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No. 12 Oklahoma pulls away late vs. Prairie View A&MKangana Ranaut likened the MVA with a "demon", a day after its crushing defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly polls. The BJP MP said she was expecting a 'bad failure for Uddhav Thackeray'. New Delhi : A day after the MVA suffered heavy defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections, paving Mahayuti’s return to power, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut likened the opposition alliance with a “demon” Speaking at at an event in Delhi on Sunday she said, “I expected such a bad failure of Uddhav Thackeray. We can identify who is a ‘devta (god)’ and who is a ‘daitya (demon)’ depending on if they respect women or work for their welfare.” It may be noted that Ranaut had a bitter ru-in with the MVA Government under then CM Uddhav Thackeray was in power. There was a controversy at the time when Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had demolished an alleged illegal part of her Bandra bungalow. Kangana Ranaut slams MVA “Those who do not respect women can never win. They demolished my home and verbally abused me,” she was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Before the incident, Ranaut had said she was scared of Mumbai Police more than the “movie mafia”. At the time, she had also also compared Mumbai with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Earlier on Saturday, the BJP-led Mahayuti retained power in Maharashtra, winning 230 seats of the 288 assembly seats in the state. On the other hand, the Congress-led MVA could win just 46 seats. Importantly, none of the MVA partners could even win 29 seats which is required for the Leader of the Opposition’s post in the state Assembly. Click for more latest Politics news . Also get top headlines and latest news from India and around the world at News9. Subhajit Sankar Dasgupta has nearly 18 years of experience. Currently, he is serving as Associate Editor with news9live.com, a part of Associated Broadcasting Company Pvt Ltd. He started his career with The Pioneer and went on to work in a number of media organisations, including IANS, Financial Express Online, The Political and Business Daily, among others. Apart from online media, he has also worked in print media. Among the beats he covers include politics, sports and infrastructure. He has a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from Guru Jambeshwar University. During his free time, he likes to read books and play table tennis.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Sasa Ciani and Filip Skobalj scored 15 points apiece and Tyem Freeman added five of his nine points in overtime to lead UIC over Little Rock 77-69 on Sunday. Ciani added 10 rebounds for the Flames (7-4). Skobalj made 5 of 11 from 3-point range. Javon Jackson scored 13. Jackson sank three free throws with less than a second left to force OT tied at 64. The Trojans (6-5) were led by Johnathan Lawson, who posted 25 points and eight rebounds. Isaiah Lewis added 11 points and two steals. Tuongthach Gatkek had 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Skobalj scored nine points in the first half for UIC, which trailed 32-30 at halftime. Skobalj hit a 3-pointer with 2:45 left in OT to put the Flames up 68-65 and they stayed in front from there. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by and data from .FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Jacari White scored 19 points as North Dakota State beat Western Michigan 98-62 on Sunday. White had five rebounds and five assists for the Bison (10-4). Jacksen Moni added 16 points while shooting 7 for 10, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc while they also had seven assists. Masen Miller finished 5 of 9 from 3-point range to finish with 15 points. The Bison extended their winning streak to seven games. The Broncos (3-7) were led by Chansey Willis Jr., who recorded 22 points and five assists. Marquese Josephs added 12 points for Western Michigan. Markhi Strickland also put up eight points. North Dakota State took the lead with 19:23 left in the first half and never looked back. The score was 49-28 at halftime, with White racking up 13 points. North Dakota State extended its lead to 73-38 during the second half, fueled by a 9-0 scoring run. Darik Dissette scored a team-high eight points in the second half as their team closed out the win. North Dakota State next plays Monday against CSU Bakersfield at home, and Western Michigan will host Valparaiso on Friday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

Kobe Sanders, Nevada beat Oklahoma St. for fifth place in Charleston

Edited by Jude Blanchette of CSIS and Hal Brands of SAIS, the Marshall Papers is a series of essays that probes and challenges the assessments underpinning the U.S. approach to great power rivalry. The papers will be rigorous yet provocative, continually pushing the boundaries of intellectual and policy debates. In this Marshall Paper, Ford Hart argues that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) political institutions, the CCP’s practical behavior, and continued veneration of Marxism-Leninism in the CCP constitution highlight the Soviet model’s deep influence on Beijing. As such, lessons from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) can help us understand the CCP’s approach to governance today. Soviet-origin governing institutions and processes exert enduring influence on the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Its substantially imported political structure arguably has at least as much practical impact on Beijing’s behavior as the ideology it also imported from Moscow. While the PRC is not a carbon copy of the USSR, Soviet lessons still have much to teach observers about Chinese governance. PRC policy shifts over the past two decades have reinforced the relevance of these lessons, and the increased opacity of the Chinese political system makes it necessary to exploit all available tools to assess its behavior. The Soviet experience illuminates, for instance, the impact of the Leninist apparatus on PRC regime behavior, the challenges for understanding China, and the future of its political system. Key insights include the following: The Soviet model is not China’s destiny; it is only one of several factors that have shaped PRC history and will continue to influence its future. Nonetheless, understanding it is indispensable to making sense of China’s behavior and prospects for change. The CCP embraces a Leninist apparatus that exhibits strong continuity with the party-state transferred to Beijing by the Bolsheviks and the Soviet Union between the early 1920s and 1950s. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin pioneered its operating norms before the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and led the system’s improvisational build-out during its early years in power. Other Soviet leaders, especially Joseph Stalin, contributed to its development. Leninist regimes—especially the surviving communist states (China, North Korea, Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba) and the two former European ones established principally through indigenous struggle (the USSR and Yugoslavia)—represent a category of authoritarianism with characteristic institutions and processes that manifest recurring patterns of behavior. (The Leninist regimes of other East European communist states were largely external creations that ended with the USSR’s demise.) All authoritarian regimes are repressive, and some practices of Leninist regimes are common among them, but most of them are not Leninist. A Leninist system features an authoritarian regime in which the ruling elite monopolizes political power in the name of a revolutionary ideology through a highly articulated party structure that parallels, penetrates, and dominates the state at all levels and extends to workplaces, residential areas, and local institutions. Party members are subject to strict discipline and ideological indoctrination, regardless of whether they work in the party apparatus or, like most, outside it. In its struggle to seize and then hold power, the Bolshevik Party pioneered hallmark institutions long familiar to outside observers: a Central Committee, a secretariat with specialized departments (e.g., propaganda, personnel, and internal discipline), and a supreme leadership body at the very center commonly known as the Politburo—all mirrored at subordinate levels. From the capital to the most distant locality, a Leninist party controls leadership appointments and transfers not merely within itself and the state but also among the military and security forces, the economy, academia, the media, the arts, religious institutions, social organizations, and beyond. Classic Soviet operational practices—such as centralization, mobilization, united front operations, and cadre self-criticism—endure in China. A ruling Leninist regime always seeks to maintain robustly coercive security services that are loyal, first and foremost, to the party itself. It also exhibits high levels of intervention in the economy, ranging widely from state capitalism to command economics. Control of the economy is as important to party dominance as it is to overall national strength or the popular welfare. The foundations of CCP ideology also came from Moscow. This body of thought combined a Marxist, class-based economic interpretation of history progressing inexorably toward utopia, Lenin’s own theoretical revisions to Marxism, and, crucial to governance, his advocacy of an elite revolutionary party’s unique role in leading the masses. To a ruling communist party, Marxism-Leninism’s single greatest ideological value may well be in granting the secular equivalent of divine right rule through its role as the sole interpreter of “laws” of history. Karl Marx’s thoughts on social and economic justice remained enormously appealing, but it was Lenin’s ruthless pragmatism that enabled communist regimes to seize and hold onto power. Chinese communists learned from Moscow that although the content of the ideology could vary substantially, its mere existence was functionally vital to the party’s survival. It is telling that while communist regimes around the world have extensively revised their ideologies, they have been less liberal in modifying core structures, norms, and processes.FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Jacari White scored 19 points as North Dakota State beat Western Michigan 98-62 on Sunday. White had five rebounds and five assists for the Bison (10-4). Jacksen Moni added 16 points while shooting 7 for 10, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc while they also had seven assists. Masen Miller finished 5 of 9 from 3-point range to finish with 15 points. The Bison extended their winning streak to seven games. The Broncos (3-7) were led by Chansey Willis Jr., who recorded 22 points and five assists. Marquese Josephs added 12 points for Western Michigan. Markhi Strickland also put up eight points. North Dakota State took the lead with 19:23 left in the first half and never looked back. The score was 49-28 at halftime, with White racking up 13 points. North Dakota State extended its lead to 73-38 during the second half, fueled by a 9-0 scoring run. Darik Dissette scored a team-high eight points in the second half as their team closed out the win. North Dakota State next plays Monday against CSU Bakersfield at home, and Western Michigan will host Valparaiso on Friday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

“I was so excited to vote as a first-time voter,” Teagan Hansen, who cast her first vote in a Namibian election last week in Swakopmund, said.“But the whole experience was te ... If you are an active subscriber and the article is not showing, please log out and back in. Free access to articles from 12:00.

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Football analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL from week to week. No one wants to see any player take a vicious hit like the one that knocked Trevor Lawrence out of the game. It’s easy to agree on that point. Eliminating violent shots is the hard part. The NFL has instituted several rules to protect quarterbacks but football is a physical sport and players have to react instantly and make split-second decisions going at high speeds so injuries keep occurring. Lawrence was carted off the field in the first half of Jacksonville’s 23-20 loss to Houston on Sunday after Azeez Al-Shaair leveled the defenseless quarterback with a forearm to the facemask. The late hit put Lawrence in the fencing position — both fists clenched — and he stayed on the ground for several minutes, while a brawl ensued. Lawrence didn’t require hospitalization for his concussion but it’s unknown when he’ll return. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out/been praying for me,” Lawrence wrote on X. “I’m home and feeling better. Means a lot, thank you all.” Al-Shaair was ejected from the game and faces a fine and potential suspension after his latest unsportsmanlike penalty. The Texans' linebacker was flagged and later fined $11,255 for a late hit out of bounds on Titans running back Tony Pollard last week. He was fined earlier this year after he punched Bears running back Roschon Johnson on the sideline in Week 2. That occurred during a scuffle that started after his hard shot on quarterback Caleb Williams near the sideline that wasn’t flagged. Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence slides in front of Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair during the first half of a game on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla. Lawrence was injured on the play. Al-Shaair once got away with grabbing Tom Brady by the throat on a pass rush in a game between the 49ers and Buccaneers. Outraged Jaguars players called Al-Shaair’s hit “dirty” and Texans coach DeMeco Ryans made it known he didn’t condone it. “It’s not what we’re coaching,” Ryans said. “Want to be smart in everything we do and not hurt the team, get a penalty there. Have to be smarter when the quarterback is going down. Unfortunate play. Not representative of who Azeez is. He’s a smart player, really great leader for us. We felt his presence not being there. His loss really affected us on the defensive side. Just not what we’re coaching. Didn’t want to see the melee and all the aftermath. That’s not what we’re about. Not representative of us. I’ll talk to Azeez, address him personally, and we’ll move forward from it.” Fox Sports color analyst Daryl Johnston, a former fullback for the Dallas Cowboys, didn’t hold back his criticism, calling it a “cheap shot.” “It’s everything you’re not supposed to do,” Johnston said. “Everything. You’ll see this in slow motion and Azeez Al-Shaair does everything you’re trying to prevent in this situation. It’s reckless. It’s disrespectful. There’s an honor that you give to your opponent on the football field and you respect him. And there’s opportunities to be physical and give big hits and play this game in that manner. And there’s other times when there’s a respect that you grant to your opponent.” Some former NFL quarterbacks blasted Al-Shaair on social media. “There is no place in the game of football for dirty hits like this one,” Robert Griffin III wrote on X. Chase Daniel called it “one of the dirtiest hits” he’s ever seen on a quarterback. Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram, right, jumps on Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair after his late hit on quarterback Trevor Lawrence, bottom, during the first half of a game on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla. Even defensive players struggled to defend Al-Shaair. “That was uncalled for,” Hall of Fame defensive lineman Michael Strahan said on Fox’s studio show while fellow Hall of Famer Howie Long agreed. But the play also sparked debate about the quarterback slide. Lawrence slid feet first, which signals that he’s giving himself up on the play. The NFL rulebook states: “A defender must pull up when a runner begins a feet-first slide.” But defensive players aren’t automatically penalized if they make contact with a sliding quarterback if they already committed and the contact is unavoidable. The rules state it’s a foul when “the defender makes forcible contact into the head or neck area of the runner with the helmet, shoulder, or forearm, or commits some other act that is unnecessary roughness.” Al-Shaair did that so he was penalized and will face other repercussions. Still, given the hard-hitting nature of the sport, it won’t be the last time this happens. When Caleb Williams took the field for the Chicago Bears' first regular season game against the Tennessee Titans, the anticipation for the rookie's debut game—possibly the most ever—was on full display. Despite a tough debut for the quarterback, the Bears secured a 24-17 win, a notable feat for the rookie. The victory made Williams the first #1 overall pick with a Week 1 win in over 20 years. Going forward this season, Williams is expected to eclipse C.J. Stroud's record-breaking 2023 rookie campaign with the Houston Texans. However, Stroud's success is an anomaly. Drafting a successful quarterback, especially one who is effective right away, is difficult. When teams have a high first-round draft pick, and they're coming off an unsuccessful few seasons, it's assumed that they will use their first pick on a quarterback . That player will assume the title of "the face of the franchise" and will get the central attention, win or lose. To see which quarterbacks have faced that challenge and triumphed, ATS.io compiled a ranking of the 10 best rookie quarterbacks since 1960 using data from StatHead . Rookies were defined as players who are in their first season of professional football and have not been on the roster of another professional team. Quarterbacks were ranked according to adjusted net yards per pass attempt, which quantifies efficient passing skill. Ties were broken using passer rating. Only rookie quarterbacks with at least 10 games played and 200 total passing attempts were considered. Since 1967, 130 quarterbacks have been drafted in the first round. Of those drafted, only 61 have won a playoff game as a starter, according to The Athletic, which used data from NFL Research . The biggest reason this success rate is not guaranteed is because there are differences between college and pro offensive systems. In the collegiate game, the ball is snapped at different points on the field, passing windows are wider, and defenders and linemen are not as quick, making the adjustment to the pro level more difficult. NFL scouts and general managers are gambling on what skills can be transferable and how long those adjustments might take, which is why some teams prefer redshirt quarterbacks to ease the transition. However, just because a team may not want to use their first-round pick on a quarterback, doesn't mean they can't find a diamond in the rough later in the draft. Think about Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, and Dak Prescott, all of which were not first-round picks, but have gone on to make a name for themselves in the NFL. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 6.44 - Passer rating: 91.2 - Season stats: 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns, 6 interceptions Coming out of college, Gardner Minshew was not a highly sought-after quarterback for NFL teams. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 draft—a draft that was headlined by Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, and Daniel Jones. Nonetheless, Minshew's rookie season with the Jacksonville Jaguars was filled with many accomplishments. He won Rookie of the Week seven times despite not winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Minshew also had the highest passer rating of any rookie quarterback that started in 2019. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 6.77 - Passer rating: 93.7 - Season stats: 3,725 yards, 27 touchdowns, 14 interceptions Pressure was high for Baker Mayfield as the first overall pick in the 2018 draft. When he joined the Cleveland Browns, there was an expectation that once the team figured out the quarterback position, it could be playoff-ready. After trading for Jarvis Landry, a young wide receiver from the Miami Dolphins, in the offseason, the Browns were on their way. Mayfield's rookie season was filled with many firsts, and the Landry-Mayfield connection filled the stat sheet. Mayfield set the record for most passing touchdowns by a rookie quarterback in 2019 with 27 surpassing prior marks from Payton Manning and Russell Wilson. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 6.84 - Passer rating: 98.3 - Season stats: 4,336 yards, 31 touchdowns, 10 interceptions Justin Herbert was the third quarterback selected in the 2020 NFL draft behind Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa. As the No. 6 overall pick, expectations were high, but there was also an assumption that it would be a few years before Herbert's development would take shape. Then, Chargers starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor was accidentally punctured in the lung by a team doctor administering a painkiller before the second game of the season, and it wasn't clear what Taylor's status would be moving forward. When Herbert was given the nod to start minutes before the game, fans didn't know what to expect. Herbert shocked viewers when he threw for over 300 yards and only one interception in that game. He continued his strong rookie showing throughout the season and went on to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 6.93 - Passer rating: 98.1 - Season stats: 2,621 yards, 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions Ben Roethlisberger was the third quarterback selected in his draft class behind the likes of Eli Manning and Philip Rivers—though fans wouldn't have been able to tell. From the moment Roethlisberger was called up by the Pittsburgh Steelers to play in his first game—Week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens—it was clear he had a special arm, gaining the nickname "Golden Arm." While the next several games were bumpy for Steelers fans, it was clear that Roethlisberger was the future of the franchise. The Steelers had a solid running game and its receiving core, led by Hines Ward, was one of the best in the league . Once Roethlisberger gained his footing a few games in, he was unstoppable. He led Pittsburgh to its best record ever: 15-1. He also started the season on an eight-game winning streak, becoming the first rookie to do so. Additionally, Roethlisberger became the first quarterback to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.01 - Passer rating: 87.7 - Season stats: 3,440 yards, 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions As the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft, there were high expectations on Matt Ryan's shoulders heading to the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were coming off back-to-back losing seasons and off-the-field legal troubles with its starting quarterback Michael Vick overshadowing the team's play. Ryan was expected to pick up the pieces. He did that immediately, leading the Falcons to an 11-5 record in his rookie season and becoming the clear favorite for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year halfway through the season, which he went on to win. The tag team of Ryan and running back Michael Turner was one of the best offensive forces in the sport that season. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.01 - Passer rating: 100 - Season stats: 3,118 yards, 26 touchdowns, 10 interceptions Russell Wilson was drafted in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. Considering Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck headlined the NFL Draft that year, it was not believed that Wilson would be a starter come Week 1, but that quickly changed. Going into the 2012 NFL Draft, Tarvaris Jackson was the Seattle Seahawks' starting quarterback, and the team signed NFL veteran quarterback Matt Flynn as an insurance policy on the injury-prone Jackson . It was assumed in the short term that either Jackson or Flynn would lead the franchise. Once training camp arrived, however, the Seahawks' quarterback position was uncertain. Jackson was traded to the Buffalo Bills, and Flynn was underwhelming at camp, forcing Head Coach Pete Carroll to take a gamble on his rookie quarterback, Wilson, in Week 1. Carroll, nor Wilson, ever looked back. Wilson was one of the best passing quarterbacks that season. He led the Seahawks to an 11-5 record and went on to win NFL Rookie of the Year. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.39 - Passer rating: 96 - Season stats: 2,210 yards, 20 touchdowns, 6 interceptions When Dan Marino was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1983, the NFL looked very different. Running the ball was the name of the game. The quarterback would either run the football himself at the line of scrimmage or hand it off to the running back, and the offensive linemen would claw and push the pile forward as the runner powered his legs. It was not a pretty sight. However, Marino took a different approach, throwing the ball with a unique quick release for that era. He led the Dolphins to a 9-1 record after replacing David Woodley midway through his rookie season, ending with a 12-4 record. He went on to win Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie to start a Pro Bowl. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.47 - Passer rating: 100.8 - Season stats: 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, 5 interceptions When C.J. Stroud was drafted No. 2 by the Houston Texans last year, there were a lot of questions, not about his ability, but about the organization that he would be playing for. The Texans were coming off of a 3-13-1 season in 2022, finishing with the worst record in the league, and a lot of volatility in its front office. The team fired its head coach and a top executive before the draft. Weeks later, the team hired former Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans as its next head coach. While Ryans is a defensive-minded coach, Stroud was seen as a key ingredient to the team's success since Ryans hired his coaching staff around the quarterback. Stroud led the NFL in yards and TD-to-interception ratio during his rookie season, which is an efficiency statistic considering he didn't get his first interception until his sixth regular-season game against the New Orleans Saints. While Stroud was a part of the league MVP conversation for most of the season, he didn't ultimately win the title. However, he was named 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and his rookie season is seen as one of the best in NFL history. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.47 - Passer rating: 102.4 - Season stats: 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns, 5 interceptions Leading into the 2012 draft, it wasn't a matter of whether Washington would pick a quarterback, it was a matter of who. After several seasons of mediocre quarterback play and losing seasons from the likes of Jason Campbell, Donovan McNabb, and Rex Grossman, it was time for a new face to lead the offense. At No. 2, Washington selected Robert Griffin III making him the second quarterback selected in the 2012 NFL draft behind Andrew Luck. Griffin started his rookie year campaign with one of the best performances football fans have ever seen. He completed 19 of his 26 pass attempts for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns, beating the New Orleans Saints. That game earned him the highest passer rating by a rookie ever, 158.3. He now shares that record with Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota. Griffin III went on to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012. - Adjusted net yards per pass attempt: 7.86 - Passer rating: 104.9 - Season stats: 3,667 yards, 23 touchdowns, 4 interceptions Dak Prescott is statistically the best rookie quarterback ever, racking up the best passer rating as a rookie. After losing his first game, he led the Cowboys on an 11-game winning streak. That season, he led the team to its fourth-best season ever with a 13-3 record. Prescott was the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and became the first NFL quarterback to be drafted in the fourth round or later to start all 16 regular season games. Data reporting by Karim Noorani. Story editing by Shanna Kelly. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Robert Wickwire. Photo selection by Clarese Moller. This story originally appeared on ATS.io and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!NoneCommunications Regulatory Authority (CRA) president Ahmad Abdulla al-Muslemani has said that the CRA has proven over the past decade its capability of managing and monitoring of radio spectrum usage in Qatar in full compliance with legal frameworks. This is particularly evident, he said, across critical sectors such as telecommunications, security, as well as in the oil and gas, aviation, maritime navigation, and other essential industries. Speaking to the Qatar News Agency (QNA), al-Muslemani underlined that the CRA enhances its position as the responsible entity for this resource by issuing regulations and regulatory tools, granting licences, permits, and approvals for the optimal use of the radio spectrum. He emphasised that the CRA has worked tirelessly to monitor and oversee the use of the spectrum, ensuring its optimal utilisation, underscoring its crucial and central role in maintaining the sustainability and security of communications in Qatar. Al-Muslemani said that the CRA has cemented its reputation with achievements in meeting the requirements of major local and international events hosted by the country, including the landmark event, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, in addition to playing a key role during these events, ensuring the frequency plans and management were in place to enable all stakeholders to use and operate various radio applications, equipment, and broadcasting systems as required, without interruption due to any radio interference. He said that in recent years the CRA has achieved significant milestones in fostering productive international co-operation in the area of spectrum management and monitoring, through the signing of agreements with countries such as Turkiye, Morocco, the Gambia, Somalia, Korea and Romania. Al-Muslemani added that over the past 10 years, the CRA has played a pivotal role in ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of telecommunications networks and services in Qatar, particularly through the management of numbering, the cornerstone of building a communications system that meets users’ needs and supports economic growth. He stated that the CRA issued the national numbering plan, along with other relevant regulations, and worked on the allocation and distribution of numbers used in all telecommunications services or for any other numbering-related purposes, in addition to allocating about 11mn mobile phone numbers and around 2mn landline numbers to the telecommunications companies. Additionally, it supported innovation and development in the telecommunications sector, allocating 300,000 numbers for Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. Over the past decade, al-Muslemani said, the CRA has dedicated its resources to advancing the digital community in the country and worked on expanding Qatar’s digital presence on the global stage, strengthening the foundations of digital infrastructure, and cybersecurity levels. He said that this has been achieved through a series of initiatives aimed at encouraging institutions and individuals to adopt the use of Qatari Internet domain names, thereby emphasising its role in supporting innovation and technological advancement in line with the CRA’s aspirations, and contributing to the country’s ambitions to lead globally in the field of information and communications technology (ICT).

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail on Wednesday as he awaits a May sex trafficking trial by a judge who cited evidence showing him to be a “serious risk” of witness tampering and proof he has tried to hide prohibited communications with third parties while incarcerated. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ruled in a five-page order following a bail hearing last week. At the hearing, lawyers for the hip-hop mogul argued that a $50 million bail package they proposed would be sufficient to ensure Combs doesn’t flee and doesn’t try to intimidate prospective trial witnesses. Two other judges previously had agreed with prosecutors that the Bad Boy Records founder was a danger to the community if he is not behind bars. Subramanian concurred. “There is compelling evidence of Combs's propensity for violence,” Subramanian wrote. Lawyers for Combs did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the decision. Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for prosecutors, declined comment. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years, aided by associates and employees. An indictment alleges that he silenced victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings. A federal appeals court judge last month denied Combs’ immediate release while a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan considers his bail request. That appeal was put on hold while Subramanian, newly appointed to the case after an earlier judge stepped aside, considered the bail request for the first time. Subramanian said he took a fresh look at all the bail arguments and the evidence supporting them to make his decision. Prosecutors have insisted that no bail conditions would be sufficient to protect the public and prevent the “I'll Be Missing You” singer from fleeing. They say that even in a federal lockup in Brooklyn, Combs has orchestrated social media campaigns designed to influence prospective jurors and tried to publicly leak materials he thinks can help his case. They say he also has contacted potential witnesses through third parties. Lawyers for Combs say any alleged sexual abuse described in the indictment occurred during consensual relations between adults and that new evidence refutes allegations that Combs used his “power and prestige” to induce female victims into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances with male sex workers known as “Freak Offs.” Subramanian said evidence shows Combs to be a “serious risk of witness tampering,” particularly after he communicated over the summer with a grand jury witness and deleted some of his texts with the witness. The judge also cited evidence showing that Combs violated Bureau of Prisons regulations during pretrial detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn when he paid other inmates to use their phone code numbers so he could make calls to individuals who were not on his approved contact list. He said there was also evidence that he told family members and defense counsel to add other people to three-way calls so their communications would be more difficult to trace and that he made efforts to influence his trial's jury pool or to reach potential witnesses. Subramanian said his “willingness to skirt” jailhouse rules to conceal communications was “strong evidence” that any conditions of release would not prevent similar behavior. The judge said defense claims that Combs stopped using one particular phone technique criticized by prosecutors was belied by the fact that Combs apparently used it again on Sunday, two days after his bail hearing last week. Even a bail proposal that would include the strictest form of home confinement seemed insufficient, the judge said. “Given the nature of the allegations in this case and the information provided by the government, the Court doubts the sufficiency of any conditions that place trust in Combs and individuals in his employ — like a private security detail — to follow those conditions,” Subramanian wrote.

VANCOUVER — Online predators are becoming increasingly resourceful in trolling media platforms where children gravitate, prompting an explosion in police case loads, said an officer who works for the RCMP Integrated Child Exploitation Unit in British Columbia. Data show the problem spiked during COVID-19 when children began spending more time online — but rates did not wane as police anticipated after lockdowns ended. In B.C., they soared, almost quadrupling from 2021 to 2023. Const. Solana Pare is now warning exploitation of children is likely here to stay, as a technological race between police and predators gains momentum. “Technology is becoming more and more available, and online platforms and social media sites are being used by children younger and younger, which provides an opportunity for predators to connect with them,” Pare said in an interview. Police say child exploitation cases in B.C. went from about 4,600 in 2021 to 9,600 in 2022 to 15,920 reports last year. The upwards trend is seen nationally, too. Statistics Canada says the rate of online child sexual exploitation reported to police rose by 58 per cent from 2019 to 2022, and police data show cases have continued to rise. The RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre reported that from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, it received 118,162 reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation offences — a 15 per cent increase compared with the previous year. Online child sexual exploitation, Pare explained, includes offences such as sextortion, child luring and the creation or distribution of sexually explicit images of a minor. “We don’t see these types of reports going away,” Pare said. “We only see them increasing because the use of electronic devices and social media, and kids being online earlier and earlier is becoming more common. There’s going to be more opportunity for predators to target children online.” Monique St. Germain, general counsel for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, said the most common type of child luring is communicating with a youth online in order get them to produce sexual abuse material. She said “the pandemic accelerated those types of cases, and it hasn’t slowed down.” “The tools (Canadian authorities) have to deal with this type of behaviour are inadequate for the scope and the scale of what’s going on,” she said. THE RISE OF ‘SEXTORTION’ Online exploitation gained international attention in 2015 in the case of Port Coquitlam, B.C., teenager, Amanda Todd, who died by suicide after being blackmailed and harassed online by a man for years, starting when she was 12. The month before the 15-year-old died, she uploaded a nine-minute video using a series of flash cards detailing the abuse she experienced by the stranger and how it had affected her life. It’s been viewed millions of times. Dutch national Aydin Coban was extradited to Canada for trial and, in October 2022, he was convicted of charges including the extortion and harassment of Todd. Since then, the term “sextortion” has made its way into the vernacular as more cases come to light. Among them was Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old Prince George, B.C., boy who died by suicide in October 2023 after falling victim to the crime. In New Brunswick that same month, 16-year-old William Doiron took his own life after falling victim to a global sextortion scheme. Mounties across Canada have issued news releases warning of increased cases in their communities, noting that the consequences for the victims can include self-harm and suicide. St. Germain said technology, such as artificial intelligence, is also becoming more user-friendly. “The existence of that technology and its ease of use and ready accessibility is a problem, and it is going to be an increasingly large problem as we move forward,” she said. Pare said police are also adapting to technological advancements in order to keep up with the ever-changing online landscape. “Police are constantly obtaining training on digital technologies to increase our knowledge and understanding of all the intricacies involving their use and how to capture any digital evidence,” she said. Pare said the true rates of the crime are impossible to determine, but pointed to increased social awareness and legislation across North America around mandatory reporting of child abuse material from social media companies as a potential reason for the increase. It’s not going undetected any longer, she said. “Additionally, there’s been a lot of use in artificial intelligence to detect child exploitation materials within those platforms.” Pare said “it’s up to each individual platform” to ensure there is no child sexual abuse material on their sites or apps. “With mandatory reporting, it’s putting the onus back on the electronic service providers to ensure they have measures in place to prevent this from happening, and if it is happening that it is being reported,” she said. “That being said, there are times when things don’t get located.” That is why the Canadian Centre for Child Protection has been advocating for the adoption of the Online Harms Bill that the federal government introduced in February, St. Germain said. “It’s shocking that up until now, we’ve relied on companies to self regulate, meaning we’ve just relied on them to do the right thing,” she said. “What we are seeing in terms of the number of offences and in terms of all the harm that is happening in society as a result of online platforms is completely tied to the decision not to regulate. We need to have rules in any sector, and this sector is no different.” ‘CANADA IS REALLY BEHIND’ The Online Harms Bill covers seven types of harms, from non-consensual sharing of intimate images to content that can be used to bully a child. Earlier this month, Justice Minister Arif Virani announced the Liberal government will split the bill into two parts: dealing with keeping children safe online, and combating predators and issues related to revenge pornography. “We are putting our emphasis and prioritization and our time and efforts on the first portion of the bill,” Virani told reporters on Dec. 5. Such measures would include a new Digital Safety Commission of Canada, which would compel social media companies to outline how they plan to reduce the risks their platforms pose to users, particularly minors. It would have the power to levy fines and evaluate companies’ digital safety plans. St. Germain said such a split “makes sense,” noting that most objections to the bill are related to changes to the Criminal Code and not measures around curbing harms to children. “There obviously are differences of opinion in terms of what is the best way forward, and what kind of regulatory approach makes sense, and who should the regulator be, but there does seem to be consensus on the idea that we need to do more in terms of protecting children online,” she said, adding that the organization is still in support of the second half of the bill. She said the United Kingdom previously passed its own Online Safety Act that will come into effect in 2025, which includes requiring social media firms to protect children from content such as self-harm material, pornography and violent content. Failure to do so will result in fines. “Canada is really behind,” she said. “The amount of information that has come out of the U.K., the amount of time and care and attention that their legislatures have paid to this issue is really quite remarkable, and we really hope that Canada steps up and does something for Canadian children soon.” In the absence of national legislation, province’s have filled the void. In January, B.C. enacted the Intimate Images Protection Act, providing a path for victims to have online photos, videos or deep fakes expeditiously removed. Individuals are fined up to $500 per day and websites up to $5,000 a day if they don’t comply with orders to stop distributing images that are posted without consent. B.C.’s Ministry of the Attorney General said that as of Dec. 11, the Civil Resolution Tribunal had received a total of 199 disputes under the Intimate Images Protection Act. It said the Intimate Images Protection Service had served more than 240 clients impacted by the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, adding that four awards of $5,000 each and one for $3,000 had been supplied as of mid-December. Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta and Saskatchewan have also enacted legislation targeting unauthorized distribution of intimate images. St. Germain said the use of provincial powers is also necessary, but it’s not enough. “A piece of provincial legislation is going to be very difficult to be effective against multiple actors in multiple countries,” she said, noting that the online crime is borderless. “We need something bigger — more comprehensive. We need to use all tools in the tool box.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2024. Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press

Trio leads UIC to 77-69 victory over Little Rock in OT

Former President Jimmy Carter dies aged 100The departure of Gelsinger, whose career spanned more than 40 years, underscores the turmoil at Intel. Intel chief executive Pat Gelsinger has been forced out less than four years after taking the helm of the company, handing control to two lieutenants as the faltering United States chipmaking icon searches for a permanent replacement. Gelsinger resigned on December 1, according to a statement from the company on Monday. The resignation came after a board meeting last week during which directors felt Gelsinger’s costly and ambitious plan to turn Intel around was not working and the progress of change was not fast enough, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The board told Gelsinger he could retire or be removed, and he chose to step down, according to the source. His departure comes well before the completion of his four-year roadmap to restore the company’s lead in making the fastest and smallest computer chips, a crown it lost to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, which makes chips for Intel rivals such as Nvidia. Under Gelsinger’s watch, Intel, which was founded in 1968 and for decades formed the bedrock of Silicon Valley’s global dominance in chips, has withered to a market value more than 30 times smaller than Nvidia, the leader in artificial intelligence chips. Earlier this month, Nvidia replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Gelsinger, 63, has assured investors and US officials, who are subsidising Intel’s turnaround, that his manufacturing plans remain on track. The full results, however, will not be known until next year, when the company aims to bring a flagship laptop chip back into its factories. Interim replacements Two company executives, David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, will act as interim co-CEOs while the company searches for a replacement for Gelsinger, who has also stepped down from the board, Intel said on Monday. Gelsinger started at Intel in 1979 and was its first chief technology officer. He returned to the company as chief executive in 2021. Gelsinger said in a statement that his exit was “bittersweet as this company has been my life for the bulk of my working career”. “I can look back with pride at all that we have accomplished together. It has been a challenging year for all of us as we have made tough but necessary decisions to position Intel for the current market dynamics,” he said. Zinsner is the executive vice president and chief financial officer at Intel. Holthaus was appointed to the newly created position of CEO of Intel Products, which includes the client computing, data centre and AI groups. Frank Yeary, the independent chair of Intel’s board, will become the interim executive chair. “Pat spent his formative years at Intel, then returned at a critical time for the company in 2021,” Yeary said in a statement. “As a leader, Pat helped launch and revitalize process manufacturing by investing in state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing, while working tirelessly to drive innovation throughout the company.” Gelsinger’s departure comes as Intel’s financial woes have been piling up. The company posted a $16.6bn loss and halted its dividend in the most recent quarter. Its shares have fallen by about 60 percent since he took over as CEO. Gelsinger announced plans in August to slash 15 percent of Intel’s huge workforce – about 15,000 jobs – as part of cost-cutting efforts to save $10bn in 2025. Unlike some rivals, Intel manufactures chips in addition to designing them. Under Gelsinger, the company has been working to build up its foundry business, making semiconductors in the US designed by other firms, in a bid to compete with rivals such as market leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co or TSMC. Intel has benefited from tens of billions of dollars that the administration of President Joe Biden has pledged to support the construction of US chip foundries and reduce reliance on Asian suppliers, which Washington sees as a security weakness. After taking over as CEO, Gelsinger unveiled plans to build a $20bn chipmaking facility in central Ohio and poured billions more into expanding in Europe, where leaders were also worried about dependence on Asia.Utah has now fallen in their seventh straight game, this time to the nationally ranked Iowa State Cyclones in a close, drama-filled affair that has conference championship implications as both conference title game favorites Colorado and BYU lost. The Utes kicked off the scoring with a field goal in the first, but the Cyclones answered back with a touchdown to give them a 3-7 lead heading into the second quarter. Utah answered back with an early second-quarter touchdown off Lander Barton's 87-yard which extended the program's streak to be the longest in FBS recorded history. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.

Tafara Gapare throws down 19 points and a highlight dunk, and Maryland beats Bucknell 91-67COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Tafara Gapare scored 19 points, freshman Derik Queen had 15 points and eight rebounds and Maryland beat Bucknell 91-67 on Wednesday night. Maryland opened the game on a 15-2 run, extended it to 25-7 with 10:38 left and led 51-28 at the break. The Terrapins led by at least 16 points the entire second half, which included runs of 12-0 and 9-0. Gapare scored the 10 straight points during the second-half run. Gapare threw down a highlight dunk while being fouled with 2:08 remaining to give Maryland an 89-62 lead. He was called for a technical foul after stepping over Patrick O’Brien, who was attempting to take a charge. Jayden Williams made the two free throws for Bucknell and Gapare missed his free-throw attempt that would have tied his career high of 20 points. Maryland (6-1) has won 20 consecutive home games against unranked nonconference foes with its last loss coming on Dec. 1, 2021, against Virginia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Julian Reese added 14 points and Selton Miguel scored 13 for Maryland. Gapare, a Georgia Tech transfer, reached double-figure scoring as a Terp for the first time. The Terrapins shot 50% from the field with three 3-pointers apiece by Gapare and Miguel. Ruot Bijiek led Bucknell (4-4) with 20 points and Josh Bascoe added 10. The Bison turned it over 20 times leading to 22 Maryland points. Maryland stays at home to play Alcorn State on Sunday. Bucknell returns home to play Siena on Saturday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

ATLANTA (AP) — Even the woeful NFC South, where no team has a winning record, can't hide the Atlanta Falcons' offensive shortcomings. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * ATLANTA (AP) — Even the woeful NFC South, where no team has a winning record, can't hide the Atlanta Falcons' offensive shortcomings. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? ATLANTA (AP) — Even the woeful NFC South, where no team has a winning record, can’t hide the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive shortcomings. Three straight setbacks, including an ugly 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, has left the Falcons 6-6 and feeling the pressure. Only a tiebreaker advantage over Tampa Bay has kept the Falcons atop the division. Now the Falcons must prepare to visit streaking Minnesota, which has won five straight. Veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett knows the Falcons must solve the flaws which have been exposed in the losing streak. “It’s now or never,” Jarrett said. “You have to flip the mindset fast.” Kirk Cousins threw four interceptions in the loss, matching his career high. Coach Raheem Morris said he didn’t consider playing rookie Michael Penix Jr. against the Chargers and won’t think about benching Cousins this week. Morris acknowledged the Falcons can’t expect to win when turning the ball over four times. It was the latest example of Atlanta’s offensive decline. In the three-game losing streak, Cousins has thrown six interceptions with no touchdowns. The Falcons were held under 20 points in each loss. What’s working If not for the rash of interceptions which has contributed to the scoring problems, more attention would be devoted to the surge of big plays on defense. The defense forced two fumbles and set a season high with five sacks, including two by Arnold Ebiketie. The Falcons ranked last in the league with only 10 sacks before finding success with their pass rush against Justin Herbert. Herbert was forced to hold the ball while looking for an open receiver, so some credit for the pass-rush success belongs to Atlanta’s secondary. The Falcons gave up only two first downs in the second half and 187 yards for the game. What needs help Cousins, 36, was expected to be the reliable leader on offense after he signed a four-year, $180 million contract. The four interceptions were his most since 2014 with Washington. Cousins now will be in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons as he returns to Minnesota, his NFL home from 2018-23. Cousins has thrown 13 interceptions, one shy of his career high set in 2022. His passer rating of 90.8 is his lowest since his 86.4 mark as a part-time starter in 2014 with Washington. “Certainly when you haven’t played at the standard you want to a few weeks in a row, you know, you do want to change that, turn it around,” Cousins said. Stock up Running back Bijan Robinson had his busiest day of the season, perhaps in an attempt to take heat off Cousins. Robinson’s 26 carries set a career high. He ran for 102 yards with a touchdown, his third 100-yard game of the season. He also was heavily involved as a receiver with six catches for 33 yards. With 135 yards from scrimmage, Robinson has eight games this season with more than 100 yards combined as a rusher and receiver, the second-most in the league. Stock down Tight end Kyle Pitts had no catches on only two targets. He has only six catches in the last four games after appearing to establish momentum for a big season with two seven-catch games in a span of three weeks in October. Morris noted the Falcons have “so many people that we’ve got to get the ball to” but noted he’d like to see Pitts more involved. Injuries Younghoe Koo’s hip issues were such a concern that kicker Riley Patterson was signed to the practice squad on Friday and added to the active roster Saturday. Patterson was on the inactive list as Koo was good on two of three field goals, missing from 35 yards. Koo has made 21 of 29 attempts this season. He did not have more than five misses in any of his first five seasons with Atlanta. Key number 70 — WR Drake London had nine receptions for 86 yards, giving him 70 catches for the season. London, a 2022 first-round draft pick, is the first player in team history with at least 65 receptions in each of his first three seasons. While Ray-Ray McCloud III led the team with a career-best 95 yards on four catches against the Chargers and Darnell Mooney has had some big games, London has been the most consistent receiver. Next steps The Falcons face a difficult test Sunday in their visit to Minnesota (10-2), which has five straight wins and is 5-1 at home. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Advertisement AdvertisementGRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Tai'Reon Joseph scored 28 points off the bench to lead UTSA over North Dakota 95-85 on Sunday. Joseph shot 8 of 11 from the field, including 6 for 8 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 7 from the free-throw line for the Roadrunners (5-5). Primo Spears scored 16 points while shooting 4 for 12 (3 for 5 from 3-point range) and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line. Damari Monsanto finished 4 of 4 from 3-point range and 3 for 4 from the line to finish with 15 points. The Fightin' Hawks (4-8) were led by Treysen Eaglestaff, who finished with 24 points, four assists and two steals. Dariyus Woodson added 23 points. Deng Mayar contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds. UTSA took the lead with 19:02 to go in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 39-34 at halftime, with Monsanto racking up nine points. UTSA used a 9-0 run in the second half to build a 13-point lead at 55-42 with 15:16 left in the half before finishing off the win. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .