
The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) celebrated the signing of a historic agreement between Columbus University and Kobe University, marking a pivotal step toward strengthening maritime education and research in the country. “We are witnessing a strategic alliance that will not only facilitate the training of highly skilled professionals but also promote research on key maritime topics, solidifying Panama’s position as a global leader in this sector,” said Maryluz Castillo, Director of the Directorate General of Seafarers (DGGM). Castillo emphasized that this agreement presents an invaluable opportunity to enhance the competitiveness and sustainable growth of Panama’s maritime workforce. For over a century, Panama and Japan have cultivated a robust relationship of cooperation, expanding and strengthening ties across various areas, from economics to culture and sports. According to Castillo, this collaboration will support the training of highly skilled professionals, foster innovation, and adapt to the latest technological demands. Through this partnership, Panama and Japan will combine efforts to address challenges in the maritime sector and seize opportunities provided by the oceans. Panamanian students will gain access to cutting-edge academic programs and have the chance to conduct joint research with their Japanese counterparts. The hybrid-format signing ceremony was officiated by Bernardo Campos Rangel, Dean of the Faculty of Marine and Technological Sciences at Columbus University, and Hirayama Katsutoshi, Dean of the Faculty of Oceanic Sciences and Technologies at Kobe University. The event also featured the participation of Panama’s Consul General in Kobe, Alejandro de León, and Any Lam Chong from the Consulate General of Panama in Kobe, who served as master of ceremonies. Source: Panama Maritime AuthorityPopularity of cultivated meat on rise in APAC, says GlobalDataRivalry Closes Non-Brokered Private Placement Of Approximately $2.0 Million
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EU 'panic' with major trade deal on brink as France turns back on BrusselsThe Sex Lives of College Girls Co-Creator Lists Goals for Season 3 of Max Comedy By premiered this week, and the series’ co-showrunner Justin Noble recently opened up about his goals for the upcoming season of the dramedy. What are the goals for The Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3? Speaking to THR, Noble — who co-created the series with and also serves as showrunner — was asked about his goals for the upcoming series. According to Noble, his hopes are to explore the feel of what sophomore year in college is like, and how different it is from the girls’ freshman years. “This season is so interesting, because sophomore year is a really unique time in the college experience,” said Noble. “You come into school as a first-year, and you don’t know anything at all, and you’re shell-shocked. Three months ago, you had to call your parents to pick you up at the mall because you got a Wetzel’s Pretzels with your friend and you needed a ride home. And now you’re like, ‘I’m a full-blown adult,’ and life smacks you in the face. Then, sophomore year, you have the same thing happen but in a different way because it’s like, ‘Oh, I know everything about college. I’ve been here for a full year. Oh, you’re a first-year. You need to know how this works.’ Meanwhile, based on when your birthday is, you are like six months older than these people.” Noble went on to say that it would also be fun to see the girls interact with the underclassman, and opening up the world of the show. “It’s fun to see our girls start to interact with the class underneath them. It’s fun to see the world getting bigger,” Noble said. “That’s what happens in college, in my experience, and in the writers’ experiences that we talked about so much. Your first year, you hang on to the people in your life so close, because you’re in it together, and you’re like, “This is my close circle of friends.” And then as you get more comfortable, you’re joining clubs, and you’re meeting more people; your world just gets bigger and bigger. I think we start to see that a little bit in the first episode. But obviously, we have a lot to accomplish between season two cliffhangers and switching up the cast a little bit. So we’re just starting to meet some people who we’ll interact with more.” is created by Kaling and Noble, the latter of whom also serves as the showrunner. The series stars Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Alyah Chanelle Scott, Mekki Leeper, Christopher Meyer, Ilia Paulino, Lolo Spencer, Renika Williams, Mitchell Slaggert, and , the latter of whom will be in the show for just a few episodes before her departue. Additional cast members for Season 3 include Rebecca Wisocky, Nabeel Muscatwalla, Michael Hsu Rosen, Ruby Cruz, Devin Craig, Michael Provost, and Roby Attal. It is executive produced by Howard Klein. It is a production by Kaling International in association with Warner Bros. Television. (Source: ) Anthony Nash has been writing about games and the gaming industry for nearly a decade. When he’s not writing about games, he’s usually playing them. You can find him on Twitter talking about games or sports at @_anthonynash. Share articleExpert Ratings For BILL Holdings
Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, has announced the awarding of a N1 billion contract for the general rehabilitation of Argungu General Hospital, located in the Argungu Local Government Area. The governor made the announcement during the flag-off of a 1km road construction in Argungu town on Tuesday. Governor Idris disclosed “I have awarded the general rehabilitation of Argungu General Hospital, and the total contract sum is N1 billion. Related Stories Kebbi State partners Indonesia on livestock development through artificial insemination, embryo transfer PDP calls for investigation into alleged fraud in Kebbi’s NG-Cares disbursement “The amount covers total rehabilitation N500 million, while procurement of modern equipment will also gulp another N500 million,” he said. In his remarks, Governor Idris reiterated his government’s focus on prioritizing the welfare of the people, stating that his administration will continue to invest in improving public health infrastructure to protect lives and property. “We want the people of the state to have modern health facilities in all our general hospitals,” he affirmed. Idris lauded the National Organizing Secretary of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Suleiman Muhammad-Argungu, for his pivotal role in facilitating the construction of a 1km road along Jarman Kabi Road in Shagari Quarters, Argungu town. The governor called on other elected and political officeholders in Kebbi State to follow Muhammad-Argungu’s example by championing initiatives and projects that directly improve the lives of their constituents. While thanking the people of Argungu Emirate for their continued support, Governor Idris assured that over 80 percent of his campaign promises to the Emirate Council had been fulfilled. Earlier, the national organizing secretary appreciated President Bola Tinubu for his magnanimity in approving the project as well as the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu for playing a significant role in facilitating the project. He commended Gov. Idris for proving to the people of Kebbi that he was once a teacher by establishing a primary school and junior secondary school in a community where there was none. Muhammad-Argungu also appreciated the governor for renovating the palace of Emir of Argungu to be one of the best palaces in the Fulani emirates. The Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Sama’ila Muhammadu-Mera, commended the governor for facilitating the establishment Agric Processing Zone in Argungu. “The processing zone, when actualized will make Kebbi an agricultural hub not only in Northern Nigeria but also across Nigeria,” he said. The Monarch said over 500 hectares of land had been cleared and payment of compensation to landowners had already begun.
NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes fell Dec. 12 following some potentially discouraging data on the economy. The S&P 500 slipped 0.5 percent Thursday for its fourth loss in the last six days. It's a pause for the index, which has been rallying toward one of its best years of the millennium. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5 percent, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.7 percent from its record set the day before. A report early in the morning said more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected. A separate update, meanwhile, showed that inflation at the wholesale level, before it reaches U.S. consumers, was hotter last month than economists expected. Neither report points to imminent disaster, but they dilute one of the hopes that's driven the S&P 500 to 57 record highs this year: Inflation is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates, while the economy is remaining solid enough to stay out of a recession. WASHINGTON — Wholesale costs in the U.S. picked up sharply last month, signaling that price pressures are still evident in the economy even though inflation has tumbled from the peak levels it hit more than two years ago. The Labor Department reported Dec. 12 that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 0.4 percent last month from October, up from 0.3 percent the month before. Measured from 12 months earlier, wholesale prices climbed 3 percent in November, the sharpest year-over-year rise since February 2023. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core producer prices rose 0.2 percent from October and 3.4 percent from November 2023. Higher food prices pushed up the November wholesale inflation reading, which came in hotter than expected. Surging prices of fruits, vegetables and eggs drove wholesale food costs up 3.1 percent from October. They had been unchanged the month before. The report comes a day after the government said consumer prices rose 2.7 percent in November from a year earlier, up from an annual gain of 2.6 percent in October, showing inflation has yet to be fully tamed. DALLAS — The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, who has led a tougher enforcement policy against Boeing since a panel blew off a jetliner in January, said he'll step down next month, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump to name his choice to lead the agency. Mike Whitaker announced his pending resignation Dec. 12 in a message to employees of the FAA, which regulates airlines and aircraft manufacturers and manages the nation's airspace. He became the agency's administrator in October 2023. Since then, the challenges confronting Whitaker have included a surge in close calls between planes, a need for stricter oversight of Boeing. antiquated equipment and a shortage of air traffic controllers at a time of high consumer demand for air travel. Whitaker took the helm of the FAA after the Senate, which is frequently divided along partisan lines, voted 98-0 last year to confirm his selection by President Joe Biden. The agency had been without a Senate-confirmed chief for nearly 19 months, and a previous Biden nominee withdrew in the face of Republican opposition. FAA administrators — who hold a job that has long been seen as nonpartisan — generally serve for five years, but that has not happened recently. NEW YORK — An appeals court in New Orleans has ruled that Nasdaq can't require diversity on the boards of companies that list on the exchange. The decision comes more than three years after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq's proposal to boost the number of women, racial minorities and LGBTQ people on U.S. corporate boards. The proposed policy — which was to be the first of its kind for a U.S. securities exchange — would have required most of the nearly 3,000 companies listed on Nasdaq to have at least one woman on their board of directors, along with one person from a racial minority or who identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer. It also would have required companies to publicly disclose statistics on the demographic composition of their boards. Some conservative groups and Republican lawmakers have strenuously opposed the proposal, arguing the requirements were arbitrary and burdensome. And on Dec. 11, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the proposal was not legal. Nasdaq said it stands by its policy but will not seek further legal reviews. NEW YORK — DoorDash will require its drivers to verify their identity more often as part of a larger effort to crack down on unauthorized account sharing. DoorDash has been under pressure to ensure its drivers are operating legally. Over the summer, it pledged to do a better job identifying and removing dangerous drivers after a flood of complaints of dangerous driving from cities. Officials in Boston, New York and other cities have said that in many cases, people with multiple traffic violations continue making deliveries using accounts registered to others. The San Francisco delivery company said Dec. 12 it has begun requiring some drivers to complete real-time identity checks immediately after they complete a delivery. Previously, drivers were occasionally asked to re-verify their identity before or after a shift. The new system has been introduced in Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle and other cities and will roll out more widely next year. NEW YORK — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Dec. 12 that it's capping overdraft fees at $5. The rule is set to take effect in October 2025, if it isn't overturned by Congress or altered under the incoming Trump administration. President Joe Biden had called the charges, which can be as high as $35, “exploitative.” The banking industry has lobbied extensively to keep the existing fee structures in place. WASHINGTON — U.S. applications for unemployment benefits jumped to their highest level in two months last week but remain low relative to historical standards. Jobless claim applications climbed by 17,000 to 242,000 for the week of Dec. 7, the Labor Department reported Dec. 12. That's significantly more than the 220,000 analysts were forecasting and yet another data point that reflects a cooling labor market. This week's report also showed that continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, rose by 15,000 to 1.89 million for the week of Nov. 30. The four-week average of weekly claims, which softens some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by nearly 6,000 to 224,250. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs. While the job markets has shown some cracks recently, it remains broadly healthy NEW ORLEANS — Facebook's parent company Meta says it will build a $10 billion data center in northeast Louisiana to meet demand from artificial intelligence technologies, bringing hopes that the 50-worker project will transform an economically neglected corner of the state. .Gov. Jeff Landry called it "game-changing," while some environmental groups have raised concerns over the center's reliance on fossil fuels and whether it could lead to higher energy bills for residents. Meta announced plans this year for a South Carolina data center near Aiken. The company said it anticipates the Louisiana site will create 5,000 temporary construction jobs.
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