SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — A political party in North Macedonia on Saturday demanded authorities ban social networks whose content incites violence and self-destructive behavior after several young people were seriously injured in connection with the popular “Superman challenge” on TikTok. Health authorities said at least 17 students, ages 10 to 17, were brought to hospitals in the capital Skopje and other towns over the past week with broken bones, contusions and bruises. The children were injured after being thrown into the air by their friends to fly like superheroes and get applause on the internet. The Liberal-Democratic Party, which was part of the left-led coalition that ruled the country from 2016 to earlier in 2024, issued a press statement Saturday strongly condemning “the irresponsible spread of dangerous content on social media, such as the latest TikTok ‘challenge’ known as ‘Superman,’ which has injured six children across (the country) in the past 24 hours.” “The lack of adequate control over the content of social media allows such ‘games’ to reach the most vulnerable users,” the party statement said. It demanded the “immediate introduction of measures to ban content that incites violence and self-destructive behavior, increase surveillance, and sanction platforms that enable dangerous trends.” North Macedonia’s education minister Vesna Janevska said students should focus on education, not TikTok challenges. “The ban on mobile phones in schools will not have an effect. Phones will be available to children in their homes, neighborhoods and other environments,” she said. Psychologists have warned that the desire to be “in” with the trends on social networks, combined with excessive use of mobile phones, is the main reason for the rise in risky behaviors among children. They urged parents and schools to talk with students.WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump's supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump's movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump's Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer's comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump's world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world's richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump's movement but his stance on the tech industry's hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry's need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent," he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump's own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump's businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country" and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country," he told the “All-In" podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump's budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.The Ministry of European Investments and Projects (MIPE) announces the signing of a new financing agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF) for the launch of the Innovation Romania Programme, with a total funding of 106.7 million EUR. According to a press release of the relevant ministry sent to AGERPRES on Thursday, the programme is supported by Smart Growth, Digitization and Financial Instruments Programme 2021-2027 (PoCIDIF), from European Structural and Investment Funds. "This initiative emphasizes the crucial role that the Romanian State and the EIF have in supporting the investment and innovation ecosystem in Romania. The efforts started in 2012, with the first venture capital fund financed through the JEREMIE Initiative, have continued through the use of structural funds from the 2014-2020 period and subsequently through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The new Innovation Romania Programme, conceived as a fund of funds, aims to create financial instruments adapted to the needs of the local market and which, until now, have been insufficiently developed. Thus, three types of equity funds will be launched: the Technology Transfer Fund - aimed at capitalizing on the results of research and innovation through partnerships with research and development organizations; the Business Angels Co-investment Fund - aimed at strengthening the community of private investors and facilitating their involvement in the development of Romanian entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship Acceleration Fund - dedicated to supporting start-ups and stimulating their growth," notes the MIPE. "By signing this agreement, we reconfirm Romania's commitment to support innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development. The Innovation Romania programme is an important opportunity to boost the creation of new technologies and to support small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the engine of our economy. Together with the European Investment Fund, we aim to develop a strong investment ecosystem that will attract both local and international capital," the Minister of European Investments and Projects, Adrian Caciu, was quoted as saying in the above-mentioned press release. The programme will encourage investments in SMEs and midcaps with a focus on innovation and competitiveness. Selected projects will have to meet specific eligibility criteria, aligned with the specific objective of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) : "Enhancing sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs and job creation in SMEs, including by productive investments".
Ahmedabad: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has mandated universities to digitise student records, including marksheets. According to National Academic Depository (NAD) statistics, Gujarat University stands at the 15th position in online data uploads within the state, while Gujarat Technological University (GTU) secured the first position. The new education policy requires the submission of student information, including subject credits and mark sheets, to NAD. GTU successfully uploaded records for 2,205,204 students and established Academic Bank Credit (ABC) accounts for 3.66 lakh students. In 2023, they created 4.58 lakh ABC IDs, followed by 2.79 lakh in 2024. Gujarat University showed slower progress by uploading only 3.69 lakh mark sheets. In 2024, they created 2 lakh ABC credit record IDs. Private universities demonstrated better performance in data uploading compared to Gujarat University. Sources said that the university's current 15th positioncould impact NAAC evaluation . tnnRobots Taking Over? The Future of Jobs in the Age of Humanoids
PONTIAC—Simeon and Peoria Manual have a combined 12 state titles and 26 Pontiac Holiday Tournament champions. Both had legendary stretches of four consecutive state titles, the only teams to pull off that feat. The Rams and Wolverines are Illinois high school basketball royalty, so the matchup in the Pontiac quarterfinals on Friday brought out a big crowd and garnered some extra media attention. “Two of the most storied programs in the state,” Simeon coach Tim Flowers said. “We both have younger coaches and are trying to rebuild and restructure our programs.” The Wolverines were ready for the big stage and produced their best game of the season, beating Manual 68-52. Simeon (7-3) led 23-12 after one quarter and was never challenged. “It’s the same message that [former Simeon coaches Bob] Hambric and [Robert Smith] had,” Flowers said. “Defense will always give you a chance to win and defense travels.” I’m happy to see it is starting to come together.” Peoria Manual guard Dietrich Richardson, who scored 39 in the tournament opener against Plainfield North on Thursday, scored 18 points. He’s a Bradley recruit that is generally considered the top senior in the state. Simeon senior Julien Doyle is having a breakout season one year behind schedule. Flowers expected Doyle to be a major factor last season, but he was limited to just a handful of games the end of the season due to an injury. He’s been one of the Wolverines’ most consistent players this season and had 16 points and five rebounds against Manual (8-4). “I’m just doing what I can to help us win,” Doyle said. “I’m trying to be a leader and help the team believe we can win every game.” Simeon was 13-for-23 from three-point range. Isiah Coleman had 13 points and seven rebounds and Kamari Hamlin added 10 points for the Wolverines. Senior Lorenzo Shields was the catalyst for Simeon with nine points, nine rebounds and11 assists. “They got hot from outside,” Peoria Manual coach Marvin Jordan said. “I knew they were capable of that but we didn’t see that on film. They have fiery guys that go out and play with passion. You just hope that game doesn’t happen to you.” Simeon will face Benet, a winner against Bloom, in the semifinals on Saturday.Hurricane's Sha'lik Hampton (1), right, pushes past George Washington's Jackson Morgan (12) as the Hurricane High School football team takes on George Washington on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, in Hurricane. Finally, back to football. Welcome back to “At the Game,” a feature we're producing on high school football game nights this season to keep readers in the loop of what's going on across the area, in as close to real time as we can manage. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
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Colts vs. Patriots: Indianapolis opens Week 13 as betting favorites | Sporting NewsAfter university, I’d been interning at the European Parliament in Luxembourg, but the Eurocrat life wasn't for me. I wanted to be a journalist, preferably somewhere in sunny southern Europe. So one evening over a drink my friend Paul Ames and I decided to write to English language newspapers in Spain and Portugal offering our services. I had never been to either country. The sole reply came from Paul Luckman, publisher of Algarve News and Magazine (now The Portugal News ). He needed reporters, he said. Why not come for a month's trial? Within days I had touched down in this strange land of dazzling sun, craggy coves, and pork with clams for lunch. The editor Jane kindly showed us the ropes, then told us she was leaving to have a baby and wasn’t planning to return. Paul Luckman called us into his office. “Paul, I want you to edit the magazine”, he said, “and Peter, I want you to edit the newspaper.” After barely a month in the Algarve, we had inherited a mini publishing empire. Mind you, at that point, we were the entire editorial team. I had very little idea of how to edit a newspaper, let alone a newspaper in Portugal, but I knew what I liked. Back in Britain, the Independent newspaper had recently launched and was a model of clean, elegant design. I showed a copy to our designers João and Filipe. “Can you make it look something like this?” Just down the cobbled street was the office of a shaggy-bearded Ulsterman who freelanced for the paper. When I knocked he was hunched over his manual typewriter, a bottle of SuperBock on the desk. “Len Port”, he announced, “As in port wine.” “Leave a space for the lead story every fortnight”, Len went on. “I’ll fill it.” Scoop after scoop He was as good as his word. Over the next 18 months, we ran scoop after scoop on fugitives from justice, timeshare scams, mysterious deaths, and missing charity funds. Looking back, I’m not sure how great an advert it was for the Algarve, although to his credit our publisher – a passionate advocate for the region – never complained. The glossy sister magazine, featuring the work of the talented Algarvian photographer (and excellent translator) Nuno Campos, was however a showcase. We ploughed the length and breadth of the coast in a battered Renault 4, researching features from Sagres to Olhão, Alferce to Alcoutim, and meeting traditional blacksmiths, cataplana makers, and octopus fishermen along the way. I remember punctures on rocky mountain roads, and seeing too many accidents on the EN125. We interviewed the former boxer Henry Cooper who was golfing at Penina, the Wimbledon star Roger Taylor who ran the tennis academy at Vale de Lobo, and the Portuguese football legend Eusebio who was visiting Lagos. As a journalistic exercise, I was persuaded to enter the Portuguese Open squash championships at Carvoeiro, and somehow got a single point off the number one seed. On press days, we invariably worked into the night to put the paper and magazine to bed. The company was an early adopter of digital publishing technology. The problem was it didn’t always work, so sometimes we had to revert to pasting up pages on the wall. Once, I overdid the glue and by the time the maquette reached Lisbon for printing all its pages had stuck together. Back to the drawing board. Challenges Learning Portuguese was a challenge too. I had a Portuguese girlfriend, Cristina, who also worked at the paper, but she had grown up speaking French, so although my French improved, my Portuguese in fast-talking Algarve lagged behind. Until one day not long before I left, the gas at our flat in Praia da Rocha was cut off because the previous tenant hadn’t paid his bill. During a frustrating exchange in Portuguese at the gas office I exploded: “But I am not José Manuel Vasconcelos da Silva!” “You’re not?” replied the gas man. I could have hugged him. My most poignant memory was the story of Harry Heaps, an RAF pilot whose Wellington bomber crashed at Cabo de São Vicente during World War II. He contacted us to say he was planning a visit to thank the local people who had rescued him and his crew. It was a wonderful story, and official plans were made to celebrate the trip, but sadly Harry died just a few days before he was due to travel. On a bleak, windy day near Sagres, the British honorary consul unveiled a memorial stone. I hope it’s still there. BBC Soon after that, I applied for a job as a trainee at the BBC in London. When I arrived for the interview, I handed the panel copies of Algarve News. “How much of this did you write?” they asked. “Most of it”, I replied, and I was in. My time in the Algarve was over, but I still look back on it with huge fondness and gratitude. And a lifelong love for this wonderful region. Why am I telling you all this now? Because recently I encountered a curious coincidence. My son Luke, now in his 20s, invited his girlfriend’s parents for lunch. Hannah’s father, the former British ambassador to Portugal, Chris Sainty, had just been named chief executive of The Portugal News . As I reminisced about Algarve News in the 1980s, Chris asked if I would write a piece. With pleasure! Peter Barron lives in Spain’s Extremadura, close to the Portuguese border, and still visits his friend Paul Ames, who lives in Tavira.It's Time For You To Experience The Majesty Of These 38 TikTok Products
Empire’s chief executive believes the grocery retailer has a leg up on the competition as consumer sentiment improves amid lower inflation and interest rates, and the gap between its discount and full-service stores shrinks. “We believe this will be advantageous to us as we continue to lean into our strengths as a full-service foremost grocer,” said Michael Medline, president and CEO of the company that owns Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo, Farm Boy, Longo’s and other grocery banners across the country. “We saw momentum and green shoots in both the economy and our business,” he said on a conference call with analysts discussing the company’s second-quarter financial results. “Inflation has now moderated, and interest rates have begun to decline, representing a positive inflection point for full service.” Like its competitors, Empire has been increasing its discount store footprint through new stores and conversions. But it’s also got big plans for its higher-end stores in Ontario. “You’re going to see many new Farm Boy and Longo’s stores going up over the next year and two years,” said Medline. The company said it earned a second-quarter profit of $173.4 million, compared with $181.1 million a year earlier. Sales for the quarter totalled $7.78 billion, up from $7.75 billion a year earlier. The increase came as same-store sales rose 1.1 per cent. Same-store sales growth, excluding fuel sales, were up 1.8 per cent. The company’s e-commerce sales grew 12.2 per cent during the quarter, driven primarily by Voilà, said Medline. “Growing Canadian e-commerce penetration is the key tailwind that we need to accelerate the growth of Voilà,” he said. Near the end of the quarter, the company also launched new partnerships with Instacart and Uber Eats to complement its Voilà service. Empire said in a press release that it intends to continue investing in its store network, including renovating approximately 20 to 25 per cent of stores between fiscal 2024 and 2026. During the quarter, Empire said it invested $149.2 million in capital expenditures, including renovations, construction of new stores, and other technological investments. Medline said during the quarter the company completed the expansion of one of its distribution centres in Ontario. This has helped margins by redirecting some deliveries to the distribution centre instead of individual stores, he said, boosting freshness, waste reduction and product availability. The company provided an update on its expansion of discount banner FreshCo in Western Canada, with 48 stores now operating in the region. Empire said it expects to achieve its original target of converting up to a quarter of its Safeway and Sobeys stores to FreshCo over the next several years. Empire's stock was up more than seven per cent in midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company said its profit amounted to 73 cents per diluted share for the 13-week period ended Nov. 2 compared with a profit of 72 cents per diluted share a year ago when it had more shares outstanding. On an adjusted basis, it earned 73 cents per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 71 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year. The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of 66 cents per share, according to data provided by LSEG Data & Analytics. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2024. Companies in this story: (TSX:EMP.A) Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
Francis' 23 lead NJIT over Navy 69-64A musician who spent the last three Christmas periods in hospital on her own due to Crohn’s disease is hoping to “re-write the story” to avoid a fourth December admission this year. Kirsten Parry, 29, an assistant director of music at a secondary school who lives in Ash, Surrey, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease – an autoimmune, lifelong condition where parts of the gut become swollen, inflamed and ulcerated – in June 2021. She noticed a change in bowel habits and her symptoms included abdominal pain, nausea, a loss of appetite and weight loss – and at her worst, she said she was having “accidents” and going to the toilet more than 20 times a day. Read more: Mum whose son was born premature praises support from the “incredible” staff in the neonatal unit Read more: ‘This might be my last Christmas – the thought my baby son might not remember me is heartbreaking’ She has spent the last three Christmas periods in hospital due to picking up infections which have “triggered Crohn’s flares” – and she said each admission has been “lonely” and “scary”. This year, although Kirsten has a “fear of sickness” during the winter period, she is hoping to avoid a fourth hospital admission over the festive period and wants to create “positive stories of Christmas”. Kirsten told PA Real Life: “Everyone seems to have so much energy and excitement at this time of year and I just don’t have that anymore. “I just keep getting these memories and intrusive thoughts of this time a year ago, and whenever I go into the bathroom, I think, this is where I was lying on the floor, screaming. “What I’m trying to do this Christmas is almost re-write it and think, well, I’m going to change the narrative this year and hope that I don’t have to go into hospital. “But also, I’m going to create so many positive memories, so that next year I’ve got positive stories of Christmas.” According to the charity Crohn’s & Colitis UK, Crohn’s disease is a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) where parts of the gut become swollen, inflamed and ulcerated. Crohn’s is a lifelong condition and, currently, there is no cure – but medicines, surgery, or a combination of both can help keep symptoms under control. For Kirsten, she explained that she had “never had a medical condition in (her) life” up until her Crohn’s disease diagnosis in June 2021. Although she said there is not yet “solid evidence to connect the two”, she believes her symptoms started after she contracted Covid-19 in December 2020. “I started teaching in school again – this is January 2021 – but the children weren’t in school, I was teaching from my computer,” she said. “I remember having to set them off on a task, turn my camera and microphone off, run to the toilet, come back, set them on another task, run to the toilet, come back.” Kirsten said her symptoms included sharp abdominal pain, nausea, a loss of appetite, weight loss and diarrhoea, and she was going to the toilet with “urgency” around 10 times a day at this point. However, she believed these “distressing tummy symptoms” were related to the “stress and anxiety” of her job during the Covid-19 pandemic – and she did not book a GP appointment until her friend encouraged her to do so. After a blood test and two stool samples, it was revealed Kirsten’s faecal calprotectin levels – an inflammatory marker – were “abnormal” and she was referred to the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford. Following her referral appointment in April, Kirsten said she had a colonoscopy and an MRI scan, which led to her official Crohn’s disease diagnosis on June 24 2021. “Doctors and nurses said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s showing up as mild, so we should be able to sort this out with minimal medication’,” she said. “Apart from being a bit anaemic, I’ve never had anything wrong with me, so I was upset and confused.” Kirsten was prescribed the first of several medications, including Pentasa, followed by steroids such as Budesonide, but her faecal calprotectin levels continued to rise. She said she started having “accidents” and her symptoms worsened in “a debilitating way”. During an appointment with her consultant in August 2021, aged 25, she said she broke down in tears, feeling “mortified”, and thought: “I shouldn’t be having to change my underwear halfway through the day.” Although Kirsten’s scans showed her Crohn’s disease as being mild, she said her faecal calprotectin levels were still “through the roof” during follow-up appointments. She then developed “an unknown infection”, which led to sepsis, followed by Clostridioides difficile – a highly contagious bacterial infection – and she was hospitalised in December 2021. She said she was not allowed any visitors and, due to the condition being contagious, she could not leave her hospital room unless she needed to have an X-ray and she could only wash herself at the sink. “I started getting these new gastro symptoms, so I started passing blood,” she said. “I was bleeding and passing things that I’ve never seen before, including the lining of my colon.” Kirsten was discharged on Christmas Eve but, due to being “very thin and very weak” and living away from her family, she spent Christmas Day sleeping on the sofa at her friend’s house. During the following week, she said she started having “accidents during the night” and her inflammatory markers were “sky-high”, leading her to have a capsule endoscopy – a small capsule that takes pictures as it travels along your gut. She said this revealed her Crohn’s was, in fact, severe, not mild, and she had “ulceration everywhere” in her small bowel. Kirsten was then given a nasogastric (NG) tube to feed herself with a liquid diet for three months and she was prescribed the medication Infliximab, which has been a “game-changer”. Although this medication has helped alleviate her symptoms, she said she constantly thinks about three things: toilets, food and germs; during her day-to-day life, which is “exhausting”. “I would say I have an intrusive, anxious thought relating to either immunosuppression or Crohn’s probably every minute,” she said. “My head feels like it’s exploding sometimes.” Kirsten said her Crohn’s has led to six hospital admissions in total since her diagnosis – including during the Christmas periods in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, she was admitted due to an infection, which then triggered a Crohn’s flare and, in 2023, she was admitted with acute gastroenteritis – a condition that causes diarrhoea and vomiting. She said she has been able to manage her Crohn’s with regular check-ups and medications, and she is learning to base her thoughts and actions on “evidence”, rather than anxiety, as this can exacerbate her symptoms. She wants to encourage others to advocate for themselves and “trust (their) own instincts” when it comes to their health – and to enjoy Christmas this year, she is planning to “do something nice each day”, such as going for walks and meeting up with friends. Speaking about her advice to others, Kirsten said: “It’s only embarrassing if you let it be embarrassing.