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In an alarming move, opposition figure Vasil Verameichyk has been extradited from Vietnam to Belarus, where he is facing serious terrorism charges that could result in the death penalty. This development is part of an ongoing crackdown by Belarusian authorities on dissent both inside the country and among exiled citizens abroad. Verameichyk, who joined the Kalinouski Regiment as a volunteer fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, was apprehended at the request of Belarusian authorities. The Belarusian regime has labeled the regiment a terrorist organization. His apprehension marks him as the first member of the formation to be taken into custody in Belarus. The relentless crackdown under President Alexander Lukashenko has seen countless dissenters face harsh legal repercussions, with the regime extending its reach to target critics beyond its borders. Meanwhile, international human rights advocates have expressed concern over Belarus' aggressive tactics against those who oppose the war in Ukraine, calling for an end to the extraditions of political opponents like Verameichyk. (With inputs from agencies.)Mumbai: 75-Year-Old Retired Ship Captain Duped Of ₹11.16 Crore In Stock Trading Scam, Accused Arrested From Dongri; Dubai Link Found
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart's sweeping rollback of its diversity policies is the strongest indication yet of a profound shift taking hold at U.S. companies that are re-evaluating the legal and political risks associated with bold programs to bolster historically underrepresented groups. The changes announced by the world's biggest retailer on Monday followed a string of legal victories by conservative groups that have filed an onslaught of lawsuits challenging corporate and federal programs aimed at elevating minority and women-owned businesses and employees. The retreat from such programs crystalized with the election of former President Donald Trump, whose administration is certain to make dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs a priority. Trump's incoming deputy chief of policy will be his former adviser Stephen Miller , who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies. “There has been a lot of reassessment of risk looking at programs that could be deemed to constitute reverse discrimination,” said Allan Schweyer, principal researcher at the Human Capital Center at the Conference Board. “This is another domino to fall and it is a rather large domino,” he added. Among other changes, Walmart said it will no longer give priority treatment to suppliers owned by women or minorities. The company also will not renew a five-year commitment for a racial equity center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd. And it pulled out of a prominent gay rights index . Schweyer said the biggest trigger for companies making such changes is simply a reassessment of their legal risk exposure, which began after U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2023 that ended affirmative action in college admissions. Since then, conservative groups using similar arguments have secured court victories against various diversity programs, especially those that steer contracts to minority or women-owned businesses. Most recently, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty won a victory in a case against the U.S. Department of Transportation over its use of a program that gives priority to minority-owned businesses when it awards contracts. Companies are seeing a big legal risk in continuing with DEI efforts, said Dan Lennington, a deputy counsel at the institute. His organization says it has identified more than 60 programs in the federal government that it considers discriminatory, he said. “We have a legal landscape within the entire federal government, all three branches -- the U.S. Supreme Court, the Congress and the President -- are all now firmly pointed in the direction towards equality of individuals and individualized treatment of all Americans, instead of diversity, equity and inclusion treating people as members of racial groups,” Lennington said. The Trump administration is also likely to take direct aim at DEI initiatives through executive orders and other policies that affect private companies, especially federal contractors. “The impact of the election on DEI policies is huge. It can’t be overstated,” said Jason Schwartz, co-chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group at law firm Gibson Dunn. With Miller returning to the White House, rolling back DEI initiatives is likely to be a priority, Schwartz said. “Companies are trying to strike the right balance to make clear they’ve got an inclusive workplace where everyone is welcome, and they want to get the best talent, while at the same time trying not to alienate various parts of their employees and customer base who might feel one way or the other. It’s a virtually impossible dilemma,” Schwartz said. A recent survey by Pew Research Center showed that workers are divided on the merits of DEI policies. While still broadly popular, the share of workers who said focusing on workplace diversity was mostly a good thing fell to 52% in the October survey, compared to 56% in a similar survey in February 2023. Rachel Minkin, a research associate at Pew, called it a small but significant shift in short amount of time. There will be more companies pulling back from their DEI policies, but it likely won’t be a retreat across the board, said David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at New York University. “There are vastly more companies that are sticking with DEI," Glasgow said. "The only reason you don’t hear about it is most of them are doing it by stealth. They’re putting their heads down and doing DEI work and hoping not to attract attention.” Glasgow advises organizations to stick to their own core values, because attitudes toward the topic can change quickly in the span of four years. “It’s going to leave them looking a little bit weak if there’s a kind of flip-flopping, depending on whichever direction the political winds are blowing,” he said. One reason DEI programs exist is because without those programs, companies may be vulnerable to lawsuits for traditional discrimination. “Really think carefully about the risks in all directions on this topic,” Glasgow said. Walmart confirmed will no longer consider race and gender as a litmus test to improve diversity when it offers supplier contracts. Walmart says its U.S. businesses sourced more than $13 billion in goods and services from diverse suppliers in fiscal year 2024, including businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans. It was unclear how its relationships with such business would change going forward. Organizations that have partnered with Walmart on its diversity initiatives offered a cautious response. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a non-profit that last year named Walmart one of America's top corporation for women-owned enterprises, said it was still evaluating the impact of Walmart's announcement. Pamela Prince-Eason, the president and CEO of the organization, said she hoped Walmart's need to cater to its diverse customer base will continue to drive contracts to women-owned suppliers even if the company has no explicit dollar goals. “I suspect Walmart will continue to have one of the most inclusive supply chains in the World,” Prince-Eason wrote. “Any retailer's ability to serve the communities they operate in will continue to value understanding their customers, (many of which are women), in order to better provide products and services desired and no one understands customers better than Walmart." Walmart's announcement came after the company spoke directly with conservative political commentator and activist Robby Starbuck, who has been going after corporate DEI policies, calling out individual companies on the social media platform X. Several of those companies have subsequently announced that they are pulling back their initiatives, including Ford , Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s and Tractor Supply . Walmart confirmed to The Associated Press that it will better monitor its third-party marketplace items to make sure they don’t feature sexual and transgender products aimed at minors. The company also will stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual benchmark index that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees. A Walmart spokesperson added that some of the changes were already in progress and not as a result of conversations that it had with Starbuck. RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, senior director of the HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program, said companies that “abandon” their commitments workplace inclusion policies “are shirking their responsibility to their employees, consumers, and shareholders.” She said the buying power of LGBTQ customers is powerful and noted that the index will have record participation of more than 1,400 companies in 2025.49ers QB Brock Purdy resumes throwing but status for this week remains unknown
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IKE Tech, Privately roll out biometric age assurance to curb underage vapingVANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pender Growth Fund Inc. (the “Company”) today announced its financial and operational results for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2024. The completion of the sale of Copperleaf in the third quarter of 2024 and the resulting injection of $70 million cash, substantially changed the Company’s portfolio. At June 30, 2024, the Company’s Net Assets were 95.7% publicly listed companies, 13.3% private unlisted companies and (-9.0%) cash and other assets net of liabilities. At September 30, 2024, Pender’s Net Assets were 38% publicly listed companies, 12.5% private unlisted companies, and 49.5% cash and other assets net of liabilities. Since the Copperleaf closing, Pender has been deploying cash into opportunities that it believes show promise and by September 30, 2024, the portfolio included $58 million of cash. By October 31, 2024, the cash balance was $35 million and by November 15, 2024, a further $8 million had been deployed into investments, and the Company’s Net Assets were 49% publicly listed companies, 28% private unlisted companies and 23% cash and other assets net of liabilities. In October, subsequent to the quarter end, the Company closed the purchase of four private technology companies from Pluribus Technologies. The acquisition was made by Pender Software Holdings (or “PSH”) a new entity owned 86% by Pender, with the balance owned by Acorn Partners Inc. (“Acorn”) and its principals. Acorn (www.acorncappartners.com) is a Vancouver based company that invests in tech companies and provides advisory services to clients. The four software companies acquired are each cash flow positive and stable. PSH is leaving existing management in place to facilitate a focus on operational excellence with strategic support and access to capital managed by Pender and Acorn. Ampere Chan, the founder and CEO of Acorn is the CEO of PSH. Pender intends to use PSH as a vehicle for investing in additional software companies. We believe this new enterprise has great potential. We believe that the Company continues to be well-positioned today to pursue its investment objectives and we continue to find attractive investments opportunities as valuations in micro and small cap stocks in North America remain attractive despite the recent rally this year. Investment results may be affected by future developments and new information that may emerge about broad economic conditions, inflation, central bank measures, geopolitical risks, market risk, unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings, geopolitical and other global events, factors that are beyond the Company’s control. While macro events have driven investor sentiment, we have remained focused on our bottom-up fundamental research to identify companies that can thrive in a wide range of economic scenarios. We believe that this environment provides compelling opportunities for long-term focused investors and that the Company is well-positioned to continue to pursue its investment objectives. As always, this quarter we worked closely with our private portfolio companies and certain of our public portfolio companies. We continued to acquire shares of the Company in the market under our NCIB because we believe the shares are trading at a discount to their intrinsic value. On February 15, 2024, the Company launched a new NCIB, under which the Company may purchase a maximum of 630,188 shares, or 10% of the Company’s public float on launch date, during the one-year period ending February 14, 2025. We encourage you to refer to the Company’s MD&A and quarterly unaudited financial statements for September 30, 2024, the annual audited financial statements for the year-ended December 31, 2023, and other disclosures available under the Company’s profile at for additional information. Pender Growth Fund Inc is an investment firm. Its investment objective is to achieve long-term capital growth. The Company utilizes its small capital base and long-term horizon to invest in unique situations, primarily small cap, special situations, and illiquid public and private companies. The firm invests in public and private companies principally in the technology sector. It trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “PTF” and posts its NAV on its website, generally within five business days of each month end. Please visit . For further information, please contact: Corporate Secretary Pender Growth Fund Inc. (604) 653-9625 Toll Free: (866) 377-4743 This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) relating to the business of the Company and the environment in which it operates. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as “believe”, “anticipate”, “project”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “will”, “may”, “estimate” and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Company’s expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections and include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s decreased portfolio risk and future investment opportunities. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on certain assumptions; they are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual information form available at . There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.Why Nordstrom Is Going Private In $6.25 Billion Deal With Its Family And Mexican Retail Giant
Branding, venues, rule changes: 5 things to follow ahead of the PWHL's new campaignLOS ANGELES (AP) — Receiver Demarcus Robinson will not be suspended by the Los Angeles Rams this week after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence. Robinson will be available to play when the Rams (5-6) visit the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Rams coach Sean McVay said Wednesday. “I think he does understand the severity of this, and how lucky we were that nobody was injured,” McVay said. “I do believe that he's remorseful. We are going to let the legal process take place. The league has a process as well.” Robinson was arrested early Monday morning after California Highway Patrol officers observed a white Dodge sedan driving over 100 mph on the 101 freeway in the western San Fernando Valley, a few miles from the Rams’ training complex in Woodland Hills. The driver, who identified himself as Robinson, had “objective signs and symptoms of alcohol impairment,” the CHP said in a statement released to The Associated Press. Robinson spoke to the team and expressed remorse about his arrest, McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “I think it was a bad decision he made,” McVay said. “I don't think that makes him a bad person, and I do believe this is something that, with the words that he said, our guys will learn from it, and hopefully nobody is ever going to repeat something like this. Let it be a learning opportunity, and a fortunate outcome that nobody was injured.” Robinson has 26 receptions for 384 yards and a team-leading six touchdown catches while starting all 11 games in his second season with the Rams . He caught a TD pass in the Rams' 37-20 loss to Philadelphia several hours before his arrest. The nine-year NFL veteran has served as a capable No. 3 option for Stafford behind star receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. Robinson spent his first six NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, winning a Super Bowl ring in February 2020, and spent one year with Baltimore before joining the Rams last year. “Let this be a lesson to all of us,” Stafford said. “We're lucky with the result that came of it, to be honest with you, that nobody was hurt or injured. I know that D-Rob is a great person. I love being around him. Love him as a teammate. ... I'm just trying to support him, help him out any way I can.” ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL Greg Beacham, The Associated PressBest Convertible Car Seat (2024): Babyark Considered Exceptionally Safe Convertible Car Seat by Expert Consumers
Following the meeting between Chhagan Bhujbal, the senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader sulking over not being included in the new Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday, party president Ajit Pawar made it clear that “it is an internal matter of the party”, hinting his disapproval of his party colleague seeking intervention of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership. Speaking in Pune, Ajit, the deputy chief minister in the new government, responded to Bhujbal’s complaints with a pointed remark. “It is an internal matter of the party, and we will resolve it our way.” Earlier in the day, Bhujbal had an elaborate discussion with the CM in Mumbai on the prevailing political and social atmosphere in the state. After the meeting, Fadnavis told reporters in Pune that there are plans to send Bhujbal to the “national stage” since Ajit wants the NCP to become a “national party”. “Bhujbal met me in Mumbai. He has already told you the reasons for which the visit was scheduled. He is our leader. Ajit Pawar cares about Bhujbal saheb. Ajit dada wants his party to become a national party. Thus, it was discussed to send Bhujbal saheb to the national stage,” said Fadnavis who was in the city for a programme on PM Awas Yojana. Bhujbal was accompanied by his nephew Sameer Bhujbal during the nearly 30-minute meeting with Fadnavis at the latter’s “Sagar” bungalow in Mumbai. “Fadnavis told me that the Other Backward Classes have played an important role in the landslide victory of the Mahayuti in the assembly elections (held on November 20) and he will take care that the community’s interest is not harmed,” Bhujbal said. He said Fadnavis has sought some time to think over the issues related to OBCs. “He (Fadnavis) said he would arrive at some decision in 10 to 12 days,” the NCP leader said. OBC leaders are opposed to activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s demand for reservation for the Maratha community in the Other Backward Class (Kunbi) category. Bhujbal has also been vocal about his opposition to the demand. Asked if he was planning to switch over to the BJP, Bhujbal refused to elaborate and said he has already spoken his mind on the issue of him being ignored in the ministry expansion. On Sunday, representatives of OBC organisations from different parts of Maharashtra met Bhujbal in the city. The NCP leader, who represents Yeola constituency in Nashik district, did not attend the winter session of the state legislature that concluded in Nagpur on Saturday. He left for Nashik on December 16, a day after 39 Mahayuti MLAs took oath as ministers. The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, won 230 of the 288 seats in the state assembly polls held last month.
The NFL is coming to Netflix this Christmas Day, with two huge games airing on the platform. The Kansas City Chiefs play the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 p.m., and then later that afternoon the at 4:30 p.m. The two games would be enough of a Christmas present for most of us, but just to stuff our stockings a little more, the Ravens vs. Texans game will also feature a at Houston's NRG Stadium. With Cowboy Carter in the house, it's definitely going to be a real life boogie and a real life hoedown this Christmas. Here's everything you need to know about how to watch Wednesday's Ravens vs. Texans game. Stream Christmas Day football Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024 4:30 p.m. N/A Netflix The NFL's late game on Christmas Day, Wednesday, Dec. 25, will be between the Ravens and the Texans at 4:30 p.m. ET, airing on Netflix. The Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans game will be preceded by a Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game at 1 p.m. ET on Netflix. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: 1 p.m. ET (Netflix) Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans: 4:30 p.m. ET (Netflix) This Christmas, football will stream on Netflix as opposed to airing on a national channel like NBC or FOX. You'll also be able to catch them on mobile with an NFL+ subscription. Additionally, the Ravens vs. Texans game will be broadcast locally on television for the teams' respective home and away markets. CBS-HOU: KHOU CBS-BAL: WJZ-TV Netflix is the place to watch the Christmas Day NFL games. The streamer is also home to plenty of popular titles like , , and . Netflix currently has three plans available: Standard with ads ($6.99); Standard ($15.49); and Premium ($22.99). Netflix no longer offers a free trial. Stream NFL games on mobile Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: 1 p.m. ET (Netflix) Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans: 4:30 p.m. ET (Netflix) Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears: 8:15 p.m. ET (Prime Video) New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills: 1 p.m. ET (CBS) Tennessee Titans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: 1 p.m. ET (CBS) Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings: 1 p.m. ET (FOX) Las Vegas Raiders vs. New Orleans Saints: 1 p.m. ET (FOX) Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1 p.m. ET (CBS) Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX) Miami Dolphins vs. Cleveland Browns: 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC, Universo, Telexitos) Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers: 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes) Many NFL games are broadcast on local channels, so if you're looking to catch an in-market game, it may be as simple as (or ). A $7/month will get you access to NFL Network which can be great for watching games, but the downside of NFL+ is that when it comes to the regular season, it's just local and primetime games (and only on mobile or tablet!). In which case, here's what we recommend to watch the NFL. Watch NFL games on ESPN, NFL Network, Fox, NBC, CBS and some RSN's Stream NFL Thursday Night Football games Stream NFL games on mobile Watch NFL games on local channels like Fox, CBS and NBC Watch NFL Network, NBC, CBS, Fox, and local RSNs Watch ESPN, NFL Network, NBC, CBS, Fox, and add-on Sunday Ticket Stream NFL games on NBC plus Peacock exclusive games Stream NFL games on CBS Stream select NFL games on ESPN Watch ESPN, Fox AND NBCNew York Yankees acquires RP Devin Williams from Brewers for Nestor Cortes, Caleb DurbinThe AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — CJ Happy had 18 points in Princeton’s 99-63 victory over Nazareth on Wednesday night. Happy had five rebounds for the Tigers (6-3). Peyton Seals scored 16 points while going 5 of 10 from the floor, including 3 for 6 from 3-point range, and 3 for 3 from the line and added five rebounds and five assists. Jack Stanton shot 4 for 5 from beyond the arc to finish with 12 points. Merritt Holly finished with 14 points for the Golden Flyers. Tyler Putney added 11 points for Nazareth. Jaylen Savage finished with 10 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
A 25-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly his involvement in supplying over 500 SIM cards to cyber fraudsters, Mangaluru CEN police said on Monday. Inspector MP Sathish said that the accused, identified as Kanatala Vasudeva Reddy from Odisha, was arrested on Sunday for allegedly supplying over 500 SIM cards from various Indian telecom companies to people involved in cybercrimes. He said: “The investigation, triggered by a cyber fraud case on June 19, revealed that Nadavulu Veeravenkata Satyanarayana Raju (32), an accomplice, had used fake links sent through WhatsApp to deceive victims into transferring large amounts of money. Over time, he defrauded people to the tune of ₹ 10,84,017. Satyanarayana Raju, who was arrested June 29, admitted during interrogation that he was involved in a SIM card scam.” “After the case was registered on June 20, Raju went absconding and fled to Dubai. We issued a look out circular against him. He had later come back to India and when he was on his way to board a flight to Dubai against, on a tip-off, Delhi airport police arrested him on June 29 and handed him over to us,” he said. The police seized over 300 SIM cards from Satyanarayana Raju and are working to identify further links to the criminal network operating in Dubai The fraudsters, including Satyanarayana Raju, had been using SIM cards issued in places like Visakhapatnam and Godavari districts. “These cards were obtained in the names of different individuals and supplied to a company in Dubai named Vinsect, which is reportedly based in China. The company ran a call centre in Dubai, where fraudsters convinced victims to invest money in stock markets as part of the scam,” the officer said. Following Satyanarayana Raju’s confession, the police issued a lookout notice for Kanatala Vasudeva Reddy, who was arrested at Delhi airport while attempting to board a flight to Dubai. Immigration officials detained him, and further investigations are underway to apprehend the remaining suspects. Authorities have frozen the bank account that received the fraudulent transfers and are continuing to trace the network involved in the scam. Muthu Shiva (29), another accomplice, was arrested on July 4 in connection with the case. The investigation is ongoing to uncover more details.
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