Brock Purdy's display in loss to Bills should have big impact on 49ers quarterback's looming contract talksA campaign to stop wealth flowing out of Blaenau Gwent has been launched by Smart Money Cymru Community Bank. With the support of Blaenau Gwent County Council, the bank is offering a new community investment bond to businesses, charities, societies, renewable energy funds and other organisations looking to invest their funds safely, ethically and with a good return. Blaenau Gwent Councillor Jules Gardner said: “The purpose of this campaign is to offer local organisations a safe home for their investments and so, in turn, allow Smart Money Cymru to use that capital to lend to its members in Blaenau Gwent and other parts of South Wales boosting the economy and in turn improving living standards.” The bond, which can be from £10,000 and up to £85,000, offers good returns over fixed terms. And as well as a fair rate of interest, the CIB offers significant social returns for investors. A document highlighting the benefits of the CIB was launched at the Tredegar offices of Smart Money Cymru. The community bank has six staffed offices in South Wales providing face to face banking to its 14,000 members who benefit from its sophisticated loans and savings products. Chairman of Smart Money Cymru Alun Taylor said: “We are keen to keep wealth working hard for people in the area and I am sure this message will resonate with those who control the finances of businesses, charities, local authorities and other organisations. “We are proud of our role and the ways in which our work supports community cohesion and this is explained in detail in the document. “This means that an investor in a CIB is not only supporting their community, but can also be seen to be investing socially and ethically,” he said. More than 70 per cent of Smart Money’s current loans have been to people living in the most deprived areas of Wales, according to the Wales Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Serina Therapeutics Secures $10 Million Financing to Continue Advancing Lead IND Candidate into Phase 1 Clinical Trial in Advanced Parkinson's Disease PatientsSEOUL, South Korea — A jetliner skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames Sunday in South Korea after its landing gear apparently failed to deploy. All but two of the 181 people aboard were killed in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters , officials said. The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air plane arrived from Bangkok and crashed while attempting to land in the town of Muan, about 180 miles south of Seoul. Footage of the crash aired by South Korean television showed the plane skidding across the airstrip at high speed, evidently with its landing gear still closed, and slamming into the wall, triggering an explosion and generating plumes of thick, black smoke. The crash killed 179 people, the South Korean fire agency said. Emergency workers pulled two crew members to safety. They were conscious and did not appear to have any life-threatening injuries, health officials said. The chief of the Muan fire station, Lee Jeong-hyeon, told a televised briefing that the plane was completely destroyed, with only the tail assembly still recognizable in the wreckage. Officials were investigating the cause of the crash, including whether the aircraft was struck by birds, Lee said. The control tower issued a warning about birds to the plane shortly before it intended to land and gave the crew permission to land in a different area, Transport Ministry officials said. The crew sent out a distress signal shortly before the crash, officials said. Investigators retrieved the jet's flight data and cockpit voice recorders, said senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan. He said it may take months to complete the probe into the crash. The runway will be closed until Jan. 1, the ministry said. Video of the crash indicated that the pilots did not deploy flaps or slats to slow the aircraft, suggesting a possible hydraulic failure, and they did not manually lower the landing gear, suggesting they did not have time, said John Cox, a retired airline pilot and CEO of Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. Despite that, the jetliner was under control and traveling in a straight line, and damage and injuries likely would have been minimized if not for a barrier being so close to the runway, Cox said. “It’s all in one piece. Everything is coming along fine until it hits that wall, at which point it disintegrates into a catastrophe,” he said. Another aviation expert said videos showed the aircraft had used up much of the runway before touching down. With little braking ability, the aircraft skidded atop its engine cowlings, said Ross “Rusty” Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts. “It's basically like skidding on ice,” he said. The Boeing 737-800 is a "proven airplane" that belongs to a different class of aircraft than the Boeing 737 Max jetliner that was linked to fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, added Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines and now a consultant. More than 4,500 of the planes are in service around the world, according to the aviation analytics company Cirium. One of the survivors was being treated for fractures to his ribs, shoulder blade and upper spine, said Ju Woong, director of the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital. Ju said the man, whose name was not released, told doctors he “woke up to find (himself) rescued.” Details on the other survivor were not immediately available. The passengers were predominantly South Korean and included two people from Thailand. Officials identified 88 of them in the hours after the crash, the fire agency said. Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed condolences to the families of those aboard the plane in a post on X. Paetongtarn said she ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide assistance. Boonchuay Duangmanee, the father of a Thai passenger, told The Associated Press that his daughter, Jongluk, had been working in a factory in South Korea for several years and returned to Thailand to visit her family. "I never thought that this would be the last time we would see each other forever,” he said. Kerati Kijmanawat, the director of Thailand's airports, confirmed in a statement that Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 departed from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport with no reports of anything abnormal aboard the aircraft or on the runway. Jeju Air in a statement expressed its “deep apology” over the crash and said it will do its “utmost to manage the aftermath of the accident.” In a televised news conference, the company's president, Kim E-bae, bowed deeply with other senior company officials as he apologized to bereaved families and said he feels “full responsibility” for the crash. He said the company had not identified any mechanical problems with the aircraft following regular checkups and that he would wait for the results of government investigations. Family members wailed as officials announced the names of some victims at a lounge in the Muan airport. Boeing said in a statement on X that it was in contact with Jeju Air and was ready to support the company in dealing with the crash. The crash happened as South Korea is embroiled in a political crisis triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and ensuing impeachment . South Korean lawmakers on Friday impeached acting President Han Duck-soo and suspended his duties, leading Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take over. Choi, who traveled to the site in Muan, called for officials to use all available resources to identify the dead as soon as possible. The government declared Muan a special disaster zone and designated a weeklong national mourning period. Yoon’s office said his chief secretary, Chung Jin-suk, presided over an emergency meeting between senior presidential staff to discuss the crash and reported the details to Choi. Yoon expressed condolences to the victims in a Facebook post. In Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said he joined in “prayer for the survivors and the dead.” U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States was ready to offer “any necessary assistance.” The Muan crash is one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation history. The last time South Korea suffered a large-scale air disaster was in 1997, when a Korean Airlines plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people on board. In 2013, an Asiana Airlines plane crash-landed in San Francisco, killing three and injuring about 200. Sunday’s accident was also one of the worst landing disasters since a July 2007 crash that killed all 187 people on board and 12 others on the ground when an Airbus A320 slid off a slick airstrip in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and hit a nearby building, according to data compiled by the Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit group aimed at improving air safety. In 2010, 158 people died when an Air India Express aircraft overshot a runway in Mangalore, India, and plummeted into a gorge before erupting into flames, according to the safety foundation.

Las Vegas Raiders Tight End Brock Bowers made history in Sunday afternoon’s 25-10 win on the road against the New Orleans Saints. He surpassed Hall of Famer Mike Ditka for the most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in league history. Bowers finished the game with 1,144 receiving yards. Bowers was drafted No. 14 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2024 NFL Draft and has taken the league by storm in his rookie campaign. He is third in the league in receptions and ninth in receiving yards. Bowers has been one of the lone bright spots on a Las Vegas Raiders team that has struggled this season. Will Bowers be able to finish the regular season strong? Las Vegas Raiders Season Summary Brock Bowers stands alone The most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in NFL history! pic.twitter.com/hasSGbr8aY — ESPN (@espn) December 29, 2024 Las Vegas(4-12) has seen their draft position tumble after wins in consecutive weeks. The Raiders have struggled on offense this season. They are 25th in total yards per game and 28th in points per game. The team has had a revolving door at quarterback with Gardner Minshew , Aidan O’Connell, and Desmond Ridder all having time under center for the Las Vegas Raiders this season. The team’s defense has been middling this season. The loss of All-Pro Defensive Lineman Maxx Crosby has hampered the defense’s performance though. Even when healthy in 2024, Crosby did not look like himself. The Vegas defense is 11th in yards allowed and 24th in points allowed. The defense of the Las Vegas Raiders has fought hard this season, but they have not been helped by their poor offense. Final Thoughts Bowers will look to put a bow on a tremendous rookie season next week. Las Vegas will close out the regular season at home against the Los Angeles Chargers . Even though the Raiders have won two straight games, it is too little too late. This winning streak may also alter the course of the team’s history. Vegas was seemingly destined for a top 1 or 2 pick, but they are now drafting eighth in the 2025 NFL Draft . This article first appeared on Total Apex Sports and was syndicated with permission.Saints QB Derek Carr injures left hand on dive in 4th quarter of win over Giants

President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Samuel Agbeluyi, recently had an interactive session with members of the Finance Correspondent Association of Nigeria (FICAN), during which he shed some light on President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills and also explained why the proposals are for the overall good of the country’s economy. Tony Chukwunyem reports President Tinubu’s tax reform bills, currently before the National Assembly, have sparked a lot of controversy among various groups in the country, with some critics questioning the President’s decision to send the bills to the lawmakers at this time. What is your take on the issue? I’m not here to say whether the timing of the tax reform bills is right or wrong. I even believe that it is right and that we need those amendments passed as quickly as possible so that the Nigeria can actually benchmark its economy against other countries’. As we are speaking, a lot of people want to invest in Nigeria. The President is going all over the world, marketing the country. It is good to market the country, but the people who are coming into Nigeria, will do their background check; they will still do all the necessary findings before they come because you are just one of several countries in the world. So for them to come, there has to be certainty on what they want to put on the table. I will give you an example. Taxation is a major point; it is a major variable that they must be sure of before they come in. So for tax professionals, how do you advise an American or a French person that we have about 65 types of taxes; how do you explain that? You are already demarketing the country yourself. And if you don’t say it, you are telling lies and as a professional you are not supposed to tell lies. These 60 or 65 taxes, depending on the state you are visiting, exclude the activities of non-state actors; those ones who would come to your shop and ask you to do something (part with your money) otherwise they would disrupt your business. You are carrying goods from one point to another and they are not allowing you to do that. So for tax professionals we have been longing for this kind of bill so that we will have certainty of the law guiding and administering the tax arrangement in the country. Also, statistics reveal that only nearly five different types of taxes that we have among the 60 or 65, are actually bringing in over 90 per cent of our tax revenue. Now how do you bother the system, disturb a business, disturb a company, disturb the personnel working with company with about 60 different types of taxes that are not helping the country? If revenue is by the number of taxes that you collect, Nigeria’s tax to GDP will be over 30 per cent. So why are we struggling with a low tax to GDP ratio? So, it means that we just have those things as nuisance tax as we call them. You are not helping the system. President Tinubu mentioned his dislike for multiple taxation immediately after he assumed office and he walked the talk and set up a committee and we are where we are today. So to me, that we are bringing sanity to the tax space is a great thing. Imagine the fact that companies receive letters from local government that they want to check their books; states will write that they want to check their books for various tax responsibilities; FIRS will also write. The laws that set up these tax laws and responsibilities allow for audit. So you can’t say FIRS don’t come and audit me. FIRS can call you for audit and they can do investigation. The state has the same power. So when you subject somebody who is operating in a very hostile business environment to this kind of tax administration, you are not helping that system. And after sometime, people don’t want to do business again. They will prefer to put their money in treasury bills. They would say, let me invest somewhere else and I won’t need to bother myself with diesel, generator and these people coming from revenue office. That is not helping us because you can only create employment when people do business; when they set up companies. So the benefits of the tax reform bills are enormous. You have the benchmark for the threshold for small business being raised from 25 per cent to 50 per cent; that is a major move. What they are saying is that, have more money in your hand; go and do your business; once you are prosperous enough, then you can visit us or we can visit you. But if you are still operating between the 25 and 40 per cent threshold, most likely, your working capital will be impaired. And you know getting money from the banks, particularly for SMEs in Nigeria, is a tall order. Also, you know that you can’t drive economic activities with taxation because without economic activities there will be no taxation. The moment you put too much pressure on companies, they will fold up and they will not be there tomorrow for you to collect anything. Can you share your views on the debate over the proposed derivation of Value Added Tax (VAT) based on consumption? We have talked so much about derivation as if it is the only thing in the VAT bill. If you buy equipment, before now, the money you expend to put the infrastructure for the equipment and the like in place, let’s say N200 million, by virtue of what we have as at today, depending on the nature of that equipment, you can’t retrieve your money until five or 10 years. But what is being proposed in this bill is that your equipment, the amount you spend on assets, will be zero rated. Zero rated means that you can claim the input. So that in that year, you will claim the input and that is all and of course your turnover or whatever it is that is your output. Another aspect of the benefit of this bill is that before now, once you do the differential and government needs to refund money to you, under this bill, the process for refund is made simpler. But as we speak and I have been in practice for quite some time, no company can get refund from the FIRS until they subject you to another round of audit and that will take years. So the amount of relief that is being given to the tax payer under this proposal is enormous. And again I repeat that the derivation principle, if it would pose a problem, then it can dropped. Everybody must be carried along. If state A is not doing well the fall out of not doing well will get to the state that is doing well. So beyond economic activity you also need to look at the social aspects of the bill and the political balancing, that is fair. How would you react to the view that the reason there is so much controversy about the tax reform bills is that the Presidency didn’t consult widely enough before sending them to the National Assembly? There was a lot of consultation among tax professionals within the six geo political zones in the country, but evidently it is not enough. And I think it won’t be enough. What we tax professionals need to know is that we have talked to ourselves and those who were not part of the consultation have all the facilities to read what was going on. But for the political leaders, I was expecting a lot of consultations and buyin, because without buy in, this massive change will look strange to some people and that is what we are seeing. I expect that consultation at this level to be led by the President himself. This is because Nigeria has a lot to gain once this thing is successful and we have a lot to lose should it not be successful-God forbid. So I expect the Presidency, the political leaders to lead the consultations. Let’s not be carried away; and that is why as an Institute, we are sticking to the technical points. The political leaders know how they can actually talk to themselves. So we recommend that this should be done immediately so that everybody will be on the same page. Won’t low income earners be adversely affected by these bills as it appears they are not being consulted? I don’t see how it will adversely affect them. Even at the point of deliberation on the bill some state internal revenue chairmen asked questions about who would be paying personal income tax in form of PAYE in the their states under the new minimum wage. Now, let’s work with the statistics. What do you actually receive from somebody receiving N30, 000? In any country, the big people are the ones who actually pay personal income tax and statistics have shown that they are under 10 per cent. So we have all the big people in the country so what they need to do is to be good. Now there is another school of thought that says don’t exempt anybody; once they pay N1 or N2 into the pocket of the government it gives them the moral right; a sense of belonging. But ‘sense of belonging’ for somebody who is dying? So, I think that the voice for exception for low earners should be louder. Years ago, I represented this Institute-I was not the President then- at a public hearing held by the National Assembly on minimum tax. As an Institute we have spoken against minimum tax. This is because, minimum tax is capital erosion. Somebody has done his business for a year, he didn’t make profit (because you are supposed to subject his profit to tax computation), but he didn’t make profit and you say he must do minimum tax. Where is he getting the money from? From his capital. So you are eroding the capital. And in Nigeria, we have gone through a lot of trails, if I can use that word. As the President said: ‘Let the poor breathe’. If we must follow that slogan, then exempt the low earner so that Nigeria will be better. What is likely to be the impact of the tax reform bills, if passed, on financial inclusion? I will go back to the cashless economy policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its naira redesign programme. For those of us who have travelled outside this country, how often do you see people carrying cash? God help you if you are a black man and you get to any store in London and you bring out 100 pounds or 50 pounds. I have met a Briton who said he has never sighted 50 pounds in his life time. And we are carrying cash up and down in Nigeria. Who benefits? I’m speaking to the benefits of cashless economy and the naira redesign programme. Whatever the immediate past CBN Governor has done right, we acknowledge; whatever he has not done right, we isolate and deal with it on its merit and not to throw everything into the dustbin. So let’s take the very reasonable conclusion on the cashless economy: many people should have access to banking services. However, to do that, you also need to talk to CBN. The outrageous charges are also one of the things driving people away from the banks. Thank God for the fintechs; those ones are doing better. And I say to the established banks; they’d better wake up on time before they drive all of us to the fintechs. I have entered major hotels in this country and I bring out my debit card and I see Moniepoint or Opay and I say, where are the big banks of this world? Let it not be like NITEL and the experience we are having now. So don’t drive away people from the banking sector through outrageous charges. Once you don’t do that many people will come into that space and of course it will be easy to trace transactions. Furthermore, government must hold consultations on the tax reform bills at a very senior level; it should not be left to technocrats alone. When they are in a meeting and there are aspects that are not too clear to them, they can bring in technocrats to make our presentations and we leave the hall for them. They understand their language; they know how to talk to themselves. They need to do that at this time. But the most important thing is this. Let us assume that all the issues are resolved and the bills become an Act. If we give our money in terms of our tax payments to the government and we still see this kind of lifestyle shown by Local government chairmen, spouses of local government chairmen, state governors and by the leadership at the Federal level, it will be difficult for you to have voluntary compliance. I say this with all emphasis. So we appeal to our political leaders- it is a fiduciary duty to the nation-before you leave large go and be a Dangote. And the Dangote himself is not even living large. So as a political leader stop living large at our expense; tone down the opulence. Once you do this, you will restore the trust deficit that has been lost. Once the trust deficit is restored then there will be voluntary compliance, once there is voluntary compliance, cost of collection will go down and revenue will go up. This is the way to go; this is what we recommend to government. We won’t be tired of giving our recommendations. This is because we are the ones advising people to go and pay your taxes; it’s the right thing to do; its what will make Nigeria great and so on. The Economic stabilisation bills, which we pray will turn into an Act, will not on its own make Nigeria an el dorado. What will make Nigeria an el dorado is very good usage of tax revenue.TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State leading receiver, Jordyn Tyson , will not play in Saturday's Big 12 championship game against No. 16 Iowa State due to an unspecified injury. Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham said on Monday that Tyson is out indefinitely after being injured in the second half of No. 12 Arizona State's 49-7 win over Arizona last Saturday. "I don't want to give a complete three- , four-month out timetable but he's going to be out indefinitely," Dillingham said. Editor's Picks Betting odds, lines for college football conference championships 7h ESPN Tyson was injured in the third quarter after landing hard on his left side while being tackled. He left the stadium wearing a sling on his left arm. Tyson saw limited playing time last season while recovering from a knee injury suffered while he was playing for Colorado the year before. This season, he led the Sun Devils with 75 catches for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns. Tyson had eight catches for 143 yards and a touchdown against Arizona before the injury.

EUGENE — Dan Lanning led Oregon into the Rose Bowl earlier this season, but that was for a night game with a rebuilding UCLA team, not for the Granddaddy of Them All. Lanning and the No. 1 Ducks will return to Pasadena as the top seed in the College Football Playoff on Jan. 1. Oregon’s next postseason destination, which was set with its Big Ten Championship win Saturday night, was formalized Sunday afternoon as the full 12-team field was set. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of this game,” Lanning said. “Being on this side of the country this is a game you dream of the opportunity to coach in. This is one of these games, this is one of the ones that I haven’t got to do yet. It’s certainly a thrill for me. “Obviously a big fan of our program and influencer on our program is Phil Knight and Phil has always told me his No. 1 goal is can we get to the Rose Bowl? I’m extremely ecstatic that our team gets to be a part of such a historic game, the Granddaddy of Them All. This will be a fun one for us and I know our players are looking forward to preparing for that moment to get out on that field.” CFP quarterfinal: No. 1 Oregon (13-0) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (10-2)/No. 9 Tennessee (10-2) When: Wednesday, Jan. 1 Time: 2 p.m. PT Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California TV channel: ABC/ESPN Oregon Ducks football 2024 season schedule, scores Sign up for The Ducks Beat newsletter Oregon will face the winner of No. 8 seed Ohio State and No. 9 seed Tennessee, which will play in Columbus, Ohio on Dec. 21 (5 p.m. PT, ESPN). The CFP selection committee set a bracket that avoids conference or regular season rematches in the four first-round games and in three of the four quarterfinals, with the Rose Bowl being a potential exception if the Buckeyes beat the Volunteers to play the Ducks a second time. As has been the case all season when asked about less than ideal scheduling circumstances, Lanning took a positive outlook on Oregon’s draw. “What an opportunity for us,” Lanning said. “I’m excited about getting the opportunity to compete in the Rose Bowl. I think that regardless the end-all goal, you’re going to get to play some unbelievable teams in that process. I’m excited that we get to go play against great competition. That’s what playoff moments are about.” -- James Crepea covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter .Harvey Weinstein Hospitalized Following 'Alarming Blood Test'London: The UK will end a tax exemption for private schools on Wednesday, the centre-left Labour government has announced, in a move set to raise over £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) for public education . ET Year-end Special Reads What kept India's stock market investors on toes in 2024? India's car race: How far EVs went in 2024 Investing in 2025: Six wealth management trends to watch out for After years of worsening educational inequalities, from January 1, private schools will have to pay 20 percent value added tax on tuition fees, which will be used to fund thousands of new teachers and improve standards in state schools. "It's time things are done differently", finance minister Rachel Reeves said in a statement on Sunday. The funding will "go towards our state schools where 94 percent of this country's children are educated", she said. The policy was promised by Labour in its election campaign and officially laid out in its inaugural budget in October. Artificial Intelligence(AI) Java Programming with ChatGPT: Learn using Generative AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI: Unveiling Tomorrows Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Mastering C++ Fundamentals with Generative AI: A Hands-On By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Performance Marketing for eCommerce Brands By - Zafer Mukeri, Founder- Inara Marketers View Program Office Productivity Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance A2Z Of Money By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Marketing Modern Marketing Masterclass by Seth Godin By - Seth Godin, Former dot com Business Executive and Best Selling Author View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Strategy Succession Planning Masterclass By - Nigel Penny, Global Strategy Advisor: NSP Strategy Facilitation Ltd. View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital marketing - Wordpress Website Development By - Shraddha Somani, Digital Marketing Trainer, Consultant, Strategiest and Subject Matter expert View Program Office Productivity Mastering Google Sheets: Unleash the Power of Excel and Advance Analysis By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program It hopes the move will bring in £1.5 billion for the 2025/2026 school year and rise to £1.7 billion a year by 2029/2030, which will be used to fund 6,500 new teachers in the public sector. Tuition fees in private schools already average £18,000 a year, according to the Independent Schools Council, which represents private schools. That figure is set to rise, with the government estimating that tuition fees will increase by around 10 percent, with schools taking on part of the additional cost. "High and rising standards cannot just be for families who can afford them," said education secretary Bridget Phillipson. Opponents of the reform say state school enrolment will explode if the private sector is lost, increasing the cost to the government. But studies contradict this. The Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated that the number of children in state schools will actually fall by 2030 due to a projected population decline. Several research centres also point out that the disparity between private and state schools widened sharply under the 14-year Conservative rule. The Labour government won a landslide election in July promising to boost economic growth and improve public services. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said Kyiv needed an "enduring" peace to protect it from Russia, after talks in Paris with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who warned he would "probably" reduce aid to Ukraine. Trump had earlier said Zelenskyy was keen for a "deal" and called for negotiations to start. The pair met a day earlier with French leader Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee. Trump, in an interview aired Sunday but recorded before the Saturday meeting, said his incoming administration would reduce aid to Ukraine, which Washington has been steadfastly backing since its invasion by Russia nearly three years ago. "Possibly. Yeah, probably, sure," Trump told NBC's "Meet the Press". Trump has boasted he could end the conflict swiftly without saying how. Moscow and Kyiv are readying for his arrival in the White House, with an escalation in deadly attacks in recent weeks in the drawn-out conflict. The Ukrainian president, who had previously opposed any territorial concessions, has eased his position in recent months. His army is struggling on the front line and fears are mounting of dwindling Western aid. Zelenskyy has floated the idea of temporarily forgoing Russian-controlled areas -- about one fifth of Ukraine -- in exchange for NATO security guarantees and weapons deliveries from the West. "I stated that we need a just and enduring peace -- one that the Russians will not be able to destroy in a few years, as they have done repeatedly in the past," Zelenskyy said on social media. Almost three years of war have ravaged Ukraine, killing thousands and leading millions to flee the country. "Ukrainians want peace more than anyone else," said Zelenskyy. "Russia brought war to our land, and it is Russia that most seeks to disrupt the possibility of peace". He called on Western allies not to "turn a blind eye to occupation" and said Kyiv would only agree to a deal that would bring long-term peace. "War cannot be endless -- only peace must be permanent and reliable," he said. In a rare admission of numbers, Zelenskyy said 43,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed in combat, while some 370,000 were wounded. Russia has not put an official figure on its losses, but independent media outlet Mediazona and the Russian service of the BBC -- working from publicly available data -- have estimated they have lost more than 82,000 soldiers. Some analysts believe the true figures on both sides could be higher. Zelensky gave no specifics on what any talks might look like, but a senior Ukrainian official said they had discussed "some key conditions" for ending the war. "We are not disclosing details, but the presidents discussed at the meeting that there should be something that would guarantee the reliability of the peace," the source added. The Kremlin, meanwhile, accused Ukraine of "refusing" to negotiate an end to the war. It said its conditions to enter peace talks -- which include Kyiv giving up four regions -- remain unchanged. "The Ukrainian side refused and is refusing negotiation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He referred to a 2022 Ukrainian decree that ruled out talks with Putin, but not other Russian officials. Trump had earlier called for an "immediate ceasefire" and called for talks to begin. "Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse," he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump has said he has good relations with Putin. As leaders made statements in Kyiv, Moscow and Paris, the situation on the ground in eastern Ukraine remained dire. Moscow claimed another village in the east -- Blagodatne in the Donetsk region -- on Sunday, pressing steady gains. Russian forces are just a few kilometers away from the eastern city of Pokrovsk. Many in Ukraine have feared that Trump taking office would force it to make heart-aching concessions to Russia, while the nation is also suffering exhaustion. In the village of Osynovo in the eastern Kharkiv region, news of the meeting between Trump and Zelensky offered some hope to one of the frontline village's last remaining residents, Mykola Lytvynov. Cleaning earth from vegetables in his backyard, the 80-year-old said he hoped the meeting could help bring about a negotiated end to the conflict. "How long can we be at war? So many people have been killed, so many young people. And you see the massive level of destruction," he told AFP. He suggested Ukraine could have retained more of its territory by already entering into talks with Russia, but said he hoped for an end to the fighting for another, personal reason. "Both my sons are fighting. I just want them to survive." Ukraine also said that two civilians had been killed in the Donetsk region and a 73-year-old man in a village in the southern Kherson region. Kyiv said seven other people were wounded in attacks in other villages of the Kherson region.Please enable JavaScript to read this content. If Geoffrey Kariithi, former head of civil service in Kenyatta and Moi governments was a big tree, Martha Karua was the small axe that fell him. A towering figure not just in Kirinyaga but also nationally, Kariithi had upon retiring from the civil service joined politics, was elected MP Gichugu in 1988 and appointed assistant minister for tourism. When the winds of change swept the country and multiparty was reintroduced, Kariithi quit KANU, decamping to Ford, which eventually split into Ford Kenya and Ford Asili. He had no idea that a young lawyer going by the name Martha Njoka, and who had schooled with his daughter Liz, was ready to take him on, and retire him for good. First they sized up each other in the Ford Asili nominations, and Kariithi got the upper-hand. Determined, Martha crossed to Democratic Party (DP) and moved for the kill in the main election. My decision to run was received well by many. However, it was also met with a measure of skepticism by, among others, some of my professional colleagues, who wondered whether I could make it in the murky world of politics. It did not escape my attention that similar declarations of intent to run by my male colleagues were met with affirmation, not skepticism. I realised then that even among colleagues, some still considered elective politics a preserve for men. This was but a warning of what lay ahead; double standards in the treatment of women seeking space at the political table. I remember some of my senior colleagues in the newly formed political party, Ford, opining that I ought to have sought their express support before declaring my intention to run. I didn’t quite understand why this was necessary since they, too, were first- time aspirants just as I was. While we could give one another mutual support, I did not understand why I was being treated as the underdog. Thankfully, there were many, especially among the young lawyers, who supported me morally and financially. My circle of female friends, notably Ms Beatrice Nduta, Martha Koome, Ms Gladwell Wanja Kaara (the late) and Ms Terry Kantai took turns accompanying me to Gichugu for engagements, especially at the introductory stage of my campaign. In Gichugu, my consolation came mainly from women, the youth and the few men who encouraged and affirmed my candidature and believed in my nascent dream. Family support has been and continues to be the bedrock of the strides I have made in politics and leadership. Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter My family, especially my parents, endured marginalisation and even outright hostility in social circles, particularly in the early days of my entry into politics. Despite this, they stood by me. Their solid support helped me through a gruelling and back-breaking campaign against an established competitor, who then enjoyed the support of the local administration and security agencies. The start of this journey was rough and tough. But who said that life is meant to be easy? In Ford, curiously, women were hardly ever given opportunities to speak at rallies, despite having seats on the podium, yet men many of whom had name recognition-were given party positions at the drop of a hat, not to mention speaking opportunities that enhanced their visibility wherever we went for campaigns. I realised that I needed to claim my space or fade into oblivion. In our first Ford rally in Nairobi, I sat patiently at the dais, waiting for my chance to speak. As I waited, I realised that the master of ceremonies was prioritising politicians who had hurriedly abandoned the ruling party Kanu, to seek space within the ranks of the nascent Opposition. Suddenly, I heard Geoffrey Kariithi, who had just resigned from Kanu, and his Gichugu parliamentary seat, called to the podium as the next speaker. He was set to be one of my foremost competitors for the Gichugu parliamentary seat. Changing the narrative Even though I had already been a long-serving member of the struggle, this fact was being overlooked, and a newcomer was receiving preferential treatment. I shot up from my seat and briskly walked towards the Master of Ceremony, Kimani Wanyoike as if he had just called out my name Mr Wanyoike, a renowned political player of the time and an astute politician, on seeing me, realised I was determined to beat the scheme hatched to overshadow me. He at once conveyed “my greetings” to the huge crowd, who reacted with a thunderous applause. I went up to him, looked him straight in the eye and firmly but politely asked/ him to hand over the microphone to me, and he obliged. I then made a brief address, during which I declared that I would be vying for the Gichugu parliamentary seat. Although this was a national rally, it was important to me that I lay claim to the territory ahead of anyone else. Kariithi spoke immediately after me without much acclaim from the people. By then, I was a household name due to my social and political activism. However, I was well aware that name recognition can fade as fast as it rises if not sustained. Our second Ford rally was in Embu, which neighbours my home county. As I was patiently waiting for my turn to speak, the Master of Ceremonies invited a well-known politician of the day, Waruru Kanja, now deceased, to speak but also announced that the latter would be the last speaker of the day. I let Kanja walk up to the podium and then followed him. He was a towering figure. When he felt my presence, he turned towards me, and I asked him to kindly hand over the microphone to me as soon as he was done speaking. I stood behind him and after his address, he handed the mic to me making me the last speaker. Once again, I announced my intention to vie for the, Gichugu parliamentary seat. This was especially significant because there were many people from Gichugu at that rally. Following my assertive presence in these two rallies, I noticed a shift among the male fraternity occupying the Ford party’s leadership. I was henceforth promptly invited to speak upon arrival at any of our rallies. It was as if they were getting rid of a nuisance to let the rally settle. Whichever the case, I was happy to claim my space among what I saw as the political brotherhood then dominated by elderly men. This, no doubt, contributed to my eventual success on the ballot. Ford experienced internal wrangles and split into two parties - Ford Asili led by Kenneth Matiba and Ford Kenya led by Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. The Kanu regime was only too happy to register the two factions. I opted for Ford Asili. During the Ford Asili party nominations in September 1992, I competed with Kariithi for the position of party chair for Gichugu Constituency. Beating the scheme For me, this was a dress rehearsal for the parliamentary election slated for later that year. To my utter horror, the party elections were openly manipulated in favour of Kariithi, prompting me to abandon them midstream. I lodged a complaint but soon realised redress would be elusive due to the influence my competitor wielded in the top echelons of the Ford Asili party. In consultation with my strategy team and supporters, I decided to leave Ford Asili and join the Democratic Party of Kenya (DP), led by former Vice President and Finance Minister Mwai Kibaki who had resigned from the ruling party Kanu, on Christmas Eve 1991. He was then the DP’s presidential flag bearer. I, on the other hand, became the party’s candidate for the Gichugu Constituency following party nominations (primaries). That decision ensured that Kariithi and I would eventually square it out on the ballot. My children at the time were six and four years old respectively. The campaigns were often characterised by gender-based verbal invective and some- times physical violence by Kariithi’s supporters against mine. My supporters, including some close relatives involved in my campaigns, were often subjected to harassment. The police were hardly ever receptive to our complaints, which emboldened the attackers. On nomination day, as was the norm those days, all candidates travelled to Kianyaga, the constituency headquarters, to present their nomination papers to the constituency returning officer. I had the largest crowd among the candidates present. Harassment, death threats While this process was ongoing, I was threatened with violence and death by a section of Kariithi’s supporters. I took these threats seriously and changed vehicles as I headed home. My convoy was attacked just before reaching home. It was not lost on me that the attack targeted the car, which I had used to go to the presentation of nomination papers that morning. This was, to me, a clear indication that I was the target of the attack. The occupants, including a young woman named Ms Wambura, who had long hair like mine, were attacked with crude weapons, such as machetes and sticks. Ms Wambura and my cousin, Mr Kibuchi, suffered severe injuries that required hospitalisation. It was traumatic for everyone, especially my children, to see people soaked in blood as the injured were being ferried to hospital. From that day on, I had to make security arrangements for myself, my convoy and my campaign meetings, having realised that the police had abdicated their duty to protect all without fear or favour. My security consisted of a few trained but retired security personnel and youth volunteers, many of whom were recruited from among my supporters. Gender, marital status cards One of the key issues raised by my main opponent and his campaign team was my marital status. They pushed the narrative that an unmarried or divorced woman was unfit for leadership. Rather than getting drawn into responding to their provocations, I stayed focused on what truly mattered demonstrating why I was the best candidate to represent Gichugu in Parliament. I kept my eyes on the ball. My campaign grew stronger each day, which convinced me that I was on the right track. Being a youthful candidate, a majority of the young voters identified with me, making my support base mainly youth and women. With time my support spread across all age groups. I made it to Parliament, exhausted but proud. The gender and marital cards my detractors had raised against me had not deterred my journey to elective politics. I became Gichugu’s first elected female MP. I was subsequently re-elected three consecutive times, making me the first MP in my constituency and the county to be elected for four consecutive terms, a record I still held at the time of writing this book. Our swearing-in ceremony as newly elected MPs was held in the National Assembly three weeks after the elections. I invited my parents to accompany me to the landmark event during which all newly elected members took their oath of office. Since my marital status had been made a big issue by my competition, I decided to revert to my maiden name immediately after the campaigns. I prepared the necessary legal instruments and completed the process before the swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected Parliament. Thus, I campaigned as Martha Njoka but was sworn in as Martha Karua. After the swearing-in, I had the duty to familiarise my constituents and the general public with my change of name. I often tagged along with my children to functions in the constituency, mainly to church on Sundays. I used these occasions to introduce them by their surname, Njoka, and with a light touch, I would point out that my children’s surname was Njoka simply because it was their father’s name. Name change I would then conclude by informing them that henceforth, they should address me as Martha Karua for the simple reason that it was my fathers name. I did not have to do this for long as word of mouth was effective in spreading the message I sought to convey. I similarly changed the name of my legal practice from Martha Njoka and Co. Advocates to Martha Karua and Co Advocates. The coverage of parliamentary proceedings by the media also greatly helped highlight my change of name. This, as I jokingly told my friends, was to show a bit of style to my detractors who thought that marital status was such a big issue in elective politics. After our swearing-in, we proceeded on a three-week break before regular parliamentary sittings started. This gave us time for our orientation in parliamentary procedures. It also gave me time to figure out how to juggle between my law practice and my new role as legislator. I realised that I needed to keep my practice alive for my own and my family’s sustenance. The parliamentary emoluments were so meagre at the time that they could not even cover my house rent, let alone meet other family needs. I kept my practice going as a financial anchor to my daily life and my politics. House sittings began on Tuesday afternoon and ended on Thursday afternoon every week. Wednesday’s sittings were and still are full day with morning and afternoon sittings. This is considered a four-day working week in the parliamentary calendar. Mondays and Fridays are for constituency tours and committee meetings. With this routine, I was able to plan when to be at my law firm and to fix any court appearances without affecting my parliamentary work. I allowed those seeking an audience with me in my capacity as an MP to come to my law firm every Friday afternoon. This was necessary because, in those early days, Parliament did not provide members with offices or support staff. I rented a constituency office, which I used for both parliamentary and political party work. I had a well-publicised day for constituency consultations every month. I am glad that today, parliamentarians are provided with offices, both at Parliament Buildings and in their respective constituencies, in addition to researchers and other support staff. My only regret is that Parliament today is a pale shadow of yesteryears in terms of debate and quality of services to constituents. The position of Member of Parliament nowadays is a well-paying job, which explains why it is one of the most sought-after in Kenya. Many of the occupants have no call to serve and appear to be there solely for self-aggrandisement. As a new MP, I had to contend with the reality that even though I had a self-funded constituency office, some constituents still flocked to my home, seeking an audience. As a result, I made use of my late grandmother’s house as a home office for most of my 20 years in Parliament. I made sure that I developed an understanding with my constituents that consultations at the home office were strictly restricted to daytime and only when I was available. This worked well, and most of them ended up opting to meet me in the constituency office at Kianyaga, where they were assured of an audience. Unity of purpose Only six women had made it to parliament, a drop in the ocean of 188 members. Our number notwithstanding, the six of us cultivated a unity of purpose and worked together as much as we could on issues of mutual interest. We avoided open conflicts with one another and were conscious of the need to cultivate a united front, lest we undermine our collective agenda of increasing the number of women in leadership and greater gender inclusivity Our unwritten rule was that we would never publicly attack or undermine one another and that we would collaborate as much as possible on issues affecting us and women in general. This was not easy as there was much hostility between the government and the opposition, which affected our relations in Parliament. To the credit of the women legislators at that time, we largely upheld our agreement, and when conflicts became unavoidable, one of us would step in to mediate. I had the privilege of playing that role on several occasions. I immensely enjoyed my work as a representative of the people of Gichugu and the country, as a member of the National Assembly of Kenya. I shall forever be grateful to the people of Gichugu who gave me this opportunity for 20 uninterrupted years. Life has taught me that you can only do well I in what you like and enjoy. I still look forward to the day I will serve Kenyans nationally and in a bigger capacity.

Andre Drummond latest 76er to hit the injury list