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Iron ore futures prices gained for a second straight session on Tuesday, supported by pre-holiday restocking by steelmakers in top consumer China and revived hopes of stimulus. The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) TIO1! ended daytime trade 1.29% higher at 783 yuan ($107.28) a metric ton. The benchmark January iron ore (SZZFF5) on the Singapore Exchange recouped earlier losses to rise 0.21% to $101.5 a ton by 0712 GMT. It had fallen to $99.9 earlier in the session. “Winter restocking of iron ore among steel mills is still underway, so we believe ore prices will find some support in the near term and destocking at ports will likely continue until end-January,” said Jiang Mengtian, a Shanghai-based analyst at consultancy Horizon Insights. “We peg the support level at 760 yuan and 770 yuan a ton and the resistance level at 810 yuan a ton.” Chinese steelmakers usually build up stocks ahead of the Chinese New Year, which starts from Jan. 28, to meet production needs during and after the holiday. Market sentiment was also boosted by a Reuters report that Chinese authorities have agreed to issue 3 trillion yuan worth of special treasury bonds next year, which would be the highest on record, as Beijing ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive a faltering economy. A few cities in northern China, including steel production hub Handan, announced emergency response from Monday amid forecast air pollution, according to consultancies Lange Steel and Mysteel. This pressured the key steelmaking ingredient earlier in the session, said analysts. Local steel mills are typically required to curb production under such emergency actions. Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were mixed, with coking coal down 0.52% and coke (DCJcv1) up 0.59%. Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced. Rebar RBF1! rose 0.91%, hot-rolled coil edged up 0.53%, stainless steel HRC1! strengthened 0.54%, while wire rod (SWRcv1) shed 0.42%. Source: Reuters

The recent Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) report that tagged the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) alongside other government agencies such as the Supreme Court, Nigerian Press Council, and others as those with weak anti-corruption efforts calls for introspection within the Hajj and Umrah industry. Yes, the ICPC report itself didn’t mention NAHCON as the most corrupt institution or indict its officials as the most corrupt staff, but there is a cloud of smoke in the fire of the ICPC report that requires a deep reflection. Firstly, the Hajj and Umrah industry represents the Islamic image within Nigeria’s annals of government circles. NAHCON is the apex Hajj and Umrah institution with 100 percent Muslim staff, thereby representing Islamic values. It is self-defeating for us to compare ourselves with other MDAs whose mandates are to preside over worldly issues and whose policies focus on economics, security, and politics. This is where we should all ask ourselves a hard question and re-engineer the industry: What is my contribution to the Hajj and Umrah industry in Nigeria? Negative or positive? The ICPC report as published by various media organisations may be inaccurate or misleading or even slanted with a bias, but let’s be honest: Is there any other religion-based institution that has featured prominently in corruption-related publications in the media in recent times like NAHCON? ICPC, EFCC, Code of Conduct, ad-hoc committee of the House of Assembly, and the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs are all probing different categories of allegations against the immediate past leadership of the commission. The State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards and Agencies, as well as Private Hajj Tour Operators, should understand that the reported procedural flaws with the system also reflect their administrative structure in the states and begin to tighten the loose ends. NAHCON must now wake up and lead the way in preaching and acting following the laid-down administrative rules that prevent corruption from taking effect. NAHCON chairman is the agency’s CEO and, by extension, the leader of the Nigerian Hajj Industry. His actions and stance against corruption will have a trickle-down effect and serve as a yardstick to measure the integrity of the system. The 2023 Hajj refund should be used as a sample by constituting a high-powered committee to go round the states to monitor the disbursement and ensure that every pilgrim who participated in the 2023 Hajj receives the refund. That is how to dispute the ICPC Reports. Indeed, it is a time for reflection, and as they say, reflection is the best school of wisdom. For Almighty has commanded us as Muslims in Surah At-Taubah Ayat 119 thus “Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanut taqul laaha wa koonoo ma’as saadiqeen” meaning: O you who have believed, fear Allah and be with those who are true”.Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt Lifestyle, recently spilled some beans on one of his actor brand ambassadors. Aman revealed that the actor had an image of being humble, flying economy, being very down-to-earth but he was just the opposite with the boAt team. Gupta revealed that the actor used to throw his weight around and gave them a hard time. "Ek actor tha. Humara brand ambassador tha. Itni akad thi usme...aur news me main padta tha wo kitna sweet hai. Dekho, reporter se kitna acche se baat karta hai. Media se kitna acche se baat karta hai. Dekho zara ye economy class me jaa raha hai. Humaare sath itni akad dikhata tha," he said while speaking to Dostcast on YouTube. (There was an actor who was our brand ambassador. He was so full of himself and in the news, I would read about how sweet he was). "Look how nicely he talks to reporters. See how well he interacts with the media. Oh, look, he's travelling in economy class." But with us, he would show so much arrogance) Aman further detailed how the public had a totally different perception of him that what he was truly. "Mujhe samajh aa gaya tha ki (That's when I realised)...people have mastered the art of being humble," he added. Social media tries to decode Ever since the revelation, social media has gone into an overdrive to deduce who the actor could be. While some are saying it could be Ranveer Singh, some have reasoned that the actor is genuinely humble. There were few who named Diljit Dosanjh but the pop sensation has never flown economy. Majority of people on social media came crashing down on Kartik Aaryan . However, who the actual actor is, only Aman Gupta can clarify. Raj Kapoor's 100th birthday: Alia – Ranbir come hand-in-hand, Kareena – Saif make royal entry, Rekha, Kartik Aaryan, Vicky Kaushal and others attend [Pics] When Kartik Aaryan took a jibe at Singham Again: Singham Again vs Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 BO: Ajay Devgn or Kartik Aaryan; who's winning the number game?Asian shares were mixed on Monday after stocks fell broadly on Friday as Wall Street closed out a holiday-shortened week on a down note. U.S. futures were lower while oil prices were little changed. In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.6% to 2,418.80. But shares of Jeju Air Co. lost 8.8% after one of the company’s jets skidded off a runway , slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames Sunday in South Korea as its landing gear failed to deploy. 179 people died in the crash. Political turmoil continued as South Korean law enforcement officials requested a court warrant on Monday to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. They are investigating whether his martial law decree on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9% to 39,914.21 as the dollar gained against the Japanese yen, trading at 157.83 yen, up from 157.75 yen. The Tokyo market will wrap up trading for 2024 with a yearend ceremony as Japan begins its New Year holidays, the biggest festival of the year. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.3% to 20,030.63 while the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.3% at 3,408.72. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.9% to 8,191.50. On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.1% to 5,970.84. Roughly 90% of stocks in the benchmark index lost ground, but it managed to hold onto a modest gain of 0.7% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 42,992.21. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 1.5%, to 19,722.03. The losses were made worse by sharp declines for the Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent 7”, which can heavily influence the direction of the market because of their large size. A wide range of retailers also fell. Amazon fell 1.5% and Best Buy slipped 1.5%. The sector is being closely watched for clues on how it performed during the holiday shopping season. The S&P 500 gained nearly 3% over a 3-day stretch before breaking for the Christmas holiday. On Thursday, the index posted a small decline. Despite Friday's drop, the market is moving closer to another standout annual finish . The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998. The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing. A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week. The stream of upbeat economic data and easing inflation helped prompt a reversal in the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy this year. Expectations for interest rate cuts also helped drive market gains. The central bank recently delivered its third cut to interest rates in 2024. Even though inflation has come closer to the central bank's target of 2%, it remains stubbornly above that mark and worries about it heating up again have tempered the forecast for more interest rate cuts. Inflation concerns have added to uncertainties heading into 2025, which include the labor market’s path ahead and shifting economic policies under incoming President Donald Trump. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 1 cent to $70.61 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 1 cent to $73.78 per barrel. The euro fell to $1.0427 from $1.0433.

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Top 10 Japanese News Stories Of 2024MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Zac Alley is being reunited with Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia. Rodriguez, who was on Dec. 12, announced Sunday that he hired the 31-year-old Alley as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. “Zac is one of the top young defensive coordinators in the country and has proven his ability to lead and be an innovator at different stops during his career,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “I have worked with him several seasons, and he constantly impresses me with his ability to blend schemes with his personnel and develop winning results.” Under Rodriguez, Alley spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Jacksonville State. Alley was the youngest defensive coordinator in the Bowl Subdivision at Louisiana-Monroe in 2021 when Rodriguez was the Warhawks’ offensive coordinator. In Alley’s lone season at Oklahoma, the Sooners ranked fifth in the Southeastern Conference in total defense, allowing 318 yards per game. “I have tremendous respect for Coach Rod, as I’ve seen how he develops players and builds a program,” Alley said. “I look forward to working with the players and doing my part to help WVU be one of the top teams in the Big 12 Conference and the nation.” Alley worked under Oklahoma coach Brent Venables as a graduate assistant at Clemson from 2015 to 2018 when Venables was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach there. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college football: and The Associated Press

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