Amsterdam, 23 December 2024 (Regulated Information) --- AMG Critical Materials N.V. (“AMG”, EURONEXT AMSTERDAM: “AMG”) is pleased to announce the signing of a letter of intent to repurchase a 40% ownership interest in Graphit Kropfmühl GmbH (" GK ") currently owned by Alterna Capital Partners (" Alterna "). The purchase price can be paid in cash at the end of a three-year period, or in the form of AMG shares at any point within the three years at AMG's discretion. To the extent that AMG elects to pay any portion of the purchase price in the form of AMG shares, these shares would be subject to a holding period of 6-18 months depending on when AMG elects to transfer or issue the shares to Alterna. Alterna has committed to vote any such shares in line with the recommendations of AMG's Management and Supervisory Boards. At the end of the holding period, Alterna has given AMG the right of first refusal to purchase such shares. This press release contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This press release contains regulated information as defined in the Dutch Financial Markets Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht). About AMG AMG's mission is to provide critical materials and related process technologies to advance a less carbon-intensive world. To this end, AMG is focused on the production and development of energy storage materials such as lithium, vanadium, and tantalum. In addition, AMG's products include highly engineered systems to reduce CO 2 in aerospace engines, as well as critical materials addressing CO 2 reduction in a variety of other end use markets. AMG’s Lithium segment spans the lithium value chain, reducing the CO 2 footprint of both suppliers and customers. AMG’s Vanadium segment is the world’s market leader in recycling vanadium from oil refining residues, spanning the Company’s vanadium, titanium, and chrome businesses. AMG’s Technologies segment is the established world market leader in advanced metallurgy and provides equipment engineering to the aerospace engine sector globally. It serves as the engineering home for the Company’s fast-growing LIVA batteries, and spans AMG’s mineral processing operations in graphite, antimony, and silicon metal. With approximately 3,600 employees, AMG operates globally with production facilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, China, Mexico, Brazil, India, and Sri Lanka, and has sales and customer service offices in Japan ( www.amg-nv.com ). For further information, please contact: AMG Critical Materials N.V. +1 610 975 4979 Michele Fischer mfischer@amg-nv.com Disclaimer Certain statements in this press release are not historical facts and are “forward looking.” Forward looking statements include statements concerning AMG’s plans, expectations, projections, objectives, targets, goals, strategies, future events, future revenues or performance, capital expenditures, financing needs, plans and intentions relating to acquisitions, AMG’s competitive strengths and weaknesses, plans or goals relating to forecasted production, reserves, financial position and future operations and development, AMG’s business strategy and the trends AMG anticipates in the industries and the political and legal environment in which it operates and other information that is not historical information. When used in this press release, the words “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “should,” and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify forward looking statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. AMG expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in AMG's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based. Attachment GK Stake AnnouncementCONWAY, Ark. (AP) — Elias Cato scored 23 points as Central Arkansas beat UNC Asheville 92-83 in double overtime on Sunday. Jordan Morris made two free throws with one second left for UNC Asheville (2-3) to force overtime tied at 71. Fletcher Abee's 3-pointer with 33 seconds left in the first overtime tied the game at 79 and led to the second extra period. Michael Evbagharu's layup gave Central Arkansas (2-4) the lead in the second OT and Cato followed with a 3-pointer as the Bears outscored the Bulldogs 21-12 to pull out the victory. Cato added nine rebounds for the Bears. Layne Taylor totaled 19 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals. Brayden Fagbemi pitched in with 19 points, seven assists and five steals. The Bulldogs (2-3) were led by Fletcher Abee, who recorded 27 points. UNC Asheville also got 17 points from Josh Banks. Toyaz Solomon finished with 15 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Purchases New Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)American Canyon High football loves winning in the rainI watched the interview with Sam Altman by Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times. It seemed like a fundamental way station in the story that people are telling about large language models and related technology. Here are some of the main points that stood out to me about the journey, and how it has informed not just business, but society as a whole. First of all, Sorkin asked Altman about the trajectory of the technology itself, and he brought this up early on the interview. Why, he asked, did people get suddenly more interested when ChatGPT first came out? In response Altman talked about what he called the “chanciness” of change, and suggested that one reason for massive investments directly after the unveiling of ChatGPT is that people were having a lot of fun talking to the model, interacting directly, and seeing firsthand what the technology was capable of. “We said, ‘Well, if that's what people want, we can make it much easier to use,’” he explained. “You don't have to sign up for a developer account and do all these other things, and we can sort of train it to be good at conversations. And so we said, okay, let's make this as a product.” Since then, as the two noted, it’s been off to the races. Is There a Wall? Artificial Intelligence and Its Limitations Sorkin and his interview subject also discussed limitations and constraints on technological progress. Altman seemed to suggest that we shouldn’t worry so much about whether there is a wall, but understand what’s already happened, and be enthusiastic about the potential that it shows. In a sense, these technologies have already proven themselves. As for drivers of this program, he suggested that algorithmic progress is at least as important as expanding compute. He pointed to the transformer as a major innovation, and if you look back in the blog, I had been laying out how new models take advantage of this architecture to jump to the next level. The AI Arms Race Noting an “arms race” in terms of processing power, Sorkin asked Altman about who the competitors are, and how that works. Later in the interview, he got into some of the tensions within the industry, where Altman largely declined to wade into the fray, but instead talked about his positive past history with Elon Musk, and his general desire to work with others across the field, rather than foment conflict. Now, without trying to cherry-pick Altman’s responses to Sorkin’s sort of personal inquiries, I think it’s notable to provide this quote and take notice, in the context that there’s a lot of talk flying around about business clout and political sway, specifically centered around whether anti-competitive behavior can come out of unusual political relationships: “I believe pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing,” Altman said. “It can be profoundly unAmerican, to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and (unfairly position) your own businesses. ... I don't think Elon would do it.” For more on the background, and his other thoughts on this score, you can watch the segment. The Long March In terms of AI safety and the singularity, Altman, when asked about pain points, suggested that there’s going to be a big gap between AGI and the eventual singularity. We can be nervous now, he said, about some things, but major challenges will crop up on that open road well after we’ve attained these current sets of goals that humanity has for AI. In general, he said, he has faith that researchers will solve a lot of the practical problems with emerging digital sentience, to wit – how do we coexist with other thinkers who don’t have physical bodies, but are stuck in a mainframe somewhere? A Sense of Place Talking about the unique value and contributions of OpenAI, Altman noted that the company was essentially in the right place, at the right time. “We discovered an important new type of (tech),” he said. As an analogy, he talked about transistors and how they facilitated the eventual cloud and big data eras, invoking Moore’s law. Gordon Moore’s now-famous prediction has become a staple of reading the tea leaves on tech, and figuring out how and why we arrived at this point. To Those Who Write Near the end of the interview, Altman threw all of us who live in the human writing world a bone when he suggested that AI will not replace humans as a creative force. “We need to find new economic models where creators can have new revenue streams,” he said. To which I think most freelancers, and those working in beleaguered newsrooms, would agree. The interview ended with some touching remarks about parenthood, and Altman‘s own impending role as a father, with his thoughts about the next generations and what they will face. “The industrial revolution comes along, so machines take all of our jobs,” he said, moving through historic periods of change. “What does this mean? Computer revolution comes along. Computers take a bunch of current jobs. What does it mean? And the answer, at least in terms of what it means to be human, is: not very much. The economy will change, the kinds of jobs people will do will change, and people will care way more, and love their kids way more than they care about AI and anything else that any technology can deliver. The sort of the deep human drives are so powerful and have been here for so long. Evolution is pretty slow ... I think in some sense, my kids will grow up in a super different world, and in some other sense, it will be exactly the same.” This is my roundup of what I heard from one of the brightest stars in technology at this month’s event which is often so notable in terms of the industry as a whole. It’s almost Christmas time, and we’re looking at 2024 as a year that is coming to a close. It’s fascinating and staggering how much progress has taken place in just four short quarters. Stay tuned for more.
False claim Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush pardoned family members | Fact check
New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS): Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Devender Yadav on Saturday visited some Mohalla Clinics during the Delhi Nyay Yatra to check on former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s so-called “model” of health care. During the visit, Yadav was shocked to find the clinics in a state of neglect, without doctors or nurses. Exposing yet another “jhoot ki revadi” (false promise of freebie) of Kejriwal, Yadav said that Kejriwal shut the well-run dispensaries established by the Congress government offering free treatment to the poor and opened Mohalla Clinics but these clinics became a gold mine of corruption for Kejriwal. Devender Yadav said that Kejriwal, who had boasted that he would open 1,000 Mohalla Clinics to provide free tests and treatment to the people, could not even create half that number of clinics in 10 years. Even the clinics he managed to set up are in ruins with no doctors or medicines. Some of them are being used by stray cattle and anti-social elements, he said. Yadav said that Kejriwal had promised that 200 tests would be conducted free of cost for poor patients through Mohalla Clinics, but lakhs of fake pathology and radiology tests were conducted on non-existent patients at the Mohalla Clinics. He alleged payments were made to private labs in the name of referrals. The Congress leader said that Kejriwal used Mohalla Clinics to swindle taxpayers’ money as he had done in the liquor scam, classroom construction scam and many other illegal acts. Earlier during his yatra, the Delhi Congress President Yadav unveiled a tableau featuring a “Sheesh Mahal” (the former CM’s official house in the eye of an alleged corruption case) and a gold-plated toilet seat, with a liquor bottle in front, as symbols of unprecedented corruption by Kejriwal. The tableau was unveiled before the start of the Delhi Nyay Yatra from Shastri Park in Hari Nagar Assembly in the presence of thousands of Congress workers and local residents. Yadav said that Kejriwal, who hailed to be from a humble background, lived in a small flat, drove a Wagon-R, and said that he would not accept any official bungalow, car or security, built a Rs 175 crore “Sheesh Mahal” illegally for himself, with a gold-plated commode, and travelled in luxury vehicles with security to flaunt his power. Yadav said Kejriwal did nothing for the people or for the development of the city.NORTON -- Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Friday announced the relocation of Wrap Technologies to Southwest Virginia, marking a significant expansion of the company’s commitment to defense and public safety technology. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
NoneIn October, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola launched the 2024/2025 national Safer Festive Season operations. Until 31 January 2025, citizens can expect to see heightened law enforcement visibility in their communities. “We will continue with intensifying our operations full steam ahead to ensure all people in our country, including those who will be visiting our shores during the festive season, are and feel safe,” said Masemola at the launch. ALSO READ: Road safety plan: Alcohol and cellphone use targeted over festive season “South Africa is not a playground for criminals and we will be stamping the authority of the State during the festive season and beyond.” Festive season extortion Police will be deployed to combat theft, gender-based violence (GBV), housebreaking, extortion, hijackings and other crimes. According to police committee chairperson Ian Cameron, extortionists take advantage of the festive season due to the surge in economic activities. ALSO READ: Watch out for credit scams this festive season They target large and small, retail, hospitality and construction sector as they experience an increase in cashflow. The extortionists also thrive during the festive season due to a reduction in law enforcement officers as some take leave or are reassigned to monitor tourist hotspots. “This creates a temporary gap in security coverage which criminals may exploit,” said Cameron. During this time, businesses are also more inclined to comply with extortion demands in an effort to avoid disruptions to their operations. Masemola assured South Africans that the police would prioritise the safety of businesses and communities during the holidays. ALSO READ: Extortionists in SA now target disabled and elderly for their grant money “The crime of extortion is rearing its ugly head in the country and we want to assure all South Africans that extortionists will meet law enforcement head on as we move with speed to crackdown on this form of criminality which has endangered the safety of business people and ordinary citizens alike.” Safety tips from police The South African Police Service (SAPS) shared advice to help citizens avoid becoming “soft targets” for criminals during the festive season: Be crime conscious – be aware of crime opportunities at all times! Never walk around alone and don’t talk to strangers. Be on the lookout for strange cars or people. Walk in well-lit busy streets and in a group, if possible. Make sure your home is secure, and become a member of an armed response service. Be sure that you know all the emergency numbers or have them displayed in an accessible area. Always let someone know where you are going and how long you will be gone. But think twice before advertising your impending absence on social media. Criminals also have access to Facebook and Twitter. Know all emergency numbers. Trust your instinct. Avoid going onto a congested street where you cannot even walk properly, that is where you will find criminals pick pocketing. Avoid displaying valuables where criminals can see them. ALSO READ: More than 50% of calls to Eastern Cape extortion hotline were pranks
Get it before it's gone: LG's B4 OLED drops to $599.99 in unbelievable Black Friday dealWashington Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson continued to fill out his administration Wednesday, announcing he is retaining leaders of two agencies and shifting another executive into a leadership role at a different department. Ferguson said he will re-appoint Marcus Glasper as director of the Department of Licensing and David Puente Jr. as director of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. Both men were appointed to their positions by Gov. Jay Inslee. Glasper started as the leader of the Department of Licensing on April 1, 2023, after a five-year stint as director of the Washington Lottery. Puente was named head of the veterans agency in February 2023 after three years as the agency’s deputy director. In a statement, Ferguson said he can “count on these talented leaders” to “make government work for the people ... and protect our core freedoms.” Glasper and Puente will serve subject to confirmation by the state Senate. Also Wednesday, Ferguson named Secretary of Corrections Cheryl Strange as acting secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services. She ran the agency from 2017 to 2021 when Inslee appointed her corrections secretary. Earlier this year, Strange announced her plan to retire next February. It wasn’t immediately clear if she will depart early to take on the acting secretary role. Last week, Ferguson named K.D. Chapman-See, a veteran budget writer and policy analyst, as his director of the Office of Financial Management. She is currently the department’s legislative liaison. Like Glasper and Puente, her appointment is subject to confirmation by the state Senate. Meanwhile, the incoming governor is searching for new leaders of several state agencies, including the departments of transportation, corrections, health, commerce and ecology. Current directors of most of those agencies have already announced plans to step down or retire. Mike Fong, secretary of the Department of Commerce, is the most recent, informing agency employees on Tuesday that he would exit. This story is from the Washington State Stand ard, which is an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom.
Starmer launches six key pledges in ‘plan for change’
Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general amid continued fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation's chief federal law enforcement officer. The announcement caps a turbulent eight-day period in which Trump sought to capitalize on his decisive election win to force Senate Republicans to accept provocative selections like Gaetz, who had been investigated by the Justice Department before being tapped last week to lead it. The decision could heighten scrutiny on other controversial Trump nominees, including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, who faces sexual assault allegations that he denies. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz, a Florida Republican who one day earlier met with senators in an effort to win their support, said in a statement. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1," he added. Trump, in a social media post, said: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!” He did not immediately announce a new selection. Last week, he named personal lawyers Todd Blanche, Emil Bove and D. John Sauer to senior roles in the department. Another possible contender, Matthew Whitaker, was announced Wednesday as the U.S. ambassador to NATO. The withdrawal, just a week after the pick was announced, averts what was shaping up to be a pitched confirmation fight that would have tested how far Senate Republicans were willing to go to support Trump’s cabinet picks. The selection of the fierce Trump ally over well-regarded veteran lawyers whose names had circulated as possible contenders stirred concern for the Justice Department's independence at a time when Trump has openly threatened to seek retribution against political adversaries. It underscored the premium Trump places on personal loyalty and reflected the president-elect's desire to have a disruptor lead a Justice Department that for years investigated and ultimately indicted him. In the Senate, deeply skeptical lawmakers sought more information about Justice Department and congressional investigations into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls, which Gaetz has denied. Meanwhile, Justice Department lawyers were taken aback by the pick of a partisan lawmaker with limited legal experience who has echoed Trump's claims of a weaponized criminal justice system. As Gaetz sought to lock down Senate support, concern over the sex trafficking allegations showed no signs of abating. In recent days, an attorney for two women said his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions beginning in 2017, when Gaetz was a Florida congressman. One of the women testified she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old at a party in Florida in 2017, according to the attorney, Joel Leppard. Leppard has said that his client testified she didn’t think Gaetz knew the girl was underage, stopped their relationship when he found out and did not resume it until after she turned 18. The age of consent in Florida is 18. "They’re grateful for the opportunity to move forward with their lives,” Leppard said Thursday of his clients. “They’re hoping that this brings final closure for all the parties involved.” Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. The Justice Department’s investigation ended last year with no charges against him. Gaetz’s political future is uncertain. He had abruptly resigned his congressional seat upon being selected as attorney general, a move seen as a way to shut down the ethics investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He did win reelection in November for the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, 2025, but he said in his resignation letter last week that he did not intend to take the oath of office. There are plans for a special election in Florida for his seat. Republicans on the House Ethics Committee declined this week to release the panel's findings, over objections from Democrats in a split vote. But the committee did agree to finish its work and is scheduled to meet again Dec. 5 to discuss the matter. As word of Gaetz's decision spread across the Capitol, Republican senators seemed divided. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who served with Gaetz in the House, called it a “positive move." Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Gaetz “put country first and I am pleased with his decision.” Others said they had hoped Gaetz could have overhauled the department. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a close ally of Trump, said he was “disappointed. I like Matt and I think he would have changed the way DOJ is run.” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he hopes Trump will pick someone “equally as tenacious and equally as committed to rooting out and eliminating bias and politicization at the DOJ.” Gaetz is not the only Trump pick facing congressional scrutiny over past allegations. A detailed investigative police report made public Wednesday shows that a woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth, the former Fox News host now tapped to lead the Pentagon, after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave. “The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday at the Capitol, where he was meeting with senators to build support for his nomination.Mayor Eric Adams’ legal team claims feds don’t have the evidence for another indictmentElgin Park senior boys AAA volleyball squad finished off their regular season by bringing home the South Frasers regional banner. They now head to triple A provincials Nov. 27-30 in Oak Bay on Vancouver Island. After a season where the team started strong, but "had a little bit of a dip," according to assistant coach Melissa Bonn, who coaches the team with head coach Matt Ekholm, the team performed some team-building exercises, switched up some positions and roles, and are now ranked second in B.C. heading into the provincial championships. The final, vs. Delta Secondary, was a back-and-forth effort where both teams put in great effort, Bonn noted, with half the gym cheering for Elgin, the other, for Delta. "It was such a great game... we dominated the first two sets. We just played really well," she said of the four-set final. "The team not only won the banner, but they held onto their No. 2 ranking going into the provincials next week," said Bonn. "It was an amazing game filled with great kills and amazing extra-effort defence." Elgin's playoff all-stars were Rowan Hartshorne and Max Grantham, with the MVP going to Charlie Lang-Gould. Bonn also credited Elgin Park P.E. teacher Mike Jamieson for helping to build the volleyball program. "I'm unbelievably proud of them," she said of the team. "They battled through adversity and supported each other the entire time."
None