By MICHAEL R. SISAK NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs tried for a third time Friday to persuade a judge to let him leave jail while he awaits his sex trafficking trial, but a decision won’t come until next week. Judge Arun Subramanian said at a hearing that he will release his decision on Combs’ latest request for bail after Combs’ lawyers and federal prosecutors file letters addressing outstanding issues. Those letters are due at noon on Monday, Subramanian said. Combs’ lawyers pitched having him await trial under around-the-clock surveillance either his mansion on an island near Miami Beach or — after the judge scoffed at that location — an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Their plan essentially amounts to putting Combs on house arrest, with strict limits on who he has contact with. But prosecutors argue that Combs has routinely flouted jail rules and can’t be trusted not to interfere with witnesses or the judicial process. “The argument that he’s a lawless person who doesn’t follow instructions isn’t factually accurate,” Combs lawyer Anthony Ricco argued. “The idea that he’s an out-of-control individual who has to be detained isn’t factually accurate.” Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings. His trial is slated to begin May 5. The Bad Boy Records founder remains locked up at a Brooklyn federal jail, where he spent his Nov. 4 birthday. Two other judges previously concluded that Combs would be a danger to the community if he is released and an appeals court judge last month denied Combs’ immediate release while a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighs his bail request. Friday’s hearing was the second time Combs was in court this week. On Tuesday, a judge blocked prosecutors from using as evidence papers that were seized from his cell during jail-wide sweep for contraband and weapons at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Related Articles As he entered through a side door, Combs waved to relatives including his mother and several of his children in the courtroom gallery, tapping his hand to his heart and blowing kisses at them. He then hugged his lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, before taking a seat at the defense table. He was not handcuffed or shackled and wore a beige jail uniform, occasionally pulling a pair of reading glasses from his pocket as he peered at papers in front of him. Prosecutors maintain that no bail conditions will mitigate the “risk of obstruction and dangerousness to others” of releasing Combs from jail. Prosecutors contend that while locked up the “I’ll Be Missing You” artist has orchestrated social media campaigns aimed at tainting the jury pool. They allege that he has also attempted to publicly leak materials he thinks would be helpful to his case and is contacting potential witnesses via third parties. “Simply put, the defendant cannot be trusted,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik argued. Combs’ lawyer Teny Geragos countered that, given the strict release conditions proposed, “it would be impossible for him not to follow rules.”Former Minister and senior BRS MLA T Harish Rao castigated the Congress government in Telangana over surge in crime rate at a disturbing rate of 22.5 per cent over last year. He pointed out a 28.94 per cent increase in rape cases, with 2,945 incidents recorded in a year averaging eight per day. He said kidnapping and abduction cases have shot up by 82 per cent, which is shameful. “Women’s safety and dignity are at high risk. Public safety under the Congress government is in shambles. This reflects a severe governance failure,” he said. Responding to the annual crime report of the Telangana police on Sunday, Harish Rao raised concern over the State’s deteriorating law and order, citing unresolved heinous crimes such as the murders of retired bank manager Gangareddy and his wife in Amberpet, and BRS leader Sridhar Reddy – both occurring months ago with no arrests till date. “Over 163 major cases remain unsolved, and financial frauds worth Rs 10 crore (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); lack recovery or detection,” he said. He noted that Telangana’s crime detection rate has dropped to a dismal 31 per cent, worse than Bihar’s 39 per cent. “The critical first week after a crime is wasted, leaving victims without justice, while criminal roam free. The police inaction is alarming,” he said. The senior BRS legislator stated that despite the expertise of Telangana police, the governance failure under Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who also handles the Home Ministry, is evident. Instead of addressing public safety and justice, he said the Congress government is using police resources for political vendettas, stifling dissent, and harassing opposition voices on social media. For effective policing, Harish Rao suggested for release of the funds to the police department on time, strengthen the force, and focus on crime prevention and ensure swift justice. “Telangana deserves leadership that values safety over petty politics,” he asserted.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) is warning of “downside and upside’ to Fiji’s economy, that includes increased crime rates and illicit drug use. In their November Economic Review, the RBF states risk to the outlook continues to exist on both the downside and upside. “The downside risks include escalating geopolitical tensions, an economic slowdown in major TPEs (trading partner economy), the Trump administration’s trade protectionism policies, the persistent threat from natural disasters, ageing infrastructure, and increased crime rates and illicit drug use,” said the RBF. “However, new flight routes, the slowdown in emigration, productivity gains from imported labour, and advancements in technology can bode well for growth prospects.”’ The RBF states on the domestic front, the economy maintains momentum and is projected to grow by 3.8 percent this year, following the 7.5 percent expansion in 2023. “The projected growth is reflective of the better-than-expected visitor arrivals, increased consumption spending, and improved sectoral performance.... PACNEWS/FIJI TIMES
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Brisbane Roar delivered a remarkable performance with an 8-2 victory against Western United in the A-League Women, driven by Laini Freier’s record-breaking display. Freier became the first player in league history to score back-to-back hat-tricks in her first two starts. The 23-year-old and her twin sister Sharn dominated the game, with Sharn scoring her first two goals of the season and assisting her sibling. This victory propelled Brisbane Roar to second place in the standings, overcoming a recent surge from Melbourne Victory. The match was a showcase of the Roar’s offensive prowess, with Momo Hayashi contributing a stunning free-kick goal, while Leia Varley also found the net with a header. Brisbane’s relentless attack left Western United overwhelmed, marking their largest defeat margin. The Freier twins, substituted shortly after the hour mark, had already left a significant mark on the game, highlighting their formidable partnership. Meanwhile, in another game, Canberra and Newcastle played to a goalless draw, with Michelle Heyman missing a key opportunity to secure a win for Canberra.The Toronto Blue Jays missed the postseason in 2024 and are looking to make big moves to be more competitive in 2025. They could look to sign a superstar to join their rotation if they cannot land Juan Soto. While predicting moves for teams in free agency, ESPN's David Schoenfield predicted that the Blue Jays would sign Baltimore Orioles ace Corbin Burnes to a seven-year, $225 million deal. "The Blue Jays are in a precarious position as a franchise. They swung and missed on Shohei Ohtani last offseason and then went on to lose 88 games. This winter, they're going after Soto, but if they fail to land him and then watch Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette depart as free agents after next season, it could be an ugly rebuilding period," wrote Schoenfield. "So, they need to have a backup plan this time to be all-in for 2025. That means going after Burnes, the No. 2 player on our free agent board (or No. 3, if you include Roki Sasaki)." Burnes is a four-time All-Star and National League Cy Young Award winner. Last season was his first with the Baltimore Orioles and he was great, setting himself up for a payday. His 2.92 ERA was the best since his Cy Young Award season in 2021. Signing Burnes not only helps the Blue Jays in 2025, but puts their rotation in a good spot for the future as well. "Chris Bassitt is a free agent after 2025 and Kevin Gausman is too after 2026, so they'll need a long-term reinforcement for the rotation," wrote Schoenfield. "Sign Burnes, get a bounce-back season from Bichette, strengthen the bullpen and the Jays could jump back into playoff contention. And they should sign Guerrero while they're at it." Burnes is one of the best pitchers in the game, and after Blake Snell's signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers he is the best pitcher available. The Blue Jays will have to outbid teams that are already proven contenders to land him. More MLB: Blue Jays predicted to focus on $259 million superstar if they miss on Juan SotoLANSING, Mich. — Republican Michigan state Rep. Josh Schriver said Monday that gay marriage should be "illegal again," voicing opposition to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that set the standard for the nation and spurred same-sex weddings across the country nine years ago. Schriver of Oxford made his statement on the social media platform X, 27 days after the Nov. 5 election, in which the Michigan GOP won back control of the state House, and 30 days before their majority takes office. Because gay marriage is legal in Michigan and elsewhere through a court ruling, Schriver can't alter the policy in his position in the state House. But his remarks likely shine light on how one member of the new majority caucus in the House will approach LGBT legislation. "Make gay marriage illegal again," Schriver wrote Monday. "This is not remotely controversial, nor extreme." However, he received a swift backlash from Michigan Democrats, including Attorney General Dana Nessel, who previously represented the two Hazel Park women who were part of a landmark lawsuit that opened the door for all same-sex couples to legally marry in the United States. Nessel is also married to a woman, Alanna Maguire. The couple married in 2015. "Please explain how dissolving my marriage, or that of the hundreds of thousands of other same-sex couples living in America, provides a benefit to your constituents or anyone else," Nessel wrote on X in response to Schriver Monday. "You’re not interested in helping Michiganders. You want only to hurt those you hate. Shame on you." In addition, Rep. Jason Morgan, D-Ann Arbor, who also is gay, posted on social media that Schriver was "saying my marriage to the man I love should be illegal." "This is definitely both controversial and extreme, along with anti-family," Morgan said. "I grew up believing I'd never be able to get married and I'm not going back." In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the country on June 26, 2015, citing the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. "The court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry," wrote then-Justice Anthony Kennedy. "No longer may this liberty be denied." Unlike in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court now has a 6-3 conservative majority. Asked why he wants to ban gay marriage, Schriver, who's in his first House term, responded to The Detroit News by referencing a series of Bible passages. "Jesus defines marriage as between a man and a woman," Schriver wrote, while citing verses in the book of Matthew . In a text message Monday evening, Schriver noted the U.S. Supreme Court has "the power to overturn a past ruling." Schriver also posted on social media Monday a 2004 clip of Democrat Barack Obama discussing marriage being "between a man and a woman." "America only 'accepted' gay marriage after it was thrusted into her by a perverted Supreme Court ruling," Schriver wrote in a comment on the video. Obama came out in support of same-sex marriage in 2012, while he was president . Schriver, who won a second term in November with 68% of the vote, has made controversial comments in the past on social media. In February, Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, stripped Schriver of his office staff and budget and committee assignment for sharing a racist population conspiracy theory on social media . His posts about gay marriage Monday came after another message on Nov. 25, in which he said he was turning off his social media devices for seven days and going on a trip with family. ©2024 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology UCITS ETF Class A USD Accumulation ( LON:FBT – Get Free Report )’s stock price traded up 0% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 1,629.64 ($20.51) and last traded at GBX 1,626.79 ($20.47). 8 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 100% from the average session volume of 1,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,626 ($20.46). First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology UCITS ETF Class A USD Accumulation Stock Performance The company has a quick ratio of 9.27, a current ratio of 9.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 1,639.67 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 1,575.53. The firm has a market capitalization of £4.81 billion and a PE ratio of -1,478.90. About First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology UCITS ETF Class A USD Accumulation ( Get Free Report ) Forbidden Technologies plc develops and owns cloud-based video technology in the United Kingdom, North America, and internationally. It offers Forscene, a cloud based video post-production and publishing platform with various applications, such as editing, adding closed caption, graphics, metadata fast, remote viewing, collaboration, and publishing content. Read More Receive News & Ratings for First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology UCITS ETF Class A USD Accumulation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology UCITS ETF Class A USD Accumulation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Turning sunflower seeds into sustainable, cocoa-free chocolate has netted Munich-based B2B food tech startup Planet A Foods (formerly QOA ) a $30 million Series B funding round. Now, the Y Combinator alum is gearing up for industrialization, with the funds set to be deployed to scale its production capacity by around 7.5x. The round fast follows a $15.4 million Series A back in February . Currently, the startup is producing 2,000 tons of ChoViva, as it calls its cocoa-free, lower carbon chocolate alternative, per year. It plans to step that up to over 15,000 tons as it adds capacity and kicks off international expansion outside an initial trio of European markets. Opening its first U.S.-based production facility is on the cards. Building on the three local markets (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) where its chocolate substitute is already in food products that aim to tempt sweet-toothed consumers, it is also eyeing launches into the U.K. and France during the first quarter of 2025. Brands buying into ChoViva so far include Lambertz, Lindt, Rewe Group, and even the German train operator, Deutsche Bahn, which doubtless pops a lot of chocolate treats on customers’ tea trays every day. So far, the startup has around 20 customers for its alt chocolate ingredients, mostly major European food manufacturers but also some U.S. brands. As it grows capacity, it’ll be aiming to add more strategic partners too. Cocoa, not so sweet The problem Planet A Foods is tackling is making a staple sweet treat (chocolate) less of an environmental horror. Traditional cocoa-based chocolate production raises serious sustainability issues, since the crop grows in areas with rainforest, which can be cut down to make way for cocoa bean plantations. Global demand is also outstripping an increasingly fragile (and ethically fraught) supply, leading to inflated costs and fears for the future of the cocoa bean in a rapidly warming world. Supplying the food industry with an alternative chocolate-esque ingredient that — just like the real deal — can be baked into or folded onto snack products like breakfast cereals, confectionary, and cakes is Planet A’s mission. And it’s not a trivial goal: The startup reckons an annual toll of some 500 million tons of CO 2 could be avoided through switching bulk chocolate production away from cocoa beans to its more sustainable method that avoids deforestation and localizes ingredients sourcing. The ingredients it uses to produce ChoViva have been selected in part as they can be grown locally (oats are another of its staples) — hence it claims a carbon footprint that’s up to 80% lower than conventional chocolate (but note that higher bound is for the vegan version of ChoViva which, unlike other blends, doesn’t contain any milk products). “We’re not against chocolate,” stresses co-founder and CEO Dr. Maximilian Marquart, one half of the brother-sister founder team behind Planet A Foods. CTO Dr. Sara Marquart is the food scientist who developed the process for making the cocoa-free chocolate. “That’s very important. So we’re not taking away your [premium] chocolate. We’re after all the snacking applications — [confectionary such as] M&Ms, Snickers, Mars, Bounty, you know, all that stuff.” Premium chocolate is a tiny market compared to the bulk business of mass market confectionary that Planet A Foods is targeting. And in this domain, where environmental degradation occurs at terrible scale, the quality of the chocolate that’s used is generally lower, often because it’s lower in actual cocoa-content — hence [Maximilian] Marquart argues there’s no difference between how ChoViva tastes, and the stuff consumers are routinely being sold in mass market products. “It’s indistinguishable,” he suggests. “My sister Sara . . . found out that actually 80% of the typical chocolate flavors come from the processing of the cocoa beans and not from the beans itself — so . . . if eight out of 10 flavors are actually coming from fermentation roasting, why do you need cocoa beans?” Scaling for impact The economics also make ChoViva an attractive switch for the industrial food industry, as the startup tells it, since the product is not subject to the price volatility that can hit cocoa beans as a limited resource. But for such a switch to happen, the startup needs to be able to produce its alternative at the volumes that food giants demand — so there’s a long road of scaling ahead for the team. At this point, the production capacity for ChoViva still represents an incredibly tiny portion of the global cocoa bean harvest — which [Maximilian] Marquart notes is between 4 million and 5 million tons annually. So it will require giant leaps in production capacity to have the massive positive sustainability change the Marquarts want. “We’ve already acquired the machines [for this stage of industrialization]. So we are already in the scale-up runs, and we have some real industrial clients already, so we’re currently just trying to cope with the demand in Europe,” he says, adding: “We’re automating. We’re improving the processes. We are also commissioning new machines. Plus, we are currently planning another facility in the States.” They are also exploring how the business might respond to demand from Asia ([Maximilian] Marquart happens to be on a business trip to Japan when we talk). But he says they also recognize that, as a startup, they do need to focus, too. “We’re a startup . . . we’re not naive. So we can’t conquer the world alone,” he tells TechCrunch. “I think U.K. and U.S. are the main markets where we will expand. However, in Asia we have a lot of demand, so we’re currently investigating what we do here — what we can do alone, and together with partners eventually.” Supply chain all-nighters Being in the (quasi) chocolate-making business might conjure up quaint images of high-hatted chocolatiers gently whipping batches of sweet stuff in charmingly rustic environs. But don’t be fooled: the business of manufacturing ChoViva is already sweating toil. Having everything in place to be able to precisely produce tons of cocoa-free chocolate to ship out exactly when customers need it has required the founders to pull some all-nighters at the plant. And [Maximilian] Marquart says a big focus for this tranche of scaling is automation — so they can reduce the risk of human errors causing supply chain headaches. We slept under those machines . . . Every day our life is a hell given the challenges that we have in the supply chain.” “I think currently we’re at a scale — industrial scale — that no one else is,” he suggests when asked about the competitive landscape for cocoa-free chocolate. Other startups he name-checks are Foreverland, Nukoko, WinWin, and Voyage Foods. They are using various methods and base ingredients (including cereals, broad beans, carob, grape seeds, and more) to blend up rival cocoa-free chocolate products. So there’s a range of approaches in play. In this context, and, indeed, for almost any kind of startup, succeeding “takes more than just developing a product” — or, in this case, an ingredient in a lab — and [Maximilian] Marquart says this invention element represents only 5% of the challenge they’ve set themselves. “The main challenge lies in building up production, building up quality management, building up the supply chain. Every day, two 40-ton lorries leave our factory with our product. And that’s something that someone else needs to figure out. It’s really a challenge,” he emphasizes, adding: “Sara — my sister — and I, we slept under those machines. We really figured out the supply chain. It’s a big hassle. Every day our life is a hell given the challenges that we have in the supply chain.” “Most of the other competitors, they have great products, but they need to bring that into reality, and need to be really able to deliver it to their customers, and that lies ahead of them. It’s incredibly difficult to deliver 40 tons of chocolate to a customer in time, at the right place, at the right recipe, the right quality.” Planet A Foods’ Series B was co-led by Burda Principal Investments and Zintinus, with participation from AgriFoodTech Venture Alliance, Bayern Kapital, Cherry Ventures, Omnes Capital, Tengelmann Ventures, and World Fund. R&D Scaling aside, funding will also go on further research and development, as the team is working on an alternative to cocoa butter, which is another key ingredient for the food industry. Being able to offer a replacement for palm oil is another goal, as that also creates huge sustainability problems. The startup also believes its approach could work to replace other specialty fats that are used in food production, such as stearin, an animal fat, or coconut oil, per [Maximilian] Marquart. “[Sara] developed a kind of full fermentation platform where we can make bio identical coco butter,” he notes, saying bio identical in this context “means the right mouthful, the right snap, the right melting point, the right properties.” “With our fermentation technology, we can offer a bio identical cocoa butter using fermentation at a much lower price than conventional cocoa butter, and that’s really a game changer in the future,” he suggests. “I think we’re the only company that is actually able to produce cocoa butter using fermentation at a lower price than natural cocoa butter.” There’s an additional challenge here, though. For one version of the cocoa butter, which [Maximilian] Marquart suggests yields the best set of properties, they use precision fermentation. It’s a biotech method that involves genetically engineered microorganisms. This version of the product has to be approved as a novel food before it can be sold. And since European regulations are more stringent, he suggests it could hit the U.S. market first.