
Outcry as SNP unveils soft-touch ‘Charter of Rights’ for drug users Relaxed rules for addicts a ‘green light to crime gangs’ Click here to visit the Scotland home page for the latest news and sport By MICHAEL BLACKLEY, SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 17:31 EST, 11 December 2024 | Updated: 17:31 EST, 11 December 2024 e-mail 2 View comments The SNP was yesterday accused of ‘doubling down’ on its ‘soft-touch approach’ to drugs after a new ‘Charter of Rights’ for users was announced. The Scottish Government has come under fire over its plans to tackle the country’s drug deaths crisis after John Swinney launched the new document yesterday. It stated that people must not be arrested or detained ‘solely based on substance use or dependence’. It also said that those given drug or alcohol treatment programmes as an alternative to prison should face ‘no penalties’ if these are not completed. As he launched the document at an event in Glasgow yesterday, the First Minister also confirmed his government supports full decriminalisation of drugs and has discussed the matter with the UK Government . Annie Wells, drugs spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives , said: ‘Drug deaths are Scotland’s shame on the SNP’s watch, yet they still refuse to accept their approach is not working. ‘They appear to be doubling down on their soft-touch approach, including continuing to show support for drug decriminalisation. ‘Communities already ravaged by drugs will be appalled that the SNP appear relaxed about flooding them with more substances. Mr Swinney launches Charter in bid to tackle drug abuse Swinney confirmed his government supports full decriminalisation of drugs 'While it is right Scotland’s drug deaths crisis is treated as a public health emergency, SNP ministers shouldn’t be giving the green light to organised criminals with these latest plans.’ The Charter includes a section on ‘freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention’ which states that ‘duty bearers’ – which include police officers, prisons and courts – ‘must make sure that people are not detained solely based on substance use or dependence’. It also states they should ‘prioritise diversion from prosecution and non-custodial measures for substance offences of a minor nature’. Click here to visit the Scotland home page for the latest news and sport Advertisement It goes on: ‘Drug or alcohol treatment as an alternative to prison should only be undertaken with informed consent and where medically appropriate. ‘No penalties should be attached to failure to complete such a treatment. All guidance need to be applied in line with the right to be free from arbitrary arrest or detention.’ The Scottish Government said the Charter has been recognised as ‘the first of its kind in the world’ by the United Nations Human Rights Office. In a section on the right to private and family life, the document also highlights that national child protection guidance ‘does not include substance use as grounds for child removal’. Official figures released in August showed there were 1,172 drug deaths in 2023, which was 121 higher than in 2022. Speaking at yesterday’s launch, Mr Swinney said: ‘We want every person experiencing harm from alcohol or drug use to be able access the support they need and through our £250million national mission on drugs we’re taking a wide range of actions. ‘This Charter is a key part of that mission. It strengthens our public health and human rights-based approach to substance use-related harms and, over time, it will contribute to saving lives.’ He confirmed talks have taken place with the UK Government on drug laws, which are reserved to Westminster. Mr Swinney added: ‘Very clear arguments have been marshalled by the Scottish Government that support decriminalisation in certain circumstances.’ Police Scotland has been asked for comment on the Charter. SNP Glasgow John Swinney Share or comment on this article: Outcry as SNP unveils soft-touch 'Charter of Rights' for drug users e-mail Add commentCatches like this are why Puka Nacua is one of the NFL's most exciting young receivers. With 7:33 left in the first hall of Sunday's showdown against the Bills, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford looked downfield to Nacua on the sideline on second-and-10. Nacua delivered with a catch that few in the NFL can make. The ball was thrown on a line and appeared destined to sail out of bounds. But with cornerback Christian Benford in tight coverage, Nacua leapt face out toward the sideline and raised both hands high to snag the ball from midair. Then came the hard part. Somehow, Nacua landed with toes from both feet inbounds to complete the catch and the first down. PUKA NACUA! 📺: on FOX 📱: — NFL (@NFL) Benford didn't want to believe it. He stood up from dragging Nacua out of bounds waving his arms, confident that his counterpart didn't secure a legal catch. But his protest was to no avail. Another angle confirms that yes, Nacua did come down with both feet inbounds and the ball firmly in his grasp. PUKA NACUA! ABSOLUTELY UNREAL! 📺: | — Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) The Rams went on to pay off on the 19-yard gain. Eight plays later, Nacua scored a touchdown on a jet sweep that Bills defenders were helpless to stop that extended the Rams lead to 24-14. PUKA TO THE HOUSE! 📺: | — Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) An injury cost Nacua five games earlier this season. Stafford is certainly glad to have him back.
Tarrant County teachers are among 100 under investigation. Some have been disciplined
NFL will consider replay assist for facemask penalties and other playsOfficials have missed several obvious facemask penalties this season, including two in a three-week span during Thursday night games. “When we see it, because I see it like yourselves and the fans, I have an opportunity to see it from a different angle and see it from a slow-mo,” NFL executive Troy Vincent said Wednesday at the league’s winter meetings. “When you think about the position of where the officials are, things are happening so fast. Sometimes the facemask can be the same color as the gloves. There’s a lot happening. Concerning? Yes, because that’s a big miss. That’s a big foul. That’s why we would like to consider putting that for the membership to consider putting that foul category that we can see, putting that (penalty flag) on the field to help. There is a frustration, and we believe that is one category we can potentially get right." Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold was grabbed by his facemask and brought down in the end zone to end Minnesota’s comeback attempt against the Rams on Oct. 24. But there was no call. On Oct. 3, officials missed a facemask on Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving while he ran for 7 yards late in the fourth quarter. Tampa Bay instead was called for holding on the play, got forced out of field-goal range and Kirk Cousins rallied the Falcons to an overtime victory. “That is one this year, the facemask seems like it was the obvious one” Vincent said. “That keeps showing up.” Vincent also cited hits on a defenseless player, tripping, the fair catch, an illegal batted ball, an illegal double-team block, illegal formations on kickoffs and taunting as other areas that warrant consideration for replay assist. Current rules only allow replay assist to help officials pick up a flag incorrectly thrown on the field, or in assisting proper enforcement of a foul called on the field. The NFL’s Competition Committee will review potential recommendations for owners to vote on for expanding replay assist. Vincent was emphatic about the league’s desire to eliminate low blocks that could lead to serious injuries. “The low block below the knee needs to be removed from the game,” Vincent said. “You look at high school, you look at college, too. Every block should be above the knee, but below the neck. All the work that we’ve done for the head and neck area, all the things that we’ve taken out of the game, this is the right time for us to remove the low block out of the game. Be consistent with high school. Be consistent with college. Every block should be above the knee and below the neck.” The league will consider changes to the onside kick after dramatically overhauling the kickoff rule on a one-year basis. “We need to look at that. That’s a dead play,” Vincent said of the onside kick’s low success rate. “That is a ceremonial play. Very low recovery rate. When we look at the kickoff and maybe where the touchback area should be during the offseason, we need to revisit the onside kick.” Options include giving the team an opportunity to run one play to gain a certain number of yards to keep possession. The Washington Commanders’ search for a new stadium site includes options in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, and work has escalated on one in particular. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and controlling owner Josh Harris met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week about the RFK Stadium site in Washington, which requires a bill getting through Congress to transfer the land to the District government before anything else can happen. “I think there’s a bipartisan support for this,” Goodell said, adding he’d like to see it get to a vote soon. “We hope that it will be addressed and approved so that it’s at least an alternative for the Commanders if we go forward. I grew up in Washington, and I know would be exciting for a lot of fans.” The NFL continues to discuss a potential 18-game season, but would need approval from the players’ union. “We are doing analysis I would say, but we are not finalizing any plans at this point,” Goodell said. “They’ll share that analysis with the players’ union, which would need to agree to any change.” AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflSolar lamps illuminate remote PVTG hamlets in Gumla district
Jigawa State Government said it has invested more than N20billion in education in less than two years, leading to a number of teachers in the state teaching service jumping to 5,986 from 2,566 where it stood in 2023, with additional school infrastructure offered to provide a quality learning environment. The State Commissioner for Higher Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Isa Chamo, made this known at the weekend on the sideline of the 14th Anniversary and Award Ceremonies of the Nigerian NewsDirect, which was held in Lagos. The commissioner, who was part of the top government functionaries dispatched to receive the newspaper’s Governor of the Year Award in Agro-Investments and Security for Namadi, noted that the governor had recorded a giant push for higher education in the state by employing over 3000 teachers and building school infrastructure to provide a quality learning environment. “Governor Namadi spent over N20,000,000,000, invested in education in Jigawa state under the present administration,” Chamo said. He said that the number of teachers in the state was raised from 2, 566 in May 2023, to 5,986, adding that the administration had procured and distributed over 10,000 3-seater desks for students while 5,000 staff furniture were provided at various schools. Chamo further added that a total of 3,500 double beds were procured and distributed to boarding schools with 3,840 mattresses to go with, disclosing that 564 tabs were distributed to senior secondary school principals to enhance digital learning skills amongst teachers while 300 routers were procured and distributed. Besides, the commissioner said the Namadi’s administration had ensured the provision of internet connectivity across the 293 senior secondary schools in the state to ensure access to a wide range of educational and information resources. According to him, over N200 million has been used to develop a digital teaching and learning platform tagged J-Compete programme, saying that this had helped both teachers and students with numerous resources in the learning environment. This was just as he disclosed that Governor Namadi’s administration had improved school feeding by 200 per cent from N180 per student to N450 per student, saying that this had made expenditure for school feeding programme to rise from N1.1 billion to N3.4 billion annually. Speaking further, Chamo said that the government had equally carried out various capacity training programmes for teachers, school principals and directors to enhance their capacity, adding that the administration had carried out several interventions, including Femalethe Teacher Development Scheme, Girls for Health Programme, free schools uniforms for girls, registration fees for law students, among others. Also speaking, Technical Adviser to Governor Umar Namadi on Basic Education, Dr. Hauwa Alhassan, said that the administration had taken basic education to the top of the ladder. She said that the governor had, with the implementation and success of the J-Teach Programme, addressed the shortage of teachers in rural and underserved areas, “with notable improvements in teaching quality and student engagement.” Alhassan said that the state had improved collaboration with NGOs and strong partnerships with organisations like PLAN and PLANE for educational development and empowerment of educators. “The administration has enhanced inclusion of children with disabilities, introduced specialised programmes and infrastructure, to ensure access to quality education for children with disabilities,” she said. Speaking further, Alhassan said that the governor had invested in Nomadic Schools, pointing out that such move had “expanded educational opportunities for nomadic communities, ensuring access to education irrespective of their mobility.” Besides, she said strategic interventions were made under Namadi’s administration to revert the schools used as IDP camps back into functional educational institutions, noting that the governor had put a special focus on Early Childhood Education, foundational literacy and numeracy programmes. Meanwhile, Governor Namadi, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Malam Bala Ibrahim, to receive the award, said he was pleased with the recognition, expressing happiness that his contributions to the development of his state and the people were being acknowledged. Ibrahim said Governor Namadi was highly elated with the recognition of his investments in agriculture, security, education and health for the benefit of the people, saying that the award would serve as an inspiration to do more and work for the betterment of the people of Jigawa. ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE Jigawa gov presents N689.3bn 2025 budget to Assembly Get real-time news updates from Tribune Online! Follow us on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive stories and interviews, and much more. Join our WhatsApp Channel nowNone
Blinken faces GOP critics in Congress who say Afghanistan withdrawal 'lit the world on fire'
VANCOUVER, BC , Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- (TSX: LUN) (Nasdaq Stockholm: LUMI) Lundin Mining Corporation ("Lundin Mining" or the "Company") announces that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") has accepted the notice of Lundin Mining's intention to renew its normal course issuer bid (the "NCIB"). View PDF The Company intends to continue to utilize the NCIB at its discretion to make opportunistic purchases to create shareholder value and manage the number of outstanding common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares"). This approval allows the Company to purchase up to 57,597,388 Common Shares, representing 10% of the 776,914,637 issued and outstanding Common Shares as of December 6, 2024 , minus those Common Shares beneficially owned, or over which control or direction is exercised by the Company, the senior officers and directors of the Company and every shareholder who owns or exercises control or direction over more than 10% of the outstanding Common Shares, over a period of twelve months commencing on December 16, 2024 . The NCIB will expire no later than December 15, 2025 . All purchases made pursuant to the NCIB will be made on the open market through the facilities of the TSX, other designated exchanges and/or alternative Canadian trading systems or by such other means as may be permitted by applicable securities laws. In accordance with TSX rules, any daily purchases (other than pursuant to a block purchase exemption) on the TSX under the NCIB are limited to a maximum of 560,989 Common Shares, which represents 25% of the average daily trading volume of 2,243,957 Common Shares on the TSX for the six months ended November 30, 2024 . The price that Lundin Mining will pay for Common Shares in open market transactions will be the market price at the time of purchase. In connection with the NCIB renewal, Lundin Mining entered into an automatic share purchase plan ("ASPP") with its designated broker to allow for the repurchase of Common Shares at times when the Company ordinarily would not be active in the market due to its own internal trading blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise (any such period being a "Blackout Period"). Before entering a Blackout Period, the Company may, but is not required to, instruct the designated broker to make purchases under the NCIB in accordance with the terms of the plan. At this time, the Company has not instructed the broker to actively repurchase Common Shares. Purchases made pursuant to the plan, if any, will be made by the Company's designated broker based upon the parameters prescribed by the TSX, applicable Canadian securities laws and the terms of the written agreement entered between the Company and its designated broker. Outside of these Blackout Periods, Common Shares will be purchasable by Lundin Mining at its discretion under its NCIB. The ASPP will terminate on the earliest of the date on which: (i) the purchase limit under the NCIB has been reached; (ii) the NCIB expires; and (iii) the ASPP otherwise terminates in accordance with its terms. The ASPP constitutes an "automatic plan" for purposes of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the agreement governing the plan has been pre-cleared by the TSX. The actual number of Common Shares that may be purchased and the timing of such purchases will be determined by the Company. Decisions regarding purchases will be based on market conditions, share price, best use of available cash, and other factors. Any Common Shares that are purchased under the NCIB will be cancelled. Under the Company's previous NCIB that commenced on December 11, 2023 and expired on December 10, 2024 , the Company sought and received approval from the TSX to purchase up to 52,538,870 Common Shares. The Company purchased nil Common Shares under its previous NCIB through open market transactions. About Lundin Mining Lundin Mining is a diversified Canadian base metals mining company with projects or operations in Argentina , Brazil , Chile , Portugal , Sweden and the United States of America , primarily producing copper, zinc, nickel and gold. The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of Lundin Mining under the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out below on December 11, 2024 at 14:30 Vancouver Time. Cautionary Statement in Forward-Looking Information Certain of the statements made and information contained herein is "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this document constitute forward-looking information, including but not limited to statements with respect to Lundin Mining's proposed NCIB, the Company's pre-defined plan with its broker to allow for the repurchase of Common Shares and the timing, number and price of Common Shares that may be purchased under the NCIB. Words such as "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "contemplate", "target", "plan", "goal", "aim", "intend", "continue", "budget", "estimate", "may", "will", "can", "could", "should", "schedule" and similar expressions identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon various estimates and assumptions including, without limitation, the expectations and beliefs of management; assumed and future price of copper, zinc, gold, nickel and other metals; anticipated costs; ability to achieve goals; the prompt and effective integration of acquisitions; that the political environment in which the Company operates will continue to support the development and operation of mining projects; the Common Shares will, from time to time, trade below their value; the Company will complete purchases of Common Shares pursuant to the NCIB; and assumptions related to the factors set forth below. While these factors and assumptions are considered reasonable by Lundin Mining as at the date of this document in light of management's experience and perception of current conditions and expected developments, these statements are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements and information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the market price of the Common Shares being too high to ensure that purchases benefit the Company and its shareholders; and other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those described in the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of the Company's MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2023 , which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca under the Company's profile. All of the forward-looking information in this document are qualified by these cautionary statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, forecasted or intended and readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that the Common Shares will, from time to time, trade below their value and that the Company will complete purchases of Common Shares pursuant to the NCIB. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate and forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance. Readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein speaks only as of the date of this document. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward ‐ looking information or to explain any material difference between such and subsequent actual events, except as required by applicable law. For further information, please contact: Stephen Williams , Vice President, Investor Relations: +1 604 806 3074; Robert Eriksson , Investor Relations Sweden: +46 8 440 54 50Three of these images are fake. Can you spot the real image? Some images generated by artificial intelligence have become so convincingly real that there is no surefire way to spot the fakes. But experts say there are still things we can try to detect fakes. "Media literacy is super awesome," said Matt Groh, assistant professor at Northwestern University. "But it needs to extend to AI literacy. Like the classic kind of things that you want to teach in media literacy, we still need to teach those same things. We just need to add the AI portion to it now." RELATED STORY | Nobel Prize in physics awarded to 2 scientists for discoveries that enabled artificial intelligence Groh's team at Northwestern released a guide on how to spot AI generated images. The full preprint paper was released in June. "So what we've done is we've articulated 5 different categories of artifacts, implausibilities," Groh said. "Ways to tell AI-generated image apart from a real photograph." The academic preprint guide offers detailed tips, tricks and examples on spotting AI-generated images. It also teaches important questions to consider when consuming media. Anatomical implausibilities The first and easiest telltale signs: anatomical implausibilities. Ask yourself: Are the fingers, eyes, and bodies off? Are there extra limbs or do they bend strangely? Are there too many teeth? Stylistic implausibilities Ask yourself: Do images seem plastic, glossy, shiny or cartoonish? Are there overly dramatic or cinematic? Functional implausibilities Ask yourself: Is text garbled? Is clothing strange? Are objects not physically correct, like how this backpack strap merges into clothing? Violation of physics Ask yourself: Are light and shadows off? Are there impossible reflections? Sociocultural implausibilities Ask yourself: Are there images that are just too unbelievable or historically inaccurate? RELATED STORY | AI voice cloning: How programs are learning to pick up on pitch and tone "What we're trying to do is give you a snapshot of what it looks like in 2024 and how we can help people move their attention as effectively as possible," Groh said. "Education is really the biggest thing. There's education on the tools," said Cole Whitecotton, senior professional research associate at the National Center for Media Forensics. Whitecotton encourages the public to educate themselves and try AI tools to know their capabilities and limits. "I think everybody should go out and use it. And look at how these things do what they do and understand a bit of it," he said. "Everyone should interact with ChatGPT. In some way. Everyone should interact with Midjourney. And look at how these things do what they do and understand a bit of it." Whitecotton suggests being inquisitive and curious when scrolling through social media. "If you interacted with every piece of content in that way, then there you would be a lot less likely to be duped and to be sort of sucked into that sort of stuff, right?" he said. "How do you interact with Facebook and with Twitter and all these things? How do you consume the media?" Whitecotton added. RELATED STORY | Biden's AI advisor speaks on AI policy, deepfakes, and the use of AI in war While AI-generated images and videos continue to evolve, Groh and his team offer a realistic approach to a changing technological landscape where tips and tricks may become outdated quickly. "I think a real, good, useful thing is we build this. We update this every year. Okay, some of these things work. Some of these things don't. And I think once we have a base, we're able to update it," Groh said. "I think one of the problems is we didn't have a base. And so one of the things we're really excited about is even sharing our framework, because I think our framework is going to help people just navigate that conversation." So were you able to guess which image is real? If you guessed the image of the girl in the bottom left corner, you are correct! "It sucks that there's this misinformation in the world. But it's also possible to navigate this new problem," Groh said. If you want to test yourself even more, the Northwestern University research team has released this site that gives you a series of real and AI-generated images to differentiate.