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Kigali, Dec 7 (IANS): Rwanda has published the fifth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA5) in the Rwandan capital of Kigali to build resilient, sustainable agri-food systems. The ambitious plan, themed Building Resilient and Sustainable Agri-Food Systems, serves as a blueprint for transforming the agriculture sector to achieve food security, sustainable land use, and economic development, Xinhua news agency reported. Speaking at the launch Friday, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe emphasised the transformative potential of PSTA5, calling it a unique approach to agricultural development. "PSTA5 is unique because it is centered on agri-food systems-that is the central pivot," he said. Bagabe urged Rwanda's youth to play a pivotal role in implementing the plan, highlighting the integration of advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. "When you talk about using technology tools like the Internet of Things and AI to move agriculture forward, I can tell you we are together. I see young people as the pillar of productivity," he said. He also stressed the importance of translating the strategy into tangible results. "We must chip into this strategic plan and ensure this blueprint is translated into actions," he added. Bagabe also emphasised that the success of the strategy lies in collective action to ensure resilient, sustainable, and equitable agri-food systems for all. PSTA5 focuses on modernising agriculture and animal resource production, fostering inclusive markets, and creating jobs within agriculture and food systems. The five-year strategy aims to address pressing challenges such as low productivity, food insecurity, and limited commercialisation in the sector while enhancing resilience to climate shocks like droughts and floods. It aligns with national priorities and global frameworks, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PSTA5 incorporates lessons from its predecessor, PSTA4, which made significant progress in areas such as marshland development, agroforestry, and irrigation infrastructure. Challenges like climate change and limited investment in agriculture, however, persist, necessitating further innovation and funding. The expected impact of PSTA5 is transformative. The plan targets an average annual agricultural growth rate of 6.5 per cent, increasing export revenues to 1.54 billion US dollars and creating over 644,000 off-farm jobs in agri-food systems, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources. The strategy also aims to empower 72 per cent of women in agriculture and improve food and nutrition security nationwide. With the launch of PSTA5, Rwanda has reaffirmed its commitment to driving inclusive and sustainable agricultural development. Rwanda's agricultural sector remains vital to the country's economy, with about 69 per cent of households engaged in farming and around 400,000 people employed in agri-food systems, according to the Fifth Population and Housing Census (2022).
Unai Emery feels confidence returning after Aston Villa end winless run
The start of a new year is the perfect time to resolve to protect your personal and financial information. BBB presents the following 10 New Year’s resolutions to fight scammers, prevent identity theft and save money in 2025. 1. Check your credit report You are now entitled to a free credit report each week from each of the three main Credit Reporting Agencies: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. You can order the reports through annualcreditreport.com . Once you receive your credit report, carefully review all the information. If you see any information that is inaccurate, then you should file a dispute with any bureau reporting the error. Checking your credit report helps you catch signs of identity theft early. 2. Sign up for the do not call registry The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls. To add your number to the Registry you can call 1-888-382-1222 or register online at ftc.gov/donotcall . Registration is free for your home and mobile phone. You still may receive political, charitable, debt collection, informational and telephone survey calls. Also note that scammers don’t adhere to the Do Not Call Registry. 3. Always read the fine print When shopping online, signing a contract and especially for “free” trial offers, be sure to take your time, and read the fine print before handing over your credit or debit card information. Find the terms and conditions for the offer. That includes offers online, on TV, in the newspaper or on the radio. If you can’t find them or can’t understand exactly what you’re agreeing to, don’t sign up. 4. Keep your computer safe Keep a clean machine by installing a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Check for and install the latest updates and run virus scans regularly. Don’t open attachments or click on email links unless you can confirm the email came from someone you trust. Choose passwords that incorporate a combination of numbers, capital letters and symbols. Avoid using the same password for all your accounts, and never share your passwords with anyone else. 5. Fight identity theft Make sure you shred any documents that have your bank account information, Social Security number or other personal information. These include credit card applications, insurance forms, financial statements, health forms and billing statements from utility services. Be suspicious of any unsolicited communication asking you for personal information. They may really be scammers looking to steal your identity. 6. Never wire money to someone you don’t know Many scams require that the victim wire money back to the scammers. Scammers know that tracking money sent via MoneyGram or Western Union is extremely difficult. Even more troubling for victims is the fact that it’s nearly impossible to get your money back. The same goes for pre-paid debit cards or gift cards. 7. Get everything in writing Don’t just take a company’s word for it. Get every verbal agreement in writing to limit miscommunication and misunderstandings between your expectations and what the business delivers. Make sure that you read and thoroughly understand an agreement and don’t sign a contract with blank spaces that could be altered or changed. Finally, once the contract is signed, keep a copy of it for your records. 8. Fight fake check fraud Thanks to advances in printing technology, scammers can create very real-looking phony checks. Educate yourself on the common types of check fraud and be extremely wary of checks that come with claims that you’ve won the lottery, are eligible for a government grant or have landed a job as a secret shopper. 9. Be careful using public Wi-Fi If you are in a place that offers free Wi-Fi, verify the name of the connection before joining. Scammers often set up fake hotspots next to real ones. When using a hotspot to log into an account or make a purchase, be sure the site is fully encrypted. If you regularly access public Wi-Fi, use a virtual private network (VPN). VPNs encrypt traffic between your computer and the internet, even on unsecured networks. 10. Ask BBB for help If you receive an offer or solicitation, research the company or charity for free with Better Business Bureau at bbb.org . You can also use BBB to file a complaint if you have a disagreement with a business, report scams online to BBB Scam Tracker and request expert advice or quotes with BBB’s Request A Quote service. If you’ve spotted a scam, please report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker . Your report can help others avoid falling victim.
Elon Musk gets it: America’s legal immigration process need to changeAP Trending SummaryBrief at 5:32 p.m. EST
Mr Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post, calling Charles Kushner “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker”. Mr Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a real estate firm. Jared Kushner is a former senior Trump adviser who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka. The elder Mr Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations. Prosecutors alleged that after Charles Kushner discovered his brother-in-law was co-operating with federal authorities in an investigation, he hatched a scheme for revenge and intimidation. Mr Kushner hired a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law, then arranged to have the encounter in a New Jersey motel room recorded with a hidden camera and the recording sent to his own sister, the man’s wife, prosecutors said. Mr Kushner eventually pleaded guilty to 18 counts including tax evasion and witness tampering. He was sentenced in 2005 to two years in prison – the most he could receive under a plea deal, but less than what Chris Christie, the US attorney for New Jersey at the time and later governor and Republican presidential candidate, had sought. Mr Christie has blamed Jared Kushner for his firing from Mr Trump’s transition team in 2016, and has called Charles Kushner’s offences “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was US attorney”. Mr Trump and the elder Mr Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009.
NoneThe families of seven Israel hostages begged President-elect Donald Trump to put his foot down and get their loved ones released – even if it means getting tough with US allies. Trump, set to return to office Jan. 20, should exert pressure on countries in the Middle East such as Qatar to end the hostages’ lengthy imprisonments, the families said in a joint letter dated Tuesday. “We urge you to call your colleague, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, force him to come to the table TODAY and demand an end to these games,” the letter stated. “We need a simple American deal with Hamas left in its shadow: Hamas must immediately announce the release of all the living and dead hostages without any conditions and surrender or all Hamas leaders be immediately deported from the country and will no longer be safe anywhere in the world,” the family members added. “This is how the war with a terrorist organization in Gaza should end. This is how your term in the White House should begin.” The letter was sent a day after it was confirmed the day that Israeli-US soldier Omer Neutra , 21, was killed by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in Israel. It was initially believed he had been kidnapped and taken hostage. An emotional memorial was held Tuesday for the Plainview, Long Island resident who had been serving as an Israel Defense Forces tank commander. Meanwhile, Hamas released a disturbing video of hostage Edan Alexander on Nov . 30, indicating the 21-year Tenafly, New Jersey resident was still alive and providing his parents a glimmer of hope he will be released. There are some 100 hostages in Gaza, including six Americans. Signatories of the letter to Trump include relatives of loved ones believed still alive while others were killed in captivity: The family members said, “You promised to restore order in the simplest and most obvious way – and make America great again. Now, please do the same for us. “ “Symbolically, this year Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah fall on the same day. We look forward to the miracle of Christmas and the miracle of Hanukkah for us and implore you to ensure we see light for our loved ones.” The Post reached out to Trump for comment. He previously warned on social media there would be “all hell to pay” if all of the hostages aren’t freed by his inauguration next month.
GNSS Stock Soars to 52-Week High, Reaching $4.04Leaders of all previous governments, including those who provided political leadership for defeating the LTTE, shamefully failed to tame the rice millers’ Mafia; they took on the latter only to beat retreats with their tails between their legs. The signs are that the NPP leaders will fail to be different. They, too, have decided to import rice, unable to make a handful of large-scale millers release hoarded rice to the market. The JVP-led NPP government is in overdrive to trace illegally assembled vehicles and have their owners arrested and prosecuted—and rightly so. It has already netted some Opposition politicians with such vehicles. It must go the whole hog to put an end to this racket, which has deprived the state coffers of a great deal of tax revenue. Curiously, it has baulked at going all out to trace illegally hoarded paddy. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake himself said at a public rally in Polonnaruwa, last month, that there was no countrywide rice shortage and ruled out the possibility of importing rice. It has been reported that Duminda Priyadarashana, a senior agriculture economist attached to the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, informed President Dissanayake at a meeting, last month, that the country had sufficient rice stocks, according to the Agriculture Department database, and there was no need for rice imports. He rightly pointed out that rice shortages occurred whenever millers were asked to adhere to the prices stipulated by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA). Minister of Trade and Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe and NPP MP and National Organiser of the All Ceylon Farmers’ Federation, Namal Karunaratne, have also confirmed that the country has sufficient rice stocks. Thus, it is clear that the large-scale millers have created an artificial shortage of rice to jack up prices. It defies comprehension why the government has chosen to import rice. What the NPP government, which came to power promising stringent action against those who exploit the public, should do is to order that the illegally hoarded paddy be traced and milled to make rice freely available to the public at reasonable prices. One wonders whether the ‘maroon wave’, which swept across the country last week, making the NPP’s political rivals head for the hills, has stopped at the silos of powerful millers. Why can’t the government with a two-thirds majority take on the millers’ Mafia and tame it? Importing rice, as a solution to the hoarding of paddy, is not only absurd but also indicative of a humiliating capitulation of the government to the powerful millers. One can predict what will happen to most of the rice to be imported. The millers’ Mafia will increase the supply of locally produced rice to the market, bringing prices down; it can afford to do so because its members have already made enough profits by exploiting farmers and consumers. Rice varieties imported by governments do not appeal to Sri Lankan palates, as is public knowledge; they are likely to remain unsold and end up as animal feed. The powerful millers usually play this trick in time for the commencement of a harvesting season so that they can cause the paddy prices to fall and fleece the rice growers, but this time around they are likely to do so earlier to wrong-foot the government. The government, we repeat, must not import rice since the rice scarcity is due to hoarding. The solution is to handle the large-scale rice millers with a firm hand and ensure that they obey the law. Let the NPP be urged to grasp the nettle. It is hoped that the leaders of the new government are not beholden to the wealthy millers, unlike their predecessors who benefited from the largesse of the unscrupulous rice mudalali fraternity at the expense of consumers and farmers.
Mississippi State is back in the AP Top 25. The No. 19 Bulldogs (11-1) jumped into the rankings last week as they were preparing to face Bethune-Cookman on Monday night in Starkville, Miss. Mississippi State was unranked in the preseason poll and stayed in the rankings for just one week in both of its previous appearances. But it's coming off a performance that suggests it might have some staying power with the start of Southeastern Conference play looming. The visiting Bulldogs won decisively against then-No. 21 Memphis 79-66 on Dec. 21. Bulldogs coach Chris Jans said "it's too early to say" whether his team's most recent performance was indicative of what might be the norm going forward, but he was encouraged by it. "Our guys haven't played the same every time out," Jans said. "I mean no disrespect to anyone else we've played, but it's a different competition (against ranked teams). I've liked how we've played to this point, but who knows how it'll unfold." The Bulldogs routed another top-20 opponent when they defeated then-No. 18 Pitt 90-57 on Dec. 4 in Starkville. "We're certainly happy that we've played our best against the best competition because, in (the SEC), this is what we're going to face every night," Jans said. "It's been well-documented where the SEC is at compared to every other conference this year. Now, can we do it over the course of 10 weeks, where it's like this every single time?" The games against ranked teams are going to start coming with more regularity because there are 10 SEC teams in the current Top 25. "Heading into this season, we had a few goals," forward Cameron Matthews said. "One of them is to try and to compete for a (conference) championship. We felt like we could compete in the SEC. I think we were able to prove it (against Memphis)." The Bulldogs used a 13-0 run to grab an 18-5 lead at Memphis, and they never led by fewer than 10 points the rest of the way. Riley Kugel scored 19 points off the bench, and team leader Josh Hubbard (17.6 ppg) added 13. Bethune-Cookman (3-9) also is looking forward to seeing how it'll stack up in its conference -- the Southwestern Athletic Conference. "We've got a lot of depth and we have age and experience," head coach Reggie Theus said earlier this season. The Wildcats have seven active players averaging double-figure minutes and they feature two graduates, two seniors and three juniors. They are led by a high-scoring trio of guards Brayon Freeman (16.0) and Trey Thomas (12.3) and forward Reggie Ward Jr. (11.7). Ward and Freeman scored 14 points apiece and Thomas added 12 in the team's most recent game, a 76-63 loss at Davidson on Dec. 21. Bethune-Cookman has prepared for conference play with a series of games against power-conference opponents in Texas Tech, Nebraska, Minnesota, Virginia and West Virginia. Theus said "the difficult thing" about the pre-conference schedule has been molding 11 new players into a cohesive team. "That's the bottom line," he said. "We have everything else in place. I'm real excited about where we could end up." --Field Level MediaStock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Faraday Future Intelligent Electric (NASDAQ:FFIE)