Swabi - The World Wildlife Fund International President, Prof Dr Adil Najam, has emphasized that climate change is not a distant reality but is happening right now. He made this statement during a lecture at Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Swabi, where he addressed students on the pressing issue of climate change. Prof Najam, a globally renowned climate change and sustainable development expert, delivered a thought-provoking lecture titled “Pakistan and Climate Change in the Age of Adaptation: A Desi Perspective.” He stressed the urgent need for practical action to mitigate and adapt to climate change, noting that the world has already crossed the critical 1.5°C temperature threshold. He further discussed the global impacts of climate change, including rising sea levels, melting glaciers, microplastic pollution, and shifting geographic ranges. Pakistani court summons Norway right-wing tabloid reporter, editor He also reflected on the devastating 2022 floods in Pakistan, which displaced 33 million people, emphasizing the need for extraordinary measures to tackle the crisis. Engr. Salim Saifullah, President of SOPREST, praised Prof Najam’s contributions to global policy and sustainable development, calling him a source of immense pride for Pakistan. The event was attended by SOPREST Executive Director Shakil Durrani, GIK Institute Rector Prof Dr Fazal Ahmad Khalid, faculty members, and students. Tags: climate change impact
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S’Court ruling: We’ll resume raid on betting shops — HisbahFor Makenzie Gilkison, spelling is such a struggle that a word like rhinoceros might come out as “rineanswsaurs” or sarcastic as “srkastik.” The 14-year-old from suburban Indianapolis can sound out words, but her dyslexia makes the process so draining that she often struggles with comprehension. “I just assumed I was stupid,” she recalled of her early grade school years. But assistive technology powered by artificial intelligence has helped her keep up with classmates. Last year, Makenzie was named to the National Junior Honor Society. She credits a customized AI-powered chatbot, a word prediction program and other tools that can read for her. “I would have just probably given up if I didn’t have them,” she said. Artificial intelligence holds the promise of helping countless other students with a range of visual, speech, language and hearing impairments to execute tasks that come easily to others. Schools everywhere have been wrestling with how and where to incorporate AI , but many are fast-tracking applications for students with disabilities. Getting the latest technology into the hands of students with disabilities is a priority for the U.S. Education Department, which has told schools they must consider whether students need tools like text-to-speech and alternative communication devices. New rules from the Department of Justice also will require schools and other government entities to make apps and online content accessible to those with disabilities. There is concern about how to ensure students using it — including those with disabilities — are still learning. Students can use artificial intelligence to summarize jumbled thoughts into an outline, summarize complicated passages, or even translate Shakespeare into common English. And computer-generated voices that can read passages for visually impaired and dyslexic students are becoming less robotic and more natural. “I’m seeing that a lot of students are kind of exploring on their own, almost feeling like they’ve found a cheat code in a video game,” said Alexis Reid, an educational therapist in the Boston area who works with students with learning disabilities. But in her view, it is far from cheating : “We’re meeting students where they are.” Ben Snyder, a 14-year-old freshman from Larchmont, New York, who was recently diagnosed with a learning disability, has been increasingly using AI to help with homework. “Sometimes in math, my teachers will explain a problem to me, but it just makes absolutely no sense,” he said. “So if I plug that problem into AI, it’ll give me multiple different ways of explaining how to do that.” He likes a program called Question AI. Earlier in the day, he asked the program to help him write an outline for a book report — a task he completed in 15 minutes that otherwise would have taken him an hour and a half because of his struggles with writing and organization. But he does think using AI to write the whole report crosses a line. “That’s just cheating,” Ben said. Schools have been trying to balance the technology’s benefits against the risk that it will do too much. If a special education plan sets reading growth as a goal, the student needs to improve that skill. AI can’t do it for them, said Mary Lawson, general counsel at the Council of the Great City Schools. But the technology can help level the playing field for students with disabilities, said Paul Sanft, director of a Minnesota-based center where families can try out different assistive technology tools and borrow devices. “There are definitely going to be people who use some of these tools in nefarious ways. That’s always going to happen,” Sanft said. “But I don’t think that’s the biggest concern with people with disabilities, who are just trying to do something that they couldn’t do before.” Another risk is that AI will track students into less rigorous courses of study. And, because it is so good at identifying patterns , AI might be able to figure out a student has a disability. Having that disclosed by AI and not the student or their family could create ethical dilemmas, said Luis Pérez, the disability and digital inclusion lead at CAST, formerly the Center for Applied Specialized Technology. Schools are using the technology to help students who struggle academically, even if they do not qualify for special education services. In Iowa, a new law requires students deemed not proficient — about a quarter of them — to get an individualized reading plan. As part of that effort, the state’s education department spent $3 million on an AI-driven personalized tutoring program. When students struggle, a digital avatar intervenes. More AI tools are coming soon. The U.S. National Science Foundation is funding AI research and development. One firm is developing tools to help children with speech and language difficulties. Called the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education, it is headquartered at the University of Buffalo, which did pioneering work on handwriting recognition that helped the U.S. Postal Service save hundreds of millions of dollars by automating processing. “We are able to solve the postal application with very high accuracy. When it comes to children’s handwriting, we fail very badly,” said Venu Govindaraju, the director of the institute. He sees it as an area that needs more work, along with speech-to-text technology, which isn’t as good at understanding children’s voices, particularly if there is a speech impediment. Sorting through the sheer number of programs developed by education technology companies can be a time-consuming challenge for schools. Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education, said the nonprofit launched an effort this fall to make it easier for districts to vet what they are buying and ensure it is accessible. Makenzie wishes some of the tools were easier to use. Sometimes a feature will inexplicably be turned off, and she will be without it for a week while the tech team investigates. The challenges can be so cumbersome that some students resist the technology entirely. But Makenzie’s mother, Nadine Gilkison, who works as a technology integration supervisor at Franklin Township Community School Corporation in Indiana, said she sees more promise than downside. In September, her district rolled out chatbots to help special education students in high school. She said teachers, who sometimes struggled to provide students the help they needed, became emotional when they heard about the program. Until now, students were reliant on someone to help them, unable to move ahead on their own. “Now we don’t need to wait anymore,” she said. This story corrects that Pérez works for CAST, formerly the Center for Applied Specialized Technology, not the Center for Accessible Technology. The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org . Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!MONROVIA – The Supreme Court of Liberia has issued a stay order directing the “Majority Bloc” of the House of Representatives to halt all actions and return to status quo ante while it reviews a petition filed by House Speaker J. Fonati Koffa and his allies. By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected] In a writ issued on Friday, the Court instructed the Minister of Justice and members of the House involved in the dispute to submit their responses by November 26, 2024. The Court also ordered the Majority Bloc, led by Montserrado County Representative Richard Koon, to cease all actions until the matter is adjudicated. The injunction mandated Brigadier General Amos B. Kesseh Dickson, Sr., Marshal of the Supreme Court, or his deputy, to notify the Minister of Justice and the referenced lawmakers to file their official responses. It said they must “appear and file returns on the side of the law before the Full Bench of the Honorable Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia, Temple of Justice, on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., as to whether or not the Petitioners’ Petition should be granted.” The order further instructed the parties to “Return to status quo ante and stay all further proceedings or actions pending the determination of the matter.” “You are commanded to read the original writ and leave a copy with them; and to file your official returns on the back of the original copy in the Office of the Clerk of this Honorable Court by November 26, 2024. Leadership Crisis Escalates The House of Representatives has been embroiled in a bitter leadership conflict, splitting into two factions. The Majority Bloc, citing allegations of corruption, conflict of interest, and poor leadership, accused Speaker Koffa of ignoring their concerns. The crisis escalated when the Majority Bloc, comprising a significant number of lawmakers, abandoned the main chamber and began holding sessions in the joint chamber. On November 21, 2024, the group controversially declared the Speaker’s seat vacant and elected Representative Koon as their new Speaker. They also dissolved committees formed under Speaker Koffa and appointed new ones. Speaker Koffa and members of the Minority Bloc condemned these actions, arguing that no legitimate vacancy existed in the Speaker’s office to justify such moves. The Speaker and his allies subsequently filed a petition to the Supreme Court, asserting that the actions of the Majority Bloc violated the procedural framework of the House. The court’s intervention marks a critical juncture in the ongoing leadership crisis, with the Supreme Court expected to determine the legality of the Majority Bloc’s actions. This dispute has further deepened divisions within the House, raising concerns about its ability to function effectively amid the political turmoil.
Malema warns against factionalism, disunity ahead of EFF conference
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wavered in afternoon trading on Wall Street Monday at the start of a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%. A handful of technology companies helped support the gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 63 points, or 0.2% as of 1:18 p.m. Eastern time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.7%. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, rose 3%. Broadcom jumped 5.2% to also help support the broader market. Japanese automakers Honda Motor and Nissan said they are talking about combining in a deal that might also include Mitsubishi Motors. Honda rose 3.8% and Nissan rose 1.6% in Tokyo. Eli Lilly rose 3% after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first and only prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Department store Nordstrom fell 1.7% after it agreed to be taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal. The Conference Board said that consumer confidence slipped in December. Its consumer confidence index fell back to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Wall Street was expecting a reading of 113.8. The unexpectedly weak consumer confidence update follows several generally strong economic reports last week. One report showed the overall economy grew at a 3.1% annualized rate during the summer, faster than earlier thought. The latest report on unemployment benefit applications showed that the job market remains solid. A report on Friday said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than economists expected. Worries about inflation edging higher again had been weighing on Wall Street and the Fed. The central bank just delivered its third cut to interest rates this year, but inflation has been hovering stubbornly above its target of 2%. It has signaled that it could deliver fewer cuts to interest rates next year than it earlier anticipated because of concerns over inflation. Expectations for more interest rate cuts have helped drive a 24% gain for the S&P 500 in 2024. That drive included 57 all-time highs this year. Inflation concerns have added to uncertainties heading into 2025, which include the labor market's path ahead and shifting economic policies under an incoming President Donald Trump. "Put simply, much of the strong market performance prior to last week was driven by expectations that a best-case scenario was the base case for 2025," said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company Treasury yields edged higher in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.58% from 4.53% late Friday. European markets were mostly lower, while markets in Asia gained ground. Wall Street has several other economic reports to look forward to this week. On Tuesday, the U.S. will release its November report for sales of newly constructed homes. A weekly update on unemployment benefits is expected on Thursday. Markets in the U.S. will close early on Tuesday for Christmas Eve and will remain closed on Wednesday for Christmas.B. Riley Initiates Coverage on Nayax (NASDAQ:NYAX)How Did Dr. Manmohan Singh’s MNREGA Transform Rural India?Former Sinajana resident Luke Leon Guerrero has verbally committed to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and plans to swim for the UNLV Rebels in fall 2025. The UNLV men’s swimming team is an NCAA Division I program that competes in the Western Athletic Conference and has won the WAC title four consecutive years. Leon Guerrero started swimming at age 4 with Guam’s Tsunami Swim Club under coach Toshi Iijima. Now 17, Leon Guerrero swims for the Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team and Troy High School in Fullerton, California. A distance swimmer, Leon Guerrero competed at the national level in the 2024 Speedo Summer Championships in Irvine, California. There, he posted personal bests in the 1500 freestyle (16:28.06) and the 800 freestyle (8:21.52). Last week, he competed at the Hawaii Senior Fall Championships in Waipahu, Hawaii. In December, Leon Guerrero will travel to Greensboro, North Carolina, to compete in the Toyota U.S. Open Championships. He will then compete in the Winter Junior Nationals in Austin, Texas. This article is based on information from a press release.
Nisat Alam Secures Commanding Victory Amid ControversyROME (AP) — In 2020, it was a run to the Champions League quarterfinals just as Bergamo was becoming the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic . Last season, it was an upset victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final to end the German club’s European-record unbeaten run at 51 games. Atalanta keeps on surprising and its latest exploit was moving atop Serie A following a 3-1 win at Parma on Saturday for its seventh straight win in the Italian league. And to think that coach Gian Piero Gasperini considered leaving Atalanta toward the end of last season. Now, Gasperini has the chance to guide “La Dea” (The Goddess), as the team is nicknamed, to its first ever Italian league title. There’s a long way to go, though, and it should be noted that Atalanta is level on points with second-place Inter Milan, which routed Hellas Verona 5-0 earlier, and that Napoli has a chance to reclaim the lead when it hosts Roma on Sunday. Also Saturday, AC Milan and Juventus drew 0-0 at the San Siro in a match with few chances from both sides. Milan produced one shot on goal and Juventus created two. Atalanta's Mateo Retegui scored his league-leading 12th goal of the season, Ederson made it 2-0 before the break and Europa League final hero Ademola Lookman restored the two-goal advantage after Matteo Cancellieri had pulled one back for Parma. Retegui’s fourth headed goal of the season put him atop that category across Europe’s five major leagues, according to Opta, while Lookman volleyed in a cross from Juan Cuadrado after having two goals disallowed. Gasperini was sent off midway through the second half for protests. But he was smiling in the stands at the final whistle. Atalanta's 34 goals are the most in Italy, and trail only Barcelona (42), Bayern Munich (36) and Paris Saint-Germain (36) across Europe's top five leagues. Atalanta has won two and drawn two in the Champions League this season. Marcus Thuram scored twice for defending champion Inter at Verona. Inter was missing top striker Lautaro Martinez, who was out sick. But five goals in the first half made Lautaro’s absence a non-issue. Joaquin Correa opened the scoring 17 minutes in, Thuram then scored twice before more goals from Stefan de Vrij and Yann Aurel Bisseck. Correa nearly added another in second-half stoppage time but his effort hit the woodwork. Inter's only loss across all competitions this season was a derby defeat to Milan in September. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
