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Banks added six rebounds for the Retrievers (5-4). Bryce Johnson added 11 points while going 4 of 7 (2 for 3 from 3-point range) and also had six assists. Devan Sapp had 10 points and shot 2 of 6 from the field, including 1 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 6 from the line. The Bears (3-6) were led by Ahmarie Simpkins, who recorded 16 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Wynston Tabbs added 16 points and two steals for Morgan State. Kiran Oliver had 11 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / December 10, 2024 / abrdn Income Credit Strategies Fund (NYSE:ACP) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund, announced today that it has reduced its monthly distribution from US 10 cents per share to US 7.75 cents per share, commencing with the distribution payable on January 10, 2025 to shareholders of record as of December 30, 2024 (ex-dividend date December 30, 2024). This represents a change in the annualized distribution rate from 18% to 14% based on NAV as of December 9, 2024. The Fund intends to maintain this distribution level for at least the next 12 months unless there is significant and unforeseen changes in market conditions. The Fund's distribution policy is to provide investors with a stable monthly distribution out of current income, supplemented by realized capital gains and, to the extent necessary, paid-in capital, which is a non-taxable return of capital. The Fund's monthly distribution has remained unchanged since September 2020. The Investment Adviser has advised the Fund's Board of Trustees (the "Board") that it believes that the reduced monthly distribution is more consistent with sustainable earnings of the Fund. The current reduction in distribution takes into account many factors, including, but not limited to, current and expected earnings and abrdn Investments Limited, the Investment Adviser, economic and market outlook. In approving the decrease to the distribution rate, the Board considered, among other things, the strong long-term past performance of the investment advisor as well as their outlook on the market going forward. The investment advisor is optimistic on both the near term and long-term prospects for returns within the High Yield market, with the combination of an attractive level of income and the advisor's historic ability to generate capital appreciation in a range of market outcomes as the drivers of their outlook. However, as credit spreads have tightened over recent years, the Board believes it to be prudent to lower the distribution rate to reflect a decreased total return potential in excess of income over the near term. Both the Board and the Investment Advisor remain committed to offering a product with a premium level of income, and that will not change. The pro forma level of distribution is expected to continue to stand out from the competitive set within the peer group while allowing the advisor the flexibility to invest in assets that put the best interests of the investor base as the top priority. Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Treasury, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. In the United States, abrdn is the marketing name for the following affiliated, registered investment advisers: abrdn Inc., abrdn Investments Limited, and abrdn Asia Limited. Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one of the stock exchanges. The Fund's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the NAV of the Fund's portfolio. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Past performance does not guarantee future results. www.abrdnacp.com ### For More Information Contact: abrdn U.S. Closed-End Funds Investor Relations 1-800-522-5465 Investor.Relations@abrdn.com SOURCE: abrdn Income Credit Strategies Fund View the original on accesswire.comTEHRAN- The underground city of Samen in Malayer, Hamedan province, is poised for tourism enhancement, the provincial tourism chief has said. The Samen underground city holds significant tourism potential for both Malayer and the surrounding region, Mohsen Masoum Alizadeh said on Saturday, CHTN reported. With government support and its growing popularity during Nowruz celebrations in recent years, this unique destination has sparked a renaissance in Hamadan's tourism sector, ranking it among the five most-visited attractions in the province, he added. He also highlighted that this remarkable underground site attracts over 200,000 domestic and international tourists each year. Samen subterranean settlement has 25 rock-carved rooms, interlinked tunnels, and corridors. The subterranean complex appears to have been first used for religious purposes, then as a cemetery, and finally as a shelter during emergencies. The underground complex, located 400 km west of Tehran, is believed to be built sometime between the fall of the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) and the early Parthian era (247 BC-224 CE). Excavations at the site began in 2005 and are still going on. So far tens of well-preserved skeletons have been retrieved from its interconnected chambers. Iran is a haven for ancient troglodytic architecture which is somewhat forgotten though they are filled with life and creativity. The northwest Kandovan village is one of the most famous examples of troglodytic architecture in the country; its ice-cream cone-shaped homes resemble that of Turkey’s Cappadocia. In October 2018, the country hosted the 3rd International Troglodytic Architecture Conference in which tens of experts, researchers, and academia discussed troglodyte-associated architecture, culture, and technology. Known in classical times as Ecbatana, Hamedan was one of the ancient world’s greatest cities. Pitifully little remains from antiquity, but significant parts of the city center are given over to excavations. Ecbatana was the capital of Media and subsequently a summer residence of the Achaemenian kings who ruled Persia from 553 to 330 BC. Hamadan has had many names: it was possibly the Bit Daiukki of the Assyrians, Hangmatana, or Agbatana, to the Medes, and Ecbatana to the Greeks. One of the Median capitals, under Cyrus II (the Great; died 529 BC) and later Achaemenian rulers, it was the site of a royal summer palace. About 1220, Hamedan was destroyed by the Mongols. In 1386 it was sacked by Timur (Tamerlane), a Turkic conqueror, and the inhabitants were massacred. It was partly restored in the 17th century and subsequently changed hands often between Iranian ruling houses and the Ottomans. Sitting on a high plain, Hamedan is graciously cool in August but snow prone and freezing from December to March. In summer the air is often hazy. Ali Sadr cave, Ganjnameh inscriptions, Avicenna Mausoleum, Hegmataneh hill, Alaviyan dome, Jameh mosque, and St. Stephanos Gregorian Church are amongst Hamedan’s attractions to name a few. SAB/

Some 3,100 investment fraud reports filed with the Romanian Police over Jan - SepVladimir Putin left me stuck in traffic so I ditched my car, says former Ireland man Aiden McGeady

A report from the charity on hurricanes, floods, typhoons and storms influenced by climate change warns that the top 10 disasters each cost more than 4 billion US dollars in damage (£3.2 billion). The figures are based mostly on insured losses, so the true costs are likely to be even higher, Christian Aid said, as it called for action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and finance for poor countries to cope with climate change. Politicians who “downplay the urgency of the climate crisis only serve to harm their own people and cause untold suffering around the world”, climate expert Joanna Haigh said. While developed countries feature heavily in the list of costliest weather extremes, as they have higher property values and can afford insurance, the charity also highlighted another 10 disasters which did not rack up such costs but were just as devastating, often hitting poorer countries. Most extreme weather events show “clear fingerprints” of climate change, which is driving more extreme weather events, making them more intense and frequent, experts said. The single most costly event in 2024 was Hurricane Milton, which scientists say was made windier, wetter and more destructive by global warming, and which caused 60 billion US dollars (£48 billion) of damage when it hit the US in October. That is closely followed by Hurricane Helene, which cost 55 billion US dollars (£44 billion) when it hit the US, Mexico and Cuba just two weeks before Milton in late September. The US was hit by so many costly storms throughout the year that even when hurricanes are removed, other storms cost more than 60 billion US dollars in damage, the report said. Three of the costliest 10 climate extremes hit Europe, including the floods from Storm Boris which devastated central European countries in September and deadly flooding in Valencia in October which killed 226 people. In other parts of the world, floods in June and July in China killed 315 people and racked up costs of 15.6 billion US dollars (£12.4 billion), while Typhoon Yagi, which hit south-west Asia in September, killed more than 800 people and cost 12.6 billion dollars (£10 billion). Events which were not among the most costly in financial terms but which have still been devastating include Cyclone Chido which hit Mayotte in December and may have killed more than 1,000 people, Christian Aid said. Meanwhile, heatwaves affected 33 million people in Bangladesh and worsened the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, flooding affected 6.6 million people in West Africa and the worst drought in living memory affected more than 14 million in Zambia, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe, the charity said. Christian Aid chief executive Patrick Watt said: “There is nothing natural about the growing severity and frequency of droughts, floods and storms. “Disasters are being supercharged by decisions to keep burning fossil fuels, and to allow emissions to rise. “And they’re being made worse by the consistent failure to deliver on financial commitments to the poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries. “In 2025 we need to see governments leading, and taking action to accelerate the green transition, reduce emissions, and fund their promises.” Dr Mariam Zachariah, World Weather Attribution researcher who analyses extreme events in near-real time to discern the role of climate change, at Imperial College London, said: “This report is just a snapshot of climate devastation in 2024. “There are many more droughts, heatwaves, wildfires and floods not included that are becoming more frequent and intense. “Most of these disasters show clear fingerprints of climate change. “Extreme weather is clearly causing incredible suffering in all corners of the world. Behind the billion-dollar figures are lost lives and livelihoods.” And Prof Haigh, emeritus professor of atmospheric physics at Imperial College London, said: “The economic impact of these extreme weather events should be a wake-up call. “The good news is that ever-worsening crises doesn’t have to be our long-term future. “The technologies of a clean energy economy exist, but we need leaders to invest in them and roll them out at scale.” The 10 costliest climate disasters of 2024 were: – US storms, December to January, more than 60 billion US dollars; – Hurricane Milton in the US, October 9-13, 60 billion US dollars (£48 billion); – Hurricane Helene in the US, Mexico, Cuba, 55 billion US dollars (£44 billion); – China floods, June 9-July 14, 15.6 billion US dollars (£12.4 billion); – Typhoon Yagi, which hit south-west Asia from September 1 to 9, 12.6 billion US dollars (£10 billion); – Hurricane Beryl, in the US, Mexico and Caribbean islands from July 1-11, 6.7 billion US dollars (£5.3 billion); – Storm Boris in central Europe, September 12-16, 5.2 billion US dollars (£4.1 billion); – Rio Grande do Sul floods in Brazil, April 28-May 3, 5 billion US dollars (£4 billion); – Bavaria floods, Germany, June 1-7, 4.45 billion US dollars (£3.5 billion); – Valencia floods, Spain, on October 29, 4.22 billion US dollars (£3.4 billion).The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . WASHINGTON (AP) — Dayan Nessah scored 19 off the bench to help lead George Washington past Virginia-Wise 102-62 on Sunday. Nessah shot 8 for 9, including 3 for 4 from beyond the arc for the Revolutionaries (11-2). Rafael Castro added 14 points while shooting 6 of 8 from the field and 2 for 3 from the line while they also had 14 rebounds. Darren Buchanan Jr. had 14 points and shot 5 of 10 from the field and 4 for 6 from the line. Bradley Dean led the Highland Cavaliers with 17 points. Lav Cvetkovic’ added 14 points and two steals. Zy’Ever Wingfield also had nine points, seven rebounds and two steals. George Washington took the lead with 19:17 remaining in the first half and never looked back. The score was 40-27 at halftime, with Buchanan racking up 12 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

The Government will block new incinerators if they do not help meet environmental objectives under rules unveiled on Monday. Developers will have to show that their project either helps reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste going to landfill, or replaces an older, less efficient incinerator. The move forms part of the Government’s drive to increase recycling rates, which have held at about 45% of household waste since 2015. Environment minister Mary Creagh said: “For far too long, the nation has seen its recycling rates stagnate and relied on burning household waste, rather than supporting communities to keep resources in use for longer. “That ends today, with clear conditions for new energy from waste plants – they must be efficient and support net zero and our economic growth mission, before they can get the backing needed to be built.” Developers will also have to ensure their incinerators are ready for carbon capture technology, and demonstrate how the heat they produce can be used to help cut heating bills for households. The Government expects that its “crackdown” on new incinerators will mean only a limited number are built, while still reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill and enabling the country to process the waste it produces. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the country was almost at the point where it had enough waste facilities to handle non-recyclable rubbish, and so had limited need for new incinerators. But the proposals stop short of the plans included in the Conservatives’ 2024 manifesto, which committed to a complete ban on new incinerators due to their “impact on local communities” and declining demand as recycling increased.Stocks hit, dollar slips in illiquid year-end profit taking

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s recent dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral were not just exercises in policy and diplomacy. They were also prime trolling opportunities for Trump. Throughout his first term in the White House and during his campaign to return, Trump has spun out countless provocative, antagonizing and mocking statements. There were his belittling nicknames for political opponents, his impressions of other political figures and the plentiful memes he shared on social media. Now that's he's preparing to return to the Oval Office, Trump is back at it, and his trolling is attracting more attention — and eyerolls. On Sunday, Trump turned a photo of himself seated near a smiling first lady Jill Biden at the Notre Dame ceremony into a social media promo for his new perfume and cologne line, with the tag line, “A fragrance your enemies can’t resist!” The first lady’s office declined to comment. When Trudeau hastily flew to Florida to meet with Trump last month over the president-elect's threat to impose a 25% tax on all Canadian products entering the U.S., the Republican tossed out the idea that Canada become the 51st U.S. state. The Canadians passed off the comment as a joke, but Trump has continued to play up the dig, including in a post Tuesday morning on his social media network referring to the prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.” After decades as an entertainer and tabloid fixture, Trump has a flair for the provocative that is aimed at attracting attention and, in his most recent incarnation as a politician, mobilizing fans. He has long relished poking at his opponents, both to demean and minimize them and to delight supporters who share his irreverent comments and posts widely online and cheer for them in person. Trump, to the joy of his fans, first publicly needled Canada on his social media network a week ago when he posted an AI-generated image that showed him standing on a mountain with a Canadian flag next to him and the caption “Oh Canada!” After his latest post, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday: “It sounds like we’re living in a episode of South Park." Trudeau said earlier this week that when it comes to Trump, “his approach will often be to challenge people, to destabilize a negotiating partner, to offer uncertainty and even sometimes a bit of chaos into the well established hallways of democracies and institutions and one of the most important things for us to do is not to freak out, not to panic.” Even Thanksgiving dinner isn't a trolling-free zone for Trump's adversaries. On Thanksgiving Day, Trump posted a movie clip from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” with President Joe Biden and other Democrats’ faces superimposed on the characters in a spoof of the turkey-carving scene. The video shows Trump appearing to explode out of the turkey in a swirl of purple sparks, with the former president stiffly dancing to one of his favorite songs, Village People’s “Y.M.C.A." In his most recent presidential campaign, Trump mocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, refusing to call his GOP primary opponent by his real name and instead dubbing him “Ron DeSanctimonious.” He added, for good measure, in a post on his Truth Social network: “I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious ‘Meatball’ Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will.” As he campaigned against Biden, Trump taunted him in online posts and with comments and impressions at his rallies, deriding the president over his intellect, his walk, his golf game and even his beach body. After Vice President Kamala Harris took over Biden's spot as the Democratic nominee, Trump repeatedly suggested she never worked at McDonalds while in college. Trump, true to form, turned his mocking into a spectacle by appearing at a Pennsylvania McDonalds in October, when he manned the fries station and held an impromptu news conference from the restaurant drive-thru. Trump’s team thinks people should get a sense of humor. “President Trump is a master at messaging and he’s always relatable to the average person, whereas many media members take themselves too seriously and have no concept of anything else other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director. “President Trump will Make America Great Again and we are getting back to a sense of optimism after a tumultuous four years.” Though both the Biden and Harris campaigns created and shared memes and launched other stunts to respond to Trump's taunts, so far America’s neighbors to the north are not taking the bait. “I don’t think we should necessarily look on Truth Social for public policy,” Miller said. Gerald Butts, a former top adviser to Trudeau and a close friend, said Trump brought up the 51st state line to Trudeau repeatedly during Trump’s first term in office. “Oh God,” Butts said Tuesday, “At least a half dozen times.” “This is who he is and what he does. He’s trying to destabilize everybody and make people anxious,” Butts said. “He’s trying to get people on the defensive and anxious and therefore willing to do things they wouldn’t otherwise entertain if they had their wits about them. I don’t know why anybody is surprised by it.” ___ Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

Nanaia Mahuta was honoured at the Labour Party conference with a life membership. Photo: RNZ By Lillian Hanley of RNZ Former Labour minister and Hauraki-Waikato MP Nanaia Mahuta says it is an "important" and "exciting" time to be "re-entering" politics. She made the comments during her first public appearance with the party since its election defeat last year. During the party conference in Christchurch on Saturday, Mahuta's 27 years of service was honoured and she was presented with a life membership. Leader Chris Hipkins handed over the award to acknowledge, thank and celebrate an "outstanding member of the Labour whānau and an extraordinary New Zealander". He said she had dedicated her life to being a "servant of the people" and was a "true source of hope, vision and aspiration". Hipkins spoke of Mahuta's work establishing Māori wards and working to implement the Three Waters policy, which saw her face "outright racism" as a result. In accepting the award, Mahuta spoke to members who she said gave her the "great honour of serving a party I believe in". "I am here because of you, the faithful members of the Labour Party who continue to fight the fight day in, day out, for the values that we all believe in." Those were social justice, workable solutions to address inequity and poverty, and building a shared vision for the country, she said. She told the audience to look around the room, "look at the person next to you". "This is New Zealand. This is the New Zealand we want, for our tamariki, for our mokopuna, and it embraces everybody." She encouraged the audience to support the current Labour caucus, "charged with the responsibility of navigating a political system that has to bring everybody with us, whether they voted for us or not". One year on It was the first party-related event Mahuta had attended since taking a year off after losing her seat at the last election. Mahuta told RNZ it was great to "re-enter" the political perspective of the Labour Party one year on. "I gave myself one year post the election to be able to reflect on the 27 years that I've spent serving, and I needed that time for me." But she said she had come back specifically to ensure the party delivered a Labour government that could support the types of issues she believed were core to New Zealand. "For example, Te Tiriti in its place within the constitutional foundation of this country is not negotiable, and it's important to me that Labour continues to ensure that that is the case, and they're doing that." It was an "exciting time" to be re-entering politics, but that it was important as well, she said. When asked if she would be running in the next general election, she said that was not her "intention". "My intention is to be able to support a strong Labour bid to earn the trust of voters to say, 'this is what we stand for'." She said it was going to be a "battle" to pitch in 2026 in a way that would convince a broad range of people that "there's nothing to fear from having a strong foundation and vision for our future". Over the past year, she felt Labour had been more emboldened to say it did stand for "Treaty-based decision making", which would lead to a path of building "our sense of national identity and who we are as a country", she said. That was "unlike the others who want to turn the clock back and want to put all of this in question". Reflecting on the previous term, she said while she was proud of Labour's achievements, it might have "tried to do too much in the period of time that we had the opportunity to govern". "We have to reflect on that. We have to show the constituents and the voters of New Zealand that, on questions like CGT, we've got to take people with us. So that's our aim now, is to build the constituency of support to go forward." Mahuta was unseated in Hauraki-Waikato by Te Pāti Māori's Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who recently started a haka in Parliament's debating chamber during the first reading of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. Maipi-Clarke was young, and "her passion should be applauded to the extent that she is not defined by an opinion of what's not right", Mahuta said. "She has been growing in a community of being positively and confidently, Māori, Waikato, Ngāpuhi and everything that she can whakapapa too. That's important, and that's the generation that my kids are growing up in." The important task ahead for Maipi-Clarke was to develop her skill set to "translate that into political capital that delivers to her people", and she should be given "time to grow that talent", Mahuta said. "There's one thing doing the haka, there's another thing delivering to her electorate. "The threshold of expectation is to deliver. It's not what you say, it's what you do."