superph official website
In this article Loan Affiliate Programs Related USSD transactions reach N2.19tr in H2 2024 amid debt issues December 8, 2024 Nigeria's VAT revenue reaches N1.78tr in Q3 2024, up 14.16% December 8, 2024 Tinubu’s Tax Reform: How it will affect you December 8, 2024 CBN debunks information on sales of FX to BDC operators 3 days ago Mobile money, bank agents vows support for $1tr economy 3 days ago Reps to probe CBN over naira scarcity 3 days ago 0 Comments cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment. Flag Comment Why are you flagging this comment? I disagree with this user Targeted harassment - posted harassing comments or discussions targeting me, or encouraged others to do so Spam - posted spam comments or discussions Inappropriate profile - profile contains inappropriate images or text Threatening content - posted directly threatening content Private information - posted someone else's personally identifiable information Before flagging, please keep in mind that Disqus does not moderate communities. Your username will be shown to the moderator, so you should only flag this comment for one of the reasons listed above. Flag Comment Cancel Thanks for your feedback! We will review and take appropriate action. Close Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Share on Telegram News Nigeria Metro Politics Africa Europe Asia Americas Opinion Editorial Columnists Contributors Cartoons Lifestyle Music Film Beauty What's New Features Sport Football Boxing Athletics Tennis Other Sports Woman Marie Claire GuardianTV Exclusive Politics Business Appointments Business News Business RoundUp Industry Aviation Capital Market Communications Energy DrillBytes Maritime Money Technology Gadgets Telecoms Social Media Technology Guardian Life Beauty Culture Events Features Food Film Love and Relationships Music Odd News On The Cover Spotlight Style Travel and Places Wellness What's New Guardian Arts Arts Art House Artfolk Revue Literature Theatre Visual Arts Features Gender BusinessAgro Education Executive Motoring Executive Briefs Focus Friday Worship Health Law Media Science Youth Speak Reviews Guardian Angels Advocacy Commentary Corporate Social Responsibility Philanthropy Social Impact Property Environment Mortgage Finance Real Estate Urban Development Saturday Magazine Youth Magazine Just Human Life & Style Love & Life Transition Travel & Tourism Celebrity Brand Intelligence Gardening Weekend Beats Sunday Magazine Ibru Ecumenical Centre Campus CityFile News Feature Living Healthy Diet Living Wellbeing Newspeople #EndSARS Guardian TV Follow Us Home About Us Reviews Terms Advertise With Us © 2024 GUARDIAN Newspapers . ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDOptimizing Infusion Chair Time for Oncology Trials: Follow-Up StudyEthereum’s Next Decade: Tokenization, Wallets, and Gaming to Drive Adoption
SRK wishes Rajinikanth on his 74th birthday; calls him an inspiration
As Bitcoin hovers around $100,000, the entire crypto market is rejoicing with greens, which has sent the total crypto market cap past $3.5 trillion. While BTC, much like always, continues to lead bull cycles, memecoins have emerged as the leading narrative, surpassing utility coins. This time, there are no whitepapers or litepapers to take a deep dive into the project's value and understand the fundamentals. Crypto's run-up these past two years has been dominated by memecoin. A primary reason for this traction has been regular crypto users being fed up with backroom dealings where projects raise money from venture capitalists (VCs) by selling their coins at a really low price. These VCs then dump their coins on the retail after the project goes live, and the token gets an exchange listing. But with memecoins, there's no such shenanigans involved. With platforms like Pump.fun making it extremely easy for anyone to launch memecoins, everyone has to buy tokens in the open market and race to dump on each other. There are no rules either; memecoins are simply an attempt to be lighthearted and attract a user base by promising a fun community while offering a really low entry point. They have no utility beyond this and tend to be highly volatile, even more so than the typical crypto. Memecoins are simply cryptocurrencies representing animals, artwork, characters, or individuals. As a matter of fact, absolutely anything can be used for a memecoin. Actually, the coins that have been utility coins throughout your crypto journey have been switching into memecoins, too. This is exactly what digital silver and Bitcoin's digital gold, Litecoin (LTC), have done. On Nov. 14, this over-a-decade-old coin got renewed interest when the person behind Litecoin's X (previously Twitter) account put this on social media: The post came amidst the memecoin market cap reaching a new high, signaling a slow return of retail interest into the market. This was on the back of the listings of two popular memecoins, Pepe and Dogwifhat (WIF), and on major U.S. exchange Coinbase. Pepe, the frog coin that started the memecoin mania last year, was also listed on Robinhood, a leading brokerage platform popular among retail in the US. So, with its humorous attempt to get the same attention that memecoins have been getting, Litecoin also jumped in on the trend. As can be seen from the response the post generated, Litecoin suddenly got a lot of attention, which helped its price gain traction. The price of LTC surged more than 42% since that post as it moved past $106, a level last seen in early April this year. Crypto exchange Gate.io even listed it under the memecoin section. At the time of writing, the 26th largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $7.34 billion, has been trading at $97.57 while managing $1.174 billion in 24-hour volume. Still, LTC price is only up a mere 35.21% this year compared to other older coins like Bitcoin, which is up 133.35%, XRP's 144.5% gains, ADA's 79%, Tron's 96.69%, and XLM's 317% upside during the same period. But then, there's Ethereum, whose 52.66% year-to-date (YTD) performance has also been a disappointing one despite the second-largest cryptocurrency getting a Spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) approved. While ETH is only 29% off of its peak, LTC is a whopping 76.3% away from its all-time high (ATH) of $410.26 hit in May 2021. The same trend can be seen in Litecoin's open interest (OI), which surged to $472 million on Nov. 24, though nowhere near its last bull cycle peak of a billion dollars, as per Coinglass . A Memecoin or a Utility Coin: Understanding Litecoin Litecoin (LTC) was launched in 2011, only a few years after Bitcoin, by Charlie Lee, an MIT graduate and former Google engineer. It utilized Bitcoin's source code but made changes to make it faster and cheaper. Referred to as “the silver to Bitcoin's gold,” the idea with Litecoin wasn't to create a replacement for Bitcoin but to provide yet another blockchain to the developing crypto ecosystem, which is decentralized but has faster block generation. So, as a digital gold, Bitcoin acts as a store of value, while Litecoin, as a digital silver, is to be used to facilitate transactions. Much like Bitcoin, Litecoin also experiences halving every four years. So far, it has had three, with the last one occurring in August 2023, which reduced the block reward from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 BTC. The next halving is expected to occur in mid-2027, which will bring its rewards further down to 3.125 LTC, which is Bitcoins' current block reward following its most recent halving in April of this year. But while Litecoin also has a proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain , it uses the Scrypt algorithm to Bitcoin's SHA-256, making it less energy-intensive than the world's largest cryptocurrency. Despite having many benefits compared to Bitcoin, which has been garnering the attention from institutions and even nations as it gears up to be a reserve asset, Litecoin has been pretty much lost to irrelevance as the crypto sector continues to grow with more innovative projects and new narratives. This was until Litecoin changed its tactics and jumped on the new trend. As the project stated in an X post , it was a lighthearted jab at the market's state and a self-deprecating acknowledgment that despite being the “oldest and most reliable cryptocurrencies in the world,” their accomplishments have been largely unnoticed all these years. So, while the LTC price has been rather limited, the Litecoin blockchain has been working just fine. In fact, the Litecoin network has achieved the milestone of processing 84 million transactions so far this year. “$LTC is more active than ever!” – posted Litecoin Foundation on X while sharing this achievement Yet another development has been its hashrate, which has been experiencing a constant increase throughout this year. Currently, sitting around 1.4112 PH/s, the hash rate is near its ATH of 1.49 PH/s hit on Nov. 18, as per Bitinfocharts . The growing hashrate shows that more and more computational power is being contributed to the network in order to get a chance to successfully mine a block and earn rewards . Then there are the short-term LTC holders, which are on the increase too. The number of such holders spiked over 30% in the past month as the token gained market attention, and traders and investors jumped to take advantage of the opportunity. In an interview with CCN, David Schwartz, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Litecoin Foundation, talked about Litecoin's speed, affordability, and utility as its unique selling point that makes it a practical tool for everyday transactions. Developers have also been working on offering Litecoin users optional privacy through MimbleWimble Extension Blocks (MWEB). This privacy feature enables confidential transactions without compromising the blockchain's integrity, which, according to Schwartz, makes it appealing to those individuals and businesses that value financial privacy. The average daily transaction activity for MWEB has tripled since July. But if this feature is incorporated by larger wallets, Schwartz sees it making “a significant difference in adoption. “ Besides adopting the memecoin trend, Litecoin has been keeping up with the market by integrating with DeFi. For this, the project introduced Wrapped Litecoin (wLTC), which enables the usage of LTC in the booming DeFi ecosystem. And now, Litecoin is seeing the potential to get its very own ETF, much like Bitcoin and Ether, which can supercharge its network metrics and market demand. The Most Bullish Upcoming Event: Will it Materialize? Spot ETFs have been the primary driver of Bitcoin's run-up this cycle. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) giving Bitcoin Spot ETFs a green light sent BTC's price up by 525% since Nov. 2021 low under $16K. Since getting the approval, all the Bitcoin ETFs have recorded a total of $30.84 billion in inflows, achieving $107.5 billion in net assets, according to SoSo Value . BlackRock's IBIT leads this Bitcoin ETF race with $31.33 bln in net inflows, followed by Fidelity's FBTC, which captured $11.54 bln. Then, in late July, Ethereum ETF got approved, which has so far only managed to gain $106.80 million in cumulative inflows. This is because Grayscale's ETHE still leads in net assets at $4.95 bln. With these approvals, the market is now trying to have institutions gain exposure to other crypto assets. In October, Canary Capital Group filed for a Litecoin ETF in addition to submitting documents for an XRP fund. However, the firm has yet to disclose the ticker or management fee for the funds. The filing was just an S-1 document, which is the first step to getting a new security issued and listed on a public stock exchange. It needs to be followed by the 19b-4 filing for the S-1 filing to have any meaning. And once that happens, the SEC has to make a decision, under a strict timeline, to approve or deny the application. Despite the move being primarily, LTC price spiked 5% on the news of the filing. Given that Litecoin had no token sale or pre-mining, its fair launch makes it a viable candidate for an ETF. The Spot Litecoin ETF, according to Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, “should theoretically have the same pathway” as Bitcoin ETF. Already, there are several investment vehicles that give institutions a way to buy LTC. This includes CoinShares' LITE and ETC Group's ELTC, but both are in Europe. In the US, Grayscale remains the dominant force, which has several closed-end funds offering investment in various crypto assets such as Aave, Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash, Bittensor, Ethereum Classic, Filecoin, Horizon, Near, Solana, Stellar, XRP, Zcash, Stacks, and more. Grayscale Litecoin Trust ( LTCN ) meanwhile has $180.74 in assets under management (AUM). The asset manager charges a hefty management fee of 2.50% on this fund, but it still accounts for the majority of the funds invested in Litecoin-related ETPs globally. LTCN was launched in 2018 and began trading on the OTC market over two years later. While Grayscale has converted its both Bitcoin (GBTC) and Ethereum (ETHE) funds into an ETF, it hasn't filed for an ETF for LTCN. However, last month, Grayscale filed to have its multi-token fund converted into an ETF. The Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC:OTCQX) covers BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and AVAX. Despite all this, Litecoin creator Charlie Lee believes that Spot Litecoin ETF will get a green light from the regulator. “I'm excited to see the Litecoin ETF filing by Canary Capital. We are definitely seeing a lot of institutional demand for Litecoin. This is clear from the daily growth of the Grayscale Litecoin Trust, which has a price that is over twice the NAV. Given that Litecoin is a commodity that is very similar to Bitcoin, I hope to see the Litecoin ETF approved very soon.” – The Litecoin founder told Fox Business A Litecoin ETF is expected to see LTC as a seriously investable option for traditional market players, who can use LTC as a way to diversify their crypto portfolio without needing to buy the asset itself. The digital assets-linked ETF applications, as per Lee, can help more people adopt crypto. Much like Lee, Litecoin Foundation's Schwartz also believes it to be a matter of when and not if Litecoin will get an ETF due to LTC's value as a transactional currency. The approval, according to him, “could catalyze a broader recognition of Litecoin's utility.” Click here to learn if Litecoin can stand alongside Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Here's How to Buy Litecoin (LTC) in Four Easy Steps Now, if all these factors that paint a bullish picture for Litecoin make you want to have an LTC bag, then here's how you can get that. The entire process of buying LTC is a simple one that'll take as little as ten minutes. To get started, first get your phone or computer. It's up to you which device you are most comfortable with. Next, choose a cryptocurrency exchange. There are a lot of options out there, each offering a different feature and tool. While you'll find that a vast majority of exchanges have listed LTC, we'd recommend using Kraken, Coinbase, Binance, KuCoin, Uphold, or Gate.io. Once you have chosen the trading platform that you want to use, create an account by verifying your email address. You'll also be required to verify your identity (KYC) by providing documents to prove your identity, address, and other details. In the next step, make a deposit. To fund your account with fiat currency, you can make use of a debit card, credit card, and bank transfer. You can also deposit BTC and USDT, which are popularly available as trading pairs against LTC. Then, simply use your funds to buy BTC by finding the coin on the platform, choosing your investment size based on how much you want to buy, and then clicking ‘buy. ‘ You'll find the purchased LTC in your exchange wallet. Once you are ready to sell, depending on your financial goal, you can sell your LTC on the same platform using the ‘sell ‘ button. Click here to learn all about buying Litecoin (LTC). The Road Ahead for Litecoin As we saw, Litecoin has a lot of things working out for it. For starters, Litecoin has been in the market for over thirteen years now, which makes it one of the oldest coins. This longevity factor is further supported by the growing miner activity, transaction volume, and user addresses. Built to be complementary to Bitcoin, Litecoin's accessibility and reliability can help it get the market's attention and gain adoption. So, as BTC hits six figures and retail feels priced out, they may even turn to LTC as a cheaper option. Notably, Litecoin has a fixed supply of 84 million. So, a continued increase in its demand can help its prices elevate substantially. The potential of an ETF presents yet another big tailwind for Litecoin. Depending on the institutional interest and capital flow it sees, LTC price can see an upside. Then there's the mainstream attention that old coins like XRP, ADA, and XLM are getting, which forecasts good things for Litecoin, too. Add the memecoin trend LTC has onboarded and the mind share it has been getting, thanks to the voice behind its X account, and LTC can enjoy good momentum. Retail interest in meme coins also has a long way to go. “A strong indicator of retail interest, “ memecoin activity is still low compared to that seen during the previous peaks of most memecoins, noted IntoTheBlock, adding that this divergence from the total memecoin market cap hitting new highs “suggests retail enthusiasm hasn't fully re-entered the crypto space yet.” The broad crypto market has certainly started the party, though, with BTC ready to blast through $100K, driven by both strong spot demand and institutional inflows. With President-elect Donald Trump's win, the most crypto-friendly administration ever, prices are expected to climb much higher. So, against this backdrop, Litecoin can potentially rise to new heights, which, unlike the last cycle , can actually be much higher than the 2017 peak if the coin is able to capture the memecoin and ETF trend well in this bull market! Click here to learn all about investing in Litecoin.A rocket scientist from the University of Oxford has invented a new type of cast iron pan using thermodynamics that could persuade home cooks away from their Le Creuset. The enamelled cast iron Dutch oven with fins around the outside was inspired by heat transfer methods of jet engines and rocket design and leads to quicker cooking. The fins around the pans are designed to improve heat distribution and improve efficiency. Heat that would otherwise be lost around the outside of a pan can be captured and used to create an “oven-like” effect. The pan is produced by FireUp – a company that received £10,000 from the ’s Innovation incubator programme which gives funding to entrepreneurs in exchange for a percentage of royalties. Raghav Agarwal, the chief executive of FireUp, told The Telegraph: “The patent underpinning this unique finned design was developed by Professor Thomas Povey, who applied his research into high-efficiency cooling systems for next-generation jet engines to an everyday object that transfers heat: domestic cookware.” FireUp is a clear competitor in the cast iron market, which has long been dominated by French giant Le Creuset. , the prestige French cookware brand which turns 100 next year, is famed for its colours, quality and lifetime warranty. The company, based in Fresnoy-le-Grand in northern France, manufactures pots which cost up to £600 and come in a range of colours. A recent Le Creuset warehouse sale in Hampshire was so popular that people from across the UK to get bargain prices, with police called in to help cope with all the extra traffic. FireUp makes its products in France, has an eye-catching design, and offers a lifetime warranty at a similar price point – £250 for a five-litre pan – but Mr Agarwal rejects any comparisons to . “Respectfully, we don’t think we are competing with legacy brands,” he said. “For context, our innovation design bears similarity to how Apple disrupted Nokia and Blackberry with their iPhone touchscreen innovation.” He added: “The product is not positioned to compete with existing large legacy companies. We believe that there has been zero innovation in cookware design, for almost a hundred years. “The market offers nothing more than the same product in different colours and sizes, hyper-marketed to appear innovative, but in reality, it’s just lazy rebranding of the same product. “Most importantly, no new product focuses on improving the design or scientifically enhancing efficiency, to save both gas and time in everyday cooking.” According to Prof Povey in his patent, the fin technology of the FireUp pans “provides a heat transfer structure in good thermal contact with the side wall of the vessel”. “Heated air and any flame which travels up the side of the vessel can be captured by the heat transfer structure and the heat conducted into the walls of the vessel. “The increased heat energy available for hearing the contents of the verses thus greatly increases the efficiency of the heating process.” It is claimed that on a gas hob, the FireUp pan technology increases heating efficiency to 80 per cent from 30 per cent. The benefit is most noticeable on a gas hob, the patent states, as it can maximise the heat plume that the burner sends around and above the pan. Mr Agarwal said: “Our signature fin technology was developed based on heat exchange theory used in rocket design. “It allows more even heat distribution and superior efficiency by guiding the flame around the pan and into the fins. “The carefully designed fins also retain heat and create an oven-like even cooking experience. They also make the pan look unique and beautiful on your table.” An Oxford University Innovation spokesperson said: “The FireUp cookware technology is an example of how universities can support technologies to reach the market through programmes such as Oxford University Innovation’s Student Entrepreneurship Programme (StEP). “By providing support to entrepreneurs and access to innovative technologies and world-class expertise, we try and ensure that the outputs of Oxford’s research can make an impact both economically and socially.”Believe it or not, Cowboys might have hope yet after chaotic win at Washington FRISCO, Texas (AP) — A rare win as a double-digit underdog came just in time to let the Dallas Cowboys believe their playoff hopes aren't completely gone in 2024. Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press Nov 25, 2024 2:19 PM Nov 25, 2024 2:35 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy answers questions during a press conference after an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Landover, Md. The Cowboys won 34-26. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) FRISCO, Texas (AP) — A rare win as a double-digit underdog came just in time to let the Dallas Cowboys believe their playoff hopes aren't completely gone in 2024. Cooper Rush probably will need three more victories in a row filling in for the injured Dak Prescott for any postseason talk to be realistic. The thing is, the Cowboys (4-7) could be favored in two of those games, and already are by four points as an annual Thanksgiving Day host against the New York Giants (2-9) on Thursday, according to BetMGM. Not to mention the losing record at the moment for each of the next four opponents for the defending NFC East champions, playoff qualifiers each of the past three seasons. The Cowboys have a chance to make something of the improbable and chaotic 34-26 win at Washington that ended a five-game losing streak. “Behind the eight ball,” Micah Parsons said, the star pass rusher acknowledging the reality that Dallas hadn't done much yet. “Let’s see how we can handle adversity and see if we can make a playoff run. But we got a long way to go.” It was a start, though, powered in part by the best 55 minutes from the Dallas defense since the opener, when the Cowboys dismantled Cleveland and looked the part of a Super Bowl contender. The last five minutes for the Dallas defense against the Commanders looked a lot like most of the nine games after that 33-17 victory over the Browns. Which is to say not very good. Jayden Daniels easily drove Washington 69 yards to a touchdown before throwing an 86-yard scoring pass in the final seconds to Terry McLaurin, who weaved through five defenders when a tackle might have ended the game. The Cowboys kept a 27-26 lead thanks to Austin Seibert's second missed extra point, and withstood another blunder when Juanyeh Thomas returned an onside kick recovery for a TD rather than slide and leave one kneel-down from Rush to end the game. Dallas will have to remember it did hold a dynamic rookie quarterback's offense to 251 yards before the madness of the ending in the Cowboys' biggest upset victory since 2010 at the New York Giants. That one was too late to save the season. This one might not be. “We needed it,” embattled coach Mike McCarthy said. “It’s been frustrating, no doubt. We’ve acknowledged that. We’ve got another one right around the corner here, so we have to get some wins and get some momentum.” What's working Rush ended a personal three-game losing streak with his best showing since the previous time he won as the replacement for Prescott, who is out for the season after surgery for a torn hamstring. The 117.6 passer rating was Rush's best as a starter, and the NFL's second-worst rushing attack played a solid complementary role with Rico Dowdle gaining 86 yards on 19 carries. What needs help KaVontae Turpin's electrifying 99-yard kickoff return did more than lift the Cowboys when it appeared an 11-point lead might get away in the final five minutes. It eased the worst day of special teams for Dallas since John Fassel took over that phase four years ago. Suddenly struggling kicker Brandon Aubrey had one field-goal attempt blocked and missed another. Bryan Anger had a punt blocked. For the second time in five games, Aubrey's attempt to bounce a kickoff in front of the return man backfired. The ball bounced outside the landing zone, putting the Commanders at the 40-yard line to start the second half and setting up the drive to the game's first touchdown. Stock up CB Josh Butler, whose NFL debut earlier this season came five years after the end of his college career, had 12 tackles, a sack and three pass breakups. The pass breakups were the most by an undrafted Dallas player since 1994. Stock down Rookie LT Tyler Guyton, who has had an up-and-down season with injuries and performance issues, was benched immediately after getting called for a false start in the fourth quarter. His replacement, Asim Richards, could be sidelined with a high ankle sprain that executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones revealed on his radio show Monday. Veteran Chuma Edoga, who was the projected starter at Guyton's position before a preseason toe injury, was active but didn't play against the Commanders. He's awaiting his season debut. Injuries The status of perennial All-Pro RG Zack Martin (ankle/shoulder) and LG Tyler Smith (ankle/knee) will be a question on the short week after both sat against Washington. Stephen Jones indicated Smith could be available and said the same of WR Brandin Cooks, who hasn't played since Week 4 because of a knee issue. TE Jake Ferguson may miss at least a second week with a concussion. The short week might make it tough for CB Trevon Diggs (groin/knee) to return. Key number 75% — Rush's completion rate, his best with at least 10 passes. He was 24 of 32 for 247 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His other game with multiple TDs and no picks was a 25-10 victory over Washington two years ago, when he went 4-1 with Prescott sidelined by a broken thumb. Next steps There's some extra rest after the short week, with Cincinnati making a “Monday Night Football” visit on Dec. 9. The next road game is at Carolina on Dec. 15. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Football (NFL) Lions receiver Jameson Williams won't be charged for having a gun in a car Nov 25, 2024 2:29 PM The Giants were a no-show against the Bucs after releasing quarterback Daniel Jones Nov 25, 2024 2:26 PM Jayden Daniels and the offense stalling have the Commanders on a three-game losing streak Nov 25, 2024 2:16 PM
Firefox Ditches Do Not Track: The End of an Era in Online Privacy?Dr Charlotte Proudman, who specialises in family law, had faced a Bar Standards Board (BSB) disciplinary tribunal over a 14-part Twitter thread criticising a judge’s ruling over a domestic abuse case, saying it echoed a “boys’ club”. However, the five charges against the 36-year-old were dropped on Thursday. In an interview with The Times, Dr Proudman described the position of Mark Neale, the board’s director-general, as “untenable” and said its chairwoman, Kathryn Stone, should also stand down. “They need a change, not just in those two individuals, though, because, of course, it seeps down to the rest of the organisation,” she said. She told the paper she “genuinely” wanted to work with the Bar Standards Board in helping them to understand how misogyny and sexism have impacted women at the bar. However, she said that “under the current leadership, it’s just not going to be possible”. The charges alleged Dr Proudman had “failed to act with integrity” in posting the tweets, that they amounted to professional misconduct, were “misleading” and “inaccurately reflected the findings of the judge” in the case. The women’s rights campaigner was also accused of behaving in a way “which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public placed in her and in the profession”, and that she “knowingly or recklessly misled or attempted to mislead the public” by making the posts. But panel chairman Nicholas Ainley found her tweets are protected under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right of freedom of expression. He said her tweets did not “gravely damage” the judiciary, which would “put them outside” of Article 10 protection, even if they “might not have been pleasant for any judge to read” or even “hurtful”. “We take the view that the judiciary of England and Wales is far more robust than that,” he said. The panel also concluded that some of the tweets were only inaccurate “to a minor degree” and not to the extent necessary for a charge of a lack of integrity. Speaking after the hearing, Dr Proudman told the PA news agency: “This ruling is a victory for women’s rights and a right to freedom of speech. “The prosecution against me brought by my regulatory body, the Bar Standards Board, should never have happened and I said that from day one. “I criticised a domestic abuse judgment. Everyone should have the right to do that, whether you’re a barrister or not. Our justice system, which I strongly believe in, is robust enough to withstand criticism from me.” She believes her tweets help “foster confidence” in the justice system, adding: “Only that way can we go about building change and a better treatment for all victims, women and children and men who are affected by domestic abuse.” Explaining that the BSB appears to have spent almost £40,000 “of barristers’ money” on instructing counsel in her case, she added: “I think it’s shameful that they’re using our money to pay for, in my view, malicious, vexatious prosecutions which I have no doubt was a personal attack against me as a woman and as a feminist, as an outspoken critic and advocate for women’s rights.” Dr Proudman called for “systemic change” within the board. “They don’t understand gender, they don’t understand diversity, I don’t think they’ve ever heard of the concept misogyny and certainly not institutional misogyny,” she said. “Until they recognise the deeply rooted, entrenched issue of bullying, harassment, sexism at the bar, for which I have suffered relentlessly... and own up to it I don’t think we’re going to see any change and I have no confidence in them.” She told of how male barristers have called her insulting names on social media and made derogatory comments about her. In the posts on April 6 2022, Dr Proudman referenced a case in which her client alleged she had been subjected to coercive and controlling behaviour by her husband, a part-time judge, meaning she had been “unable to freely enter” the couple’s “post-nuptial” financial agreement. Commenting on the ruling by Family Court judge Sir Jonathan Cohen, Dr Proudman wrote: “I represented Amanda Traharne. “She said she was coerced into signing a post-nuptial agreement by her husband (who is a part-time judge). I lost the case. “I do not accept the Judge’s reasoning. I will never accept the minimisation of domestic abuse.” She continued: “Demeaning the significance of domestic abuse has the affect of silencing victims and rendering perpetrators invisible. “This judgement has echoes of (t)he ‘boys club’ which still exists among men in powerful positions.” In the thread, Dr Proudman wrote that the judge had described the relationship of the couple as “tempestuous”, which she argued was a “trivialisation” of domestic abuse. “Tempestuous? Lose his temper? Isn’t this the trivialisation of domestic abuse & gendered language. This is not normal married life,” she wrote.
Photo: RNZ/Nate McKinnon The blaze, which started on Thursday morning, has burned through nearly 1000 hectares at Bridge Hill, northwest of Springfield. Incident Commander Colin Russell said on Saturday afternoon it was not safe to contain the fire on its perimetre due to rugged terrain and cliffs. Instead, he said crews were trying to control it by suppressing hotspots and flare-ups. Russell said more than 100 firefighters were battling the blaze on Saturday, as well as three diggers and four helicopters. Strong winds and higher temperatures were earlier forecast for Saturday afternoon. Firefighters were battling to get the blaze under control in Saturday morning's more favourable weather conditions. Russell earlier said while it was still not yet contained, it was remaining within its 17km boundary and not expected to grow in size. Residents around Castle Hill were on standby to evacuate should the blaze spread. The fire started early on Thursday morning, closing State Highway 73 and burning through more than 1000 hectares at Bridge Hill, northwest of Springfield. The Holloway Lodge, near the peak of Bridge Hill, was destroyed. Russell said 110 FENZ staff were still working to contain the blaze as the weather turned. "This afternoon the wind is forecast to strengthen, and temperatures will be in the mid- to high-20s. This will be less favourable conditions for getting this fire contained and the risk of breakouts will be higher so we will be closely monitoring the fire." All recreational areas between Castle Hill and Lake Pearson were closed to the public, FENZ said on social media. "This is still an active fire zone and with the winds increasing the risk of a breakout fire is higher. Please do not move cones and signs that are blocking off these areas. When you do this it ties up valuable resources trying to sort evacuations, when we should be working on the fire ground." Seven FENZ crews had monitored the site overnight. Fire retardant lines had been placed around at-risk properties and crews would be focusing on the ground. There had been five helicopters helping to battle the blaze, and FENZ was expected to do an aerial reconnaissance flight on Saturday morning to assess any damage and the extent of the fire's spread. Sunday is shaping up to be one of the windier days we’ve had in a while as strong northwesterlies cover the country💨💨 Gusts of 150 km/h are possible in parts of the Canterbury High Country and 140km/h in areas in Wellington. Watches and Orange Warnings in place🟠🟡 pic.twitter.com/1xMZ7U1h8d — MetService (@MetService) December 6, 2024 SH73 had reopened, but stop/go signs were in place and traffic was being taken through the affected area in piloted convoys. "We'd like to thank all the road users for their patience and adhering to the traffic restrictions in place," Russell said. "It has meant we can keep the road open in a safe manner so people can continue to pass through." Strong wind warnings were in place for much of the South Island from early on Sunday, with northwesterly gusts picking up on the east coast through Saturday. Another fire breaks out in region Meanwhile FENZ shift manager Simon Lyford said crews were fighting another scrub fire in North Canterbury, just south of Culverden. Crews from three stations were trying to get on top of the fire, but the wind was not helping, he said. "We do have a helicopter on standby ready to respond, but at this stage the crews are saying that they believe that they will be okay." It was more than 90 kilometres away from the Bridge Hill blaze, he said.
Barrister cleared of misconduct calls on head of Bar Standards Board to resignIn four years. the four distribution companies of Tata Power Co Ltd., operating in Odisha, have improved operations substantially thus becoming a model for other states to emulate, a top company executive said. The four distribution companies (Discoms) include TP Central Odisha Distribution Ltd. (TPCODL), TP Western Odisha Distribution Ltd. (TPWODL), TP Northen Odisha Distribution Ltd. (TPNODL) and TP Southern Odisha Distribution Ltd. (TPSODL). “We [TPCODL] came in 2020 and subsequently the other three discoms came in 2021. From there we have travelled a lot. If you see just one parameter which everybody looks at that is Average Technical & Commercial (AT&C) loss we [all 4 discoms] have reduced it by almost 10% collectively for the State of Odisha,” Arvind Singh, CEO, TPCODL, told The Hindu in an interview. “Reliability has improved substantially. Now, the ability to restore electricity has gone up primarily because we have got more trained manpower, lot of materials have been kept in locations and losses have reduced,” he said. So as far as consumers are concerned especially in urban areas and industrial areas, the availability of power is very high, Mr. Singh said adding even in rural areas, the availability is over 23 hours. “This is a very high number. It must be one of the best in India,” he emphasised. Since coastal Odisha is a cyclone prone area and the cyclonic storms hit with a notice of 3 hours, Tata Power has put in place a strategy for fast response and restoration of supplies. “We are much better prepared now to deal with frequent cyclones which hit the coasts in 3 hours notice. The response to the recent Cyclone Dana is the perfect example,” he said. Commenting on the overall performance he said, “Business is doing well. Even on the financial side all four discounts are making profits. That is the turnaround that has happened.” Stating that bill collection has improved to near 100% now and billing efficiency has been improving every year, he said “In every report on transmission, Odisha comes first. And this was a challenge which Tata Power took and really succeeded” “Now this is becoming a model at the national level. People in other states are looking at us as to how we did it,” he added. The discoms have adopted the best practices for safety of their employees and technology has been used extensively for efficient customer service. Climbing on poles (Monkey climbing) by employees to fix supply issues has stopped completely and unless there is a ladder and one has a full body harness, and hook oneself, no one is allowed to go. “The whole scenario has changed and now we have come a long way,” he added. Like most Tata Group companies the discoms are providing maximum emphasis on gender diversity and employing women. Some of the subdivisions are entirely manned by women in DPWODL and women are being given opportunities in diverse areas. “In traditional areas like IT, HR, administration, they’re already there. Even in technical areas, for engineering, even going to site, survey of site, we have got women employees,” Mr Singh said. A meter testing lab has an all-women team. Artificial intelligence is being used at multiple places. The discoms have got robotic process automation also. “When you apply for a connection, when a document comes, the form gets filled up on its own. And Optical Character Recognition (OCR) facility is there,” he said. Technology is being used to recognise if device is a meter or not. “The meter reader has artificial intelligence which recognizes the meter and in meter reading there no human intervention. So nobody can suppress the reading on the sheet,” he said. Today the discoms are attending to customer complaints through X and also receiving complaints via missed call. Published - December 25, 2024 07:05 pm IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit
California Water Service Group exec Michael Luu sells $50,727 in stock
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — A rare win as a double-digit underdog came just in time to let the Dallas Cowboys believe their playoff hopes aren't completely gone in 2024. Cooper Rush probably will need three more victories in a row filling in for the injured Dak Prescott for any postseason talk to be realistic. The thing is, the Cowboys (4-7) could be favored in two of those games, and already are by four points as an annual Thanksgiving Day host against the New York Giants (2-9) on Thursday, according to BetMGM. Not to mention the losing record at the moment for each of the next four opponents for the defending NFC East champions, playoff qualifiers each of the past three seasons. The Cowboys have a chance to make something of the improbable and chaotic 34-26 win at Washington that ended a five-game losing streak. “Behind the eight ball,” Micah Parsons said, the star pass rusher acknowledging the reality that Dallas hadn't done much yet. “Let’s see how we can handle adversity and see if we can make a playoff run. But we got a long way to go.” It was a start, though, powered in part by the best 55 minutes from the Dallas defense since the opener, when the Cowboys dismantled Cleveland and looked the part of a Super Bowl contender. The last five minutes for the Dallas defense against the Commanders looked a lot like most of the nine games after that 33-17 victory over the Browns. Which is to say not very good. Jayden Daniels easily drove Washington 69 yards to a touchdown before throwing an 86-yard scoring pass in the final seconds to Terry McLaurin, who weaved through five defenders when a tackle might have ended the game. The Cowboys kept a 27-26 lead thanks to Austin Seibert's second missed extra point, and withstood another blunder when Juanyeh Thomas returned an onside kick recovery for a TD rather than slide and leave one kneel-down from Rush to end the game. Dallas will have to remember it did hold a dynamic rookie quarterback's offense to 251 yards before the madness of the ending in the Cowboys' biggest upset victory since 2010 at the New York Giants. That one was too late to save the season. This one might not be. “We needed it,” embattled coach Mike McCarthy said. “It’s been frustrating, no doubt. We’ve acknowledged that. We’ve got another one right around the corner here, so we have to get some wins and get some momentum.” Rush ended a personal three-game losing streak with his best showing since the previous time he won as the replacement for Prescott, who is out for the season after surgery for a torn hamstring. The 117.6 passer rating was Rush's best as a starter, and the NFL's second-worst rushing attack played a solid complementary role with Rico Dowdle gaining 86 yards on 19 carries. KaVontae Turpin's electrifying 99-yard kickoff return did more than lift the Cowboys when it appeared an 11-point lead might get away in the final five minutes. It eased the worst day of special teams for Dallas since John Fassel took over that phase four years ago. Suddenly struggling kicker Brandon Aubrey had one field-goal attempt blocked and missed another. Bryan Anger had a punt blocked. For the second time in five games, Aubrey's attempt to bounce a kickoff in front of the return man backfired. The ball bounced outside the landing zone, putting the Commanders at the 40-yard line to start the second half and setting up the drive to the game's first touchdown. CB Josh Butler, whose NFL debut earlier this season came five years after the end of his college career, had 12 tackles, a sack and three pass breakups. The pass breakups were the most by an undrafted Dallas player since 1994. Rookie LT Tyler Guyton, who has had an up-and-down season with injuries and performance issues, was benched immediately after getting called for a false start in the fourth quarter. His replacement, Asim Richards, could be sidelined with a high ankle sprain that executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones revealed on his radio show Monday. Veteran Chuma Edoga, who was the projected starter at Guyton's position before a preseason toe injury, was active but didn't play against the Commanders. He's awaiting his season debut. The status of perennial All-Pro RG Zack Martin (ankle/shoulder) and LG Tyler Smith (ankle/knee) will be a question on the short week after both sat against Washington. Stephen Jones indicated Smith could be available and said the same of WR Brandin Cooks, who hasn't played since Week 4 because of a knee issue. TE Jake Ferguson may miss at least a second week with a concussion. The short week might make it tough for CB Trevon Diggs (groin/knee) to return. 75% — Rush's completion rate, his best with at least 10 passes. He was 24 of 32 for 247 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His other game with multiple TDs and no picks was a 25-10 victory over Washington two years ago, when he went 4-1 with Prescott sidelined by a broken thumb. There's some extra rest after the short week, with Cincinnati making a “Monday Night Football” visit on Dec. 9. The next road game is at Carolina on Dec. 15. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Saskatchewan premier says he won't allow Speaker intimidation as legislature resumes
None
President-elect Donald Trump has been selected as Time magazine’s Person of the Year for the second time. The Republican was invited to the New York Stock Exchange to ring the bell after his win, attending with his wife Melania Trump, JD Vance and his children Ivanka and Tiffany. “This is a tremendous honour,” Mr Trump said on Wall Street. “This honour, for the second time, I think I like it better this time,” Mr Trump said. Announcing Mr Trump as the choice, Sam Jacobs, editor-in-chief of Time magazine said: “For 97 years, the editors of TIME have been picking the Person of the Year: the individual who, for better or for worse, did the most to shape the world and the headlines over the past 12 months. “In many years, that choice is a difficult one. In 2024, it was not,” he said. In an interview with the outlet, Mr Trump said it was “sad” that he had now run his final presidential campaign. “It’s sad in a way. It will never happen again,” Mr Trump said. In brief remarks before ringing the bell on Wall Street, Mr Trump promised that his incoming administration would usher in “an economy the likes of which nobody’s ever seen before.” “We’re going to give tremendous incentive like no other country has,” Mr Trump told the moneyed crowd, including by cutting taxes “very substantially.” Mr Trump reiterated his plans to boost US oil drilling, promising that doing so would lower inflation and bring down grocery prices. That claim contrasted with what he told Time when asked if his administration would be a failure if grocery bills stay high. “I don’t think so. Look, they got them up. I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up,” Mr Trump told the magazine. He also repeated at the New York Stock Exchange his vow to slash the corporate tax rate — which was already lowered to 21 per cent during his first term in office — to 15 per cent, but only for companies that choose to manufacture in the US. “You pay 21 per cent if you don’t build here. If you do, we’re going to try and get it to 15 per cent, but you have to build your product, make your product in the USA,” Mr Trump told CNBC’s Jim Cramer after the bell. Mr Trump, who is set to take office on January 20, was named “Person of the Year” in 2016 after his first election win, after defeating Democratic candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. - With CNBCEdge Security Market Growth Trends and Forecast 2024-2031: Industry Analysis
HASLOO Why choose consumer staples today 2024 has been an amazing year, and major technology companies have continued to ride the wave of artificial intelligence. Their price per share has skyrocketed and they have led the S&P 500 to cross the 6,000 mark. The Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of HSY, PEP either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Web3 Hosting Solutions for Decentralized Applications