
Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts
Minority Business Development Agency Releases Report on Closing Supply Chain Gaps with MBEsEDMONTON - The Alberta government has announced plans to ban new mountaintop removal and open-pit coal developments on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, but the new rules wouldn’t apply to advanced projects like a contentious mine proposed for the Crowsnest Pass. Energy and Minerals Minister Brian Jean announced Friday the new policies expected in late 2025, along with a round of consultations with industry players on how to implement them. Jean said under the “long overdue” rule revamp, all coal mining projects would be held to the highest environmental standards. “Our job will be to develop a policy that will attract investment and create jobs while respecting and protecting the air, land, water and wildlife,” he said. Jean said royalty revenues are also to be “substantially increased,” with rates to be revised after the consultations. “They’re too low. We’re going to bring them up,” he said of the province’s current rates. The new bans wouldn’t apply to advanced proposals, including the proposed Grassy Mountain open-pit mine in the Crowsnest Pass, which has been fought by environmental groups and communities downstream. Alberta Energy Regulator hearings into that project are to continue in January. Jean said the Grassy Mountain project, which aims to reclaim a site that was mined over 60 years ago but was never properly restored, would be monitored closely if approved. He said the province needs to find innovative ways to clean up those contaminated sites. “I hope (Albertans) look at us and say, ‘Wow, that’s smart. What a smart government,’” he said. Concerns over coal mining blew up in spring 2020, when the province announced it would remove rules that had protected the eastern slopes of the Rockies from open-pit coal mining since 1976. Public reaction was swift and angry, and the United Conservative Party government reinstated the protections and stopped selling exploration leases. Friday’s announcement also comes three years after the government received a report and recommendations on the issue, including public feedback ranging from environmental concerns to dissatisfaction with the regulatory process. Jean said the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s provincial election and fights with the federal government over resource jurisdiction led to the delay of the new initiative. NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the plan to collect more royalties represents a plan to increase production in Alberta, with no economic benefit and a lot of environmental risk. “They may want to mess around with the rates, but what they really are trying to do is increase the amount of coal mining in the province,” he said. He said the policy previously in place since 1976 was lifted for a brief period so the UCP could “sneak” a few projects through the regulatory process. “It’s economically illiterate. It’s not going to create the jobs and the economic benefits that we need in Alberta,” Nenshi said. Under the new rules, companies would be required to show they can prevent toxic selenium from leaching into watersheds. Jean said technology, including “high wall mining” to catch overburden, the layer of soil and rock that sits above coal, would be used to keep it in check. But NDP environment and protected areas critic Sarah Elmeligi said she’s skeptical technology to remove selenium from waterways works at scale, outside a lab. “That technology doesn’t currently exist and, if it does, I would love to see it.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2024.
The Big Ten Conference released its 2025 football schedule on Wednesday afternoon, handing UCLA some new Big Ten opponents as well as some familiar competition from the Pac-12. The Bruins will close out the season on Nov. 29 with a rivalry game against USC at the Coliseum with hopes of taking back the Victory Bell. UCLA lost, 19-13, at the Rose Bowl in this season’s edition of the rivalry. The second Big Ten Conference schedule for the Bruins includes away games against Northwestern, Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio State and USC. Home conference games will come against Penn State, Maryland, Nebraska and former Pac-12 foe Washington. UCLA has played Northwestern only once since 1970 and hasn’t squared up with Maryland since 1955. The Bruins will alternate home and away games on a weekly basis, as opposed to a 2024 slate that featured back-to-back road games on two different occasions. Although head coach DeShaun Foster said the team had gotten the hang of Big Ten travel, the 2025 schedule could alleviate some travel fatigue. The nonconference schedule includes a season opener at home against Pac-12-turned-Big-12 opponent Utah, followed by a game at UNLV and another home game against New Mexico before a bye week. The timing of the bye week could be another benefit for UCLA and allow the Bruins to prepare and rest ahead of its Big Ten schedule. UCLA had a bye immediately after its first game this season and resumed its schedule with five straight losses. 2025 UCLA football schedule (*indicates Big Ten game) Aug. 30 vs. Utah Sept. 6 at UNLV Sept. 13 vs. New Mexico Sept. 27 at Northwestern* Oct. 4 vs. Penn State* Oct. 11 at Michigan State* Oct. 18 vs. Maryland* Oct. 25 at Indiana* Nov. 8 vs. Nebraska* Nov. 15 at Ohio State* Nov. 22 vs. Washington* Nov. 29 at USC*Alabama, which also appears to be headed to the playoffs, is right behind them. The two Atlanta-bound and presumably playoff-bound SEC powers are leading the way in recruiting league-wide and nationally during the early signing period that started Wednesday. They'll meet Saturday in the SEC championship game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They're currently No. 1 (Texas) and No. 2 (Georgia) nationally, but the SEC holds a sweep of the top three with the Crimson Tide ranked third in Kalen DeBoer's first full recruiting cycle. The league holds eight of the top 11 spots. The final rankings are pending the decision of the nation's top uncommitted prospect, defensive tackle Justus Terry, who is expected to choose among three SEC schools: Georgia, Texas and Auburn. The Longhorns landed four five-star prospects, per the 247Sports composite rankings of recruiting sites. They also picked up No. 1-ranked athlete Michael Terry III on signing day when he chose Texas over Nebraska. Steve Sarkisian's Longhorns class is led by five-star safety Jonah Williams of Galveston, Texas, the nation’s No. 8 overall prospect, according to the composite rankings. They signed five-star wide receivers Kaliq Lockett and Jaime Ffrench, along with edge rusher Lance Jackson. Only Florida’s Ffrench was from out of state. Georgia had pledges from five five-star prospects entering signing day, led by No. 3 overall recruit defensive lineman Elijah Griffin, edge rusher Isaiah Gibson and linebacker Zayden Walker. Alabama got a potential successor to quarterback Jalen Milroe. Keelon Russell of Duncanville, Texas, is rated as the No. 2 quarterback and overall prospect per the composite rankings. Auburn coach Hugh Freeze has been touting his recruiting success frequently as building a solid foundation amid losing records in his first two seasons. The Tigers are currently at No. 6 and landed a much-needed quarterback in five-star Deuce Knight from Lucedale, Mississippi. LSU had the eighth-ranked class, a group led by five-star prospects in cornerback DJ Pickett, running back Harlem Berry and offensive lineman Solomon Thomas. Texas A&M stands at No. 9 after late flips in five-star signees in wide receiver Jerome Myles (from USC) and offensive tackle Lamont Rogers (Missouri). The Aggies are followed in order by LSU, Tennessee and Florida. The Volunteers were still awaiting the letter-of-intent from top-five prospect offensive tackle David Sanders Jr., who has been committed since August but is reportedly considering Ohio State. The Gators' class was highlighted by five-star receiver Vernell Brown III. Ole Miss wide receiver signee Caleb Cunningham is too highly rated to be truly under the radar for most programs. But Lane Kiffin has built the Rebels into an SEC contender largely with transfers, not blue-chip high school recruits. Cunningham, who de-committed from Alabama on Nov. 13, is rated as the No. 2 receiver and 18th-best player in the class. Ole Miss is looking for a replacement to star receiver Tre Harris. Alabama's Russell was the highest-rated recruit and plays at the most prized position. The 6-foot-3, 175-pounder led Duncanville High School to state championships in 2022 and 2023 and was MVP of the Elite 11 quarterback competition this year. Alabama returns Ty Simpson and Austin Mack at quarterback, so there may not be a pressing need for an immediate impact. Myles was a big addition to the Aggies at a position of need. The nation's No. 5 receiver and 23rd-rated recruit had decommitted from USC after visiting College Station last weekend. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko's team is down to five scholarship receivers entering the postseason. Billy Napier and Florida flipped four-star safety Lagonza Hayward from rival Tennessee. Hayward ranks as the No. 9 safety in the country and had decommitted from the Vols on Sunday. Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 football throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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A review outlines essential practices for UK businesses to enhance their online protection and explains the concept of cyber hygiene and its importance. This comes in the wake of 2023, when 32 percent of UK businesses reported experiencing a cyberattack at least once a week, with cyberattacks projected to increase by 15 percent globally. Recent data reveals that 50 percent of businesses encountered a cyberattack or security breach in the past year. This is based on the UK Government Cybersecurity Breaches Survey. In light of recent cyber threats, Milan Bosman, Commercial Director from e-commerce hosting provider Hypernode , has explained to Digital Journal about the significance of cyber hygiene for UK businesses and share essential practices to ensure online safety. What is cyber hygiene? Cyber hygiene can be explained as a set of practices to maintain system health and security in relation to a business’s online activities. Like physical hygiene, maintaining cyber hygiene entails a set of regular preventative measures. Five key practices Antivirus and antimalware software Installing antivirus and antimalware is an obvious place to start for protecting against cyber threats. These tools help detect malicious programs that can compromise data. Viruses and malware are constantly evolving, so it is important to also keep this protective software up to date. Be cautious of phishing Phishing is a common cyber-attack in which criminals use deceptive emails, messages, or websites to trick individuals into providing sensitive information. It is by far the most common type of cybercrime, with 90 percent of businesses that have experienced at least one type of cybercrime falling victim to phishing. Awareness and caution around possible phishing scams is crucial within all businesses. Back up and encrypt data Backing up important data and storing it securely will be helpful in the event of a data loss or ransomware attack. Particularly sensitive data, meanwhile, ought to be encrypted to ensure it can only be accessed by authorised parties. Secure Wi-Fi, strong passwords, and MFA While seemingly obvious, these three simple steps, which are often neglected, are absolutely key to good cyber hygiene. Unsecured Wi-Fi networks are vulnerable to attack from cybercriminals who may intercept data or gain access to internal systems. Similarly, weak passwords are susceptible to being hacked. Strong, unique passwords that are different for each online account should be used. MFA ( Multi-factor authentication ) adds a layer of security to data and internal systems, keeping out anyone who should not be able to access them. Educating all employees Perhaps the most important point is that a business’s security is only as strong as its weakest link, and a cyber-attack can target any employee. Providing cybersecurity training to all employees is crucial to ensuring the security of a business as a whole. Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news.Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.