would not step down. She claimed her successor -- chosen by an electoral college dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party -- is "illegitimate." Georgia has been the scene of anti-government protests since Georgian Dream claimed victory in October parliamentary elections that were marred by instances of vote-buying, double-voting, physical violence, and intimidation. The rallies intensified after a government decision last month to delay negotiations on the South Caucasus country joining the European Union. In a defiant speech to thousands of supporters outside the presidential palace on December 29, Zurabishvili said she remained the "only legitimate president" and vowed to continue to fight on. "This building was a symbol only as long as a legitimate president was sitting here," she said. "I take the legitimacy with me." Zurabishvili, who called for new parliamentary elections, called Kavelashvili's inauguration a "parody." Her remarks came moments after the 53-year-old Kavelashvili, a hard-line critic of the West, was formally sworn in during a ceremony in parliament. In his speech, Kavelashvili called for the country to unite behind him around "shared values, the principles of mutual respect, and the future we should build together." Kavelashvili has been known to make fiery anti-Western remarks in the past, although during his speech he stated that Georgians should "strengthen our country and move toward the European family." In 2016, he helped found the People's Power party, a more-radical offshoot of Georgian Dream. But he has remained close to the ruling party and has been criticized for his ties to Moscow-friendly billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister and founder of the Georgian Dream party, The presidency is a largely ceremonial post, but in the current tense political environment holds deeper symbolic meaning, and the departure of Zurabishvili could deepen Georgia's split with the West -- once the nation's closest backers. Several hundred protesters rallied outside the parliament building, with some holding up red cards in a gesture to Kavelashvili's soccer career. The demonstrators dispersed shortly afterward but vowed to rally again in the evening. The Interior Ministry said six protesters were detained outside the parliament building. Local media reported that several demonstrators were injured by police. A day earlier, Zurabishvili joined protesters in Tbilisi as rally participants waved Georgian and EU flags, played music, and marched along the Saarbruecken Bridge in the capital to form a "chain of unity." The rally marked one month since the start of the recent wave of protests, which have been met with violent police action, injuries, and mass arrests by Georgian authorities. Protesters accuse the Georgian Dream-led government of moving the country away from the EU and tilting closer to Russia. A U.S. State Department spokesperson on December 29 told RFE/RL in e-mailed comments that the United States is closely monitoring the situation in Georgia. The spokeperson added that respect for the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly are critical to a functioning society. On December 27, the United States said it had slapped fresh sanctions on Ivanishvili for undermining Georgia's democracy for the "benefit of the Russian Federation." "Under Ivanishvili's leadership, Georgian Dream has advanced the interests of the Kremlin by derailing Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic trajectory -- in direct contradiction to what was envisioned by the Georgian people and the Georgian Constitution," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. The action prompted anger from the Georgian Dream party, while the Georgian opposition hailed the action and called on the EU to also move against Ivanishvili and other Georgian leaders. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in an X post on December 29 that he commends Zurabishvili "for her vital leadership and unwavering commitment to Georgia's European course." "For a month now, Georgian people are peacefully defending their democratic and European future in the streets despite violence and intimidation," he said, adding that the Georgian government should "restore public trust" and "consider possible new elections." Zurabishvili -- who has spilt with the government and backed the protesters early in the wave of rallies -- had called on Georgian Dream to set a date for new parliamentary elections by December 29. In another show of Western support, U.S. Republican House member Joe Wilson on December 27 wrote on X that he welcomed the new sanctions and added that he had invited Zurabishvili -- "as the only legitimate leader in Georgia" -- to Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on January 20. Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023, but ties with Brussels have been tense in recent months following the adoption in May of a controversial "foreign agent" law pushed through parliament by Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012. Russia's state energy giant Gazprom on December 28 said it would cease gas deliveries to Moldova at the end of this year because of a dispute over debt with the small Balkan nation that is aligned with the West. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean condemned Gazprom's decision, describing it as "an oppressive tactic" through which Russia "uses energy as a political weapon" and said he would pursue international legal means to fight it. The head of Moldovagaz said that, as early as December 2022, the entire volume of gas supplied by Gazprom was intended for the Moscow-backed separatist region, Transdniester , located on the left bank of the Dniester River. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service, click here . Drone attacks and fighting intensified in Ukraine and Russia on December 28, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Slovakia's prime minister of taking "orders" from the Kremlin to harm Kyiv and his own people as an energy feud heightened as well. "It appears that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin gave [Robert] Fico the orders to open the second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the Slovak people's interests," Zelenskiy wrote on social media. "Fico's threats to cut off Ukraine's emergency power supply this winter while Russia attacks our power plants and energy grid can only be explained by this." The comments came after Fico on December 27 threatened to halt supplies of electricity to Ukraine if Kyiv blocks transit of Russian gas to Slovakia. Ukraine has announced it will not extend the transit contract of Russian state-owned company Gazprom after January 1 -- ceasing deliveries of gas to several European nations -- as the West looks to cut off the Kremlin's source of funding for the war. The transport deal was signed before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and most European nations have since begun developing alternative sources of gas, although Fico says finding alternatives would be too costly for Slovakia. Fico, along with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, has angered the West by continuing to have close ties to Putin despite U.S. and EU sanctions. Fico visited Putin in Moscow earlier this week and has offered to host potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Zelenskiy said Slovakia accounts for nearly 20 percent of Ukraine's power imports. "Slovakia is part of the single European energy market and Fico must respect common European rules," Zelenskiy wrote. "Any arbitrary decisions in Bratislava or Moscow's orders to Fico regarding electricity cannot cut Ukraine's power supply, but they can certainly cut current Slovak authorities' ties to the European community," he added, suggesting the move would deprive Slovakia itself of some $200 million a year. Meanwhile, as Russia's full-scale invasion grinds on toward its fourth year, Ukraine and Russia exchanged accusations of drone attacks in several regions as battlefield clashes intensified along the front lines, with the "hottest" fighting reported around the embattled Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk. Russian air defenses destroyed 56 drones overnight, the Defense Ministry said on December 28. It said 28 drones were shot down in the Rostov region, 17 in the Voronezh region, and 11 in the Belgorod region, where local officials reportedly said two residents of a village were injured by shrapnel from a blast. The Russian claims could not be independently verified. A Russian occupation official said on Telegram that four people were wounded in what he said was a Ukrainian drone attack that hit a car in the Russian-held city of Nova Kakhovka in Ukraine’s Kherson region early in the morning. In Mykolayiv, the Ukrainian-held capital of a region adjacent to Kherson, the military said Ukrainian defenders had neutralized all 16 drones launched by Russia on December 28. "Of the 16 UAVs launched, 15 were shot down, another one was a simulator. All 15 were shot down in the Mykolaiv region," the Ukrainian Air Force said Earlier, a Russian drone attack in the city caused fires on the roof of a five-story residential building and on the grounds of a commercial enterprise, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegra. He said that nobody was hurt, and that the military had destroyed 12 drones over the region overnight . Russia and Ukraine have used drones regularly since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022. There are mounting suspicions that the crash of a Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet earlier this week near Aqtau, Kazakhstan, that killed 38 of the 67 people aboard was caused by Russian air-defense systems on alert for Ukrainian drone attacks on the Chechnya region, where the jet was due to land in Grozny before it was diverted across the Caspian Sea. Ukraine said its forces struck a "protected facility" of the Russian military in the Oryol region near the border with Ukraine. It said the target was a warehouse holding Iranian-made Shahed drones. Also on December 28, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed it had thwarted a plot to kill a high-level Russian military officer and an unnamed Russian “war blogger” who writes about the invasion. The FSB, whose claim could not be independently verified, said it had arrested a Russian man it said was acting under instructions from Ukrainian military intelligence. It said it had found a cache outside Moscow with an improvised explosive device camouflaged as a stereo speaker. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the FSB claim, which came 11 days after the general who headed Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces (RKhBZ) was killed, along with an assistant, by a bomb concealed in a scooter. A source at Ukraine's SBU security service told RFE/RL that the blast that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant was the result of a special operation by the Ukrainian agency. In the United States, White House spokesman John Kirby on December 27 said Washington has reports of North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian troops "taking their own lives rather than surrendering to Ukrainian forces." He said the action was "likely out of fear of reprisal against their families in North Korea in the event that they’re captured. " In a video address, Zelenskiy had said "several" North Korean soldiers -- badly wounded in fighting alongside Russian forces -- have died after being captured by Ukrainian troops on the battlefield. Zelenskiy said, without providing details, that Kyiv had reports of North Korean "enforcers" executing wounded soldiers to prevent them being captured alive by Ukrainian forces. Western sources estimate that 12,000 North Korean troops are in Russia's Kursk region, parts of which are occupied by Ukrainian forces amid ongoing pitched battles and reports of heavy losses. Germany's foreign minister described the suspected sabotage of a Baltic Sea power cable as a "wake-up call" for the West and urged the European Union to impose new sanctions targeting what is known as Russia's " shadow fleet ." Meanwhile, a media outlet focusing on shipping news and intelligence reported that the ship suspected of damaging the cable linking Finland and Estonia on December 25 was equipped with "special transmitting and receiving devices that were used to monitor naval activity." The Eagle S "had transmitting and receiving devices installed that effectively allowed it to become a 'spy ship' for Russia," Lloyd's List reported on December 27, citing "a source familiar with the vessel who provided commercial maritime services to it as recently as seven months ago." Finland seized the Eagle S on December 26, citing suspicions that it caused an outage of the Estlink 2 undersea power cable and damaged four Internet lines. Finnish investigators said the ship may have caused the damage by dragging its anchor along the sea floor. Finnish and EU officials say the Eagle S is believed to belong to a "shadow fleet" of old, uninsured oil vessels used to bypass Western sanctions and maintain a source of revenue for Russia's economy and its war against Ukraine. The poor condition of these ships has also raised concerns about environmental disasters. "The suspected vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment , while funding Russia's war budget," the European Commission said on December 26, suggesting the incident was part of a deliberate effort to damage "critical infrastructure" in Europe. "We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet." In comments on December 28, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged "new European sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet," which she said is "a major threat to our environment and security" that is used by Russia "to finance its war of aggression in Ukraine." "Almost every month, ships are damaging major undersea cables in the Baltic Sea," Baerbock said in a statement to the Funke media group. "Crews are leaving anchors in the water, dragging them for kilometers along the seafloor for no apparent reason, and then losing them when pulling them up.” "It's more than difficult to still believe in coincidences," she said. "This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us." TBILISI -- On the eve of a potentially explosion day, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called for supporters to gather at the presidential palace on December 29 as she joined a mass rally against the Georgian Dream-led government’s moves to delay closer European Union integration. "Greetings from the Orbeliani Palace,” she said in a video released to social media. "I am here, I will be here, I will spend the night here as well." "Tomorrow, I will be waiting for you...at 10 a.m. -- and from here, I will tell you what tomorrow will be like. I will tell you what the following days will be like, and what the days of victory will be like." A potential showdown looms on the streets of Tbilisi on December 29 as Zurabishvili has vowed not to step down at the end of her term on that day, claiming her successor -- chosen by an electoral college dominated by Georgian Dream -- was "illegitimate." She joined protesters in the capital on December 28 as rally participants waved Georgian and EU flags, played music, and marched along the Saarbruecken Bridge in the capital to form a " chain of unity ." The rally marked one month since the start of the recent wave of anti-government protests, which have been met with violent police action, injuries, and mass arrests by Georgian authorities. Protesters accuse the government of the Georgian Dream party of moving the country away from the EU and tilting closer to Moscow. The political crisis erupted after Georgian Dream claimed victory in October parliamentary elections that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said was marred by instances of vote-buying, double-voting, physical violence, and intimidation. The rallies intensified after a government decision last month to delay negotiations on Georgia joining the EU. On December 24, Human Rights Watch called for Georgian security forces to be investigated for the "brutal police violence" against largely peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets for the demonstrations. On December 27, the United States said it had slapped fresh sanctions on Russia-friendly billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister and the founder of the Georgian Dream party, for undermining Georgia's democracy for the "benefit of the Russian Federation." "Under Ivanishvili's leadership, Georgian Dream has advanced the interests of the Kremlin by derailing Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic trajectory -- in direct contradiction to what was envisioned by the Georgian people and the Georgian Constitution," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. The action prompted anger from the Georgian Dream party, while the Georgian opposition hailed the action and called on the EU to also move against Ivanishvili and other Georgian leaders. Zurabishvili -- who has spilt with the government and backed the protesters early in the wave of rallies -- on December 22 called on Georgian Dream to set a date for new parliamentary elections by December 29. In a show of Western support, U.S. Republican House member Joe Wilson on December 27 wrote on X that he welcomed the new sanctions and added that he had invited Zurabishvili -- "as the only legitimate leader in Georgia" -- to Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on January 20. "I am in awe of her courage in the face of the assault by Ivanishvili and his friends" in China and Iran, Wilson added, without mentioning Russia. Earlier this month, an electoral college dominated by Georgian Dream chose Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former soccer player and right-wing populist, as Georgia's next president. His inauguration is supposed to take place on December 29, though the 72-year-old Zurabishvili, whose term ends this year, has said she will not step down, setting up the potentially tense showdown. "Next week at this time, I will be president," Zurabishvili restated on December 27. Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023, but ties with Brussels have been tense in recent months following the adoption in May of a controversial "foreign agent" law pushed through parliament by Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012. Afghanistan's Taliban-led government said Taliban forces targeted what it claimed were "centers and hideouts for malicious elements" it said were involved in a recent attack in Afghanistan, as an upsurge of cross-border fighting continues. The statement from the Taliban's Defense Ministry followed reports of deadly early morning clashes on December 28 between Taliban forces and Pakistani border guards. It came days after the government said Pakistani aircraft bombed targets in Afghanistan in an attack it said killed dozens of civilians. The ministry gave few details about the strikes, which it said were launched against targets in several districts behind the "hypothetical line" -- a reference to a portion of the border with Pakistan that Afghan authorities have long disputed. Local sources told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that three people in Paktia Province were killed and two wounded by gunfire from Pakistani border guards, and that clashes also took place in the Khost province. The reports could not be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani government. But the head of a community in the Kurram district told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that Taliban forces fired rockets at two security posts near the border at about 6 a.m., setting off fighting that continued for several hours. The Taliban's Defense Ministry suggested the strikes on Pakistan were retaliation for what the Taliban-led government said were Pakistani air strikes that killed 46 civilians in Paktika Province, which also borders Pakistan, on December 24. Pakistan says that militants from the Islamist group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are hiding across the border in Afghanistan, and Islamabad has repeatedly asked the Afghan Taliban to take action against them. The Afghan Taliban say the TTP is in Pakistan. There has been a steady increase in TTP attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan. Authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka extended a wave of pardons ahead of a January presidential election in Belarus, ordering the release of 20 prisoners jailed on extremism charges his opponents and rights groups say were politically motivated. Lukashenka's press service suggested the pardons were issued on humanitarian grounds, saying 14 of those ordered released have chronic illnesses and 10 of them have children. It said 11 of the 20 are women. The press service claimed the prisoners had all sought pardons and expressed remorse, an assertion that could not be independently verified. It said that authorities would "monitor their behavior following their release." Since July, Lukashenka has pardoned more than 225 people whom activists consider political prisoners. Rights groups have recognized nearly 3,600 people as political prisoners since the state launched a massive crackdown when pro-democracy protests erupted after Lukashenka, in power since 1994, claimed a landslide victory in an August 2020 election that millions believe was stolen though fraud . Many of those have served out their sentences. Ahead of a January 26 election in which he is certain to be awarded a new term, Lukashenka may be seeking to signal to the West that he is easing off on the persistent clampdown that the state has imposed since the 2020 election. But the crackdown continues, with frequent arrests and trials on what activists say are politically motivated charges. At least 1,253 people whom rights groups consider political prisoners remain behind bars, and the real number is believed to be higher. Lukashenka has roped Belarus closely to Russia and has provided support for Russia's war on neighboring Ukraine, including by allowing Russian forces to invade from Belarusian territory, and he says Russian nuclear weapons have been deployed in Belarus. But over 30 years in power, he has often tried to capitalize on Belarus’ position between Russia in the east and NATO and the European Union to the west and north. Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized over the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane this week, the Kremlin said, amid growing evidence that the jet was hit by a Russian air-defense missile in the Chechnya region before it went down in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board. In a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Putin said Russian air defenses were repelling an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Chechnya’s capital, Grozny, when the plane was trying to land at the airport there, a Kremlin statement said. Putin "conveyed his apologies in connection with the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace," the statement said, indicating that Putin acknowledged the plane was damaged over Chechnya but stopped short of stating a Russian missile strike was the cause. "In the conversation, it was noted that...the aircraft tried more than once to approach the Grozny airport for landing," it said, adding that “at this time, Ukrainian combat drones were attacking Grozny [and the nearby cities of] Mozdok and Vladikavkaz, and Russian air-defense systems were repelling these attacks." Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the possible violation of flight safety rules, the statement said. It said two Azerbaijani prosecutors were working with Russian law enforcement in Grozny and that Russian, Azerbaijani, and Kazakh authorities were working together at the crash site near Aqtau, Kazakhstan. The Kremlin statement is likely to further increase suspicions that a Russian missile damaged the Embraer-190 jet before it was diverted to Aktau, across the Caspian Sea from Chechnya, where it crashed near the shore after a steep descent and burst into flames. Evidence of a missile strike includes footage of damage inside the plane before the crash and images of the hole-pocked tail section after the crash, as well as comments from survivors who said they heard at least one explosion outside the plane over Chechnya. Azerbaijani lawmaker Hikmat Babaoghlu told RFE/RL on December 27 that there is a "very strong" possibility that the plane was damaged by a Russian air-defense missile. He said that the "observations and conclusions drawn so far support the idea that the plane being shot down is the closest to the truth." On the same day, White House spokesman John Kirby said U.S. experts "have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air-defense systems." Reuters quoted an Azerbaijani source familiar with the investigation as saying results indicated the plane was hit by a Pantsir-S air-defense system, a self-propelled antiaircraft gun and missile system designed by Russia. The crash has disrupted air traffic in the Caucasus and beyond. An Azerbaijan Airlines flight bound for the Russian spa town of Mineranlye Vody, not far from Grozny, took off from Baku on December 27 but then abruptly headed back after receiving a flight information notice that Russian airspace it was due to fly through was closed. Azerbaijan Airlines later said it is suspending flights to several Russian cities, including Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Grozny, and Makhachkala. Turkmenistan Airlines announced on December 28 that it was canceling all its flights between the capital, Ashgabat, and Moscow from December 30 to January 31, giving no reason for the decision. Turkmenistan borders Kazakhstan on the eastern shore of the Caspian. Also on December 28, Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that restrictions were briefly placed on the operation of the airport in the Tatarstan regional capital, Kazan, to ensure flight safety, and media reports said that all departures and arrivals had been suspended. Flights heading to Kazan from the Siberian cities of Tomsk, Surgut, and Kemerovo were redirected to an airfield in Nizhnekamsk, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the airport's press service. No specific reason was given for the measures, which Rosaviatsia said had been lifted a few hours later. Russia has closed airports at times due to alleged drone attacks, and a drone attack hit high-rise buildings in Kazan on December 21. NATO has said it would bolster its presence in the Baltic Sea after undersea power lines and Internet cables were damaged by suspected sabotage believed to be carried out by vessels belonging to Russia’s so-called “ shadow fleet .” Estonia also announced on December 27 that it had begun a naval operation to guard a crucial electricity line in the Baltic Sea in coordination with allies as tensions mounted in the region. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a social media post following discussions with Finnish President Alexander Stubb that "NATO will enhance its military presence in the Baltic Sea." Both Finland and Estonia have coastlines on the Baltic Sea. When asked for details about planned actions, NATO officials told AP that the alliance “remains vigilant and is working to provide further support, including by enhancing our military presence” in the region. "We have agreed with Estonia, and we have also communicated to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, that our wish is to have a stronger NATO presence," Stubb told a news conference. Stubb added that investigators did not want to jump to conclusions, but a day earlier he had said that "it is necessary to be able to prevent the risks posed by ships belonging to the Russian 'shadow fleet.'" The "shadow fleet" is a reference to old, uninsured oil vessels typically used to bypass Western sanctions on Russia and maintain a source of revenue. European government and the United States have accused Russia of intensifying "hybrid attacks" following reports of damage to Baltic Sea communications cables, although they have not yet directly tied Moscow to the damage. NATO stepped up monitoring critical infrastructure in the Baltic following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the destruction of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline seven months later. Chinese-linked ships have also been suspected of sabotaging undersea infrastructure over recent years. Sweden -- NATO's newest member, which also has a coastline on the Baltic Sea -- said its coast guard had stepped up surveillance of sea traffic and had deployed aircraft and vessels in concert with regional allies. The European Commission on December 26 said a cargo ship suspected of having deliberately damaged power and Internet cables in the Baltic Sea was part of Russia's "shadow fleet." The poor condition of these ships has also raised concerns about environmental disasters. Finnish authorities on December 26 boarded and took command of the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S oil tanker in the Baltic Sea as part of its investigation into the damages, saying it likely belong to the "shadow fleet." Investigators have said the damage could have been caused by the ship intentionally dragging its anchor. The Kremlin said it had no connection to the ship seized by Finland. It has regularly denied that it is involved in any of the many incidents involving Baltic Sea region infrastructure assets. The United States said it has slapped fresh sanctions on Russia-friendly billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister and the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, for undermining Georgia's democracy for the "benefit of the Russian Federation." "Under Ivanishvili's leadership, Georgian Dream has advanced the interests of the Kremlin by derailing Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic trajectory -- in direct contradiction to what was envisioned by the Georgian people and the Georgian Constitution," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on December 27. Blinken added that "Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream's actions have eroded democratic institutions, enabled human rights abuses, and curbed the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Georgia." "We strongly condemn Georgian Dream's actions under Ivanishvili's leadership, including its ongoing and violent repression of Georgian citizens, protesters, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures." The new measures will block transactions involving entities owned by Ivanishvili, the statement said. According to Bloomberg News, Ivanishvili's fortune is estimated at $7.5 billion, much of it coming through metals, banking, and telecom assets in Russia during the 1990s. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze called the U.S. action "blackmail" and said it was Ivanishvili's "reward" for protecting Georgia's national interest. However, opposition leader Giorgi Vashadze of the Unity National Movement hailed the U.S. decision, according to Georgia's Interpress news agency. "I welcome this step from the United States and believe that we are quickly moving toward victory and will celebrate Georgia without Ivanishvili, who is the bringer of chaos and misery to this country," he was quoted as saying. In a previous action, the United States on December 12 said it would "prohibit visa issuance to those who are responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Georgia." That move affected some 20 people, "including individuals serving as government ministers and in parliament, law enforcement and security officials, and private citizens," it said in a statement , without naming the individuals. Georgia, once a closer U.S. ally, has angered Washington and the European Union with its perceived tilt toward Russia and its violent crackdown on dissent in the Caucasus nation. The sanctions come at a crucial time, as Georgia's fate hangs in the balance -- whether it will intensify its tilt toward Moscow, return to the pro-Europe path, or remain in an environment of unrest and uncertainty. Police in Tbilisi have clashed with pro-West protesters over the past several weeks, detaining dozens and injuring scores of people who accuse the government of the Georgian Dream party of moving the country away from the European Union and closer to Moscow. The political crisis erupted after Georgian Dream claimed victory in October parliamentary elections that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said was marred by instances of vote-buying, double-voting, physical violence, and intimidation. The rallies intensified after a government decision last month to delay negotiations on Georgia joining the EU. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on December 24 called for Georgian security forces to be investigated for the “brutal police violence” against largely peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets for huge anti-government demonstrations. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili – who has spilt with the government and backed the protesters -- on December 22 called on Georgian Dream to set a date for new parliamentary elections by December 29. "Next week at this time I will be president," Zurabishvili restated on December 27. U.S. Republican House member Joe Wilson wrote on X that he welcomed the new sanctions and added that he had invited Zurabishvili -- "as the only legitimate leader in Georgia" -- to Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on January 20 "I am in awe of her courage in the face of the assault by Ivanishvili and his friends" in China and Iran, Wilson added, without mentioning Russia. Earlier this month, an electoral college dominated by Georgian Dream chose Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former soccer player and right-wing populist, as Georgia's next president. His inauguration is supposed to take place on December 29, though the 72-year-old Zurabishvili, whose term ends this year, has said she will not step down, setting up a potentially explosive showdown. Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023, but ties with Brussels have been tense in recent months following the adoption in May of a controversial "foreign agent" law pushed through parliament by Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012. PODGORICA -- After a multinational back-and-forth legal battle, Montenegro on December 27 said it would extradite South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur Hyeong Do Kwon -- the so-called Crypto King -- to the United States. Do Kwon is sought by both the United States and South Korea and also faces possible legal action in Singapore. Montenegrin courts have previously issued at least eight often-contradictory decisions regarding Do Kwon's fate. In September, the Montenegrin Supreme Court ruled that Do Kwon could be sent to either the United States or South Korea and that the final decision on which country would be up to Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic. On December 24, Do Kwon lost his final appeal against extradition with Montenegro's Constitutional Court. In the latest ruling, the Justice Ministry said the U.S. request had met the threshold for removal and, as a result Bozovic "issued a decision approving the extradition." The ministry said the criteria included the gravity of the criminal acts, the order of submission of the extradition requests, and the citizenship of the person in question. The former CEO and co-founder of the cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs is wanted by U.S. and South Korean authorities for his alleged role in capital market and securities fraud involving assets worth some $40 billion. Do Kwon was arrested with business partner Chang Joon in March 2023 at Podgorica airport while attempting to fly to Dubai using on allegedly forged passports. They each received a four-month prison sentence on the forged-passport charge. Chang, who was wanted only by South Korea, was extradited to that country on February 5. After serving his sentence, Do Kwon was sent to a shelter for foreigners near Podgorica, where he awaited extradition. Do Kwon in October claimed that the South Korean charges were illegitimate and "politically motivated." Despite the legal struggle, Do Kwon's trial in absentia took place in the United States, where a New York jury on April 5 found him and Terraform labs liable on civil fraud charges, agreeing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that they had misled investors. Terraform Labs agreed to pay about $4.5 billion in a civil settlement with the SEC following the court's ruling. Do Kwon was ordered to pay $204 million. Following the verdict, a Terraform spokesperson said, "We continue to maintain that the SEC does not have the legal authority to bring this case at all" and that the company was weighing its options. Italy’s Foreign Ministry said journalist Cecilia Sala, who was in Iran to carry out "journalistic activities," has been detained by Tehran police authorities. The ministry said in a statement on December 27 that Sala, who has a podcast called Stories that covers life in places around the world, was detained on December 19. It gave no reason for the detention, but said in a statement that the ambassador from Italy's embassy in Tehran had paid a consular visit "to verify the conditions and state of detention of Sala." "The family was informed of the results of the consular visit. Previously, Sala had the opportunity to make two phone calls with her relatives," it said. Sala posted a podcast from Tehran on December 17 about patriarchy in the Iranian capital. Iran is routinely accused of arresting dual nationals and Western citizens on false charges to use them to pressure Western countries. Earlier this month, Reza Valizadeh , a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and former journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Farda, was handed a 10-year sentence by Tehran's Revolutionary Court on charges of "collaborating with a hostile government." Valizadeh resigned from Radio Farda in November 2022 after a decade of work. He returned to Iran in early 2024 to visit his family but was arrested on September 22. His two court sessions, held on November 20 and December 7, reportedly lacked a prosecution representative, with the judge assuming that role. Sources close to the journalist claim he fell into a "security trap" despite receiving unofficial assurances from Iranian security officials that he would not face legal troubles upon returning to Iran. Iran is among the most repressive countries in terms of freedom of the press. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 176th out of 180 countries in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index. The Paris-based media watchdog says Iran is now also one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists. An Azerbaijani lawmaker said there is a "very strong" possibility that the crash of a passenger jet earlier this week was caused by Russian air-defense systems on alert for Ukrainian drone attacks. Speculation has mounted that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which was headed from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechnya region, may have been hit by an air-defense missile before crossing the Caspian Sea and crashing near Aqtau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 passengers and crew. Lawmaker Hikmat Babaoghlu told RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service in an interview on December 27 that such an explanation is most likely "closest to the truth." "This is only a possibility, but a very strong one, and the observations and conclusions drawn so far support the idea that the plane being shot down is the closest to the truth," he said. "In this specific case, the incident involves Azerbaijan's airliner being damaged within the territory of the Russian Federation, with the event causing the crash occurring there. Therefore, there is no doubt that responsibility falls on the Russian Federation. If these assumptions are correct, accountability also undoubtedly rests with Russia," he added. Kazakh experts arrived on December 27 to examine the crash site and black box of the ill-fated passenger jet, as speculation -- and evidence -- mounted suggesting that a Russian air-defense missile may have inadvertently struck the craft. Even as the probe intensifies, countries with victims aboard the plane -- Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan -- continue to mourn their dead and treat the injured from the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft. Since the crash, uncertainty has rocked the aviation industry throughout the Caucasus. An Azerbaijan Airlines flight bound for the Russian spa town of Mineranlye Vody took off from Baku on December 27 but then abruptly headed back after receiving a flight information notice that Russian airspace it was due to fly through was closed . Azerbaijan Airlines later said it is suspending flights to several Russian cities, including Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Grozny, and Makhachkala. Speculation has swirled around the tragedy, with some experts pointing to holes seen in the plane's tail section as a possible sign that it could have come under fire from Russian air-defense systems engaged in thwarting Ukrainian drone attacks. White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on December 27 that the United States has seen signs suggesting that the jet could have been hit by Russian air defense systems. U.S. experts "have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems," he said. Kirby added that Washington has “offered our assistance...should they need it" to the ongoing investigation being conducted by Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Evidence, yet to be corroborated by authorities, includes footage from inside the plane before the crash, images of the hole-pocked tail section after the crash, a survivor's comments, and accounts indicating there was a suspected drone attack around the time the plane apparently tried to land in Grozny. Reuters quoted an Azerbaijani source familiar with the investigation as saying results indicated the plane was hit by a Pantsir-S air-defense system, a self-propelled antiaircraft gun and missile system designed by Russia. It was not immediately clear where the black box would be examined. The process can be highly technical, and not all countries have the resources to undertake such work. Gulag Aslanli, a leader of Azerbaijan's opposition Musavat party, told RFE/RL that an international commission was needed to investigate the incident. "Russia cannot be allowed there," he said. "If the black box is going to be taken to Russia and examined there, I will look at its outcome with suspicion." Officials said it typically takes about two weeks to fully assess a black box, although various conditions can alter that time frame. Commenting on unconfirmed reports that the plane may have been shot down by a missile, Kazakh Senate Speaker Maulen Ashimbaev said it was "not possible" to say what may have damaged the aircraft until the investigation is finished. "Real experts are looking at all this, and they will make their conclusions. Neither Kazakhstan, Russia, nor Azerbaijan, of course, is interested in hiding information, so it will be brought to the public," Ashimbaev said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made a similar comment, reiterating Moscow's previous stance on the deadly incident. "An investigation is under way, and until the conclusions of the investigation, we do not consider we have the right to make any comments and we will not do so," Peskov told reporters on December 27. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Russian officials as saying the plane, commissioned in 2013, had passed a maintenance check in October and that the pilot had "vast experience" with more than 15,000 flying hours. Azerbaijan Airlines President Samir Rzayev also told reporters the plane had been fully serviced in October and that there was no sign of technical malfunction. But he said it was too early to determine a cause: "The plane has been found with a black box. After detailed research, all aspects will be clear." The airline suspended flights along the route of the crash pending completion of the investigation. Azerbaijan's Prosecutor-General's Office said that "all possible scenarios are being examined." As the first seven survivors arrived back in the country on December 26, Azerbaijan observed a national day of mourning. Burials of four of those who lost their lives were conducted during the day, with additional funerals expected in the coming hours and days. Officials in Baku said the wounded arrived on a special flight arranged by Azerbaijan's Emergency Affairs Ministry and that the injured, many with severe burn wounds, were accompanied by medical professionals. Ayhan Solomon, Azerbaijan’s chief consul in Aqtau, told reporters that 26 of those killed were Azerbaijani citizens. He said 16 Azerbaijani citizens survived. “Of those, 10 to 12 are in good condition and others remain critically stable,” he added. Azerbaijan Airlines' supervisory board said on December 26 that the families of those killed will be compensated with 40,000 manats ($23,460), while those injured would receive 20,000 manats ($11,730). Along with the 42 Azerbaijani citizens, those aboard Flight J2-8243 were listed as 16 Russian nationals, six from Kazakhstan, and three Kyrgyz citizens, officials said. The survivors include nine Russian citizens, who were flown to Moscow on December 26 by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry. Three of the Russian survivors were in critical condition, according to Russian health authorities. KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said “several” North Korean soldiers – badly wounded in fighting alongside Russian forces – have died after being captured by Ukrainian troops on the battlefield and he accused Moscow of having little regard for their survival. Zelenskiy, echoing earlier remarks by U.S. officials, said soldiers sent to Russia by Pyongyang are suffering major losses in fighting in Russia's Kursk region. The Ukrainian leader accused Moscow and North Korean “enforcers” of leaving the soldiers unprotected in battle and even executing fighters to prevent them from being captured alive. He did not provide evidence to back up the claims and they could not independently be verified. The North Korean military has suffered “many losses. A great deal. And we can see that the Russian military and the North Korean enforcers have no interest in the survival of these Koreans at all,” he said in a video address on December 27. “Everything is arranged in a way that makes it impossible for us to capture the Koreans as prisoners – their own people are executing them. There are such cases. And the Russians send them into assaults with minimal protection.” He said Ukrainian soldiers had managed to take some prisoners. "But they were very seriously wounded and could not be saved.” The remarks came after South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said that a North Korean fighter had died of wounds suffered before his capture by Ukrainian special operations troops in the Kursk region. "We have confirmed through an allied intelligence agency that a North Korean soldier who was captured on the 26th died a little while ago due to serious injuries," the news release said. On December 26, the Ukrainian news outlet Militarnyi said a soldier believed to be North Korean had been captured by Ukrainian Special Operations Forces in the Kursk region. A photo of a captured soldier, who is believed to have been injured, also was previously shared on Telegram. The photo has not been independently verified. Details about the soldier's condition and status are not known. Last month Pyongyang ratified a "comprehensive strategic partnership" agreement with Russia, cementing a deal that paved the way for its soldiers to fight on Russian soil against Ukraine. Western sources estimate that 12,000 North Korean troops are in the Kursk region, parts of which are occupied by Ukrainian forces amid ongoing pitched battles. U.S. Response White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on December 27 that North Korean forces are suffering heavy casualties on the front lines, adding that some 1,000 of their troops have been killed or wounded in the Kursk region over the past week. "It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses," Kirby said. Kirby said also U.S. President Joe Biden would likely approve another package of military aid for Kyiv in the coming days as he bids to bolster Ukraine’s forces before leaving office on January 20. U.S. officials later told reporters that a new package of military assistance worth $1.25 billion is scheduled to be announced on December 30. North Korean Losses Zelenskiy on December 23 said more than 3,000 troops, or about a quarter of the North Korean special forces sent to Russia, had been killed or injured, though he couched his statement by saying the data was preliminary. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported on a lower figure, saying on December 19 that about 1,100 North Korean special forces have been killed or injured in Russia since entering the fray against Ukraine. On December 15, Skhemy (Schemes), an investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, received photos from Ukrainian military sources purportedly showing the bodies of dead soldiers in Kursk, including what was said to be North Korean fighters. RFE/RL has not been able to independently verify the claims. Russia has not commented on the report. North Korean military support is coming at a critical time in the war. Russia is seeking to overpower an undermanned and under-resourced Ukrainian infantry and gain territory before its own manpower and resources become constrained. Russia has lost more than 600,000 soldiers in the nearly three-year war, the Pentagon said in early October. It has burned through so much war material that it is struggling to replace its artillery and missile needs amid sweeping Western sanctions. Now nearly two-thirds of the mortars and shells Russia launches at Ukraine come from North Korea, the Wall Street Journal reported , citing Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian Army officer. And every third ballistic missile was made in North Korea, Ukrainian officials said. The European Commission said a cargo ship suspected of having deliberately damaged power and Internet cables in the Baltic Sea is part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet," prompting the EU to threaten new sanctions against Moscow. "We strongly condemn any deliberate destruction of Europe’s critical infrastructure," the commission said in a statement on December 26. "The suspected vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget. We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet," the statement added. The statement added that "in response to these incidents, we are strengthening efforts to protect undersea cables, including enhanced information exchange, new detection technologies, as well as in undersea repair capabilities, and international cooperation." The remarks come after two fiber-optic cables owned by Finnish operator Elisa linking Finland and Estonia were broken on December 25. A third link between the two countries -- owned by China's Citic -- was damaged, authorities said. An Internet cable running between Finland and Germany belonging to Finnish group Cinia was also believed to have been severed, according to officials. Investigators said the damage could have been caused by the ship intentionally dragging its anchor. Finnish authorities on December 26 boarded and took command of the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S oil tanker in the Baltic Sea as part of the investigation. The Finnish customs service said the Eagle S is believed to belong to Russia's so-called “shadow fleet” of old, uninsured oil vessels used to bypass Western sanctions and maintain a source of revenue. The poor condition of these ships has also raised concerns about environmental disasters. Finnish President Alexander Stubb also suggested the cargo has Russian links and that his country is closely monitoring the situation. "It is necessary to be able to prevent the risks posed by ships belonging to the Russian shadow fleet," Stubb wrote on X . EU foreign ministers on December 16 adopted a package of sanctions against Moscow targeting tankers transporting Russian oil as the bloc looked to curb the circumvention of previous measures aimed at hindering Kremlin's ability to wage war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, NATO chief Mark Rutte said on December 26 that the alliance is ready to help Finland and Estonia as they launch their probe into the possible "sabotage." "Spoke with [Estonian Prime Minister] Kristen Michal about reported possible sabotage of Baltic Sea cables,” he wrote on X. “NATO stands in solidarity with Allies and condemns any attacks on critical infrastructure. We are following investigations by Estonia and Finland, and we stand ready to provide further support." Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 26 that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is ready to offer a “platform” for possible peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv to end the war in Ukraine. Putin told the media Fico said during a recent meeting that "if there are any negotiations, [the Slovaks] would be happy to provide their country as a platform." Most terms suggested so far by Putin have been deemed unacceptable to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Fico is one of the few European leaders Putin has stayed friendly with since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, prompting criticism of the Slovak leader by Zelenskiy and many Western leaders. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here . Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian is scheduled to travel to Russia on January 17, state-controlled media in Iran and Russia reported on December 26. Quoting Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali, Iran's Tasnim news agency said that “the president will visit Russia on January 17 and a cooperation agreement between the two countries will be signed during the visit." Russia and Iran both are under severe financial sanctions imposed by Western nations and have stepped up bilateral cooperation on many fronts in recent years. The West has accused Iran of providing weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine. Tehran has denied the allegations despite evidence widespread use of Iranian-made drones in the war.

Deion Sanders is looking to accomplish something that Colorado hasn't done in two decades. Win a bowl game. The Buffaloes haven't won a bowl game since they beat UTEP 33-28, in the 2004 EV1.net Houston Bowl. This was 20 years ago. Colorado has only made four bowl games since then, losing all of them. In 2005, they lost to Clemson 19-10 in the Champ Sports Bowl. In 2007, they lost to Alabama, in Nick Saban's first year as head coach of the Crimson Tide, 30-24 in the Independence Bowl. In 2016, Oklahoma State throttled them, 38-8 in the Alamo Bowl. Lastly, in the COVID-shortened season of 2020, they lost to Texas 55-23 once more in the Alamo Bowl Sanders is looking to buck the losing trend. He guided the Buffaloes to a 9-3 record, which is the program's first winning season since 2016. Led by his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and Heisman-favorite Travis Hunter, the Buffaloes rebounded from a disappointing 4-8 record last year, to nearly making the 12-team playoff this year. They fell one game short of the Big 12 championship game. The younger Sanders and Hunter are both projected to be top ten picks in this spring's NFL draft. Sanders took home Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, while Hunter took home Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. However, before they depart Boulder, Colorado, they will be looking to take home one last win and reach double digit victories for the first time since 2016. As most projected high draft picks will sit out bowl games with no national championship implications, Coach Prime has already stated that his son, nor Hunter, will be doing that. "Our kids are going to play in our bowl game because that's what we signed up to do," Sanders said. "We're going to finish. We're not going to tap out because that throws off the structure of next season." The potential first quarterback that will be taken in the draft, echoed his father's sentiment. "It's a team thing," Sanders said. "If me and T and a couple other players aren't out there, the Buffs aren't going to look the same. "We understand the pieces we are to the team, the leaders we are overall, and the amount of players that would sit out if we weren't out there doing it." Colorado won't know which bowl game, or who their opponent will be, until after December 8.Aminu Abdullahi, the Commissioner Higher Education Sokoto state, is the Iya Sokoto, a highly respected titleholder of the Sultanate. Before his appointment by Governor Ahmed Aliyu, he was for nine the nine years the state’s accountant general. He was also the permanent secretary in the ministries of environment and animal health. In this syndicated interview he spoke on the Aliyu adnistration’s 9-Point agenda as it concerns higher education. Chamba Simeh brings excerpts: Without thinking twice about it I would say that it has been a wonderful experience superintending over this critical sector. I am indeed very grateful that I am contributing my quota to ensuring that Sokoto state children receive qualitative education. And when you work with a governor that’s wholeheartedly committed to the development of education and that’s supportive that definitely makes your assignment less stressful. Before we go far into the interview I think it’s important that I explain the difference between the ministries of higher education, science and technology and basic which in a sense shows the importance the governor attaches to the education sector. The first reason for the creation of the three separate ministries is that the governor wants an effective supervision of the education sector which by the way is huge. So in Sokoto state like some other states we have three ministries – basic and secondary, science and technology and higher education,though we might be three ministries but we collaborate because we are dealing with essentially the same raw materials or if you like we are in a sense like the 3 arms of government- the executive, the legislature and the judiciary- though distinct we must work harmoniously to deliver development to the people. So the Ministry of Higher Education is solely concerned with tertiary education – the institutions of higher learning that offer different courses to students after their secondary level of education. We have Diploma, Certificate and Degree Awarding Instuitions under the ministry numbering about ten (10). But at the recent State Executive Council meeting the Council in its wisdom took the decision to return the School of Nursing to the Ministry of Health and the School of Legal Studies to the Ministry of Justice, for more effective supervision. The fact is that these five(5) tertiary institutions were transferred to their mother ministries in line with the laws establishing them. Only God knows why the previous administration decided to put them under ministry of higher education. We equally have 20 private tertiary institutions in Sokoto state that are also under our supervision only because the government doesn’t fund them like it funds its own schools. Like every other sector when this administration assumed office things were at different levels of decay and the education sector wasn’t spared which is most unfortunate. The handover note that officials of the ministry put together for me was depressing because the situation in all our institutions was alarming ...the morale of the workers was expectedly low because their course were not accredited and they were not paid their teaching incentives. For instance, the state university was without power for more than three years. Most of the lecture theatres were in a state of dilapidation. On assumption of office Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto instantly instructed the Kaduna Power Company to restore power immediately to the university and the other institutions after reaching an agreement with them on payment of the backlog. That singular act elicited wild jubilation and confirmed that a Daniel has indeed come to judgement. I am ashamed talking about what Sokoto State suffered in the hands of Aminu Tambuwal, a man who at one time was the number four citizen and who could have been president in line with the constitutional succession process and who on his own had attempted being the president of our dear country twice. Governor Aliyu has shown by words and actions that his commitment to the development of education is not political, that he in fact means his campaign promise to revamp the educational sector. He has paid all outstanding salaries, including the teaching allowances and rehabilitated dilapidated infrastructures in our higher institutions ...if you visit them you will find an environment that is conducive for learning... we can’t be blaming the students for poor performance when we haven’t provided them with the necessary tools and environment to study. The situation we met was terrible. We have equally gotten most courses being run by institutions accredited under one year. How on earth can any institution worth its salt run unaccredited courses? It certainly amounted to a sheer waste of everybody’s time, especially that of the students. Thankfully the examination bodies have shown an understanding which has gone a long way in resolving the issues. The governor has approved the payment of accreditation fees to the various bodies like the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). Governor in all sincerity has restored the hope of these students that was dashed by the past administration. As a mark of his commitment there is no memo from this ministry seeking his intervention on any urgent matter that hasn’t received his prompt response. He understands the importance of education and is determined to change the narrative. It’s important that I make the point that the governor is well guided in his decision to create the three ministries. It’s backed by the decision of the National Council of Education which is the highest policy making body on education in Nigeria on the separation of the ministries for effective supervision. It is a national policy ...the governor could have chosen to ignore it,but being a firm believer in the rule of law and convinced that it is the right decision he decided to go along with it wholeheartedly because it serves his purpose of the sector being vigorously supervised. The courses that were not accredited cut across the various departments of the schools. For instance some science courses were not accredited same with some social science courses, depending on the school. The most important point is that we have solved a problem which was why the governor was elected. He saw problems and offered himself to solve them, that’s the mentality of Governor Aliyu. While he believes in accountability he equally believes that the misdeeds of the past shouldn’t be an excuse, shouldn’t hold us back and every appointee understands this fact. We have spent about N3 billion on the rehabilitation of our institutions. For accreditation the cost is huge. For some courses we paid N35 million and for others N70 million, it depended on the course. Thankfully accreditation is once in five years, so we have some breathing space. So far virtually all our institutions have their courses accredited and the cost is running into millions of naira. Some few months back we paid the NUC about N100 million for courses being run at the state university and they were very impressed with our governor for his efforts in running a university that is truly a center of learning and research. In fact they followed up with a letter of appreciation to the governor. The governor on his part is extremely happy because he is seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I can tell you for free that the university surpassed the NUC conditions, and that we didn’t cut corners, we adhered to their guidelines. According to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 which aims at ensuring the prudent management of resources and to promote transparency and accountability, if a public officer steals money he would be charged to court of law and tried. Also according to that same law if an officer commits an irresponsible act he or she is liable for persecution. But it wasn’t their fault that the Tambuwal administration refused to accredit the courses their schools were running. They didn’t commit a deliberate and irresponsible act because they kept drawing the attention of government to the problem and there is overwhelming evidence. So it would have been heartless sacking them for a crime they didn’t commit. I wish I could provide you with the answer considering the importance of our schools running courses that are accredited. It beats my imagination why they didn’t. I am not saying this to paint the previous administration in bad light, but just to put the facts before the public and nothing more. The governor has since moved on from what they didn’t do to doing them. Sokoto state is lucky to have a calm and dedicated governor after the disastrous eight years of Tambuwal. In November 2023, several countries under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted the recommendation on education for peace and human rights, international understanding, cooperation, fundamental freedoms, global citizenship and sustainable development. Today, UNESCO remains the only global standard-setting instrument that lays out how education can and should be used to bring about lasting peace and sustainable development and in positioning education as a key driver of peace and international understanding. Education in the 2024 budget was allocated the highest percentage and in 2025 it has equally maintained its number one position in terms of budgetary allocation. Sokoto State in the last two years has in fact surpassed the UNESCO budget recommendation. And what does this say about Governor Aliyu’s unwavering commitment to education? It no doubt clears whatever doubt about his desire to rewrite the ugly story of education in the state. As a professional accountant I prefer to talk more in terms of releases because you can be allocated a fantastic budget without it being cash backed. So we say thank you to the governor for not only allocating funds to education, but for his express approvals and for cash backing them. Our modest achievements are due to his leadership and support. Our mandate and responsibilities includes policy formulation for higher education and recommending same to the governor who in the case of the university is the Visitor, carrying out needs assessment to determine the state’s needs in higher education in both public and private institutions. We also advice the government on the appointment of heads of the various institutions working in collaboration with their governing bodies. The other critical responsibility is in assisting the various tertiary institutions with accreditation from the relevant bodies. We also have the mandate to establish linkage programmes with other institutions of higher learning; and in the area preparing and implementing an annual budget, the revenue and expenditure of state tertiary institutions. Monitoring is critical, so we also carry out a rigorous monitoring exercise to ensure that they are performing the functions why they were established. Finally, we oversee the disbursement of scholarships to state indigenes in higher learning institutions. We do produce Performance Reports to the governor who is interested in knowing the progress being recorded. There is a close collaboration between the three ministries. About out of school children it’s a challenge but I can assure you that we are addressing it on all fronts. To some extent the Nigerian culture of marrying many wives and having many children is partly responsible for the problem. But things are beginning to change. I’m glad because in the past only the few of us went to school, but now there is no household that you will not find with students in higher institutions. Education would help people understand the importance of producing children they can cater for. Mmeanwhile, we would continue to deploy policies that would help address the problem. You know the story of Sokoto State. We remain eternally grateful to our father who by the way was my teacher and leader Senator Aliyu Magatarda Wamakko for laying a solid foundation for our education system using his experience as an educationist. As governor of Sokoto State, he put in a place several fundamental policies; free and compulsory education, he encouraged girl child education and so many other policies. We certainly won’t be increasing fees rather we would continue to encourage our students with incentives like scholarships to pursue their education to the highest level. The robust policies of Governor Aliyu have continued to attract more students to enroll into schools in the state and abroad. In fact enrollment has increased and very interestingly is the fact that students have stopped skipping school. We have achieved all these due to the policy of Governor Aliyu who understands the importance of education and is walking the talk. The previous government had for inexplicable reasons stopped the stipends and other privileges of the students which Governor Aliyu immediately restored. Yes. It’s important I make this additional point, in Sokoto state non-indigenes are treated as indigenes, they don’t pay school fees and the government doesn’t exclude them when it is paying examination fees. Once you are resident in Sokoto state you are automatically an indigene of the state, you pay the fees that the indigenes are paying. Back to your question, the Aliyu administration understands that schools must be well funded. From next year the governor has directed that schools would be given N200,000 monthly allowance to meet minor expenses which would help them face desks, repairs of toilets etc. So this is a government that understands its responsibility to its schools and indeed all government departments. You must also be aware of the efforts of the governor ensuring the availability of water 2/4/7 in the state. The interesting thing about developmental partners is that they only come in when they see what you are doing. It’s only when they see your seriousness and enthusiasm that they would partner with you. Our budget outlook which is friendly attracted them. We actually have a synergy with them and several other projects with different development partners. UNESCO that you mentioned earlier linked us up with other partners because they are impressed with what we are doing. They are facilitating and augmenting what the government is doing. So we are happy with the relationship. Yes. But that is in Basic and Secondary Education. It would be great if you equally interview the commissioner in charge of the ministry. TETFund was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in its farsighted wisdom in 2011 to disburse, manage, and monitor education tax to government-owned tertiary institutions. You know that before the establishment of the agency in 2011, government-owned tertiary institutions were poorly funded so the scheme was designed to improve the crisis in the sector through its interventions especially in the area of facilities where the decay was monumental.In fact facilities in most schools had almost collapsed, teachers and lecturers morale were at their lowest. The enabling environment for conducive teaching and learning was absent. So the government took this step to arrest the rot. This background is important so we can appreciate the seriousness of the situation and why the agency was set up. TETFund’s interventions is only for the universities. Primary schools have the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) that is saddled with the responsibility of providing greater access to, and ensuring quality of basic education throughout the country. The Universal Basic Education Programme was introduced in 1999 by the Federal Government of Nigeria to also address the rot in the sector. Each year TETFund intervenes based on specific requests of the concerned institution. They don’t decide for you,because you know what you need most. For example if we need a Laboratory, we will spell out our specific needs to TETFund and they would react appropriately. So they can’t come and build hostels for us when what we need is a lecture hall or ICT facilities. Our schools have well equipped hostels, we have beds so we don’t need them, so we can’t ask them to buy beds that we have. So the answer is a big yes. The state university has tremendously benefited from the intervention of the Fund in various areas. Governor Aliyu is absolutely clear about what he wants to achieve in education, which is development of human capital that’s important to the development of the state. The governor is driving the economic development of the state, so it’s important that we have indigenes that are skilled to work in the industries he is attracting. We recently graduated 80 medical doctors and being our citizens they can operate better in our environment because they understand the language and culture of the people. He sees education as both a social and economic investment. An educated person would easily understand the need to pay his/her tax and to be law abiding. I would give you the example of an educated woman – she is a nurse, and the first teacher of her children, so if she is educated that would certainly impact on their healthcare and education because she would be able to give them proper care and teach them alphabets before they start school. Governor Aliyu means business with his well thought out 9-Point Smart Agenda. In housing he has delivered. He was recently crowned the Urban and Housing-Friendly Governor of the Year 2024 in recognition of his achievements in the sector. It’s not a joke to deliver 1,000 housing units under two years. In the area of legal reforms he has equally done well. During our last State Executive Council meeting the Secretary to the State Government announced the execution of over 180 projects that have been completed in the last one and half years. The governor is serious minded; he won’t fail himself, his father Senator Wamakko or the people who have stood solidly behind him. The National Policy on Education introduced entrepreneurship into the curriculum of higher institutions. In the year 2000 the federal government and UNESCO partnered to incorporate Entrepreneurship Education (EEd) into Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) curricula. The main goals of entrepreneurship education in Nigeria include, preparing the students to be self-reliant and self-employed, creating employment opportunities, helping students to transition from a traditional economy to a modern industrial economy, training students to be creative and innovative in identifying business opportunities and to establish careers in small and medium-sized businesses. In Sokoto State our tertiary institutions have embraced the entrepreneurial message. I understand that even at the secondary school level the students are being thought Entrepreneurship. This is the way to go because government has a limited capacity to create jobs. Yes they are being adequately supervised. We regularly send out supervisors who are experts in their respective subjects to go and supervise the teachers. It’s actually part of the system it’s just that the last administration the government bluntly refused funding their assignment. That was a huge challenge. You don’t expect a public servant to spend his/her money to carry out government duties. So logistics were largely responsible for that responsibility not being carried out like it ought to. When I resumed office I was told by the officials of the ministry and I believe them that they use to contribute money to buy fuel to run the generator and buy stationeries. All that changed immediately with the coming of Governor Aliyu. Ministries are now being funded to be able to carry out their functions. The governor without much noise has restored the monthly allocations to the ministries and agencies. It’s important that I stress that we take our monitoring role very seriously. And that we treat both privately or publicly owned institutions the same way. We usually carry out unannounced and random visits. We don’t want them to prepare for our visit which would defeat the purpose. Yes it is working. We have the right to close the schools, when they are not operating in line with the laid down criteria. But closing such schools isn’t our usual approach. We normally enter into conversations with them which enable both parties to discuss the breaches. We are partners in progress. We have a duty of ensuring that standards are adhered to. We don’t want them producing half baked graduates. On the whole yes,but I know we have some departments that are over staffed while others are lacking personnel but that’s being addressed. Recently we carried out an audit, which enabled us to identify some departments that had surplus staff and the departments that were lacking. So we are working on moving staff from over staffed departments to areas of needs and where they can contribute more efficiently to the overall goals of the institution. Not yet. We are taking things one at a time. Yes all courses being run by the School of Nursing are accredited. It would also interest you to know that the State University is equally offering nursing. Our degree is HND unlike other universities that prefer awarding B.Sc Nursing. It’s a matter of choice. Like I said earlier the governor has been very generous in approving our projects and providing the necessary funds. In the year ending we have executed over 30 impactful projects worth over N3 billion spread across the various tertiary institutions.Higher pay for workers in Cordillera, Mimaropa

Why your favorite catalogs are smaller this holiday seasonIn December 1999, the world prepared for the impending global meltdown known as Y2K. It all stemmed from a seemingly small software glitch: Many older computer programs had coded dates using only two numbers for the year. At midnight on Dec. 31, a misinterpretation of "00" in the year 2000 might cause widespread errors leading to mass panic. The Clinton administration said that preparing the U.S. for Y2K was probably "the single largest technology management challenge in history." The bug threatened a cascade of potential disruptions — blackouts, medical equipment failures, banks shutting down, travel screeching to a halt — if the systems and software that helped keep society functioning no longer knew what year it was. These fears gave rise to another anxiety-inducing acronym: TEOTWAWKI — "the end of the world as we know it." Thankfully, the so-called "year 2000 problem" didn't live up to the hype. NPR covered Y2K preparations for several years leading up to the new millennium. Here's a snapshot of how people coped, as told to NPR Network reporters. Computer specialist and grassroots organizer Paloma O'Riley compared the scale and urgency of Y2K prep to telling somebody to change out a rivet on the Golden Gate Bridge. Changing out just one rivet is simple, but "if you suddenly tell this person he now has to change out all the rivets on the bridge and he has only 24 hours to do it in — that's a problem," O'Riley told reporter Jason Beaubien in 1998. So, why wasn't U.S. infrastructure ready in the first place? Stephanie Moore, then a senior analyst with Giga Information Group, told NPR it stemmed from a data-efficiency measure in the expensive early days of computers: formatting years using two digits instead of four, with most computers interpreting "00" as the year 1900. "Now, when we roll over to the year 2000, computers — instead of thinking it's 2001 — are going to think it's 1901," Moore said, adding Y2K would have been avoidable "had we used four-digit year dates all along." The date switchover rattled a swath of vital tech, including Wall Street trading systems, power plants and tools used in air traffic control. The Federal Aviation Administration put its systems through stress tests and mock scenarios as 2000 drew closer. "Twenty-three million lines of code in the air traffic control system did seem a little more daunting, I will say, than I had probably anticipated," FAA Administrator Jane Garvey told NPR in 1998. Ultimately there were no systemwide aviation breakdowns, but airlines were put on a Y2K alert. The crunch to safeguard these systems was a reminder that the technology underpinning people's daily lives was interdependent and constantly evolving. "People forget that the infrastructure for the Industrial Revolution took between 300 and 500 years to put in place," University of Washington engineering professor Mark Haselkorn said at the time. "And we're about 50 years into putting the infrastructure in place for the Information Age. So, it's not surprising we've got some problems." A mobile home; a year's supply of dehydrated food; a propane generator — those were just some of the precautionary purchases California computer programmer Scott Olmstead made in advance of 2000. (He also said he was shopping for a handgun.) If Y2K sparked a food shortage, or an electric grid failure, or even a crime spike, Olmstead told NPR he would be ready: "Whatever it is, if we want to 'bug out,' as the programmers say, we can do it. We've got a place to go." He added that he might take his money out of the bank and convert it into gold, silver and cash. While concerned citizens pondered a panic-proof wealth strategy, Brian Roby, vice president of First National Bank of Olathe, Kan., told NPR his institution would be ready to welcome customers on New Year's Day rather than take the holiday off. "We thought about it and we said, 'Hey, if we're ready, we're ready. Let's prove it. Let's be the first to be open,' " Roby said. "And we're just going to open up like it's any other normal Saturday." Some financial analysts remained skeptical Y2K would come and go with minimal disruption. But by November 1999 the Federal Reserve said it was confident the U.S. economy would weather the big switch. "Federal banking agencies have been visited and inspected. Every bank in the United States, which includes probably 9,000 to 10,000 institutions, over 99% received a satisfactory rating," Fed Board Governor Edward Kelley said at the time. Dozens of communities across the U.S. formed Y2K preparedness groups to stave off unnecessary panic. Kathy Garcia, an organizer with the Y2K Community Project in Boulder, Colo., said fears of a societal meltdown offered an opportunity to take stock. "How do we help each other out — not when a disaster hits, but beforehand?" Garcia told NPR's Margot Adler in 1999. Her project set up shop in a Boulder mall storefront, offering Y2K educational videos and exhibits on food storage. Local resident Richard Dash stopped by, urging people to consider their neighbors — not just themselves. "Do you want to be the only house with lights, and the only house with the smell of food coming from it? Do you want to really turn yourself into a bunker?" he said. Dash added he hoped nothing would come of Y2K besides a renewed feeling he could count on his community in an emergency, and it could count on him, too. Instead of conserving their extra food, he said, people could come together and share it. "We'll all have a picnic," he said. "We'll give extra food to FoodShare, and nobody's going to be hungry for a while. And that'll be just terrific." In the end, the worst fears lay in anticipation. Besides a few minor setbacks like an internet slowdown and reports of malfunctioning clocks, the aggressive planning and recalibration paid off. Humanity passed into the year 2000 without pandemonium. "I'm pleasantly surprised," John Koskinen, chair of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, told NPR's Weekend Edition on Jan. 1, 2000. "We expected that we would see more difficulties early on, particularly around the world." People like Jack Pentes of Charlotte, N.C., were left to figure out what to do with their emergency stockpiles. Pentes had filled 50 large soda bottles with tap water. "I used a half a dozen in the washing machine," he told NPR. "I can't bear to just pour it out and throw it away. There are too many people in the world that can't get any decent water." Food writer Michael Stern meanwhile offered a chili recipe for people with leftover canned food — namely, Spam. "One of its charms is that it doesn't decompose," Stern said. "No matter how long you cook it, it will always retain its identity as Spam." Others couldn't quite shake the instinct to plan ahead. Alfred Lubrano, an essayist for The Philadelphia Inquirer , wrote a letter included in a time capsule to be opened for "Y3K" — the year 3000. Lubrano's letter, which he read on NPR, ended with a question for whoever might find it in the next millennium. "We're human, same as you — flawed like you, decent like you," Lubrano wrote. "We have not yet figured out this world, this life. Have you?" Original reporting by NPR's Jason Beaubien, Ira Flatow, Steve Inskeep, Mary Ann Akers, Jack Speer, Larry Abramson, Margot Adler and Bob Edwards. Copyright 2024 NPR

Mountain America Credit Union Donates $13,500 to American Red Cross of UtahSaquon Barkley tops 2,000 yards rushing and moves within 100 of Dickerson's record PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley became the ninth running back in NFL history to top 2,000 yards rushing in a season, reaching the milestone with a 23-yard run in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys. That rush gave Barkley 2,005 yards with one game left and left him exactly 100 yards from Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105, set in 1984 for the Los Angeles Rams. Barkley could potentially top the record in next week’s finale against the New York Giants. However, that game will be mostly meaningless for the Eagles, who could opt to rest Barkley to protect him from injury ahead of the playoffs. Bills clinch the AFC's No. 2 seed with a 40-14 rout of the undisciplined Jets ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score and the Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC’s No. 2 seed with a 40-14 rout of the New York Jets. The Bills put the game away by capitalizing on two Jets turnovers and scoring three touchdowns over a 5:01 span in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Buffalo’s defense forced three takeaways overall and sacked Aaron Rodgers four times, including a 2-yard loss for a safety in the second quarter. The five-time defending AFC East champion Bills improved to 13-3 to match a franchise single-season record. Saquon Barkley tops 2,000 yards rushing as Eagles beat Cowboys 41-7 to clinch NFC East PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley rushed for 167 yards to top 2,000 on the season, backup quarterback Kenny Pickett ran and threw for scores before departing with injured ribs, and the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the NFC East title by routing the Dallas Cowboys 41-7. Barkley has 2,005 yards and needs 101 in next week’s mostly meaningless regular-season finale to top Eric Dickerson and his 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. The Eagles led 24-7 in the third quarter when Pickett was drilled by defensive end Micah Parsons, ending his first start in place of the concussed Jalen Hurts. Penn State coach James Franklin says Nick Saban should be college football's commissioner SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Penn State coach James Franklin believes college football needs a commissioner and he even has a candidate in mind: former Alabama coach Nick Saban. Franklin made the suggestion Sunday at Penn State’s College Football Playoff quarterfinals media day ahead of the Fiesta Bowl. The sixth-seeded Nittany Lions are preparing for their game against No. 3 seed Boise State on Tuesday. The veteran coach was responding to a question about Penn State’s backup quarterback situation after Beau Pribula transferred to Missouri before the playoff. Pribula’s decision highlighted some of the frustrating aspects of a new college football world in the Name, Image and Likeness era and the transfer portal, forcing players to make tough decisions at inopportune times. Mayfield throws 5 TD passes and Bucs keep playoff, NFC South hopes alive with 48-14 rout of Panthers TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers keep their division and playoff hopes alive with a 48-14 rout of the Carolina Panthers. The team’s fifth win in the past six weeks nudged the first-place Bucs a half-game ahead of Atlanta for the best record in the NFC South at 9-7. The Falcons played on the road later Sunday night at Washington. Atlanta holds the tiebreaker in the division race and can end Tampa Bay’s three-year reign as NFC South champions by beating the Commanders and winning again next week at home against the last-place Panthers. Lakers send D'Angelo Russell to Nets in trade for Dorian Finney-Smith, Shake Milton LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers have traded guard D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton. The Lakers also sent forward Maxwell Lewis and three second-round draft picks to Brooklyn. Russell averaged a career-low 12.4 points per game for the Lakers this season in a diminished role under new coach JJ Redick. Finney-Smith is a steady 3-and-D wing who fills an obvious need for the Lakers. Russell is being traded by the Lakers to the Nets for the second time in his career. He also made the move in 2017. LeBron James at 40: A milestone birthday arrives Monday for the NBA's all-time scoring leader When LeBron James broke another NBA record earlier this month, the one for most regular-season minutes played in a career, his Los Angeles Lakers teammates handled the moment in typical locker room fashion. They made fun of him. Dubbed The Kid from Akron, with a limitless future, James is now the 40-year-old from Los Angeles with wisps of gray in his beard, his milestone birthday coming Monday, one that will make him the first player in NBA history to play in his teens, 20s, 30s and 40s. He has stood and excelled in the spotlight his entire career. Rising Sun Devils: Arizona State looks to pull off another big surprise at the Peach Bowl ATLANTA (AP) — As they prepare for Arizona State’s biggest game in nearly three decades, the guys who made it happen aren’t the least bit surprised to be rated a nearly two-touchdown underdog in the College Football Playoff. That’s a familiar position for the Sun Devils. They've been an underdog most of the season. Of the eight teams still vying for a national championship, there’s no bigger surprise than 11-2 Arizona State. The Sun Devils went 3-9 a year ago and were picked to finish dead last in their first season in the Big 12 Conference. Now, they're getting ready to face Texas in the Peach Bowl quarterfinal game on New Year’s Day. Penn State's polarizing QB Drew Allar puts critics on mute and keeps winning games SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Even when Penn State quarterback Drew Allar gets some praise, it’s usually a backhanded compliment. They say he’s a good game manager and stays within himself, or that he doesn’t try to do too much. They mention he might not be flashy, but he gives the team a chance to win. And here’s the thing about Penn State since Allar stepped under center: The Nittany Lions have won games. A lot of them. Sometimes that’s hard to remember considering the lukewarm reception he often gets from fans. The polarizing Allar has another chance to quiet his critics on Tuesday, when Penn State plays Boise State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at the Fiesta Bowl. Feels like 1979: Nottingham Forest moves into 2nd place behind rampant Liverpool in Premier League The Premier League table is starting to have a 1979 kind of feel to it with Liverpool at the top of the standings and Nottingham Forest in second place as the closest challenger. Liverpool padded its lead with a 5-0 rout of West Ham on Sunday while upstart Nottingham Forest climbed into second place by beating Everton 2-0 to continue its surprising push for a Champions League place. Manchester City marked Pep Guardiola's 500th game in charge by beating Leicester 2-0 but is still 14 points behind Liverpool having played a game more.First dog-friendly cruise scheduled for 2025. Organizers hope it turns into a recurring event.

Algert Global LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Hims & Hers Health, Inc. ( NYSE:HIMS – Free Report ) by 73.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,787 shares of the company’s stock after selling 132,698 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC’s holdings in Hims & Hers Health were worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hims & Hers Health by 679.2% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,603 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Hims & Hers Health by 5,944.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in Hims & Hers Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $111,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Hims & Hers Health by 21.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Hims & Hers Health by 55.9% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.52% of the company’s stock. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of Hims & Hers Health in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Imperial Capital downgraded Hims & Hers Health from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Hims & Hers Health from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Hims & Hers Health from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Hims & Hers Health from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $32.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hims & Hers Health presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.71. Insider Activity In other Hims & Hers Health news, CEO Andrew Dudum sold 188,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.56, for a total transaction of $2,750,209.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,789.12. The trade was a 84.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link . Also, insider Soleil Boughton sold 2,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.65, for a total value of $34,354.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 159,796 shares in the company, valued at $2,341,011.40. This trade represents a 1.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,153,519 shares of company stock valued at $24,486,721. 17.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Hims & Hers Health Stock Up 6.2 % HIMS opened at $32.22 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.86. Hims & Hers Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.09 and a fifty-two week high of $35.02. The firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.23 and a beta of 1.06. Hims & Hers Health ( NYSE:HIMS – Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $401.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $382.20 million. Hims & Hers Health had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 77.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hims & Hers Health, Inc. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year. Hims & Hers Health Profile ( Free Report ) Hims & Hers Health, Inc operates a telehealth platform that connects consumers to licensed healthcare professionals in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers a range of curated prescription and non-prescription health and wellness products and services available to purchase on its websites and mobile application directly by customers. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HIMS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hims & Hers Health, Inc. ( NYSE:HIMS – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Hims & Hers Health Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hims & Hers Health and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .My love of movie scoundrels has been sorely tested this year. When I was young, I daydreamed of exotic heists, slick con artists and lovable crooks I’d seen on screen. For most of my moviegoing life, I’ve been a sucker for larceny done well. Most of us are, probably. Related Articles Movies | ‘Nightbitch’ review: Amy Adams goes feral in a cautionary tale of love and parental imbalance Movies | Review: Angelina Jolie glides through ‘Maria’ like an iceberg, but a chilly Callas isn’t enough Movies | Butte Film Fest promises all things film Movies | ‘Sweethearts’ review: Breakup-focused romcom is largely engaging Movies | Making ‘Queer’ required openness. Daniel Craig was ready But now it’s late 2024. Mood is wrong. In the real world, in America, it’s scoundrel time all the time. Maybe Charles Dickens was right. In “American Notes for General Circulation” (1842), the English literary superstar chronicled his travels and detected a widespread, peculiarly American “love of ‘smart’ dealing” across the land. In business and in politics, Dickens observed, slavish admiration of the con men among them “gilds over many a swindle and gross breach of trust.” And here we are. It’ll pass, this scoundrel reprieve of mine. In fact it just did. All it took was thinking about the conspicuous, roguish outlier on my best-of-2024 list: “Challengers.” It’s what this year needed and didn’t know it: a tricky story of lying, duplicitous weasels on and off the court. The best films this year showed me things I hadn’t seen, following familiar character dynamics into fresh territory. Some were more visually distinctive than others; all made eloquent cases for how, and where, their stories unfolded. “All We Imagine as Light,” recently at the Gene Siskel Film Center, works like a poem, or a sustained exhalation of breath, in its simply designed narrative of three Mumbai hospital workers. Fluid, subtly political, filmmaker Payal Kapadia’s achievement is very nearly perfect. So is cowriter-director RaMell Ross’ adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel “The Nickel Boys,” arriving in Chicago-area theaters on Jan. 3, 2025. “Nickel Boys,” the film, loses the “the” in Whitehead’s title but gains an astonishingly realized visual perspective. If Ross never makes another movie, he’ll have an American masterpiece to his credit. The following top 10 movies of 2024 are in alphabetical order. Both a mosaic of urban ebb and flow, and a delicate revelation of character, director and writer Payal Kapadia’s Mumbai story is hypnotic, patient and in its more traditional story progression, a second feature every bit as good as Kapadia’s first, 2021’s “A Night of Knowing Nothing.” Mikey Madison gives one of the year’s funniest, saddest, truest performances as a Brooklyn exotic dancer who takes a shine to the gangly son of a Russian oligarch, and he to her. Their transactional courtship and dizzying Vegas marriage, followed by violently escalating complications, add up to filmmaker Sean Baker’s triumph, capped by an ending full of exquisite mysteries of the human heart. As played by Adrien Brody, the title character is a visionary architect and Hungarian Jewish emigre arriving in America in 1947 after the Holocaust. (That said, the title refers to more than one character.) His patron, and his nemesis, is the Philadelphia blueblood industrialist played by Guy Pearce. Director/co-writer Brady Corbet’s thrillingly ambitious epic, imperfect but loaded with rewarding risks, was shot mostly in widescreen VistaVision. Worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find. Opens in Chicago-area theaters on Jan. 10, 2025. Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor play games with each other, on the tennis court and in beds, while director Luca Guadagnino builds to a match-point climax that can’t possibly work, and doesn’t quite — but I saw the thing twice anyway. In Bucharest, production assistant Angela zigzags around the city interviewing people for her employer’s workplace safety video. If that sounds less than promising, even for a deadpan Romanian slice-of-life tragicomedy, go ahead and make the mistake of skipping this one. llinca Manolache is terrific as Angela. Like “Do Not Expect Too Much,” director Agnieszka Holland’s harrowing slice of recent history was a 2023 release, making it to Chicago in early 2024. Set along the densely forested Poland/Belarus border, this is a model of well-dramatized fiction honoring what refugees have always known: the fully justified, ever-present fear of the unknown. A quiet marvel of a feature debut from writer-director Annie Baker, this is a mother/daughter tale rich in ambiguities and wry humor, set in a lovely, slightly forlorn corner of rural Massachusetts. Julianne Nicholson, never better; Zoe Ziegler as young, hawk-eyed Lacy, equally memorable. I love this year’s nicest surprise. The premise: A teenager’s future 39-year-old self appears to her, magically, via a strong dose of mushrooms. The surprise: Writer-director Megan Park gradually deepens her scenario and sticks a powerfully emotional landing. Wonderful work from Aubrey Plaza, Maisy Stella, Maria Dizzia and everybody, really. From the horrific true story of a Florida reform school and its decades of abuse, neglect and enraging injustice toward its Black residents, novelist Colson Whitehead’s fictionalized novel makes a remarkable jump to the screen thanks to co-writer/director RaMell Ross’s feature debut. Cousins, not as close as they once were, reunite for a Holocaust heritage tour in Poland and their own search for their late grandmother’s childhood home. They’re the rootless Benji (Kieran Culkin) and tightly sprung David (Jesse Eisenberg, who wrote and directed). Small but very sure, this movie’s themes of genocidal trauma and Jewish legacy support the narrative every step of the way. Culkin is marvelous; so is the perpetually undervalued Eisenberg. To the above, I’ll add 10 more runners-up, again in alphabetical order: “Blink Twice,” directed by Zoe Kravitz. “Conclave,” directed by Edward Berger. “Dune: Part Two ,” directed by Denis Villeneuve. “Good One ,” directed by India Donaldson. “Hit Man,” directed by Richard Linklater. “Joker: Folie a Deux,” directed by Todd Phillips. “Nosferatu,” directed by Robert Eggers, opens in Chicago-area theaters on Dec. 25. “The Outrun,” directed by Nora Fingscheidt. “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat,” directed by Johan Grimonprez. “Tuesday,” directed by Daina O. Pusić. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

Home | Former US President, Jimmy Carter dies at 100 Jimmy Carter, the earnest Georgia peanut farmer who as US president struggled with a bad economy and the Iran hostage crisis but brokered peace between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday, the Carter Center said. He was 100. “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love,” said Chip Carter, the former president’s son. “My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.” A Democrat, he served as president from January 1977 to January 1981 after defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 US election. Carter was swept from office four years later in an electoral landslide as voters embraced Republican challenger Ronald Reagan, the former actor and California governor. Carter lived longer after his term in office than any other US president. Along the way, he earned a reputation as a better former president than he was a president – a status he readily acknowledged. His one-term presidency was marked by the highs of the 1978 Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt, bringing some stability to the Middle East. But it was dogged by an economy in recession, persistent unpopularity and the embarrassment of the Iran hostage crisis that consumed his final 444 days in office. In recent years, Carter had experienced several health issues including melanoma that spread to his liver and brain. Carter decided to receive hospice care in February 2023 instead of undergoing additional medical intervention. His wife, Rosalynn Carter died on November 19, 2023, at age 96. He looked frail when he attended her memorial service and funeral in a wheelchair. Carter left office profoundly unpopular but worked energetically for decades on humanitarian causes. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 in recognition of his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Carter had been a centrist as governor of Georgia with populist tendencies when he moved into the White House as the 39th US president. He was a Washington outsider at a time when America was still reeling from the Watergate scandal that led Republican Richard Nixon to resign as president in 1974 and elevated Ford from vice president. “I’m Jimmy Carter and I’m running for president. I will never lie to you,” Carter promised with an ear-to-ear smile. Asked to assess his presidency, Carter said in a 1991 documentary: “The biggest failure we had was a political failure. I never was able to convince the American people that I was a forceful and strong leader.” Despite his difficulties in office, Carter had few rivals for accomplishments as a former president. He gained global acclaim as a tireless human rights advocate, a voice for the disenfranchised and a leader in the fight against hunger and poverty, winning the respect that eluded him in the White House. Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to promote human rights and resolve conflicts around the world, from Ethiopia and Eritrea to Bosnia and Haiti. His Carter Center in Atlanta sent international election-monitoring delegations to polls around the world. A Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher since his teens, Carter brought a strong sense of morality to the presidency, speaking openly about his religious faith. He also sought to take some pomp out of an increasingly imperial presidency – walking, rather than riding in a limousine, in his 1977 inauguration parade. The Middle East was the focus of Carter’s foreign policy. The 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, based on the 1978 Camp David accords, ended a state of war between the two neighbors. Carter brought Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland for talks. Later, as the accords seemed to be unraveling, Carter saved the day by flying to Cairo and Jerusalem for personal shuttle diplomacy. The treaty provided for Israeli withdrawal from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and establishment of diplomatic relations. Begin and Sadat each won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. By the 1980 election, the overriding issues were double-digit inflation, interest rates that exceeded 20% and soaring gas prices, as well as the Iran hostage crisis that brought humiliation to America. These issues marred Carter’s presidency and undermined his chances of winning a second term. HOSTAGE CRISIS On November 4, 1979, revolutionaries devoted to Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, seized the Americans present and demanded the return of the ousted shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was backed by the United States and was being treated in a US hospital. The American public initially rallied behind Carter. But his support faded in April 1980 when a commando raid failed to rescue the hostages, with eight US soldiers killed in an aircraft accident in the Iranian desert. Carter’s final ignominy was that Iran held the 52 hostages until minutes after Reagan took his oath of office on January 20, 1981, to replace Carter, then released the planes carrying them to freedom. In another crisis, Carter protested the former Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by boycotting the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. He also asked the US Senate to defer consideration of a major nuclear arms accord with Moscow. Unswayed, the Soviets remained in Afghanistan for a decade. Carter won narrow Senate approval in 1978 of a treaty to transfer the Panama Canal to the control of Panama despite critics who argued the waterway was vital to American security. He also completed negotiations on full US ties with China. Carter created two new US Cabinet departments – education and energy. Amid high gas prices, he said America’s “energy crisis” was “the moral equivalent of war” and urged the country to embrace conservation. “Ours is the most wasteful nation on earth,” he told Americans in 1977. In 1979, Carter delivered what became known as his “malaise” speech to the nation, although he never used that word. “After listening to the American people I have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can’t fix what’s wrong with America,” he said in his televised address. “The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.” As president, the strait-laced Carter was embarrassed by the behavior of his hard-drinking younger brother, Billy Carter, who had boasted: “I got a red neck, white socks, and Blue Ribbon beer.” ‘THERE YOU GO AGAIN’ Jimmy Carter withstood a challenge from Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy for the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination but was politically diminished heading into his general election battle against a vigorous Republican adversary. Reagan, the conservative who projected an image of strength, kept Carter off balance during their debates before the November 1980 election. Reagan dismissively told Carter, “There you go again,” when the Republican challenger felt the president had misrepresented Reagan’s views during one debate. Carter lost the 1980 election to Reagan, who won 44 of the 50 states and amassed an Electoral College landslide. James Earl Carter Jr. was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, one of four children of a farmer and shopkeeper. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1946, served in the nuclear submarine programme and left to manage the family peanut farming business. He married his wife, Rosalynn, in 1946, a union he called “the most important thing in my life.” They had three sons and a daughter. Carter became a millionaire, a Georgia state legislator and Georgia’s governor from 1971 to 1975. He mounted an underdog bid for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination, and out-hustled his rivals for the right to face Ford in the general election. With Walter Mondale as his vice presidential running mate, Carter was given a boost by a major Ford gaffe during one of their debates. Ford said that “there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration,” despite decades of just such domination. Carter edged Ford in the election, even though Ford actually won more states – 27 to Carter’s 23. Not all of Carter’s post-presidential work was appreciated. Former President George W. Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, both Republicans, were said to have been displeased by Carter’s freelance diplomacy in Iraq and elsewhere. In 2004, Carter called the Iraq war launched in 2003 by the younger Bush one of the most “gross and damaging mistakes our nation ever made.” He called George W. Bush’s administration “the worst in history” and said Vice President Dick Cheney was “a disaster for our country.” In 2019, Carter questioned Republican Donald Trump’s legitimacy as president, saying “he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.” Trump responded by calling Carter “a terrible president.” Carter also made trips to communist North Korea. A 1994 visit defused a nuclear crisis, as President Kim Il Sung agreed to freeze his nuclear program in exchange for resumed dialogue with the United States. That led to a deal in which North Korea, in return for aid, promised not to restart its nuclear reactor or reprocess the plant’s spent fuel. But Carter irked Democratic President Bill Clinton’s administration by announcing the deal with North Korea’s leader without first checking with Washington. In 2010, Carter won the release of an American sentenced to eight years hard labour for illegally entering North Korea. Carter wrote more than two dozen books, ranging from a presidential memoir to a children’s book and poetry, as well as works about religious faith and diplomacy. His book “Faith: A Journey for All,” was published in 2018. SABC © 2024Macron vows to stay in office, announces plans to name new prime minister

Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Software Market Size, Share and Forecast By Key Players-Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corporation, IBM Corporation, Intel Corporation,Brock Purdy and Nick Bosa are not available for the San Francisco 49ers when they enter Green Bay with designs on finding their finishing kick on Sunday afternoon. Purdy is out with a right shoulder injury and won't leave the sideline at Lambeau Field, head coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday, when he also declared Bosa out and confirmed journeyman Brandon Allen would make his 10th career start at quarterback. "Outside of here people haven't seen a lot of Brandon. But it's his second year (with the 49ers)," Shanahan said. "Obviously guys want Brock up, but guys are excited to see Brandon play." Shanahan said the 49ers are "a little surprised" Purdy experienced tightness and discomfort in his shoulder after an MRI exam on Monday that showed no long-term cause for concern. "The way it responded this week, it's really up in the air for next week," Shanahan said of Purdy's long-term prognosis. Allen's last NFL start on the road was with the Bengals at the Ravens in 2020. Allen completed 6 of 21 passes for 48 yards with two interceptions. He finished with a passer rating of 0.0 in a 38--3 loss. "It's definitely an opportunity for me to go out and play well and put our guys in a good position to win the game," Allen said Friday. "And obviously we want Brock back and healthy and all that, but for time being, it is an opportunity for me." Purdy took the practice field Thursday with the intent to participate. His shoulder tightened significantly, and the 49ers ushered him off the field to meet with trainers. Purdy beat the Packers in the NFC divisional playoffs at San Francisco in January, but Allen is familiar to Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. LaFleur was an assistant coach with the Rams during Allen's two-year run in Los Angeles. Allen broke into the NFL in 2016 with the Jaguars and is 2-7 in nine career starts. He went 1-2 with the Broncos in 2019 and 1-5 in six starts over two years with the Bengals in 2020 and ‘21. A victory against the visiting 49ers on Sunday would bolster the Packers' playoff chances, send a conference rival below .500 and avenge a bitter playoff defeat. Those seemingly rank in no particular order for the Packers (8-3), although they don't shy from living at least partially in the past ahead of a Week 12 showdown. San Francisco eliminated Green Bay 24-21 in the NFC divisional playoffs last season, scoring 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. "That's what you've got to sit with all offseason, is going back, watching the game, trying to see what you could have done better," Packers quarterback Jordan Love said. "What you could have done differently in that game. ... Just knowing that's the team that knocked us out, we're definitely hungry for this game." Ditto for San Francisco. The 49ers fell to 5-5 after last week's 20-17 home loss to Seattle, done in by Geno Smith's 13-yard touchdown run with 12 seconds to play. Still only a game behind NFC West-leading Arizona, the reigning conference champion 49ers are just 1-3 in division play and can ill afford to lose more ground. A visit to AFC East leader Buffalo awaits after the trip to Green Bay. While they're dealing with plenty of not-so-good news on the injury front, the 49ers do anticipate the return of other contributors. Cornerback Charvarius Ward, who missed the past two games following the death of his 1-year-old daughter, practiced Wednesday. Tight end George Kittle also is eager to play after a nagging hamstring injury sidelined him against the Seahawks. "Very excited," Kittle said. "Can't pass up playing the Packers, so no, I will be out there for sure." Allen was a three-year starter at Arkansas but has been a journeyman backup since entering the NFL in 2016 as the 201st overall pick of the Jaguars. Shanahan and LaFleur have been fierce competitors since twice working together, first as low-level assistants with the Texans in 2008, then on the so-called "dream team" staff in Washington that also included Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel and Raheem Morris; and two seasons with the Falcons (2015, 2016) where LaFleur was quarterbacks coach and Shanahan called the plays. Shanahan scored the most recent win over LaFleur in January. Green Bay has won seven of the past eight regular-season meetings between the franchises. But the familiarity and shared-brain approach to offense that has the coaches completed each other's play calls has led to some tight games. The past three at Lambeau Field were all decided by three points. Green Bay, which hosts a home game on Thanksgiving next Thursday, is starting a run of three games in 12 days. They'll play back-to-back Thursday games. Their Week 14 game is at Detroit. That might make it good news for LaFleur that surprising contributors have emerged of late. Packers wideout Christian Watson had a career-best 150 receiving yards on only four catches during last week's 20-19 road win against the Chicago Bears. His diving 60-yard reception in the fourth quarter put the Packers in position for Love's go-ahead, 1-yard scoring run with 2:59 to play. Watson entered the game with eight catches for 83 yards over his previous three contests, but LaFleur assured Watson remains a "big part" of the attack. "He's a guy who's got every measurable known to man in terms of the size, the speed, and it's not like those were easy plays he was making," LaFleur said. "He was making tough, contested catches." San Francisco will aim to generate more pressure against Love than the Bears, who sacked him just once. The 49ers collected four sacks against the Seahawks, with Bosa and Leonard Floyd contributing 1.5 apiece. Recent regular-season history between the Packers and 49ers at Lambeau Field has favored Green Bay. The Packers have won seven of their past eight home games against the 49ers and are 22-11 versus San Francisco at home all-time. Green Bay leads the series 34-28-1. --Field Level Media

Ever wanted to bring your dog with you aboard a cruise ship? Do you have a business focused on dogs and their families? If you answered yes to either question, you’ll be excited to learn that what’s being called the first-ever dog-friendly cruise is being planned aboard Margaritaville at Sea’s Islander out of the Port of Tampa in November 2025. And business opportunities await. Cruise ships famously don’t allow dogs other than service animals. Organizers of this cruise anticipate selecting from a long line of hopefuls. A “waitlist for all dog parents who have dreamt of bringing their furry friends along for their vacations will open soon,” a news release says. Organizers are calling for 250 dogs, “their owners and their closest humans” to become “inaugural ambassadors” for the cruise, which they promise will offer “unique experiences and activities including gifts and samples from top vendors, dog shows and trainings, guest speakers, costume contests, parades, and more.” The event is being staged by two organizations — Cruise Tails and Expedia Cruises of West Orlando. The website seeks sponsors and investors in hopes of turning the cruise into a recurring event. Sponsorship and partnership opportunities are available for companies seeking brand visibility “across a passionate pet-loving audience,” the site says. And participants must sign photo waivers, the website says, adding, “We anticipate the fun will be all over social media and even in the press. In fact, the 250 chosen will undoubtedly be asked by sponsors to try products and post about them.” Cruise Tails was formed by Steve Matzke, a Bradenton-based entrepreneur listed on LinkedIn as beginning his career this month as an “independent consultant.” Matzke spent four years prior to that as senior director of external relations for the American Accounting Association, and 12 years before that as director of faculty and university initiatives for the American Institute of CPAs, his LinkedIn profile shows. Expedia Cruises of West Orlando was founded in 2019 by Dawn von Graff, an avid traveler who has taken more than 75 cruises and visited more than 80 countries, and her husband. She owned a computer networking firm, worked as an international tour manager, and was a top salesperson for Marriott before forming Expedia Cruises of West Orlando as a full-service travel agency. Details including dates, prices and itineraries have not yet been released. According to the website, organizers hope to select the inaugural 250 dogs based partly on how the dogs perform in a “video talent singing contest” as well as “a variety of criteria” to be announced “over the next few weeks.” The bigger the dog’s entourage, the better chance it will have to be chosen, the website says. “Preference will be given to dogs in a group which includes one dog cabin traveling with two or more associated cabins of friends or family without dogs,” it says. A spokeswoman for Margaritaville at Sea says the organizers are chartering the Islander, and the cruise will not be available for booking to the general public. Each dog will have “private relief stations” on their cabin balconies, and when dogs don’t make it to the relief station, each will have its own “pet butler” to ensure “their cabin and the boat remain in top condition,” a Cruise Tails spokeswoman said. Participants must agree to follow protocols on board, including keeping their dogs in permitted areas and making sure they are up to date with appropriate vaccinations. Dogs will not be allowed in dining areas, the ship’s casino, pool decks, lounges or music venues, according to the news release. Organizers will also be looking for workers and vendors. “We’re going to need dog walkers, pet butlers, and so much more,” the website says. And “if you have a proven skill like pet massage, grooming and pet walking or if you make custom dog costumes, have a unique dog product you would like to promote or are a well-known dog expert, we would love to chat with you.” Calls for pet handlers and vendors will be posted “in the next few months,” the site says. Whether the event turns into the profitable industry that its organizers hope for will undoubtedly depend on how the first one unfolds. A spokeswoman did not immediately have answers to such questions of what will happen to dogs that get aggressive with humans or other dogs? Will owners be required to purchase additional insurance to cover any possibilities? Will food be provided and how will feedings be handled? Contributors on Reddit.com posted mixed reactions to the announcement on Monday. “Cruises are already floating petri dishes. This doesn’t seem like a very good idea,” said one. “Now all decks are poop decks,” said another. A couple of posters worried about dogs going overboard. One said, “sounds awesome if you like dogs,” while another chimed in, “Better than a gorilla-friendly cruise, I suppose.”By BILL BARROW, Associated Press PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter’s in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter’s path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That’s a very narrow way of assessing them,” Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn’t suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he’d be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter’s tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter’s lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor’s race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival’s endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King’s daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters’ early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Related Articles Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan’s presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan’s Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Honey, they shrunk the catalogs. While retailers hope to go big this holiday season , customers may notice that the printed gift guides arriving in their mailboxes are smaller. Many of the millions of catalogs getting sent to U.S. homes were indeed scaled down to save on postage and paper, resulting in pint-sized editions. Lands’ End, Duluth Trading Company and Hammacher Schlemmer are among gift purveyors using smaller editions. Some retailers are saving even more money with postcards. Lisa Ayoob, a tech-savvy, online shopper in Portland, Maine, was surprised by the size of a recent catalog she received from outdoor apparel company Carbon2Cobalt. “It almost felt like it was a pamphlet compared to a catalog,” she said. Catalogs have undergone a steady recalibration over the years in response to technological changes and consumer behavior. The thick, heavy Sears and J.C. Penney catalogs that brought store displays to American living rooms slimmed down and gave way to targeted mailings once websites could do the same thing. Recent postal rate increases accelerated the latest shift to compact formats. The number of catalogs mailed each year dropped about 40% between 2006 to 2018, when an estimated 11.5 billion were mailed to homes, according to the trade group formerly known as the American Catalog Mailers Association. In a sign of the times, the group based in Washington rebranded itself in May as the American Commerce Marketing Association, reflecting a broadened focus. But don't expect catalogs to go the way of dinosaurs yet. Defying predictions of doom, they have managed to remain relevant in the e-commerce era. Retail companies found that could treat catalogs with fewer pages as a marketing tool and include QR and promo codes to entice customers to browse online and complete a purchase. Despite no longer carrying an extended inventory of goods, catalogs are costly to produce and ship. But they hold their own in value because of growing digital advertising costs, helping retailers cut through the noise for consumers barraged by multi-format advertisements, industry officials say. In an unlikely twist, notable e-commerce companies like Amazon and home goods supplier Wayfair started distributing catalogs in recent years. Amazon began mailing a toy catalog in 2018. That was the same year Sears, which produced an annual Christmas Wish Book Wish starting in 1933, filed for bankruptc y. Fans of printed information may rejoice to hear that apparel retailer J.Crew relaunched its glossy catalog this year. Research shows that the hands-on experience of thumbing through a catalog leaves a greater impression on consumers, said Jonathan Zhang, a professor of marketing at Colorado State University. “The reason why these paper formats are so effective is that our human brains haven’t evolved as fast as technology and computers over the past 10 to 20 years. We retain more information when we read something on paper. That's why paper books remain relevant," Zhang said. “The psychology shows that three-dimensional, tactile experiences are more memorable.” Pint-sized presentations still can work, though, because the purpose of catalogs these days is simply to get customers’ attention, Zhang said. Conserving paper also works better with younger consumers who are worried about the holiday shopping season's impact on the planet, he said. Postal increases are hastening changes. The latest round of postage hikes in July included the category with the 8.5-by-11-inch size that used to be ubiquitous for the catalog industry. Many retailers responded by reducing the size of catalogs, putting them in a lower-cost letter category, said Paul Miller, executive vice president and managing director of the American Commerce Marketing Association. One size, called a “slim jim,” measures 10.5 by 5.5 inches. But there other sizes. Some retailers have further reduced costs by mailing large postcards to consumers. Lands' End, for one, is testing new compact formats to supplement its traditional catalogs. This year, that included folded glossy brochures and postcards, along with other formats, Chief Transformation Officer Angie Rieger said. Maine resident Ayoob said she understands why retailers still use catalogs even though she no longer is a fan of the format. These days, she prefers to browse for products on the internet, not by flipping through paper pages. “Everybody wants eyeballs. There’s so much out there -- so many websites, so many brands,” said Ayoob, who spent 35 years working in department stores and in the wholesale industry. Targeting customers at home is not a new concept. L.L. Bean was a pioneer of the mail-order catalog after its founder promoted his famous “Maine Hunting Shoe” to hunting license holders from out-of-state in 1912. The outdoor clothing and equipment company based in Freeport, Maine, is sticking to mailing out regular-sized catalogs for now. “By showcasing our icons, the catalog became an icon itself,” L.L. Bean spokesperson Amanda Hannah said. "Even as we invest more in our digital and brand marketing channels, the catalog retains a strong association with our brand, and is therefore an important part of our omni-channel strategy, especially for our loyal customers.”

NoneThe NSW government has drastically watered down the justification necessary for spending taxpayer dollars as accusations insist a new business case policy allows the premier to make major investment decisions “via media release”. NSW Treasury documents, quietly updated in November, reveal the government has provided a “fast track” pathway for investment decisions, meaning certain projects will not be subject to a business case assessment if they qualify under certain criteria. Under quietly updated reforms of NSW business case guidelines, the threshold for investment now includes a “public commitment” by the premier. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer A business case usually includes an overview of the purpose, benefits and costs of the investment decision, providing government justification for spending taxpayer dollars and cost-benefit analysis providing a metric for whether taxpayers dollars are being spent efficiently. The government has come under fire from the state’s audit office for a “lack of transparency” in financial reporting. An audit released in December found eight of the 15 most significant ongoing investment decisions did not have estimated total costs, while one-third did not have an estimated completion date. Projects which meet the following criteria could be accelerated: those considered a “public commitment” of the premier, where delivery is considered “time critical”, when “options development” is constrained by the investment, and when “bypassing or altering the business case” would “create benefits that outweigh risks”. However, a public commitment could constitute any “public statements approved by the premier”, projects that were considered time-critical when a delivery timeframe had been outlined by government publicly, and projects for which the benefits of bypassing the business case could include saving time and money from not proceeding with it. “Benefits include avoided expenditure on business case development and quicker progress to delivery,” the document said. Daniel Mookhey, NSW treasurer Credit: Fairfax “Business cases and assurance should not be done as a ‘tick the box’ when they won’t add value to resource allocation decisions or project delivery. This policy aims to get committed capital projects to delivery faster while ensuring appropriate analysis, due diligence and risk management takes place.” NSW Greens treasury spokesperson Abigail Boyd said while there were legitimate criticisms of the business case process, the new fast-track policy was a “deeply concerning backflip on promises of transparency and accountability” by the Labor government. “This new fast-track policy is a blatant attempt to bypass proper scrutiny and oversight,” she said. “This new policy literally allows the premier to make a major government investment decision via media release. “It deprives the parliament and the public the opportunity to check the government’s homework, to make sure we’re spending public money in ways that are in the public interest and not simply about trying to win elections.” University of Sydney Professor Hugh Harley said while he understood arguments against the premier’s prioritisation, he said the entirety of reforms changes were “sensible” in light of the need for governments to direct finite resources to the greatest good. “The government deserves some credit for reviewing the business case process. It would be entirely reasonable for someone to argue the premier’s prioritisation has gone a little too far, but in the context of the overall reforms I’m fairly relaxed about it,” Harley said, noting the additional role of the auditor-general. Loading A NSW government spokeswoman said the reforms of the business case guidelines were to “sharpen the efficiency, quality and cost of decision-making”, noting that $134 million was spent by the Coalition government on the business case to support building dams at Dungowan and Wyangala — projects that never proceeded. “A refined system means government can reduce wasted hours and wasted money that comes when proposals endlessly cycle through a business case system without a decision ever being made,” she said. Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article Spending State Parliament Chris Minns ALP NSW Greens Sydney More... Max Maddison is a state political reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald. Most Viewed in Politics LoadingPamper with Pet Tech Presents

With temperature dropping and everyone gearing up for the magic of Chistmas, the season for cosy hot chocolate is finally upon us. And while Jack Frost is ipping at your nose, Londoners are bundling up and warming their hands and hearts with variety of delicious cocoa treats. London's hot chocolate scene has evolved far beyond simple cocoa powder and milk, with artisanal cafes and chocolatiers offering extraordinary variations of this beloved winter warmer. From thick, Italian-style drinking chocolate to innovative flavour combinations, the city's best hot chocolate spots provide unique experiences for chocolate enthusiasts. Italian Bear Chocolate This social media sensation has revolutionised London's hot chocolate scene with their innovative triple-chocolate approach. What sets them apart is their unique layering technique: they begin by carefully melting three distinct varieties of chocolate - creamy white, smooth milk, and rich dark - which are individually ladled into each mug to create stunning visual layers before being topped with their signature hot chocolate blend. Beyond their famous drinks, their triple-layered fudge cake has become equally legendary, drawing comparisons to the infamous cake scene in Roald Dahl's Matilda. Address: 41 Broadwick St, Carnaby, London W1F 9QL, United Kingdom Timings: 10 am to 11 pm Cost for two: £10–20 Chin Chin Labs This innovative dessert laboratory has earned its reputation through experimental creativity and theatrical presentation. Their signature hot chocolate experience features a generous crown of marshmallow fluff, dramatically blow-torched to order for a caramelised finish. The brand has cleverly expanded beyond its brick-and-mortar locations by offering a premium home delivery service - their DIY hot chocolate kits contain pre-blended Valrhona chocolate (a prestigious French chocolate maker) prepared in their Soho kitchen. The addition of their famous marshmallow fluff allows customers to recreate their signature experience at home. Address: 49-50 Camden Lock Pl, London NW1 8AF, United Kingdom Timings: 12 pm to 7 pm Cost for two: £15 Ruby Violet Hidden away in King's Cross, this charming ice cream parlour offers a unique take on hot chocolate with their 'short and intense' serving. Unlike standard hot chocolates, they serve their concentrated creation in an elegant gold cup, accompanied by house-made almond brittle that provides a delightful textural contrast. The intimate setting and attention to detail make this spot perfect for chocolate purists seeking quality over quantity. While hot chocolate might not be their primary focus, they've managed to create a distinctive offering that complements their artisanal ice cream selection. Address: Midland Goods Shed, 3 Wharf Rd, London N1C 4BZ, United Kingdom Timings: 11:30 am to 9 pm Cost for two: £15 Venchi Chocolate With a heritage spanning back to 1878, this Italian chocolate institution brings authentic European chocolate craftsmanship to London. Their hot chocolate menu showcases their expertise in chocolate making, featuring various formulations that cater to modern dietary requirements including gluten-free and vegan options. Their commitment to quality ingredients and traditional methods, combined with their willingness to adapt to contemporary dietary needs, has helped maintain their position as one of London's premier chocolate destinations. Address: Unit 18 The Market Building, London WC2E 8RB, United Kingdom Timings: 10 am to 11 pm Cost for two: £10 KonditorThis established bakery chain, founded by Gerhard Jenne in 1993, has an impressive celebrity pedigree, having baked for music legends like Tina Turner and the Rolling Stones. Starting from a single Waterloo location, they've expanded to three central London stores, earning critical acclaim along the way. Their hot chocolate stands out for its rich, comforting quality - particularly appreciated during London's colder months. The combination of their baking expertise and chocolate craftsmanship has created a unique hot chocolate offering that complements their celebrated cake selection. Address: 9 Bow Ln, London EC4M 9EB, United Kingdom Timings: 8 am to 6 pm Cost for two: £10 The Parlour at Fortnum & Mason This iconic department store's parlour adapts seasonally, transitioning from summer sundaes to winter hot chocolates. Their menu features three distinct varieties: classic dark, creamy milk, and innovative salted caramel, all available with indulgent toppings of whipped cream and chocolate shavings. They offer a special £12.25 pairing menu that matches their hot chocolates with premium treats like millionaire's shortbread, honey and ginger cheesecake, or orange madeleines, creating a complete luxury chocolate experience. Address: 1st floor, Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER, United Kingdom Timings: 10 am to 8 pm Cost for two: £20 Gelupo While primarily known for its exceptional gelato, this Soho establishment offers a sophisticated take on hot chocolate during winter months. Their interpretation is distinctly Italian in style - eschewing the typical British additions of marshmallows and whipped cream in favour of an intense, concentrated shot of melted dark chocolate. This adult-oriented approach provides a pure, unadulterated chocolate experience that's more akin to drinking liquid truffles than traditional hot chocolate. Address: 7 Archer St, London W1D 7AU, United Kingdom Timings: 12 pm to 11 pm Cost for two: £15 KnoopsThis Sussex-born chocolate specialist has successfully expanded into London with a scientific approach to hot chocolate creation. Their unique concept involves trained "Knoopologists" who guide customers through selecting their ideal chocolate percentage from an extensive "chocolate library" featuring white, milk, ruby, and dark varieties. The experience can be further customised with carefully selected additions like Maldon sea salt, Szechuan pepper, or cardamom. The presentation includes their signature homemade marshmallow square and bowl-style serving, creating an elevated hot chocolate experience that's both educational and indulgent. Address: 2 New Row, London WC2N 4LH, United Kingdom Timings: 9 am to 10:30 pm Cost for two: £10 Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Food Reviews, Lifestyle and around the world.