A political party in North Macedonia has called for a ban on social networks promoting dangerous content after at least 17 students were injured attempting the viral "Superman challenge" on TikTok. Health authorities reported that children aged 10 to 17 were hospitalized in Skopje and other towns with broken bones, contusions, and bruises over the past week. The injuries occurred as participants were thrown into the air by peers in a bid to mimic superheroes for online acclaim. The Liberal-Democratic Party, formerly part of the left-led ruling coalition, condemned the spread of harmful social media trends in a press release on Saturday. "The irresponsible spread of dangerous content on social media, such as the latest TikTok ‘challenge’ known as ‘Superman,’ has injured six children across the country in just the past 24 hours," the statement read. The party called for urgent action, demanding "immediate measures to ban content that incites violence and self-destructive behavior, increase surveillance, and sanction platforms that enable dangerous trends." Education Minister Vesna Janevska also weighed in, urging students to prioritize education over TikTok challenges. "The ban on mobile phones in schools will not have an effect. Phones will still be accessible at home, in neighborhoods, and other environments," Janevska noted. Psychologists have linked the rise in risky behaviors among children to a desire to follow social media trends and excessive smartphone use. They emphasized the importance of parents and educators engaging with students to raise awareness about the dangers of such challenges. The "Superman challenge" is the latest in a string of social media trends raising alarms globally, prompting debates over the regulation of digital platforms and the protection of vulnerable users.
Cincinnati vs. Kansas State FREE LIVE STREAM (11/23/24): Watch college football, Week 13 online | Time, TV, channel
NoneUS President Joe Biden on Sunday said deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad should be "held accountable" but called the nation's political upheaval a "historic opportunity" for Syrians to rebuild their country. In the first full US reaction to Assad's overthrow by an Islamist-led coalition of rebel factions, Biden also warned that Washington will "remain vigilant" against the emergence of terrorist groups, announcing that US forces had just conducted fresh strikes against militants from the Islamic State organization. "The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice," Biden said, speaking from the White House. "It's a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria." Asked by reporters what should happen to the deposed president, who reportedly has fled to Moscow, Biden said that "Assad should be held accountable." Biden -- set to step down in January and make way for Republican Donald Trump's return to power -- said Washington will assist Syrians in rebuilding. "We will engage with all Syrian groups, including within the process led by the United Nations, to establish a transition away from the Assad regime toward independent, sovereign" Syria "with a new constitution," he said. However, Biden cautioned that hardline Islamist groups within the victorious rebel alliance will be under scrutiny. "Some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human right abuses," Biden said. The United States had "taken note" of recent statements by rebels suggesting they had since moderated, he said, but cautioned: "We will assess not just their words, but their actions." Biden said Washington is "clear eyed" that the Islamic State extremist group, often known as ISIS, "will try to take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish" itself in Syria. "We will not let that happen," he said, adding that on Sunday alone, US forces had conducted strikes against ISIS inside Syria. The US military said the strikes were conducted by warplanes against Islamic State operatives and camps. Strikes were carried out against "over 75 targets using multiple US Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s," the US Central Command said on social media. Earlier, Biden met with his national security team at the White House to discuss the crisis. Assad's reported departure comes less than two weeks after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group challenged more than five decades of Assad family rule with a lightning rebel offensive that broke long-frozen frontlines in Syria's civil war. They announced Sunday they had taken the capital Damascus and that Assad had fled, prompting celebrations nationwide and a ransacking of Assad's luxurious home. A Kremlin source told Russian news agencies that the deposed leader was now in Moscow, along with his family. The US military has around 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq as part of the international coalition established in 2014 to help combat the Islamic State jihadist group. It has regularly struck targets in the country including those linked to Iranian-backed militias. Tehran was a major backer of Assad's government. Biden also confirmed US authorities believe the American journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Syria in 2012, still lives. "We believe he's alive," Biden said, but the US has yet "to identify where he is." bur-sms/mlm
Secretaries of State are being told that any outgoings which are not contributing towards one of Labour’s “priorities” must be cut as Rachel Reeves vows to wield “an iron fist against waste.” In letters sent by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, departments will be told to brace for “difficult” spending decisions in order to restore trust in the Government’s handling of the public finances. Every pound of departmental spending will be face a “line-by-line review” involving external finance experts from banks and think tanks in order to ensure it represents value for money, the Treasury said. The Chancellor will on Tuesday launch the next round of Government spending, and is expected to warn departments that they “cannot operate in a business-as-usual way when reviewing their budgets for the coming years”. She will insist that areas focused on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s “plan for change”, which includes targets to improve living standards across the country and build 1.5 million homes, must be prioritised. Ms Reeves said: “By totally rewiring how the Government spends money we will be able to deliver our plan for change and focus on what matters for working people. “The previous government allowed millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to go to waste on poor value for money projects. We will not tolerate it; I said I would have an iron grip on the public finances and that means taking an iron fist against waste. “By reforming our public services, we will ensure they are up to scratch for modern day demands, saving money and delivering better services for people across the country. That’s why we will inspect every pound of Government spend, so that it goes to the right places and we put an end to all waste.” Under the Treasury’s plans, departments will ensure budgets are scrutinised by “challenge panels” of external experts including former senior management of Lloyd’s Banking Group, Barclays Bank and the Co-operative Group. These panels, which will also involve think tanks, academics and the private sector, will advise on which spending “is or isn’t necessary”, the ministry said. The Treasury said work has already begun, with an evaluation of the £6.5 million spent on a scheme that placed social workers in schools finding “no evidence of positive impact on social care outcomes”. “Departments will be advised that where spending is not contributing to a priority, it should be stopped,” it said. “Although some of these decisions will be difficult, the Chancellor is clear that the public must have trust in the Government that it is rooting out waste and that their taxes are being spent on their priorities.” Ms Reeves had already announced efficiency and productivity savings of 2% across departments in her autumn budget as she seeks to put the public finances on a firmer footing. In a speech in east London, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden hinted at a further squeeze. “At the Budget the Chancellor demanded efficiency and productivity savings of 2% across departments – and there will be more to come,” he said. “As we launch the next phase of the spending review at its heart must be reform of the state in order to do a better job for the public.”
Kirk LaPointe: Surrey directors sound alarm over Metro Vancouver governance Regional body faces scrutiny over soaring project costs, lack of transparency Kirk LaPointe Dec 4, 2024 3:30 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message The North Shore wastewater treatment plant is slated to cost nearly $4 billion and be ready by 2030. Chung Chow, BIV Listen to this article 00:05:18 Deep concerns raised by Surrey board directors about Metro Vancouver paint a troubling portrait of an organization that lacks expertise, fails to consult, and forces the region’s officials to make multibillion-dollar decisions affecting taxpayers without adequate information. The criticism, in the form of a sharply worded letter Nov. 12 to Metro’s finance committee and obtained by Glacier Media, is the most extensive and prominent challenge yet from board directors for change at the regional federation of 21 municipalities, one electoral area and one treaty First Nation. It calls for an overhaul of the 2025 budgeting methods, arguing that inaccurate and insufficient information has been provided to directors, including an exhaustive review of decisions on development cost charges (DCCs), and a repeal of various bylaws. More broadly it calls for changes in how the body is governed. It identifies as specific pain points two Metro Vancouver projects, the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant in North Vancouver and the looming Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Richmond, and disparages how they are among the seven top projects reporting directly into Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Dobrovolny “with no independent third-party engineering and financial auditor to provide transparency, accountability and evaluate cost-benefit design-based principles/assumptions.” The projects lack detailed and audited information on how costs are calculated, says the letter. In the case of the North Shore plant, the budget has soared seven-fold to $3.86 billion from an original $550-million contract with little public information along the way. Already the budget for the Iona plant in Richmond has risen to $14 billion from the $9.9 billion mark two years ago, and construction remains years away. The letter was submitted moments before the committee’s most recent Nov. 13 meeting by Surrey Coun. Pardeep Kooner on behalf of five other Surrey directors, including Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke. Surrey’s six directors are second-most to Vancouver’s seven on the 41-director board. The letter’s general contents were briefly discussed but the letter itself was not part of the meeting package. It wasn’t formally dealt with at the committee meeting and has been referred to Metro Vancouver staff for a response early in 2025. But its language argues nothing short of significant shifts in its operating culture and quality of competence are necessary. “I believe there must be additional board oversight and decisions made on the costing of these Major Capital projects at a minimum,” Kooner wrote. The letter reflects the frustration many directors have expressed of a staff-dominated operation that leaves them without the necessary decision-making information – but with the accountability as elected officials to taxpayers in their districts. There have been calls for a third-party audit to examine what Kooner and others have complained is a chronic sprawl of budgets and a culture of indifference about them. While a performance audit will be conducted in-house on the North Shore plant costs, it hasn’t satisfied those who feel it is insufficiently independent. The provincial government, which created Metro Vancouver as a corporate entity, has so far declined publicly to involve itself, whether to launch a fuller-fledged inquiry into costs, provide additional funds to defray significant property tax levies for the North Shore plant, or to take back the responsibilities of the operation, which at the moment is overseeing some 300 infrastructural projects. The three-page letter goes on: “The way the current board is operating has many gaps in information, lacks sufficient details to make the decisions we need to and the full financial impacts or options are not being provided. “For instance, the board is often asked to approve or endorse a very broad strategy that has a suite of staff-led sub-action items and staff-driven priorities. There is often little or no discussion on the broad strategy let alone no consultation is provided on the sub-action items. “This results in a lack of crystal-clear strategies and policies which enables staff to make their own interpretations and significant decisions without Board consideration. I have found that staff has been using the strategic plan to pick and choose areas of focus with no clear direct board resolution which is affecting the information we are provided. I believe that the current governance model is not sufficient to ensure the Board is fully prepared and knowledgeable.” The letter outlines the need to defer the 2025 budget planning to deal with six issues, including what Kooner terms “a huge concern” about DCCs, how they are apportioned to communities, and the quality of the population and dwelling forecasts. “I have been told that there are many factors that are considered; however, these other factors have not been provided.” As it is, the budget information and methodology “is not accurate/insufficient and does not portray the true impact on the decisions that have been brought to the Board.” Kirk LaPointe is a Glacier Media columnist with an extensive background in journalism See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up Related Kirk LaPointe: Alberta's 'get things done' edge leaves B.C. behind in investment race Nov 27, 2024 12:00 PM Kirk LaPointe: West Van's latest pay parking pitch raises a lot of questions Nov 27, 2024 9:00 AM Kirk LaPointe: John Horgan made his mark mixing fiscal competence with social prescription Nov 13, 2024 11:30 AM Kirk LaPointe: Sewage plant mess presents tough test for Eby government Nov 13, 2024 7:10 AMBasketball NBA Market Overview and Leading Players: Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Zion Williamson, Khris Middleton, Joel Embiid, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Jayson Tatum
Oliver Anthony, Noted Music Critic, Calls Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ ‘Complete Trash’
MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka will host clients and staff in a digital training program themed ‘Beyond Digital & Social Media’ (BDSM). The workshop will be held as an all-day session on Thursday, November 28, at Courtyard by Marriot led by Roald van Wyk and Vaseem Edroos. As the Global Creative Commerce Lead for the Interpublic Group (IPG), New York, van Wyk is responsible for developing new creative systems and forging strategic creative partnerships that position IPG agencies at the forefront of commerce channels, canvasses, and ecosystems worldwide. National Planning Director at Lowe Lintas India Vaseem Edroos oversees digital transformation and new technology adoption for major brands in the FMCG, E-commerce and BFSI sectors. Executive Chairman of MullenLowe Group – Sri Lanka, Thayalan Bartlett said, “Digital is perhaps the most abused term in the local advertising space misleading brands of the medium’s true potential. MullenLowe’s Full Stack Digital Suite (FSDS) covers design to delivery by integrating all the key prompts in the digital journey towards effective commerce. “This workshop aims to equip marketers with a comprehensive understanding of the current and future landscape of digital marketing, highlighting the potential benefits for Sri Lanka and we are excited for the future of our business,” he said. Dr. Sohan Dharmaraja who heads LoweTech, the group’s MarTech arm, said, “As MarTech reshapes the marketing landscape, this Digital Boot Camp offers brands an opportunity to pioneer, not just keep up. “This isn’t just another training, it’s a transformative initiative that can redefine Sri Lanka’s digital landscape, empowering brands to harness true digital power. With practical strategies and innovative frameworks, this program is set to spark the change Sri Lankan businesses need to lead in this new era,” he said. Some of the key areas participants can expect to be exposed to are Local Insights + Global Trends, Practical Frameworks, Privacy-Compliant Audience Targeting, and Interactive Ideation.Tracy McGrady answers who would win in a 1-on-1 game between him and Kevin Durant: “Have you seen me shoot over seven-footers?”King laughs at British comedian’s impression of Donald Trump at Royal Variety