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Trump taps Marco Rubio & Michael Waltz, known to be pro-India and tough on China, for top jobs - The Indian Express

  1. Trump taps Marco Rubio & Michael Waltz, known to be pro-India and tough on China, for top jobs  The Indian Express
  2. Donald Trump Sets 'Existential' Battle Against China With Cabinet Picks  NDTV
  3. Trump's NSA pick Mike Waltz's pro-India stand in 5 quotes  Firstpost
  4. Trump's incoming NSA Mike Waltz wants US to dance cheek-to-check with India  The Times of India
  5. Who is Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser?  The Hindu






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News24 | ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan faces sexual misconduct probe

The governing body of the International Criminal Court on Monday announced an external investigation into alleged misconduct by chief prosecutor Karim Khan, who has denied the allegations.




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News24 | EXPLAINER | COP29: What is a carbon credit? What is Article 6?

Countries at the UN COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan will attempt to agree to rules for a global system for trading carbon offset credits.




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velocityconf: RT @avleen: Ok folks, home stretch! We need 10 more people to record short #OpsSchool videos NEXT WEEK at @velocityconf. We can do it!...

velocityconf: RT @avleen: Ok folks, home stretch! We need 10 more people to record short #OpsSchool videos NEXT WEEK at @velocityconf. We can do it!...




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News24 | REVIEW | Showmax's The Station Strangler: A thoughtful exploration of a haunting true-crime mystery

It was inevitable that a big streamer like Showmax would use the story of the Station Strangler for a 99-minute standalone documentary.




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Le Petit Prince Turns 80: A Peek Inside the Library’s Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Collections

Author, poet, aviator and adventurer par excellence, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is one of the most well-known French writers in contemporary history. This year marks the 80th anniversary of his most famous publication, Le petit prince (The Little Prince) published in 1943. Le petit prince is translated into over 250 languages with adaptations into radio plays, films, ballets, operas, musicals, children’s board books, and even an animated film. You can find a copy in Yiddish or the Burundian language of Kirundi.




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Students need over 4 months of extra learning to return to pre-pandemic math, reading achievement

Pandemic academic recovery in both reading and math is lagging notably behind pre-COVID achievement trends for students in grades 4-8 during the 2022-23 school year, according to a new report by NWEA analyzing MAP Growth test scores of 6.7 million students across 20,000 public schools. Third-graders were the only group who saw improvements, and they were slight, according to NWEA, an educational research organization recently acquired by learning technology company HMH.





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Diddy wins third-chance hearing to argue for bail in sex-trafficking case

A federal judge in Manhattan has agreed to hear Sean "Diddy" Combs argue again to be let out of jail pending his May 5 trial date on sex-trafficking.




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Top Ducati executive explains how the Army helped him succeed and shares 2 traits that make veterans great hires

Ducati North America CEO Jason Chinnock enlisted in the US Army out of high school and served with the Third Armored Division in Desert Storm.




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US Navy destroyers unscathed after fighting off a complex attack of cruise and ballistic missiles and exploding drones

The Houthis launched a complex attack consisting of anti-ship missiles and drones, a Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday.






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Trump said he'll unleash an oil boom. ExxonMobil CEO says not so fast.

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said there's not much opportunity for the oil industry to increase production in the short term.




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27 SaaS & Subscription Influencers and Experts to Follow into 2019

If you’re an entrepreneur nurturing your own company to a full-blown success, you are always looking for insights and ideas to take your business to the next level, right? But you’re probably super busy as well, and don’t always have the time to figure out where you should be looking for those insights.




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News24 | Mozambique on the brink: Violence escalates as youth protests extend beyond Maputo

Mozambique is on a knife's edge as young people continue to protest against the outcome of the October elections that extended 49 years of Frelimo rule.




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The Efficacy of Digital Media Resources in Improving Children’s Ability to Use Informational Text: An Evaluation of Molly of Denali From PBS KIDS

Informational text — resources whose purpose is to inform — is essential to daily life and fundamental to literacy. Unfortunately, young children typically have limited exposure to informational text. Two 9-week randomized controlled trials with 263 first-grade children from low-income communities examined whether free educational videos and digital games from the PBS KIDS show “Molly of Denali” supported children’s ability to use informational text to answer real-world questions. Study 1 found significant positive intervention impacts on child outcomes; Study 2 replicated these findings.




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Current State of the Evidence: Examining the Effects of Orton-Gillingham Reading Interventions for Students With or at Risk for Word-Level Reading Disabilities

Over the past decade, parent advocacy groups led a grassroots movement resulting in most states adopting dyslexia-specific legislation, with many states mandating the use of the Orton-Gillingham (OG) approach to reading instruction. Orton-Gillingham is a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive approach to reading for students with or at risk for word-level reading disabilities (WLRD). Evidence from a prior synthesis and What Works Clearinghouse reports yielded findings lacking support for the effectiveness of OG interventions.




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Engaging, Explicit, and Elaborated: An Initial Trial of Media-Enhanced Preschool Vocabulary Instruction

Children from backgrounds of poverty often lag behind more advantaged peers in early language skills, including breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge. We report the results of a pilot study of an explicit and elaborated vocabulary intervention in preschool classrooms serving children from lower-income backgrounds. The intervention used multimodal instruction, including segments from public television children's programs and interactive games, to build children's knowledge of and semantic connections for 128 words across 18 weeks of daily lessons.




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New free extension release: Quick Menu (for Joomla 4)

Today we're launching Quick Menu, a new free admin module for Joomla 4 which adds a handy top-side (desktop) or bottom-side (mobile) menu in the Joomla 4 backend. The purpose of Quick Menu is to restore UX sanity & reduce unnecessary clickity-click.

The main features of this new admin module are:

  • Less clicks to important content management and admin tasks in the Joomla 4 backend... duh!
  • Neatly organize the menu in 2 columns (for admins), one to access common content management tasks and one to access common admin tasks. Keep in mind that not everything is included and for good reason: keep things simple.
  • Respects configured backend access permissions for your user groups. In other words, plain content managers will see menu options for what they can only access, whereas Super Admins will see menu options for everything.

Grab the module from https://www.joomlaworks.net/extensions/free/quickmenu and install like any other Joomla extension.

Afterwards, look it up under Administrator Modules in the Joomla 4 backend, click to edit it, assign the module position "status" and publish the module. Done!

You new backend quick menu will now be available to use.

Quick Menu is compatible with Joomla version 4.x on servers running PHP 7 or 8.

 

DOWNLOAD

You can download this version by visiting the extension's page at: https://www.joomlaworks.net/extensions/free/quickmenu

 

UPGRADING

Updating is easy as future releases will show up in the extension updates page in Joomla.




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The Role of Word-, Sentence-, and Text-Level Variables in Predicting Guided Reading Levels of Kindergarten and First-Grade Texts

Texts classified according to guided reading levels (GRL) are ubiquitous in U.S. beginning reading classrooms. This study examined features of texts across three grade bands (kindergarten, early first grade, final first grade) and the 10 GRLs within these bands. The 510 texts came from three programs with different functions in beginning reading instruction: core, intervention, and content areas.




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Won’t Student Motivation Be Damaged If We Teach with Complex Text?

Teacher question: I understand your claims that teaching students with grade-level texts instead of instructional level texts increases children’s opportunities to learn. However, what about children’s emotional needs, self-esteem, motivation, and self-starting skills when text is challenging. Children who struggle with sight words or sounding out words who are given a hard piece of text will shut down and refuse to try or will act out in the classroom.




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Teaching Students to Use Context

I’m writing this blog because of the disarray I see over the topic of context instruction and the poor instructional practice that it seems to manifest. One confusion is already well recognized, but merits some mention here. The other befuddlement usually goes without remark, and yet it, too, has unfortunate consequences for young readers.




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AI / Deep Learning applications course – with hands-on experience

    New workshop in London / remote Link - Enterprise AI workshop – Sep 2018 – in London or remote     AI / Deep Learning applications course/ mentoring program – hands-on experience with limited spaces I am pleased to announce a new course on AI Applications The course combines elements of teaching, coaching and [...]





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AI labs – a club for #AI research and a chance to gain hands-on experience with AI

  We have been working on this idea over the summer and have now launched the next stage of the AI labs in London Here are some more details. Think of AI labs – as a club for AI research AI labs addresses three problems a)  Today, even if you are working on Machine Learning [...]






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News24 | Public Protector still evaluating 'sexting' complaint against George deputy mayor cleared by DA

While the DA may have found that George Deputy Mayor Raybin Figland had no criminal liability for allegedly sexting a teenage pupil – the Public Protector's office could still probe him for misconduct.




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News24 | Higher education minister clashes with NSFAS head over 'unexplained' suspension of 2 officials

A formal disciplinary process, or lack thereof, around the suspensions of two high-ranking officials at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has pitted Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Pamela Nkabane against NSFAS administrator Freeman Nomvalo.




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News24 | 'Explainer-in-chief': Rasool aims to amplify SA's voice globally in second stint as ambassador in US

When Ebrahim Rasool returns to Washington in December as South Africa's ambassador, one of his primary goals is to reposition Pretoria as a "moral superpower"




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Platform Engineering: The Next Step in Operations

Platform engineering is the latest buzzword in IT operations. And like all other buzzwords, it’s in danger of becoming meaningless—in danger of meaning whatever some company with a “platform engineering” product wants to sell. We’ve seen that happen to too many useful concepts: Edge computing meant everything from caches at a cloud provider’s data center […]




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Texas man wastes $4k smashing a Taylor Swift "themed" guitar

A North Texas man recently spent $4000 on a guitar he believed was signed by Taylor Swift at the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner in Waxahachie, Texas, and then immediately destroyed it with a hammer. Sounds like the guitar was an imposter. — Read the rest

The post Texas man wastes $4k smashing a Taylor Swift "themed" guitar appeared first on Boing Boing.




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Hybrid Flash Multicasting Article in Flex Developers Journal

An article about Hybrid Flash Multicasting that features MediaPlatform's CTO, Greg Pulier, recently appeared in the Flex Developer's Journal.  Click here to link to the article

Here is the opening paragraph:

Hybrid Flash multicasting is the second and decisive wave of innovation that will enable enterprises to stream video without overtaxing their network infrastructures. It eliminates the usual tradeoffs between video consumption and network investment, regardless of increased video traffic in budget-constrained corporate networks. Hybrid Flash multicasting also solves the cost and complexity challenges of IP multicasting. By combining a new form of multicasting, known as application multicasting, which leverages a peer-assisted model of video sharing with an IP multicast network, a video stream can reach virtually everyone on the network using existing bandwidth and infrastructure. Hybrid multicasting finally unlocks the full potential for video within the enterprise by combining IP and application multicasting to deliver streaming media using the most efficient algorithms within a dynamic self-optimizing topology.




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EIT Elsewhere | How to Experience Japan in San Francisco

Get a taste of Japan — without leaving San Francisco! I’m excited to see my latest post is up on Thrillist. Some of my favorite Japan-inspired things to do and ways to experience Japanese history, art, and culture here in the Bay Area. Check it out: How to Experience Japan in San Francisco

The article EIT Elsewhere | How to Experience Japan in San Francisco originated at EverInTransit.com




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From the Archive: Tech Must Get Over Its Superman Complex, Or We’re All Screwed

Five years ago I was posting a lot to a publication called NewCo Shift, which is now offline. I got ahold of the archives, and found this review, which hasn’t lost any of its relevance – in fact, it kind of reads like it was written last week.  Everyone in tech loves Yuval Noah Harari. … Continue reading "From the Archive: Tech Must Get Over Its Superman Complex, Or We’re All Screwed"




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Technology, Humanity, and the Existential Test

I’m still digging through some of the pieces I posted at the now defunct NewCo Shift, and found this piece, adapted from a talk I gave at the Thrival Humans X Tech conference in Pittsburgh back in September of 2018. I was alarmed by trends that I saw intensifying – a push by the tech … Continue reading "Technology, Humanity, and the Existential Test"





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'Warrior for Truth': Trump Has Chosen His Next CIA Director, Crediting Pick for 'Exposing Russian Collusion' Hoax

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen the next director of the CIA. Trump tapped former Texas congressman and director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe for the job. According to a statement […]

The post 'Warrior for Truth': Trump Has Chosen His Next CIA Director, Crediting Pick for 'Exposing Russian Collusion' Hoax appeared first on The Western Journal.




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Commentary: Harris Pushed To Explain Policy Shifts in First Interview as Dem Nominee

Commentary by Philip Wegmann originally published by RealClearPolitics and RealClearWire Kamala Harris shrugged. Asked about former President Donald Trump’s questioning of her racial identity, the vice president replied, “Same old, tired playbook. Next question, please.” And then she laughed. “That’s it?” protested CNN’s Dana Bash, probing for more during the first sit-down interview with the …




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Investigation: Waste of the Day – New Yorkers Spend $25 Million on Ex-Governor’s Legal Troubles

Investigation by Jeremy Portnoy originally published by RealClearInvestigations and RealClearWire Topline: The State of New York has spent $25.4 million to defend former Gov. Andrew Cuomo from sexual harassment lawsuits and criminal investigations over the last three years, The New York Times reported this month. Key facts: More than half of the money was spent …




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The singularity probability of a random symmetric matrix is exponentially small

Marcelo Campos, Matthew Jenssen, Marcus Michelen and Julian Sahasrabudhe
J. Amer. Math. Soc. 38 (), 179-224.
Abstract, references and article information





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A novel method produces native light-harvesting complex II aggregates from the photosynthetic membrane revealing their role in nonphotochemical quenching [Bioenergetics]

Nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) is a mechanism of regulating light harvesting that protects the photosynthetic apparatus from photodamage by dissipating excess absorbed excitation energy as heat. In higher plants, the major light-harvesting antenna complex (LHCII) of photosystem (PS) II is directly involved in NPQ. The aggregation of LHCII is proposed to be involved in quenching. However, the lack of success in isolating native LHCII aggregates has limited the direct interrogation of this process. The isolation of LHCII in its native state from thylakoid membranes has been problematic because of the use of detergent, which tends to dissociate loosely bound proteins, and the abundance of pigment–protein complexes (e.g. PSI and PSII) embedded in the photosynthetic membrane, which hinders the preparation of aggregated LHCII. Here, we used a novel purification method employing detergent and amphipols to entrap LHCII in its natural states. To enrich the photosynthetic membrane with the major LHCII, we used Arabidopsis thaliana plants lacking the PSII minor antenna complexes (NoM), treated with lincomycin to inhibit the synthesis of PSI and PSII core proteins. Using sucrose density gradients, we succeeded in isolating the trimeric and aggregated forms of LHCII antenna. Violaxanthin- and zeaxanthin-enriched complexes were investigated in dark-adapted, NPQ, and dark recovery states. Zeaxanthin-enriched antenna complexes showed the greatest amount of aggregated LHCII. Notably, the amount of aggregated LHCII decreased upon relaxation of NPQ. Employing this novel preparative method, we obtained a direct evidence for the role of in vivo LHCII aggregation in NPQ.




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Russia–China defence and security relations: Insights from the expert community

Russia–China defence and security relations: Insights from the expert community 13 September 2022 — 3:00PM TO 4:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 31 August 2022 Online

Experts share insights on Russia–China military, defence, and security relations. 

In the defence and security realms, Russia–China relations resemble more pragmatic cooperation based on shared, calculated interests than an alliance.

This event presents and discusses key findings from a recent expert survey conducted by Chatham House with the aim to gather insights on Russia–China military, defence, and security relations.

Survey responses helped identify areas of bilateral cooperation but also crucial friction points and obstacles that prevent the relationship from developing further, as well as policy pathways for the West.




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30 Years of Non-Maghreb: What next for Algeria-Morocco relations?

30 Years of Non-Maghreb: What next for Algeria-Morocco relations? 10 September 2024 — 2:00PM TO 3:15PM Anonymous (not verified) Online

Experts discuss Algeria-Morocco relations and implications for regional actors.

In 1989, the establishment of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) brought a promise of economic integration and strengthening of ties between Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia for the benefit and prosperity of their societies.

Decades on, very little has been accomplished in developing the Maghreb project, and the region remains one of the least integrated in the world, despite significant social and cultural similarities between member countries. The last time the full UMA leadership met was back in 1994, with August 2024 marking 30 years of closed borders between Algeria and Morocco.

Relations between the two largest Maghreb countries have deteriorated further since 2020 due to disagreements over issues of Western Sahara, and, most recently, the Abraham Accords, with Algeria cutting diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021.

In this webinar, experts will discuss:

  • Which primary obstacles are hindering Maghreb integration and Algeria-Morocco relations?
  • What are the costs and implications for regional countries?
  • What are the positions of Libya, Tunisia, and Mauritania?
  • What is required for a rapprochement and how can external partners support this? 




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In conversation with David Miliband: Finding a new approach to tackle conflict, climate and extreme poverty

In conversation with David Miliband: Finding a new approach to tackle conflict, climate and extreme poverty 11 September 2024 — 5:00PM TO 5:45PM Anonymous (not verified) Chatham House and Online

David Miliband discusses how the climate crisis, extreme poverty and conflict are becoming inextricably linked and how the global community must respond.

Combatting the climate crisis, ending protracted conflicts, and alleviating poverty are three of the greatest priorities for international action. However, these three challenges become increasingly concentrated in a handful of countries. The subsequent feedback loop makes addressing these challenges even more complex.

The International Rescue Committee’s (IRC’s) work in crisis-affected communities highlights this new geography of crisis. Just 16 countries, which are both climate-vulnerable and conflict-affected. This represents 43% of all people living in extreme poverty, 44% of all people affected by natural disasters and 79% of all people in humanitarian need. This trend towards the concentration of crisis is only deepening. In three decades, the number of conflict-affected, climate-vulnerable states has increased from 44% to more than two-thirds.

Affected countries - like Sudan, Myanmar, and Syria - are also among the least supported financially. Debt burdens are siphoning away critical resources needed for adaptation and resilience. Humanitarian aid budgets are being slashed by donor governments. The private sector refuses to invest in these communities they view as too risky. And the international financial institutions meant to alleviate poverty and spur climate action are not well-designed to work with crisis-affected states or local communities. With the upcoming COP29 Summit in Azerbaijan focused on the New Collective Quantified Goal for climate finance, vulnerable communities will be watching closely whether they will get support in their fight against the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

Conflict, the climate crisis, and extreme poverty are taking their toll. But how can the world best respond?

Key questions to be discussed during the session include:

  • At a time of political disruption, how does the West engage with vulnerable countries? What actions should be prioritised in providing support to such countries?
  • Can global institutions evolve to better protect vulnerable and displaced people from conflict and climate-risk, particularly as geopolitical rivalries reduce space for cooperation?
  • What is the UK’s role in supporting climate action in fragile states and how does this align with its agenda on the Sustainable Development Goals and extreme poverty?




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Director’s Briefing: Assessing foreign policy challenges for the next US president

Director’s Briefing: Assessing foreign policy challenges for the next US president 5 September 2024 — 2:00PM TO 3:00PM Anonymous (not verified) Chatham House and Online

This briefing will explore what challenges might await the winner of 2024 US presidential election.

As the 2024 US Presidential election draws closer, the future direction of American foreign policy seems ever more uncertain. Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, appears to be embracing many of Biden’s policies, but she brings a different background, and most likely a different team, so change is likely.  Donald Trump has more well-known views on foreign policy, but the context for a second Trump administration would be very different than the first.

The next U.S. President will be confronted a world in need of leadership with two major wars, a more assertive and capable China, a climate crisis, ungoverned technological change, emerging powers that demand a seat at the table, and debt distress across much of the developing world.

Please join us for this critical conversation covering:

  • How will US-China strategic competition and the threat of conflict over Taiwan challenge US policy makers?
  • What are the risks and challenges posed by Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine?
  • How does war in the Middle East and the threat of regional escalation shape US foreign policy?