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With each team coming off a come-from-behind win, West Virginia and North Carolina Central square off Tuesday night in Morgantown, W.Va. West Virginia (6-2) has won two straight games and is in the midst of a 16-day, four-game homestand that kicked off with a 73-60 win over Georgetown in the Big 12-Big East Battle on Friday night. North Carolina Central (4-7) comes off a 78-77 road win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday night. Javon Small led the Mountaineers with a game-high 26 points against Georgetown as they overcame a second-half deficit with a decisive run. "The way we played in the second half (against Georgetown), I'll take that team everywhere," West Virginia coach Darian DeVries said. "You have to be able to do that every single night, every single possession you don't always get to go on a 16-0 run to pull you out of it. That's where we are still growing as a team." Eduardo Andre was questionable for the Georgetown game after he missed the Mountaineers' 83-76 overtime win against Arizona on Nov. 29. But the fifth-year senior center returned with four points, three rebounds and four blocks. "It was good to have him back in the lineup for a reason," DeVries said. "That presence, especially defensively and the ability to block shots, that's a huge deal for us." Against Gardner-Webb, Po'Boigh King led NCCU with 28 points, well above his 17.4 points per game average, as the Eagles rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to win on a late 3-pointer from Isaac Parson. On offense, the Eagles take care of the ball. They are seventh in the nation in turnover margin at plus-7.5 per game. They seek extra possessions on defense and are second nationally with 18.9 turnovers forced per game "We're good enough, we just need to fine tune some things," NCCU coach LeVelle Moton said. "We've got to cross some T's, dot some I's and close. We can't be a really good basketball team until we get the mindset that when winning time presents itself in the last five minutes, (the other team) has to earn it." --Field Level Media
( MENAFN - Nam News Network) SEOUL, Dec 30 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea's joint investigation unit, said today that, it sought a warrant to arrest the impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol, over his martial law imposition. The investigation unit, consisting of corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, National Office of Investigation and the defence ministry's investigation headquarters, said in a short notice that, it requested the arrest warrant for Yoon at midnight, to the Seoul Western District Court. It marked the first time in the country's modern history, that an arrest warrant has been filed against an incumbent president. The unit asked Yoon to appear for questioning three times on Dec 18, Dec 25 and Dec 29, but Yoon's side refused to receive summons, while having yet to submit documents for the appointment of his defence counsel. Yoon was named by investigative agencies as a suspected ringleader on insurrection charge.– NNN-YONHAP MENAFN30122024000200011047ID1109040398 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly received medical care Tuesday after suffering a fall during a Republican lunch meeting. The 82-year-old senator, who will pass the leadership torch to Republican South Dakota Sen. John Thune in January, was spotted entering his Capitol office alongside a medical team with a wheelchair, according to The Hill. “Leader McConnell tripped following lunch. He sustained a minor cut to the face and sprained his wrist,” a spokesperson for McConnell wrote in a statement to Scripps News’ Nathaniel Reed. Leader McConnell fell during a GOP lunch today and there is a medical team with a wheelchair that just went into his office. — Farnoush Amiri (@FarnoushAmiri) December 10, 2024 Multiple staffers rushed to McConnell at the lunch event, vacating their office to help the 82-year-old, The Hill reported. (RELATED: ‘Sick To My Stomach’: Crash Kills Motorist As Police Respond To Alleged Bomb Threat Against GOP Rep) Thune, who led Tuesday’s leadership press conference as McConnell received care, said the Kentucky senator was doing well after the fall, according to the outlet. “He is fine. He is in his office,” Thune told reporters before directing further questions to McConnell’s staff. Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso also reportedly followed McConnell and his medical team as the GOP leader walked back to his Capitol office. MORE EMS personnel headed toward McConnell’s office. Though still minority leader he is absent from the weekly presser. https://t.co/rm9W1kc9Ke — Nathaniel Reed (@ReedReports) December 10, 2024 McConnell delivered remarks at the lunch before falling , with many attendees reportedly unaware that the GOP leader had fallen at all. “Saw McConnell walk from the floor to his office about 15 min ago, joined by Barrasso (who is also a doctor). Less than 5 minutes later a medical team entered the office with a wheelchair. Emergency medical team entering now,” CNN producer Morgan Rimmer wrote on Twitter. Saw McConnell walk from the floor to his office about 15 min ago, joined by Barrasso (who is also a doctor). Less than 5 minutes later a medical team entered the office with a wheelchair. Emergency medical team entering now. https://t.co/xZCb1RJsjX — Morgan Rimmer (@morgan_rimmer) December 10, 2024 “MORE EMS personnel headed toward McConnell’s office. Though still minority leader he is absent from the weekly presser,” Scripps News congressional correspondent Nathaniel Reed wrote on the platform. NEW @scrippsnews : McConnell spokesman: “Leader McConnell tripped following lunch. He sustained a minor cut to the face and sprained his wrist. He has been cleared to resume his schedule.” — Nathaniel Reed (@ReedReports) December 10, 2024 A spokesperson for the elderly senator said McConnell sprained his wrist and suffered a cut on his face, according to Reed. Despite the minor injuries, McConnell was “cleared to resume his schedule.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans . Lamenting the contretemps, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement Sunday that he'd let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
By ROB GILLIES TORONTO (AP) — Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official said Wednesday. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across southern and northern borders. He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. A Canadian government official said Canada is preparing for every eventuality and has started thinking about what items to target with tariffs in retaliation. The official stressed no decision has been made. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly. When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the U.S. in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum. Many of the U.S. products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports $3 million worth of yogurt from the U.S. annually and most comes from one plant in Wisconsin, home state of then-House Speaker Paul Ryan. That product was hit with a 10% duty. Another product on the list was whiskey, which comes from Tennessee and Kentucky, the latter of which is the home state of then-Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell. Trump made the threat Monday while railing against an influx of illegal migrants, even though the numbers at Canadian border pale in comparison to the southern border. The U.S. Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone — and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian one between October 2023 and September 2024. Canadian officials say lumping Canada in with Mexico is unfair but say they are happy to work with the Trump administration to lower the numbers from Canada. The Canadians are also worried about a influx north of migrants if Trump follows through with his plan for mass deportations. Trump also railed about fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, even though seizures from the Canadian border pale in comparison to the Mexican border. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Related Articles National Politics | Trump selects longtime adviser Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia National Politics | Trump’s tariffs in his first term did little to alter the economy, but this time could be different National Politics | Will Trump’s return lead to a new wave of bestselling books? National Politics | Trump transition says Cabinet picks, appointees were targeted by bomb threats, swatting attacks National Politics | Southwest states certify election results after the process led to controversy in previous years Canadian officials argue their country is not the problem and that tariffs will have severe implications for both countries. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports are from Canada. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security. “Canada is essential to the United States’ domestic energy supply,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said. Trump has pledged to cut American energy bills in half within 18 months, something that could be made harder if a 25% premium is added to Canadian oil imports. In 2023, Canadian oil accounted for almost two-thirds of total U.S. oil imports and about one-fifth of the U.S. oil supply. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding a emergency virtual meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of Canada’s provinces, who want Trudeau to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with the United States that excludes Mexico. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that her administration is already working up a list of possible retaliatory tariffs “if the situation comes to that.”Jimmy Carter: World leaders react to former President's death; Trump, Clintons, Starmer....
Sri Lanka is witnessing a significant shift towards sustainable finance with Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) introducing the listing and trading of green bonds in 2023. DFCC Bank led the way among financial institutions to issue the first green bond in the country, aimed at funding renewable energy projects particularly in the solar energy sector. This has been followed by Alliance Finance announcing the plans to issue redeemable green bonds to raise Rs. 1 billion. The issuance of green bonds by these institutions is an encouraging sign, especially in the context of global and local climate change concerns. As the world grapples with the impacts of climate change, these initiatives are crucial for driving the transition to a low-emission economy. With Sri Lanka’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon status by 2050, the adoption of green finance instruments is a positive step towards mitigating environmental risks and fostering sustainable development. While green bonds are promising, the current focus remains largely on the aspects of issuance and uptake. It should be noted that the success of Green Bonds depends not only on their issuance but also on their effective deployment towards projects that genuinely contribute to environmental sustainability. MTI recently completed the Green Finance Taxonomy for the Maldives and was appointed as an Observer Organisation of the Green Climate Fund. Thus, a critical question arises: Does Sri Lanka have the necessary green finance ecosystem, infrastructure, and impact measurement mechanisms to ensure that the funds raised through Green Bonds are effectively deployed to mitigate climate change? A robust green finance ecosystem is essential to provide clear guidelines, regulatory frameworks, and impact measurement tools to track the environmental benefits of the projects funded by green bonds. A national green finance taxonomy plays a crucial role in this context. A well-defined taxonomy provides a framework for classifying and evaluating green projects, ensuring that the funds are directed towards genuinely sustainable initiatives to prevent greenwashing. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) launched Sri Lanka’s national green taxonomy in 2022 to classify economic activities that can be considered as ‘Green’. The directions issued by CBSL require financial institutions to follow; Allocation reporting – to ensure alignment of use of proceeds by green financing instruments with the taxonomy and Impact reporting – to assess the impact made by providing finance to a green project Yet, providing specific and comparable impact reporting guidelines remains unaddressed. Public accountability is another vital aspect. Linking green bond issuance to measurable impact ensures transparency and accountability. It is essential for financial institutions to regularly report on the environmental outcomes of the projects funded by green bonds. This not only builds trust among investors but also ensures that the funds are making a tangible difference in addressing climate change. In conclusion, the issuance of green bonds by Sri Lankan financial institutions marks a significant advancement towards sustainable finance. However, to fully realise the potential of these green bonds, it is crucial to establish a robust green finance ecosystem with comprehensive impact measurement mechanisms to achieve a greener and more sustainable future.
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OpenAI, Artificial Intelligence company and maker of popular chatbot ChatGPT, has officially announced its reasons for transitioning into a for-profit organization, lays out plans. The company via a post on its website noted that the significant shift in its corporate structure was necessitated to ensure the long-term success of its mission, which is to ensure that Artificial Intelligence (AI) benefits all of humanity. This transition involves restructuring OpenAl’s existing for-profit arm into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), designed to balance the interests of shareholders, stakeholders, and the broader public. The move reflects the organization’s evolving priorities, focusing on sustainable operations, robust fundraising capabilities, and a renewed commitment to its mission. Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025 ) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts. Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here. Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and i nvest in Africa’s finest startups here . OpenAl was founded in 2015 as a non-profit research lab with the ambitious goal of advancing Artificial intelligence in ways most likely to benefit humanity. In its early years, the AI startup operated without commercial revenue, relying on donations and grants to support its work. However, as it became clear that building AGI required massive computational resources and capital, the organization recognized the need for a new approach. “ Our stated goal was advancing digital intelligence in the way most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return.” A non-profit structure seemed fitting, and we raised donations in various forms including cash ($137M, less than a third of which was from Elon) and compute credits and discounts ($1.8M from Amazon and $50M or more from each of Azure and Google Cloud)”, the company wrote. In 2019, OpenAl introduced a unique hybrid structure: a for-profit entity controlled by the non-profit, designed to raise the substantial capital necessary to pursue AGI research while ensuring that profits would flow back to support the non-profit’s mission. This structure facilitated significant investments, including an initial round of over $100 million and a $1 billion partnership with Microsoft. Over the past decade, OpenAl has transformed from a research lab to a pioneering technology company. The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 brought Al into the hands of millions, showcasing the potential of large language models in everyday life. Today, over 300 million people use OpenAl’s products weekly for learning, productivity, and more. Recent advancements, including the o-series models introduced in 2024, have demonstrated new reasoning capabilities that further the path toward AGI. Meanwhile, OpenAl’s influence has extended beyond its products, driving innovation across the Al ecosystem and inspiring other organizations to advance Al safety and accessibility. As OpenAl moves into 2025, the need for significant additional capital has become clear. The Board estimates that hundreds of billions of dollars will be required to develop the infrastructure, compute, and talent necessary for the AGI economy. To attract this level of investment, the organization needs to simplify its structure, making it more appealing to conventional investors. The new plan involves converting OpenAl’s for-profit arm into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation. This structure, already adopted by many mission-driven organizations, ensures that OpenAl’s decisions will balance profit motives with its commitment to benefiting humanity. Under the proposed structure, the non-profit arm will remain a cornerstone of OpenAl’s mission. The non-profit will retain significant shares in the newly formed PBC, valued by independent financial advisors, providing it with unprecedented resources to pursue charitable initiatives. These initiatives will focus on areas such as healthcare, education, and science, furthering the goal of ensuring Al benefits everyone. OpenAl’s mission is no longer confined to building a single AGI system, Instead, it envisions a continuous journey of contributing to the development of a new Al-powered economy. By evolving its structure, OpenAl aims to lead this transformation while ensuring that the benefits of Artificial Intelligence are widely shared. With this transition, OpenAl is poised to become more than a lab or startup, it is set to emerge as a sustainable, enduring organization committed to advancing Al’s capability, safety, and positive impact on the world.
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