US President Joe Biden will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Peru on Saturday for the last of three in-person sit-downs between the leaders during the US president's term in office.

The viral video features young Vivek Ramaswamy, then an 18-year-old student at St Xavier High School, reflecting on his journey through high school.

The immediate-past governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has proceeded on vacation. This is for him to rest and undergo a medical check-up, after a successful two-term as governor of the state. This was disclosed in a statement by his media adviser, Crusoe Osagie, on Wednesday. The former governor completed his two-term administration on November

The Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, has revealed that a phone call from late coach Stephen Keshi and the prospect of international football at age 21 influenced his decision to represent Nigeria instead of his country of birth, the Netherlands, PUNCH Sports reports. The Al-Kholood defender, speaking on the Sports Afterparty Podcast, explained that the

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state on Wednesday presented the total sum of Three Hundred and Ninety Billion, Twenty Million, Two Hundred and Seventy Seven Thousand, Seven Hundred and Forty Naira Only (390,028,277,740.00) to the state House of Assembly as 2025 budget. Governor Adeleke who tagged the 2025 budget as “Budget of Reconstruction and Recovery” […]

The post Gov Adeleke presents N390bn budget to Osun assembly  first appeared on Business Hallmark.

Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong says the team can expect a difficult duel against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic. The Super Eagles will be up against their neighbours in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matchday five encounter at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan on Thursday (today). Benin Republic claimed a famous 2-1 […]

AFCON 2026Q: Benin Republic will be difficult, Super Eagles will conquer – Troost-Ekong

The immediate past governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has embarked on what he described as post-tenure vacation. Obaseki said the vacation would enable him to “rest and undergo extended medical checks.” This was disclosed by the immediate past governor’s spokesman, Crusoe Osagie, via a statement on Wednesday. Osagie said Obaseki, “Once again expressed his […]

Edo: Obaseki embarks on medical vacation

The Paris prosecutor on Wednesday requested a five-year prison sentence and a five-year ban from public office against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, at a trial where she and 24 others are accused of embezzling European Union funds. The trial, which comes almost a decade after initial investigations started, threatens to undermine her party’s efforts […]

[Liberian Observer] A six-member ECOWAS delegation visiting Liberia yesterday concluded a consultative meeting with the leadership of the Liberian Senate, with the Speaker assuring Senators that the delegation was here to seek clarity, and facilitate mediation.

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Mari­time Affairs has prepared the draft of a new shipping policy, which includes provisions aimed at providing financial sec­u­rity to the owners of registered ships.

‘Pakistan Shipping Policy 2024’ will replace Pakistan Merchant Marine Policy 2001, as well as the amended version of 2019. The ministry organised a workshop of stakeholders on Wednesday to discuss the draft of the new shipping policy.

Maritime Affairs Secretary Syed Zafar Ali Shah, chairpersons of port authorities, senior officials of the maritime affairs ministry and stakeholders from the private sector participated in the workshop.

The policy makes it possible by legislation to furnish a bond of adequate amount to owners of any registered ship if it is detained or seized for any reason within the territorial jurisdiction of Pakistan, and it should be within 24 hours after taking the surety bond.

The secretary of maritime affairs informed participants of the workshop that the Shipping Policy 2024 has been made in accordance with the standards and rules of the International Maritime Organisation.

It was noted that the government should ensure that if the case is settled, the bail bonds are returned within one month.

In this regard, a help desk should also be established within the ministry of maritime affairs and special courts related to maritime affairs should also be set up having powers equal to high courts.

The draft proposes that the newly registered Pakistani shipping company will pay $0.75 per gross registered tonnage for five years, while currently the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) is paying $1 per gross registered tonnage on its revenue.

The rebate of $0.25 to new companies is likely to encourage domestic and national investors to show interest in maritime industry.

The draft has proposed that the registered Pakistani shipping companies would be allowed to seek financing from foreign financial institutions and banks.

A proposal to grant tax exemption for 10 years to new foreign shipping companies was brought forward by the participants of the workshop, and they stressed for assistance by state authorities to Pakistan shipping companies in opening foreign currency accounts.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

EA FC 25 players have a whole new Team of the Week to find in packs, with amazing upgrades for Jude Bellingham, Mo Salah, and Marie-Antoinette Katoto

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2. Vivek Ramaswamy's High School Graduation Speech Goes Viral Ahead Of 'DOGE' Appointment With Elon Musk  NDTV
3. Donald Trump's inner circle feeling ‘iced out’ due to his close bond with Elon Musk; here's how Melania feels  Hindustan Times
4. Will Elon Musk be able to cut $2 trillion from US government spending?  BBC.com
5. DOGE days are coming for the US under Trump's two Musketeers  The Times of India

CBC Sports' daily newsletter previews the premier event in international women's team tennis, where Canada is looking to repeat its surprising victory last year.

Bluesky may still be the underdog in the race for alternatives to X, but the once Twitter-affiliated service is gaining momentum. The app just passed the 15 million user mark after adding more than a million new users over the last week, the company said in an update.

While Bluesky is still considerably smaller than Threads, which with 275 million users is its biggest rival, there are signs that Threads users have been increasingly curious about the upstart. “Bluesky” has been a trending topic on Threads in recent days and an in-app search suggestion shows there are more than 19,000 posts about “Bluesky.” Bluesky itself has also made a push to win over Threads users in recent weeks by posting regularly on the Meta-owned service.

That effort seems to be working. A month ago, Engadget noted, the service had just under 9 million users. Its mobile app also has the top spot in Apple’s App Store, followed by Threads and ChatGPT. Its recent success also seems to be driven, at least in part, by frustration with Elon Musk and X following the US presidential election.

A recent report from web analytics company SimilarWeb found that “more than 115,000 US web visitors deactivated their accounts,” on November 7, “more than on any previous day of Elon Musk’s tenure.” The report also noted that “web traffic and daily active users for Bluesky increased dramatically in the week before the election, and then again after election day,” with Bluesky at points seeing more web traffic than Threads. (Threads’ mobile usage, however, is still “far ahead” of Bluesky.)

“In the US, Bluesky got more web visits than Threads in the immediate aftermath of the election,” the report notes. “For context, it’s important to note that both services are app centric, even though they support a web user interface.”

On its part, Bluesky seems intent on distinguishing itself from its larger, billionaire-controlled rivals. The company, which began as an internal project at Twitter before it spun off into an independent entity, has experimented with novel features like custom feeds, user-created moderation services and “starter packs” for new users.

“You're probably used to being trapped in a single algorithm controlled by a small group of people, that's no longer the case,” Bluesky’s COO Rose Wang shared in a video aimed at new users Tuesday. “On Bluesky, there are about 50,000 different feeds … these feeds provide a cozy corner for you to meet people with similar interests. And you can actually make friends again, because you're no longer tied to a dominant algorithm that promotes either the most polarizing posts and or the biggest brands, and that's the mandate of Bluesky.”

It’s Tuesday Wednesday (oops!) and that means new books are hitting the shelves! Fantasy reigns supreme this week, but there are som additional fun titles like a cocktail recipe book and the continuation of a historical mystery series. What new releases are on your TBR pile? Let us know in the comments! (Thank you to everyone who reached out to us! – SW)

Marine Le Pen would be banned from standing for president again at the next election if convicted.

The TRP ratings of the Bigg Boss 18 Weekend Ka Vaar hosted by Rohit Shetty and Ekta Kapoor have been through the roof, much higher than that of Salman Khan.

1. Sri Lanka Leader Seeks to Bolster Power With Parliamentary Vote | Company Business News  Mint
2. Sri Lanka Heads For Snap Elections Today, Results Likely On Friday  NDTV
3. Sri Lanka votes today: President Dissanayake faces litmus test as NPP aims for majority control | All you need to know  Mint
4. Sri Lanka to hold key parliamentary vote on November 14  The Hindu
5. Snap Sri Lankan election poses test for new leader  BBC.com

Musk and Ramaswamy have to find ways to cut down on government spending and overall bureaucracy.

Rupali Ganguly's lawyer Sana Raees Khan of Bigg Boss 17-fame reveals why Anupamaa actress is asking for Rs 50 crore as defamation compensation from her stepdaughter Esha Verma.

Born in the US to Indian immigrant parents, Ramaswamy gained wealth through his biotech company

It is a significant step towards safeguarding the rule of law and fundamental rights of citizens, say Jamiat leaders

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister’s remarks that the IWT hinders J&K’s power capacity spark row; the focus should be the return of power projects from National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, says former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti

Global collection of Amaran in the first 11 days was ₹248 crore, which was far less than the Vijay starrer The GOAT that had a whopping collection of ₹397 crore but ahead of Rajinikanth’s Vettaiyan at ₹225 crore, according to data

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has introduced some reforms since coming to power after the 2016 death of dictator Islam Karimov, but rights groups say the country remains deeply authoritarian

‘Banking Regulations Act does not empower banks to seek transfer of probe into criminal cases registered by States to agency of its choice’

There is stiff resistance from various quarters for the pre-paid Smart Meter Project. It will be difficult to introduce the prepaid functionality at the beginning stages of the implementation, says Minister for Home A. Namassivayam in his memorandum submitted to Union Minister for Power Manohar Lal Khattar

Tilak Varma got ample backing from Abhishek Sharma who made a brisk 50 after SA skipper Aiden Markram invited the visitors to bat first.

With the weather system weakening, IMD has withdrawn heavy rainfall alert for Chennai

Eknath Shinde’s luggage was being checked at the Palghar police ground helipad as part of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

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