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he Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is preparing its defense against legal charges leveled at senior party members that it says are part of an organized effort to take over the party. On Monday, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto for allegedly helping former party member Harun Masiku bribe then-General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Wahyu Setiawan for a seat in the House of Representatives. The antigraft body also accused Hasto of obstructing justice by helping Harun, who has been at large since he was named a suspect in the case in 2020, elude authorities. The KPK officially requested that Hasto and former law minister Yasonna Laoly be for the next six months. The antigraft body had questioned Yasonna as a witness in the case on Dec. 18. PDI-P legal affairs executive Ronny Talapessy said on Thursday that the party was preparing to fight the charges, which he contended were politically motivated. “We’re currently preparing for legal action, but we’ll announce our strategy at a later date,” he said, as quoted by Antara. Delivered straight to your inbox three times weekly, this curated briefing provides a concise overview of the day's most important issues, covering a wide range of topics from politics to culture and society. By registering, you agree with 's Please check your email for your newsletter subscription.Punjab bypolls show AAP on course to big win in Delhi: Kejriwal

Early support key to young developmentTHE banking sector plays a crucial role in any country's economy, making cybersecurity a priority focus, especially as financial institutions in the Philippines drive toward digital transformation. As the Philippines pushes toward a "cash-lite" economy, the financial services sector faces a growing threat of cyberattacks, including ransomware incidents, phishing scams, and evolving tactics from cybercriminals. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.

OG Maco: The Trailblazing Rapper Behind ‘U Guessed It’ Dies at 32 After Courageous Health Battle

ATLANTA — As Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene enters her third term in Congress, she will also be working alongside the world's richest man and a former presidential candidate tasked to cut government spending and regulations. The Georgian took to X on Thursday to share she'll be chairing a brand new subcommittee that will work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy for the Department of Government Efficiency. "I won't rest until we've rooted out every penny of waste and abuse," Rep. Greene wrote. "The American people deserve a government that works for them, not against them!" RELATED: Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia's 14th Congressional District, AP projects The Associated Press previously reported President-elect Donald Trump's choice to put Musk and Ramaswamy in charge of DOGE . The news organization said this is an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations. In a separate X post , Greene expanded on her reasons for looking forward to chairing the new subcommittee. She mentioned that she comes from a business background where she runs a construction company. She compared the government to private companies, where she said if one is not doing a good job in their role, they'll be fired. "But for some reason in government, bad employees -- whether they're failing to do the job they were hired to do or working in roles that are no longer needed -- never get fired," she wrote. "This is incredibly unfair to the hard-working taxpayers of our country, and it's about to change." Two people told The Associated Press that Greene and Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, had already met with Ramaswamy. The entrepreneur also took to social media to say he was looking forward to collaborating with Congress on this topic. "Proper oversight of agencies & public transparency are critical," Ramaswamy wrote. RELATED: Extended interview | Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene seeking a third term in Congress The news organization also reported Musk and Ramaswamy said they would encourage Trump to make cuts by refusing to spend money allocated by Congress -- a process known as impounding. The proposal goes against a 1974 law intended to prevent future presidents from following in the footsteps of Richard Nixon, who held back funding that he didn't like. It would be a dramatic attempt to expand his powers when he already has the benefit of a Republican-controlled Congress and a conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court. It could swiftly become one of the most closely watched legal fights of his second administration. “He might get away with it," said William Galston, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. “Congress’s power of the purse will turn into an advisory opinion.” Plans for the Department of Government Efficiency are still coming into focus. Still, it has put out a call for "super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting," the AP said. Applicants are encouraged to submit their resumes through X, the social media company that Musk owns.

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NEW YORK, Dec. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a lawsuit has been filed against Zeta Global Holdings Corp. ZETA and certain of the Company's senior executives for potential violations of the federal securities laws. If you invested in Zeta, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/zeta-global-holdings-corp . Investors have until January 21, 2025, to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors in Zeta securities. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and is captioned Davoodi v. Zeta Global Holdings Corp. , et al. , No. 24-cv-08961. What is the Lawsuit About? Zeta is a cloud-based technology company that provides a marketing platform to assist marketers in acquiring customers. The complaint alleges that Zeta represented that its marketing platform was powered by the industry's largest opted-in data set. On November 13, 2024, prominent investment research firm Culper Research published a report titled: "Zeta Global Holdings Corp (ZETA): Shams, Scams, and Spam." Based on Culper's investigation that included proprietary interviews with industry experts and former Zeta employees, the research firm found that Zeta's data set had been generated from a network of "consent farms" – i.e., sham websites designed to gather consumer data under false pretenses or awards that did not exist. Culper Research further wrote that these consent farms drove almost the entirety of Zeta's growth over the past 2+ years, representing 56% of its Adjusted EBITDA, and could result in devastating regulatory action. The news caused a significant decline in the price of Zeta stock. On November 13, 2024, the price of the company's stock fell 37%, from a closing price of $28.22 per share on November 12, 2024, to $17.76 per share on November 13, 2024. Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/zeta-global-holdings-corp . What Can You Do? If you invested in Zeta you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm. All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses. Submit your information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/zeta-global-holdings-corp Or contact: Ross Shikowitz ross@bfalaw.com 212-789-3619 Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP? Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It was named among the Top 5 plaintiff law firms by ISS SCAS in 2023 and its attorneys have been named Titans of the Plaintiffs' Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thompson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors (pending court approval), as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd. For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com . https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/zeta-global-holdings-corp Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani won his third Most Valuable Player Award and first in the National League, and Aaron Judge earned his second American League honor on Thursday. Ohtani was a unanimous MVP for the third time, receiving all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was second with 263 points and Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte third with 229. Judge was a unanimous pick for the first time. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. got all 30 second-place votes for 270 points, and Yankees outfielder Juan Soto was third with 21 third-place votes and 229 points. Ohtani was unanimously voted the AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels and finished second to Judge in 2022 voting. He didn't pitch in 2024 following elbow surgery and signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. People are also reading... Ohtani joined Frank Robinson for Cincinnati in 1961 and Baltimore in 1966 as the only players to win the MVP award in both leagues. He was the first player to twice become an unanimous MVP. He had combined with Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2023 for the first year both MVPs were unanimous. Ohtani hit .310, stole 59 bases and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs exclusively as a designated hitter, becoming the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. He helped the Dodgers to the World Series title, playing the final three games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. "The ultimate goal from the beginning was to win a World Series, which we are able to accomplish," he said through a translator. "The next goal is for me to do it again and so right now I'm in the middle of rehab and working out and getting stronger." When Ohtani returns to the mound, could he win MVP and the Cy Young Award in the same year? "That would obviously be great, but right now my focus is just to get to get back healthy, come back stronger, get back on the mound and show everybody what I can do," Ohtani said. Ohtani became the first primary DH to win an MVP in a season that started with the revelation his longtime interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, had stolen nearly $17 million from the star to fund gambling. Ohtani is the 12th player with three or more MVPs, joining Barry Bonds (seven) and Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout (three each). Balloting was conducted before the postseason. Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and 133 walks while hitting .322. Witt topped the big leagues with a .332 average, hitting 32 homers with 31 stolen bases and 109 RBIs. Soto batted .288 with 41 homers and 109 RBIs. When Judge won his first MVP award in 2022, he received 28 first-place votes while Ohtani got the other two. Judge had discussed the MVP award with Philadelphia's Bryce Harper, the NL winner in 2015 and '21. "I was telling him, `Man, I'm going to try to catch up to you with these MVPs here, man,'" Judge recalled. "He'd say, hopefully, he could stay a couple ahead of me, which I think he'll do." When Judge won his first MVP award in 2022, he received 28 first-place votes while Ohtani got the other two. He is the Yankees' 22nd MVP winner, four more than any other team. Judge was hitting .207 with six homers and 18 RBIs through April, then batted .352 with 52 homers and 126 RBIs in 127 games. "March and April were not my friend this year." Judge said. "Just keep putting in the work and things are going to change. You can't mope. You can't feel sorry for yourself. Especially in New York, nobody's going to feel sorry for you. So you just got to go out there and put up the numbers?" St. Pete rejects money to repair Tropicana Field roof ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The St. Petersburg City Council reversed course Thursday on whether to spend more than $23 million to repair the hurricane-shredded roof of the Tampa Bay Rays' ballpark, initially voting narrowly for approval and hours later changing course. The reversal on fixing Tropicana Field came after the council voted to delay consideration of revenue bonds for a proposed new $1.3 billion Rays ballpark. Just two days before, the Pinellas County Commission postponed a vote on its share of the new stadium bonds, leaving that project in limbo. “This is a sad place. I'm really disappointed,” council chair Deborah Figg-Sanders said. “We won’t get there if we keep finding ways we can’t.” The Rays say the lack of progress puts the new stadium plan and the future of Tropicana Field in jeopardy. “I can't say I'm confident about anything,” Rays co-president Brian Auld told the council members. The Trop's translucent fiberglass roof was ripped to pieces on Oct. 9 when Hurricane Milton swept ashore just south of Tampa Bay. There was also significant water damage inside the ballpark, with a city estimate of the total repair costs pegged at $55.7 million. The extensive repairs cannot be finished before the 2026 season, city documents show. The Rays made a deal with the Yankees to play next season at 11,000-seat Steinbrenner Field, New York's spring training home across the bay in Tampa. The initial vote Thursday was to get moving on the roof portion of the repair. Once that's done, crews could begin working on laying down a new baseball field, fixing damaged seating and office areas and a variety of electronic systems — which would require another vote to approve money for the remaining restoration. The subsequent vote reversing funding for the roof repair essentially means the city and Rays must work on an alternative in the coming weeks so that Tropicana Field can possibly be ready for the 2026 season. The city is legally obligated to fix the roof. BRIEFLY PIRATES: Pittsburgh hired Matt Hague as its hitting coach, bringing him back to the team that drafted him in 2008. Hague replaces Andy Haines, who was fired after Pittsburgh finished in the bottom 10 in the majors in every significant statistical category last season, including runs (24th) and home runs (25th), while also striking out a club-record 1,504 times, second-most in the National League behind Colorado. The 39-year-old Hague spent last season as an assistant hitting coach with the Toronto Blue Jays. Be the first to know1 2 Hyderabad: The Telangana govt announced state mourning for seven days as a mark of respect for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh under whose tenure as PM the decades-long dream of Telangana state was finally achieved. Singh passed away in Delhi on Thursday night. Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari on Friday issued orders to all collectors and SPs to keep the national flag at half-mast during the mourning period. On Friday, all govt offices and educational institutions remained closed following declaration of a holiday by the govt. Osmania and Jawaharlal Nehru Technological Universities also postponed scheduled examinations. All inaugurations of central and state govt projects and foundation stone ceremonies were postponed until further notice. The inauguration of Cherlapally railway terminal was also put off, and a later date will be announced soon. The Rs 413 crore fourth railway terminal at Cherlapally was to be inaugurated by Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Dec 28. Even the crucial cabinet meeting on Dec 30 will either be postponed or merely meet to pass a condolence resolution. The cabinet was to address issues such as implementation of Rythu Bharosa and Rs 12,000 financial assistance to landless agricultural labourers after Sankranti. Telangana Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud announced the cancellation of all party programmes, including Congress Foundation Day celebrations on Saturday. Chief minister A Revanth Reddy along with party senior leaders and MPs from the state flew to New Delhi from Belagavi, where they were attending the Congress Working Committee meetings, and paid respects to the departed leader's mortal remains. Ministers and other Congress leaders also left the city for New Delhi to pay their respects. The last rites of the former PM will be performed at Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday. He will be cremated with full state honours at 11:45 am. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword .