
Young women are being trafficked and exploited by local drug lords, says Minister for Women Lynda Tabuya. Speaking to this newspaper, Ms Tabuya provided the example of the two OnlyFans pornography creators who were booted out of Fiji because of their plans to shoot porn with Australian schoolies. “Now, this was done very visibly, because she (Bonnie Blue) went online visibly,” Ms Tabuya said. “But we have the local porn industry that is working quietly and doing porn videos and posting it up and preying on young people. “I mean, look at the trafficking of our young people, it’s almost every week we’re seeing a missing person, and they are usually young girls. So where do they go missing? “So, I’ve done some investigation from the ministry to ask these young girls where they go and they tell us it’s actually part of the drug trade. So for example, a drug lord will want a young girl for his entertainment. He will send one of his drug peddlers to go and get a young girl, lure her to come. So she’s missing for a few days. She goes and she’s with this drug lord and entertaining him, including sex and bribing her with all sorts of gadgets and things and giving her money, then returns her home. “Young girls are getting involved in this, and they’re getting paid for it. It is exploitation, it is sex trafficking, and it’s happening in our country because of the drug trade.” Ms Tabuya said she understood there was institutional corruption that needed to be addressed fast, but it was not an issue that a single agency or ministry could deal with. “Honourable Pio Tikoduadua should not be fighting this alone. It’s got to be all of us together to come together and say, how do we deal with this institutional corruption? “How do we remove it and there are ways to do it. So as a result, we formed a sub-committee to Cabinet on drugs, and it’s actually chaired by the Prime Minister.” Ms Tabuya said the committee also had the Ministries of Women, Health and Education, Home Affairs, iTaukei Affairs, and Youth and Sports. “This is how important this issue is, about drugs. So when we sit together, we said, OK, we are now on this highest level to make decisions about the issues on drugs. So it’s coming together. “We are guided by and looking at what the National Counter Narcotics Strategy and see the work that they’re doing, but it has to come to that highest level, and it takes political will to make these decisions. “It’s work in progress, but we’re doing our best.”
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Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles’ chief of staff is suing her boss and the Government in the Federal Court, over her allegations she was essentially bullied out of her job. Jo Tarnawsky went public last month with her claims she was bullied by staff members who worked under her, and that when she complained to Mr Marles she was forced out of the office. Speaking from Parliament House on Monday, Ms Tarnawsky said the claim was being brought against the Government, Mr Marles and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Tim Gartrell after “untenable delays in action from the Government”. She said she had made the decision because there had been “no investigation into the behaviours I reported, nor regarding the actions taken by the deputy prime minister against me” in the last six weeks. “Three weeks ago, I wrote a letter to the prime minister, asking him to intervene and to hold the deputy prime minister to account for the way that I had been treated. The prime minister has not responded,” she said. “Instead, my complaint has been passed around, first the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, more recently to Comcover, both claim to be independent agencies but both chose to engage lawyers, the same lawyers from the same law firm who were also clearly taking instructions from the deputy prime minister. Ellen Ransley “They have not been able to assure me that my private information or psychological safety will be protected and they cannot deal with the most important issue I have raised. That is for those who did this to me, to be held accountable and to ensure that nobody else in this place is ever treated this way again.” As of Monday, she is still employed as Mr Marles’ chief of staff. Mr Marles is not accused of bullying Ms Tarnawsky — one of the most senior women in Government — but is instead accused of shunting her earlier this year despite never raising issues with her performance. Mr Marles’ office has been contacted for comment. More to come.COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A St. James man was charged with multiple felonies after court documents say he broke into a school and fought a teacher on Thursday. Heber Lewis, 19, was charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree making a terroristic threat, first-degree property damage and resisting arrest. He is being held at the Phelps County Jail on a $100,000 bond. A confined docket hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. According to the court documents, police were called to Rolla Technical Institute at 6:38 p.m. Thursday when Lewis entered the building after breaking a window with a piece of wood. There were students and teachers inside the building and Lewis kicked multiple doors, the probable cause statement says. When police found Lewis, he was fighting a teacher, the statement says. The teacher was able to get on top of Lewis, and Lewis was “muttering words that did not make sense” while lying on his back, the statement says. Police tried to get Lewis to follow commands, but he refused and resisted arrest, the statement says. Lewis also allegedly referred to himself as “God” during the struggle, the statement says. Police had to use a Taser to subdue Lewis, and eventually used pepper spray while he bringing him to a patrol vehicle, the statement says. One of Lewis’ knees appeared to be dislocated and he was brought to an area hospital, court documents say. Rolla Public Schools acknowledged the break-in Thursday evening on its social media . “Earlier this evening Rolla Technical Institute was forcibly entered by an individual who has since been placed in custody by Rolla Police Department. A group of students and staff was in the building conducting extracurricular activities, but no one was harmed,” the post says. “We are grateful for the swift response from our staff members and local law-enforcement. Damage to the building was minimal and we will work to make repairs as quickly as possible.”
A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok’s petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company’s challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court’s opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though it’s unclear whether the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people,” Hughes said. Unless stopped, he argued the statute “will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.” Though the case is squarely in the court system, it’s also possible the two companies might be thrown some sort of a lifeline by President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the presidential campaign that he is now against such action. The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a years-long saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. “Today’s decision is an important step in blocking the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to collect sensitive information about millions of Americans, to covertly manipulate the content delivered to American audiences, and to undermine our national security,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Friday. The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits, that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect — a concern mirrored by the European Union on Friday as it scrutinizes the video-sharing app’s role in the Romanian elections. TikTok, which sued the government over the law in May, has long denied it could be used by Beijing to spy on or manipulate Americans. Its attorneys have accurately pointed out that the U.S. hasn’t provided evidence to show that the company handed over user data to the Chinese government, or manipulated content for Beijing’s benefit in the U.S. They have also argued the law is predicated on future risks, which the Department of Justice has emphasized pointing in part to unspecified action it claims the two companies have taken in the past due to demands from the Chinese government. Friday’s ruling came after the appeals court panel, composed of two Republican and one Democrat appointed judges, heard oral arguments in September. In the hearing, which lasted more than two hours, the panel appeared to grapple with how TikTok’s foreign ownership affects its rights under the Constitution and how far the government could go to curtail potential influence from abroad on a foreign-owned platform. On Friday, all three of them denied TikTok’s petition. In the court’s ruling, Ginsburg, a Republican appointee, rejected TikTok’s main legal arguments against the law, including that the statute was an unlawful bill of attainder or a taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. He also said the law did not violate the First Amendment because the government is not looking to “suppress content or require a certain mix of content” on TikTok. “Content on the platform could in principle remain unchanged after divestiture, and people in the United States would remain free to read and share as much PRC propaganda (or any other content) as they desire on TikTok or any other platform of their choosing,” Ginsburg wrote, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China. Judge Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge on the court, issued a concurring opinion. TikTok’s lawsuit was consolidated with a second legal challenge brought by several content creators – for which the company is covering legal costs – as well as a third one filed on behalf of conservative creators who work with a nonprofit called BASED Politics Inc. Other organizations, including the Knight First Amendment Institute, had also filed amicus briefs supporting TikTok. “This is a deeply misguided ruling that reads important First Amendment precedents too narrowly and gives the government sweeping power to restrict Americans’ access to information, ideas, and media from abroad,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the organization. “We hope that the appeals court’s ruling won’t be the last word.” Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers who had pushed for the legislation celebrated the court’s ruling. “I am optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok to allow its continued use in the United States and I look forward to welcoming the app in America under new ownership,” said Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China. Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who co-authored the law, said “it’s time for ByteDance to accept” the law. To assuage concerns about the company’s owners, TikTok says it has invested more than $2 billion to bolster protections around U.S. user data. The company has also argued the government’s broader concerns could have been resolved in a draft agreement it provided the Biden administration more than two years ago during talks between the two sides. It has blamed the government for walking away from further negotiations on the agreement, which the Justice Department argues is insufficient. Attorneys for the two companies have claimed it’s impossible to divest the platform commercially and technologically. They also say any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm – the platform’s secret sauce that Chinese authorities would likely block under any divesture plan – would turn the U.S. version of TikTok into an island disconnected from other global content. Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in purchasing the platform. Both men said earlier this year that they were launching a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business. This week, a spokesperson for McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative, which aims to protect online privacy, said unnamed participants in their bid have made informal commitments of more than $20 billion in capital.Britain, Germany, France, Italy and several other European countries said Monday they would freeze all pending asylum requests from Syrians, a day after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad. While Berlin and other governments said they were watching the fast-moving developments in the war-ravaged nation, Austria signalled it would soon deport refugees back to Syria. Far-right politicians elsewhere made similar demands, including in Germany -- home to Europe's largest Syrian community -- at a time when immigration has become a hot-button issue across the continent. Alice Weidel, of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, reacted with disdain to Sunday's mass rallies by jubilant Syrians celebrating Assad's downfall. "Anyone in Germany who celebrates 'free Syria' evidently no longer has any reason to flee," she wrote on X. "They should return to Syria immediately." World leaders and Syrians abroad watched in disbelief at the weekend as Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus, ending Assad's brutal rule while also sparking new uncertainty. A German foreign ministry spokesman pointed out that "the fact that the Assad regime has been ended is unfortunately no guarantee of peaceful developments" in the future. Germany has taken in almost one million Syrians, with most arriving in 2015-16 under ex-chancellor Angela Merkel. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said many Syrian refugees "now finally have hope of returning to their Syrian homeland" but cautioned that "the situation in Syria is currently very unclear". The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had imposed a freeze on decisions for ongoing asylum procedures "until the situation is clearer". She added that "concrete possibilities of return cannot yet be predicted and it would be unprofessional to speculate in such a volatile situation". Rights group Amnesty International slammed Germany's freeze on asylum decisions, stressing that for now "the human rights situation in the country is completely unclear". The head of the UN refugee agency also cautioned that "patience and vigilance" were needed on the issue of refugee returns. In Austria, where about 100,000 Syrians live, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer instructed the interior ministry "to suspend all ongoing Syrian asylum applications and to review all asylum grants". Interior Minister Gerhard Karner added he had "instructed the ministry to prepare an orderly repatriation and deportation programme to Syria". "The political situation in Syria has changed fundamentally and, above all, rapidly in recent days," the ministry said, adding it is "currently monitoring and analysing the new situation". The French interior ministry said it too would put asylum requests from Syrians on hold, with authorities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway announcing similar moves. Britain's interior ministry said it was taking the same measure "whilst we assess the current situation". The Italian government said late Monday after a cabinet meeting that it too was suspending asylum request "in line with other European partners." The leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, a coalition partner in the government, said residence permits for Syrian refugees should now be "reviewed". "Destructive Islamist forces are behind the change of power" in Syria, wrote their leader Jimmie Akesson on X. "I see that groups are happy about this development here in Sweden. You should see it as a good opportunity to go home." In Greece, a government spokesman voiced hope that Assad's fall will eventually allow "the safe return of Syrian refugees" to their country, but without announcing concrete measures. In Germany, the debate gained momentum as the country heads towards February elections. Achim Brotel, president of a grouping of German communes, called for border controls to stop fleeing Assad loyalists reaching Germany. The centre-right opposition CDU suggested that rejected Syrian asylum-seekers should now lose so-called subsidiary protection. "If the reason for protection no longer applies, then refugees will have to return to their home country," CDU legislator Thorsten Frei told Welt TV. CDU MP Jens Spahn suggested that Berlin charter flights to Syria and offer 1,000 euros ($1,057) to "anyone who wants to return". A member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats criticised the debate as "populist and irresponsible". Greens party deputy Anton Hofreiter also said "it is completely unclear what will happen next in Syria" and deportation talk was "completely out of place". Many Syrians in Germany have watched the events in their home country with great joy but prefer to wait and see before deciding whether to return. "We want to go back to Syria," said Mahmoud Zaml, 25, who works in an Arabic pastry shop in Berlin, adding that he hopes to help "rebuild" his country. "But we have to wait a bit now," he told AFP. "We have to see what happens and if it is really 100 percent safe, then we will go back to Syria." burs-fz/rlp/phz/gv/giv
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Residential Shredding Service Market Overview and Leading Players: PROSHRED, Shred-it, GFL Environmental Inc, Time Shred Services, Chesapeake Paper Systems, All Points Mobile Shredding, Simply Shredding Tonbridge, ShredQuickKaspa (KAS) made headlines through its innovative technology and appreciation to become one of the most significant crypto success stories of recent years. That is before a new player, BlockDAG (BDAG) , entered, which seems to be gaining more impetus to position itself as the even more compelling alternative than Kaspa. With its groundbreaking DAG-chain technology, dual compatibility with EVM and WASM, and unmatched presale performance, BlockDAG is establishing itself as the next big name in the crypto space. Having already raised $166 million and sold over 17.1 billion coins, it’s creating unparalleled excitement among early adopters, reminiscent of Kaspa’s meteoric rise. Kaspa (KAS): Setting the Standard for Speed and Scalability Kaspa (KAS) carved a niche as a leading Layer-1 blockchain project thanks to its DAG-based architecture, which allows it to process simultaneous transactions, thereby decreasing the network congestion and increasing phenomenal scalability. Its focus on parallel transaction processing made the project an attractive option for developers and traders as well. Kaspa’s technology, which enables multiple blocks to be created and confirmed simultaneously without compromising security, set a new benchmark in the blockchain industry. Its approach solved many issues plaguing traditional blockchains, such as Ethereum, and resulted in a rapid increase in Kaspa’s value. This success rewarded early adopters and miners significantly, cementing its place in crypto history. While Kaspa’s architecture is impressive, BlockDAG has taken this innovation a step further, redefining what’s possible in the blockchain world. BlockDAG (BDAG): Setting New Standards with Advanced Features BlockDAG does exactly that: it improves all the successes of Kaspa while bringing groundbreaking advancements to an already attractive coin. As does Kaspa, BlockDAG will utilize DAG technology, making transaction speed and scalability very possible, but BlockDAG improves upon this by being both EVM and WASM-compatible, thus a highly suitable platform for developers. The EVM integration allows Ethereum-based projects to migrate seamlessly to BlockDAG, offering better speed and lower costs. Meanwhile, WASM compatibility broadens its appeal by enabling cross-chain functionality, attracting developers from various ecosystems. BlockDAG's presale has proven to be in high demand. The coin has so far raised over $166 million, selling 17.1 billion coins, with the current price at $0.0234 for Batch 26. That translates to a return of about 2,240% from the first batch. It is just like Kaspa when it first started, with the possibility of massive potential returns. BDAG vs. KAS: Mining Opportunities and Long-Term Potential BlockDAG’s presale isn’t just about acquiring coins—it’s unlocking early mining opportunities that echo the remarkable rise of Kaspa. Kaspa’s first miners took full advantage of its advanced DAG technology, earning significant rewards as KAS prices soared to unprecedented levels. BlockDAG is now presenting a similar opportunity with its cutting-edge mining rigs. These rigs allow participants to mine at an early stage, well before competition stiffens and mining becomes more challenging. So far, the network has achieved over $5.9 million in miner sales and has sold nearly 15,000 rigs, showcasing its growing popularity. BlockDAG’s mining system is designed to be inclusive, accommodating solo miners and large-scale operations alike. With high efficiency and low energy consumption, this ecosystem stands out as one of the most lucrative mining options in the market today. The presale numbers highlight the enthusiasm surrounding BlockDAG. Its community-driven model, innovative mining features, and affordable entry point have attracted widespread interest, making it a go-to choice for both new and experienced miners. Experts believe BlockDAG could hit $1 by 2025, potentially even outpacing Kaspa’s timeline. This projection cements BlockDAG’s reputation as a long-term contender with the potential to redefine success in the crypto world. Summing Up! While Kaspa (KAS) remains a leader in DAG technology, BlockDAG is rapidly emerging as its worthy successor. With features like EVM and WASM compatibility, a robust mining system, and impressive presale results, BlockDAG is attracting widespread attention. The network’s presale success—$166 million raised, 17.1 billion coins sold, and a 2,240% price surge—is more than just numbers; it’s a clear indication of the project’s potential. Like Kaspa rewarded its early adopters, BlockDAG offers a rare chance to be part of a project that could redefine the crypto landscape. For those looking to ride the wave of the next big crypto breakthrough, BlockDAG seems poised to deliver. Presale: https://purchase.blockdag.network Website: https://blockdag.network Telegram: https://t.me/blockDAGnetworkOfficial Discord: https://discord.gg/Q7BxghMVyu Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp _____________ Disclaimer: Analytics Insight does not provide financial advice or guidance. Also note that the cryptocurrencies mentioned/listed on the website could potentially be scams, i.e. designed to induce you to invest financial resources that may be lost forever and not be recoverable once investments are made. You are responsible for conducting your own research (DYOR) before making any investments. Read more here.Super Micro Computer Inc. Announces Receipt of Extension from Nasdaq Stock Market - Business Wire