Larry Wilson: The lost art of college students talking to each otherUnpacking the Latest Options Trading Trends in NikeTravelSky Technology Limited ( OTCMKTS:TSYHY – Get Free Report ) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,300 shares, a drop of 42.1% from the November 30th total of 5,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. TravelSky Technology Trading Down 0.2 % Shares of TravelSky Technology stock opened at $13.62 on Friday. TravelSky Technology has a twelve month low of $9.50 and a twelve month high of $17.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.79. About TravelSky Technology ( Get Free Report ) Read More Receive News & Ratings for TravelSky Technology Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TravelSky Technology and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdrawsCommerce Bank lessened its stake in Dell Technologies Inc. ( NYSE:DELL – Free Report ) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,364 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 792 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Dell Technologies were worth $2,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Dell Technologies during the 1st quarter worth $104,000. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Dell Technologies by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 620,406 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,543,000 after acquiring an additional 50,304 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Dell Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,780,000. Harvey Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Dell Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,848,000. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Dell Technologies by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 121,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,399,000 after purchasing an additional 4,385 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.10% of the company’s stock. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities analysts recently commented on DELL shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Dell Technologies from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Dell Technologies from $164.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $166.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.50. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, CEO Michael S. Dell sold 221,460 shares of Dell Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.07, for a total transaction of $22,604,422.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,190,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,060,873,016.67. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . Also, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total value of $93,887.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,066,560. This represents a 2.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold a total of 17,954,112 shares of company stock valued at $2,113,449,139 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 46.70% of the company’s stock. Dell Technologies Price Performance Shares of DELL opened at $144.21 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $125.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.89. Dell Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.51 and a 1-year high of $179.70. Dell Technologies ( NYSE:DELL – Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The technology company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Dell Technologies had a negative return on equity of 178.09% and a net margin of 4.32%. The firm had revenue of $25.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Dell Technologies Inc. will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year. Dell Technologies Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd were paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Dell Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 32.72%. About Dell Technologies ( Free Report ) Dell Technologies Inc designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports various comprehensive and integrated solutions, products, and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG). Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DELL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Dell Technologies Inc. ( NYSE:DELL – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Dell Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dell Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .None
Whenever we switch on our devices, we’re bombarded with AI: Making a significant — though largely unrecognised — contribution to all these initiatives was Cork academic George Boole. Born in the small English cathedral town of Lincoln in 1815, George Boole came from a humble family: his father was a shoemaker, struggling to support four children. A classmate described him as inquisitive, “a sort of prodigy... a star of the first magnitude”. Having left school at 14 years-old, he helped his father build telescopes, kaleidoscopes, even a calculating machine. His translation of a difficult poem from ancient Greek caused outrage: many said this was impossible for a boy of his age, he must have had assistance. Boole went on to write over seventy poems of his own. When his father’s shoe business collapsed, 16-year-old George turned his back on a possible career in the church, and took up school teaching in Doncaster and Liverpool to support his family. Returning to Lincoln in 1834, he daringly set up his own school, and moved his family into the schoolhouse. By getting involved with the Lincoln Mechanics’ Institute, he helped provide an education to adults who’d missed out on school. Boole had a voracious appetite for reading, and taught himself French, German and Latin, but said he got better value from his maths books than novels because they lasted him longer. Strangely, the quiet man never described himself as a mathematician, rather a psychologist, philosopher and logician. “We have a mathematician trying to work out how the mind works”, writes his biographer, Desmond MacHale (The Life and Work of George Boole, Cork University Press, 2014). Getting connected When he was 28, Boole wrote to Professor Augustus de Morgan at University College London, to help him get an article published by the Royal Society. The paper was not only accepted by these eminent scientists, they also awarded him its first gold medal for mathematics. Boole’s name became well known in academic circles... but he was still without a job. The British government's decision to establish ‘Queen’s colleges’ in Ireland gave him the opportunity he needed. However, with no formal qualifications, his only chance of getting a chair was to rely on his publications and testimonials from academic friends, even character references from people living in Lincoln. “My hopes of success are not very sanguine”, he admitted. For months he heard nothing. Suddenly, in August 1849 he received a letter offering him the post of Professor of Mathematics at Queen’s College Cork (UCC), with an annual salary of £250 and lodgings on Grenville Place, opposite North Mall. Cork was “perfect for an independent thinker”, a “maverick”, who at Cambridge University would have been overshadowed, says MacHale. The Cork Examiner (Nov 8, 1849) described him as “well developed in the frontal region, as a phrenologist would say”. Regarded as a “confident”, “modest” and “gentle” teacher, he always had the welfare of his students at heart, and complained about the smoky chimneys and echo in the lecture rooms. Boole became “the prototype of an eccentric professor”, pacing up and down deep in thought, and bringing home complete strangers — on one occasion a whole street band — just because he found them interesting. But he found Cork “uncomfortable”, and couldn’t stand all the rain. He made frequent trips back to Lincoln, and even considered taking a job in Melbourne. In 1850 he was asked to give maths lessons to Mary Everest, a shy 18-year-old girl, niece of George Everest, after whom Mount Everest is named. Teacher and pupil kept in contact, and in 1855 shocked friends by announcing their marriage: he was 40, she was 23. Five daughters were born in quick succession. Ethel Lilian (Voynich), the youngest, came to write The Gadfly , a novel that sold millions of copies in Russia and China. The couple lived first on Sunday’s Well Road, a 10-minute walk from college, later in a house overlooking the sea on Castle Road outside Blackrock, and finally at Lichfield Cottage in suburban Ballintemple”. Mary went to some of his lectures — possibly the first woman in Ireland to attend university classes. Forefather of AI Boole’s masterpiece, An Investigation of the Laws of Thought , was published in 1854, and helped towards his appointment as Fellow of the Royal Society in 1857 — an extraordinary achievement considering he began as a lone wolf schoolteacher. In his book, Boole maintained that every human thought has two outcomes, every whim can be reduced to a mathematical operation: ‘yes’ or ‘no’, ‘true’ or ‘false’, ‘on’ or ‘off’, ‘1’ or ‘0’ — just like the symbols on the switch of an electric kettle. When reasoning, speakers of every language use three words: ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘not’, continued Boole. By giving these words mathematical symbols (∧, ∨, and ¬), it was possible to control them. Today, they can be used in computer programmes. ‘Boolean Algebra’ and ‘Boolean Logic’ paved the way for designing modern, high-speed computer circuits and relays. These days, “every keystroke on your computer, every swipe on your phone, every answer from Siri can be traced to Boole. We are awash in Boole”, says Canadian technology buff Ava Chisling. Although the expression ‘Artificial Intelligence’ wasn't used until 1955 by American academic John McCarthy, “Boole’s work provided the groundwork for many AI algorithms today”, says philosopher Antonio Panovski. An ugly death Boole’s teaching duties were demanding — he had 73 students, more than any other teacher — and placed a huge toll on his health. Clashes with college management, and a mysterious fire which burned down his office, added to this stress. On November 24, 1864, when his train was cancelled, he walked three miles in pouring rain from his home in Ballintemple to Queen's College, where he lectured in saturated clothes. That night he developed a feverish cold, which settled on his lungs. Delirious and unable to speak, doctors concluded that his brain was in “the most alarming condition”. Mary Boole was an advocate of ‘fringe medicine’, especially homeopathy, which believes in treating the illness with the cause. Seeing as her husband’s illness was caused by exposure to rain, moisture could restore him to health, so she laid him in wet linen. On the evening of December 8, aged only 49, George Boole died from pneumonia. Although only a simple headstone marks his grave at St Michael’s Cemetery, Blackrock, Boole’s name lives on at UCC, where the library bears his name, and a panel in the Boole Memorial Window depicts him as a medieval scholar, diligently at work. “If Boole had lived”, speculates MacHale, “we might have had the computer revolution in the 19th century, rather than the 20th and 21st century”. Be that as it may, he would surely be chuffed — in his quiet way, of course — that today an AI-driven self-emptying robot vacuum cleaner and mop combo, called the ‘Boolean Cloud H7’, can clean people’s homes when they tap on their smartphone.Charting a path toward overcoming glioblastoma resistance to chemotherapyBy the close of poll on Saturday, September 21, social media was already buzzing with complaints . Allegations of fraud, intimidation and disenfranchisement were widespread. In a two-month-long investigation, The Informant247 assembled evidence of several ‘electoral manipulations’ done by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) during the September 21 local government elections. The report documents discrepancies in the election results, voter suppression and widespread disenfranchisement caused by shortages of electoral materials, despite billions of naira released for it. Exclusive footage also shows officials tampering with thumb-printed ballot papers. When approached for comment, the electoral chairman harassed, threatened and briefly detained our journalist in his office. The day was Wednesday. The atmosphere in Kwara State was one of uneasy calm, with just four days remaining until an election that would usher in a new democratically elected leadership at the third tier of government in the state, following more than three years of rule by a Transition Implementation Committee. A few days earlier, the Nigerian government had vowed to stop releasing allocations to states without democratically elected local council executives, after a Supreme Court ruling granted them full autonomy. All eyes were on the newly appointed Chairman of the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC), Mohammed Baba-Okanla. In his 60s, this was likely his first major assignment, but he did not show any signs of nervousness. He sat confidently as he outlined his plans for a hitch-free election during a media briefing organised by the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Ilorin. “Polling units will open at 8:00 a.m., and voting will conclude by 3:00 p.m., after which sorting, counting, and collation of results will begin immediately,” he told the gathered journalists, who were eager for a newsworthy story to share with their equally anxious audiences. “The announcement of results will take place at the designated collation centres, once counting is concluded.” He added that the commission had worked diligently to ensure every aspect of the electoral process had been carefully planned and organised. “The issue of the voter register is one we have taken very seriously. A credible voter register is the foundation of any free and fair election, as it ensures that only eligible citizens participate in the electoral process,” he emphasised. He also reassured the public that the commission would conduct a free, fair and credible election. By the close of poll on Saturday, September 21, social media was already buzzing with complaints . Allegations of fraud, intimidation and disenfranchisement were widespread. Nevertheless, before Kwarans had even woken up the following morning, Baba-Okanla had once again appeared before journalists — this time looking shaky and reading from his phone — to announce the outcome of the election. “After meticulous collation and verification, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged victorious in all categories. Specifically, the APC has won all 16 local government chairmanship positions and secured all 193 councilorship seats,” he read. However, an investigation by The Informant247 has found several evidence showing how results from the election were manipulated. While the official result declared by the electoral body gave a clear 100 percent victory to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) across all 193 wards and 16 local governments, our findings revealed that the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had actually received the most votes in several polling units. For instance, in Patigi Ward 3 of Patigi Local Government Area, the candidate from the Peoples Democratic Party won the councillorship seat, contrary to the official results declared by the electoral body, according to result sheets obtained by our team. From the result, the PDP received 677 votes, while the APC amassed 638 votes. The opposition party won in 5 of the 8 polling units in the ward, leaving the ruling party with just 3, in a vote that recorded a 27% turnout. Other parties could only muster 12 votes. Similarly, for Balogun Fulani Ward 3 of Ilorin South Local Government Area, through our team’s month-long efforts, we gathered result sheets from all 17 polling units in the ward. The electoral body had declared the APC candidate the winner of the councillor seat in the ward. However, The Informant247’s review of the results from the 17 polling units revealed a sharp contrast with the official outcome. Out of the 17, the PDP won 16, leaving the APC with only 1. We found that the PDP received 870 votes, defeating the APC, which secured 375 votes — a margin of 495 votes. Further findings suggested that the opposition PDP may have won some chairmanship seats in the state as well. Nevertheless, it is important to clarify that, although we searched through a lot of polling units, we were unable to obtain results from all of them. In many PUs, electoral officials did not provide result sheets to record votes cast. In other units, results were blurred or improperly captured, making them illegible. In places like Baruteen, Offa, and Irepodun, among others, no results were available from a large percentage of polling units. Many of these may have been areas where no voting took place due to non-arrival of voting materials. As a result, our investigation could not provide conclusive results for several other wards and local government areas across the state, despite collecting a large portion of the result sheets. Although the state electoral body declared the APC the winner in Alanamu, the largest ward in Kwara’s biggest Ilorin West Local Government Area and a key battleground, video evidence obtained by our team reveals a different outcome. Reading out the votes at the ward collation centre, the electoral officer mentioned that the APC, for the councillor seat, secured 1,856 votes, while the PDP got over 2,500 votes, winning by a landslide and thereby declaring the PDP the winner of the councillors seat. In another video obtained by our team, the electoral officer declared that the PDP secured the highest number of votes in both the chairmanship and councillor elections in Gambari Ward 2 of Ilorin East Local Government Area. For the councillorship, he disclosed that the PDP received 1,412 votes, while the APC secured 1,006 votes. A similar trend was seen in the chairmanship race, where the PDP received 1,273 votes, while the APC got 1,004 votes. In Zango Ward of Ilorin East Local Government Area, the electoral officer announced that, for the councillor seat, the APC received 971 votes, while the PDP amassed 1,327 votes. For the chairmanship, the PDP received 1,277 votes, while the APC got 1,012 votes. The electoral officer then declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party the winner of the councillorship position. The case was the same in Oju-Ekun Zarumi Ward of Ilorin West Local Government Area, where the electoral officer confirmed that the PDP candidate had received the most votes for the councillor seat. A crowd of supporters at the collation centre was heard shouting, “PDP!!!” The use of flashlights by the electoral officials indicated that the video recording was done late in the day. Earlier in the day, Kwarans had queued in the sun and rain despite the biting effects of the country’s economic hardship. Yet, thousands of voters were unable to cast their ballots. Far fewer than half of eligible voters across polling units in the state were able to participate in the elections, despite the commission’s billion of naira budgetary allocation. The state government had initially allocated N1,000,000,000.00 for the election in the 2024 approved budget. However, it later revised the budget to N2,668,896,924.00. By the end of September 2024, the government reported that it had released N1,620,709,540.00 to the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC) for the procurement of electoral hardware and software materials for the election. Our findings, however, revealed that despite the billions released, election materials — primarily ballot papers and, in other cases, result sheets among others — were insufficiently provided at several polling units across the state. These logistical challenges caused widespread suppression, leading to frustration among voters, some of whom waited for several hours but still could not vote. In Offa, journalists reported that only a few functioning polling centres operated during the entire day; many designated polling units were completely deserted. Local observers witnessed several polling stations open around noon, but because of widespread controversy surrounding the lack of result sheets to record results and voter registers at some polling stations, many voters refused to participate and only a handful of ballots were cast. Abdulwahab Oladimeji, a resident of Offa Local Government Area, one of the areas worst affected, said the election could not take place because incomplete ballot papers were provided at his polling unit (006) in Essa C Ward. One electoral official told The Informant247, “I am ready to do my job, but I do not have the appropriate materials. The ballot papers they gave me are incomplete, and there is no result sheet to record the vote.” But it wasn’t just that. 45-year-old Jimoh Tajudeen, from polling unit 005, Shawo South East Ward, said voting couldn’t proceed at his unit because half of the electorate couldn’t find their names on the voter list provided by the electoral body. For Mrs. Taofeek, a fashion designer at polling unit 001, Open Space Obatiwajuoye Area in Ojomu Central B, she said that although the election was held in her polling unit, she was unable to vote because her name was suspiciously missing from the voter register. Further independent checks on several stamped election result sheets from no fewer than 10 local government areas revealed that the number of ballot papers provided at many polling units fell short of the number of registered voters on the lists. For instance, in Ilorin South Local Government Area, a total of 300 ballot papers were issued to polling unit 013, Open Space Beside Ajaye, Balogun Fulani Ward 3, against 510 registered voters on the register, potentially disenfranchising over 200 voters. Similarly, at polling unit 006, Open Space Ode Alfa Ibeji in Balogun Fulani Ward 3, the election officials provided 300 ballot papers, a figure that didn’t correspond with the 750 voters on the list. In Ilorin West, journalist Abdulwaheed Sulaiman said the majority of voters in his polling unit 035, Akala-Abe in Adewole Ward, were unable to vote. “I was present to cover the election and also to exercise my franchise. But I observed that across the 38 polling units in my ward, none had sufficient ballot papers. “For instance, in my own unit, the ward electoral officials arrived very late. Quite strikingly, we only had 200 ballot papers for both chairmanship and councillorship. This is a polling unit with over 600 registered voters. Though the majority of registered voters were unfortunately disenfranchised, we still insisted that the election must proceed.” In a video clip obtained by our team, the electoral officer at polling unit 033, Warrah/Oshin/Egbejila Ward of Ilorin West, confirmed that the election did not take place at the unit due to a shortage of ballot papers. In the clip, independently verified by our team as genuine, she said, “Election did not hold in my polling unit due to a shortage of ballot papers. Instead of the expected 163 ballot papers, we only received 99 papers — 50 for chairmanship and 49 for councillorship.” In Baruteen, journalists reported that voting did not take place at all in several areas. Polls that were scheduled to open by 8 a.m. either opened after midday or not at all. Local observers reported identical scenes in Irepodun and Isin LGAs. In Yowere, Sosoki, and Alapa of Asa, voters were, reportedly, seen sitting outside their assigned polling units well into the afternoon, waiting in vain for electoral officials and materials to arrive. “We have just been waiting here since morning,” one would-be voter in Isin told journalists. “We want to vote, but there is no election here.” Abdulrazaq Olayemi, the deputy coordinator of the Kwara-based Elites Network for Sustainable Development, cited several problems with the vote, including the late arrival of officials at some polling stations and the failure to provide sufficient ballot papers and result sheets. “We are aware of numerous polling units where KWASIEC officials brought insufficient ballot papers, leading to a situation where voters who showed up far outnumbered the available ballot papers. This deliberate disenfranchisement of eligible voters — who are listed on the KWASIEC voters’ register — is a strong sign that the electoral body never intended for the results of the LG election to reflect the true desires of Kwarans,” he said in a statement issued after the election. He added, “In many polling units, KWASIEC officials were reported not to bring result sheets, and voters were not confident enough to proceed with the elections as there was no official document where their votes would be recorded after counting and collation. Many feared their votes might not count, and that the number of votes later announced by KWASIEC might differ completely from what they actually cast in their respective polling units.” Aside from the massive disenfranchisement that affected the election, several cases of rigging, ballot-stuffing and disruption of the voting process were reported across the state. For example, The Informant247 was able to exclusively obtain footage that appears to show officials ripping up ballots with votes. The incident, which we independently confirmed, happened at the Offa Local Government Secretariat, which serves as the collation centre for the Local Government Area. Further independent checks by The Informant247, using deepfake technology, confirmed the authenticity of the 48-second video. The man who recorded the clip was eventually cautioned by a yet-to-be-identified individual. One could hear him saying, “What you are doing is not good. Can you record your face as well?” In several other video clips obtained by The Informant247, we saw how thugs stormed different polling units, making off with stacks of ballot papers and other materials. At Kasandubu Polling Unit, Okaka 2 of Ilorin South, voters fought off the invading thugs, preventing them from stealing the ballot boxes. The scene was the same at Ansarul Islam LGEA Okaka 2 of Ilorin South, a polling station with 7 PUs, where ballots already cast were scattered by suspected thugs, who were said to have come in large numbers. As seen in the disruption video, the ballot boxes were destroyed, and the ballot papers were scattered across the field. Also, in another video clip that has now gone viral on social media, voters in Ilorin East, angered by the outcome of the election, attacked electoral officials, destroying voting materials and burning ballot papers. Journalists and local election observers have reported that the elections were similarly marred by violence, fraud, and intimidation in several other places across the state. When contacted via phone call, Baba-Okanla, the chairman, told us that there were no anomalies in the election. When asked about the several pieces of evidence we had gathered that showed the opposition had won in some wards , he replied, “Let them go to court now. Any aggrieved party, let them go to court. Let them go to court and present the video in court so that the judge can make a final declaration. Final judgement.” Again, asked why electoral materials were insufficiently provided across the state despite the funds released for the election, he directed The Informant247 journalist who called to visit his office. On Wednesday, November 20, one of our investigative team members visited his office. He met the chairman alongside a few other officials. When he presented some of the facts we had gathered to him, the chairman said, “That is why it doesn’t make sense. Where is the result that shows you that? Since you’ve done your report, there’s no need to hear from me. Mr. Man, don’t embarrass yourself. Don’t embarrass yourself. Are you with me? Don’t embarrass yourself. It’s better you remain in your own class, because what you’re doing will implicate you and land you where you don’t expect. We are asking you now. You say you’re a journalist—were you at the place where what you are saying happened?” At this point, one of the officials, whom the chairman addressed as Honourable Commissioner, interjected, “You see, when you have a result and the difference is just six, haha, for an educated person, you should know that when you thoroughly investigate it, and you now consider the pluses and minuses, it might not be the true result you’ve gotten. A difference of six. Had the difference been, say, 100, 200, or even 1,000, then you could make a case. But a difference of six? And you don’t know about pluses and minuses? It’s possible that when you’re comparing the results, or whoever gave you the results, they may have missed something somewhere.” Regarding the funds released for the election, the official said, “Do you have the power or authority to investigate money allocated to people? Like your office now — does anybody have the power to come and ask you how much has entered your account, like last year versus this year, and how you spent it? Does anybody have that authority, apart from your organisation, apart from your employer? The only people who have authority over what goes to people and how it is spent are the authorities that allocated that money. And even those authorities have their own mechanisms. He continued, “Is it your business? Even if it’s N10 billion that’s given to the organisation, is it your business? The election was not well conducted. One Gambari ward 1 or 6, whatever they won — is that your business? It’s not your business now.” This report was published with support and funding from Civic Media Lab
AP Top 25: Alabama, Mississippi out of top 10 and Miami, SMU are in; Oregon remains unanimous No. 1 Alabama and Mississippi tumbled out of the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll and Miami and SMU moved in following a chaotic weekend in the SEC. Oregon is No. 1 for the sixth straight week and Ohio State, Texas and Penn State held their places behind the Ducks. The shuffling begins at No. 5, where Notre Dame returned for the first time since Week 2 after beating Army for its ninth straight win. No. 6 Georgia and No. 7 Tennessee each moved up two spots. Miami, SMU and Indiana round out the top 10. Jannik Sinner leads Italy past the Netherlands for its second consecutive Davis Cup title MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Jannik Sinner clinched Italy's second consecutive Davis Cup title and capped his breakthrough season at the top of tennis by beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (2), 6-2 for a 2-0 win over the Netherlands in the final of the team competition in Malaga, Spain. Matteo Berrettini won Sunday's opening singles match 6-4, 6-2 against Botic van de Zandschulp. The Italians are the first country to win the Davis Cup twice in a row since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013. The No. 1-ranked Sinner stretched his unbeaten streak in singles to 14 matches and 26 sets. Netherlands reached the Davis Cup final for the first time. Chuck Woolery, smooth-talking game show host of 'Love Connection' and 'Scrabble,' dies at 83 NEW YORK (AP) — Chuck Woolery, the affable, smooth-talking game show host of “Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection” and “Scrabble” who later became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about COVID-19, has died. He was 83. Mark Young, Woolery’s podcast co-host and friend, said in an email early Sunday that Woolery died at his home in Texas with his wife, Kristen, present. Woolery, with his matinee idol looks, coiffed hair and ease with witty banter, was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978. He teamed up with Young for the podcast “Blunt Force Truth” and became a full supporter Donald Trump. St. Louis Blues fire Drew Bannister and hire Jim Montgomery as coach The St. Louis Blues have fired coach Drew Bannister and hired Jim Montgomery as his replacement. The 2022 Jack Adams Award winner, Montgomery joins the Blues five days after he was fired by the Boston Bruins. Bannister had been on the job in St. Louis for less than a year since succeeding Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube and getting the interim tag removed after last season. The Blues have lost 13 of their first 22 games. Montgomery spent two seasons as an assistant on Berube's staff in St. Louis between coaching Dallas and Boston. The team signed Montgomery to a five-year contract. Rico Carty, who won the 1970 NL batting title with the Atlanta Braves, dies at 85 Rico Carty, who won the 1970 NL batting title when he hit a major league-best .366 for the Atlanta Braves, has died. He was 85. Major League Baseball, the players’ association and the Braves have paid tribute to Carty on social media. A family friend told Listín Diario — a newspaper in Carty’s native Dominican Republic — that he died Saturday night in an Atlanta hospital. Carty made his big league debut with the Braves in September 1963. He batted .330 with 22 homers and 88 RBIs in his first full season in 1964, finishing second to Dick Allen in voting for NL Rookie of the Year. The Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta after the 1965 season, and Carty got the franchise’s first hit in its new home on April 12, 1966, against Pittsburgh. Dartmouth sorority, two members of fraternity face charges after student who attended party drowned HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — A sorority at Dartmouth College and two members of a fraternity faces charges related to the death of a student who drowned after attending an off-campus party. The Hanover, New Hampshire police department, where Dartmouth is located, said Friday that Alpha Phi was charged with one count of facilitating an underage alcohol house. Two members of the Beta Alpha Omega face a charge of providing alcohol to a person under 21. Won Jang, 20, of Middletown, Delaware, had attended an off-campus party in July hosted by Alpha Phi sorority. Police said the alcohol was provided by Beta Alpha Omega. Tens of thousands of Spaniards protest housing crunch and high rents in Barcelona BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Spaniards are marching in downtown Barcelona to protest the skyrocketing cost of renting an apartment in the popular tourist destination. Protesters cut off traffic on main avenues in the city center, holding up homemade signs in Spanish reading “Fewer apartments for investing and more homes for living." The lack of affordable housing has become one of the leading concerns for the southern European Union country, mirroring the housing crunch across many parts of the world, including the United States. The average rent for Spain has doubled in the last decade. In cities like Barcelona, rental prices have also been driven up by short-term renters including tourists. Verstappen captures 4th F1 championship after Mercedes sweep of Las Vegas Grand Prix LAS VEGAS (AP) — Max Verstappen cruised to a fourth consecutive Formula 1 championship Saturday night by finishing fifth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Verstappen needed only to finish ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren to give Red Bull a fourth straight driver championship. The Dutchman started fifth but was already up to second by the 10th lap around the street circuit that includes the famed Las Vegas Strip. Norris, who had to score at least three points more than Verstappen to extend the championship fight, finished sixth. The race was won by George Russell who was followed by Lewis Hamilton in the first 1-2 sweep for the Mercedes drivers since 2022. 'Wicked' and 'Gladiator' make gravity-defying theater debuts NEW YORK (AP) — “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” have debuted in theaters with a combined $270 million in ticket sales. Their worldwide performance breathed fresh life into global box office results that have struggled lately. Together the films turned the moviegoing weekend into one of the busiest of the year. Jon M. Chu’s lavish big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally. Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” is a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original and launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. “Moana 2” is being released Wednesday, so it looks like Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday. Jason Kelce's wife announces she is pregnant with the couple's fourth child Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce's wife is announcing she's pregnant with the couple's fourth child. Kylie Kelce posted a photo on Instagram on Friday of the couple's three young daughters reacting to the news. The oldest daughter, Wyatt, appears to be cupping her head in shock. The middle daughter, Ellioette, is smiling. The youngest, Bennett, is in tears. A caption attached to the photo reads: “I feel like we captured a very accurate representation of how each of the girls feel about getting another sister. At least Ellie, mom and dad are on the same page!”TUI AG (OTCMKTS:TUIFF) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest
Whether you're using a virtual private network to hide your online activity from your ISP, bypass firewalls, avoid censorship or simply stream your favorite sports and entertainment, CNET's expert-tested, hands-on VPN reviews will help you quickly choose the best service for you. A virtual private network routes your internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a secure VPN server in a location of your choosing, keeping your online activity private and giving you broader access to the internet. With a VPN connection, outside entities like your internet service provider, network administrators, government snoops and hackers are unable to see what you're doing online. Because the VPN routes your encrypted traffic through a different location and hides your IP address in the process, you can bypass firewalls to access blocked sites on your network and unblock geographically restricted content online. How we test VPNs Comparing VPN services can be confusing, given the range of options and each one's specialized features and pricing structures. Choosing the right VPN is especially important if you have heightened privacy needs . That's why CNET has developed a detailed and rigorous VPN testing and review process to help quickly guide you toward a confident decision. All of the VPNs we review are meticulously evaluated on everything from features to usability, speeds, server network, privacy policy, ownership, jurisdiction, price and everything in between. We always incorporate hands-on testing, in addition to research and interviews with VPN representatives and experts, into our reviews. While it's a lengthy process, we stand by the time we put into our VPN reviews because that allows us to deliver an authentic assessment that's thorough, cuts through the hype and helps you make an informed choice. CNET's team of VPN experts includes Attila Tomaschek and Moe Long. Together, we have nearly two decades' worth of experience using, testing, researching and reviewing dozens of VPNs. We've run thousands of speed tests, written hundreds of articles and had expert commentary on VPNs and digital privacy published in various online publications. Our testing and review process takes into consideration the many reasons to use a VPN and focuses on what you need to know about the VPNs we review. All the VPNs we review are selected by our team of experts and are assessed with complete editorial independence. To be considered by our experts for a spot on CNET's best VPNs list , a VPN must meet our criteria for privacy, speed and value. It must also be easy to use, unblock various streaming services and be available on most major platforms. To earn an Editors' Choice designation, a VPN must consistently demonstrate exceptional capacity in one or more of those areas. How we assign VPN ratings Our VPN reviews include numerical ratings of the services we evaluate. We assign an overall rating on a 10-point scale based on the VPN's performance in five subcategories: privacy, speed, features, value and usability. Each subcategory is rated separately on its own 10-point scale, and we calculate the average of the subcategory scores to determine the overall rating. We assign a discrete list of standards to each numerical score within the 10-point scale for each subcategory. For example, our speed ratings are based on the percentage of speed loss measured, so a speed loss of 11% to 20% would earn a score of 9, while a speed loss of 10% or lower would earn a 10 for speed. Whenever we re-review a VPN provider, we take a fresh look at its performance and its ratings can change (up or down) based on that evaluation. We weigh each subcategory equally because of the variety of ways and reasons to use a VPN. Weighing subcategories differently would unfairly favor certain uses. A journalist or activist in a region with oppressive online censorship and surveillance will have vastly different priorities than someone on vacation who simply wants to watch their Netflix shows from abroad. Both users have valid reasons to use a VPN, but while the former example would put a heavier emphasis on privacy, the latter would probably be more interested in speed and usability. Our VPN ratings aim to provide an easily digestible view of the overall quality of the VPN at a glance. And ultimately, we hope that our rating system will help drive VPN companies to keep improving their services for their users by seeing where there's room to improve. To find the VPN that best fits your needs, we strongly encourage you to carefully consider the sections within our individual VPN reviews that reflect your biggest considerations. How we test VPN speeds Using a VPN will slow your internet speeds. This can be a result of various factors, but it's mostly because the VPN encrypts your traffic and routes it through a different server location, both of which take time and contribute to the speed loss. Slow speeds can negatively affect things like streaming, gaming, video conferencing and even general browsing. VPN speeds are important for many activities, so one of the main things you'd want to know about a potential VPN service is how much you can expect it to slow you down. VPN speed testing is an inexact science, but when we evaluate a VPN's speeds, we do our best to replicate the conditions in which the typical VPN user would use their VPN. With the help of CNET's Labs team (a dedicated team of data and product testing experts) in Louisville, Kentucky, we first measure our internet speeds on a residential Wi-Fi network without connecting to the VPN. This is to get a baseline reading for comparing the speeds we get through various VPN server locations. Although we report on the actual speed numbers we achieve with and without the VPN, we focus mainly on the percentage of speed lost through the VPN connection. For example, we'd report a VPN cutting our speeds by 17% rather than just saying we got 345.23 Mbps through the VPN's German servers. Network speeds vary wildly, and the network(s) we're testing on may be significantly faster or slower than the network you're using. Framing speed performance in terms of percentage loss helps you translate the exact speeds to your internet connections. We use the popular speed testing platform developed by Ookla, a network testing firm based in Seattle, to run three rounds of speed tests using OpenVPN and another three on WireGuard (or the equivalent proprietary protocol, if applicable) on both Windows and MacOS. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by CNET's parent company, Ziff Davis.) We run tests using OpenVPN and WireGuard because they are two of the most popular VPN protocols. We recommend OpenVPN for optimal privacy and WireGuard for optimal speeds. Each round of speed tests includes three tests without the VPN, then three tests each to six different server locations: New York, the UK, France, Germany, Singapore and Australia. Including the baseline internet speed tests, we run a minimum of 252-speed tests on each VPN we review. Once we've collected all of our speed test readings, we take the averages and calculate the average speed loss. In addition to reporting the average speed loss, we highlight which protocols, server locations and operating systems delivered the fastest speeds. We also call out any inconsistencies or anomalies we detect. For example, we'll note in our review if we saw any major speed fluctuations from one test to another, or if we noticed significantly faster speeds to a distant location than we did to a location closer to our physical testing location(s). We'll also recognize VPNs that deliver consistent speeds throughout the testing process. Many VPNs can cut your speeds by 50% or more, but we look for VPNs that cut speeds by 20% or less -- those providers can qualify for placement on our list of the fastest VPNs . How we assess VPN value When we look at a VPN's value, we consider the price of the service itself and the overall value it delivers through its features and performance. We take into consideration all of the subscription plan options available, but we generally don't recommend signing on with a VPN provider for more than a year at a time. Things tend to shift rapidly in the VPN industry, and performance can fluctuate as VPN companies consolidate , server networks expand or contract, policies change and features come and go. We also check which payment options are available and whether the VPN offers a money-back guarantee or a free trial (or even a free version). If a money-back guarantee includes any stipulations, we make sure to call it out. As with any product or service, the overall quality and performance of the VPN should be commensurate with the price you pay for it. This is why we consider every aspect of the VPN when evaluating its value, including its feature set, server network, number of simultaneous connections and ease of use. We check the VPN's help section for tutorials and help articles and we actively engage with the customer support team to assess how responsive and effective it is. We test the VPN's streaming capabilities through various server locations on several different streaming services, including Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. We test the service on all available platforms and operating systems to assess its compatibility and consistency across platforms. If applicable, we test any "quick connect" feature to ensure it works as intended and connects us to an optimal server. We also look out for and actively test any unique features that the VPN may offer. To be considered for a spot on CNET's list of the best cheap VPNs , the VPN must deliver a premium level of performance at a budget-friendly price. How we evaluate VPN privacy Because privacy is the often biggest selling point of a VPN, we pay special attention to and scrutinize everything about a VPN's privacy posture. Evaluating a VPN's privacy protections involves deep research, frequent communication with VPN representatives (whether via email, video conference or both) and meticulous hands-on testing. We carefully examine the VPN's privacy policy, with special attention to things like logging practices and data collection and sharing. Even though VPN ownership is often murky territory, we carefully research the company's corporate structure and history, making sure to flag anything potentially dubious. We want to make sure VPNs are as transparent as possible and that you know the entity behind the VPN you're entrusting with your online privacy. If anything is unclear or if we uncover anything suspect in the VPN's corporate structure or policies, we make sure to reach out to the company for clarification. We look for things like third-party security audit reports and transparency reports -- how many have been published and how often? We also look for any court cases the VPN company has been involved with -- with special attention to cases where authorities have requested activity logs. The country from which the VPN operates is also an important consideration, so we research the VPN's jurisdiction to see what privacy laws are in place and whether the country is part of the 14 Eyes data-sharing alliance. At a minimum, a VPN should have a no-logging policy and offer AES 256-bit encryption, DNS leak protection and a kill switch . We put each VPN's kill switch feature through its paces to make sure it's doing what it's supposed to be doing and we run multiple DNS leak tests on various VPN servers using leak testing sites like ipleak.net. We also check to see whether the VPN still offers outdated and vulnerable VPN protocols like PPTP, and if so, we make sure to flag it because it can give users a false sense of security when using the VPN. We look for VPNs that offer a diskless, RAM-only server infrastructure as well as advanced privacy features like obfuscation, multihop connections, split-tunneling , ad/malware blocking and Tor over VPN. Whenever possible, we thoroughly test these features, along with any additional privacy features the VPN may offer that go above and beyond. A VPN must offer excellent privacy protections, deliver stable connections and go beyond the call of duty in terms of transparency in order to earn its stripes as one of CNET's top VPNs.
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The National Pension Commission, PenCom, on Thursday said it had issued over 38,000 Pension Clearance Certificates, PCC, so far to organisations, in 2024. The Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, said this at a workshop organised by PenCom for journalists covering the pension industry in Lagos. The theme of the workshop was, “Tech-Driven Transformation: Shaping the Pension Landscape”. In 2023, PenCom issued 30,293 PCCs to firms. PCC is an evidence of compliance with the Pension Act. it serves as a prerequisite for all suppliers, contractors, or consultants soliciting contract or business from Ministries, Departmentss, and Agencies, MDAs, of the Federal Government. PenCom commenced the issuance of PCC to organisations in 2012 in line with the Pension Reform Act, PRA, which mandates all organisations with at least three employees to participate in the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS. However, the certificate is valid up to Dec. 31 of the year it was obtained, irrespective of the date it was issued within the year. Organisations are, thus, required to apply for new PCC’s each year. Ms Oloworaran said that the commission also achieved a major milestone with the launch of the e-Application Portal for the PPC in October. She said that the initiative replaced the previous manual process, enabling companies to seamlessly apply for and receive PCCs online, significantly enhancing ease of doing business and ensuring compliance. The director-general said that the Pension Industry Shared Service Initiative is in an advanced stage of implementation. She said that the initiative would digitise pension contributions and remittances, ensuring seamless processing of contributions and resolving discrepancies caused by incomplete remittance details. “To further enhance contributors’ experiences, we have introduced a revised programme withdrawal template, simplifying access to voluntary contributions and revising the threshold for en-bloc payments in line with the new minimum wage. “These measures are designed to make retirement processes more efficient and user-centric. “But beyond policies and systems, what really excites me is the potential to transform lives,” she said. According to her, technology has become the backbone of transformation across all sectors, and the pension industry is no exception, hence PenCom has embraced the transformation wholeheartedly. Ms Oloworaran said that there are over 10.5 million contributors, while pension assets are in excess of N21.9 trillion as at October. She said that this progress demonstrated the strength of the CPS, though not without challenges. “Inflation, for instance, continues to erode the purchasing power of pensioners, and we are actively seeking innovative solutions to address this issue. “We also continue to face the persistent issue of delays in the payment of accrued rights. “Recently, N44 billion was approved under the 2024 budget appropriation to settle accrued pension rights for retirees from March to September 2023. “Moving forward, we are working with the Federal Government to put in place a sustainable solution that ensures that retirees receive their benefits promptly and without undue stress,” she said. She said that since assuming office, she and her team had been focused on strengthening compliance, enhancing service delivery, diversifying pension assets to optimising returns. She said that they had also been improving benefits and expanding coverage to include more Nigerians, especially those in the informal sector. Ms Oloworaran expressed passion over the micro-pension initiative, in particular, noting that it is the commission’s way of fostering financial inclusion, no matter how small an earning might be. She said that the commission intended to use technology to scale the micro-pension plan. “Technology plays a vital role in driving this inclusion from mobile enrollment to real-time account management,” she said. She said that PenCom planned to rebrand the micro-pension scheme, and also target onboarding not less than 20 million Nigerians in the informal sector. Ms Oloworaran acknowledged the role of the media as stakeholders in the success of the pension system. “As we integrate technology across every aspect of the pension industry, we are paving the way for a future where the CPS becomes more accessible, reliable, and sustainable. “However, this transformation cannot succeed without your unwavering support as media practitioners. “Your role in amplifying our initiatives and educating stakeholders across Nigeria is essential to achieving this vision,” she said. She described the ability of the media to inform, educate, and hold institutions accountable as invaluable. “Together, we can ensure that every Nigerian, including the most vulnerable, has access to a secure and dignified retirement,” she said. NAN