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Healthcare technology continues to advance each year, including IoT-assisted wearable sensor devices, AI, and blockchain, as well as improved medical diagnosis . Jeff Elton, CEO at ConcertAI has outlined several expert industry healthtech predictions around SaaS, real-world data and AI in evolving healthcare, precision medicine and clinical trials. AI will enhance life sciences through advanced Digital Twins and AI-designed drugs Elton explains how accuracy will be the turning point of AI, supported by LLMs over ambient AI. In particular, Elton states: “AI regulations in healthcare will be marked by highly differentiated approaches and AI adoption. Oncology-specific AI and LLM systems will work together across the entire lifecycle – from discovery to clinical trials.” With digital twins, Elton provides the advantages: “Twins will simulate early-phase clinical trials and will help identify the most beneficial and likely successful drugs in trials. Fully integrated patient-to-trial matching in provider workflows will cut time and costs for late-stage trials by 30 percent. All of this will lower costs and increase the success rates of pharmaceutical R&D processes.” These different programs will unify discovery, translational, and developmental processes Accuracy will be the turning point of AI, supported by LLMs over ambient AI. There will continue to be an increase in the integration of AI in daily workflows and decision-making as AI increases in accuracy and efficiency, opines Elton. The expert finds: “2025/2026 will see the enormous potential of AI as a ‘decision augmentation’ of expert humans. This will come from context-sensitive solutions, LLMs, that can align other LLMs to collect, analyse, and recommend options to clinical teams that are aligned to that specific decision and the unique characteristics of that patient. This needs to and will happen as there are not enough staff and specialists to provide the needed care.” AI regulations in healthcare will be marked by highly differentiated approaches and AI adoption. Elton believes AI regulation currently encourages responsible innovation and self-regulation, allowing space for new advancements. As examples, Elton provides: “Current Gen 1 solutions, often single-LLM-based, are expected to be short-lived and evolve into multi-model, highly tuned systems with domain-specific models and advanced prompt engineering. Most healthcare AI will be run on data locally, edge deployed, or done within secure, segregated clouds to ensure control, prevent misuse, and protect patient health data.” Elton concludes with: “Lastly, leading AI SaaS solutions will heavily publish performance metrics, certify against model drift, and provide transparent data flow and model disclosures. This would be the equivalent of certifying drug safety and manufacturing standards.” Oncology-specific AI and LLM systems will work together across the entire lifecycle – from discovery to clinical trials . As to the benefits from large language models (LLMs), Elton has formulated: “LLMs specific to oncology will allow for the consideration of Agents as “Interpretation Experts” with performance comparable to the highest-trained humans for 90%+ of patient decisions. There will be a new generation of multi-modal infrastructure with persistent data analysis occurring over the life of the clinical trial. Trial designs, patient matching, data collection, and real-time analysis will have AI enablement throughout the process.” AI2AI programs will unify discovery, translational, and developmental processes. This part of the process is one grounded in the future state. The first translational programs will be simulated at a mass scale and will give way to new scientific and AI-based engineering approaches. According to Elton: “This ensures that the notion of a “funnel” for clinical development is left behind.” Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news.Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.Luke Kromenhoek throws 3 TD passes as Florida St. ends six-game skid vs. Charleston Southern
After weeks of hitting a wall, the Nebraska Huskers football team finally broke through on Saturday. With a dominant 44-25 win over the Wisconsin Badgers, the Huskers not only ended their four-game losing streak and became bowl-eligible — ending the longest bowl drought among Power 4 schools at seven years — and got their first win against the Badgers since 2012, but seemingly took a big step forward. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.
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No one doubted that Pitt sixth-year senior volleyball player Valeria Vazquez Gomez had a future as a pro. But the Omaha Supernovas of the Pro Volleyball Federation verified it Monday by choosing her sixth in the fourth round of the second all-time PVF draft. She will have the opportunity to play pro volleyball at the end of Pitt’s season. Vazquez Gomez would join former Pitt volleyball players Courtney Buzzerio, Kayla Lund, Leketor Member-Meneh, Chiamaka Nwokolo and Layne Van Buskirk in the league. Vazquez Gomez recorded her 1,000th career kill against Virginia on Nov. 1 and will take a stat line of 1,050 kills, 983 digs, 124 aces, 151 blocks and 109 assists into No. 1-ranked Pitt’s match at No. 3 Louisville on Wednesday. She was a second-team All-American in 2022 and was an All-ACC and American Volleyball Coaches Association East Coast Region member in ‘22 and ‘23. Vazquez Gomez is first in Pitt history for total digs in an NCAA Tournament (62) and tied for first for most aces (four) in an NCAA Tournament match set last year in the Elite Eight against Louisville.The last time the New York Islanders won at least three straight games, it catapulted them into the playoffs. A playoff berth isn't imminent for the Islanders, but a third straight win -- this one against the hottest team in the NHL -- will continue to improve an outlook that appeared bleak just days ago. The Islanders will try to build off a successful weekend Tuesday night when they host the Los Angeles Kings in a nonconference clash in Elmont, N.Y. Both teams were off Monday after earning wins this weekend. The Islanders notched their second victory in 24 hours by beating the host Ottawa Senators 4-2 on Sunday, and the Kings extended their winning streak to five games by defeating the visiting Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Saturday. The Islanders won despite taking a season-low 13 shots. But New York, whose power play is ranked next-to-last in the NHL, scored twice with the man advantage and goalie Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves. "I think we were good in the right moments," said Islanders left winger Anders Lee, who had the first power-play goal. "We had to grind it out. It was an ugly one (Sunday) for us. It had to be ugly." The two-game winning streak is just the second of the season for the Islanders, who edged the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Saturday. New York hadn't earned consecutive wins since beating the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Senators back on Nov. 5 and 7. The latest back-to-back wins came immediately after New York lost 10 of 13 (3-5-5) to fall into last place in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders entered Monday tied for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with the New York Rangers, though the Rangers had three games in hand heading into Monday's meeting with the Chicago Blackhawks. "This weekend was a good step for us," Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock said. The Islanders haven't won more than two straight games since April 1-11, when they won six in a row to climb into third place in the Metropolitan Division. New York clinched a playoff berth four days later. Establishing some winning consistency hasn't been a problem for the Kings, whose winning streak has vaulted them into second place in the Pacific Division. The five-game run is the longest active in the NHL and the first such streak for Los Angeles since it won five straight from Nov. 16-25, 2023. Los Angeles has endured just two losing streaks this season and is 7-2-0 since dropping consecutive games to the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 11 and 13. The Kings have thrived during the current surge against the Wild, Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, who are the top three teams in the Central Division. Los Angeles outscored the trio 11-4 overall -- including 7-1 in the last five periods since the Stars took a 2-0 first-period lead last Wednesday night. "We like the challenge of playing against top teams," said Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper, who made 22 saves in his return to the lineup Saturday after an eight-game absence due to a lower-body injury. "You know you have to be at your best. You need everybody, so those are fun as a group and good measuring sticks." Adrian Kempe scored his team-leading 13th goal in the game against the Wild. --Field Level Media
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Insurgents reach gates of Syria’s capital, threatening to upend decades of Assad rule BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian opposition war monitor and a pro-government media outlet say government forces have withdrawn from much of the central city of Homs. The pro-government Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that rebels have entered parts of it. Losing Homs is a potentially crippling blow for Syria’s embattled leader, Bashar Assad. An archbishop's knock formally restores Notre Dame to life as winds howl and heads of state look on PARIS (AP) — France’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral has formally reopened its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019. The five-year restoration is widely seen as a boost for French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious timeline, and brings a welcome respite from his domestic political woes. World leaders, dignitaries, and worshippers gathered on Saturday evening for the celebrations under the cathedral's soaring arches. The celebration was attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including President-elect Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince William, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. For Catholics, Notre Dame’s rector said the cathedral “carries the enveloping presence of the Virgin Mary, a maternal and embracing presence.′′ Trump is welcomed by Macron to Paris with presidential pomp and joined by Zelenskyy for their talks PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed Donald Trump to Paris with a full dose of presidential pomp. And they held a hastily arranged meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a day that's mixing pageantry with attention to pressing global problems. The president-elect's visit to France is part of a global a celebration of the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral five years after a devastating fire. Macron and other European leaders are trying to win Trump’s favor and persuade him to maintain support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion. Trump isn't back in office but he's already pushing his agenda and negotiating with world leaders NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is making threats, traveling abroad, and negotiating with world leaders. He has more than a month-and-a-half to go before he’s sworn in for a second term. But the president-elect is already moving aggressively to not only fill his Cabinet and outline policy goals, but also to try to achieve his priorities. In recent days, Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, two of the country’s largest trading partners. That led to emergency calls and a visit. And he's warned of “ALL HELL TO PAY” if Hamas doesn't release the hostages still being held captive in Gaza. South Korea's president avoids an impeachment attempt over short-lived martial law SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol has avoided an opposition-led attempt to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law. Most of Yoon's ruling party lawmakers boycotted a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers. The scrapping of the motion is expected to intensify protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea. A survey suggests a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative People Power Party. But the party also apparently fears losing the presidency to liberals. Days after gunman killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO, police push to ID him and FBI offers reward NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly four days after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police still do not know the gunman’s name or whereabouts or have a motive for the killing. But they have made some progress in their investigation into Wednesday's killing of the leader of the largest U.S. health insurer, including that the gunman likely left New York City on a bus soon after fleeing the scene. The also found that the gunman left something behind: a backpack that was discovered in Central Park. Police are working with the FBI, which on Friday night announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. UnitedHealthcare CEO's shooting opens a door for many to vent frustrations over insurance The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO has opened the door for many people to vent their frustrations and anger over the insurance industry. The feelings of exasperation, anger, resentment, and helplessness toward insurers aren’t new. But the shooting and the headlines around it have unleashed a new wave of patients sharing such sentiments and personal stories of interactions with insurance companies. Conversations at dinner tables, office water coolers, social gatherings and on social media have pivoted to the topic. Many say they hope the new amplified voices can bring about change for companies often accused of valuing profits over people. 2 Pearl Harbor survivors, ages 104 and 102, return to Hawaii to honor those killed in 1941 attack PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The bombing of Pearl Harbor 83 years ago launched the United States into World War II. Two survivors have returned to the Hawaii military base for a remembrance ceremony on the attack's anniversary. Both are over 100 years old. They joined active-duty troops, veterans and members of the public for an observance hosted by the Navy and the National Park Service. A third survivor was planning to join them but had to cancel due to health issues. The bombing killed more than 2,300 U.S. servicemen. An explosion destroys an apartment block in a Dutch city, killing at least 3 and injuring others THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An explosion and fire has rocked a neighborhood in the Dutch city of The Hague, killing three people and injuring other people and destroying several apartments. The cause of the disaster is unclear. Emergency authorities said four people were rescued from the rubble and taken to the hospital. The mayor said rescuers were no longer looking for survivors but for eventual bodies, but could not specify how many people might still be unaccounted for. Residents of the northeastern neighborhood of Mariahoeve in The Hague heard a huge bang and screams before dawn. Dutch authorities have deployed a specialized urban search and rescue team to find victims. How 'Mufasa' rose with Aaron Pierre and Blue Ivy's voices along with new Lin-Manuel Miranda music SAN DIEGO (AP) — When Aaron Pierre was cast as Mufasa, the weight of following in the late James Earl Jones’ legendary footsteps was enough to rattle any actor. But instead of letting the pressure roar too loudly, he harnessed his nerves to breathe fresh life into his young lion character. Pierre found parallels between himself and his character while filming his leading role in “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which opens in theaters Dec. 20. He took the reigns as the new voice of Mufasa after Jones played the iconic King Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of Disney’s “The Lion King.” The prequel offers a fresh exploration into Mufasa’s origin story.ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) — Cornelious Brown IV threw five touchdown passes, Donovan Eaglin ran for 105 yards and two scores, and Alabama A&M defeated Mississippi Valley State 49-35 on Saturday. The Bulldogs scored 21 points in the third quarter to break free from a 28-all tie at halftime. All three touchdowns came on passes by Brown. He hit DJ Nelson for 35 yards, Donovan Payne for 9 yards, and Keenan Hambrick for 13 yards. Alabama A&M led 49-28 heading to the final quarter. Donivan Wright caught Brown's two other TD passes. He was the Bulldogs' leading receiver with 79 yards among their team total of 296. Brown completed 19 of 28 passes for 252 yards for the Bulldogs (6-5, 4-3 SWAC). Ty’Jarian Williams was 12 for 28 passing for 275 yards for the Delta Devils (1-11, 1-7). He threw two TD passes and was intercepted twice. Nathan Rembert had 107 yards receiving and a touchdown on five receptions. There were five touchdowns in the second quarter and the score was tied three times before the Bulldogs blew it open in the third quarter. __ Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Nigeria’s men’s cricket team, the Yellow Greens, began their ICC T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Qualifier C campaign in spectacular fashion, cruising to a 118-run victory over St Helena at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Saturday. Batting first, Nigeria posted an imposing 185/2 in their 20 overs, with decisive contributions from their top-order batters. In response, St Helena struggled to gain any foothold, bowled out for just 67 runs in 19.1 overs, as Nigeria’s bowling attack proved too strong to handle. The resounding win cements the Yellow Greens’ status as tournament favourites, especially as the highest-ranked team in the qualifiers at 36th on the ICC T20 rankings. The victory also underscores head coach Steve Tikolo’s ambitions for the side to not just qualify but dominate the qualifiers en route to the final phase. “Our goal is not just to qualify but to win the tournament and prepare for the next round as champions,” Tikolo said before the tournament opener. Related News Cricket: Nigeria begin T20 W’Cup qualifiers against St Helena Cricket: Nigeria’s opponents arrive for W’Cup qualifiers W’Cup qualifiers: Tikolo rates Nigeria’s opponents high In other games played on Saturday, Botswana defeated Eswatini by 45 runs, scoring 172/4 in their 20 overs before dismissing their opponents for 124 in 18.4 overs. Meanwhile, Sierra Leone showcased an even more emphatic display, thrashing Ivory Coast by a staggering 168 runs. Sierra Leone posted 188/2 in their 20 overs and skittled out the Ivorians for a paltry 20 runs in just 10.4 overs. The Yellow Greens will next face Eswatini on Monday before meeting Sierra Leone on Tuesday and Botswana on Wednesday in what promises to be a competitive round of matches. The top two teams from this sub-regional qualifier will advance to the final phase, where two spots are up for grabs to represent Africa at the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup alongside South Africa. With home support and their sights firmly set on World Cup qualification, the Yellow Greens have started their campaign on a commanding note, showcasing their intent to dominate on their home turf.
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One night last month, near the end of the Chicago International Film Festival, a particularly long line of moviegoers snaked down Southport Avenue by the Music Box Theatre. The hot ticket? This fall’s hottest ticket, in fact, all over the international festival circuit? Well, it’s a 215-minute drama about a fictional Hungarian Jewish architect who emigrates to America in 1947 after surviving the Holocaust. The film’s title, “The Brutalist,” references several things, firstly a post-World War II design imperative made of stern concrete, steel, and a collision of poetry and functionality. Director and co-writer Brady Corbet, who wrote “The Brutalist” with his filmmaker wife, Mona Fastvold, explores brutalism in other forms as well, including love, envy, capitalist economics and how the promise of America eludes someone like the visionary architect László Tóth, played by Adrien Brody. Corbet, now 36 and a good bet for Oscar nominations this coming January, says his unfashionable sprawl of a picture, being distributed by A24, is also about the “strange relationship between artist and patron, and art and commerce.” It co-stars Felicity Jones as the visionary architect’s wife, Erzsébet, trapped in Eastern Europe after the war with their niece for an agonizingly long time. Guy Pearce portrays the imperious Philadelphia blueblood who hires Tóth, a near-invisible figure in his adopted country, to design a monumental public building known as the Institute in rural Pennsylvania. The project becomes an obsession, then a breaking point and then something else. Corbet’s project, which took the better part of a decade to come together after falling apart more than once, felt like that, too. Spanning five decades and filmed in Hungary and Italy, “The Brutalist” looks like a well-spent $50 million project. In actuality, it was made for a mere $10 million, with Corbet and cinematographer Lol Crawley shooting on film, largely in the VistaVision process. The filmmaker said at the Chicago festival screening: “Who woulda thunk that for screening after screening over the last couple of months, people stood in line around the block to get into a three-and-a-half-hour movie about a mid-century designer?” He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with Fastvold and their daughter. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Q: Putting together an independent movie, keeping it on track, getting it made: not easy, as you told the Music Box audience last night. Money is inevitably going to be part of the story of “The Brutalist,” since you had only so much to make a far-flung historical epic. A: Yeah, that’s right. In relation to my earlier features, “The Childhood of a Leader” had a $3 million budget. The budget for “Vox Lux” was right around $10 million, same as “The Brutalist,” although the actual production budget for “Vox Lux” was about $4.5 million. Which is to say: All the money on top of that was going to all the wrong places. For a lot of reasons, when my wife and I finished the screenplay for “The Brutalist,” we ruled out scouting locations in Philadelphia or anywhere in the northeastern United States. We needed to (film) somewhere with a lot less red tape. My wife’s previous film, “The World to Come,” she made in Romania; we shot “Childhood of a Leader” in Hungary. For “The Brutalist” we initially landed on Poland, but this was early on in COVID and Poland shut its borders the week our crew was arriving for pre-production. When we finally got things up and running again with a different iteration of the cast (the original ensemble was to star Joel Edgerton, Marion Cotillard and Mark Rylance), after nine months, the movie fell apart again because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We couldn’t get any of the banks to cash-flow the tax credit (for location shooting in Poland). It’s completely stable now, but at that time the banks were nervous about whether the war would be contained to Ukraine or not. And then we finally got it up and running in Budapest, Hungary. Q: That’s a long time. A: Every filmmaker I know suffers from some form of post-traumatic stress (laughs). It sounds funny but it’s true. At every level. On the level of independent cinema, you’re just so damn poor. You’re not making any money, and yet from nose to tail, at minimum, a movie always takes a couple of years. With bigger projects, you might have a little more personal security but a lot less creative security with so many more cooks in the kitchen. Either route you choose, it can be an arduous and painful one. Whether you’re making a movie for a million dollars, or $10 million, or $100 million, it’s still “millions of dollars.” And if you’re concerned about the lives and livelihoods of the people working with you, it’s especially stressful. People are constantly calling you: “Is it happening? Are we starting? Should I take this other job or not?” And you have 250 people who need that answer from you. Every iteration of the project, I always thought we were really about to start in a week, two weeks. It’s just very challenging interpersonally. It’s an imposition for everyone in your life. And then there’s the imposition of screening a movie that’s three-and-a-half-hours long for film festivals, where it’s difficult to find that kind of real estate on the schedule. So essentially, making a movie means constantly apologizing. Q: At what point in your acting career did you take a strong interest in what was going on behind the camera? A: I was making short films when I was 11, 12 years old. The first thing I ever made more properly, I guess, was a short film I made when I was 18, “Protect You + Me,” shot by (cinematographer) Darius Khondji. It was supposed to be part of a triptych of films, and I went to Paris for the two films that followed it. And then all the financing fell through. But that first one screened at the London film festival, and won a prize at Sundance, and I was making music videos and other stuff by then. Q: You’ve written a lot of screenplays with your wife. How many? A: Probably 25. We work a lot for other people, too. I think we’ve done six together for our own projects. Sometimes I’ll start something at night and my wife will finish in the morning. Sometimes we work very closely together, talking and typing together. It’s always different. Right now I’m writing a lot on the road, and my wife is editing her film, which is a musical we wrote, “Ann Lee,” about the founder of the Shakers. I’m working on my next movie now, which spans a lot of time, like “The Brutalist,” with a lot of locations. And I need to make sure we can do it for not a lot of money, because it’s just not possible to have a lot of money and total autonomy. For me making a movie is like cooking. If everyone starts coming in and throwing a dash of this or that in the pot, it won’t work out. A continuity of vision is what I look for when I read a novel. Same with watching a film. A lot of stuff out there today, appropriately referred to as “content,” has more in common with a pair of Nikes than it does with narrative cinema. Q: Yeah, I can’t imagine a lot of Hollywood executives who’d sign off on “The Brutalist.” A: Well, even with our terrific producing team, I mean, everyone was up for a three-hour movie but we were sort of pushing it with three-and-a-half (laughs). I figured, worst-case scenario, it opens on a streamer. Not what I had in mind, but people watch stuff that’s eight, 12 hours long all the time. They get a cold, they watch four seasons of “Succession.” (A24 is releasing the film in theaters, gradually.) It was important for all of us to try to capture an entire century’s worth of thinking about design with “The Brutalist.” For me, making something means expressing a feeling I have about our history. I’ve described my films as poetic films about politics, that go to places politics alone cannot reach. It’s one thing to say something like “history repeats itself.” It’s another thing to make people see that, and feel it. I really want viewers to engage with the past, and the trauma of that history can be uncomfortable, or dusty, or dry. But if you can make it something vital, and tangible, the way great professors can do for their students, that’s my definition of success. “The Brutalist” opens in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 20. The Chicago release is Jan. 10, 2025. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.Kolkata: The juggernaut of the BJP-led NDA, which triumphed in three of the four east and north-eastern states that went for assembly bypolls on Saturday, was halted yet again in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee’s TMC registered a six-on-six clean sweep. In its process of continuing to deny the BJP its coveted foothold in the state’s political theatre, the TMC retained five of the six seats it had previously won during the 2021 polls, while wresting the key Madarihat seat from the saffron camp in north Bengal’s Alipurduar district, and opening its account in the segment for the first time. The scene was much brighter for the ruling NDA in neighbouring Bihar where it swept the bypolls to four assembly segments, retaining Imamganj and wresting from the INDIA bloc Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj, in a shot in the arm ahead of the assembly polls due next year. In Assam, the BJP and its allies retained four assembly seats and were leading in one, where the bypolls were held on November 13. The sole assembly segment of Gambegre in Meghalaya was won by the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) nominee and chief minister’s wife Mehtab Chandee Agitok Sangma, by a margin of over 4,500 votes. The NPP is a constituent of the NDA at the Centre. The TMC whitewash in Bengal included two of its candidates, Sangita Roy from the Sitai seat and Sk Rabiul Islam from Haroa, registering victories by margins of over one lakh votes. The bypolls in the state were also held in Naihati, Medinipur, Taldangra, and Madarihat (ST), after sitting MLAs vacated their seats after winning the Lok Sabha elections. These were the first set of elections in the state, held in select rural and suburban pockets, after the RG Kar hospital rape and murder incident, which took significant areas of Bengal by storm barely two months ago. Saturday’s results suggested that the anti-establishment edge in those agitations, confined largely to urban pockets, made little or no dent in the Trinamool Congress vote bank in the state’s countryside, and the party romped home in continuation of its winning streak in the 2024 general elections. In Haroa, a constituency overwhelmingly dominated by minorities, the BJP was pushed to the third position with the All India Secular Front (ISF) candidate Piyarul Islam finishing a distant runner-up, behind TMC’s Rabiul. The saffron candidate forfeited his poll deposit in the seat, prompting party leader Suvendu Adhikari to state: “Minorities don’t vote for the BJP”. The poll results brought no joy to either the CPI(M)-led Left Front, which had hoped to capitalise on the RG Kar protests to revive its fortunes, or its erstwhile ally, the Congress. Both suffered crushing defeats in all the six segments and lost poll deposits. In Bihar, candidates of the Jan Suraaj floated recently by former political strategist Prashant Kishor with much fanfare, lost deposits in all but one seat, in a clear indication that the fledgling party, despite claims of taking the political landscape in the state by storm, needs to cover much ground. The biggest setback for the INDIA bloc, helmed by the RJD, came in Belaganj, a seat the party had been winning since its inception in the 1990s, but this time lost to the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the arch-rival of its founding president Lalu Prasad. The JD(U) candidate Manorama Devi, a former MLC, defeated RJD’s debutant nominee Vishwanath Kumar Singh by over 21,000 votes. The margin of victory was greater than the 17,285 votes polled by Mohd Amjad of the Jan Suraaj, whom the RJD may have liked to blame for its defeat by causing a split in Muslim votes. JD(U) national spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, “The people of Bihar deserve kudos for rejecting the negativity of the opposition and reposing their trust in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Under his leadership, the NDA will win more than 200 seats of the 243-strong assembly in 2025.” In Assam, while the BJP emerged victor in the Behali and Dholai (SC) segments and looked all set to win the Samaguri seat, its allies, the United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL) and the AGP comfortably bagged the Sidli and the Bongaiganon constituencies, respectively, humbling their nearest Congress rivals. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed the wins a testament of people’s support to “good governance and development”. Maintaining that the people of Gambegre voted along expected lines, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma said, “Voters are intelligent. They know what is good for them and how they should vote. In this election, people voted specifically for change,” he said. “I would like to thank and congratulate the ‘Maa, Mati, and Manush’ from the bottom of my heart. Your blessings will help us work for the people in the coming days,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on X. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee congratulated the candidates, claiming they had “defied the narratives created by the Zamindars, the media, and a section of the Kol HC to defame Bengal for their vested interests.” BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, however, downplayed the significance of the results. “Bypoll results cannot serve as a reliable indicator. Whether the people are with the TMC or against them will be reflected in the assembly elections,” he said. With this victory, TMC’s tally in the 294-member state assembly rose to 216, further consolidating its position. The BJP’s tally dropped to 69, from 77 in 2021.
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Migrants give ‘Tripadvisor-style’ reviews for people-smugglersWINNIPEG - Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew offered condolences Monday to the families affected by two fatal police shootings in the province and spoke to the challenge faced by officers on the front lines. “I want to take the opportunity to thank police officers across this province who go to work and keep us safe each and every day,” Kinew said while at the convention for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities. The night before, a street standoff involving police left one man dead and an officer recovering from a stab wound to the throat. Kinew told reporters no one wants to see a person die after an altercation with police but officers are often tasked with responding to high-risk situations. “Police officers have a difficult job to do, that’s at the best of times, so I support law enforcement,” he said. “When we’re thinking about the holidays and people going to the malls and people going to the shopping areas around the province, people have got to be safe.” Police were called early Sunday evening to the Unicity shopping area in the city’s far west about an officer who had been stabbed in the throat and a suspect who had been shot. Acting police Chief Art Stannard later told reporters that officers had been in the area as part of a retail theft initiative, which sees police work in hot spots in the city that have seen a rise in retail theft and violent crime. Police said the man who was shot was given CPR at the scene before he was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. They said the injured officer was also transported to hospital and treated for his injury. Police declined to provide more details about what happened, including the age or identity of the man killed, noting the case is being reviewed by the police watchdog agency — the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba. The agency confirmed it’s investigating the death of the man but did not provide any other details. Videos circulating on social media appear to show a man being shot outside a bus shelter. In a 24-second clip, two police officers tell a person “to put it down” and “to drop it.” The man appears to advance toward the officers and at least one officer begins shooting. It’s not clear in the video whether the man who was shot was holding a weapon. Stannard told reporters Sunday he’s aware of the video and asked the public to avoid rushing to judgment. Coun. Markus Chambers, chair of the Winnipeg Police Board, said Sunday’s incident is tragic for all involved and noted it could renew calls for the board to implement body cameras. “Body-worn cameras likely wouldn’t have resulted in this not happening, but it is a mechanism of looking at the accountability around what happened,” Chambers said. The councillor said the board would be monitoring the rollout of body cameras in RCMP detachments across the province to see if they’re effective. It was the second fatal police shooting in three days. A 17-year-old boy from Norway House Cree Nation was shot and killed by an RCMP officer on Friday. Mounties said they received a report that a man was agitated and armed with an edged weapon in a home on the First Nation, north of Winnipeg. RCMP said the teen was outside with the weapon when officers arrived and, despite numerous orders to drop it, he moved toward them and was shot. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2024.
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The 2024 PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) has reached a pivotal moment as the Survival and Last Chance stages concluded, determining the six elite teams that will compete in the Grand Finals. The finals are set to take place at London’s renowned ExCeL Centre from December 6th to 8th, where the top contenders will vie for the championship title and a share of the $3 million prize pool. The tournament kicked off with 48 of the world’s premier teams, each striving for a spot in the ultimate showdown. Following intense competition, only 15 teams will join the host region invite, Guild Esports, in the Grand Finals. The qualifying teams advancing to this final stage include Falcons Force, Insilio, Voin Donkey ID, The Vicious LATAM, Dplus, and Regnum Carya Bra Esports. During the Survival Stage, notable performances emerged as Group Yellow, led by Major Pride, and Group Green, under the leadership of Dplus, achieved the highest elimination scores of 123 and 126 respectively. Subsequent matchups featured top teams such as IW NRX, Falcons Force, AS i8, and FaZe Clan, culminating in D’Xavier securing the top spot on the Survival Stage leaderboard, closely followed by Dplus and Insilio. The Last Chance Stage intensified the competition, featuring 18 matches over three days in a Round-Robin format. Teams battled fiercely to secure the remaining slots in the Grand Finals. On the first day, Voin Donkey ID led with the highest elimination score of 37, earning daily MVP honors for Indonesian pro player V3XXY. Falcons Force dominated Day 2 with an impressive 98 eliminations, significantly outpacing Insilio, while Team Liquid faced setbacks, failing to place in the top 10 on the second day. Regnum Carya Bra Esports made a strong push, climbing from 9th to secure the final qualifying spot. Ultimately, the Grand Finals lineup comprises nine Group Stage qualifiers, six Last Chance Stage survivors, and Guild Esports as the host region invite. The 16 teams set to compete include: Team Spirit DRX Alpha7 Brute Force Natus Vincere (NAVI) Influence Rage Thundertalk Gaming Tong Jia Bao Esports Nigma Galaxy MEA Falcons Force Insilio Voin Donkey ID The Vicious LATAM Dplus Regnum Carya Bra Esports Guild Esports Fans can anticipate three days of high-stakes competition, featuring strategic gameplay, intense rivalries, and memorable moments as the world’s best PUBG Mobile teams battle for supremacy at the ExCeL Centre.