( MENAFN - Gulf Times) Elon Musk defended his support for Germany's far-right AfD party in an opinion piece in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Saturday, prompting a senior editor to resign. The world's richest man doubled down on his comments from December 20 that“only the AfD can save Germany”, writing that the anti-immigration AfD was the“last ray of hope for the country” at the“brink of cultural and economic collapse”. Despite various branches of the AfD being labelled“extremist” by Germany's domestic security agency, Musk said the AfD's classification as far-right was“clearly false” as party leader Alice Weidel“has a partner from Sri Lanka”. With Musk set to play a key role in US President-elect Donald Trump's administration, the billionaire's interventions have triggered accusations of meddling in Germany's democracy. The country is set to head to the polls on February 23, with the AfD polling at around 19* of the vote. Musk's guest opinion piece in the Welt am Sonntag provoked outraged reactions and the resignation of the conservative title's opinion editor. “Today a piece by Elon Musk appeared in the Welt am Sonntag. Yesterday I handed in my resignation after it went to print,” Eva Marie Kogel wrote on the X social media platform Musk owns. Meanwhile the Greens' campaign director Andreas Audretsch wrote:“We must not allow the Elon Musks of this world, the Chinese state or Russian troll factories to undermine our democracies in Europe.” The Association of German Journalists (DJV) protested against the“election advertising” allowed by the newspaper's editorial staff. “The German media must not allow itself to be manipulated into acting as a mouthpiece for autocrats and their friends,” said DJV leader Mika Beuster. Even the *Welt's new editor-in-chief Jan Philipp Burgard was compelled to disagree with Musk in the opinion piece, writing:“Even a genius can be wrong”. Arguing that the AfD“is a danger to our values and our economy”, Burgard pointed out that Bjoern Hoecke, the AfD's leader in Thuringia state,“has been convicted several times for using a banned Nazi slogan”. *Die Welt belongs to Axel Springer, Germany's most influential press group. Its lineup includes the Bild tabloid, the country's most-read newspaper. MENAFN28122024000067011011ID1109038237 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
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Even Dr. Oz Can’t Break MedicareAfter former Rep. Matt Gaetz announced he would not seek to return to Congress after withdrawing his name to be Donald Trump's U.S. Attorney General he hinted at what his next chapter will be. "Stock trading is such a huge part of congress. It shouldn't be," he posted on X. "I can't wait to tell all these stories of corruption, treason and betrayal." He ended with with, "Coming soon." Gaetz faced an uphill battle to win enough support to be sworn in as Attorney General. .A House Ethics Committee was investigating reports that he had sex with a minor. He resigned from Congress the day after Trump nominated him and the committee declined to release its findings. Gaetz announced Thursday he was no longer seeking to become Attorney General after holding meetings with Senators to win their backing. Those meetings indicated he would have enough votes to be confirmed. "I'm still going to be in the fight, but it's going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress," he said in an interview with Charlie Kirk .From Squid Game to Blackpink, how South Korea became culture powerhouse
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A former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, has applauded the emerging global status of the yearly Okpoama International Beach Carnival at the Brass Island saying it has added to the steady growth of the country’s entertainment industry. Sylva particularly applauded the performances of Patoranking, Nyanya, Spiro, and other emerging musical and comic artists that stormed Bayelsa and thrilled guests, tourists, and residents who attended the carnival. The former Minister of State for Petroleum described the event as beautiful sights and sounds from this year’s Okpoama International Beach Carnival. He said: “The best of our country’s musical talents performed and enjoyed the ambiance of Brass Island,” he said. “Indigenous musical prospects were given the chance to perform alongside Internationally recognized stars in a deliberate act of raising their stock. “Ultimately, the dream of making Okpoama a proper globally recognized tourism destination is in sight.” Okpoama International Beach Carnival has always paraded top musical and comic artists yearly and attracted multitude of tourists from within and outside the state. In the time past, Timaya, Davido, Wizkid, and Tiwa Savage were among the top artists who identified with and thrilled visitors at previous events. The event has always presented an indispensable opportunity for people outside the state to enjoy Bayelsa hospitality and savour local state delicacies. The 2025 Okpoama International Beach Carnival, which MC Senibo coordinated as the Master of Ceremony is usually organized by Sylva’s team and political associates including Kojo Sam to highlight the potential of Okpoama and Brass Island as a destination of choice for tourists.FOXBOROUGH - Keion White pushed some buttons and caused a stir by comments made in a story I wrote Friday at MassLive. Following Saturday’s blowout loss to the LA Chargers , I approached White, given Patriots coach Jerod Mayo had said prior to the game that the defensive end didn’t mean what he said in the story. White told me, and other reporters later, that he wasn’t taken out of context. His words about his play, the coaching staff and his future weren’t misrepresented. “You wrote exactly what I said,” White said. “I stand by everything I said. If people choose to read the whole article, or just read the headline, I really don’t care how anybody took it.” White acknowledged he and Mayo spoke on Friday, and hashed out the comments that were made. As Mayo also said during his pre-game hit on 98.5 the Sports Hub, White indicated they were fine, and on the same page about what’s going on. White said he wasn’t asking out or to be traded. That wasn’t his aim, he was just telling it like it is. “As long as we’re good on the inside, and me and Mayo have an understanding, I still rock by him, I’m still with him,” White said. “And me and him know what it is, and what it ain’t. People on the outside can take it any way they want to take it. It don’t matter to me.” White said in the initial story he was concerned about his play, specifically his run defense, and was trying to work out those issues with the coaching staff. Notably, he wasn’t confident those issues would be resolved before season’s end, and talked about seeing “where the cards may lie for my future.” “I stand by that. If you’re not producing in the NFL, you should get out,” White said. “If you’re not useful, not get out, but things should be changed. That’s anybody. “It’s a production based business. Whatever you gotta do in everything, me included, that’s what you gotta do. I don’t hold no ill-will towards anybody. And I know it’s a ‘what have you done for me lately’ league, and I accept that. It is what it is. I acknowledge I’m not doing good at run defense. We’re not getting pressure on the quarterback right now. That’s production.” Justin Herbert had plenty of time to pick about the Patriots defense en route to throwing three touchdown passes. He wasn’t sacked. He was barely touched. Meanwhile, the Chargers rushed for 147 yards. And speaking of change, that’s at the heart of White’s remarks. With the team now 3-13 after getting blown out 40-7, White believes something has to give. “I think, still, something gotta change,” he said. We’re losing, so obviously, we gotta change something. If you keep doing the same thing, you keep losing. “If you do the same thing over and over again without different results, or changing anything, then you’re going to get the same results.” White’s earlier remarks seemed to suggest there were internal problems with the coaching staff. The above remarks will have the same result. Asked specifically how he was with the defensive coaching staff, White once again left that door open to interpretation. “Like I said, if we keep doing the same thing ... something’s gotta change,” he said. Again, he’s not concerned if that remark stirs the pot even more. “There’s a lot of social media general mangers on the internet,” White said. “As long as I’m on the same page with my teammates, first and foremost, and every single one of my teammates doesn’t have a single problem with me, or hasn’t had a single problem with me all year. And we’re all on the same page, and we all stick by each other. That’s first and foremost what I care about. “So as long as my comments haven’t divided us, I don’t care how anybody takes it. That’s anybody that’s not in this locker room, me, coaches, anybody. You’ll can take it how you want to take it. Me and the team, they all rock with me.” More Patriots Content
Judge to hear arguments on whether Google's advertising tech constitutes a monopoly ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The Justice Department and Google are set to make closing arguments in a trial alleging Google’s online advertising technology constitutes an illegal monopoly. The arguments in federal court Monday in northern Virginia come as Google is already facing a possible breakup of the company over its ubiquitous search engine. The Justice Department says it will seek the breakup of Google to remedy its search engine monopoly. The case focuses not on the search engine but on technology that matches online advertisers to consumers on the internet. A judge is expected to rule by the end of the year. ‘Busiest Thanksgiving ever’: How the TSA plans to handle record air travel DALLAS (AP) — The Thanksgiving travel rush is expected to be bigger than ever this year. AAA predicts that nearly 80 million people in the U.S. will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday — most of them by car. Thanksgiving Day falling so late this year has altered traditional travel patterns. At airports, the Transportation Security Administration says it could screen a record number of U.S. air travelers on Sunday. Meanwhile, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration says a shortage of air traffic controllers could cause flight delays. Transportation analytics company INRIX says roads could be congested on Monday with both commuters and returning holiday travelers. Macy’s says employee hid up to $154 million in expenses, delaying Q3 earnings Macy’s says it’s delaying the release of its fiscal third-quarter earnings results after it discovered an up to $154 million accounting-related issue. The company did provide some preliminary results for its third quarter, including that net sales fell 2.4% to $4.74 billion. It anticipates reporting its full third-quarter financial results by Dec. 11. 'Buy now, pay later' is more popular than ever. Experts warn shoppers not to overdo it NEW YORK (AP) — More shoppers are using ‘buy now, pay later’ plans heading into Black Friday and the holiday season, as the ability to spread out payments looks attractive at a time when Americans still feel the lingering effect of inflation and already have record-high credit card debt. Experts say the short-term loans can lead consumers to overextend themselves and warn that those who use credit cards for the service face higher interest expenses. The data firm Adobe Analytics predicts shoppers will spend 11.4% more this holiday season using buy now, pay later than they did a year ago. Warren Buffett gives away another $1.1B and plans for distributing his $147B fortune after his death OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett renewed his Thanksgiving tradition of giving by announcing plans Monday to hand more than $1.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to four of his family's foundations, and he offered new details about who will be handing out the rest of his fortune after his death. Buffett has said previously that his three kids will distribute his remaining $147.4 billion fortune in the 10 years after his death, but now he has also designated successors for them because it’s possible that Buffett’s children could die before giving it all away. Buffett said he has no regrets about his decision to start giving away his fortune in 2006. Workers at Charlotte airport, an American Airlines hub, go on strike during Thanksgiving travel week CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport have gone on strike during a busy week of Thanksgiving travel to protest what they say are unlivable wages. Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services authorized the work stoppage in North Carolina that started Monday morning. Union spokesperson Sean Keady says the strike is expected to last 24 hours. The companies contract with American Airlines to provide services such as cleaning airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs. Airport officials say this holiday travel season is expected to be the busiest on record. The companies have acknowledged the seriousness of a strike during the holiday travel season. At the crossroads of news and opinion, 'Morning Joe' hosts grapple with aftermath of Trump meeting The reaction of those who defended “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for meeting with President-elect Trump sounds almost quaint in the days of opinionated journalism. Doesn't it makes sense, they said, for hosts of a political news show to meet with such an important figure? But given how “Morning Joe” has attacked Trump, its viewers felt insulted. Many reacted quickly by staying away. It all reflects the broader trend of opinion crowding out traditional journalist in today's marketplace, and the expectations that creates among consumers. By mid-week, the show's audience was less than two-thirds what it has typically been this year. Stock market today: Wall Street rises near records as Treasury yields ease NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising near records and adding to last week’s gains. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Monday and was just below its all-time high set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 286 points to its own record set on Friday, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher. Treasury yields also eased in the bond market after President-elect Donald Trump said he wants Scott Bessent, a hedge fund manager, to be his Treasury Secretary. Bessent has advocated for reducing the U.S. government’s deficit, which could soothe some worries that had been building on Wall Street. Judge in Alex Jones' bankruptcy case to hear arguments on The Onion's bid for Infowars A federal judge in Texas is set to hold a hearing on whether the satirical news outlet The Onion made a valid bid for the Infowars platforms of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who alleges a bankruptcy auction was marred by fraud and collusion. The hearing is set for Monday afternoon. It's not clear how soon the bankruptcy judge will rule. He could allow The Onion to move forward with its purchase, order a new auction or even name the only other bidder as the winner. Jones filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in defamation lawsuits by families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut. As Amazon expands use of warehouse robots, what will it mean for workers? Amazon has introduced a handful of robots in its warehouses that the e-commerce giant says will improve efficiency and reduce employee injuries. Two robotic arms named Robin and Cardinal can lift packages that weigh up to 50 pounds. Sparrow transfers items from bins to other containers. The company says it's already seeing benefits, such as reducing the time it takes to fulfill orders and helping employees avoid repetitive tasks. However, automation also carries drawbacks for workers who might need to be retrained for new positions. The Associated Press recently spoke with Julie Mitchell, the director of Amazon’s robotic sortation technologies, about where the company hopes to go from here.StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stratasys ( NASDAQ:SSYS – Free Report ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning. A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Stratasys from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Stratasys from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Stratasys from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Lake Street Capital lowered their price target on shares of Stratasys from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Stratasys from $23.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.40. Read Our Latest Stock Report on Stratasys Stratasys Stock Performance Stratasys ( NASDAQ:SSYS – Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The technology company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $140.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $139.49 million. Stratasys had a negative net margin of 16.13% and a negative return on equity of 3.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.05) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Stratasys will post -0.41 EPS for the current year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SSYS. RPG Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Stratasys by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 659,996 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,485,000 after buying an additional 150,891 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Stratasys by 18.2% in the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,968,703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,077,000 after purchasing an additional 918,703 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Stratasys by 22.2% in the second quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 642,632 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,392,000 after purchasing an additional 116,912 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Stratasys by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 817,503 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,859,000 after purchasing an additional 120,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearline Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Stratasys during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.77% of the company’s stock. Stratasys Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Stratasys Ltd. provides connected polymer-based 3D printing solutions. It offers range of 3D printing systems, which includes polyjet printer, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printers, stereolithography printing systems, origin P3 printers, and selective absorption fusion printer for additive manufacturing, and tooling and rapid prototyping for various vertical markets, such as automotive, aerospace, consumer products and healthcare. 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LONDON : Arsenal are building momentum again after their bad patch but must maintain their resurgent form, manager Mikel Arteta said after his side's 5-2 demolition of West Ham United on Saturday. The victory lifted Arsenal back to second place in the Premier league and confirmed they have engaged top gear again after a run of four winless league games before this month's international break. Gabriel, Leandro Trossard, skipper Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka were all on target in a frenetic seven-goal first half at the London Stadium as Arsenal moved to 25 points, six behind Liverpool who host troubled champions Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. "Yeah, we've got some momentum. I think we have some flow back, a real determination, winning consecutive matches against three opponents is great," Arteta, who side beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 last Saturday and then followed up by beating Sporting 5-1 away in the Champions League, told reporters. "We're going to enjoy tonight and watch a beautiful game of football tomorrow. We are in a great moment right now. "But in football be on your toes and prepare the best way possible," added the Spaniard whose side host Manchester United in the Premier League on Wednesday. The return to fitness of captain Odegaard after a long lay-off with an ankle injury has been a major boost for Arsenal, while Saka looked rejuvenated after sitting out the last England camp with a niggling injury. As well as his penalty, Saka added two more assists on Saturday, taking his tally for the season to 10 in 13 games, four more than the next best total of Mohamed Salah. "Incredible. Because it is the hardest thing to do in football, so a player who can believe in those moments can impact the scoreline in that way, you know, the value of that is tremendous," Arteta said of Saka. Saka was unplayable at times in the first half especially with Arsenal toying with their London rivals. "Today was a top performance from us and we scored a lot of goals - we are playing good football right now and we want to continue like this," he said. "We are back to our best form. We look fluid and dynamic we are all enjoying it right now. "It has been a top week for us. We have built a lot of momentum and we want to go on to the next few games."
With more than half of the 16 teams still mathematically alive to make the conference championship game, the Big 12 will command a lot of attention in the final week of the regular season. No. 14 Arizona State and No. 17 Iowa State would play for the Big 12 title and likely College Football Playoff spot on Dec. 7 if they both win Saturday and there's a four-way tie for first place. There are seven other teams that begin this week with hopes, slim in most cases, of getting into the game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Last week it was No. 19 BYU and No. 23 Colorado that had the inside track to the championship game. Arizona State beat the Cougars and Kansas knocked off the Buffaloes, and here we are. "Everybody counted us out, I think, two weeks ago," Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said after his team beat Utah 31-28. "We didn't flinch. We didn't waver. And we just keep fighting." The Cyclones were national darlings the first half of the season as they won seven straight games to match the best start in program history. Back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and Kansas followed. Now they've won two straight heading into "Farmageddon," their rivalry game against Kansas State at home. "Right now they've got the pen and they continue to write the story," Campbell said of his players, "and I hope they will continue to write it the way they've got the ability to write it. Unwavering. Tough, mentally tough, physically tough. This group has stood for it every step of the way." Arizona State has been an even better story than the Cyclones. The Sun Devils have six more wins than they did last season, when they went 3-9. They were picked to finish last in their first year in the Big 12. They'll go for their fifth straight victory when they play at Arizona on Saturday. "These guys came off no momentum and everybody doubting them, and everybody is still doubting them. That's what makes this special," second-year coach Kenny Dillingham said. "Hopefully the expectations become higher. I don't know if there's a way we can exceed expectations more than we're exceeding them right now." Checking in on five of the Top 25: The Ducks were idle Saturday after clinching a spot in the Big Ten championship game with their win at Wisconsin on Nov. 16. Oregon can go 12-0 in the regular season for the first time since 2010 if it beats Washington at home this week. Oregon's only two losses last season came against the Huskies, both decided by three points. The first was a top-10 matchup in the regular season and the second was a top-five matchup in the Pac-12 championship game. The Ducks are 19 1/2-point favorites this time, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The Buckeyes' showdown with upstart Indiana combined with Michigan's dropoff after winning the national championship have lowered the volume on this week's meeting with the Wolverines at the Horseshoe. If Michigan beats Ohio State a fourth straight time and it keeps the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten championship game and playoff ... well, there'll be lots of noise in Columbus then. The Lone Star Showdown returns to the gridiron for the first time since 2011, when Texas and Texas A&M were in the Big 12. The Longhorns head to No. 20 Texas A&M on a four-game win streak. The Aggies have lost two of three after Saturday's four-overtime loss at Auburn. The winner advances to the Southeastern Conference championship game against Georgia. The Broncos are tied with Notre Dame for the second-longest active win streak, at nine games, and they seem to have adopted a survive-and-advance mantra. They trailed 23-point underdog Wyoming in the fourth quarter before winning 17-13 and clinching a spot in the Mountain West championship game. They won their previous game, 42-21 against San Jose State, but didn't pull away until the fourth quarter. Two weeks ago they beat a three-win Nevada team 28-21. Just when you think Illinois is about to cash in for the season, they do what they did against Rutgers. The Illini were down 31-30 when they lined up for a 58-yard field goal with 14 seconds left. Ethan Moczulski missed. But wait. Rutgers called timeout before the snap, and Bret Bielema thought better of trying another kick and sent his offense back on the field. Luke Altmyer passed to Pat Bryant for the winning 40-yard touchdown. The Illini won't play for the Big Ten title, but they have a chance for nine wins and a nice bowl. Ohio State played in three of the five regular-season top-five matchups and won three of them. The Buckeyes lost to Oregon and beat Penn State and Indiana. ... Kansas' 37-21 win over Colorado made the Jayhawks the first FBS team with a losing record to beat three straight Top 25 opponents. The Jayhawks, who were 2-6 a month ago, will be bowl eligible if they win at Baylor. ... Nebraska ended the longest power conference bowl drought with its 44-25 win over Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers haven't played in a bowl since 2016.
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