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Dublin: Vote counting in Ireland's general election began Saturday with an exit poll indicating a tight finish with the incumbent centre-right coalition most likely to form the next government. After voting concluded Friday, the exit poll indicated that the leftist-nationalist Sinn Fein, the main opposition party, narrowly led with 21.1 percent of the vote. But neck and neck on 21.0 percent was the centre-right Fine Gael whose leader is the outgoing prime minister Simon Harris. Fine Gael's centre-right partner in the outgoing coalition -- Fianna Fail, led by deputy prime minister Micheal Martin -- were slightly further back in third with 19.5 percent. "Forming a government will depend on two of the three being able to cooperate with one another," Lisa Keenan, a political scientist at Trinity College Dublin, told AFP. But Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are "in the driving seat to reestablish coalition" in the new 174-seat lower chamber of parliament, said the Irish Times newspaper. During the campaign both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael ruled out entering coalition with Sinn Fein, who also prioritise Irish unification. "Sinn Fein could well finish first in the popular vote for the second time in a row, but face another five years in opposition," said the paper. - Horse-trading ahead -At the last general election in 2020, Sinn Fein -- the former political wing of the paramilitary Irish Republican Army -- won the largest vote share but could not find willing coalition partners. That led to weeks of horsetrading, ending up with Fine Gael, which has been in power since 2011, agreeing a deal with Fianna Fail. Partial results are expected throughout Saturday, while a final result may not be clear for days. During the last parliamentary term, the role of prime minister rotated between the Fianna Fail and Fine Gael leaders. The smaller Green Party made up the governing coalition. EU member Ireland's proportional representation system sees votes of eliminated candidates redistributed during multiple rounds of counting. While the exit poll suggests Fine Gael and Fianna Fail's performance is down on the last election, "their supporters are increasingly willing to transfer from one to the other," as the count rounds progress, Keenan told AFP. Smaller opposition parties including the Social Democrats, and Labour would be in the mix for coalition talks after the final result according to analysts. Non-aligned independent candidates could also play a role in the next government if sought by the frontrunner parties to make up an 88-seat majority in the Dail. The three-week campaign, launched after Harris called a snap election November 8, was marked by rancour over housing and cost-of-living crises, public spending and immigration. Harris, who became Ireland's youngest-ever taoiseach (prime minister) when he took over in April, held a solid lead entering the campaign. But the party lost ground, in particular after Harris was seen in a viral clip appearing rude and dismissive to a care worker on the campaign trail. Both centre-right parties stressed their pro-business and pro-EU credentials and said returning them to power would ensure stability, particularly with turmoil abroad and the risk of external shocks. Ireland's high-growth economy depends on foreign direct investment and lavish corporate tax returns from mainly US tech and pharma giants, and would suffer if incoming US president Donald Trump follows through on pledges to slap tariffs on imports and repatriate corporate tax of US firms. The exit poll revealed "no enthusiasm for the government, despite the buoyant economy," Eoin O'Malley, a political scientist at Dublin City University, told AFP. "But neither is there any enthusiasm for the opposition parties," he said. Mary Lou McDonald's Sinn Fein saw a dip in support among its working class base in the past year because of its progressive stance on social issues and migration policy, as immigration became a key election issue. But it rallied on the back of a campaign heavily focused on housing policy and claimed it is the only alternative to Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, which have swapped power since Irish independence from Britain in 1921.How Nigeria’s Super Eagles B swept aside Ghana to book 2024 CHAN placeA massive clean-up operation is on the cards after Storm Darragh wreaked havoc across the country overnight, with damaging gusts affecting most areas to some degree. The aftermath of the fourth named storm of the 2024/25 season is still being felt this morning, Saturday December 7, but thankfully Met Eireann's Status Red warning for certain counties expired in the early hours. A Status Orange wind warning remains in place for the entire country until 10am this morning, however, as very strong and gusty northwest winds persist over the coming hours, which could potentially result in fallen trees, damage to power lines, very difficult travelling conditions, structural damage and wave overtopping in coastal regions. As we move into the afternoon, the effects of Storm Darragh will ease somewhat but Ireland will remain under a Status Yellow wind warning until 3pm today so it will not be until tonight that conditions fully calm. READ MORE: Storm Darragh Update: Almost 400,000 left without power as Met Eireann orange warning continues READ MORE: Social welfare Ireland: Thousands eligible for Storm Darragh relief payment - here’s how to apply Meanwhile, the counties of Clare, Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Longford, Louth, Meath and Westmeath - as well as all of Connacht - find themselves under a Status Yellow rain warning until 10am this morning. A Met Eireann spokesperson has warned that "Storm Darragh will continue to bring very windy or stormy conditions this morning," adding that "Winds will gradually moderate during the afternoon, but will continue strong in the east through the evening. Rain will clear from the northeast and east this morning with scattered blustery showers following for the rest of the day, mainly over the west, with isolated thunderstorms and possible hail. Highest temperatures of 6 to 11 degrees."
The Centre for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN) has expressed dismay over poor funding and decaying infrastructure crippling the Akwa Ibom judicial system. CHRAN noted that effective administration of justice could be hampered if urgent measures were not put in place to address the flaws. The CSO called on Governor Umo Emo to urgently intervene by giving a face-lift to courts across the 31 local government areas of the state and as well recruit personnel to strengthen the system in the state. It added that adequate funding was necessary for judicial officers not to bend the course of justice. The group’s Director in the state, Mr Franklyn Isong, who made the call while briefing Journalists during a media parley to mark end of the year activities of the Centre, lamented that facilities in the courts have broken down and become obsolete. Isong listed faulty toilets, fittings and water system in those facilities as those requiring urgent government intervention. “The CHRAN drew the attention of the State administration to the issues of understaffing and poor state of infrastructure and facilities, including toilets, fittings, water, in the Courts spread across the 31 Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State. “The Centre appealed to the State administration to ensure the recruitment of personnel into the State Judiciary and also give a facelift to the Courts spread across the 31 Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State”. Isong, who was giving sectoral assessment during the media parley also drew the attention of the Governor to the abandoned Divisional Library which he noted was established by the military administration in the defunct South Eastern State. “CHRAN drew the attention of the State administration to the poor state of infrastructure at the Divisional Library, Udotung Ubo Street, Uyo due to abandonment by successive administrations in the State. “The Centre recalled that the Divisional Library at Udotung Ubo Street, which now harbours the Akwa Ibom State Library Board, Uyo, was built and stocked about half a century ago by the then military administration in the defunct South Eastern State,” he said. He further expressed concern on the closure of Calabar-Itu Highway due to the ongoing construction of Tabernacle Road and flood control project in the state, lamenting that the closure has brought serious economic challenges to residents and motorists plying the road. According to him, “The Center called for expeditious attention by the contractors and the supervising Ministry”. Isong also frowned at the dormant state of the multi-billion naira Ibom E-Library, adding that findings by the group had revealed that the place is no longer functioning as a library. “Findings by CHRAN indicate that the Ibom E-Library at Babangida Avenue, Uyo is no longer functioning as a library. The Centre urged urgent action to revitalise the Ibom E-Library and other public libraries in the State” Isong stated On Anti-open Grazing Law in the state, the director who lauded the enactment of the law by the immediate-past administration of Mr. Udom Emmanuel, however, lamented that the law is only been partially enforced in some parts of the state. He urged the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Internal Security and Waterways to fully implement the law as a step to checking grazing of cattle on farmlands.
DT Midstream Announces Closing of Offering of Senior Secured Notes
A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok's petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company's challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court's opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though its unclear whether the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people,” Hughes said. Unless stopped, he argued the statute “will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.” Though the case is squarely in the court system, its also possible the two companies might be thrown some sort of a lifeline by President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the presidential campaign that he is now against such action . The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a years-long saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits , that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect — a concern mirrored by the European Union on Friday as it scrutinizes the video-sharing app’s role in the Romanian elections. TikTok, which sued the government over the law in May, has long denied it could be used by Beijing to spy on or manipulate Americans. Its attorneys have accurately pointed out that the U.S. hasn’t provided evidence to show that the company handed over user data to the Chinese government, or manipulated content for Beijing’s benefit in the U.S. They have also argued the law is predicated on future risks, which the Department of Justice has emphasized pointing in part to unspecified action it claims the two companies have taken in the past due to demands from the Chinese government. Friday’s ruling came after the appeals court panel, composed of two Republican and one Democrat appointed judges, heard oral arguments in September. In the hearing, which lasted more than two hours, the panel appeared to grapple with how TikTok’s foreign ownership affects its rights under the Constitution and how far the government could go to curtail potential influence from abroad on a foreign-owned platform. On Friday, all three of them denied TikTok’s petition. In the court's ruling, Ginsburg, a Republican appointee, rejected TikTok's main legal arguments against the law, including that the statute was an unlawful bill of attainder or a taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. He also said the law did not violate the First Amendment because the government is not looking to "suppress content or require a certain mix of content” on TikTok. “Content on the platform could in principle remain unchanged after divestiture, and people in the United States would remain free to read and share as much PRC propaganda (or any other content) as they desire on TikTok or any other platform of their choosing,” Ginsburg wrote, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China. Judge Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge on the court, issued a concurring opinion. TikTok’s lawsuit was consolidated with a second legal challenge brought by several content creators - for which the company is covering legal costs - as well as a third one filed on behalf of conservative creators who work with a nonprofit called BASED Politics Inc. Other organizations, including the Knight First Amendment Institute, had also filed amicus briefs supporting TikTok. “This is a deeply misguided ruling that reads important First Amendment precedents too narrowly and gives the government sweeping power to restrict Americans’ access to information, ideas, and media from abroad,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the organization. “We hope that the appeals court’s ruling won’t be the last word.” Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers who had pushed for the legislation celebrated the court's ruling. "I am optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok to allow its continued use in the United States and I look forward to welcoming the app in America under new ownership,” said Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China. Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who co-authored the law, said “it's time for ByteDance to accept” the law. To assuage concerns about the company’s owners, TikTok says it has invested more than $2 billion to bolster protections around U.S. user data. The company has also argued the government’s broader concerns could have been resolved in a draft agreement it provided the Biden administration more than two years ago during talks between the two sides. It has blamed the government for walking away from further negotiations on the agreement, which the Justice Department argues is insufficient. Attorneys for the two companies have claimed it’s impossible to divest the platform commercially and technologically. They also say any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm - the platform’s secret sauce that Chinese authorities would likely block under any divesture plan - would turn the U.S. version of TikTok into an island disconnected from other global content. Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in purchasing the platform. Both men said earlier this year that they were launching a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business. This week, a spokesperson for McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative, which aims to protect online privacy, said unnamed participants in their bid have made informal commitments of more than $20 billion in capital. Haleluya Hadero, The Associated PressFederal prosecutors link Lil Durk to 2022 Chicago murder ahead of detention hearing
Ghana counted ballots on Saturday after a tight election with the ruling party's Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia trying to shake off anger over economic woes and rebuff a challenge by opposition party candidate ex-president John Mahama. Ghana's struggling economy dominated the election, after the west Africa gold and cacao producer went through a debt default, high inflation and negotiations for a $3 billion IMF bailout. Voters were choosing a successor to Bawumia's boss, President Nana Akufo-Addo, who steps down after serving the maximum of two four-year terms. They will also elect the country's new parliament. Voting was mostly calm, but one person was shot dead and four people arrested at a polling station in Nyankpala in the country's northern region, police and local media said. After polls closed at 1700 GMT, election teams immediately began tallying ballots under the watch of agents from political parties before sending them to collation centres. Preliminary results are expected early Sunday, with full presidential results scheduled by Tuesday. "Everyone is complaining prices are high. So I want a change, I want a good president who will bring in changes," Abdullah Mohammed, a student said after voting in Accra's Nima district. With a history of political stability, Ghana's two main parties, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC), have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party democracy in 1992. Touting the slogan "Break the 8" -- a reference to going past the usual two terms in power -- the NPP hopes Bawumia can lead them to an unprecedented third term. But he struggled to break away from criticism of Akufo-Addo's economic record. "I think we have done a lot of work with our message to the people and the message has been well received," Bawumia said after voting in his northern home Walewale. A UK-educated economist and former central banker, he points to an economy turning a corner and the government's continued plans for digitalisation to ease business, as well as free education and health programmes. - Economic frustrations - But though inflation slowed from more than 50 percent to around 23 percent, and other macro-economic indicators are stabilising, the economic pain was still a clear election issue. Many Ghanaians still say they struggle with the cost of living, scarce jobs and a depreciated cedi currency. Frustration over the economy has opened the way for a comeback challenge from Mahama, who was president from 2012 to 2017 but has since failed twice in presidential bids. The NDC flag-bearer says he will "reset" Ghana and introduce a "24-hour economy", extending industrial hours to create jobs, and also renegotiate parts of the IMF deal. "Other elections have not been as obvious," Mahama said voting in his northern hometown. "With this one, everybody can tell the direction because of the abysmal performance of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government." Some analysts gave him an edge because of voter dismay with NPP, but the former president faced criticism from those who remember financial woes and massive power cuts during his time in office. Shoe saleswoman Esther Adobea said the economic situation hurt, but she was willing to give Bawumia a chance to make things better. "I can see he can handle the country for us. Our economy is not good, but he can do better," she said. Both major candidates are from the north of the country -- traditionally an NDC stronghold, but now more fragmented -- making the region a key battleground. While the economy was key, Ghana also faces an increasing risk of spillover in its northern regions from jihadist conflicts in Niger and Burkina Faso, where military juntas rule. The spread of illegal gold mining also became an election issue. Akufo-Addo promised to stop illegal mining, but it has expanded, poisoning riverways and impacting cacao farmlands -- a major source of export income. bur-pma/jmANDOVER, Mass. , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- TransMedics Group, Inc. ("TransMedics") (Nasdaq: TMDX ), a medical technology company that is transforming organ transplant therapy for patients with end-stage lung, heart, and liver failure, today announced that on December 9, 2024 , TransMedics granted non-qualified stock options to purchase an aggregate of 20,612 shares of its common stock and an aggregate of 13,576 restricted stock units to 3 employees, each as a material inducement for each employee's entry into employment with TransMedics. The grants included stock options to purchase 18,922 shares of TransMedics' common stock and 12,463 restricted stock units granted to Gerardo Hernandez , the Company's Chief Financial Officer. The grants were approved by the Compensation Committee of the TransMedics Board of Directors and were granted in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) and pursuant to the TransMedics Group, Inc. Inducement Plan. TransMedics granted non-qualified stock options to purchase 20,612 shares of TransMedics' common stock and 13,576 restricted stock units in the aggregate. The stock options were granted with a per share exercise price of $69.84 , the closing price of the common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on December 9, 2024 . Twenty-five percent of the shares subject to each option will vest on the first yearly anniversary of the date of the employee's start of employment, with the remainder vesting in equal monthly installments over the subsequent three year period, subject to the employee's continued service with the Company through the applicable vesting date. The options have a 10-year term and are subject to the terms of the TransMedics Group, Inc. Inducement Plan. Twenty-five percent of each restricted stock unit award will vest on the first four anniversaries of the date of the employee's start of employment, subject to the employee's continued service with the Company through the applicable vesting date. The restricted stock units are subject to the terms of the TransMedics Group, Inc. Inducement Plan. About TransMedics Group, Inc. TransMedics is the world's leader in portable extracorporeal warm perfusion and assessment of donor organs for transplantation. Headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts , the company was founded to address the unmet need for more and better organs for transplantation and has developed technologies to preserve organ quality, assess organ viability prior to transplant, and potentially increase the utilization of donor organs for the treatment of end-stage heart, lung, and liver failure. Investor Contact: Brian Johnston 332-895-3222 [email protected] SOURCE TransMedics Group, Inc.