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Ebonyi State Government has denied reports published in some sections of the media, alluding that it spent a whooping N1.1 billion on wildlife conservation. The State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Jude Okpor, made this refusal in a Statement issued in Abakaliki. There were social media publications alleging that the state government allocated N1.1bn to wildlife conservation in nine months, which was reportedly less than the amounts spent on health and water provisions in its 2024 budget. Okpor clarified that the N1.1bn, was an amount allocated for a contingency item, coded under “margin for increase in cost and wildlife conservation” in the approved budget. “The publication is, to say the least, not well-researched and devoid of any iota of truth, the writer obviously failed to carry out adequate investigations necessary to authenticate his report” “Without bearing any grudge or prejudice against the author of the publication, but in full understanding of his ignorance, we wish to clarify as follows” “First, the amount N1.1bn recorded against wildlife conservation is an amount meant for a contingency item, which the approved budget has coded under margin for the increase and not wildlife conservation” “Secondly, we wish to clarify that the approved budget has a different template from the Quarterly Budget Implementation Report template” The Statement added, “It should also be clarified that projects and programmes recorded under contingency, are not initially envisaged but arise during budget implementation” “We therefore urge the general public, particularly those who may refer to such a document as advanced by the publication to be guided” “We are ready and well-disposed to making a copy of an extract from the state’s approved budget available to any interested member of the public for reference purposes.Vadnais Heights-based H.B. Fuller on Monday announced two small acquisitions and a divestiture as it reshapes its portfolio of adhesive technologies towards higher-growth, higher-margin solutions. Fuller announced deals for GEM S.r.l. and Medifill Ltd., small medical adhesive companies based in Europe that will join its Health, Hygiene and Consumables segment. The deals are expected to close in February for a combined purchase price of about $189 million. Medifill is based in Dublin, Ireland, and produces medical-grade adhesives used in wound closures. GEM is an Italian company that makes medical adhesives and application devices used in dozens of surgical indications. Adhesives can be used in place of sutures, staples and other agents that stop blood loss and can produce better results while reducing operating times. “With the purchase of GEM, Medifill, and our previous acquisitions in this space, H.B. Fuller has now built a Medical Adhesive Technologies (MAT) business founded on our expertise in cyanoacrylate chemistry, and we have extended our penetration into a global footprint,” Celeste Mastin, president and chief executive of H.B. Fuller, said in a news release. Medifill and GEM will add to Fuller’s other MAT businesses acquired recently, including Cyberbond, Tissue Seal, and Adhezion Biomedical. GEM will serve as a European headquarters for H.B. Fuller’s MAT business. H.B. Fuller also announced Monday that it sold a flooring adhesives business as part of a broader move to reshape some existing business in a new global business unit named Building Adhesives Solutions (BAS). The BAS business will consist of some solutions in its Construction Adhesives and Engineering Adhesives segments. Financial reporting of the new business will be effective at the start of H.B. Fuller’s fiscal 2025, which started Dec. 1. “This move is consistent with our strategy to drive our portfolio and capital allocation to the highest-margin, fastest-growing segments of the $80 billion global adhesives industry,” Mastin said in a release announcing the sale of the flooring business. A Los Angeles-based private equity firm, Pacific Avenue Capital Partners, acquired the flooring business for $80 million. The business had annual revenue of approximately $160 million and earnings of $15 million. Mastin joined H.B. Fuller early in 2022 and was named CEO that December. A longtime executive in the adhesives and petrochemicals industry, she was most recently CEO at PetroChoice Lubrication Solutions. Mastin has overseen eight acquisitions since being named CEO of H.B. Fuller. Shares of H.B. Fuller closed at $76.96 a share on Monday, up less than 1%. Over the last 52 weeks shares have traded between $72.60 and $87.67.KEY POINTS Leading blockchain security auditor Hacken has launched a next-generation AI-powered platform, Extractor, that will automate security and compliance for Web3 companies, covering some of the most critical aspects of compliance such as AML/CFT (anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing), the European Union's MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation), DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act), and ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market) Standards. Extractor offers companies with a scalable and highly-efficient solutions for various business segments and regulators, at a time when global regulations are tightening and standards like MiCA and DORA are gradually reshaping the world of cryptocurrency business operations. What is Extractor? Hacken's Extractor is a monitoring platform that crypto companies can use to ensure that they are always up-to-date with the latest and emerging compliance requirements. Launched Tuesday, the platform is available for use on major blockchains such as Ethereum, Optimism, Binance Smart Chain, Gnosis, Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Avalanche, and more. Extractor is the first-of-its kind Compliance Monitoring Framework for Web3 projects. It simplifies the process of adhering to regulatory standards and unlike other existing solutions, the platform combines AML/CFT, TVL (total value locked) analysis, transaction tracking, and detection of circulating supply into a structured compliance approach. Threat actors will always exist in every industry, but with the Hacken Extractor, continuous protection and operational resilience is ensured as it integrates real-time threat detection, post-incident reporting, and automated safeguards. "We developed Extractor to address the critical need for proactive monitoring and compliance in the crypto space. Combining real-time on-chain analysis, AI-powered risk detection, and automated safeguards enables projects to meet strict regulatory requirements while mitigating security risks," Hacken Co-founder and CEO Dyma Budorin said in a press release shared with International Business Times . Compliance to be a Major Cornerstone of Crypto Starting 2025 The cryptocurrency community is well aware that 2025 will change everything for the industry. In particular, compliance with AML/CFT standards is set to become a global standard. "Beginning Jan. 17, 2025, DORA's requirements will become enforceable. Non-compliance can result in severe penalties, such as fines of up to 2% of the total annual worldwide turnover or 1% of the average daily global turnover. Operating without compliance is no longer an option for entities serving EU customers," said Valentyna Kondratenko, Hacken's legal counsel. With the Extractor, crypto companies can rest assured that they will meet global compliance standards that pack risk detection, advanced monitoring, asset protection, and incident recovery planning into a standalone tool. Aside from the high-security features and necessary monitoring integrations, the platform also provides thorough post-incident root cause analysis and reporting, which is critical in giving crypto projects the proactive ability to improve their systems' resilience and address vulnerabilities over time. Incoming Compliance Regulations Governments and regulators are continuously working on evolving the rules for digital assets and blockchain technology. With parts of the comprehensive MiCA framework already enforced, more compliance requirements are coming. Hacken's Extractor, which has a structured framework, ensures that crypto service providers are ready for compliance at every stage of risk management. It represents Hacken's expertise in blockchain security auditing and also reflects its collaborative efforts with some of the most prominent regulatory bodies worldwide.
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OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he won’t play Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s games by voting to bring down the government on an upcoming non-confidence motion. The Conservatives plan to introduce a motion that quotes Singh’s own criticism of the Liberals, and asks the House of Commons to declare that it agrees with Singh and has no confidence in the government. The motion is expected to be introduced on Thursday and the debate and vote are set for Monday. Singh said he is not going to trigger an election when he believes Poilievre would cut programs the NDP fought for. “I’m not going to be playing Pierre Poilievre’s games. I have no interest in that. We’re frankly not going to allow him to cut the things that people need. I want to actually have dental care expanded, I want people to actually start to benefit from the pharmacare legislation we passed,” Singh said. With the NDP’s expected support, the Liberals should survive this next confidence vote brought forward by the Conservatives. The Tories have vowed to bring forward non-confidence motions every chance they get. The party will have two more opposition motions after this one, which are expected to continue to call for non-confidence. The NDP are scheduled to have their opposition day on Friday. Earlier on Tuesday, Singh did acknowledge that the Conservatives have a sizeable lead on the NDP in public opinion polls, while giving a campaign-style speech to visiting party staffers from across the country. Most pollsters in Canada have recorded a roughly 20 point lead for the Conservatives over both the Liberals and NDP for the last few months. The non-confidence vote was scheduled after Speaker Greg Fergus intervened to pause a filibuster on a privilege debate about a green technology fund. The Conservatives have said they would only end that debate if the NDP agree to topple the government or if the Liberals turn over unredacted documents at the centre of the parliamentary gridlock. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024. David Baxter, The Canadian Press