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Copy link Copied Copy link Copied Subscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Already a subscriber? Login Victoria’s bushfire threat has finally eased after the massive blaze tore through more than 76,000 hectares in the Grampians National Park and Macedon Range. Support will become available for bushfire-affected workers on Monday afternoon after the blaze destroyed at least three homes and nearly a dozen outbuildings across the region over the Christmas period. The landmass burned is about the same size as Singapore. Copy link Copied Copy link Copied Subscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Already a subscriber? Login Introducing your Newsfeed Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you. Latest In Federal Fetching latest articles Most Viewed In PoliticsThe Niger State Contributory Health Agency (NiCare) has recognised the outstanding dedication and contributions of its staff and celebrated the achievements of its pioneer members who have retired after years of exemplary service at its 2024 End-of-Year Productivity Awards Ceremony. The event, the first of its kind in Niger State, was held at Minna, and attracted top government officials, agency partners, and well-wishers. In his keynote address, the Executive Secretary and CEO of NiCare, Sulayman Abu-bakr, reflected on the agency’s remarkable progress under his leadership. Guided by a strategic four-point agenda aligned with former Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s “New Niger Agenda” to improve livelihoods, NiCare has recorded significant milestones in enhancing healthcare access and welfare in the state. Key achievements highlighted during the event included the revamping of the agency’s organisational structure, prioritisation of staff welfare, strategic partnerships, the launch of a retiree medical insurance package, implementation of a Farmers’ Health Insurance Scheme, digital transformation initiatives, and the introduction of the Tertiary Institutions Social Health Insurance Programme (TISHIP). Sulayman applauded the collective efforts of the NiCare team, emphasiding their passion and resilience as drivers of success. “This ceremony underscores the critical role our staff play in transforming lives and ensuring the success of our mandate,” he said. He urged employees to sustain their dedication and innovative spirit to further improve the wellbeing of Niger State residents. The Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdulmalik Daji, commended the NiCare leadership for fulfilling the agency’s mandate and advancing the former governor’s vision of improving livelihoods. He urged other agencies to adopt similar initiatives to recognize and motivate their workforce, describing the event as a model for rewarding excellence and dedication. “This is what you get when you give the youth the opportunity to serve. The youth are always creative, so this is the true manifestation of the creativity of the youth. Sulayman is very creative, proactive, committed, and dogged. I appreciate his sagacity all the time,” he said. The commissioner for Primary and Secondary Health, Dr. Bello Tukur, also lauded NiCare’s achievements, affirming that the event aligns with the state government’s focus on recognising merit and outstanding service. Similarly, the Head of Service, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, highlighted the alignment of the event with the governor’s directive to establish productivity awards for civil servants across all ministries and parastatals. Goodwill messages were delivered by notable dignitaries, including the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mustapha Ndajiwo, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties, Dr. Murtala Mohammed Bagana, among others. The evening featured the presentation of awards to retired pioneer staff, key commissioners, and the top three performing employees of the agency for their exceptional contributions. Guests were also treated to a cultural performance by the Gwape International Troupe, whose dance drama highlighted the objectives of the Niger State Contributory Health Scheme. Prominent attendees included Chairman of the House Committee on Health, Niger State House of Assembly, Hon. Umar Nasir Paiko, alongside other members, permanent secretaries, heads of government agencies, and the Chairman of ALGON.Jimmy Carter: Many evolutions for a centenarian ‘citizen of the world’
The move could usher in an end to a protracted political crisis in the European Union country following the annulment of a presidential election by a top court. Parliament approved the new administration in a 240-143 vote in Romania’s 466-seat legislature. The new coalition is made up of the leftist Social Democratic Party (PSD) the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL), the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities. It caps a month-long period of turmoil in which far-right nationalists made significant gains in a parliamentary election on December 1 a week after a first-round presidential race saw the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu emerge as the front-runner. “It will not be an easy mandate for the future government,” Mr Ciolacu, whose PSD party topped the polls in the parliamentary election, said in a statement. “We are aware that we are in the midst of a deep political crisis,” he said. “It is also a crisis of trust, and this coalition aims to regain the trust of citizens, the trust of the people.” Romania’s 16 ministerial positions will be shared among the parties, which will hold a slim majority in the legislature. It is widely seen as a tactical partnership to shut out far-right nationalists whose voices found fertile ground amid high living costs and a sluggish economy. Mr Ciolacu, who came third in the first-round presidential ballot despite polls indicating he would win the most votes, has served as prime minister since June 2023. After parliament’s approval, President Klaus Iohannis swore in the new government and warned the new Cabinet that it is entering a “difficult new period” in which “for many Romanians, there are major concerns”. Romania was plunged into turmoil after Mr Georgescu’s surprise success in the presidential race, after allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference emerged. Days before the December 8 run-off, the Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the presidential race. “We go through complicated times, but I think we all learned from mistakes of the past,” Mr Ciolacu said. “I hope that together with my colleagues in the coalition, we’ll find the best solutions to get past the challenges we have in front of us.” Mr Ciolacu said that the new government would aim to quickly organise the rerun of the presidential election in which the new coalition has agreed to put forward an agreed common pro-European candidate. Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, said that the new government made up of the same political parties will likely embrace “soft populist” rhetoric such as economic patriotism, anti-austerity, and a peace solution in neighbouring Ukraine to counter the rise of far-right populism. “This will be a way to answer the concerns of many Romanians who voted for populists... but will not solve the fundamental problem of trust,” he said. “The only decisive factor now will be who and how convincing the pro-European candidates will be against this popular revolt.” George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, which came second in the parliamentary election, said that all politicians from his party on Monday would vote against the Ciolacu government. In 2021, the PSD and the PNL also formed an unlikely but increasingly strained coalition together with UDMR, which exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute.“Compassion.” “Moral leadership. “Devoted.” Southern California’s lawmakers on both sides of the aisle r emembered former President Jimmy Carter’s public service — and his humanity — as news of his death reverberated throughout the political world Sunday afternoon, Dec. 29. Carter, the 39th president, was 100 years old. Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, cast his first presidential ballot for Carter after he had turned 18, the congressman said on social media. “President Jimmy Carter was a veteran, a military academy graduate and a humble George peanut farmer,” said Correa. “He led this nation through difficult times. Thank you, President Carter.” “President Carter was a man of rare character — whose beliefs ran true and ran deep, whose moral compass never wavered,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “He saw the common humanity in all of us, building bridges between people of different faiths and factions abroad while working to meet the needs of those at home. Despite daunting challenges and trying times, his bright energy and spirit never faltered.” “President Carter’s candor and compassion, moral leadership and sense of duty set a standard we all should aspire to,” the Democratic governor added. “His enduring example reminds us that we can still find common ground despite our differences.” Rep. Young Kim, a Republican whose district spans Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, said in a social media post that her “heart is with (Carter’s) loved ones.” “President Carter devoted his life to serving the American people, whether in public service or through his charity and humanitarian work,” Kim said. Carter was the longest-living American president. Rep. Mike Garcia, R- Santa Clarita : “President Jimmy Carter’s passing is a loss for our nation. From his days as a midshipman at the Naval Academy to his service as our 39th president, he embodied leadership, honor, and compassion. Keeping the Carter family in my prayers tonight.” Sen. Adam Schiff : President Jimmy Carter leaves a legacy unlike any other. Ceaseless in his service, unbending in his dignity and revered for his commitment to our common humanity. He fought the good fight and kept the faith — and now he has finished his race. May his memory be an inspiration.” Rep. Norma Torres, D-Ontario : “Today, we mourn President Jimmy Carter, a leader of faith, compassion and service. His legacy of humanity and hope will endure. My thoughts are with the Carter family.” Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa : “Jimmy Carter was a man of character and integrity whose lifelong service to the greater good was most evident when he left office. His tireless advocacy on behalf of the unhoused was something I was fortunate enough to witness firsthand and a remarkable feature of a humanitarian who never stopped believing in the dignity of our neighbors. May we continue the legacy of President Carter through acts of selfless service to others to never stop uplifting our community.” This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates. Related Articles
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By Steve Holland and Alexandra Ulmer (Reuters) -President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he had chosen prominent investor Scott Bessent as U.S. Treasury secretary, a key cabinet position with vast influence over economic, regulatory and international affairs. "I am most pleased to nominate Scott Bessent to serve as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury of the United States," Trump said in a statement released on Truth Social. "Scott is widely respected as one of the World's foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists." Wall Street has been closely watching who Trump will pick, especially given his plans to remake global trade through tariffs and extend and potentially expand the raft of tax cuts enacted during Trump's first term. The choice came after days of deliberations by Trump as he sorted through a shifting list of candidates. That list included Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh. Investor John Paulson had also been a leading candidate, but dropped out, while Wall Street veteran Howard Lutnick, another contender, was appointed as head of the Commerce Department. Bessent, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has advocated for tax reform and deregulation, particularly to spur more bank lending and energy production, as noted in a recent opinion piece he wrote for The Wall Street Journal. The market's surge after Trump's election victory, he wrote, signaled investor expectations of "higher growth, lower volatility and inflation, and a revitalized economy for all Americans." Bessent follows other financial luminaries who have taken the job, including former Goldman Sachs executives Robert Rubin, Hank Paulson and Steven Mnuchin, Trump's first Treasury chief. Janet Yellen, the current secretary and first woman in the job, previously chaired the Federal Reserve and White House Council of Economic Advisers. ECONOMY'S QUARTERBACK As the 79th Treasury secretary, Bessent will essentially be the highest-ranking U.S. economic official, responsible for maintaining the plumbing of the world's largest economy, from collecting taxes and paying the nation's bills to managing the $28.6-trillion Treasury debt market and overseeing financial regulation, including handling and preventing market crises. The Treasury boss also runs U.S. financial sanctions policy, oversees the U.S.-led International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other international financial institutions, and manages national security screenings of foreign investments in the U.S. Bessent will face challenges, including safely managing federal deficits that are forecast to grow by nearly $8 trillion over a decade due to Trump's plans to extend expiring tax cuts next year and add generous new breaks, including ending taxes on Social Security income. Without offsetting revenues, this new debt would add to an unsustainable fiscal trajectory already forecast to balloon U.S. debt by $22 trillion through 2033. Managing debt increases this large without market indigestion will be a challenge, though Bessent has argued Trump's agenda will unleash stronger economic growth that will grow revenue and shore up market confidence. Bessent will also inherit the role carved out by Yellen to lead the Group of Seven wealthy democracies to provide tens of billions of dollars in economic support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion and tighten sanctions on Moscow. But given Trump's desire to end the war quickly and withdraw U.S. financial support for Ukraine, it is unclear whether he would pursue this. Another area where Bessent will likely differ from Yellen is her focus on climate change, from her mandate that development banks expand lending for clean energy to incorporating climate risks into financial regulations and managing hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy tax credits. Trump, a climate-change skeptic, has vowed to increase production of U.S. fossil fuel energy and end the clean-energy subsidies in President Joe Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. FED FACING The Treasury secretary is also the administration's closest point of contact with the Federal Reserve. Both Yellen under Biden and Mnuchin under Trump typically met weekly with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, often over breakfast or lunch. Bessent has floated the idea of creating a "shadow" Fed chair. This would entail nominating as early as possible a presumptive Powell successor to the Fed Board who would then deliver their own policy guidance so that, as Bessent told Barron's last month, "no one is really going to care what Jerome Powell has to say anymore." The next seat to open up at the Fed Board is that of Governor Adriana Kugler, whose term runs to January 2026. Bessent has since said he no longer thinks the idea of a shadow chair worth pursuing, the Wall Street Journal reported. Powell's term as Fed chair expires in May 2026, and presidents rarely wait until the Fed chief's term ends before nominating a successor. FROM FINANCE TO DC Bessent, 62, primarily lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with his husband and two children. He grew up in the fishing village of Little River, South Carolina, where Bessent has said his father, a real estate investor, experienced booms and busts. Bessent worked for noted short seller Jim Chanos in the late 1980s and then joined Soros Fund Management, the famed macroeconomic investment firm of billionaire George Soros. He soon helped Soros and top deputy Stanley Druckenmiller on their most famous trade - shorting the British pound in 1992 and earning the firm more than $1 billion. In 2015, Bessent raised $4.5 billion, including $2 billion from Soros, to launch Key Square Group, a hedge fund firm that bets on macroeconomic trends. Key Square's main fund gained about 31% in 2022, according to media reports, but firm assets have declined to approximately $577 million as of December 2023, according to a regulatory filing. (Reporting by Steve Holland, Alexandra Ulmer, David Lawder, Lawrence Delevingne, Ann Saphir, Costas Pitas, Nathan Layne and Jasper Ward; editing by Megan Davies, Rod Nickel and Rosalba O'Brien)By Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times (TNS) Every day millions of people share more intimate information with their accessories than they do with their spouse. Wearable technology — smartwatches, smart rings, fitness trackers and the like — monitors body-centric data such as your heart rate, steps taken and calories burned, and may record where you go along the way. Like Santa Claus, it knows when you are sleeping (and how well), it knows when you’re awake, it knows when you’ve been idle or exercising, and it keeps track of all of it. People are also sharing sensitive health information on health and wellness apps , including online mental health and counseling programs. Some women use period tracker apps to map out their monthly cycle. These devices and services have excited consumers hoping for better insight into their health and lifestyle choices. But the lack of oversight into how body-centric data are used and shared with third parties has prompted concerns from privacy experts, who warn that the data could be sold or lost through data breaches, then used to raise insurance premiums, discriminate surreptitiously against applicants for jobs or housing, and even perform surveillance. The use of wearable technology and medical apps surged in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, but research released by Mozilla on Wednesday indicates that current laws offer little protection for consumers who are often unaware just how much of their health data are being collected and shared by companies. “I’ve been studying the intersections of emerging technologies, data-driven technologies, AI and human rights and social justice for the past 15 years, and since the pandemic I’ve noticed the industry has become hyper-focused on our bodies,” said Mozilla Foundation technology fellow Júlia Keserű, who conducted the research. “That permeates into all kinds of areas of our lives and all kinds of domains within the tech industry.” The report “From Skin to Screen: Bodily Integrity in the Digital Age” recommends that existing data protection laws be clarified to encompass all forms of bodily data. It also calls for expanding national health privacy laws to cover health-related information collected from health apps and fitness trackers and making it easier for users to opt out of body-centric data collections. Researchers have been raising alarms about health data privacy for years. Data collected by companies are often sold to data brokers or groups that buy, sell and trade data from the internet to create detailed consumer profiles. Body-centric data can include information such as the fingerprints used to unlock phones, face scans from facial recognition technology, and data from fitness and fertility trackers, mental health apps and digital medical records. One of the key reasons health information has value to companies — even when the person’s name is not associated with it — is that advertisers can use the data to send targeted ads to groups of people based on certain details they share. The information contained in these consumer profiles is becoming so detailed, however, that when paired with other data sets that include location information, it could be possible to target specific individuals, Keserű said. Location data can “expose sophisticated insights about people’s health status, through their visits to places like hospitals or abortions clinics,” Mozilla’s report said, adding that “companies like Google have been reported to keep such data even after promising to delete it.” Related Articles A 2023 report by Duke University revealed that data brokers were selling sensitive data on individuals’ mental health conditions on the open market. While many brokers deleted personal identifiers, some provided names and addresses of individuals seeking mental health assistance, according to the report. In two public surveys conducted as part of the research, Keserű said, participants were outraged and felt exploited in scenarios where their health data were sold for a profit without their knowledge. “We need a new approach to our digital interactions that recognizes the fundamental rights of individuals to safeguard their bodily data, an issue that speaks directly to human autonomy and dignity,” Keserű said. “As technology continues to advance, it is critical that our laws and practices evolve to meet the unique challenges of this era.” Consumers often take part in these technologies without fully understanding the implications. Last month, Elon Musk suggested on X that users submit X-rays, PET scans, MRIs and other medical images to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence chatbot, to seek diagnoses. The issue alarmed privacy experts, but many X users heeded Musk’s call and submitted health information to the chatbot. While X’s privacy policy says that the company will not sell user data to third parties, it does share some information with certain business partners. Gaps in existing laws have allowed the widespread sharing of biometric and other body-related data. Health information provided to hospitals, doctor’s offices and medical insurance companies is protected from disclosure under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act , known as HIPAA, which established federal standards protecting such information from release without the patient’s consent. But health data collected by many wearable devices and health and wellness apps don’t fall under HIPAA’s umbrella, said Suzanne Bernstein, counsel at Electronic Privacy Information Center. “In the U.S. because we don’t have a comprehensive federal privacy law ... it falls to the state level,” she said. But not every state has weighed in on the issue. Washington, Nevada and Connecticut all recently passed laws to provide safeguards for consumer health data. Washington, D.C., in July introduced legislation that aimed to require tech companies to adhere to strengthened privacy provisions regarding the collection, sharing, use or sale of consumer health data. In California, the California Privacy Rights Act regulates how businesses can use certain types of sensitive information, including biometric information, and requires them to offer consumers the ability to opt out of disclosure of sensitive personal information. “This information being sold or shared with data brokers and other entities hypercharge the online profiling that we’re so used to at this point, and the more sensitive the data, the more sophisticated the profiling can be,” Bernstein said. “A lot of the sharing or selling with third parties is outside the scope of what a consumer would reasonably expect.” Health information has become a prime target for hackers seeking to extort healthcare agencies and individuals after accessing sensitive patient data. Health-related cybersecurity breaches and ransom attacks increased more than 4,000% between 2009 and 2023, targeting the booming market of body-centric data, which is expected to exceed $500 billion by 2030, according to the report. “Nonconsensual data sharing is a big issue,” Keserű said. “Even if it’s biometric data or health data, a lot of the companies are just sharing that data without you knowing, and that is causing a lot of anxiety and questions.” ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Exclusive-Microsoft works to add non-OpenAI models into 365 Copilot products, sources say
Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images Main Thesis & Background The purpose of this article is to evaluate the PIMCO Municipal Income Fund II ( NYSE: PML ) as an investment option at its current market price. This fund's objective is Consider the Income Lab I am a macro-focused investor with 15 years experience working in Financial Services. My niche is finding under-valued sectors and thematic ideas (metals, gold, crypto) at opportune entry points. The first half of my career was in New York, working professionally after college (BS - Finance and D1 Men's Tennis). I relocated to North Carolina for graduate school (MBA) and employment. I am fortunate to spend half my time in Charlotte and half in Asheville. I grew up in a middle-class family where a strong work ethic was mandatory (German/Slovak mother). I went to college with $10,000 to my name and I thought that was all the money in the world. Twenty years later, I'm fortunate enough to co-manage a seven-figure investment account with my wife, who is also an astute investor. I'm literally living proof that diligent saving and investing can be life changing. I make a habit of keeping my portfolio up-to-date, which my followers can see here. I take pride in writing about funds, stocks, and sectors that I actually follow and invest in, and I believe my followers appreciate that approach. Broad market: DIA, VOO, QQQM, RSP Sectors/Non-US: XLE/IXC; VPU/IDU/BUI, FEZ, SCHF, EWC Alternatives: Bitcoin, IAU (Gold) Stocks: JPM, MCD, WMT, FLUT Debt: BGT, Municipal bonds from North Carolina I also contribute to the investing group CEF/ETF Income Laboratory where I specialize in macro analysis. Features of CEF/ETF Income Laboratory include: managed income portfolios (targeting safe and reliable ~8% yields) making use of high-yield opportunities in the CEF and ETF fund space. These are geared toward both active and passive investors of all experience levels. The vast majority of holdings are also monthly-payers, for faster compounding and steady income streams. Other features include 24/7 chat, and trade alerts. Learn more. Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, but may initiate a beneficial Long position through a purchase of the stock, or the purchase of call options or similar derivatives in PML over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Is university worth it? Yes, for both students and societyCanadian investment fund Brookfield said Wednesday it has dropped its bid for Spanish pharmaceutical firm Grifols following disagreement over its valuation. Brookfield and the Grifols family, which owns about a third of the Barcelona-based company that makes medicine derived from blood plasma, have since July been in talks to take it private. Earlier this month Brookfield made a 6.45-billion-euro bid for Grifols, offering a tentative non-binding price of 10.50 euros ($11) per share. Grifols swiftly rejected the bid, saying it "significantly underestimated the fundamental prospects and long-term potential" of the company. In a statement sent to Spanish stock market regulator CNMV, Brookfield said it was "not in a position to continue with a potential offer" for Grifols. Grifols said its board agreed that "it is not feasible that the transaction goes ahead" and remains focused on "improving the company's long-term value". Its share price plunged in January after US hedge fund Gotham City released a research note accusing the company of "manipulating" its reported debt and operational results to "artificially reduce" its debt ratio, and therefore its financing costs. Grifols has repeatedly denied the allegations. Gotham City is a prominent "short-seller" hedge fund that borrows stock in a company and sells it, hoping to buy it back cheaper to return it to the lender and pocket the difference. Grifols traces its history back to 1909, first as a blood analysis and transfusion laboratory before specialising in products derived from blood plasma. It is present in more than 30 countries including Australia, the United States and Japan. It posted revenue of 6.6 billion euros in 2023, a 10.9 percent increase over the previous year. vab/imm/cw
Parliament approved the new administration in a 240-143 vote in Romania’s 466-seat legislature. Romanian politicians have voted in favour of a new pro-European coalition government led by incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The move could usher in an end to a protracted political crisis in the European Union country following the annulment of a presidential election by a top court. Parliament approved the new administration in a 240-143 vote in Romania’s 466-seat legislature. The new coalition is made up of the leftist Social Democratic Party (PSD) the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL), the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities. It caps a month-long period of turmoil in which far-right nationalists made significant gains in a parliamentary election on December 1 a week after a first-round presidential race saw the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu emerge as the front-runner. “It will not be an easy mandate for the future government,” Mr Ciolacu, whose PSD party topped the polls in the parliamentary election, said in a statement. “We are aware that we are in the midst of a deep political crisis,” he said. “It is also a crisis of trust, and this coalition aims to regain the trust of citizens, the trust of the people.” Romania’s 16 ministerial positions will be shared among the parties, which will hold a slim majority in the legislature. It is widely seen as a tactical partnership to shut out far-right nationalists whose voices found fertile ground amid high living costs and a sluggish economy. Mr Ciolacu, who came third in the first-round presidential ballot despite polls indicating he would win the most votes, has served as prime minister since June 2023. After parliament’s approval, President Klaus Iohannis swore in the new government and warned the new Cabinet that it is entering a “difficult new period” in which “for many Romanians, there are major concerns”. Romania was plunged into turmoil after Mr Georgescu’s surprise success in the presidential race, after allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference emerged. Days before the December 8 run-off, the Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the presidential race. “We go through complicated times, but I think we all learned from mistakes of the past,” Mr Ciolacu said. “I hope that together with my colleagues in the coalition, we’ll find the best solutions to get past the challenges we have in front of us.” Mr Ciolacu said that the new government would aim to quickly organise the rerun of the presidential election in which the new coalition has agreed to put forward an agreed common pro-European candidate. Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, said that the new government made up of the same political parties will likely embrace “soft populist” rhetoric such as economic patriotism, anti-austerity, and a peace solution in neighbouring Ukraine to counter the rise of far-right populism. “This will be a way to answer the concerns of many Romanians who voted for populists... but will not solve the fundamental problem of trust,” he said. “The only decisive factor now will be who and how convincing the pro-European candidates will be against this popular revolt.” George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, which came second in the parliamentary election, said that all politicians from his party on Monday would vote against the Ciolacu government. In 2021, the PSD and the PNL also formed an unlikely but increasingly strained coalition together with UDMR, which exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute.Crossing the Uncanny Valley: Breakthrough in technology for lifelike facial expressions in androids December 23, 2024 Osaka University Even highly realistic androids can cause unease when their facial expressions lack emotional consistency. Traditionally, a 'patchwork method' has been used for facial movements, but it comes with practical limitations. A team developed a new technology using 'waveform movements' to create real-time, complex expressions without unnatural transitions. This system reflects internal states, enhancing emotional communication between robots and humans, potentially making androids feel more humanlike. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email A research group led by Osaka University has developed a technology that allows androids to dynamically express their mood states, such as "excited" or "sleepy," by synthesizing facial movements as superimposed decaying waves. Even if an android's appearance is so realistic that it could be mistaken for a human in a photograph, watching it move in person can feel a bit unsettling. It can smile, frown, or display other various, familiar expressions, but finding a consistent emotional state behind those expressions can be difficult, leaving you unsure of what it is truly feeling and creating a sense of unease. Until now, when allowing robots that can move many parts of their face, like androids, to display facial expressions for extended periods, a 'patchwork method' has been used. This method involves preparing multiple pre-arranged action scenarios to ensure that unnatural facial movements are excluded while switching between these scenarios as needed. However, this poses practical challenges, such as preparing complex action scenarios beforehand, minimizing noticeable unnatural movements during transitions, and fine-tuning movements to subtly control the expressions conveyed. In this study, lead author Hisashi Ishihara and his research group developed a dynamic facial expression synthesis technology using "waveform movements," which represents various gestures that constitute facial movements, such as "breathing," "blinking," and "yawning," as individual waves. These waves are propagated to the related facial areas and are overlaid to generate complex facial movements in real time. This method eliminates the need for the preparation of complex and diverse action data while also avoiding noticeable movement transitions. Furthermore, by introducing "waveform modulation," which adjusts the individual waveforms based on the robot's internal state, changes in internal conditions, such as mood, can be instantly reflected as variations in facial movements. "Advancing this research in dynamic facial expression synthesis will enable robots capable of complex facial movements to exhibit more lively expressions and convey mood changes that respond to their surrounding circumstances, including interactions with humans," says senior author Koichi Osuka. "This could greatly enrich emotional communication between humans and robots." Ishihara adds, "Rather than creating superficial movements, further development of a system in which internal emotions are reflected in every detail of an android's actions could lead to the creation of androids perceived as having a heart." By realizing the function to adaptively adjust and express emotions, this technology is expected to significantly enhance the value of communication robots, allowing them to exchange information with humans in a more natural, humanlike manner. Story Source: Materials provided by Osaka University . Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Related Multimedia : Journal Reference : Cite This Page :
( MENAFN - GetNews) StockTune exemplifies innovation in the world of creative arts through its AI-driven platform, which is continually evolving to provide an expansive library of royalty-free music. Celebrated for its commitment to growth, StockTune offers an extensive variety of styles, genres, and moods, making it a go-to resource for creators across different mediums. With its user-friendly search features, StockTune meets and anticipates the diverse needs of its users. In a bold step forward, StockTune has broadened its collection of AI-generated royalty-free music. With an array of new tracks spanning countless genres, the platform continues to redefine what's possible for creators seeking authentic, accessible soundtracks. This announcement reinforces StockTune's mission to provide accessible, high-quality music that supports creative endeavors without financial or legal barriers. The new additions are part of the platform's continuous efforts to harness artificial intelligence to revolutionize music accessibility. StockTune's library now includes thousands of tracks free for download. From upbeat pop melodies for social media content to evocative scores for films and immersive soundscapes for video games. Breaking Barriers for Creators StockTune was established to address a challenge in the creative community: the difficulty of finding affordable and high-quality music. While visual content has seen a surge in accessibility, music resources often remain costly and complicated due to licensing restrictions. StockTune leverages cutting-edge AI technology to break down barriers. "Creativity shouldn't be hindered by complex licensing or high costs," said a StockTune representative. "Our goal is to empower creators by making music accessible, versatile, and free of charge." Improved User Experience In addition to expanding its collection, StockTune has upgraded its search functionality to simplify music search and download. Users can now filter tracks by genre, mood, tempo, and instrument, ensuring a seamless discovery experience. "Our smart search engine is designed to save time and enhance creativity," the representative added. "Whether you're a student, a YouTuber, or a professional filmmaker, StockTune offers tools that let you focus on what you do best – creating." Creativity Across Industries StockTune's diverse audience includes content creators, educators, game developers, and marketers. The platform has become an essential resource for those who require royalty-free music for presentations, advertisements, and digital projects. StockTune is not stopping here. With advancements in AI technology, the platform will continuously broaden offerings and expand its influence in the creative community. Plans include regular updates to the music library and the introduction of advanced customization tools to generate personalized tracks. "We see StockTune as more than a music library," the representative emphasized. "We're building a network where innovators feel supported and inspired." How to Access StockTune Access StockTune's growing library directly through the platform's website. No login or subscription is required. Users can preview, download, and integrate tracks into their projects within minutes. For more information or to explore the new music collection, visit . MENAFN27122024003238003268ID1109036028 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Titans keep losing as coach Brian Callahan tries to show some progress
Fishburn leads at Sea Island as Dahmen keeps hope alive to keep jobBy 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.” 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.
Canadian investment fund Brookfield said Wednesday it has dropped its bid for Spanish pharmaceutical firm Grifols following disagreement over its valuation. Brookfield and the Grifols family, which owns about a third of the Barcelona-based company that makes medicine derived from blood plasma, have since July been in talks to take it private. Earlier this month Brookfield made a 6.45-billion-euro bid for Grifols, offering a tentative non-binding price of 10.50 euros ($11) per share. Grifols swiftly rejected the bid, saying it "significantly underestimated the fundamental prospects and long-term potential" of the company. In a statement sent to Spanish stock market regulator CNMV, Brookfield said it was "not in a position to continue with a potential offer" for Grifols. Grifols said its board agreed that "it is not feasible that the transaction goes ahead" and remains focused on "improving the company's long-term value". Its share price plunged in January after US hedge fund Gotham City released a research note accusing the company of "manipulating" its reported debt and operational results to "artificially reduce" its debt ratio, and therefore its financing costs. Grifols has repeatedly denied the allegations. Gotham City is a prominent "short-seller" hedge fund that borrows stock in a company and sells it, hoping to buy it back cheaper to return it to the lender and pocket the difference. Grifols traces its history back to 1909, first as a blood analysis and transfusion laboratory before specialising in products derived from blood plasma. It is present in more than 30 countries including Australia, the United States and Japan. It posted revenue of 6.6 billion euros in 2023, a 10.9 percent increase over the previous year. vab/imm/cwHry mins review preparedness for Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti celebration
