Israel has agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon that will take effect at 4 a.m. Wednesday. Moments after U.S. President Joe Biden announced the ceasefire deal , which Israel's Cabinet approved late Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike slammed into the Lebanese capital. Residents of Beirut and its southern suburbs have endured the most intense day of Israeli strikes since the war began nearly 14 months ago, as Israel's nationwide onslaught of bombings signaled it aims to keep pummeling Hezbollah before the ceasefire is set to take hold. At least 42 people have killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to local authorities. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens in the country’s north. An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza. Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after Hamas’ attack. The fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south. In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Here's the Latest: BEIRUT — The Health Ministry in Lebanon says 18 more people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across the country, bringing the total death toll on Tuesday to at least 42 people. Eleven people were killed by Israeli bombing in eastern Lebanon, four were killed by strikes on border crossings between northern Lebanon and Syria, and three people were killed in southern Lebanon, the Health Ministry said early Wednesday. In the hours before a ceasefire with Hezbollah was to take effect, Israel launched its most intense wave of strikes on the capital Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict. Strikes have targeted what Israel said were Hezbollah-related targets in several other parts of the country as well. Israel’s military issued a record number of evacuation warnings in Beirut, sending people fleeing from their homes. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens across the country’s north. UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations chief welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, and hopes it can end the violence and suffering of people in both countries, the U.N. spokesman says. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Hezbollah to swiftly implement all commitments under the agreement, and take immediate steps toward fully implementing the 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said late Tuesday. Resolution 1701 called for the deployment of Lebanese forces throughout the south, which borders Israel and is now mainly controlled by Hezbollah, and it calls for all armed groups including Hezbollah to be disarmed. Neither has happened in the past 17 years. Dujarric said U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon “both stand ready to support the implementation of this agreement, in line with their respective mandates.” WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s senior national security team was briefed by the Biden administration as negotiations unfolded, according to the senior U.S. official. The official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity in a White House-organized call, added that the incoming Trump administration officials were not directly involved in the talks, but that it was important that the incoming administration knew “what we were negotiating and what the commitments were.” The official said “all fire will stop from all parties” at 4 a.m. local time. The next step would be what the official described as a “phased withdrawal” by the Israeli military. As the Israelis pull back, Lebanese national forces will occupy the territories. The process is slated to finish within 60 days. Lebanese forces is supposed to patrol the area and remove Hezbollah weaponry and infrastructure there. “Hezbollah is incredibly weak at this moment, both militarily and politically,” the official said. “And this is the opportunity for Lebanon to re-establish its sovereignty over its territory.” The official said the ceasefire agreement will strengthen what’s known as the “tripartite mechanism” by including the United States and France. The goal is to address violations of the ceasefire without a return to hostilities. UNITED NATIONS – The top U.N. envoy for Lebanon welcomed the ceasefire announcement and urged Israel and Hezbollah militants to take concrete actions to fully implement the 2006 agreement that ended their last war. U.N. Special Coordinator Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the agreement “marks the starting point of a critical process” that must see both sides fully implement U.N. Security Council resolution 1701. It called for the deployment of Lebanese armed forces in the south bordering Israel and the disarmament of all armed groups including Hezbollah – neither of which has happened in the past 17 years. “Nothing less than the full and unwavering commitment of both parties is required,” Hennis-Plasschaert said. “Neither side can afford another period of disingenuous implementation under the guise of ostensible calm.” She commended the parties for “seizing the opportunity to close this devastating chapter,” stressing that “Now is the time to deliver, through concrete actions, to consolidate today’s achievement.” UNITED NATIONS — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is calling for urgent international intervention to stop what he described as “an ongoing genocidal war” in Gaza. Abbas heads the Palestinian Authority which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but not Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas. The U.S. and others want a reinvigorated Palestinian Authority to run Gaza when the war ends. In a speech on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Abbas accused Israel of repeating what happened to the Palestinians in 1948 and 1967 – displacing them and seizing their land and resources. Abbas demanded to know how long the world will remain silent and refuse to compel Israel to abide by international law. The speech to U.N. member nations was read by Palestinian U.N. ambassador Riyad Mansour. “The only way to halt the halt the dangerous escalation we are witnessing in the region, and maintain regional and international stability, security and peace, is to resolve the question of Palestine,” Abbas' speech said. This must be done in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions which call for a two-state solution, he said. BEIRUT -- Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the U.S.-brokered ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah, describing it as a crucial step toward stability, the return of displaced people to their homes and regional calm. Mikati made these comments in a statement issued just after U.S. President Joe announced the truce deal. Mikati said he discussed the ceasefire agreement with Biden by phone earlier Tuesday. The prime minister reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to implementing U.N. resolution 1701, strengthening the Lebanese army’s presence in the south, and cooperating with the U.N. peacekeeping force. He also called on Israel to fully comply with the ceasefire and withdraw from southern Lebanon in accordance the U.N. resolution. JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet has approved a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, clearing the way for the truce to take effect. Netanyahu’s office said the plan was approved by a 10-1 margin. The late-night vote came shortly before President Joe Biden was expected to announced details of the deal in Washington. Earlier, Netanyahu defended the ceasefire, saying Israel has inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah and could now focus its efforts on Hamas militants in Gaza and his top security concern, Iran. Netanyahu vowed to strike Hezbollah hard if it violates the expected deal. WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump’s designate to be national security adviser, credited Trump’s victory with helping bring the parties together toward a ceasefire in Lebanon. “Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump,” he said in a post on X on Tuesday. “His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won’t be tolerated. I’m glad to see concrete steps towards deescalation in the Middle East.” He added: “But let’s be clear: The Iran Regime is the root cause of the chaos & terror that has been unleashed across the region. We will not tolerate the status quo of their support for terrorism.” BEIRUT — Israeli jets targeted a building in a bustling commercial area of Beirut for the first time since the start of the 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel. The strike on Hamra is around 400 meters (yards) from the country’s central bank. A separate strike hit the Mar Elias neighborhood in the country’s capital Tuesday. There was no immediate word on casualties from either strike, part of the biggest wave of attacks on the capital since the war started. Residents in central Beirut were seen fleeing after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for four targets in the city. Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes on at least 30 targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs Tuesday, including two strikes in the Jnah neighborhood near the Kuwaiti Embassy. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that 13 people were injured in the strikes on the southern suburbs. BEIRUT — Hezbollah has said it accepts the ceasefire proposal with Israel, but a senior official with the group said Tuesday that it had not seen the agreement in its final form. “After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told the Al Jazeera news network. “We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state.” of Lebanon, he said. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.” Among the issues that may remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal. The deal seeks to push Hezbollah and Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his Cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people. The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal. In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting. Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending. BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state media said Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 10 people in Baalbek province the country’s east. At least three people were killed in the southern city of Tyre when Israel bombed a Palestinian refugee camp, said Mohammed Bikai, a representative of the Fatah group in the area. He said several more people were missing and at least three children were among the wounded. He said the sites struck inside the camp were “completely civilian places” and included a kitchen that was being used to cook food for displaced people. JERUSALEM — Dozens of Israeli protesters took to a major highway in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening to call for the return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as the country awaited news of a potential ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. Protesters chanted “We are all hostages,” and “Deal now!” waving signs with faces of some of the roughly 100 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza, at least a third of whom are thought to be dead. Most of the other hostages Hamas captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack were released during a ceasefire last year. The prospect of a ceasefire deal in Lebanon has raised desperation among the relatives of captives still held in Gaza, who once hoped that the release of hostages from Gaza would be included. Instead of a comprehensive deal, the ceasefire on the table is instead narrowly confined to Lebanon. Dozens of Israelis were also demonstrating against the expected cease-fire, gathering outside Israel’s military headquarters in central Tel Aviv. One of the protesters, Yair Ansbacher, says the deal is merely a return to the failed 2006 U.N. resolution that was meant to uproot Hezbollah from the area. “Of course that didn’t happen,” he says. “This agreement is not worth the paper it is written on.” FIUGGI, Italy — Foreign ministers from the world’s industrialized countries said Tuesday they strongly supported an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and insisted that Israel comply with international law in its ongoing military operations in the region. At the end of their two-day summit, the ministers didn’t refer directly to the International Criminal Court and its recent arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over crimes against humanity . Italy had put the ICC warrants on the official meeting agenda, even though the G7 was split on the issue. The U.S., Israel’s closest ally, isn’t a signatory to the court and has called the warrants “outrageous.” However, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said all the other G7 countries were signatories and therefore obliged to respect the warrants. In the end, the final statement adopted by the ministers said Israel, in exercising its right to defend itself, “must fully comply with its obligations under international law in all circumstances, including international humanitarian law.” And it said all G7 members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – “reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will comply with our respective obligations.” It stressed that “there can be no equivalence between the terrorist group Hamas and the State of Israel.” The ICC warrants say there's reason to believe Netanyahu used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny. BEIRUT — An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city’s downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded in Beirut, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. It was not immediately clear if anyone in particular was targeted, though Israel says its airstrikes target Hezbollah officials and assets. The Israeli military spokesman issued a flurry of evacuation warnings for many areas, including areas in Beirut that have not been targeted throughout the war, like the capital’s commercial Hamra district, where many people displaced by the war have been staying. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks in Lebanon during the final hours before a ceasefire is reached, sparked panic and sent residents fleeing in their cars to safer areas. In areas close to Hamra, families including women and children were seen running away toward the Mediterranean Sea’s beaches carrying their belongings. Traffic was completely gridlocked as people tried to get away, honking their car horns as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead. The Israeli military also issued warnings for 20 more buildings in Beirut’s suburbs to evacuate before they too were struck — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah in the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. TEL AVIV, Israel — The independent civilian commission of inquiry into the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel has found Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly responsible for the failures leading up to the attack, alongside former defense ministers, the army chief and the heads of the security services. The civil commission presented its findings today after a four-month probe in which it heard some 120 witnesses. It was set up by relatives of victims of the Hamas attack, in response to the absence of any state probe. The commission determined that the Israeli government, its army and security services “failed in their primary mission of protecting the citizens of Israel.” It said Netanyahu was responsible for ignoring “repeated warnings” ahead of Oct. 7, 2023 for what it described as his appeasing approach over the years toward Hamas, and for “undermining all decision-making centers, including the cabinet and the National Security Council, in a way that prevented any serious discussion” on security issues. The commission further determined that the military and defense leaders bear blame for ignoring warnings from within the army, and for reducing the army’s presence along the Gaza border while relying excessively on technological means. On the day of the Hamas attack, the report says, the army’s response was both slow and lacking. The civil commission called for the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack. Netanyahu has opposed launching a state commission of inquiry, arguing that such an investigation should begin only once the war is over. JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military says its ground troops have reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River — a focal point of the emerging ceasefire. In a statement Tuesday, the army said it had reached the Wadi Slouqi area in southern Lebanon and clashed with Hezbollah forces. Under a proposed ceasefire, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border. The military says the clashes with Hezbollah took place on the eastern end of the Litani, just a few kilometers (miles) from the border. It is one of the deepest places Israeli forces have reached in a nearly two-month ground operation. The military says soldiers destroyed rocket launchers and missiles and engaged in “close-quarters combat” with Hezbollah forces. The announcement came hours before Israel’s security Cabinet is expected to approve a ceasefire that would end nearly 14 months of fighting. BEIRUT — Israeli jets Tuesday struck at least six buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs Tuesday, including one that slammed near the country’s only airport. Large plumes of smoke could be seen around the airport near the Mediterranean coast, which has continued to function despite its location beside the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah’s operations are based. The strikes come hours before Israel’s cabinet was scheduled to meet to discuss a proposal to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The proposal calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Tuesday’s airstrikes. FIUGGI, Italy — EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. “The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.” It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. “Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. “The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.” It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. “Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. (edited)No. 6 Purdue routs Marshall
State Papers: Taoiseach doubted Sinn Féin and SDLP accurately represented nationalists in the NorthIreland blamed Northern Ireland Office for ‘damaging leaks’, records showAn estimated 21 million Australians play video games, so why is it so hard to find local journalism to provide advice about what is worth your time and money? Some of the biggest names in the nation's online gaming coverage have shut down in recent years. These include Good Game in 2016, ScreenPLAY in 2018, Hyper magazine and Game Informer Australia in 2019, and long-running gaming website Kotaku Australia in 2024. Janet Gaeta, creator and former producer of ABC's Good Game and Good Game: Spawn Point, described the decline as "devastating". "The global online gaming coverage is still there, but the local connection is just sort of pretty well evaporated, which is desperately sad," Ms Gaeta said. Janet Gaeta is a creator and former producer of ABC's Good Game and Good Game: Spawn Point. (Supplied: Janet Gaeta) Ms Gaeta also said independent reporting offered parents a different platform to find reviews about the games their children were playing. "[The] information to help recognise that game developers use techniques to make their games addictive, understanding this can help manage and reduce problematic tendencies," she said. "Video gaming is such an enormous area of entertainment, possibly bigger than movies and music combined, and it is worthy of serious analysis." In June, trade body IGEA (Interactive Games and Entertainment Association) released a report showing Australians spent an estimated $4.4 billion on video games and video-game-related hardware in 2023, a five per cent increase on 2022. Lack of advertising money affects reporting A veteran TV producer, Ms Gaeta said time constraints were one of the potential... ABC News
Tulsa King Season 3 & 4: Is it happening? Here’s what we know so far
MARKET REPORT: Investment trust bosses must go, says hedge fundBRISBANE, Australia, Dec. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NOVONIX Limited (NASDAQ: NVX, ASX: NVX) (“NOVONIX” or the “Company”), a leading battery materials and technology company announced today the Company’s participation in the American Active Anode Material Producers’ (“AAAMP”) petition to the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) and the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) to investigate whether China is exporting natural and synthetic graphite used to make lithium-ion battery anode material at unfair prices to the United States. 1 The filing asserts China is harming the nascent domestic graphite industry by exporting artificially cheap battery-grade graphite into the U.S., denying North American producers a fair opportunity to enter the market. Experts at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, the law firm handling the case, estimate dumping margins as high as 920%. If the investigation proves conclusive, Commerce will assess the use of additional tariffs equal to the extent of unfair pricing by the Chinese. China currently has over 95% market share for battery grade graphite. 2 Dr. Chris Burns, CEO of NOVONIX, said, “This is an important issue to address on the path to strengthening the production of critical minerals here in the U.S. and bringing fair competition to the global marketplace. We hope filing this case will bring transparency to the graphite anode market and drive further government action to utilize policies and tariffs in a manner commensurate with China’s unfair trade practices.” NOVONIX’s Riverside facility, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is poised to become the first large-scale production site dedicated to high-performance synthetic graphite for the battery sector in North America. It is slated to begin commercial production in 2025 with plans to grow output to 20,000 tonnes per annum to meet current customer commitments. Previously, the Company announced that the Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (“MESC”) awarded the Company a US$100 million grant 3 and that it was selected for a US$103 million investment tax credit 4 towards funding the Riverside facility. NOVONIX also recently announced receiving a conditional commitment from the DOE Loan Programs Office (“LPO”) for a direct loan of up to US$754.8 million to be applied towards partially financing a proposed new production facility also to be located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 5 This case was filed by the AAAMP which is comprised of four members of the North American Graphite Alliance (“NAGA”), including NOVONIX, alongside two additional graphite anode material producers in the United States. NAGA represents American and Canadian producers of battery-grade natural and synthetic graphite, both of which are used to create anode material for lithium-ion batteries. NAGA encourages the U.S. Federal government to craft and implement policies, programs, and funding opportunities that support growing the domestic graphite industry. This announcement has been authorised for release by Admiral Robert J Natter, USN Ret., Chairman. About NOVONIX NOVONIX is a leading battery technology company revolutionizing the global lithium-ion battery industry with innovative, sustainable technologies, high-performance materials, and more efficient production methods. The Company manufactures industry-leading battery cell testing equipment, is growing its high-performance synthetic graphite material manufacturing operations, and has developed a patented all-dry, zero-waste cathode synthesis process. Through advanced R&D capabilities, proprietary technology, and strategic partnerships, NOVONIX has gained a prominent position in the electric vehicle and energy storage systems battery industry and is powering a cleaner energy future. To learn more, visit us at www.novonixgroup.com or on LinkedIn and X . For NOVONIX Limited Scott Espenshade, ir@novonixgroup.com (investors) Stephanie Reid, media@novonixgroup.com (media) Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking statements about the Company and the industry in which we operate. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or “would,” or other similar expressions. Examples of forward-looking statements in this communication include, among others, statements we make regarding our plans to commence commercial production and meet our production target at our Riverside facility and our plans to build a new production facility and our efforts to finance this new production facility with a loan from the LPO. We have based such statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Such forward-looking statements involve and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the timely deployment and scaling of our furnace technology, our ability to meet the technical specifications and demand of our existing and future customers, the accuracy of our estimates regarding market size, expenses, future revenue, capital requirements, needs and access for additional financing, the availability and impact and our compliance with the applicable terms of government support, including the DOE MESC grant and, if obtained, the LPO loan, our ability to obtain patent rights effective to protect our technologies and processes and successfully defend any challenges to such rights and prevent others from commercializing such technologies and processes, and regulatory developments in the United States, Australia and other jurisdictions. These and other factors that could affect our business and results are included in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the Company’s most recent annual report on Form 20-F. Copies of these filings may be obtained by visiting our Investor Relations website at www.novonixgroup.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or outcomes, and actual performance and outcomes may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement in this communication is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. 1 American-Graphite-Producers-File-Trade-Case-with-U.S.-Government-Over-Chinas-Manipulation-of-Global-Graphite-Market.pdf 2 Benchmark Minerals Intelligence Anode Price Assessment September 2024 3 NOVONIX Finalizes US$100 Million Grant Award from U.S. Department of Energy - NOVONIX 4 U.S. Government Selects NOVONIX to Receive US$103 Million in Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credits - NOVONIX 5 NOVONIX Offered Conditional Commitment for US$754 Million Loan from the U.S. Department of Energy for New Synthetic Graphite Manufacturing Plant in Tennessee - NOVONIX
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Botafogo overcame playing with 10 men to win its first Copa Libertadores title after beating fellow Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro 3-1 in the final at Monumental de Nunez Stadium on Saturday. After just 30 seconds, midfielder Gregore, one of Botafogo's best players, hit the head of Fausto Vera with his foot and was given a straight red card. Winger Luiz Henrique scored first in the 35th minute from close range, and was fouled for the penalty shot converted by Alex Telles in the 44th. Eduardo Vargas headed Mineiro's only goal in the 46th while Junior Santos, the top scorer in the Copa Libertadores with 10 goals, capped Botafogo's historic night with the third in injury time. Brazil was assured of a sixth consecutive Copa Libertadores title and its 24th in history, just one less than Argentina. It was also the third straight title for Rio de Janeiro clubs, after Fluminense in 2023 and Flamengo in 2022. Despite sensationally losing Gregore, Botafogo reset and Luiz Henrique scored the opener. Henrique surged on the right flank and crossed to Marlon Freitas, who took a shot that was deflected. Henrique was in the right place to strike through the legs of goalkeeper Ederson. Henrique and Ederson met again near the end of the first half when the striker surprised the keeper on the edge of the box. A penalty was given after a video review and left back Telles calmly slotted the ball. Mineiro came back with a more aggressive formation in the second half and was rewarded when veteran Hulk took a corner kick and Vargas, who replaced midfielder Gustavo Scarpa during the break, didn’t even need to jump to score with his head. Mineiro had more chances to equalize through Deyverson in the 53rd, Hulk in the 56th, and Vargas in the 86th and 88th, all from close range. But it was Botafogo’s Júnior Santos, who was sidelined by injury during the Copa, who scored the last goal. Botafogo coach Arthur Jorge joined Portuguese compatriots Jorge Jesus (Flamengo, 2019) and Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras, 2020 and 2021) as European coaches with a Copa Libertadores title. Mineiro's Gabriel Milito missed the chance to be the first Argentine to win the tournament with a Brazilian club. Botafogo also gave American owner John Textor his biggest trophy yet. Textor has been subject to criticism after unproven allegations about match-fixing when Botafogo squandered a 13-point lead last year and missed out on the league title. Next week, his team could win its first Brazilian title since 1995. Botafogo was relegated from the league in 2020 but has risen to prominence again with Textor’s investment. He was part of a wave of foreign owners who came into Brazilian soccer after a 2021 law change paved the way for private investors. Mineiro also has wealthy owner in Brazilian billionaire Rubens Menin, a construction mogul. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
London Drugs spreads Christmas joy with Stocking Stuffers for SeniorsREBELDOGS Introduces First Movie-Crypto Collaboration, Linking Cinema and Support for Dog SheltersWhat both sides are saying about ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah
Breaking News Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Jimmy Carter, the 100-year-old former US president and Nobel peace laureate who rose from humble beginnings in rural Georgia to lead the nation from 1977 to 1981, has died, his nonprofit foundation said Sunday. Carter had been in hospice care since mid-February 2023 at his home in Plains, Georgia -- the same small town where he was born and once ran a peanut farm before becoming governor of the Peach State and running for the White House. Carter died "peacefully" at his home in Plains, "surrounded by his family," the Carter Center said in a statement. "My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights and unselfish love," Chip Carter, the former president's son, said in the statement. Carter was the oldest living ex-US leader and the nation's longest-lived president -- an outcome that seemed unlikely back in 2015 when the Southern Democrat revealed he had brain cancer. But the US Navy veteran and fervent Christian repeatedly defied the odds to enjoy a long and fruitful post-presidency, after four years in the Oval Office often seen as disappointing. During his single term, Carter placed a commitment on human rights and social justice, enjoying a strong first two years that included brokering a peace deal between Israel and Egypt dubbed the Camp David Accords. But his administration hit numerous snags -- the most serious being the taking of US hostages in Iran and the disastrous failed attempt to rescue the 52 captive Americans in 1980. He also came in for criticism for his handling of an oil crisis. In November of that year, Republican challenger Ronald Reagan clobbered Carter at the polls, relegating the Democrat to just one term. Reagan, a former actor and governor of California, swept into office on a wave of staunch conservatism. - Active post-presidency - As the years passed, a more nuanced image of Carter emerged -- one that took into account his significant post-presidential activities and reassessed his achievements. He founded the Carter Center in 1982 to pursue his vision of world diplomacy, and he was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless efforts to promote social and economic justice. He observed numerous elections around the world and emerged as a prominent international mediator, tackling global problems from North Korea to Bosnia. Carter, known for his toothy smile, said basic Christian tenets such as justice and love served as the bedrock of his presidency. He taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist, his church in Plains, well into his 90s. In recent years, he had received various hospital treatments, including when he revealed in August 2015 that he had brain cancer and was undergoing radiation. - 'Leader, statesman and humanitarian' - Tributes poured in from White House leaders past, present and incoming. Bill Clinton said Carter "worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world," while Donald Trump said Americans owed the Democrat "a debt of gratitude." George W. Bush said Carter's legacy would "inspire Americans for generations," while Barack Obama said the former leader "taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service." "America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian," current President Joe Biden and his wife Jill said in a statement. "For anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning -- the good life -- study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility." In April 2021, the Bidens met with the Carters at their home in Plains. The White House later released a photo showing the couples smiling together, although only Rosalynn was seen by the press outside, bidding the Bidens farewell while using a walker. Rosalynn, Carter's wife of 77 years, died on November 19, 2023 at age 96. The former president, who looked frail, poignantly appeared at her memorial service in a wheelchair, with a blanket on his lap bearing their likenesses. Carter is survived by the couple's four children, three sons and a daughter. bur-sst/mlm/nro/acb Originally published as Former US president Jimmy Carter dies aged 100 More related stories Breaking News Croatia’s president faces conservative rival in election run-off Croatia's president faces conservative rival in election run-off Read more National Breaking News Man allegedly murdered over tree dispute New pictures have emerged of a man who was allegedly killed in what is reported to be an argument about a fallen tree. Read moreMicron shares plunge on weak second-quarter guidance
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In April 2022, shares in Twitter Inc. soared after a securities filing that had acquired a multi-billion dollar stake in the company. What followed over the course of the next few months is now the stuff of internet legend: Musk would go on to cut a deal to acquire all of Twitter for $44 billion, before trying to back out of the deal, and then finally following through. He subsequently NBCUniversal’s former head of advertising sales, Linda Yaccarino, to be Twitter’s CEO, and then to “X,” saying that it would become an everything app, and the home of free speech on the internet. Now, Musk has been on a posting spree about , the left-leaning cable channel that is owned by Comcast’s NBCUniversal. Musk, who has posted about MSNBC nearly every day for a week, has been suggesting that he wants to buy the channel. No, MSNBC is not for sale. A Comcast spokesperson says: “We are looking forward to the planned spin of our cable networks, which will create a new company owned by our shareholders – none of these assets are for sale.” As alluded to in the statement, Comcast, the cable giant that owns NBCUniversal, announced of its cable channels last week, including USA, Syfy, E!, Oxygen, CNBC and, yes, MSNBC. The way it’s going to work is that in roughly a year, the new company (called “SpinCo” for now) will be spun out from Comcast, but existing Comcast shareholders will be shareholders. Just as Brian Roberts and the Roberts family own about a third of Comcast, they will own the same amount of SpinCo. The company is hoping that a standalone cable company can be more strategic, pursuing M&A deals or other ventures that are challenging to do as part of the larger company. “The company will have significant cash flow, a strong balance sheet, and the financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities, both organically and potentially through acquisitions,” Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said in a memo to staff announcing the spin. Don’t count on it. MSNBC, like all cable channels, has been grappling with cord-cutting, viewership declines, and the larger issues facing both cable news channels and cable writ large. If MSNBC were severed from the rest of the cable channels, it would be dramatically harder to ink distribution deals that comprise essentially all of MSNBC’s profits. There is hope that under the new structure, SpinCo could be in a situation to invest in MSNBC, and figure out a path forward given the larger industry declines. There are also some other complicating factors (see below). Unlikely! It would be difficult, time-consuming and expensive. Because the new company will have such centralized control in the Roberts family, it would be very difficult to do a deal without their buy-in. And either way, it would be very expensive, requiring a hefty premium on its market cap. And of course, the deal is being structured as a tax-free spinoff, a structure that means that large scale M&A cannot be done for at least two years in order to retain its tax-free status. That would make any deal extremely difficult in the medium term, without causing a major tax headache for shareholders. Musk has been critical of MSNBC for years, attacking segments or comments from hosts. The current news cycle seems to originate from a meme shared by Donald Trump Jr., which suggested (again, wrongly) that the channel is being put up for sale, and adding “Hey @elonmusk I have the funniest idea ever!!!” The popular comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan even jumped in, with a joking offer to take Rachel Maddow’s job if Musk was successful. Maddow, it should be noted, recently signed a new long-term deal with MSNBC, giving the channel some security that its marquee talent will stick around even after the spinout is complete Since acquiring Twitter, Musk has been sharply critical of news coverage, frequently declaring to users of X that “you are the media now” and encouraging them to “forward X posts” to their friends and family. Musk also has some personal issues with both Microsoft and its founder, Bill Gates, which may play a role. Of course, Microsoft exited its stake in MSNBC back in 2012. The “MS” in MSNBC is like an appendix, a vestige of the past that doesn’t have any particular meaning in the present beyond being a part of the brand itself. Musk runs an artificial intelligence company called xAI, and he has been very vocal and critical of OpenAI — which he was involved in from its founding — and OpenAI’s deal with Microsoft. Musk has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, and named Microsoft as a defendant. In addition, Musk previously had a personal beef with Gates, stemming from when the Microsoft founder took a large short position in Tesla (a short is when you bet that the value of a stock goes down). So the personal animus vis a vie Gates and OpenAI, paired with a real financial incentive with xAI, could perhaps be at play there. He sure did, but not without a fight! Musk and Twitter very nearly went to court in Delaware, before he acquiesced and closed the deal. While Musk is the richest man in the world (his net worth is nearly $350 billion as of writing as of writing), he doesn’t just have that much cash stashed under his bed (or even in Dogecoin). Most of his wealth is tied up in Tesla and SpaceX stock. He can’t sell Tesla stock without causing it to go lower, and SpaceX is private, making a sale inconvenient and difficult. For the Twitter deal, Musk sought outside financiers and took out a margin loan, secured by Tesla stock. It is not clear that he would be able to extend his margin loan to cover another multi-billion dollar deal. Twitter was and still is a platform that newsmakers, powerful people, politicians, celebrities and news media gather to talk about things, and platform dynamics mean that even as Musk has saturated it with users more accustomed to memes and trolling, the number of castaways seems to remain relatively limited. Cable news is an entirely different business. While returning Joe Rogan to the NBC family would likely be a ratings draw (just like the Rogan-hosted NBC reality competition series was, back in the day), blowing up MSNBC’s lineup would likely cause its current viewers to flee. Unlike a social platform powered by platform dynamics, a TV channel is supported by fandom and familiarity. Plus if Musk wants to give Rogan a show, he could just host it on X anyway! It’s also likely that Fox News wouldn’t be too thrilled with a new cable channel, backed by the world’s richest man and supported by members of the Trump family, taking aim at its own core viewers with more right-leaning programming. Maybe Musk would consider bringing back , the first (and to this day only) cable news host who was also a computer-generated character (created by Leo Laporte), who used to banter with Soledad O’Brien on the original MSNBC program . THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day More from The Hollywood ReporterA state's biggest environmental commitment faces a potential funding shortfall as analysis shows protecting key koala populations could cost more than $1.3 billion. or signup to continue reading The estimates, based on advice from the under-siege forestry industry, comes as the sector proposes two smaller alternatives for the planned Great Koala National Park in NSW. The park aims to link dozens of high-value koala habitat hubs near Coffs Harbour, protecting up to one in nine koalas living in NSW, Queensland and the ACT as well as 100 other native species. A report to be considered by state cabinet in the next fortnight lays out the cost of the baseline proposal to unite a string of national parks and state forests into a sprawling 176,000-hectare estate. Under conservationists' goal for a park twice the size of Canberra, establishment costs would reach an estimated $1.36 billion within five years. That includes $450 million in support to 2200 forestry workers, based on Victoria's cost of ending native timber harvesting. Ending wood supply contracts and establishing new plantations would add another $709 million, according to the analysis commissioned by the forestry industry. Only $80 million in state funds have been set aside for the park's establishment. The industry says a park one-fifth of the size could focus on areas with the highest populations of koalas and greater gliders while taking less than 10 per cent of the northeast wood supply. "The cost of the current assessment area comes with a jaw-dropping price tag for taxpayers," Australian Forest Products Association NSW chief executive James Jooste told AAP. "This is an enormous cost on taxpayers, and it puts the hardwood timber industry on the chopping block." The industry's preferred option comes with a 37,000-hectare footprint at an estimated establishment cost of $273 million and 440 jobs. An "acceptable" 58,000ha option would cost about $410 million and 660 jobs. Each proposal substantially reduces the amount of coastal forest under protection, with areas around Woolgoolga and Nambucca Heads left out. Environmentalists have attacked the analysis as disingenuous and grossly inflated. A Blueprint Institute assessment recently estimated the whole northeast NSW logging industry, including outside the national park footprint, would cost $215 million. "There is no science and there is certainly no credible economics in the logging industry pitch," Greens MP Sue Higginson said. "The real costs of the national park must be laid out including the actual losses the industry makes and the costs of the environmental harm of logging, including the carbon emissions." Logging has continued in state forests inside the proposed park area, although not since September 2023 in 106 koala hubs that mark out areas of high-value habitat. It comes as the state government faces mounting pressure over the impact of its logging business on nature. At least 5000 koalas were killed in the 2020 Black Summer bushfires and a subsequent parliamentary inquiry found they would be extinct by 2050 without urgent government intervention to stop habitat loss. An estimated 12,111 koalas live in the land earmarked for the national park. Official estimates have the combined koala population in NSW, Queensland and the ACT at somewhere between 95,000 and 238,000. The NSW government said the proposal from the industry advisory panel and two other panels would be considered before a final decision on the park's footprint. "We have always been clear that we need a comprehensive assessment process which takes into account environmental, economic, social, ecological and cultural issues," Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said. "The Great Koala National Park is the government's biggest environmental commitment, it will be delivered." DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. 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NoneNoneJimmy Carter, the earnest Georgia peanut farmer who as U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 Nov 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 U.S. 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 Nov 4, 1979, revolutionaries devoted to Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had stormed the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 Jan 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 U.S. 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 U.S. ties with China. Carter created two new U.S. 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 Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, one of four children of a farmer and shopkeeper. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946, served in the nuclear submarine program 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 labor 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.
More NASA Science, Tech will Fly to Moon Aboard Future Firefly FlightWhether you're following Master Chief and the United Nations Space Command (UNSC)'s fight against the Covenant by watching the Halo TV series or playing the Halo games in order , you might be wondering what's the deal with the religious alien hegemony that threatens humanity. We've collected the main points of their history here to give you a quick rundown of who they are and what their goals are. While much of Halo's iconography comes from the UNSC, Halo vehicles and troops, and, more importantly, the Spartans (not just Master Chief), the Covenant might be one of the most unique hostile alien factions ever conceived for a sci-fi story. The fact that the Halo franchise has been quite successful with novels and comic books definitely helped flesh out its universe. However, the games did a great job on their own by painting a complex picture of the big extraterrestrial menace. Once you've read this article and know your enemy, grab your battle rifle and head on over to our list of the Halo games, ranked worst to best . While you're in that "war against mankind" realm, it kinda feels imperative to take a look at the best alien invasion movies of all time and the best alien invasion games of all time too. Can't be too prepared! Warning: Spoilers from this point onwards for most of the Halo game series. Halo's Covenant: Who are they? The Covenant, also referred to as the Covenant Empire or Hegemony, was a gigantic religious faction comprised of multiple alien species that controlled most of the Orion Arm in the Milky Way Galaxy for thousands of years. It originally started as an alliance between the San'Shyuum (Prophets) and the Sangheili (Elites), but later expanded to "assimilate" other species including the Huragok (Engineers), Mgalekgolo (Hunters), Unggoy (Grunts), Kig-Yar (Jackals), Yanme'e (Drones), and Jiralhanae (Brutes). All were united in the ardent worship of what remained of the ancient Forerunners' leftover technology and artifacts. Despite initial conflicts due to disagreements about how to interact with Forerunner relics, the Covenant eventually became an unstoppable force across the Orion Arm. The San'Shyuum and Sangheili, the founders of the Hegemony, governed the other species that they saw as inferior and disposable. The massive theocratic cultural hegemony eventually began chasing the mission of achieving transcendence through the Great Journey which would be triggered by the Halo rings (which they called the Sacred Rings). Halo's Covenant: War against the UNSC In the year 2525, humanity first encountered the Covenant on the planet Harvest. Many leaders thought the species would be a fine addition to the hegemony, but the Hierarchs (Truth, Mercy, and Regret) knew of humanity's status as the Forerunners' descendants and chosen inheritors. Since that information leaking would likely cause the Covenant to descend into chaos and make the San'Shyuum lose their personal power, they declared that humanity (the prophesized Reclaimers) were to be exterminated. After decades of war, some Sangheili began to question why humanity wasn't offered a chance to join the Covenant, especially when they'd proven surprisingly determined and hard to defeat, largely due to their Spartans supersoldiers. Meanwhile, break-off factions also started to rebel, the main one being the Banished, led by a Jiralhanae stalker named Atriox. They disagreed with the Prophets' rule, but still waged war against humans. The UNSC suffered a major blow in 2552, when the stronghold planet of Reach fell to the Covenant. However, a single vessel named the Pillar of Autumn escaped battle to one of the seven Halo rings the Hegemony was after. Fighting on the ring-world followed, with Spartan-II John-117 (Master Chief) aka "The Demon" leading the remaining UNSC forces; they secured victory by destroying the ring after they became aware of the Covenant's plans. The Supreme Commander of the fleet present during the first Halo battle, the Sangheili Thel 'Vadam, was initially branded a heretic for his failure to save the ring. However, Thel 'Vadam later became an Arbiter (the highest possible rank for his species) and was tasked with cleaning out heretics to prove his loyalty. At the same time, the High Prophet of Regret stumbled upon the human homeworld of Earth and escaped by making a slipspace jump. They were followed by the UNSC frigate In Amber Clad, the slipspace leading both parties to a second Halo ring. Master Chief ended Regret's life and managed to shut down the second ring. Following the recent unreliability and rumors of heresy, the remaining Hierarchs replaced the Sangheili with the Jiralhanae as their military leaders. This led to the Sangheili revolting once they were targeted by the Jiralhanae, and so the Great Schism began. Meanwhile, the UNSC frigate In Amber Clad, now controlled by the Flood (the organic threat the Forerunners tried to erase with Halo rings and led to their extinction) crashed into the moving holy city of High Charity, a place consumed by chaos and the relentless Flood. The Prophet of Mercy was killed during this attack, and Truth escaped to Earth. The new conflict, plus the many losses suffered by both sides, led to the Sangheili and humanity forming a tentative alliance to stop the Jiralhanae, Truth's forces, and the Flood. On Earth, Truth discovered a Forerunner construction located in Kenya that generated a portal to the Ark installation, a giant installation located outside the galaxy that could activate all of the Halo rings at once. Truth barricaded himself inside the Citadel, a control center of the Halo rings, but the joint UNSC and Sangheili forces broke through the Covenant's defenses alongside the Flood-infected High Charity. John-117 and the Arbiter found and killed Truth, and then deactivated the rings. Following the events at the Ark, the Covenant dissolved. The San'Shyuum went into hiding, other species scattered, and a formal alliance between the humans and the Sangheili was established. There was, however, the problem of splinter factions and the Banished repeatedly striking against the Sangheili and UNSC, trying to complete the work left undone by the late Covenant. Most of the Jiralhanae kept opposing the Sangheili, but some chose to serve as laborers under them. The post-Covenant power vacuum allowed the Banished to amass a rather sizable degree of control. This would go on to cause many problems for both the Sangheili and the UNSC, who were busy shutting down other major threats, such as the rogue AI Cortana. Meanwhile, Thel 'Vadam, former Arbiter, restored the pre-Covenant government as the Swords of Sanghelios, which was based on their ancient homeworld. This led to more fights amongst their own ranks over their faith and how to move forward. Other former member races of the Covenant – those who didn't want to be part of more interstellar affairs – returned to their respective homeworlds or vanished into unknown space. There were, however, many members of the former Covenant who looked for asylum on Earth. Later conflicts over the Halo rings and Forerunner tech would be started by Atriox's enduring Banished. They dealt substantial blows to UNSC forces, including John-117, by becoming experts in guerrilla warfare. Atriox's Banished also managed to free a being called the Harbinger from imprisonment. This creature is a member of another ancient species capable of surviving the firing of the Halo Array, who had been incarcerated by the extinct Forerunners. This is where the current video game timeline ends with the finale of Halo Infinite. It's an ongoing conflict and storyline, but we'll need to wait for the next installment for more info.