IGI Poseidon and Tenaris partner to advance offshore hydrogen readinessGREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Ryan Forrest's 30 points led N.C. A&T over North Carolina Central 85-72 on Saturday. Forrest shot 12 of 18 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 7 from the line for the Aggies (4-10). Landon Glasper scored 25 points while going 7 of 17 from the floor, including 5 for 12 from 3-point range, and 6 for 6 from the line. Jahnathan Lamothe went 3 of 7 from the field (1 for 4 from 3-point range) to finish with nine points, while adding eight rebounds. The Aggies stopped an eight-game skid with the win. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.NEW YORK (AP) — In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs — including Apple’s Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — have joined a parade of and world leaders in trying to improve their standing with President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January. “The first term, everybody was fighting me,” Trump said in . “In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.” Tech companies and leaders have millions into his inauguration fund, a sharp increase — in most cases — from past pledges to incoming presidents. But what does the tech industry expect to gain out of their renewed relationships with Trump? Clearing the way for AI development A clue to what the industry is looking for came just days before the election when Microsoft executives — who’ve largely tried to show a neutral or bipartisan stance — joined with a close Trump ally, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, to outlining their approach to artificial intelligence policy. “Regulation should be implemented only if its benefits outweigh its costs,” said the document signed by Andreessen, his business partner Ben Horowitz, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the company’s president, Brad Smith. They also urged the government to back off on any attempt to strengthen copyright laws that would make it harder for companies to use publicly available data to train their AI systems. And they said, “the government should examine its procurement practices to enable more startups to sell technology to the government.” Trump has pledged to rescind President Joe Biden’s sweeping AI executive order, which sought to protect people’s rights and safety without stifling innovation. He hasn’t specified what he would do in its place, but his campaign said AI development should be “rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.” Easier energy for data centers Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, has spoken openly about the need to boost electricity production to meet increased demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. “The AI battle affects everything from defense to healthcare to education to productivity as a country,′′ Burgum said on Nov. 15, referring to artificial intelligence. “And the AI that’s coming in the next 18 months is going to be revolutionary. So there’s just a sense of urgency and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration′′ to address it. Demand for data centers due to the rapid growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, and local governments are competing for lucrative deals with big tech companies. But as data centers begin to consume more resources, some residents are pushing back against the world’s most powerful corporations over concerns about the economic, social and environmental health of their communities. Changing the antitrust discussion “Maybe Big Tech should buy a copy of ‘The Art of The Deal’ to figure out how to best negotiate with this administration,” suggested Paul Swanson, an antitrust attorney for the law firm Holland & Hart. “I won’t be surprised if they find ways to reach some accommodations and we end up seeing more negotiated resolutions and consent decrees.” Although federal regulators began cracking down on Google and Facebook during Trump’s first term as president — and flourished under Biden — most experts expect his second administration to and be more receptive to business mergers. Google may benefit from Trump’s return after he made comments on the campaign trail suggesting isn’t in the U.S. national interest, after a judge declared its search engine . But recent nominations put forward by his transition team have favored those who have been critical of Big Tech companies, suggesting Google won’t be entirely off the hook. Fending off the EU Cook’s notoriously rocky relationship with the EU can be traced back to a 2016 ruling from Brussels in a tax case targeting Apple. Cook slammed the bloc’s order for Apple to pay back up to 13 billion euros ($13.7 billion) in Irish back taxes as “total political crap.” Trump, then in his first term as president, piled on, referring to the European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who was spearheading a campaign on special tax deals and a crackdown on Big Tech companies, as the “tax lady” who “really hates the U.S.” Brussels was after the bloc’s top court rejected Apple’s appeal this year, though it didn’t stop Cook from calling Trump to complain, Trump in October. Trump hosted Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. Neither Apple nor the Trump transition team has commented on the nature of their discussions. Making amends? , Amazon and Meta all pledged to donate $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund. During his first term, Trump criticized Amazon and railed against the political coverage at The Washington Post, which billionaire Bezos owns. Meanwhile, Bezos had criticized some of Trump’s past rhetoric. In 2019, Amazon also argued in a court case that Trump’s bias against the company harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract. More recently, Bezos has struck a more conciliatory tone. He recently said at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York that he was “optimistic” about Trump’s second term, while also endorsing president-elect’s plans to cut regulations. The donation from Meta came just weeks after privately at Mar-a-Lago. During the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate for president, but voiced a more positive stance toward Trump. Earlier this year, he praised Trump’s response to his first assassination attempt. Still, Trump in recent months had continued to attack Zuckerberg publicly. And Altman, who is in a legal dispute with AI rival Elon Musk, has said he is about the Tesla CEO’s influence in the incoming administration. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. The Associated Press
Manchester United legend Ferdinand backing Liverpool to win the Premier League and Champions League Former Real Madrid player Gareth Bale (right) speaking with former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand before the UEFA Champions League, league stage match at Anfield, Liverpool. Picture date: Wednesday November 27, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story SOCCER Liverpool. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire.RESTRICTIONS: Use subject to restrictions. Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior consent from rights holder. Manchester United legends don’t tend to back Liverpool to win major trophies with any relish, but Rio Ferdinand has suggested Arne Slot’s rampant team could be on course to win both the Premier League and Champions League this season. Ferdinand was at Anfield to watch Liverpool overcome Real Madrid, on a night when Ireland keeper Caoimhín Kelleher pulled off a crucial penalty save from Kylian Mbappe as the home side beat the defending European champions 2-0. Making bold trophy predictions in late November is always a dangerous game, but Liverpool are cruising towards the last-16 of the Champions League after five straight wins in the competition and they will move 11-points clear of struggling Manchester City in the Premier League if they beat them at Anfield on Sunday. Their dominant start to the season has inspired Ferdinand to suggest they are now firm favourites to win the biggest two competitions they are competing for. "Liverpool have put the gauntlet down top all the other teams in Europe. They are the in-form team," Ferdinand told TNT Sport. “This Liverpool team look starving. They look staving and Slot is sending them out there like Rottweilers on the pitch hunting teams down. “I said before the game, Arne Slot will have wanted to see what his team could produce against a team of this magnitude. “If I was to put money on a team who look most likely to win the Premier League and Champions League this season, I would say it is Liverpool.” Former Chelsea defender Gary Cahill was also at Anfield for the BBC, as he suggested Kelleher’s performance was evidence of his quality as he looked ahead to the game against Manchester City on Sunday. "The old saying is 'when you have a chance you have to take it' and Caoimhin Kelleher has certainly done that,” he said of the Irishman, "Liverpool have a world class keeper in Alisson who will probably come back in but it is a good headache for the manager to have and now they will look forward to Sunday. "They will not be able to wait for the Man City game. When you are in such a run of form in the Premier League and Champions League you just want to keep playing and playing. “They will be back in training tomorrow and I would imagine it will be an amazing atmopshere, everyone will be laughing and joking. “At Anfield, in the position they are in, going up against a fragile Man City team at this moment in time, they will be excited and I bet they can't wait to play.”
Oshae Baker: A Skyhawk Legend Who Left His Mark on UT Martin FootballGaza Talks May Resume After Trump’s Pressure For Hostage DealA gunman has shot and wounded two children at a California primary school before shooting himself dead, the local sheriff's department says. The shooting occurred on Wednesday at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Oroville, California, located about 90km north of Sacramento, the Butte County Sheriff's office said. Megan McMann, a spokesperson for the Butte County Sheriff's Office, said officers responded quickly to reports of an unidentified adult male firing shots at students on campus at 1.09pm. By the time deputies arrived, the man was dead with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gun wound, McMann said. "Two students sustained gunshot wounds and were taken to local hospitals for treatment," McMann said, adding that she did not know their conditions. There is as yet no known motive for the shooting nor has the gunman been identified. In a post on social media, the Butte County Sheriff's Office said students were being taken to a nearby church. McMann said an investigation is ongoing and officers are trying to determine whether the suspected gunman had a connection to the school. The Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists, operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, serves children from kindergarten to the eighth grade, from ages 5 to 13, according to its website.
By JILL COLVIN and STEPHEN GROVES WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the last two years. Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz and spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed. Thursday morning Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” host whom Trump has tapped to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth also has faced allegations of sexual assault that he denies. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings in coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., center, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, walk out of a meeting with Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, March 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, center speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, right, speaks with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, before testifying at a hearing, March 9, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a classified briefing on China, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a vote on Capitol Hill, Sept. 12, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance R-Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The role of introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is an unusual one for a vice president-elect. Usually the job goes to a former senator who has close relationships on the Hill, or a more junior aide. But this time the role fits Vance, said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s first director of legislative affairs as well as chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent more than a decade in Congress and led the former president’s transition ahead of his first term. ”JD probably has a lot of current allies in the Senate and so it makes sense to have him utilized in that capacity,” Short said. Unlike the first Trump transition, which played out before cameras at Trump Tower in New York and at the president-elect’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this one has largely happened behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida. There, a small group of officials and aides meet daily at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to run through possible contenders and interview job candidates. The group includes Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club that Trump has joked he can’t get rid of him. Vance has been a constant presence, even as he’s kept a lower profile. The Ohio senator has spent much of the last two weeks in Palm Beach, according to people familiar with his plans, playing an active role in the transition, on which he serves as honorary chair. Vance has been staying at a cottage on the property of the gilded club, where rooms are adorned with cherubs, oriental rugs and intricate golden inlays. It’s a world away from the famously hardscrabble upbringing that Vance documented in the memoir that made him famous, “Hillbilly Elegy.” His young children have also joined him at Mar-a-Lago, at times. Vance was photographed in shorts and a polo shirt playing with his kids on the seawall of the property with a large palm frond, a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the distance. On the rare days when he is not in Palm Beach, Vance has been joining the sessions remotely via Zoom. Though he has taken a break from TV interviews after months of constant appearances, Vance has been active in the meetings, which began immediately after the election and include interviews and as well as presentations on candidates’ pluses and minuses. Among those interviewed: Contenders to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray , as Vance wrote in a since-deleted social media post. Defending himself from criticism that he’d missed a Senate vote in which one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees was confirmed, Vance wrote that he was meeting at the time “with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.” “I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance added on X. “But that’s just me.” While Vance did not come in to the transition with a list of people he wanted to see in specific roles, he and his friend, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is also a member of the transition team, were eager to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. find roles in the administration. Trump ended up selecting Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence , a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. And he chose Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services , a massive agency that oversees everything from drug and food safety to Medicare and Medicaid. Vance was also a big booster of Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who will serve as Trump’s “border czar.” In another sign of Vance’s influence, James Braid, a top aide to the senator, is expected to serve as Trump’s legislative affairs director. Allies say it’s too early to discuss what portfolio Vance might take on in the White House. While he gravitates to issues like trade, immigration and tech policy, Vance sees his role as doing whatever Trump needs. Vance was spotted days after the election giving his son’s Boy Scout troop a tour of the Capitol and was there the day of leadership elections. He returned in earnest this week, first with Gaetz — arguably Trump’s most divisive pick — and then Hegseth, who has was been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, according to an investigative report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office as GOP senators, including those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filtered in to meet with the nominee for defense secretary. While a president’s nominees usually visit individual senators’ offices, meeting them on their own turf, the freshman senator — who is accompanied everywhere by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more unwieldy — instead brought Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday and Hegseth to his office on Thursday. Senators came to them. Vance made it to votes Wednesday and Thursday, but missed others on Thursday afternoon. Vance is expected to continue to leverage his relationships in the Senate after Trump takes office. But many Republicans there have longer relationships with Trump himself. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said that Trump was often the first person to call him back when he was trying to reach high-level White House officials during Trump’s first term. “He has the most active Rolodex of just about anybody I’ve ever known,” Cramer said, adding that Vance would make a good addition. “They’ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here,” Cramer said, but added, “Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.” Cramer was complimentary of the Ohio senator, saying he was “pleasant” and ” interesting” to be around. ′′He doesn’t have the long relationships,” he said. “But we all like people that have done what we’ve done. I mean, that’s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.” Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he’s not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, who broke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president, since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year. Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
Eight years later and Brexit battles rage on
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Most ruling party lawmakers were boycotting a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority sought by the opposition to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law , as protests grew nationwide calling for his removal. The likely defeat of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative party, but it is also determined to oppose Yoon's impeachment apparently because it fears losing presidency to liberals. Impeaching Yoon would require support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members. The opposition parties who brought the impeachment motion have 192 seats, meaning they need at least eight additional votes from Yoon’s People Power Party. The opposition-controlled parliament began a vote earlier Saturday, but only three lawmakers from PPP took part with opposition members. If the number of lawmakers who cast ballots doesn't reach 200, the motion will be scrapped at midnight, according to National Assembly. Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after a new parliamentary session opens next Wednesday. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik urged ruling party members to return to the chamber to participate in the vote, stressing that it was closely watched by the nation and also the world. “Don’t make a shameful judgment and please vote based on your convictions,” Woo said. “I plead to you, for the future of the Republic of Korea.” Earlier Saturday, Yoon issued a public apology over the martial law decree, saying he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose martial law. He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country's political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office." “The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot,” Yoon said. Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.” The turmoil resulting from Yoon’s bizarre and poorly-thought-out stunt has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners, including neighboring Japan and Seoul’s top ally the United States, as one of the strongest democracies in Asia faces a political crisis that could unseat its leader. Tuesday night saw special forces troops encircling the parliament building and army helicopters hovering over it, but the military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to lift it before daybreak Wednesday. The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. Eighteen lawmakers from the ruling party voted to reject Yoon's martial law decree along with opposition lawmakers. The passage of Yoon’s impeachment motion appeared more likely Friday when the chair of Yoon’s party called for his removal on Friday, but the party remained formally opposed to impeachment. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people packed streets near the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing and singing along to K-pop songs with lyrics changed to call for Yoon’s ouster. A smaller crowd of Yoon’s supporters, which still seemed to be in the thousands, rallied in separate streets in Seoul, decrying the impeachment attempt they saw as unconstitutional. Lawmakers on Saturday first voted on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate stock price manipulation allegations surrounding Yoon’s wife. Some lawmakers from Yoon’s party were seen leaving the hall after that vote, triggering angry shouts from opposition lawmakers. If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election to replace him must take place within 60 days. Opposition lawmakers say that Yoon’s attempt at martial law amounted to a self-coup, and drafted the impeachment motion around rebellion charges. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, told reporters that Yoon’s speech was “greatly disappointing” and that the only way forward is his immediate resignation or impeachment. On Friday, PPP chair Han Dong-hun, who criticized Yoon's martial law declaration, said he had received intelligence that during the brief period of martial law Yoon ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities." Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing Friday that Yoon called after imposing martial law and ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians. The targeted politicians included Han, Lee and Woo, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting. The Defense Ministry said it had suspended the defense counterintelligence commander, Yeo In-hyung, who Han alleged had received orders from Yoon to detain the politicians. The ministry also suspended the commanders of the capital defense command and the special warfare command over their involvement in enforcing martial law. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who has been accused of recommending Yoon enforce martial law, has been placed under a travel ban and faces an investigation by prosecutors over rebellion charges. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho has testified to parliament that it was Kim Yong Hyun who ordered troops to be deployed to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law.
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Agartala: Tripura Police on Saturday detained 10 Bangladeshi nationals, belonging to the Hindu community, after they illegally entered India by fleeing their village due to unrest and tensions in the neighbouring country, an official said. A police officer said that the 10 Bangladeshi nationals including two women, three teenagers and an elderly person were detained from the Ambassa railway station in Tripura before boarding a Silchar (Assam)-bound train. “We would initiate legal proceedings against the Bangladeshi nationals as per law,” the official said. Sankar Chandra Sarkar, who led the intruders, said that after facing continuous threats and intimidation, they fled from their Dhanpur village in Kishoreganj district. “After trekking the forested hills of an arduous route overnight, we entered India on Saturday through Kamalpur (in Tripura’s Dhalai district). We were trying to go to Silchar in Assam to stay in a rented house. “We would never return to Bangladesh under any circumstances. The situation in Bangladesh is very grim. Attacks on the lives and properties of Hindus have become an everyday affair,” Sarkar, who worked as a driver to run the house, said. Talking to the media, he said that they sold some of their properties before fleeing into India, but they had to abandon many of their properties and household goods and assets. Sarkar claimed that thousands of Hindu families wanted to come to India, but they were unable to do so for various reasons. “During the Awami League government headed by then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we were happy and there was no enmity between the Hindus and Muslims in our areas. But after the caretaker government headed by Muhammad Yunus assumed office, they were continuously harassed and threatened,” the visibly panicky middle-aged man said. Over the last four months, over 550 Bangladeshi nationals and over 63 Rohingyas were arrested by the Government Railway Police, Border Security Force (BSF), and Tripura Police from the Agartala railway station and various other places in Tripura after they illegally entered India. After the Bangladesh unrest began in June-July, BSF enhanced surveillance along the 4,096-km India-Bangladesh border with the neighbouring country to prevent transborder crime and infiltration, BSF officials said. Five Indian states – West Bengal (2216 km), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam ( 263 km) share a border with Bangladesh. The BSF on a number of occasions foiled several infiltration attempts by hundreds of Bangladeshi nationals comprising Hindus and Muslims.
NonePope Francis shared a message of hope and compassion through a recorded broadcast on BBC Radio 4. As leader of the Catholic Church, he extended his new year greetings for "peace, fellowship and gratitude" while appearing on the Thought for the Day segment this Saturday. The remarks come shortly after the Pontiff inaugurated celebrations for the Holy Year jubilee, an event that draws countless pilgrims to Rome every 25 years. The Thought for the Day feature, part of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, is a platform for voices from various faiths and airs at 7.45 am from Monday to Saturday. The Pope’s contribution was specially requested by guest editor Professor Irene Tracey, the vice chancellor of the University of Oxford. Recording in his native Italian, the 88 year old Argentinian-born Pope had his message translated into English to reach listeners across the UK. Pope Francis emphasized in his address: "Hope and kindness touch the very heart of the Gospel and show us the path to follow in our behaviour. A world full of hope and kindness is a more beautiful world." He further advocated for a society that looks to the future confidently and treats individuals with dignity and empathy, remarking, "A society that looks to the future with confidence and treats people with respect and empathy is more humane." Addressing the concept of looking ahead, he advised against pessimism, saying: "Even though we do not know what tomorrow may hold for us, we should not look to the future with pessimism and resignation." Pope Francis has urged people not to be discouraged by the injustices and violence in the world, but instead to practice kindness as a form of love that can bring people together. In a message, he said: "Wars, social injustices, and the many forms of violence we are exposed to every day should not dishearten us nor draw us towards scepticism and discouragement." He concluded by wishing people a peaceful, harmonious, and grateful New Year. This is the second time Francis has appeared on the Thought for the Day segment, following his first appearance in October 2021 ahead of the COP26 climate summit. He is only the second Pope to take part in the segment, after his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Eve in 2010.President-elect Donald Trump has urged the US Supreme Court to pause implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale, arguing he should have time after taking office to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The court is set to hear arguments in the case on January 10. The law would require TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the platform to an American company or face a ban. The US Congress voted in April to ban it unless ByteDance sells the app by January 19. TikTok, which has more than 170-million US users, and its parent have sought to have the law struck down. But if the court does not rule in their favour and no divestment occurs, the app could be effectively banned in the US on January 19, one day before Trump takes office. Trump's support for TikTok is a reversal from 2020, when he tried to block the app in the US and force its sale to American companies because of its Chinese ownership. It also shows the significant effort by the company to forge inroads with Trump and his team during the presidential campaign. “President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute,” said D. John Sauer, Trump's lawyer who is also the president-elect's pick for US solicitor-general. “Instead, he respectfully requests that the court consider staying the act's deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case, thus permitting President Trump's incoming administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case,” he added. Trump previously met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in December, hours after the president-elect expressed he had a “warm spot” for the app and that he favoured allowing TikTok to keep operating in the US for at least a little while. The president-elect also said he had received billions of views on the social media platform during his presidential campaign. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has previously said the justice department has misstated its ties to China, arguing its content recommendation engine and user data is stored in the US on cloud servers operated by Oracle Corp while content moderation decisions that affect US users are made in the US as well. Free speech advocates separately told the Supreme Court on Friday the US law against TikTok evokes the censorship regimes put in place by the US' authoritarian enemies. The US justice department has argued Chinese control of TikTok poses a continuing threat to national security, a position supported by most US legislators. Montana attorney-general Austin Knudsen led a coalition of 22 attorneys-general on Friday in filing an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to uphold the national TikTok divest-or-ban legislation. Reuters
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What does Big Tech hope to gain from warming up to Trump?The Boston Red Sox have added Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler this offseason to revamp their starting rotation. Their moves likely indicate they will not be bringing back veteran starter Nick Pivetta. Just Baseball's Ryan Finkelstein predicted that Pivetta would leave the Red Sox to join the Toronto Blue Jays on a two-year, $40 million deal with an opt-out. "The downside to Pivetta is the fact that he has not finished any of the last four seasons with an ERA under 4.00, and teams will have to forfeit draft capital to sign him," wrote Finkelstein. "If there is one team that might be desperate enough to not care about the draft capital at this stage of the offseason, it's the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays have struck out on most major free agents, with a lot of their pursued targets having been attached to the qualifying offer." Pivetta has started 107 games for the Red Sox in the last five seasons. Signing with the Blue Jays would give him the opportunity to make the Red Sox pay for not bringing him back. The Blue Jays have not been able to convince stars to sign with them. They have, however, successfully added Andrés Giménez through trade. An offseason haul of Giménez and Pivetta is not what the Blue Jays had in mind, but it is not bad. Pivetta could serve as a solid arm in the backend of the Blue Jays rotation. He would be a great compliment to Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt. Pivetta has already made two starts against the Red Sox in his career. He has a 0.69 ERA and 15 strikeouts against them. He could continue to succeed against the Red Sox if he joined the Blue Jays. Additionally, Pivetta has a 3.74 ERA in seven starts at the Rogers Center in his career. More MLB: Corbin Burnes Lands $210 Million Contract With Surprise National League West Team