New Jersey gambling regulators have handed out $40,000 in fines to two sportsbooks and a tech company for violations that included taking bets on unauthorized events and on games that had already ended. In information made public Monday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement fined DraftKings $20,000. It also levied $10,000 fines on Rush Street Interactive NJ and the sports betting technology company Kambi. According to documents released by the state, Rush Street accepted 16 bets worth $1,523 in Nov. 2021 on a college basketball game between the University of North Carolina-Asheville and Tennessee Tech University after the game had already concluded with a UNC victory. Kambi told the enforcement division that a trader had failed to manually remove that game from its betting markets, saying it had stopped receiving messages from its own sports data provider due to a network connectivity error. Kambi said it has updated its guidelines and retrained its traders to prevent a recurrence. Kambi, which is based in Malta, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday. Rush Street declined comment, and DraftKings had no immediate comment Monday. DraftKings stopped using Kambi in 2021. In March 2022 Rush Street took seven bets totaling just under $2,900 on three Magic City Jai Alai games after the results were already known. Kambi told the division it experienced a connectivity issue that allowed the bets to be accepted after the games were over. An explanation of what Kambi did to address the situation was blacked out in documents released by the division. A month earlier Rush Street took 13 wagers worth $8,150 with pre-match odds on a Professional Golf Association match after the event had already begun. In this case, Kambi told the division a newly hired trader failed to enter the correct closing time time for bets on the event. The trader and a supervisor underwent retraining. DraftKings was fined for taking bets on unapproved events including Russian basketball for nine months in 2020 and 2021. It eventually voided over $61,000 in bets and returned the money to customers after being directed to do so by the state. In this case, Kambi told the division it misidentified this particular Russian basketball league as one that was approved for wagering in New Jersey. DraftKings told the state it did not catch the error, either. In 2020, DraftKings accepted 484 wagers on unapproved table tennis matches. Kambi incorrectly enabled the events for wagering without conditions required by the state, the division said. In Feb. 2022, the division said DraftKings took pre-season NFL bets involving specific players but did not give the state specific information on what information was to be included in the bets, drawing 182 wagers worth nearly $7,000 that were later voided and refunded to customers. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com .Parsons, who died at his Manhattan home, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. The financial services company Lazard, where Parsons was a longtime board member, confirmed his death. The NBA, where Parsons was interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014, was among organizations offering condolences. “Dick Parsons was a brilliant and transformational leader and a giant of the media industry who led with integrity and never shied away from a challenge,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. Parsons’ friend Ronald Lauder told The New York Times that the cause of death was cancer. Parsons stepped down Dec. 3 from the boards of Lazard and Lauder's company, Estée Lauder, citing health reasons. He had been on Estée Lauder’s board for 25 years. Parsons, a Brooklyn native who started college at 16, was named chairman of Citigroup in 2009, one month after leaving Time Warner Inc., where he helped restore the company’s stature following its much-maligned acquisition by internet provider America Online Inc. He steered Citigroup back to profit after financial turmoil from the subprime mortgage crisis, which upended the economy in 2007 and 2008. Parsons was named to the board of CBS in September 2018 but resigned a month later because of illness. Parsons said in a statement at the time that he was already dealing with multiple myeloma when he joined the board, but “unanticipated complications have created additional new challenges.” He said his doctors advised him to cut back on his commitments to ensure recovery. “Dick’s storied career embodied the finest traditions of American business leadership,” Lazard said in a statement. The company, where Parsons was a board member from 2012 until this month, praised his “unmistakable intelligence and his irresistible warmth.” “Dick was more than an iconic leader in Lazard’s history — he was a testament to how wisdom, warmth, and unwavering judgment could shape not just companies, but people’s lives,” the company said. “His legacy lives on in the countless leaders he counseled, the institutions he renewed, and the doors he opened for others.” Parsons was known as a skilled negotiator, a diplomat and a crisis manager. Although he was with Time Warner through its difficulties with AOL, he earned respect for the company and rebuilt its relations with Wall Street. He streamlined Time Warner’s structure, pared debt and sold Warner Music Group and a book publishing division. He also fended off a challenge from activist investor Carl Icahn in 2006 to break up the company and helped Time Warner reach settlements with investors and regulators over questionable accounting practices at AOL. Parsons joined Time Warner as president in 1995 after serving as chairman and chief executive of Dime Bancorp Inc., one of the largest U.S. thrift institutions. In 2001, after AOL used its fortunes as the leading provider of Internet access in the U.S. to buy Time Warner for $106 billion in stock, Parsons became co-chief operating officer with AOL executive Robert Pittman. In that role, he was in charge of the company’s content businesses, including movie studios and recorded music. He became CEO in 2002 with the retirement of Gerald Levin, one of the key architects of that merger. Parsons was named Time Warner chairman the following year, replacing AOL founder Steve Case, who had also championed the combination. The newly formed company’s Internet division quickly became a drag on Time Warner. The promised synergies between traditional and new media never materialized. AOL began seeing a reduction in subscribers in 2002 as Americans replaced dial-up connections with broadband from cable TV and phone companies. Parsons stepped down as CEO in 2007 and as chairman in 2008. A year later AOL split from Time Warner and began trading as a separate company, following years of struggles to reinvent itself as a business focused on advertising and content. Time Warner is now owned by AT&T Inc. A board member of Citigroup and its predecessor, Citibank, since 1996, Parsons was named chairman in 2009 at a time of turmoil for the financial institution. Citigroup had suffered five straight quarters of losses and received $45 billion in government aid. Its board had been criticized for allowing the bank to invest so heavily in the risky housing market. Citigroup returned to profit under Parsons, starting in 2010, and would not have a quarterly loss again until the fourth quarter of 2017. Parsons retired from that job in 2012. In 2014 he stepped in as interim CEO of the Clippers until Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took over later that year. Parsons, a Republican, previously worked as a lawyer for Nelson Rockefeller, a former Republican governor of New York, and in Gerald Ford’s White House. Those early stints gave him grounding in politics and negotiations. He also was an economic adviser on President Barack Obama’s transition team. Parsons, who loved jazz and co-owned a Harlem jazz club, also served as Chairman of the Apollo Theater and the Jazz Foundation of America. And he held positions on the boards of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Parsons played basketball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and received his law degree from Albany Law School in 1971. He is survived by his wife, Laura, and their family. This obituary was primarily written by the late Associated Press reporter Anick Jesdanun, who died in 2020 .
Quartz watches finally have their moment in the Sun( MENAFN - JCN NewsWire) Fujitsu recognized as Leader in IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Digital Workplace Services 2024 Vendor Assessment TOKYO, Dec 16, 2024 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu has been recognized as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Digital Workplace Services 2024 Vendor Assessment (doc #US51812324, November 2024). Fujitsu is promoting the concept of Work Life Shift , a new human-centered approach that helps people and companies work and live more sustainably. The Human-Centric Experience Workspace, Fujitsu's digital workplace service, consists of a next-generation service desk that uses AI-powered interactive agents and process automation to help optimize costs and improve the employee experience, and a managed service based on Microsoft 365 that provides total support for the design, deployment, operation, and security of a customer's workplace strategy. Fujitsu will continue to contribute to the creation of an environment where people can live and work with peace of mind through digital innovation. About IDC MarketScape: IDC MarketScape vendor assessment model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of technology and service suppliers in a given market. The research utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each supplier's position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of technology suppliers can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective suppliers. Related Link: Human-Centric Experience Workspace About Fujitsu Fujitsu's purpose is to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation. As the digital transformation partner of choice for customers in over 100 countries, our 124,000 employees work to resolve some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Our range of services and solutions draw on five key technologies: Computing, Networks, AI, Data & Security, and Converging Technologies, which we bring together to deliver sustainability transformation. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.7 trillion yen (US$26 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 and remains the top digital services company in Japan by market share. Find out more: . Press Contacts Fujitsu Limited Public and Investor Relations Division Inquiries MENAFN15122024003415003250ID1108995657 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
NASDAQ-Listed Weed Stock, High Tides Surges Over 21% In Last Two SessionsBy Olusegun Adeniyi The rule of law is underwritten by fundamental assumptions. One, that the law is fair to all and that citizens can approach the court expecting to obtain justice irrespective of their station in life. Two, that judges who interpret the law and dispense justice will be above reproach and remain impartial. Three, that an independent, orderly judiciary will be self-regulating. Unfortunately, recent developments in Nigeria only point to a betrayal of nearly all these foregoing assumptions. Last week, the Senate passed a resolution asking President Bola Tinubu to sack Danladi Umar as chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over sundry allegations of corruption and misconduct. But the provisions of Section 157 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) on which the resolution was anchored do not support what the Senate did. There is a difference between the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the CCT and you expect Senators to know that. It would take the votes of two thirds of members of both chambers (Senate and the House of Representatives) for the president to remove the CCT chairman. Apparently mindful of this lacuna, the House on Tuesday invoked the proper law, Section 17 (3), Part 1, Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to complete the process with their concurrence that Umar be removed. The second issue is the presidential action that preceded the two resolutions. On 13th July this year, then presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, announced “the appointment of Dr. Mainasara Umar Kogo as the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT),” as directed by the president. “Kogo is a seasoned lawyer and analyst in the fields of law, security, economy, politics, and international diplomacy,” Ngelale further said. I assumed at the time that Umar’s tenure had lapsed, or he had quietly resigned. Evidently, that is not the case. With both Umar and Kogo claiming to be CCT chairman, the National Assembly has merely covered up for a presidential lapse of judgement on the matter. The third and perhaps most substantive issue relates to the charges against Umar. First sworn-in as acting CCT chairman in 2007 at age 36 despite his thin résumé, Umar became the substantive chairman in 2011. And in the past 13 years, there have been several allegations of impropriety against him. In January 2018, for instance, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused Umar of demanding and receiving bribes from one Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, a defendant standing trial before the CCT for “favours to be afterwards shown” to him. Besides, Umar also has a notorious reputation in Abuja. Asked to repark his vehicle that was obstructing other customers at Banex Plaza on 8th April 2021, Umar (who drove himself that day and would later make a big deal of it in a reckless statement) adopted the usual Nigerian Big Man disposition of ‘Do you know who I am?’ by assaulting a security man. When the video went viral, he claimed to be the victim of assault by ‘Biafran boys’, thus profiling shop owners at the commercial complex. In calling for a full investigation into the incident at the time, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) expressed its displeasure at the “display of naked power by a public officer especially one who, by virtue of his high office, is expected to exhibit a high standard of conduct.” Given the foregoing, Umar’s removal is long overdue. But what I find rather surprising is that his defenders are citing the crisis orchestrated by the removal of a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen to canvass for due process on the matter. This same Umar was a willing tool in the hands of President Muhammadu Buhari and his Attorney General and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, SAN, for that judicial act of infamy. Now that his misdeeds have caught up with him, Umar is seeking equity with unclean hands. However, the bigger lesson in this saga is for the judiciary. In my presentation at the 2024/2025 Legal Year ceremony of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Abuja on 9th October, I made a general point about justice administration in Nigeria with a clear distinction between ‘rule of law’ and ‘rule of judges’. The latter, as I said, is a situation in which a judge places himself/herself above the law. “Regrettably, the loud and overpowering noise of the latter is becoming definitive of Nigeria’s judiciary in the perception of most people,” I concluded. “Nothing gives better expression to that than the statement, ‘Go to Court’ by conscious wrong-doers, often followed by ‘Go on appeal’ by their hand-in-glove judges.” In his highly entertaining book, ‘Judges’ which I once referenced on this page, Lord David Philip Pannick used the lesson of history in both the United Kingdom and United States to highlight what could happen when the people lose faith in the judicial process. “Some judges have received more than their just deserts for injudicious behaviour. In the 13th century, Andrew Horn alleged that in one year, King Alfred caused 44 judges to be hanged as homicides for their false judgments. In 1381, a mob pursued the Lord Chancellor, Simon de Sudbury, and cut off his hand. One year later, Lord Chief Justice Cavendish was killed after being apprehended by a mob and subjected to a mock trial in which he was sentenced to death,” Pannick, a member of the House of Lords and the Blackstone Chambers, wrote. “In 1688, the infamous judge Jeffreys, by then the Lord Chancellor, went into hiding when James II fled the country. Jeffreys was captured in Wapping when he was recognized in a tavern by a man who had been a dissatisfied litigant in his court. (The man had won his case, but Jeffreys had been rude to him and kept him waiting). Jeffreys was put in the Tower of London, where he died in 1689.” We are living in an age when the past bears an uncanny resemblance to the present. It is therefore important for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to begin dealing with deviant behaviours among its members. Authorities in the judicial sector must not allow a situation in which the people would openly turn against our men and women on the bench. This requires an urgent need for internal cleansing. May the day never come in Nigeria when an enraged public would begin to disrobe otherwise eminent judges in the marketplace! What the Yoruba People Have Lost “Chief Lóògò Bámútùlá explains, ‘I grew up amid deities...In the house, the gods talked audibly and clearly. They spoke precise human language...’ This is a Chief who actively remembers his ancestors, who offers his own stories of a life lived through the Nigerian Civil War and beyond, and whose clients include those of many different affiliations. His practices include prayer, festival, charms, psychiatric care, pharmaceutical and medical interventions, and resolving curses, reminding us of the complex rituals and acts that make up what we call religion...” The foreword by Laura Nasarallah, Scholar of Ancient Christianity and Buckingham Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale University, United States, leads us to the story of an extraordinary man who had no formal education yet imbued with the power/knowledge to cure many ailments. Described as a “ritual specialist, native botanist and family patriarch” by Arthur Kleinman, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in the blurb, Chief David Akinsawe Bámútùlá of Ile-Oluji in Ondo State is not only a cultural avatar but also a symbol of the body of knowledge in Yorubaland that is gradually going into extinction. But how did I get to read the manuscript of the coming book by Harvard Professor, Jacob Olupona, co-authored with Oluwole Akinyosoye who worked briefly at The Guardian newspaper before venturing into the oil and gas industry? To get away from the drama of ‘birthday’ which holds no significance for me (village people don’t celebrate birthday), I try to take my annual holiday from the first week in November though the get-away gambit almost failed this year due to a delayed visa renewal process. But in the past two weeks, I have visited New York, Washington DC and Toronto (Canada) before finally arriving at my main destination in Boston, Massachusetts. For the past 15 years, Professor Olupona and his wife, Josephine Modupe, have been guardian angels for my family. But for me the real attraction in always holidaying with them is not so much the warm hospitality but rather the knowledge and insights I gain from Professor Olupona who always enjoys having me around. It’s much like being in school. In the process of discussing the current situation with the traditional institution in Yorubaland, Olupona told me of a coming book, ‘In the Twilight of Time: A Biography of an African Medicine Man’ he co-authored with Akinyosoye. And the moment he handed me the manuscript, I could not put it down. Chief Lóògò and the late Professor Thomas Adeoye Lambo were contemporaries and friends who pursued the same vocation in psychiatric healing though the latter was trained by the best Universities around the world. Lambo, a globally renowned psychiatrist and former Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan (1967 to 1971) later became the World Health Organisation (WHO) Deputy Director General. Being senior to Lambo who was born on 29 March 1923, that means Chief Lóògò is well beyond 100 years in age. Lambo, Chief Lóògò recalls, usually sent a vehicle to pick him up for meetings of the association of Nigerian traditional healers where they always sat beside each other. “He was not much of a herbalist; he was a professor, an audacious fellow, ever ready to experiment,” Chief Lóògò told the authors in one of the numerous interviews conducted for the book. “Lambo chose to test me, when we needed to display the efficacy of charms at a conference in Iganmu, Lagos. Everybody was thrilled at the results.” The second foreword to the manuscript, by HRM Oba Olufaderin Oluwole Adetimehin, Jimoko II of Ile-Oluji Kingdom, Ondo State, is significant in several respects. “I found his (Baba Lóògò’s) elucidation on Yoruba culture fascinating, especially his explanations of conceptual nuances of Olóògún (Ògún devotees) and Olóògùn (traditional pharmacist) and the differences between Babaláwo (Ifá diviner) and Onísègùn (traditional healer)” wrote the royal father, a former president of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN). “The elucidations reveal Baba Lóògò’s rich repository of Yoruba lore and culture.” I am sure the Ile Oluji Monarch must also have learnt a great deal about our past, especially considering how Yoruba Obas are now being abducted right in their palaces. In the days of yore, criminals who dared such a sacrilegious enterprise would have had to contend with ‘Sìgìdì’. Explaining how Sìgìdì provided security for powerful people in the past, Chief Lóògò illustrated his point with the experience of his own father from whom he inherited trado-medicine. “If an evil person is approaching, the Sìgìdì would ambush them before we know and announce their arrival after the task, ‘Baba, we are back.’ Father would respond, ‘You are welcome...You will eat tomorrow. Your mealtime is tomorrow’. I knew then that a goat would be slaughtered the following day. The Sìgìdì often alerted my father whenever danger lurked. Sometimes, Father would command the Sìgìdì to confront the attackers, and they (the attackers) would shoot, unaware that they were not aiming at physical objects.” In Yoruba cosmology, according to the authors, “sacred beings are presented in hidden forms. When one greets a king, either he will move his Ìrùkẹ̀rẹ̀ (flywhisk, a symbol of office) or have his courtiers speak on his behalf,” while expanding on how traditional authority was revered in the past. “The king himself is an Òrìṣà, and silence reflects his elevation and divinity; it is part of the reason that the king garners respect and honour.” Not these days when traditional rulers compete with ‘slay queens’ to throw tantrums on social media! Allow me to make an upfront admission here. I am a Christian who believes in the Bible, and I take my faith very seriously. But I have often wondered about some of the things I witnessed growing up in the village. I can still picture in my mind several traditional healing methods we now consider ‘occultic’. What makes knowledge and wisdom valid? Should knowledge be only those which cement or affirm the existing power structure and epistemology? These, according to Olupona, were some of the questions that prompted their research into the life and career of Chief Lóògò, and it is something I could relate with regarding the way we dismiss (or even criminalise) what we do not understand in Nigeria, because of a lack of curiosity that now defines public engagement and the intellectual space. I recall the controversy that trailed the release about two decades ago of Tunde Kelani’s ‘Agogo Èèwò’ (the gong of taboo). Written by the late acclaimed authority on Yoruba tradition and culture and National Merit Award Winner, Professor Akinwumi Isola, the National Films and Censors Board wanted to ban it at the time. Some of the parts they queried were when the character played by Abiola Atanda (aka Madam Kofo) was carrying rituals and where the herbalist (Akinwunmi Isola) was consulting the Ifa oracle with chants. The verses they considered objectionable are: “Af’ipá l’ówó won kìí kádún” (Seekers of wealth by forceful means do not last); “Afi wàràwàrà l’ówó bí ológun kìí dòla...” (Seekers of instant wealth who employ military brute force do not live long). Not much has changed since then. Chief Lóògò explained the different types of preventive traditional medicines to the authors. “Apparently, ‘Ayeta’ (bullet repellent medicine) as described by Chief Lóògò is not designed for a continuous assail of bullets but to protect against ambush or assassination and allow one to readjust himself for a fight or flight in a war situation,” they wrote. But the authors also lament how “Important trees, leaves and herbs are disappearing in their large numbers, even in Chief Lóògò’s backyard, due to human-induced climate change,” while revealing the contradictions in our society based on the revelations by Chief Lóògò fully captured in the manuscript. “Despite their outrage on his methods and their keeping public distance from him, we find from his dispositions that Christians and Muslims, including notable politicians, secretly patronise him.” It is interesting that Chief Lóògò believes that only God can heal, while also admitting that the same God can use anything and any vessel. “Look at Moses with only a rod. He did great wonders. There was nothing in that rod; It was just a symbol of God’s power,” said Chief Lóògò who then argues, “God is not averse to using medicine to heal the sick. They call the ‘trado-medical’ practitioner ‘Agbomolà’, one who saves the lives of men and women, young and old. Can God be upset with someone for saving another man’s life?” Meanwhile, Chief Lóògò has abandoned his practices and the family deities after embracing Christianity. “I converted to retrace, redirect my path, and change my family’s fortunes...I beg God daily to forgive my sins and those of my lineage.” When the authors inquired whether jettisoning Ògún, the deity he once served as its high priest, was due to pressure from his children, Chief Lóògò replied, “Ògún came to earth on his own volution just like Sàngó and other Yoruba deities. God did not send him here. I discovered that Ògún is opposed to God, so I decided to part ways with him and embrace God.” And the depth of his new-found faith can be glimpsed from this line: “I know my time (on earth) is far spent; my prayer is for Jesus to help me make it to heaven.” The main concern for me is that we have lost the traditional healing methods embraced by other societies. Having visited China several times, I have had the opportunity of seeing expansive herbal/traditional medical centres. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, China’s National Health Commission revealed that about 90 percent of their nationals infected with the virus took some form of traditional medicine to treat their symptoms. These traditional remedies, according to the Chinese, helped to alleviate symptoms, reduced the severity of the virus, improved recovery and reduced mortality rate. Growing up in the village, most of us also took these herbs that are now being derided, so we are aware of their efficacy. In the past, I have used Richard Niebuhr’s book, ‘Christ and Culture’, to demonstrate how Christians have attempted to deal with the challenge of their faith against the background of traditional beliefs and customs. Niebuhr identifies five approaches which he listed as: Christ against Culture; The Christ of Culture; Christ above Culture; Christ and Culture in Paradox and Christ the Transformer of Culture. Unfortunately, as I have also argued, the Pentecostalism embraced in Nigeria today fits into the paradigm of ‘Christ against Culture’, a notion which rejects all ancient mores and body of knowledge, including for traditional healing, as archaic, backward, and evil. • You can follow me on my X (formerly Twitter) handle, @Olusegunverdict and on www.olusegunadeniyi.com
NEW DELHI: Japanese auto major Nissan's plans to turn around its Indian operations remain intact, and it is looking to increase headcount in the country despite the turbulence it is facing globally, according to a senior company official. The company, which has increased headcount at its Chennai plant by 600 to add a third shift, does not foresee steps to cut 9,000 jobs and 20 per cent production globally having an impact on India as long as it remains competitive in the market, Nissan India Operations President Frank Torres told PTI. "Nissan is betting big on India...and the plans (for India) remain intact despite this global turbulence," he said. Torres was responding to a query on whether the announcement for global job and production cuts will have an impact on Nissan's India operations. "Contrary to the perception, in India, we are strengthening our members, growing our production, and we just included almost 600 new employments in our manufacturing plant in Chennai," Torres said. "This move is to help the production shifts. We are expanding production very soon with two new models...this is despite the global action, which involves restructuring. We don't forecast that the impact will be in India because our plans remain untouched. Of course, the key point for us is to keep being competitive. Because, in the end, this is what is considered most important inside Nissan." Earlier in July this year, Nissan India announced that it is looking to introduce five models over the next 30 months as it looks to turn around its operations in the fast-growing Indian car market. The company has set a target of tripling its domestic and export volumes to 1 lakh each per annum by the end of FY26. In November this year, Nissan announced that globally, it would cut 9,000 jobs and production by 20 per cent as part of a turnaround plan and cut costs by 400 billion yen (USD 2.6 billion). "There is no risk, or there is no impact for India as far as the plans for India are concerned, they will remain intact. We will keep on being competitive, right in terms of product, in terms of cost, in terms of everything, including our partners, suppliers and dealers," Torres noted. The third shift at the Chennai plant started some weeks ago, as the company targets full capacity utilisation of the manufacturing plant. "It means that we have grown one full new shift. And then also moving forward towards 2026, where we will need to put our manufacturing plant at full capacity with both lines at three shifts. As of today, we are modifying one of them for the new models," Torres added. If the company achieves its volume forecast with the new models by the end of 2026, he said, "This will put the plant utilisation at more than 80 per cent, which will require more headcount than today". "Increasing headcount is part of our commitment. We have committed to the Tamil Nadu government to grow our headcount next year based on the new investments, and we are well supported by the Tamil Nadu government." Moreover, he said, the Reault-Nissan alliance had committed to more than 2,000 employment creations not just in manufacturing, but also in other areas like R&D as part of their USD 600 million investment plan announced in 2023. Torres also said the company is now refurbishing one line to adapt to new technology, such as EVs, ahead of the planned launch of an electric SUV. "We are planning to grow our volumes both in domestic and export markets. Our target is to increase three-times our domestic and export volume by FY26 compared to FY23...Our plans remain intact, and our plans for the new models remain untouched," Torres asserted. When asked about sales growth, Torres said in the ongoing fiscal 2024-25, Nissan India is looking at over 45 per cent total sales growth at over 1.05 lakh units against 72,666 units sold in the previous fiscal on the back of its upgraded compact SUV Magnite. The company has expanded its export market to more than 65 countries from just 14 nations in 2023, with the introduction of the left-hand drive version of the Magnite, he added. The company is targeting to export over 74,200 units in 2024-25 against 42,597 in the previous fiscal. In the domestic market, Nissan India expects sales to grow by 4 per cent to 31,155 units in 2024-25 compared to 30,065 in the previous fiscal.The challenges ahead are myriad as the government seeks to keep Syria running while preparing for transition. After toppling the regime of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader and commander-in-chief of the new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa , has appointed Mohammed al-Bashir to lead a caretaker government until March 1. The move aims to stabilise the country by providing basic services to civilians and preventing a power struggle between armed groups over state resources and ministries, experts told Al Jazeera. “[A caretaker government is needed] to ensure the state keeps functioning and that people have electricity, water sewage and the internet,” said Thomas Pierret, an expert on Syria for the Institute for Research and Study of the Arab and Muslim World. However, the caretaker government – and HTS – could lose credibility if it refuses to share power after three months, experts have warned. Here’s what we know about the caretaker government and its head: Who is Mohammed al-Bashir? The head of the caretaker government is a technocrat who headed the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in Idlib, a province in northwest Syria. After the Syrian uprising erupted in March 2011, Idlib became an opposition stronghold. By 2017, HTS consolidated control and created the SSG out of civilian technocrats. “Mohammed al-Bashir ... has done a reasonably good job in Idlib,” said Robin Yassin-Kassab, an expert on Syria and the co-author of Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and in War. “I understand that it makes sense to scale [the Salvation Government] up to the whole of Syria, for now,” he added. Al-Bashir’s background in electrical engineering, project management and administrative planning suggests he has the professional know-how to maintain basic services in the country, analysts said. He first emerged as a minister in the HTS-backed Salvation government in 2021, according to the caretaker government’s official website For two years, he served as the head of development and humanitarian affairs, according to Assaad Al Achi, executive director of Baytna, a non-governmental organisation that supported local civil society groups in Syria throughout the war. “He was definitely interested in humanitarian work because that’s where the money was,” Al Achi said, referencing the SSG’s policy of taxing aid organisations. On January 13, 2024, the Shura Council in Idlib elected al-Bashir as prime minister of the SSG. Who are the other ministers? Al-Bashir has told Al Jazeera Arabic that, for the time being, the ministers from the SSG would take over the national ministerial portfolios. The current ministerial lineup is: Is there going to be a transition? Despite al-Bashir’s prominent role, Al Achi does not believe the caretaker prime minister has ambitions to consolidate power over Syria. “What worries me is if [this caretaker government] extends [its term] for more than three months, but if it just for three months ... then that’s alright,” he said. Experts are concerned that HTS will try to rule all of Syria with an iron fist. According to a report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, HTS subjected critics and opponents to enforced disappearances and tortured people to death. Al Jazeera asked the HTS media office to respond to these allegations, but they had not commented by the time of publication. Setting up to succeed The caretaker government and HTS could ease concerns of a power grab by proposing a roadmap detailing when negotiations with other stakeholders would begin ahead of forming a broader coalition, Yassin-Kassab told Al Jazeera. He added that a plan should aim to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which calls for a transitional period of 18 months, during which an inclusive coalition will draft a constitution and prepare for elections under United Nations supervision. “[HTS] need to say this is the beginning of a process that will involve every aspect of society and all political leaderships,” said Yassin-Kassab. “That would reassure Syrians and the international community and give the new government much more legitimacy.” Who’s going to pay for the transition? Syria’s economy is in tatters – the World Bank ranks its gross domestic product (GDP) at 129 out of 196 states. HTS managed to raise revenue during its rule in Idlib by taxing residents, as well as goods and relief passing through from the Turkish border. However, it is unclear whether the group has enough finances to bolster the economy and supply basic provisions in the short to medium term. Experts believe HTS can be incentivised to share power by linking sanction relief to political reforms. Syria is on the United States list of “countries that sponsor terrorism” and, on top of that, HTS is considered a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the European Union, Turkiye and the US. The EU and US have also sanctioned much of the Syrian economy, including the energy sector and the trading of goods related to technology or electricity provision, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). It’s imperative that HTS shares power with other stakeholders and civil society in order to convince Syrians and the international community that the group has changed, argues Yassin-Kassab. “[I]t remains to be seen if this is the beginning of a power grab by HTS and HTS-aligned civilian bodies,” he told Al Jazeera. “I certainly hope not.”
