Graduation Ceremony & Fashion Show 2024Teacher's book encourages kids to 'think it through'
Two weeks in and Auckland Transport (AT) has clocked a quarter of a million trips using the new contactless payment option on public transport. Last month, AT introduced contactless payment with cards and smartdevices for travel on buses, ferries and trains . However, concession fares and the weekly fare cap are still only available to those using AT’s HOPcard. Auckland Transport’s chief executive Dean Kimpton said AT’s public transport, technology and customer service teams, together with AT HOP partner Hitachi Rail GTS, had spent more than 18 months working on the roll-out of the contactless payments, including planning and testing. “So far we’re seeing the most demand from people using contactless payments on the weekend, and using our train and ferry services,” Kimpton said. Hitachi Rail GTS’ general manager Denise Burns said the roll-out had its challenges because it covered buses, trains and ferries all at once. “We had both hardware and software releases planned in stages to allow us to update the technology in the background without causing issues for public transport customers. We started installing the first new ‘validators’ that people use for tagging off and on back in April while we continued to make the software changes needed for us to go live [with contactlesss payments] in November. “There was a huge amount of planning needed to make sure the go-live was as seamless as possible because of the unique challenge of making changes to buses, trains and ferries,” Burns said.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Prof. Ahsan Iqbal said on Sunday that the PTI wanted to sabotage the journey of national development once again. Addressing a press conference here at Model Town, he said that only courts were empowered to release the PTI founder, and “we will never let Pakistan to be damaged for the ego of a single person”. He said the PTI founder could not be released through an executive order, and he should prove his innocence in the court. He said the PTI founder was in jail not to fulfill legal requirements but on the charges of theft, fraud and sedition. During the PTI regime, he said, the PML-N leaders got justice from the courts and did not appeal to the government for their release from jails. Ahsan Iqbal said that there was irrefutable evidence against the PTI founder in the cases of Tosha Khana and Al-Qadir Trust, and his legal team was using delaying tactics in his cases. Bushra Bibi is not appearing in the court despite taking bail, as she fears that she would not be able to avoid punishment by participating in the court process, he added. The federal minister said that Pakistan was moving on the way to development, and the stock market was showing bullish trends. He said maintaining law and order was a responsibility of the government. Necessary measures were inevitable to thwart ambitions of the “anarchist” group, he said and offered apology for the inconvenience caused to citizens due to road closures. The PTI acted like a terrorist organisation on May 9, and no good could be expected from it now, the minister said adding that those who invited external powers to intervene in Pakistan could not be well-wishers of the country. Ahsan said those calling for protests and sit-ins again and again had been rejected by people, as their real faces had been exposed now. He said the PTI wanted to spread chaos in the country through sit-ins, and people would not fall for their deception anymore, and thwart its designs. Ahsan Iqbal said KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was fully focused on the federation and Punjab, and he was not worried at all about the law and order situation in Kurram and Parachinar. He said bloodshed was going on in those areas, but the KP government resources were being used for the PTI protests and sit-ins. He said that the PTI founder had been portrayed on social media as a big leader, and that he was fighting for the constitution and law. However, he asserted that he was the same ‘Mahatma’ who reached the power corridors by halting the RTS system in 2018 elections. He is the same person, who received 190 million pounds the public money from the British government, and instead of depositing it in the national kitty, he had used it for his personal gain, for Al-Qadir Trust. The PTI always obstructed the country’s development process as they could not digest it, he said and added that Pakistan’s friendly countries were offended during the PTI tenure in government. The first attack was made on Pakistan-China friendship by levelling allegations against the CPEC project; the second attack was made when his government was coming to an end and they tried to harm Pakistan-US relations by accusing America of conspiracy; while the third attack was made through Bushra Bibi’s recent false statement regarding Saudi Arabia in a bid to create rift in Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations. The minister said Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif would present a five-year economic vision to the nation on Nov 28. He said that instead of formulating laws in the assemblies, the PTI members were doing politics of anarchy, besides taking full perks and privileges as parliamentarians. In response to another question, he said that the government was aware of the difficulties of people due to closure of roads, “for which we are sorry. But these measures are for the security of the state”.
"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" Thanks for your interest in Kalkine Media's content! To continue reading, please log in to your account or create your free account with us.
Tsunami warning cancelled after California coast quakeBighorn sheep hunters in backcountry areas would be required to report their success within 24 hours under a proposed amendment suggested by Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission vice chairman Pat Tabor. The commission will meet virtually on Thursday, Dec. 19, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will be streamed live on Fish, Wildlife & Parks' website and YouTube. Tabor has some hunters are taking advantage of unlimited bighorn sheep hunting units. In these areas, hunting tags can be purchased over the counter instead of through drawings in which success rates are low. His proposed amendment would also require FWP to close the season within 24 hours after the backcountry quotas are met and to require head and cape inspection within 48 hours. Right now, the seasons are closed within 48 hours and the inspection is required within 72 hours. The proposed amendment stated the current regulation "leaves potential for the season to remain open for 96 hours or four days after the quota is met. This unnecessarily increases the potential for each unit to go over quota. This original timeline was established when technology was extremely limited. With technological advances it has become easier for hunters to check in and report their harvest. This new technology enables hunters to communicate from anywhere in the world including the deepest parts of the Beartooth mountain range, primarily through text. The additional time for inspection is to allow more time to exit the backcountry." Last December Tabor attempted to remove the ability for bighorn sheep hunters in unlimited backcountry areas to purchase a bonus point. are designed to make it easier for a hunter to win a tag through the state's drawing system. At last year's meeting, Craig Neal, who has guided bighorn sheep hunting in unlimited districts for Broken Hart Adventures outfitting in Townsend since the 1990s, said some hunters are selling waypoints to where the big rams can be found as well as hunt plans. He also said some hunters after harvesting a ram are waiting to report the kill to allow another hunter to shoot a ram before the quota is registered as full. According to information provided by FWP, from 2007-2019 an average of 225 licenses were sold annually in HDs 500, 501 and 502 — backcountry bighorn sheep units in the Beartooth Mountains — yet only 156 hunters went into the districts. In 2024 the quota in HD 500 was filled with two rams. Since 2008, the quota has been exceeded twice, met 10 times and unfilled five times. In HD 501 the quota of two rams was exceeded with three killed in 2024. Since 2008 the quota has been exceeded three times, met seven times and unfilled six times. In HD 501, the quota of two rams was exceeded in 2024 with four killed. Since 2008 the quota has been exceeded five times, met twice and unfilled nine times. “While quota overruns do occur, they are relatively rare and seldom significant,” Region 5 wildlife biologist Shawn Stewart wrote in his analysis last year. "These quota overruns average out over time and the quotas are conservative to allow for the possibility of overrun.” The amendment was not requested by FWP, which wrote it does not expect any "population level impacts" from the change, if approved. Those who want to make a comment on Zoom must register on FWP’s website by noon on Dec. 18. Written comment on most agenda items were accepted through Nov. 27. Other topics the commission will address include regulations requiring anglers who catch smallmouth bass on Placid Lake to catch, kill and report the nonnative fish; amendments to allow black bear hunters in backcountry units in the upper Flathead drainage more time, along with other quota changes for antelope, bighorn sheep, deer and elk in specific hunting districts. For the , background on the scheduled topics and public comments, go to the Fish and Wildlife Commission page on the FWP website. Get local news delivered to your inbox!