The Arizona Cardinals were rested, relatively healthy and had been playing some of their best football in years. That's why Sunday's sobering 16-6 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks was so surprising. “Frustrating day offensively, especially the way we’ve been playing to come out here and lay an egg and get physically dominated in a sense,” quarterback Kyler Murray said. The Cardinals (6-5) had their four-game winning streak snapped. Murray completed 24 of 37 passes for 285 yards, but made a brutal mistake, throwing an interception that was returned 69 yards by Seattle's Coby Bryant. The running game never got going, gaining just 49 yards. James Conner, the team's leading rusher, had just 8 yards on seven attempts. “There were a lot of things where it felt like the flow of things just wasn’t in our favor,” receiver Michael Wilson said. "Some games go like that. And then we didn’t execute enough to make up for the game sort of not going our way.” Arizona's still in decent playoff position, tied with the Seahawks on top of the NFC West with six games to play. But after all the good news and winning over the past month, Sunday's loss was humbling. “We’re going to learn a lot from this game,” Gannon said. Arizona's defense continued its remarkable midseason turnaround, giving the team every opportunity to win Sunday. The front seven doesn't have any stars, but continues to cobble together a respectable pass rush. The Cardinals finished with five sacks, all by different players. Second-year cornerback Garrett Williams intercepted a pass by Geno Smith on the first play of the fourth quarter, briefly giving the Cardinals some momentum as they tried to fight back. Williams — a third-round pick out of Syracuse in 2023 — is growing into a steady starting corner that the Cardinals have missed for years. “I thought that they hung in there and battled, forced a bunch of punts, kept points off the board,” Gannon said. “I thought the interception by Garrett was fantastic, kept us in the game there, kept points off the board. We made some mistakes. We made some mistakes, starting with me.” The Cardinals aren't going to win many games with a rushing performance like Sunday's. Conner, held to a season low in yards rushing, did have 41 yards receiving. Rookie Trey Benson had four carries for 18 yards, while Emari Demercado broke a 14-yard gain. Getting Conner going is key. Arizona has a 5-1 record this season when he has at least 100 total yards from scrimmage. Gannon said falling into an early hole affected some of the things the Cardinals could do, particularly in the second half. “I thought there was plays there, but again, where you get down in that game, you’re not really playing normal ball there for a good chunk of the game,” Gannon said. “So we’ve got to do a better job earlier in the game to make sure we’re not playing left-handed.” Fourth-year edge rusher Zaven Collins isn't necessarily the star fans hoped for when he was selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 draft, but he has quietly had a productive season leading the team's no-name front seven. Collins picked up his fourth sack of the season Sunday and put consistent pressure on Smith. Murray's still having a great season, but the quarterback's MVP credentials took a hit with Sunday's mediocre performance. He played pretty well at times, but the interception that turned into a pick-6 was a backbreaker. The sixth-year quarterback had largely avoided those types of plays this season, which is a big reason they're in the playoff hunt. “Can't give them seven points, especially when our defense is playing the way that they’re playing,” Murray said. “I feel like if I don’t do that, we’re in the game four quarters because that’s the way it was trending.” The Cardinals came out of Sunday's game fairly healthy. Gannon said starting safety Jalen Thompson (ankle) should be back at practice Wednesday. He missed the last two games. 12 and 133 — Tight end Trey McBride continued his breakout season with a career-high 12 catches for 133 yards. The Cardinals have another difficult road game against the Vikings (9-2) on Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflThe PGA Tour announced its schedule of seven post-season tournaments for the fall of 2025 on Tuesday with no Las Vegas event on the calendar for the first time since 1983. The lineup is one fewer than this year and tees off with the Procore Championship in Napa, California, on September 11-14, two weeks after the 2025 Tour Championship. Absent from the schedule is the Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas. After the Ryder Cup next September at Bethpage Black, the PGA Tour events resume with the Sanderson Farms Championship on October 2-5. The PGA Tour's Japan stop, the Baycurrent Classic, will be October 9-12 at Yokohama Country Club followed by the Black Desert Championship on October 23-26 in Utah. The World Wide Technology Championship at Los Cabos, Mexico, will be November 6-9 followed the next week by the Bermuda Championship and the RSM Classic on November 20-23 at Sea Island, Georgia. "With events in four US states, Japan, Mexico and Bermuda, the conclusion to the 2025 golf calendar promises to be exciting for our fans worldwide," said Tyler Dennis, PGA Tour chief competitions officer. Under tighter qualifying rules for the 2026 PGA Tour approved by the Player Advisory Council last month, only the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings will secure exempt status with the 50 who reach next year's BMW Championship being exempt into signature events for 2026. Those ranked 51st and beyond will take FedEx Cup points into the fall to try and accumulate eligibility points for the 2026 campaign. Three PGA Tour Challenge season events will be played next December -- the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas hosted by Tiger Woods, the LPGA-PGA mixed-team Grant Thornton Invitational and the PNC Championship parent-child event. Tour commissioner Jay Monahan also announced Tuesday that the PGA is searching for a new chief executive officer whose job would be to grow the business side of the operation in light of the $1.5 billion investment in PGA Tour Enterprises by Strategic Sports Group, a set of team sports owners. js/bbVanna White’s ‘heartthrob’ son, Nikko, reacts to ‘thirsty’ comments from viral video
Monport Laser Unwraps the "Christmas Laser Bonanza" - Spark Your Creativity with Unbeatable Festive Offers
Wicked director defends the movie's BIGGEST flaw amid fan outrageYellowjackets Season 2 left fans with more questions than answers during the season finale in 2023. This Showtime thriller leaves viewers questioning whether there are supernatural elements or if we just want them to ease our consciences about some of the characters’ grave misgivings. There’s no doubt that Yellowjackets is one of the few recent series to have dug so deeply into our psyche. So, what’s next? Let’s explore Has Yellowjackets Been Renewed? Hot on the heels of the success of Yellowjackets Season 1, the Showtime network announced plans for Seasons 2 and Season 3. According to Showtime and Paramount Media Networks CEO and President Chris McCarthy, “Season 1’s success was so impressive, we fast-tracked the approval of Season 3 to maximize the momentum.” So, before Season 2 even aired, we knew another season would come. Perhaps that should have prepared many viewers for the major cliffhangers we experienced with the Season 2 finale, “Storytelling.” But most of us weren’t ready for how Yellowjackets ended after bringing in characters we hadn’t seen since the girls returned from the wild. Now, our question is, when do we get answers for Season 3? How Did Yellowjackets Season 2 End? The final episode of Yellowjackets Season 2 left us with some serious loose ends. In the past timeline, we watch Ben burn down the cabin before trying to hide away from the madness (perhaps supernatural) that has its hold on the girls. And in the present, we see the death of adult Natalie. Given Misty’s role in her passing, some fans wonder if Natalie (Lewis) will return in Season 3 to haunt Misty (Ricci) with guilt. We discovered that the woman in the tree haunting Taissa’s (Cypress) son is actually her in the throes of sleepwalking. We see brief scenes of her sleepwalking in the past too, leaving some troubling suspicions for future episodes. It also sets the stage for her reconnection with Van (Ambrose), whom we haven’t seen thus far in the present timeline. We cheered her on in the past as she survived a brutal bear mauling. Just when we get her back in our lives, there’s the chance that she’ll be out just as fast. Season 2 ended with the announcement that Van has terminal cancer and isn’t expected to live long. She has zero interest in fighting back. But will Taissa’s appearance — and need for help — change her mind? Show Season 3 Plot (and Spoilers!) There are quite a few loose ends to tie up from the Season 2 finale, meaning it will be a busy season. And how will that guilt affect Misty’s already unhinged personality? At least she has Walter (Wood) to keep her grounded. Or will he make her more deranged than she already is? What happened to Ben (Krueger) in the past, and why haven’t we seen him so far in the present timeline? Perhaps karma caught up with him, and he’s the body we saw being cooked in the beginning but has yet to be identified. We also want answers to the supernatural undercurrent we’ve witnessed over the last two seasons. What caused the girls to split into rival groups, and how were they rescued? Will Taissa be able to overcome her sleepwalking issue and reclaim her family? Or will she cave to the wildness and lose her humanity? Will her reconnection with Van give Van the will to fight back against her terminal cancer? She did survive a brutal bear attack. Yellowjackets Season 3 Episodes Yellowjackets Season 1 had ten episodes, while Season 2 had only nine. Season 3’s number hasn’t been announced, but it’s predicted to be at least nine. While co-creator Ashley Lyle (@ashannlyle) once teased her Twitter (X) followers with hints of a bonus episode airing sometime in 2024 before the release of Season 3, it doesn’t seem like that’s coming to fruition. Returning Show Season 3 Cast The Yellowjackets drama features an all-star cast of Critics Choice Awards, Emmy nominees, and winners. With two timelines to follow, each main character has two actors — an adult and a teen counterpart. But there are still a few original teen cast members who have yet to be seen in the present timeline. Some of the returning original characters include: Shauna — Melanie Lynskey (adult) and Sophie Nelisse (teen) Taissa — Tawny Cypress (adult) and Jasmin Savoy Brown (teen) Natalie — Sophie Thatcher (teen) * there might be little to no appearances from Juliette Lewis since the adult Natalie died in Season 2 Misty — Christina Ricci (adult) and Samantha Hanratty (teen) Lottie — Simone Kessel (adult) and Courtney Eaton (teen) Van — Lauren Ambrose (adult) and Liv Hewson (teen) Other returning characters include: Walter — Elijah Wood Ben Scott — Steven Krueger Travis — Kevin Alves Jeff — Warren Kole Several additional characters from the ’90s timeline have yet to appear in the present, leaving us to wonder which characters will die next in Season 3. The creators of Yellowjackets stated that they hope to have a five-season series, so it’s unlikely that they’ll kill off the entire 90s team this season. But nothing official has been announced, so there’s no guarantee of how they’ll handle the storyline. Yellowjackets Season 3 Cast Additions The end of Season 2 left us wondering if we’ll see the teens’ demise in the past timeline, which has yet to be seen in the present. The season finale hinted at the difficulties as the cabin burned to the ground. Will new actors be introduced in Season 3, like the adult Van storyline that was left up in the air, entangled with the chaos of Taissa? Character Lottie did hint in Season 2 that only six of the Yellowjackets girls’ soccer players survived the wilderness. These were Lottie, Misty, Natalie (now dead), Van, Shauna, and Taissa. Recently, news broke that comedian Joel McHale will be a guest star for the third season. However, no clues have been given to his role. Hale’s most known for appearing in Animal Control, The Bear, House of Villians, and Crime Scene Kitchen. We also know that Hillary Swank will guest star, but other than seeing her bloodied on the side of the road in the brand-new trailer, we have no idea who she will be. Yellowjackets Season 3 Trailer The first teaser trailer has just been released, along with a slew of new photos (which can be seen throughout this article). There is a LOT to digest for those willing to dig deep into the thrillingly brief scenes from the teaser. Take a look for yourself and let us know what you think. Yellowjackets Season 3 Release Date Yellowjackets Season 3 will return with two new episodes on Paramount+ with Showtime on Friday, February 14. Happy Valentine’s Day! Nothing says love like a bunch of traumatized survivors who haven’t been able to get past their horrifying past for decades! Those with the Showtime cable package will have to wait until Sunday, February 16 to see the premiere episodes. You know what that means — stay away from social media and websites like this! Where to Watch Yellowjackets Season 3 Although Yellowjackets is a Showtime production , you can stream it on the Paramount+ with Showtime two days earlier. Watch Yellowjackets OnlineNoneNASA's 2 stuck astronauts face more time in space with return delayed until at least late March
Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Philadelphia outlasted upset-minded Carolina on Sunday while Minnesota routed Atlanta as both 11-2 teams neared an NFL playoff berth. Hurts completed 14-of-21 passes for 108 yards and ran eight times for 59 yards to hold off stubborn Carolina, which fell to 3-10. He scored on a 1-yard plunge early in the second quarter, connected with DeVonta Smith on a 4-yard touchdown pass 14 seconds before half-time for a 14-10 lead. After the Panthers grabbed the lead on Chuba Hubbard's 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, the Eagles answered with 75 seconds elapsed in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard Hurts touchdown pass to Grant Calcaterra and a 2-point conversion run by Saquon Barkley, who ran 20 times for 124 yards. At Minneapolis, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold completed 22-of-28 passes for 347 yards and five touchdown to power Minnesota over the Atlanta Falcons 42-21. The Vikings spoiled the return of ex-Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins, who threw for 344 yards but was intercepted twice. Minnesota needs losses by the Arizona Cardinals to Seattle and the Los Angeles Rams to Buffalo in later games to clinch a playoff berth. The Eagles need only an Arizona loss to secure their spot in the post-season. Later games also include the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) entertaining the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4). Tua Tagovailoa threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith in overtime to give the Miami Dolphins a 32-26 home triumph over the New York Jets. The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 10-3 as Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns and Najee Harris ran for another in a 27-14 home victory over Cleveland. Baker Mayfield threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns to spark the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over visiting Las Vegas 28-13. Derek Carr threw for 219 yards and a touchdown as the New Orleans Saints edged the host New York Giants 14-11 while Tank Bigsby's 8-yard touchdown run with 6:46 remaining gave Jacksonville a 10-6 victory at Tennessee. js/bsp
AP Business SummaryBrief at 4:44 p.m. EST
First cohort completes ‘One Guyana’ Digital programme
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GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) — Javan Buchanan's 28 points off of the bench led Boise State to an 83-82 victory against South Dakota State on Monday. Buchanan went 11 of 17 from the field (4 for 8 from 3-point range) for the Broncos (5-1). Alvaro Cardenas Torre added 16 points while going 6 of 13 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) while they also had seven assists. Julian Bowie went 4 of 4 from the field (3 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 13 points. Oscar Cluff finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Jackrabbits (5-2). Joe Sayler added 19 points for South Dakota State. Kalen Garry had 13 points and five assists. Story continues below video The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .PITTSBURGH, Dec. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ConnectOnCall.com, LLC ("ConnectOnCall") recently announced that it suffered from a cybersecurity incident on May 12, 2024, which impacted the personal information of approximately 900,000 people. The information potentially impacted in the data breach includes information shared in communications between patients and their healthcare providers such as names and phone numbers, and may have also included medical record numbers, dates of birth, information related to health conditions, treatments, or prescriptions, and Social Security Numbers. 1 Lynch Carpenter, LLP is investigating claims against ConnectOnCall related to this data breach. If you received a data breach notification from ConnectOnCall, you may be entitled to compensation. If you have received a notification from ConnectOnCAll which states that your information was impacted, please call Patrick Donathen at (412) 322-9243, email him at patrick@lcllp.com , or fill out our contact form at www.lynchcarpenter.com/contact . About Lynch Carpenter Lynch Carpenter is a national class action law firm with offices in Pennsylvania, California, and Illinois. Our firm has represented millions of clients in data privacy matters for more than a decade and has earned national acclaim for complex litigation for plaintiffs across the country. To learn more, please visit www.lynchcarpenter.com . 1 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241211221827/en/ConnectOnCall.com-LLC-Provides-Notice-of-Data-Security-Incident . CONTACT Patrick Donathen COMPANY Lynch Carpenter LLP PHONE (412) 322-9243 EMAIL patrick@lcllp.com WEB lynchcarpenter.com © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
A voting machine firm suing Fox News now wants to probe Murdoch family trust fightNOA to sensitise niger citizens on tax reform, social vices
Curl-Salemme, Michaela Cava each score twice, Frost beat Sceptres 6-3 in PWHLDe'Vondre Campbell won't be part of the 49ers after his refusal to enter a game, Kyle Shanahan says SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said linebacker De'Vondre Campbell won't be part of the 49ers moving forward after he refused to enter a game after losing his starting job. Josh Dubow, The Associated Press Dec 13, 2024 11:58 AM Dec 13, 2024 12:05 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message San Francisco 49ers linebacker De'Vondre Campbell jogs onto the field before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn) SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said linebacker De'Vondre Campbell won't be part of the 49ers moving forward after he refused to enter a game after losing his starting job. Shanahan said the team is still working through the options of how to deal with Campbell, who walked to the locker room in the middle of a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night when he refused to enter the game. “His actions from the game are not something you can do to your team or teammates and still expect to be a part of our team,” Shanahan said Friday. “We're working through the semantics right now, but we'll handle the situation appropriately." Shanahan said Campbell won't be part of the team for the final three weeks. Teams have the ability to suspend players up to four games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team, according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Niners also could just waive Campbell outright, which would allow him potentially to be claimed or signed by another team. Campbell signed a $5 million, one-year contract with San Francisco in March. Campbell had started 12 of the first 13 games of the season and played 90% of defensive snaps for the 49ers but was benched Thursday night after Dre Greenlaw came back for his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season’s Super Bowl. When the 49ers wanted to put Campbell in the game in the third quarter because Greenlaw was sidelined with soreness in his Achilles tendon, Campbell refused, something Shanahan said has never happened to him in his time as a head coach or an assistant in the NFL. Shanahan said Friday that he has not gotten any explanation from Campbell on why he didn't play. Campbell then walked off the field with a towel draped over his head and went into the locker room before the end of the game with the Rams that almost ended the 49ers' playoff hopes. Shanahan said he didn't send Campbell to the locker room and didn't know why he left the field. “Once I found out he wasn't playing, I moved on to people we could count on,” he said. Campbell's decision left his teammates angered and bewildered. "He’s a professional,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said after the game. “He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed out. He could have told them before the game. So I feel like that was selfish. It definitely hurt the team. Dre went down and we needed a linebacker. ... For him to do that, that’s sucker (stuff) in my opinion. He’s probably going to get cut soon.” Ward is one of several 49ers who has played through injury or personal tragedy during a trying season for San Francisco. Ward’s 1-year-old daughter died on Oct. 28 but he has returned and played the last three games for San Francisco. Tight end George Kittle called Campbell's actions “stupid” and “immature.” “It’s one person making a selfish decision,” Kittle said. “I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that and I hope I’m never around anybody who does that again.” The 31-year-old Campbell signed in the offseason with San Francisco after being cut by Green Bay in March. He had been an All-Pro in 2021 for the Packers but his play fell off the last two seasons in Green Bay. That led to Campbell complaining on social media that he was misused by Green Bay. He expressed excitement about being with a new team but he never got back to his All-Pro level. Campbell had a few bright moments in San Francisco this season but struggled frequently with tackling and in coverage. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL Josh Dubow, The Associated Press 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 More Football (NFL) Jets and Jaguars, two of the NFL's most disappointing teams, meet amid uncertain futures Dec 13, 2024 1:31 PM Jets running back Hall 'looks promising' to play vs. Jags, but cornerback Reed is doubtful Dec 13, 2024 1:31 PM Bengals and coach Zac Taylor visit the Titans and Brian Callahan needing to win Dec 13, 2024 1:09 PM
After three months of rigorous work, a white paper panel on the state of the economy revealed all the fault lines that had formed across Bangladesh during the 15 years of rule under the Awami League government, which held power from 2009 until it was ousted by a mass uprising on August 5 this year. Upon taking office, the interim government issued a gazette notification on August 29, deciding to plumb the depth of corruption and mismanagement of state wealth during Sheikh Hasina's regime. The report, prepared by a 12-member panel of independent experts, was submitted to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on December 1. The white paper laid bare the fragile state of the economy, addressing issues such as the rise of an oligarchy, heightened inequality, data manipulation to present a false narrative of economic growth and rampant money laundering. The committee met 618 times to plan and discuss the task at hand, held 60 consultations with stakeholders, conducted 22 policy-specific consultations, 17 technical consultations, key informant interviews, and three public hearings outside Dhaka to form a clear picture. The leader of the panel, Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), spoke to The Daily Star last week, shedding light on the process of preparing such a massive document. He said the formation of the panel was an obvious decision as the country and the interim government needed a formal document to bring to light all the issues that had been swept under the rug for years. "The whole system was politicised, and there was a narrative of a high-performing economy. But in reality, it was not that. This is why the concept of a white paper was considered," Bhattacharya said. "The idea behind preparing the white paper was to provide insight into the nature of the economy that the interim government had inherited. It had to identify the challenges that the interim government would face as it tried to take the economy forward." In order to understand the situation, a transparency exercise was necessary. "For that transparency exercise, one needs to look at all existing data, including the data that is not publicly available, and also talk to specific stakeholder groups who are knowledgeable in these areas," he said. Bhattacharya also elaborated on the origins of the white paper, saying: "The white paper comes more from British traditions, the British Parliament. When a situation arises which has no immediate or obvious solution, a group of experts is mobilised to analyse the problem and give an opinion. It may be one opinion, it may be more than one opinion, depending on the group, and how they think about or look at the problem." The advantage of a white paper is that it is commissioned by the authority, which may be the parliament or the government, but the authors write it as independent experts. "So, it is commissioned by the government, but it is not the government's report. Although the chief adviser commissioned us to write the white paper, it does not belong to him. It belongs to the authors. The authors are responsible for whatever is said, not the government," Bhattacharya said. Another advantage he pointed out is that the government is not obliged to adopt the solutions given in the paper. "The government has the flexibility to implement whatever it wants, however it wants." However, he highlighted a significant issue: many readers, including journalists, lack sufficient knowledge of economics, leading to confusion when interpreting the data. For example, the white paper said Bangladesh had illicit outflows amounting to $16 billion per year. But some people say it is such a big number, how can it be true? They say the government's annual budget is smaller than that. According to Bhattacharya, the problem is that people who say such things lack understanding. Economists never deal with absolute numbers; they deal with relative numbers. "The amount that we have pointed out is only 2.4 percent of the GDP, which may be a big number to some. But the global average is 3 percent to 4 percent. People have no idea about that. This is an interpretation problem." He also painted a picture that everyone can understand, saying: "We could have had 22 Padma Bridges and 16 metro rails and doubled the current allocation for education. These have all been forgone (due to illicit outflows)." Bhattacharya added that the white paper was a heuristic exercise in the sense that it depended on the critical analysis of existing data. In that sense, the white paper looks at what has happened in the past. At the same time, it also looks at why these things happened. But it focuses less on what needs to be done. "We looked at some of the unpublished documents which were available with the government. We also debriefed some of the critical interlocutors of policies to hear internal stories in order to interpret the issues at hand." However, it was when looking into this data that a pattern of manipulation began to emerge. "The data was the villain of the piece," Bhattacharya said. "For example, you have high growth but very low private investment, high growth but no tax collection, and high growth but very little money going to social protection, health, and education. It was our job to unearth the malice." The development narrative only reflects a deficit in democratic accountability, he added, saying that the past government tried to secure local and global legitimacy through such stories. "We had three elections which were very bad. This eroded the accountability process." Bhattacharya also explained how the lack of democratic pluralism – which meant that nearly all positions of formal political authority could be controlled by one group – had led to a culture of crony capitalism. "Without democratic pluralism, you begin to create a group of preferred businessmen. Those businessmen, after some time, turn into politicians and bureaucrats. These people develop a culture of crony capitalism. Initially, they create a group that will serve the regime. But after some time, they become so powerful that they themselves start running the country. Then they create a kleptocracy, where thieves are the rulers." These "thieves" did not stay confined to just one sector; they were active in the energy, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and banking sectors as well as offshore drilling, private universities, and television channels. "They were like octopuses. They influenced not only the judiciary but also legislation. This system enabled the banking law to be passed in parliament in a split second. It was like an oligarchy." They also took control of the judiciary, so it was hamstrung, he added. Furthermore, civil society did not have any space to raise their voice. "Such an antagonistic contradiction cannot be resolved without revolution." If politics is unsustainable, society will also be unsustainable, he said, adding: "Ten percent of the population is controlling 85 percent of the assets. How is that possible in a modern society? This unequal growth cannot continue." The white paper committee used data from a Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report and Bangladesh Bank data, according to Bhattacharya. "We also looked at the inflation figures as they had been underestimated in different cases. We also looked at energy pricing and a wide range of other issues, including health, education, and poverty. We also looked into the debt burden, both local and foreign." He also took the time to again point out the purpose of the paper. "A white paper is not an investigative report. There is a difference between investigative reporting and penning a white paper. It is a research document based on a multidisciplinary multi-methodical approach. These are estimates, not empirical evidence. But you cannot call it a guesstimate. We followed particular methodologies." He also made some suggestions to the interim government, urging it to create a midterm plan to ensure accountability. "The interim government is not here for five years, but the economy and investment cannot run based on day-to-day projections. The projections should be for a two-year term." Bhattacharya also said the country's graduation from the status of a least developed country (LDC) to a developing country must not be delayed. "Reducing export incentives was a good decision. It shows that we started preparing for graduation." He further asked the interim government to negotiate with other countries as graduation would result in the erosion of preferential trade benefits. Additionally, the interim government should hold dialogues with various groups, including traditional development partners like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, special markets such as the EU, Canada, India, and China, and foreign investors, he said. "Debt management is unsustainable; every year it is around one billion. We need to renegotiate loans," he added. Bhattacharya noted that they had received extremely positive responses to the white paper from local and foreign quarters, adding that even the global media had taken note. "Around $2.5 million in consultancy fees would have been required to make this white paper. But not a single taka was taken from the government. It was done free of cost," he said. Why leave such a large sum on the table? "Because this is a unique time to work for the country." After three months of rigorous work, a white paper panel on the state of the economy revealed all the fault lines that had formed across Bangladesh during the 15 years of rule under the Awami League government, which held power from 2009 until it was ousted by a mass uprising on August 5 this year. Upon taking office, the interim government issued a gazette notification on August 29, deciding to plumb the depth of corruption and mismanagement of state wealth during Sheikh Hasina's regime. The report, prepared by a 12-member panel of independent experts, was submitted to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on December 1. The white paper laid bare the fragile state of the economy, addressing issues such as the rise of an oligarchy, heightened inequality, data manipulation to present a false narrative of economic growth and rampant money laundering. The committee met 618 times to plan and discuss the task at hand, held 60 consultations with stakeholders, conducted 22 policy-specific consultations, 17 technical consultations, key informant interviews, and three public hearings outside Dhaka to form a clear picture. The leader of the panel, Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), spoke to The Daily Star last week, shedding light on the process of preparing such a massive document. He said the formation of the panel was an obvious decision as the country and the interim government needed a formal document to bring to light all the issues that had been swept under the rug for years. "The whole system was politicised, and there was a narrative of a high-performing economy. But in reality, it was not that. This is why the concept of a white paper was considered," Bhattacharya said. "The idea behind preparing the white paper was to provide insight into the nature of the economy that the interim government had inherited. It had to identify the challenges that the interim government would face as it tried to take the economy forward." In order to understand the situation, a transparency exercise was necessary. "For that transparency exercise, one needs to look at all existing data, including the data that is not publicly available, and also talk to specific stakeholder groups who are knowledgeable in these areas," he said. Bhattacharya also elaborated on the origins of the white paper, saying: "The white paper comes more from British traditions, the British Parliament. When a situation arises which has no immediate or obvious solution, a group of experts is mobilised to analyse the problem and give an opinion. It may be one opinion, it may be more than one opinion, depending on the group, and how they think about or look at the problem." The advantage of a white paper is that it is commissioned by the authority, which may be the parliament or the government, but the authors write it as independent experts. "So, it is commissioned by the government, but it is not the government's report. Although the chief adviser commissioned us to write the white paper, it does not belong to him. It belongs to the authors. The authors are responsible for whatever is said, not the government," Bhattacharya said. Another advantage he pointed out is that the government is not obliged to adopt the solutions given in the paper. "The government has the flexibility to implement whatever it wants, however it wants." However, he highlighted a significant issue: many readers, including journalists, lack sufficient knowledge of economics, leading to confusion when interpreting the data. For example, the white paper said Bangladesh had illicit outflows amounting to $16 billion per year. But some people say it is such a big number, how can it be true? They say the government's annual budget is smaller than that. According to Bhattacharya, the problem is that people who say such things lack understanding. Economists never deal with absolute numbers; they deal with relative numbers. "The amount that we have pointed out is only 2.4 percent of the GDP, which may be a big number to some. But the global average is 3 percent to 4 percent. People have no idea about that. This is an interpretation problem." He also painted a picture that everyone can understand, saying: "We could have had 22 Padma Bridges and 16 metro rails and doubled the current allocation for education. These have all been forgone (due to illicit outflows)." Bhattacharya added that the white paper was a heuristic exercise in the sense that it depended on the critical analysis of existing data. In that sense, the white paper looks at what has happened in the past. At the same time, it also looks at why these things happened. But it focuses less on what needs to be done. "We looked at some of the unpublished documents which were available with the government. We also debriefed some of the critical interlocutors of policies to hear internal stories in order to interpret the issues at hand." However, it was when looking into this data that a pattern of manipulation began to emerge. "The data was the villain of the piece," Bhattacharya said. "For example, you have high growth but very low private investment, high growth but no tax collection, and high growth but very little money going to social protection, health, and education. It was our job to unearth the malice." The development narrative only reflects a deficit in democratic accountability, he added, saying that the past government tried to secure local and global legitimacy through such stories. "We had three elections which were very bad. This eroded the accountability process." Bhattacharya also explained how the lack of democratic pluralism – which meant that nearly all positions of formal political authority could be controlled by one group – had led to a culture of crony capitalism. "Without democratic pluralism, you begin to create a group of preferred businessmen. Those businessmen, after some time, turn into politicians and bureaucrats. These people develop a culture of crony capitalism. Initially, they create a group that will serve the regime. But after some time, they become so powerful that they themselves start running the country. Then they create a kleptocracy, where thieves are the rulers." These "thieves" did not stay confined to just one sector; they were active in the energy, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and banking sectors as well as offshore drilling, private universities, and television channels. "They were like octopuses. They influenced not only the judiciary but also legislation. This system enabled the banking law to be passed in parliament in a split second. It was like an oligarchy." They also took control of the judiciary, so it was hamstrung, he added. Furthermore, civil society did not have any space to raise their voice. "Such an antagonistic contradiction cannot be resolved without revolution." If politics is unsustainable, society will also be unsustainable, he said, adding: "Ten percent of the population is controlling 85 percent of the assets. How is that possible in a modern society? This unequal growth cannot continue." The white paper committee used data from a Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report and Bangladesh Bank data, according to Bhattacharya. "We also looked at the inflation figures as they had been underestimated in different cases. We also looked at energy pricing and a wide range of other issues, including health, education, and poverty. We also looked into the debt burden, both local and foreign." He also took the time to again point out the purpose of the paper. "A white paper is not an investigative report. There is a difference between investigative reporting and penning a white paper. It is a research document based on a multidisciplinary multi-methodical approach. These are estimates, not empirical evidence. But you cannot call it a guesstimate. We followed particular methodologies." He also made some suggestions to the interim government, urging it to create a midterm plan to ensure accountability. "The interim government is not here for five years, but the economy and investment cannot run based on day-to-day projections. The projections should be for a two-year term." Bhattacharya also said the country's graduation from the status of a least developed country (LDC) to a developing country must not be delayed. "Reducing export incentives was a good decision. It shows that we started preparing for graduation." He further asked the interim government to negotiate with other countries as graduation would result in the erosion of preferential trade benefits. Additionally, the interim government should hold dialogues with various groups, including traditional development partners like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, special markets such as the EU, Canada, India, and China, and foreign investors, he said. "Debt management is unsustainable; every year it is around one billion. We need to renegotiate loans," he added. Bhattacharya noted that they had received extremely positive responses to the white paper from local and foreign quarters, adding that even the global media had taken note. "Around $2.5 million in consultancy fees would have been required to make this white paper. But not a single taka was taken from the government. It was done free of cost," he said. Why leave such a large sum on the table? "Because this is a unique time to work for the country."