Ayra Wang BioLogiQ, a technological company, has developed a method to convert potato starch into a plant-based material. This innovative material can be manufactured into reusable cups and cutlery, significantly contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions in urban areas. The company's breakthrough technology was recognized with a gold award at the 4th Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on December 5 and 6. Ken Kramer, BioLogiQ's president and chief technology officer, called the award an affirmation of the hard work by the company's research and development team. He expressed hope that their invention would help mitigate human-caused pollution and promote sustainable development for future generations. "I've been involved in the plastic manufacturing industry for over 30 years, and I understand the environmental harm caused by fossil fuels and plastics," Kramer said in an exclusive interview with Sing Tao Daily, a sister publication to The Standard. Founded in 2011, the US-based company expanded into Asia in 2019, establishing its regional office in Hong Kong and a factory across the border in Shaoguan. Kramer said that the plant-based material is derived from crops such as potatoes and corn and can reduce carbon emissions by up to 46 percent compared to conventional plastics. "Fossil fuels are not renewable and contribute to pollution, whereas plants can be regrown and absorb carbon dioxide during their growth," he said. Plant-based materials, he added, are often stronger than those made from fossil fuels. Kramer highlighted the fact that plant-based materials are more cost-effective than wood, bamboo and paper, especially now that the SAR government is promoting a citywide plastic-free lifestyle. "Cutting down trees or bamboo is detrimental to the environment, as it takes years for trees to grow back," he said. "In contrast, crops like potatoes and corn can be harvested two to three times a year, allowing factories to utilize existing machinery for plant-based material production," he said. While the company's products can contain up to 50 percent plant-based materials, they typically mix in 10 to 25 percent traditional plastics to keep costs manageable for consumers. Kramer's aim is for some products to achieve 100 percent plant-based content for agricultural use next year, with plans to develop entirely plant-based products within five years. Linda Lee Wai-ling, the company's managing director, said the plant-based material is converted from the starch of potatoes or corn. BioLogiQ also plans to recycle wastewater containing starch from fry production facilities as a raw material. Lee reassured people that using crops for plastic does not impact the food supply, as the plant-based materials industry currently uses only 0.02 percent of agricultural land, and that is projected to rise to just 0.073 percent by 2028. "It's not a waste of food; starch is already used in paper production, though many people may not realize it," Lee said. The company aims to integrate environmental protection into everyday life by producing household items like reusable tableware, cups and food bags made from plant-based materials. "We want consumers to engage in environmental protection easily and affordably," Lee said. Plant-based materials, she added, can help reduce microplastic contamination in the food chain, protecting human health. "Currently, over 90 percent of plastic waste ends up in landfills or nature, breaking down into microplastics that pollute oceans and soil. These microplastics can eventually enter the food chain," she said. The company is in discussions with local juice producer Bless to create containers, packages and plastic bags made from plant-based materials, with anticipated discounts for consumers next year. Lee said plant-based materials are 100 percent compostable, non-toxic and environmentally friendly, making them ideal for non-reusable items aimed at reducing pollution. BioLogiQ plans to expand the use of plant-based non-woven materials into various applications, including disposable masks, hospital protective clothing and diapers, which cannot be reused due to hygiene concerns.Forthright and fearless, the Nobel Prize winner took pot-shots at former prime minister Tony Blair and ex-US president George W Bush among others. His death came after repeated bouts of illness in which images of the increasingly frail former president failed to erase memories of his fierce spirit. Democrat James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr swept to power in 1977 with his Trust Me campaign helping to beat Republican president Gerald Ford. Serving as 39th US president from 1977 to 1981, he sought to make government “competent and compassionate” but was ousted by the unstoppable Hollywood appeal of a certain Ronald Reagan. A skilled sportsman, Mr Carter left his home of Plains, Georgia, to join the US Navy, returning later to run his family’s peanut business. A stint in the Georgia senate lit the touchpaper on his political career and he rose to the top of the Democratic movement. But he will also be remembered for a bizarre encounter with a deeply disgruntled opponent. The president was enjoying a relaxing fishing trip near his home town in 1979 when his craft was attacked by a furious swamp rabbit which reportedly swam up to the boat hissing wildly. The press had a field day, with one paper bearing the headline President Attacked By Rabbit. Away from encounters with belligerent bunnies, Mr Carter’s willingness to address politically uncomfortable topics did not diminish with age. He recently said that he would be willing to travel to North Korea for peace talks on behalf of US President Donald Trump. He also famously mounted a ferocious and personal attack on Tony Blair over the Iraq war, weeks before the prime minister left office in June 2007. Mr Carter, who had already denounced George W Bush’s presidency as “the worst in history”, used an interview on BBC radio to condemn Mr Blair for his tight relations with Mr Bush, particularly concerning the Iraq War. Asked how he would characterise Mr Blair’s relationship with Mr Bush, Mr Carter replied: “Abominable. Loyal, blind, apparently subservient. “I think that the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world.” Mr Carter was also voluble over the Rhodesia crisis, which was about to end during his presidency. His support for Robert Mugabe at the time generated widespread criticism. He was said to have ignored the warnings of many prominent Zimbabweans, black and white, about what sort of leader Mugabe would be. This was seen by Mr Carter’s critics as “deserving a prominent place among the outrages of the Carter years”. Mr Carter has since said he and his administration had spent more effort and worry on Rhodesia than on the Middle East. He admitted he had supported two revolutionaries in Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, and with hindsight said later that Mugabe had been “a good leader gone bad”, having at first been “a very enlightened president”. One US commentator wrote: “History will not look kindly on those in the West who insisted on bringing the avowed Marxist Mugabe into the government. “In particular, the Jimmy Carter foreign policy... bears some responsibility for the fate of a small African country with scant connection to American national interests.” In recent years Mr Carter developed a reputation as an international peace negotiator. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his commitment to finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts, his work with human rights and democracy initiatives, and his promotion of economic and social programmes. Mr Carter was dispatched to North Korea in August 2008 to secure the release of US citizen Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who had been sentenced to eight years of hard labour after being found guilty of illegally entering North Korea. He successfully secured the release of Mr Gomes. In 2010 he returned to the White House to greet President Barack Obama and discuss international affairs amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. Proving politics runs in the family, in 2013 his grandson Jason, a state senator, announced his bid to become governor in Georgia, where his famous grandfather governed before becoming president. He eventually lost to incumbent Republican Nathan Deal. Fears that Mr Carter’s health was deteriorating were sparked in 2015 when he cut short an election observation visit in Guyana because he was “not feeling well”. It would have been Mr Carter’s 39th trip to personally observe an international election. Three months later, on August 12, he revealed he had cancer which had been diagnosed after he underwent surgery to remove a small mass in his liver. Mr Obama was among the well-wishers hoping for Mr Carter’s full recovery after it was confirmed the cancer had spread widely. Melanoma had been found in his brain and liver, and Mr Carter underwent immunotherapy and radiation therapy, before announcing in March the following year that he no longer needed any treatment. In 2017, Mr Carter was taken to hospital as a precaution, after he became dehydrated at a home-building project in Canada. He was admitted to hospital on multiple occasions in 2019 having had a series of falls, suffering a brain bleed and a broken pelvis, as well as a stint to be treated for a urinary tract infection. Mr Carter spent much of the coronavirus pandemic largely at his home in Georgia, and did not attend Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in 2021, but extended his “best wishes”. Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Mr Carter during his term as US president, died in November 2023. She had been living with dementia and suffering many months of declining health. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Mr Carter said in a statement following her death. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
Four pro-European Romanian parties struck a deal Monday to keep the far right out of government and chose a common candidate for the upcoming presidential election. Marcel Ciolacu, the leader of the ruling Social Democrats, was also reappointed prime minister Monday by outgoing liberal president Klaus Iohannis, who gave his backing to the new pro-European coalition. The country has been in crisis after presidential elections were cancelled earlier this month — a hugely unusual move in Europe — after a far-right candidate scored a surprise first-round victory amid claims of Russian interference. The hitherto little-known Calin Georgescu is contesting the annulment in the courts, accusing the authorities of “a formalised coup d’etat”. But intelligence documents declassified by the president’s office of the NATO and EU member which borders Ukraine listed cyberattacks, “aggressive Russian hybrid actions” and massive promotion of Georgescu on social media in the run-up to the vote. Ciolacu admitted leading the country would “not be easy” after the electoral chaos, with far-right parties taking an unprecedented third of the ballots in parliamentary elections held on December 1. “Our duty above all is to defend democratic values and within NATO,” he added. The coalition deal unites the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) — the biggest party after the poll on 22 percent — with the liberals of the PNL, the Hungarian minority UDMR and a parliamentary group representing other minorities. But they have a stiff challenge ahead of them in the presidential polls with the far right surging on mounting anger over inflation and fears over the war in Ukraine, which shares a long border with Romania. The far-right nationalist bloc tripled its score from the last parliamentary election in 2020 to 32 percent, led by the AUR on 18 percent. The AUR’s spokesman Dan Tanasa blasted the new coalition government as a “simulacrum of democracy”, saying all the electoral procedures had been forced to put in place “an illegitimate government”. The new coalition government comes after a breathtaking month of political drama, with Georgescu’s possible path to presidency barred by the constitutional court on December 6 when it ruled that the first round of the vote had been “marred... by multiple irregularities and violations of electoral legislation”. Georgescu, 60, a former senior official and past admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had denied he was linked to Moscow, recently reframing himself as “ultra pro-Trump”. The new governing coalition has chosen Crin Antonescu to run in the next presidential poll. The 65-year-old former president of the liberal party came third in the 2009 presidential election.Kurtis Rourke has made the Jon Cornish Trophy a family affair. The Indiana quarterback received the award Monday, which is presented annually to the top Canadian playing football in the NCAA. Rourke's older brother, Nathan, currently with the CFL's B.C. Lions, won the award twice in 2017 and 2018 at Ohio. "It's awesome," Rourke said. "Kind of getting introduced to the Jon Cornish Trophy back when Nathan won it a couple of times, I wanted to be able to have a shot and it was one of my goals to be in the conversation, be in the running. "It just means a ton to be recognized just because Canadian athletes don't get recognized too often. I'm just so glad we're able to get that recognition and continue to do it for our country." Rourke finished first in voting ahead of Montreal's Dariel Djabome, a junior linebacker at Rutgers. Stanford receiver Elic Ayomanor, last year's winner, was third, followed by Vancouver's Ty Benefield (sophomore safety, Boise State) and Jett Elad of Mississauga, Ont., a senior safety at UNLV. Cornish, of New Westminster, B.C., was a standout running back at Kansas who went on to have a decorated CFL career with the Calgary Stampeders (2007-15) before being inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2019. Rourke transferred to Indiana last December to boost his NFL draft stock after five years at Ohio, where he began as a backup to his older brother. The junior Rourke then captured the '22 MAC offensive player of the year award despite suffering a season-ending knee injury before heading to Indiana after the 2023 season. Rourke was instrumental in Indiana — traditionally known as a basketball school — emerging as a Big Ten contender in head coach Curt Cignetti’s first season. After winning 11 of their first 12 games, the Hoosiers' stellar campaign ended with a 27-17 loss to Notre Dame in the opening game of the expanded U.S. college football playoff bracket. Rourke finished 20-of-33 passing for 215 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in that contest. Overall, Rourke completed 222 of 320 passes (69.4 per cent) for 3,042 yards with 29 TDs and five interceptions. "What a privilege, opportunity to come join a program that had so much to prove," Rourke said. "It kind of aligned with what I was wanting to do, which was prove I could play at a higher level." The six-foot-five, 223-pound Rourke was named a finalist for the Manning Award, presented annually to the NCAA's top quarterback. He was also ninth in voting for the Heisman Trophy as U.S. college football's outstanding player. "College football has been everything to me," Rourke said. "Starting off my freshman year to be able to watch Nathan grow and play in his senior year and just learn from him in both how to live a college life but also be a college quarterback as well. "I won't forget my time at Ohio at all, it really created me and moulded me into the person, player I am. I’m extremely grateful for the entire college football experience." The former Holy Trinity star becomes just the second Canadian high school graduate to claim the Jon Cornish Trophy. Chuba Hubbard, of Sherwood Park, Alta., and currently with the NFL's Carolina Panthers, did so in 2019 while at Oklahoma State. The six-foot-two, 240-pound Djabome recorded 102 tackles (48 solo), three sacks and two forced fumbles this season. Rutgers faces Kansas State in the Rate Bowl on Boxing Day. The six-foot-two, 210-pound Ayomanor, a redshirt junior, was one of the few bright spots this season for Stanford (3-9). He registered 63 catches for 831 yards and six TDs after recording 62 receptions for 1,013 yards and six touchdowns in 2023. Last week, Ayomanor declared for the '25 NFL draft. The six-foot-two, 204-pound Benefield led Boise State in tackles (73), solo tackles (53) and interceptions (two) while also registering five tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and two recoveries. The Broncos are the third seed in U.S. college football's expanded playoffs and face Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31. Elad registered 55 tackles, an interception and six pass knockdowns during the regular season. He added 12 tackles (nine solo) and a sack in the Runnin' Rebels' 24-13 win over Cal in the Art of Sport LA Bowl to finish with an 11-3 overall record. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2024. The Canadian Press
Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley says President-elect Donald Trump’s new pick for U.S. Attorney General is “impressive” and “well-qualified.” Grassley, the incoming chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met Monday with Pam Bondi, the former Florida Attorney General and Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department. The 59-year-old Trump ally was part of a team of lawyers that defended the then-president during his first Senate impeachment trial, where he was accused — but not convicted — of attempting to coerce Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate then-former Vice President Joe Biden, his political rival. Bondi also was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his New York hush-money criminal trial that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. Trump’s sentencing in the case is on hold. A New York judge last month postponed it, giving Trump’s lawyers time to seek a dismissal, and could choose to freeze the case for four years while Trump holds office. Bondi, who served as Florida Attorney General from 2011 to 2019, also was involved in efforts to delegitimize the results of the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost to Biden, falsely claiming that Trump had “won Pennsylvania” at a news conference in Philadelphia and claiming voter fraud, according to reporting by the Tampa Bay Times. She also served on a federal commission during Trump’s first term focused on combating drug addiction and the opioid crisis. Trump named Bondi as his nominee to serve as the country’s top federal law enforcement officer after his first choice, Republican former Florida U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations. Gaetz has vehemently denied the allegations. “Pam Bondi is a well-qualified nominee with an impressive legal career, including eight years as Attorney General of the State of Florida and nearly two decades spent as a prosecutor,” Grassley said in a statement Monday after meeting with Bondi in his Senate office. “Bondi is prepared to refocus the Justice Department (DOJ)’s attention where it ought to be: on enforcing the law and protecting Americans’ safety.” Trump’s pick of Bondi comes as critics fear he will use the Justice Department to prosecute his political enemies. “For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans — Not anymore,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.” Grassley, 91, who has been a staunch advocate of federal whistleblowers and government oversight, said “I’ve found that the Justice Department is often the first to stand in Congress’ way when it’s seeking answers. “It’s time the DOJ prioritize transparency and recommit itself to blind justice, unlike what we’ve seen over the last four years,” he said in a statement. “To achieve this, Bondi will need to show unfailing support for whistleblowers, demonstrate respect for the DOJ Office of Inspector General’s independent oversight and commit to working with Congress to shed light on the Biden administration’s weaponization of the DOJ.” Current U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has defended the department’s integrity and impartiality against claims of politicization. Trump was indicted in two criminal cases by special counsel Jack Smith, whom Garland brought in from outside the department to run the investigations. Grassley said the Senate Judiciary Committee “will move swiftly” to consider Bondi’s nomination when the 119th Congress convenes in January. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Ruben Amorim warned “the storm will come” eventually as Manchester United’s head coach tried to temper expectations ahead of the trip to Arsenal. The 39-year-old has been a breath of fresh air since succeeding Erik ten Hag, with his personality and approach, coupled with promising early performances, bringing hope back to Old Trafford. Amorim has been touched by his warm welcome but repeatedly urged fans to avoid jumping the gun, having followed a draw at Ipswich with home wins against Bodo/Glimt and Everton. Wednesday’s trip to Arsenal is comfortably his biggest challenge yet and victory would see United move within three points of the Premier League title contenders. Put to Amorim it will be hard to manage expectations if they won in the capital, the head coach said: “I would like to say different things, but I have to say it again: the storm will come. “I don’t know if you use that expression, but we are going to have difficult moments and we will be found out in some games. “And I know that because I’m knowing my players and I know football and I follow football, so I understand the difference between the teams. “We are in the point in that we are putting simple things in the team, without training, and you feel it in this game against Everton, they change a little bit the way they were building up. “They are very good team, and we were with a lot of problems because we cannot change it by calling one thing to the captain. A midweek trip to the capital awaits 🚆 #MUFC || #PL pic.twitter.com/1e6VrILJW3 — Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 3, 2024 “So, we don’t have this training, so let’s focus on each game, on the performance, what we have to improve, trying to win games. And that is the focus. “I know it’s really hard to be a Manchester United coach and say these things in press conferences. We want to win all the time. No matter what. “We are going to try to win, but we know that we are in a different point if you compare to Arsenal. “So, it is what it is and we will try to win it and we go with confidence to win, but we know that we need to play very well to win the next football match.” The trip to Arsenal is the second of nine December matches for United, who are looking to avoid suffering four straight league defeats to the Gunners for the first time. The Red Devils have not won a Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium since 2017, but Amorim knows a thing or two about frustrating Mikel Arteta’s men. Arsenal thrashed Sporting Lisbon 5-1 in the Champions League last week, but in 2022-23 he led the Portuguese side to a Europa League last-16 penalty triumph after a 1-1 draw in London made it 3-3 on aggregate. “Arsenal this year, they play a little bit different,” Amorim said. “They are more fluid. “For example, two years ago when we faced them with Sporting, you knew how to press because you can understand better the structure. “Now it’s more fluid with (Riccardo) Calafiori and (Jurrien) Timber in different sides. One coming inside, the other going outside. Also (Martin) Odegaard changed the team, and you can feel it during this season. “So, you can take something from that game, especially because I know so well the opponent so you can understand the weakness of that team. “But every game is different, so you take something, but you already know that you are going to face a very good team.” This hectic winter schedule means Amorim sidestepped talk of January transfer business ahead of facing Arsenal, although he was more forthcoming on Amad Diallo’s future. The 22-year-old, who put in a man of the match display in Sunday’s 4-0 win against Everton, is out of contract at the end of the season, although the club holds an option to extend by a year. Diallo has repeatedly spoken of his desire to stay at United and it has been reported an agreement is close. Amorim said: “I think he wants to stay, and we want him to stay. So that is clear and we will find a solution.”
Longest-lived US president was always happy to speak his mind
Mid-American Conference football goes all in on November weeknights for the TV viewersWolves at Rockets 7 p.m. Friday TV, radio: FanDuel Sports Network Extra, iHeart app Timberwolves update: The Wolves remain in Texas to end a three-game road trip after ending a three-game losing streak with a 105-99 victory over Dallas on Wednesday. They held on after nearly blowing all of a 28-point lead in the fourth quarter. F Julius Randle had one of his best games of the season with 23 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists. Over their past four games, the Wolves have the NBA’s 23rd-rated offense in terms of efficiency. F Joe Ingles (left soleus strain) is listed as questionable. Rockets update: Houston entered Thursday night’s game at New Orleans having won five of six, and defeated the Wolves 117-111 in overtime on Nov. 26 at Target Center. The Rockets have the second-best defensive rating in the league at 105.4 points allowed per 100 possessions. Their offense ranks 13th in efficiency on the strength of Houston being the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the league. C Alperen Sengun averaged 3.3 offensive rebounds per game, ninth in the league. G/F Dillon Brooks was out Thursday because of a right ankle injury.
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TORONTO, Nov. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- European Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (“ ERES ” or “ the REIT ”) (TSX:ERE.UN) announced today an update on the expected closing of its previously disclosed strategic dispositions, and timing of its anticipated special distribution and distribution reduction, as announced in its press release dated September 16, 2024. Strategic Dispositions As disclosed on September 16, 2024, ERES Limited Partnership (“ ERES LP ”) and certain other subsidiaries of ERES have entered into an agreement with an entity owned by a consortium of parties that includes TPG Angelo Gordon, Dream Unlimited Corporation, Stadium Capital Partners, and several co-investment partners (the “ Purchaser ”), to sell certain entities owning 2,947 residential suites in the Netherlands for proceeds, net of certain estimated adjustments, of approximately €695 million (the “Disposition I” ). Approval for Disposition I has been received from the Dutch competition authority (ACM), and the Purchaser has notified ERES of an expected closing date of December 16, 2024. Also as previously announced, certain other subsidiaries of ERES have entered into a separate agreement to sell 232 residential suites in the Netherlands for gross proceeds of approximately €44 million (the “Disposition II” , and together with Disposition I, the “Dispositions” ), which ERES expects will close on December 2, 2024. There can be no assurance that all requirements for closing of the Dispositions will be obtained, satisfied or waived, nor that the Dispositions will close on the dates disclosed herein. Special Distribution Subject to the completion of the Dispositions in accordance with the terms and timing described above, ERES intends to declare a special cash distribution of an estimated €0.75 per Unit and ERES LP’s exchangeable Class B LP Unit (equivalent to an estimated C$1.10 based on the foreign exchange rate of 1.47 on November 21, 2024), payable to holders of the REIT’s Units and ERES LP’s Class B LP Units of record at the close of business on December 23, 2024, with payment on December 31, 2024 (the “Special Distribution” ). For Canadian income tax purposes, the Special Distribution is estimated to be comprised of a return of capital in the range of approximately 55-65%. The Special Distribution will not qualify for the REIT’s Distribution Reinvestment Plan. It is expected that the Toronto Stock Exchange will implement its “due bill” trading procedures with respect to the Special Distribution. Further details relating to the Special Distribution, if declared, will be provided at a later date. The Special Distribution has not yet been declared and there can be no assurance as to the timing, quantum or composition for Canadian income tax purposes of any such distribution. Distribution Reduction Furthermore, as previously announced, given the expected completion of the sale of approximately half of the REIT’s residential suites in 2024 and payment of the Special Distribution, the Board of Trustees intends to reduce its monthly distribution by approximately 50% (the “ Distribution Reduction ”) to better align distributions with ERES’s remaining portfolio. Subject to the completion of the Dispositions in accordance with the timing described above, and subsequent to the payment of the Special Distribution, ERES expects the Distribution Reduction to become effective for its January 2025 distribution, payable in February 2025. Further details relating to the Distribution Reduction, if implemented, will be provided at a later date. There can be no assurance as to the timing or magnitude of any future distributions by the REIT. Property Management Update In addition, with the significant decrease in portfolio size upon anticipated closing of the Dispositions and the associated diseconomies of scale, ERES announced that it has entered into an approximately fee-neutral agreement to transfer property management services for the REIT’s remaining portfolio in the Netherlands to a third party, expected to enter into effect on or about January 15, 2025. Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust will continue to act as the REIT’s asset manager. Proposed Netherlands Tax Amendment Finally, ERES provided an update on the Dutch government’s legislative proposal to amend the earnings stripping rule (by abolishing the €1 million threshold for real estate entities), as published on September 17, 2024. Further to previous disclosure, on November 14, 2024, the Dutch House of Representatives passed an amendment to the legislative proposal pursuant to which the taxable EBITDA threshold would be increased to 24.5% and the €1 million threshold for real estate entities would, however, be retained. Such amendment would maintain the current ability of the REIT’s subsidiaries to deduct net financing expenses for Dutch corporate income tax purposes. The revised legislative proposal is subject to approval by the Dutch Senate, expected by mid-December, and is projected to become effective as of January 1, 2025. There is no assurance that the potential amendment will ultimately be enacted by the Dutch government or enter into force as per the timeline indicated. As such, it is subject to change, and such change (and the impact of such change on the REIT) may be significant. Should the potential amendment be implemented as described above, and after adjusting for the estimated effect of previously disclosed dispositions, the REIT’s forecasted current income tax expense for the year ending December 31, 2025 for the remaining portfolio is approximately €4 million. This assumes ongoing rental operations, however, ERES will continue to explore all available opportunities to drive value, including the possibility for future strategic property sales, which would alter the estimated current income tax expense for the REIT’s residual portfolio. ABOUT ERES ERES is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust. ERES’s Units are listed on the TSX under the symbol ERE.UN. ERES is Canada’s only European-focused multi-residential REIT, with a current portfolio of high-quality, multi-residential real estate properties in the Netherlands. As at September 30, 2024, ERES owned approximately 6,300 residential suites, including approximately 3,200 suites classified as assets held for sale, and ancillary retail space located in the Netherlands, and owned one commercial property in Germany and one commercial property in Belgium, with a total fair value of approximately €1.6 billion, including approximately €0.7 billion of assets held for sale. For more information about ERES, its business and its investment highlights, please visit our website at www.eresreit.com and our public disclosure which can be found under our profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca . CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information, future-oriented financial information, or financial outlooks (collectively, “forward-looking information”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, which reflect ERES’s current expectations and projections about future results. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “outlook”, “objective”, “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intent”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “consider”, “should”, “plans”, “predict”, “estimate”, “forward”, “potential”, “could”, “likely”, “approximately”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, “variation” or “continue”, or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. The forward-looking information in this press release relates only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this press release. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained in this press release. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from this forward-looking information. Although ERES believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking information are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking information will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including regarding the expected completion and timing of the Dispositions, the satisfaction of closing conditions with respect to the Dispositions, the amount, timing and composition of the Special Distribution, the amount and timing of the Distribution Reduction, the expected externalization of property management services, the expected enactment of the proposed tax amendment, and the timing and details of the potential legislation (including that the amendment to the earnings stripping rule will include only the increase of the maximum interest expense deductibility to 24.5% of the taxpayer’s taxable EBITDA, effective January 1, 2025) . Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this press release is subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could result in actual results differing materially from this forward-looking information, including with respect to the expected closing of the Dispositions, the payment of the Special Distribution, and the implementation of the Distribution Reduction. Risks and uncertainties pertaining to ERES are more fully described in regulatory filings that can be obtained on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Except as specifically required by applicable Canadian securities law, ERES does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the information is provided or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. This forward-looking information should not be relied upon as representing ERES’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. 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MENLO PARK, Calif. , Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- GRAIL, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRAL), a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early when it can be cured, today announced that it has granted equity awards in the form of restricted stock units ("RSUs") underlying an aggregate of 115,093 shares of GRAIL's common stock to 46 recently hired non-executive employees as an inducement material to their acceptance of employment with GRAIL. The employment inducement awards were granted under GRAIL's Inducement Equity Incentive Plan and related form of restricted stock award agreement in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The inducement plan is used exclusively for the grant of equity awards to individuals who were not previously employees of GRAIL, or following a bona fide period of non-employment, as an inducement material to such individuals entering into employment with GRAIL, pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The RSUs vest over an approximately four year period, with 25% of the award vesting November 30, 2025 , and on each one year anniversary of those respective dates thereafter, subject to continued employment with GRAIL (or any successor to or subsidiary of the Company) through the vesting dates. About GRAIL GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is focused on alleviating the global burden of cancer by using the power of next-generation sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art machine learning, software, and automation to detect and identify multiple deadly cancer types in earlier stages. GRAIL's targeted methylation-based platform can support the continuum of care for screening and precision oncology, including multi-cancer early detection in symptomatic patients, risk stratification, minimal residual disease detection, biomarker subtyping, treatment and recurrence monitoring. GRAIL is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA with locations in Washington, D.C. , North Carolina , and the United Kingdom . For more information, visit grail.com . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/grail-announces-inducement-grants-under-nasdaq-listing-rule-5635c4-302321454.html SOURCE GRAIL, Inc.YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — On a damp Wednesday night with temperatures dipping into the 30s, fans in sparsely filled stands bundled up to watch Buffalo beat Eastern Michigan 37-30 on gray turf. The lopsided game was not particularly notable, but it was played on one of the nights the Mid-American Conference has made its own: A weeknight. “A lot of the general public thinks we play all of our games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, not just some of them in November,” MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said in a telephone interview this week. “What it has done is help take what was a pretty darned good regional conference and has given it a national brand and made it a national conference.” When the conference has played football games on ESPN or ESPN2 over the last two seasons, the linear television audience has been 10 times larger than when conference schools meet on Saturdays and get lost in the shuffle when viewers have many more choices. The most-watched MAC game over the last two years was earlier this month on a Wednesday night when Northern Illinois won at Western Michigan and there were 441,600 viewers, a total that doesn’t include streaming that isn’t captured by Nielsen company. During the same span, the linear TV audience has been no larger than 46,100 to watch two MAC teams play on Saturdays. “Having the whole nation watching on Tuesday and Wednesday night is a huge deal for the MAC,” Eastern Michigan tight end Jere Getzinger said. “Everybody wants to watch football so if you put it on TV on a Tuesday or Wednesday, people are going to watch.” ESPN has carried midweek MAC football games since the start of the century. ESPN and the conference signed a 13-year extension a decade ago that extends their relationship through at least the 2026-27 season. The conference has made the most of the opportunities, using MACtion as a tag on social media for more than a decade and it has become a catchy marketing term for the Group of Five football programs that usually operate under the radar in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and New York. Attendance does tend to go down with weeknight games, keeping some students out of stadiums because they have class or homework and leading to adults staying away home because they have to work the next morning. “The tradeoff is the national exposure,” Buffalo coach Pete Lembo said. “You know November nights midweek the average fan is going to park on the couch, have a bowl of chips and salsa out in front, and watch the game from there." When the Bulls beat Ball State 51-48 in an overtime thriller on a Tuesday night earlier this month, the announced attendance was 12,708 and that appeared to be generous. There were many empty seats after halftime. “You watch the games on TV, the stadiums all look like this,” Buffalo fan Jeff Wojcicki said. “They are not packed, but it’s the only game on, and you know where to find it.” Sleep and practice schedules take a hit as well, creating another wave of challenges for students to attend class and coaches to prepare without the usual rhythm of preparing all week to play on Saturday. “Last week when we played at Ohio in Athens, we had a 4-four bus ride home and got home at about 3:30 a.m.,” Eastern Michigan center Broderick Roman said. “We still had to go to class and that was tough, but it's part of what you commit to as an athlete.” That happens a lot in November when the MAC shifts its unique schedule. During the first two weeks of the month, the conference had 10 games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays exclusively. This week, there were five games on Tuesday and Wednesday while only one was left in the traditional Saturday slot with Ball State hosting Bowling Green. Next week, Toledo plays at Akron and Kent State visits Buffalo on Tuesday night before the MAC schedule wraps up with games next Friday and Saturday to determine which teams will meet in the conference title game on Dec. 7 in Detroit. In all, MAC teams will end up playing about 75% of their games on a Saturday and the rest on November weeknights. When the Eagles wrapped up practice earlier this week, two days before they played the Bulls, tight end Jere Getzinger provided some insight into the effects of the scheduling quirk. “It's Monday, but for us it's like a Thursday,” he said. Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler said he frankly has a hard time remembering what day it is when the schedule shift hits in November. “The entire week gets turned upside down,” Loeffler said. “It’s wild, but it’s great for the league because there’s two days a week this time of year that people around the country will watch MAC games.” AP freelance writer Jonah Bronstein contributed to this report. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 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
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