Alpha Emitter Global Market to Witness Exponential Growth Reaching $3.03 Billion by 2028 Amid Rising Incidence of CancerMan charged for threatening NY hotel owners over videos soldier son posted from Gaza
The chilly breeze that arrived last weekend signified the last stretch of what is considered the longest Christmas season in the world, which is observed in the Philippines. From the advent of the “ber months,” this nation has psyched itself up for the coming festivities, starting with the hanging of parol (star-shaped lanterns patterned after the star of Bethlehem) outside windows, to the Christmas countdowns conducted by media outlets, malls, and local government units. Malls have giant Christmas trees up and standing since September, a fitting tribute to the mall culture that Filipinos are known for worldwide. The Philippines is so enamored with Christmas that over half a million airline seats have been purchased locally ahead of time for travel during Christmas and New Year’s Days to both domestic and Asian destinations. The Bureau of Immigration announced last Dec. 15 that it was bracing for a rise in both arrivals and departures this month, estimating some 110,000 daily holiday travelers compared to the pre-pandemic average daily numbers of 55,000 arrivals and 47,000 departures (2019). As Christmas is deeply ingrained in Philippine culture, a significant number of the 2.16 million overseas Filipino workers are returning home to spend Christmas with their loved ones. They, along with the Filipino migrants living abroad, are looking forward to family reunions, festive parties and celebrations, and the observance of religious rites that this long season brings. Travel has been an integral part of this holiday season, even figuring prominently over 2,000 years ago during the first Christmas, when Jesus Christ was born in the Roman-controlled region of Judea/Palestine. According to the Gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary had to leave Nazareth in Galilee for the Bethlehem town of David in Judea in compliance with Caesar Augustus’ order for a census of the entire Roman world. Based on its historical origins, the first Christmas was a story of humility. Jesus’ earthly parents, who were traveling far from home, had no place to stay except in a stable, which was, as one would expect, full of smelly farm animals. Mary gave birth to her firstborn son, Jesus. “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them” (Luke 2:7). The Belén, the traditional nativity story of Jesus present in most Filipino homes, has evolved since it was introduced by the Spanish in the 16th century. The glamorized composite version (with three wise men) often misses out on the reality of the first Christmas. The first Christmas was beauty in simplicity witnessed by shepherds and celebrated by angels who declared, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Despite its lack of grandeur, the birth of Jesus gave us more. It was a testament to how love shapes us all, uniting even the mortal and the divine. It therefore behooves this country, where some 90 percent of the population identify as Christians, to remain true to what Jesus Christ’s earthly life stands for. The message of Christmas, then and now, is meant for everyone. By choosing to be born poor among the colonized Jews, Jesus was elevating the higher and revolutionary values of giving and self-sacrifice as the lasting solutions to poverty and conflicts that humanity has not been able to shake off since Adam. Jesus identified himself with those who were destitute, vulnerable, or unwelcome, no matter their faith beliefs or social status. Jesus said himself that “those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces” (Matthew 11:8). Amid the chaos and excitement of this season, it’s easy to forget what makes Christmas so special to the Philippines. Christmas is and should remain a vehicle for giving and extending empathy to those who are suffering and in need. Malacañang has rightly advised against lavish Christmas parties among government workers, given the six storms that walloped the country in just one month, from Oct. 24 through Nov. 18, that affected 15 million residents across 17 regions. But such a call for austerity is hollow because the national coffers have been bled dry by tone-deaf lawmakers and bureaucrats, which has contributed to the further ballooning of the national debt. One such example is the now-abandoned plan of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to bullheadedly spend P137.7 million for its 30th-anniversary celebration in 2025. Christmas demands that everyone exercise special sensitivity to the suffering in our midst by reaching out to those in sick bays and jails, the homeless, the working class, disaster victims, and those seeking justice in this season and the next. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Thus, the Inquirer joins the Filipino nation in celebrating Christmas 2024 by urging for a prudent use of taxpayer money. Our leaders should transform their offices into a nativity scene for public service, embracing humility and self-giving. Maligayang pasko sa ating lahat!
NoneExperts say, this this trend, sometimes referred to as “ digital colonialism ,” in which large tech firms exercise their hegemonic over the political and social structures of other nations, coining it as “neo-imperialism”. US-backed social media platforms have unprecedented power to shape peoples’ belief systems. Tech giants like Meta,* Twitter (X), YouTube, and Facebook* hold considerable clout over the politics of South Asian countries, particularly Pakistan, a media and data analyst at Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) group and associate with the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS), Hamna Obaid Khokher , told Sputnik India . Unbeknownst to the consumers, big tech corporations also gather enormous amounts of data that can be used for surveillance and to change behavior patterns, she expressed. This information can be taken advantage of to target people with certain messages, sway their beliefs, and generate strong emotions and disturbance, the analyst emphasised. These digital channels controlled by the West are crucial in swaying public opinion and igniting instability in developing countries like Pakistan. The prevalence of Western digital platforms can also result in a kind of neo-imperialism when Western norms and ideals are imposed on countries such as Pakistan, destroying indigenous cultures and customs. This has serious implications as young minds, who will shape the policies in the future, are most affected by propaganda generated by these platforms, she underscored. there are problems with, for example, Meta's methodology of monitoring fake news. They do not allow politicians to be flagged online, which, in my opinion, defeats the purpose of monitoring misinformation altogether, as political misinformation constitutes the largest percentage of it. Meanwhile, there are problems with Meta's methodology of monitoring fake news, Areeba Fatima , a senior fact-checker, investigative reporter, and anchor with BOL News, told Sputnik India . The platform does not allow politicians to be flagged online, which, she argued, defeats the purpose of monitoring misinformation altogether, as political misinformation constitutes the largest percentage of it. She mentioned that she had also published an investigative report on how an internal Dangerous Individuals and Organisations (DOI) list from Meta, when leaked and analysed on the platform, shows a lack of willingness to moderate hate speech and those flagged. Countries like Pakistan will ban any social media platform that does not surrender to them in some way or another and allows them to remove accounts that display any level of dissent or criticise the state, the reporter suggested. * Meta banned in Russia as extremist organisation
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Will Howard passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another, TreVeyon Henderson ran for a score and No. 2 Ohio State beat previously undefeated No. 5 Indiana 38-15 on Saturday. All Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten, CFP No. 2) has to do now is beat Michigan at home next Saturday and it will earn a return to the Big Ten championship game for the first time since 2020 and get a rematch with No. 1 Oregon. The Ducks beat Ohio State 32-31 in a wild one back on Oct. 12.
NBA hand out suspensions after fracas in Phoenix
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court should overturn Mississippi’s Jim Crow-era practice of removing voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies, including nonviolent crimes such as forgery and timber theft, attorneys say in new court papers. Most of the people affected are disenfranchised for life because the state provides few options for restoring ballot access. “Mississippi’s harsh and unforgiving felony disenfranchisement scheme is a national outlier,” attorneys representing some who lost voting rights said in an appeal filed Wednesday. They wrote that states “have consistently moved away from lifetime felony disenfranchisement over the past few decades.” This case is the second in recent years — and the third since the late 19th century — that asks the Supreme Court to overturn Mississippi’s disenfranchisement for some felonies. The cases use different legal arguments, and the court rejected the most recent attempt in 2023. The new appeal asks justices to reverse a July ruling from the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said Mississippi legislators, not the courts, must decide whether to change the laws. Stripping away voting rights for some crimes is unconstitutional because it is cruel and unusual punishment, the appeal argues. A majority of justices rejected arguments over cruel and unusual punishment in June when they cleared the way for cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places. Attorneys who sued Mississippi over voting rights say the authors of the state’s 1890 constitution based disenfranchisement on a list of crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit. A majority of the appeals judges wrote that the Supreme Court in 1974 reaffirmed constitutional law allowing states to disenfranchise felons. About 38% of Mississippi residents are Black. Nearly 50,000 people were disenfranchised under the state’s felony voting ban between 1994 and 2017. More than 29,000 of them have completed their sentences, and about 58% of that group are Black, according to an expert who analyzed data for plaintiffs challenging the voting ban. Related Articles National Politics | Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees? National Politics | Beyond evangelicals, Trump and his allies courted smaller faith groups, from the Amish to Chabad National Politics | Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: ‘Drill.’ National Politics | Trump’s team is delaying transition agreements. What does it mean for security checks and governing? National Politics | Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing in order to decide where case should go now To regain voting rights in Mississippi, a person convicted of a disenfranchising crime must receive a governor’s pardon or win permission from two-thirds of the state House and Senate. In recent years, legislators have restored voting rights for only a few people. The other recent case that went to the Supreme Court argued that authors of Mississippi’s constitution showed racist intent when they chose which felonies would cause people to lose the right to vote. In that ruling, justices declined to reconsider a 2022 appeals court decision that said Mississippi remedied the discriminatory intent of the original provisions in the state constitution by later altering the list of disenfranchising crimes. In 1950, Mississippi dropped burglary from the list. Murder and rape were added in 1968. The Mississippi attorney general issued an opinion in 2009 that expanded the list to 22 crimes, including timber larceny, carjacking, felony-level shoplifting and felony-level writing bad checks. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in a 2023 dissent that Mississippi’s list of disenfranchising crimes was “adopted for an illicit discriminatory purpose.”
Enabling lower cost EVs through electric motor developmentLONDON UK car production dropped 30.1% in November, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Friday. A total of 64,216 cars were produced during the month, 27,711 fewer than in November 2023. This marks the ninth consecutive month of falling output and the sector’s worst performance for November since 1980. The decline stems from multiple challenges, including strategic product shifts, weakened demand in key global markets, and adjustments to production schedules. Additionally, comparisons to November 2023 are skewed, as output during that period was bolstered by a recovery from COVID-related supply chain disruptions. As UK car makers transition to electric vehicle (EV) production, significant retooling efforts have impacted manufacturing output. The shift has resulted in production cuts across all major manufacturers. While November saw the production of 19,165 battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid electric cars, this figure represents a sharp 45.5% decline compared to the same month last year. Despite the challenges, electrified vehicles now account for nearly a third (29.8%) of total production. From January to November, over a quarter of a million electrified vehicles were manufactured in the UK. However, this figure is down 19.7% year-on-year, largely due to model switchovers at key plants. Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, described the figures as "offering little Christmas cheer for the sector." “With billions of pounds committed to new technologies, new models, and production tooling, the industry is facing significant strain,” Hawes said. “The government can play a critical role by supporting consumers in the transition to electric vehicles, fast-tracking its Industrial Strategy for advanced manufacturing, and urgently reviewing market regulations that are exacerbating the sector’s challenges,” he added.
