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mcw casino deposit problem SINGAPORE: After alighting from my app-hailed ride and breezing through the automated biometric immigration channel at Changi Airport, I decided I needed a local food fix before boarding my flight. So I made a beeline for the nearest food court, where my appreciation for Singapore’s smart city aspirations quickly evaporated. The food court itself was relatively empty, but at its entrance where there were four self-ordering touchscreen kiosks, were long, slow-moving queues comprising harried airport staff, curious tourists, and hungry local travellers. Stuck in line, I had plenty of time to arrive at the realisation that the kiosks offered too much choice. The dozen food stalls sold eight or more dishes each, each dish customisable to a granular level. The designers of the interface clearly knew local hawker fare like the back of their hands. While useful for regular customers or those familiar with local fare, many tourists can’t tell a laksa from a lamian, or a prata from a pappadum. I’m sure they would have navigated a similar kiosk at McDonald’s with ease, but the sheer number of unfamiliar options at these kiosks seemed to unnecessarily complicate the ordering process. And so, the befuddled foreigners ahead of me took 15 minutes to swipe and scroll their way through each stall’s menu, while Google-ing on their smartphones to research and confer on what certain dishes were. They took another five minutes to order a plate of chicken rice, and five more to pay by credit card. In the meantime, several hungry folks had given up queuing and left. Any local hawker worth their salt would have manually rung up, collected payment for, and served 20 plates of food within that time frame. BAD TASTE When it was my turn, I ordered my mushroom minced meat noodles in one minute (dry instead of soup, mee pok over kway teow, mee kia or mee sua, extra chilli and vinegar, no extra egg, liver or pork balls) – because I knew exactly what I wanted. My heart was also set on a kopi c kosong – black coffee with evaporated milk and no sugar – but it took me five minutes of scanning all 12 stalls’ menus before realising that not a single drink option was to be found. I found this odd, but paid anyway and entered the food court to wait for my noodles. Once inside, I finally spotted a sign right in front of the drinks stall: “Please order your drinks from the drink stall inside the food court”. Shouldn’t that sign have been outside or indicated somewhere on the terminal displays? That experience left a bad taste in my mouth – and it wasn’t my noodles. Isn’t technology supposed to make our lives better and easier? It seems to me that digital solutions in daily life should simplify tasks, rather than make things more complicated because of poor planning or user design. Perhaps operators of food courts that see heavy tourist footfall could have one dedicated terminal marked “This kiosk accepts foreign credit card payment”, programmed to feature a fixed number of popular local dishes for tourists, such as chicken rice, laksa, prata and so on, with brief but eloquent descriptions of each dish. This approach would not only help tourists make quicker decisions, it would also improve customer satisfaction and reduce the chances of them walking away due to confusion or long wait times, potentially increasing revenue for hawkers and food court operators. TECH SOLUTIONS, OR TECH PROBLEMS? The lack of user consideration in tech solutions isn’t noticeable only in airport food courts. How many times have you argued with your rideshare driver about the best route to take to your destination? Online maps sometimes have no real-time idea that certain roads have closed or opened, or that off-road detours allow you to dodge traffic build-ups at popular junctions. Attempts to notify drivers of these are often shut down with a flat “Err I dunno, I just follow GPS”. This year’s SimplyGo debacle is still fresh in many minds, whereby the LTA had to reverse their decision to phase out the older ticketing system following widespread complaints. I’m still annoyed that since giving up my EZ-Link card, I don’t know how much I’m paying for each train or bus ride. It’s not that I find public transport unaffordable; nor am I the penny-pinching sort. It would just be nice to be able to immediately see if I’d been charged S$500 to travel from Novena to Orchard due to some unexpected tech glitch, and report it right away. At supermarkets, I notice that the holdups at checkout counters and self-service kiosks are usually caused by people trying to make payment with app-based vouchers or loyalty points. At restaurants, has anyone ever experienced a situation where after scanning the QR code menu and placing your order, you realise only half an hour later that you’d somehow missed an extra step to double or triple confirm your orders, leaving it unprocessed in the system? Even familiar household gadgets have become too smart for our own good. Imagine dumping yoghurt and berries into your new blender to whizz up a quick breakfast smoothie, but the blender’s smartphone app has hung, and the blender itself doesn’t even have a physical on/off button – and you’re now officially running late. Stories abound on the internet of smart-home owners losing their smartphones and finding themselves unable to operate their lights, air-conditioning, doors or blinds. Many people have been successfully nudged to be more physically active thanks to activity trackers like Fitbits – but cases of orthosomnia are also on the rise, a condition where users get so obsessed with their tracker’s sleep data that they develop sleep disorders. HOW TO MAXIMISE REWARD AND MINIMISE RISK? Some mishaps are downright horror stories. Last month in Toronto, four passengers involved in a car crash died in their burning Tesla after its electronic doors would not open allegedly due to power failure from the crash. (There are manual release levers tucked away somewhere – something that most Tesla owners, let alone passengers in a state of panic or immediate peril, aren’t likely to remember.) I’m not such a Luddite that I believe tech is going to destroy us all. I appreciate how my smartphone connects me to people, goods, services, information and entertainment. And I have high hopes for artificial intelligence in healthcare, especially as healthcare systems in Singapore and all over the world continue to be stretched beyond their capacities. But if the point of tech is to benefit humanity, then it should be designed in a way that maximises said benefits without causing undue disamenities. Tracy Lee is a freelance lifestyle writer based in Singapore.Global Stocks Hit Peak, Powell Bullish on Economy: Markets Wrap

Bitcoin tops $100,000 as big rally sparked by Trump election win rolls onOpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is in a legal dispute with rival Elon Musk, said he is “not that worried” about Musk’s influence in the incoming Trump administration. Altman told a New York Times conference Wednesday that he “may turn out to be wrong” but he strongly believes that Musk will do the right thing. “It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses,” Altman said. “And I don’t think people would tolerate that. I don’t think Elon would do it.” Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk recently escalated the lawsuit by asking a federal judge to stop OpenAI’s plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. President-elect Donald Trump is putting Musk, the world’s richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations. Musk, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, has started his own rival AI company, xAI, that Altman said he considers a serious competitor. Asked about his frayed relationship with Musk, Altman said he felt “tremendously sad” but also characterized Musk’s legal fight as one about business competition. “He’s a competitor and we’re doing well,” Altman said. Altman also addressed another pending lawsuit against OpenAI from The New York Times, host of Wednesday’s DealBook summit of business and political leaders. The Times is among several news outlets that have sued San Francisco-based OpenAI and its business partner Microsoft for copyright infringement in the use of news articles to train AI systems like ChatGPT. The companies have argued they are protected by the “fair use” doctrine of copyright law. “If an AI reads something — a physics textbook — it can learn physics, it can use that for other things like a human can,” Altman said. Lawyers for both sides gathered before a New York federal magistrate judge Tuesday for more than four hours to work out disagreements over how they would collect potential evidence from one another. Depositions are set to begin in January. A lawyer for the newspapers said in court that the publications have confirmed millions of news articles were used for AI training. “Look, I don’t believe in showing up in someone else’s house as a guest and being rude, but I will say, I think The New York Times is on the wrong side of history in many ways,” Altman told Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin during the on-stage interview Wednesday. “We could discuss and debate that and we’ll do that, I think, in court,” Sorkin responded, to laughter from the audience. ———- Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report. ————- The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP’s text archives. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is in a legal dispute Since winning the election, President-elect Donald Trump has been talking One of Venezuela's most popular bands canceled its homecoming tour The outgoing year was a mix of turmoil, innovations and

49ers' visit gives Packers a chance to damage the playoff hopes of their postseason nemesisKane hat trick against Augsburg hides Bayern's concerning lack of goalsWhat a week! On Monday, police arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione and charged him in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione’s five-day run from authorities ended after he was spotted eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 300 miles from Manhattan, where Thompson was gunned down on the morning of December 4. Authorities say they found Mangione carrying fake IDs and a 3D-printed “ghost gun,” the model of which is known as the FMDA, or “Free Men Don’t Ask.” Meanwhile, a flood of mysterious drone sightings across New Jersey and neighboring states caused so much havoc, it quickly gained federal attention. While many people wondered why the US military couldn’t just shoot down the drones , the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and independent experts say the drone mystery may not be much of a mystery , and the drones are probably mostly just airplanes. As for more terrestrial threats, we dove into the far-right realm of “Active Clubs,” small groups of young, fitness-focused men who are steeped in extremist ideology and linked to several violent attacks. While the man who helped invent the Active Club network, Robert Rundo, was sentenced in federal court this week, Active Clubs around the world are proliferating. Finally, we investigated cheating schemes that use tiny cameras to gain an illicit edge in poker , and we interrogated the ways humans will use generative AI to make the world a more dangerous place . But that’s not all. Each week, we round up the privacy and security news we didn’t cover in depth ourselves. Click the headlines to read the full stories. And stay safe out there. Microsoft’s AI Recall Tool Found Saving Credit Card and Social Security Numbers Back in May, Microsoft jubilantly announced Recall, an AI feature for some Windows PCs that silently takes screenshots every five seconds and then allows you to easily search through the resulting digital footprint. Forgotten where you saw a recipe online? Tapping a couple of keywords into Recall could, in theory, find the dish again. It didn’t take long for the privacy and security community to find gaping holes in the feature . In response, Microsoft delayed Recall’s launch and eventually made some significant changes —such as making Recall opt-in rather than on by default, better encrypting information captured by Recall, and adding authentication to access data that it stored. Recall finally launched for some users this month. However, this week, testing of Recall by Tom’s Hardware demonstrated that a key safeguard put in place by Microsoft can still fail. With a Recall setting called “filter sensitive information” turned on, Tom’s Hardware’s tests found that it still took screenshots of some sensitive information—such as credit card numbers and Social Security numbers. When the publication typed a credit card number and a username and password into a Notepad window, they were gathered in the screenshots. “Similarly, when I filled out a loan application PDF in Microsoft Edge, entering a social security number, name and DOB, Recall captured that,” Avram Piltch writes . The tool, however, didn’t record details when they were entered on a couple of online stores. Microsoft pointed to its product information that says the system will get better over time and that people should report if sensitive information is captured by Recall. While that may be the case, it’s unlikely that any system can correctly determine what is and isn’t sensitive every time. And that could make it a bigger target for hackers. 14 North Koreans Identified and Indicted as Fraudulent IT Workers For years, North Korean nationals posing as tech workers have tried to get hired by global businesses so they can send their wages back to help the Hermit Kingdom pay for its nuclear programs. Increasingly, some companies are revealing they were targeted, and investigators are unravelling the schemes. This week, the US government indicted 14 North Koreans for their alleged role in generating $88 million , stealing sensitive business information, and attempting to use that information to extort more payments from companies. To get hired, the FBI alleges, the IT workers stole real identities, paid people in the US to use their home Wi-Fi connections, or paid them to attend job interviews. Researchers from Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant who focus on North Korea say that in recent months they’ve seen IT workers following through on leaking sensitive data and demanding more cryptocurrency than ever before—although, they say this desperation could be a sign of the schemes becoming less effective. Cleo File-sharing Software Exploited to Spread Cybercriminal Malware File-sharing software firm Cleo this week warned customers to implement a new security patch to prevent a wave of intrusions by cybercriminals actively exploiting a vulnerability in its code. Researchers at security firm Huntress Labs told news outlet Recorded Future that at least two dozen organizations have already been breached by the hackers exploiting the Cleo flaw. Huntress has found a sample of malware found on those victims’ networks it calls Malichus, and says it appears to have been used by a sophisticated hacker group. Huntress also noted that Blue Yonder, a software firm breached by the Termite ransomware gang in November, had a vulnerable instance of Cleo’s software exposed on its network, and some evidence suggests the same cybercrime group may now be using the software’s vulnerability to hit other victims. Cleo first released a patch for the bug currently being exploited in October, but hackers appear to have circumvented it, and the company is urging customers to apply its new patch now. US Sanctions Chinese Hackers Who Allegedly Hijacked Thousands of Firewalls For five years, UK cybersecurity firm Sophos engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with a mysterious group of Chinese hackers targeting the company’s firewalls as a vector to break into its customers’ networks, as WIRED chronicled in October . Sophos went so far as to download surveillance “implants” to its devices that the hackers were testing to better monitor and preempt their intrusion techniques—and to gain more information about who they were and where they operated. Now, following Sophos’s revelations, those hackers have been hit with sanctions from the US government, and one of them has been indicted by name. Sichuan Silence Information Technology, based in Chengdu, and an alleged hacker named Guan Tianfeng are accused of hijacking 81,000 firewalls by exploiting a zero-day vulnerability that Guan is said to have discovered. Sichuan Silence, a known seller of disinformation tools to the Chinese government, and Guan are accused of targeting 23,000 firewalls in the US specifically, 36 of which were used in US critical infrastructure networks. The US State Department also issued a $10 million bounty for information about the company or Guan.

MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) — Losing a Cabinet nominee to the confirmation process isn't unheard of for incoming presidents — including for Donald Trump when he was elected the first time. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) — Losing a Cabinet nominee to the confirmation process isn't unheard of for incoming presidents — including for Donald Trump when he was elected the first time. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) — Losing a Cabinet nominee to the confirmation process isn’t unheard of for incoming presidents — including for Donald Trump when he was elected the first time. Chad Chronister’s announcement Tuesday that he was pulling out of consideration to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration makes the Hillsborough County, Florida, sheriff the second of Trump’s picks to withdraw after being announced as leaders of the incoming administration. The withdrawal follows Matt Gaetz’s decision to pull his name last month from consideration for attorney general — amid continued fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation. Together, the moves are the first indications of resistance that the president-elect could face from his own party, including picks facing allegations of sexual misconduct or other questions. Here’s a look at some recent difficulties with presidential Cabinet picks and some of the criticism for Trump’s current slate: Republicans voicing their doubts Chronister — whose name was announced on Saturday as Trump’s DEA pick — was met with swift condemnation from some conservative figures over his enforcement of lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, Chronister arrested the pastor of a megachurch who held services with hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order in place aimed at limiting the spread of the virus. U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky, was among those airing public complaints, saying Chronister should be “disqualified” for the arrest. After Gaetz was chosen last month, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Judiciary Committee member who is among Trump’s top Senate allies, predicted he would “have to answer some tough questions” in a confirmation hearing. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a Trump critic, said of Gaetz, “I do not see him as a serious candidate.” Other Trump picks face questions, too. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary, was accused by a woman of sexually assaulting her in 2017. Hegseth has denied her allegations. Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman chosen to be director of national intelligence, has expressed sympathy for Russia and repeated false Russian theories about Ukrainian bioweapons. Gabbard, a military veteran who became one of Trump’s top 2024 surrogates, has attracted criticism for meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and has voiced skepticism that Assad was behind chemical attacks on his own people. Nikki Haley, who was the last major GOP opponent against Trump for this year’s presidential nomination, argued against confirming Gabbard, saying the post was “not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer.” Haley also said Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services — should face “hard questions” from senators due to his opposition to vaccines and other views decried by public health officials. “He’s a liberal Democrat, environmental attorney trial lawyer who will now be overseeing 25% of our federal budget and has no background in healthcare,” Haley said. “So some of you may think RFK is cool, some of you may like that he questions what’s in our food and what’s in our vaccines, but we don’t know, when he is given reins to an agency, what decisions he’s going to make behind the scenes.” Republicans will have 53 votes in the Senate in January and can break 50-50 ties with Vice President-elect JD Vance. That means four Republicans would have to break ranks to defeat any nominee if all Democrats oppose a Trump pick. This has happened before — including to Trump Every recent president has had some doomed Cabinet nominations — including Trump himself. In early 2017, Trump’s choice for labor secretary was the first Trump nominee to withdraw his name from consideration. Fast food CEO Andrew Puzder’s exit came after Republicans expressed concern over his failure to pay taxes promptly on a former housekeeper who wasn’t authorized to work in the U.S., and Democrats had complaints about Puzder’s business record and remarks about women and workers at his company, which owns Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. Puzder’s name has been floated recently again as a possible pick in Trump’s second administration. Trump also ousted his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, after just weeks on the job because Flynn wasn’t truthful about his contacts with Russian officials during the transition. The first year of Trump’s first term, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned after his costly travel triggered investigations that overshadowed the administration’s agenda and angered his boss, serving less than eight months. According to the Brookings Institution, which tracks presidential administration turnover, Trump’s first term resulted in the turnover of a total of 14 people, nearly twice the amount — 8 people — of President George H.W. Bush’s term in office, a distant second place. Other presidents’ picks Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and both Bush and his son George W. Bush all had to come up with new names after nominees for their Cabinets ran into trouble. Obama took three tries to find a secretary of commerce. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his name after the word surfaced that a grand jury was investigating allegations of wrongdoing in the awarding of contracts in his state. Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire backed out citing “irresolvable differences” with the policies of the Democratic president. In 2001, Linda Chavez — George W. Bush’s pick for labor secretary — swiftly withdrew after it emerged that she had housed an immigrant living in the country illegally. Bill Clinton went through several attempts at selecting an attorney general, nominating Janet Reno after both of his first two choices withdrew over word that they had hired people who had been in the U.S. illegally for household work and babysitting. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. The Senate rejected George H.W. Bush’s defense secretary pick, former Texas Sen. John Tower, in 1989 after several waves of reports over allegations of alcohol abuse and womanizing. ___ Associated Press writer Nancy Benac in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP Advertisement AdvertisementNoneGovernors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the aegis of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), have joined the people of Nasarawa state to celebrate Governor Abdullahi Sule as he marked his 65th birthday. Imo state governor and Chairman PGF, Senator Hope Uzodimma, made this known in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists in Abuja on Thursday. According to the statement, the progressive governors celebrated Governor Sule for his outstanding leadership, visionary approach, and unwavering dedication to building a united and prosperous Nigeria under the banner of the APC. The PGF equally lauded the governor’s contributions to the forum, demonstrated through strategic and resolute efforts in Nasarawa state’s governance and at the national level. Senator Uzodimma extolled Governor Sule’s initiatives to transform Nasarawa state, spanning infrastructure development, welfare programmes, empowerment, agricultural growth, education, healthcare, industrialisation, and bold leadership to drive the state’s progress. The PGF Chairman added that the Governor Sule was setting a new standard for leadership. He commended Sule who he described as an embodiment of the true progressive and innovative governance. The statement read in part: “The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) joins HE Abdullahi Sule, the Governor of Nasarawa state, in celebrating his 65th birthday. “We stand with the good people of Nasarawa state and other well-meaning Nigerians to commemorate this special occasion with him and his family. “As we rejoice with HE Abdullahi Sule, we reaffirm our collective commitment to implementing programmes that will strengthen the capacities of our progressive states to create jobs, reduce inequality, and diminish poverty in Nigeria. “Once again, congratulations and Happy Birthday to HE Abdullahi Sule!”

( MENAFN - AFP) Dominant in the electric car sector, Chinese companies have been quietly consolidating their position in the lesser-watched trucking scene -- but foreign tariffs and a perceived quality gap could signal roadblocks ahead, experts warn. The domestic supply chain and low-price strategy that helped make China's EV car industry world-leading are being leveraged by established automakers and start-ups alike, aiming to similarly transform trucking. Electric trucks currently represent less than one percent of truck sales worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) -- with China making up 70 percent of those sales in 2023. But the agency said it was "optimistic" policy and technology developments would see more widespread adoption in the next 10 years. "This industry, I believe, is ripe for disruption," Han Wen, the founder of start-up Windrose, told AFP on a factory floor as the company's first vehicles for delivery were assembled behind him. Fleets of electric heavy goods vehicles from China have been growing internationally, even as Western countries target the country's EV cars with heavy sanctions. Chinese companies like BYD and Beiqi Foton have shipped trucks to countries including Italy, Poland, Spain and Mexico, and have opened assembly plants around the world. "China's trucks are generally cost-competitive in emerging markets," Stephen Dyer, from consulting firm AlixPartners, told AFP. "For mature markets, performance and durability do not yet meet the needs of most customers, but that is changing." When it comes to emissions, "heavy-duty trucks are considered one of the more difficult to abate transport segments (after aviation and shipping)", IEA analyst Elizabeth Connelly told AFP. - Battery issues - A major challenge is the trade-off between battery size and range. "The larger the battery, the longer the range. But the larger the battery, the heavier the truck... and the worse the fuel economy," Connelly said. Chinese manufacturers have been seen as producing lower quality products than foreign counterparts. "Historically, Chinese trucks tended to have a shorter useful lifecycle than European or Japanese trucks," AlixPartners' Dyer told AFP. While that perception is changing, China's flagship companies still lag rivals on factors like range and battery capacity. According to the Zero-Emission Technology Inventory, the median Chinese heavy duty truck range is 250 kilometres (155 miles), compared with 322 km in the United States. BYD -- which in October beat Tesla in quarterly revenue for the first time -- says its 8TT model's range is 200 kilometres, compared with the 800 kilometres promised by Tesla's Semi truck. But Chinese manufacturers could close the gap quickly. Han's Windrose says its semi-trucks can go up to 670 kilometres on a single charge. Meanwhile, battery giant CATL has rolled out truck battery-swapping facilities -- where drained units can be immediately replaced, eliminating charging time altogether. China's existing EV ecosystem is a massive advantage. "We're very lucky to have the Chinese supply chain (for EVs)," said Han, noting Windrose was using an electric bus company's factory to build its trucks. "There's no doubt that China also will have an edge on the electrification of heavy-duty trucks." - 'Not normal times' - More unpredictable are the testy geopolitical waters the sector risks stalling in. This year has seen important trading partners including the European Union and the United States impose hefty tariffs on Chinese EV cars, saying Beijing's state aid to automakers undercut their own firms. China refutes this, but as its EV truck footprint grows globally, so could the risk of similar action being taken. "Governments in potential export markets want to protect their local industries," Sam Fiorani, at AutoForecast Solutions, told AFP. US President-elect Donald Trump has promised huge tariff hikes on Chinese imports once he takes office. "Since EV truck volume is smaller than passenger EVs, there is a chance that EV trucks would fall a little under the radar in normal times," AlixPartners' Dyer said. But "these are not 'normal times' anymore and anything Chinese is high profile in the US government currently", he added. Some companies have already taken steps that could mitigate this risk. BYD proudly touts its trucks as being "assembled by union workers in Lancaster, California", while it has announced plans to build a factory in Mexico, and has plants in Hungary and Romania. Windrose's Han told AFP the firm has consciously spread its operations across multiple countries, moving key headquarters to Belgium earlier this year. "We do embrace the fact that every major market would like its own domestic supply chain of EV," he told AFP. But he added: "You have to start in China. We then try to move the supply chain globally... But you have to start in China. There's no alternative." MENAFN14122024000143011026ID1108993555 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.

In a stunning turn of events, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has rescinded a martial law declaration just hours after it was announced, following unanimous rejection from parliament. The declaration aimed at suppressing 'anti-state forces' among political opponents marked South Korea's most significant political crisis in decades. Protesters celebrated the decision outside the National Assembly, demonstrating against Yoon's controversial move. The Democratic Party demanded Yoon's resignation, questioning his capability to govern. Danny Russel, a former U.S. diplomat, remarked that South Korea narrowly avoided disaster, though Yoon's own political standing may be irreparably damaged. The international community, including the U.S., expressed relief at the resolution of the crisis, noting potential instability. As South Korea navigates potential snap elections and economic ramifications, North Korea watches closely, potentially benefiting from its neighbor's domestic unrest. (With inputs from agencies.)

BEIJING , Dec. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Baijiayun Group Ltd ("Baijiayun" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: RTC), a one-stop AI video solution provider, today announced it was honored with the title of "Exclusive Member Unit". In recent days, the First Council of the Artificial Intelligence Education Professional Committee of the Beijing Educational Informationization Industry Alliance and the 2024 Symposium on Artificial Intelligence Empowering the Innovative Development of Primary and Secondary Schools were successfully held at the Affiliated Experimental School of Beijing Institute of Technology. Nearly 200 renowned experts, leaders of education bureaus, principals of primary and secondary schools, front-line educators, and representatives of artificial intelligence technical support units from Beijing , Tianjin , Hebei , Liaoning and other places attended the conference. This conference was hosted by the Beijing Educational Informationization Industry Alliance, Baijiayun was also invited to participate in the conference and , together with many well-known enterprises in the industry, and won the honor of "Exclusive Member Unit" of the Beijing Educational Informationization Industry Alliance. In the future, Baijiayun will work with the Beijing Educational Informationization Industry Alliance to continue to carry out research and promotion on educational informationization industry technologies across China , promote in-depth cooperation across disciplines, departments, and industries, jointly build an educational informationization development platform, create an industrial resource integration platform, an application service platform, and a technology transformation platform, share the fruits of development, give play to the supporting and leading role of educational informationization in educational modernization, and further promote the innovative development of the national education cause. About Baijiayun Group Ltd Baijiayun is a one-stop AI video solution provider with core expertise in SaaS/PaaS solutions. Baijiayun is committed to delivering reliable, high-quality video experiences across devices and localities and has grown rapidly since its inception in 2017. Premised on its industry-leading video-centric technologies, Baijiayun offers a wealth of video-centric technology solutions, including Video SaaS/PaaS, Video Cloud and Software, and Video AI and System Solutions. Baijiayun caters to the evolving communications and collaboration needs of enterprises of all sizes and industries. For more information, please visit ir.baijiayun.com . Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements." These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the parties' perspectives and expectations, are forward-looking statements. The words "will," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend," and "plan" and similar expressions indicate forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and shareholders and other potential investors must recognize that actual results may differ materially from the expectations as a result of a variety of factors. Such forward-looking statements are based upon management's current expectations and include known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are hard to predict or control, that may cause the actual results, performance, or plans to differ materially from any future results, performance or plans expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information provided herein represents the Company's estimates as of the date of this press release, and subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's estimates to change. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking information in the future. Therefore, this forward-looking information should not be relied upon as representing the Company's estimates of its future financial performance as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. A further list and description of risks and uncertainties can be found in the documents the Company has filed or furnished or may file or furnish with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which you are encouraged to read. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate only to the date they were made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made except as required by law or applicable regulation. For investor and media enquiries, please contact: Company Contact: Ms. Fangfei Liu Chief Financial Officer, Baijiayun Group Ltd Phone: +86 25 8222 1596 Email: ir@baijiayun.com View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/baijiayun-was-honored-with-the-title-of-exclusive-member-unit-by-the-beijing-educational-informationization-industry-alliance-302331799.html SOURCE Baijiayun Group LtdFACT FOCUS: Vermont ruling does not say schools can vaccinate children without parental consent

Electric Bus Market to grow by USD 21.0 Billion from 2024-2028, driven by reduced battery prices, with AI transforming market trends - TechnavioBluesky versus Threads: A new survey shows a deep political divide between social media's newest rivalsNEW YORK: Oil futures fell nearly 2% on Wednesday as investors awaited an imminent Opec+ decision on production cuts, while a larger-than-expected draw in US crude stockpiles last week lent some support to prices. Brent crude futures fell US$1.31, or 1.78%, to settle at US$72.31 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell US$1.40, or 2%, to US$68.54. On Tuesday, Brent posted its biggest gain in two weeks, rising by 2.5%. The market was on tenterhooks, with investors focused on the upcoming Opec+ meeting, analysts said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in Opec+ meet on Thursday, and are likely extend output cuts until the end of the first quarter of next year, industry sources told Reuters. "While a delay to unwinding production cuts is expected, the rhetoric out of the meeting is going to have the biggest sway," said Matt Smith, Kpler lead Americas oil analyst. Opec+ has been looking to phase out supply cuts through next year. A single bank sold a large volume of US oil futures contracts in early afternoon trading on Wednesday, a source told Reuters, pushing prices down more than 1% within minutes and causing traders to scramble to decipher the reason. US crude stocks fell more than expected last week as refiners ramped up operations, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. Gasoline and distillate stockpiles rose by more than expected during the week. "A pop in refining activity with runs climbing to a high not seen since the summer has resulted in a see-saw of crude inventories drawing and products building," Smith said. The bullish momentum only lent some support to prices. A shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, South Korea's curtailed declaration of martial law and a rebel offensive in Syria that threatens to draw in forces from several oil-producing countries all lent support to oil prices, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. In the Middle East, Israel said on Tuesday it would return to war with Hezbollah if their truce collapses and that its attacks would go deeper into Lebanon and target the state itself. In South Korea, lawmakers have submitted a bill to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law on Tuesday, which was reversed within hours, sparking a political crisis in Asia's fourth-largest economy. — Reuters

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FOX45: Johnny Olszewski resigns from Baltimore County Executive position, prepares for US CongressGeorgia state senators work on real world guardrails for fantastical world of AI

ORLANDO, Fla. — The silence has been broken, amid Miami Heat hopes that silence now can follow. In the wake of increasing conjecture of Jimmy Butler pushing for a trade and the team considering a deal, Miami Heat President Pat Riley on Thursday issued a terse and pointed statement on the matter. “We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches,” Riley said. “Therefore, we will make it clear — we are not trading Jimmy Butler.” In addition, a person intimately familiar with the machinations of recent days said that at no point has Butler requested a trade. Earlier, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra also said Thursday that the desire of the team is to move forward with Butler, while also pausing to address reports of his star forward preferring to be elsewhere. “That’s just the deal,” Spoelstra said of Christmas Day turning into conflicting reports of Butler privately expressing a desire to move elsewhere and the Sun Sentinel confirming from both sides of the equation that there had been no trade demand put forward. “You have to compartmentalize in this business. We want Jimmy here. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. And it’s just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the outside.” Thursday was the first opportunity for the Heat to address the speculation, with the team idle for Christmas, traveling to Orlando on Wednesday evening. Spoelstra spoke after the morning shootaround, ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center. “In terms of this morning, this was a pretty focused group coming off of the last game that we came here,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat blowing a 22-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter in Saturday night’s 121-114 loss in Orlando. “The guys understand the task at hand and looking forward to getting out there on the wood and trying to redeem what happened the last time we were here.” It is a process that instead came in the wake of the ESPN discussion about Butler’s reported desires, with Butler having been away from the team the past week with what has been listed as a stomach ailment. Asked whether Butler had within the team expressed a desire to move on, Spoelstra said, “That’s all I’m going to talk about. The more any of us talk about it, the more fuel it gets. It’s just really unfortunate that it just continues to build momentum outside of our building.” Riley’s statement followed, amid the hopes of ending the fuel on that fire. As team captain, center Bam Adebayo said what matters with Butler is what happens on the court and within the building. “You go out there and you win games,” Adebayo said. “That’s how you keep the distractions out. You go out there and win games, do it together. Like I said, they’ll handle everything behind closed doors. “Obviously, you have the business side of it. So at the end of the day, we’re all a family, we’re all in a brotherhood. So we’ll worry about the basketball games that we have to play.” So, no, Adebayo said, the conjecture did not sour his Christmas. “It’s a holiday. We’re with our families, so we’re going to worry about our families and worry about everything else later,” Adebayo said. Guard Tyler Herro, who has dealt with his share of trade speculation, said Wednesday’s televised conjecture was just part of the NBA process. “I didn’t really have a reaction, honestly,” he said of the reporting on Christmas morning. “My focus is on my daughter and my son, and I haven’t really picked up my phone or worried about basketball until this morning. So, I don’t know.” Herro said the concern was getting a teammate back to health and back on the court. “Yeah. I mean, Jimmy is sick, I believe,” Herro said. “So he had to take a couple days off. If I was sick, I might need a couple days one day, too. So we’ll see what happens.” Butler, 35, is eligible to reach free agency this summer should he opt out of the final year of his contract, a 2025-26 player option for $52.4 million. He also is eligible for an immediate Heat extension. By NBA rule, players are not allowed to publicly demand trades while under contract. Former Heat forward P.J. Tucker was fined $75,000 by the NBA in February for public statements regarding a desire at that time to be relocated from the Los Angeles Clippers. Similarly, in August 2023, James Harden, then with the Philadelphia 76ers, was fined $100,000 by the league for publicly expressing a trade desire. Butler, at least initially, played along with the conjecture, including changing the color of his braids to bright orange, a color prominently featured by the Phoenix Suns, one of his reported preferred landing spots. “I actually like it,” Butler said following a Dec. 11 Heat practice at Kaseya Center of the conjecture. “It’s good to be talked about. I don’t think there’s such a thing as bad publicity to a point. But if somebody is talking about me getting traded, that’s a lot.” Now there again is talk. “It’s fine with me,” Butler said two weeks ago of speculation that likely will continue until either a move is made or the passing of the NBA’s Feb. 6 trading deadline. “It doesn’t bother me, not one bit, and I do appreciate it.” Asked as a follow up to that answer about where he stands in terms of a potential long-term future with the Heat, he responded, “Who knows?” ©2024 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Visit sun-sentinel.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Tech rally boosts indexes to record closing highs