FRISCO – The Dallas Cowboys indicated Thursday that All-Pro wide receiver Cee Dee Lamb will be shut down for the team’s final-two regular season games, according to reporting by Adam Sheftner of ESPN. Lamb sustained a shoulder injury (AC joint sprain) in a Nov. 3 game against the Atlanta Falcons, and with the Cowboys having been eliminated from post season play, club officials decided to give Lamb a head start in the recovery process. Team officials said that Lamb is not expected to need surgery. Lamb is among the NFL’s most productive pass catchers. He has 101 catches for 1,194 yards and has hauled in six touchdowns this season. The Cowboys will end their season by visiting Philadelphia Sunday and hosting Washington next weekend (time to be announced). The Philadelphia game will get commence at 12:00 p.m.New Delhi: Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain has been admitted to the ICU of a San Francisco hospital after experiencing heart-related problems, his friend and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia said on Sunday, December 15. The 73-year-old US-based musician had been having blood pressure issues, added a source close to Hussain. “He has been admitted to a hospital in San Francisco for a heart-related problem for the last week,” he said. “He is unwell and admitted to the ICU right now. We all are worried about the situation,” Chaurasia told PTI.Musk calls for abolishing consumer protection agency
Liberal MP accuses opposition MPs of wasting time on another Boissonnault probeRetired High Court Judge, Abednego Tafa, says President Duma Boko acted within the law when he granted a Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve (CKGR) family the right to bury their deceased within the reserve despite a High Court ruling against it. Defending the president’s decision, Tafa explained that, Boko acted within the bounds of his executive authority and used his prerogative of mercy to rectify an injustice to the late Pitseng Gaoberekwe’s family. “I don’t have the details of the judgment but what I understand is that the President has Executive powers to grant mercy event after a conviction. For example, a person can be convicted and be sentenced to death but the president can use prerogative of mercy and reverse the sentence. The president has those executive powers. He did not overrule the judgment, he is only using prerogative of mercy,” explained Tafa. Gaoberekwe was a CKGR Mosarwa man whose body has been lying in the mortuary for the past three years due to conflict over his burial ground. A quick background of the matter is that Gaoberekwe left CKGR in 2014 to settle in New Xade, a settlement created by government to relocate the Basarwa from the reserve. New Xade offered free essential services from government including health centre and social welfare benefits among others. According to his family, it was during the time that Gaoberekwe was battling a lengthy sickness that he went to New Xade to access some of the health services and was in the process enrolled in welfare programmes. After his passing on Christmas Eve 2021, his family expressed a desire to bury him in the CKGR, a place deeply tied to their identity and traditions. However, government through Gantsi District Council, blocked the request citing the family’s relocation to New Xade. The ensuing legal action attracted the interests of human rights activists and attorneys, including Duma Boko, who at the time was running a law-firm in the capital city Gaborone. Despite losing the case at the High Court and the Court of Appeal, the family did not give up, as they took their fight to international platforms accusing government of human rights violations. Nonetheless, fate intervened when Boko won the elections and assumed the presidency, giving the family a chance to appeal directly to the highest office. Responding to the matter, Press Secretary to the President, Emang Mutapati explained that government would abandon the earlier court victory and allow the burial in the CKGR. “There is nothing untoward about the President declaring that Pitseng Gaoberekwe will be buried in CKGR, his ancentral land on Human Rights Day on December 10th because government was a client in that court case and any client has the right to abandon any judgment which is in their favour if they so wish.” Mutapati added that , denying Gaoberekwe the right to be buried in his ancestral ground was a violation of his rights in the first place. “Besides to have denied this son of the soil his right to rest with his ancestors was a gross human rights violation to begin with and President Boko is only correcting a wrong that should have not been allowed to happen in the first place.” While President Boko’s decision has been hailed a victory for indigenous rights, it has also raised questions about the boundaries of presidential powers. Detractors have argued that the decision sets a concerning precedent, while sympathisers view it as a necessary correction to years of marginalisation faced by the CKGR community.
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Liverpool sealed a historic win over Real Madrid to maintain their unbeaten run intact in the Champions League Liverpool extended their unbeaten run in the Champions League after a 2-0 win over Real Madrid. Arne Slot's team climbed to the top of the European competition after second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo. Caoimhin Kelleher saved a penalty in the second half, denying Kylian Mbappe the opportunity to equalise. Alisson , who is currently sidelined with injury, could be seen smirking from behind the bench as Kelleher got down to his left to deny the French superstar. Mohamed Salah also stepped up from the spot but saw his effort wide. The Reds, along with Atalanta and Inter Milan, remain the only teams unbeaten in the competition. Following the victory, Liverpool are two points clear of second-placed Inter Milan, who beat RB Leipzig 1-0 on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, Barcelona and Dortmund share the same 12 points in third and fourth place, respectively. As the hectic schedule is set to continue through next month, the ECHO has taken a look at Liverpool's upcoming league fixtures in all competitions. Manchester City (H) - Premier League - Sunday, December 1. Newcastle United (A) - Premier League - Wednesday, December 4. Everton (A) - Premier League - Saturday, December 7. Girona (A) - Champions League - Tuesday, December 10. Fulham (H) - Premier League - Saturday, December 14. Southampton (A) - Carabao Cup - Wednesday, December 18. Nonetheless, Liverpool are well placed to secure a place in the last-16, with games against Girona, Lille and PSV still to come in their final three fixtures in the Champions League . Their focus will now turn to the Premier League, however, with Pep Guardiola's City set to visit Anfield this weekend. Eight points separate the two sides following the Reds' impressive campaign under Slot so far.The Federal Government has commenced the construction of a smart divisional police headquarters and six residential quarters for rank-and-file officers in Mpape, a community in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja. The initiative is part of ongoing reforms aimed at transforming policing in Nigeria through the integration of modern technology and fostering inclusivity. The Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Gaidam, represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Yusuf Abubakar Argungu, performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the project. In a statement on Sunday, Bolaji Kazeem, Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations for the Ministry, said the project seeks to address security challenges in Mpape and its surrounding areas, providing a safer environment for residents and businesses. “The presence of this divisional headquarters of the police in this location will protect citizens commuting daily for their activities from the dangers of kidnapping, one-chance operations, and robbery, as well as other related crimes affecting people in the city,” Gaidam said. Related News FG, firm plan 100,000 CNG vehicles conversion Nigeria repays $1.22bn to IMF in nine months – Report FG supports Gombe farmers with subsidised inputs The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to transforming the Nigeria Police Force into a modern, technology-driven institution capable of intelligence-led and community-based operations. “The Federal Government is committed to the emergence of a world-class police force that is inclusive, intelligence-led, technology-driven, and community-based,” the statement read. The District Head of Mpape, Alhaji Adamu Diga, commended the Ministry, the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, and the Nigeria Police Force for elevating the existing Mpape Police Post to a Divisional Headquarters. He noted that the development would enhance efficiency and service delivery for residents of the district. The project signifies a major step in bolstering security and modernising policing infrastructure in the Federal Capital Territory, the release noted.The Conference of Parties (COP) presidency should tackle the “inequities” in the resource allocation of the current climate finance to help farmers cope with the aftermath of extreme weather conditions, according to a nongovernment organization. “The fight against climate change cannot emphasize enough the importance of agrifood systems. Ironically, this sector receives a meager share of the pie and it continues to decline,” Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) said in a statement. Citing an analysis by the Climate Policy Initiative, R1 said it showed a mere 0.8 percent share of small-scale agrifood systems or $5.53 billion of the total climate finance across all sectors of $660.2 billion in 2019 to 2020. The group also noted that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported in 2021 that climate-related development finance contributions towards agrifood systems declined by $19 billion or 12 percent compared to 2020. Asia posted the biggest decline, by 44 percent compared to 2020. “The inequities in resource allocation and worse, its further decline has cost the most vulnerable small-scale farmers and agri-micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) their remaining hope for resolution to their sad state.” R1 said the Philippines recently experienced four strong typhoons, leaving Filipino farmers barely able to recover from the devastation of one extreme weather event to another. “We join the united efforts of smallholder farmers, civil society, Indigenous Peoples (IPs), youth and women in seeking equitable share in climate financing,” R1 said. “Only then can we truly uphold climate change resilience among our sectors that are most vulnerable to the devastation of climate change impact.” The country has been grappling with successive typhoons recently that devastated agricultural farmlands and the fisheries sector, with damage reaching over P10 billion so far from typhoon Kristine to typhoon Nika. Bloomberg reported that nearly 200 countries agreed to triple the amount of money available to help developing countries confront rapidly warming temperatures. Rich countries have pledged to provide at least $300 billion annually by 2035, through a wide variety of sources, including public finance as well as bilateral and multilateral deals. The agreement also calls on parties to work toward unleashing a total of $1.3 trillion a year, with most of it expected to come through private financing. Developed and developing countries entered the negotiations far apart. At one point on Saturday, the talks appeared to be on the brink of collapse, before numerous closed-door meetings brought a deal closer. Rich nations are grappling with a slew of fiscal and political constraints, including inflation, constrained budgets and rising populism. The election of Donald Trump and his threat to pull the US out of the landmark Paris climate agreement also cast a shadow on the summit. Under a compromise, rich nations eventually agreed to commit $50 billion more than called for in a draft agreement on Friday. They had also made any agreement contingent on reaffirming last year’s COP28 outcome in Dubai that included a vow to transition away from fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture (DA) entered into a tripartite agreement for a $39.2-million climate change project set to benefit 1.25 million farmers in the climate-vulnerable regions of the country. The department signed the Operational Partners Agreement together with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) and FAO. The seven-year initiative aims to boost the resilience of rural communities reliant on agriculture. The project spans five regions, nine provinces, and 100 towns. The DA said a key outcome of the project is the adoption of climate-resilient farming practices by farmers, empowering them to establish sustainable enterprises. “The project also aims to strengthen regulatory frameworks, enhance market systems, and improve knowledge management to mainstream and scale up climate-resilient agriculture nationwide.”
Thieves get a taste for cheese and butter amid surging pricesNanalysis Announces Third Quarter 2024 ResultsThe Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Walson-Jack, has launched new policies and guidelines aimed at repositioning the civil service. The four transformative policies and guidelines include: Rewards and Recognition Policy and Guidelines; Incentives and Consequence Management Policy and Guidelines; Mentoring Framework; and the Protocol on the Use of Federal Government Secretariat. Walson-Jack, while speaking at a dinner in honour of newly promoted directors at the weekend, explained that these policies are integral to the Public Service Rules 2021 and the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2025 (FCSSIP-25). Each is strategically aligned with the reform pillars outlined in these frameworks to ensure coherence, sustainability, and measurable impact. The HCSF reiterated the critical role of the newly promoted directors in being at the forefront of driving the needed civil service reforms, especially as it concerns the actualization of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu. She charged the 332 directors that their promotion heralds “the beginning of a more challenging and fulfilling part where your influence and impact will shape the future of our civil service.” “As newly promoted directors, you have reached the pinnacle that reflects not just your achievements, but the trust and expectation placed upon you by the Federal Civil Service and the nation,” she added, urging them to rededicate themselves to the principles of good governance, transparency, efficiency, and accountability. Mrs. Walson-Jack further charged the new directors to let their leadership inspire confidence among their subordinates and stakeholders, while imbibing the highest standards of public service. She added, “I urge you, therefore, to embrace this opportunity for growth and development. I would like to inspire you to reach new heights in your career.” The HCSF encouraged them to foster an environment of collaboration, inclusivity, and continuous learning, assuring them of her firm support. Meanwhile, the HCSF has unveiled three initiatives aimed at transforming Nigeria’s civil service as part of the activities marking her first 100 days in office under the theme Marching to Greatness: Celebrating 100 Days. The initiatives, which include Service-Wise GPT, an AI-driven assistant designed to enhance decision-making and efficiency among civil servants; GOVMail, a secure email platform for official communication; and the Nigeria Federal Civil Service Online Academy, which offers online courses for skill development. Walson-Jack said that these tools are essential for modernising the civil service, ensuring that it meets the needs of citizens effectively, and guaranteeing that the much-needed reforms in the civil service are technologically driven.
PM Modi to inaugurate Rs 40,000-cr project to link 11 rivers to solve water crisis in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh
Panthers TE Ja'Tavion Sanders carted off field for neck injuryThe Government of Odisha is delighted to announce a groundbreaking milestone in its Odisha Vision 2036 & 2047 initiative, marking over 3 lakh citizen inputs received through email, WhatsApp, and the dedicated Odisha Vision website from India and abroad. This remarkable public engagement solidifies Odisha’s position as a leader in participatory governance, with a shared mission to build a Vikasit Odisha for a Vikasit Bharat. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has thanked all contributors. “Thank you Odisha for coming forward with valued inputs for shaping Odisha’s future”, said the CM. For the first time in India, Odisha has leveraged Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to meticulously review and analyze citizen suggestions, ensuring that every voice is considered and the best ideas are incorporated into the state’s strategic roadmap. This innovative step underscores Odisha’s commitment to utilize cutting-edge technology for enhancing citizen- driven policymaking. Deputy Chief Ministers Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, also expressed their sincere appreciation, emphasizing the power of collective effort in realizing the vision of a prosperous Odisha. A Historic Collaboration for a Brighter Tomorrow, the Odisha Vision Citizen Engagement Platform has received inputs from diverse stakeholders, including students, professionals, government officials, organizations, and eminent personalities. These contributions span 17 transformative thematic areas, which will serve as the foundation for Odisha’s sustainable and inclusive growth, including Agriculture & Rural Development: Focusing on climate-smart agriculture, enhanced irrigation, and market linkages. Sustainable Mining Practices: Prioritizing environmental sustainability and community welfare. Women-led Growth: Promoting women entrepreneurs and fostering gender equity. Tourism & Heritage: Boosting eco and cultural tourism through strategic infrastructure. Urban Development: Advancing smart cities and sustainable urbanization. Climate Resilience: Strengthening disaster preparedness and adopting renewable energy solutions.New Delhi: The Delhi High Court is set to hear on Monday, December 15 a plea filed by BJP legislators seeking direction to the Delhi government to forward 12 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports to the Lt Governor (L-G). As per the cause list published on the website of the Delhi HC, a bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula will resume to hear the matter on December 16. In an earlier hearing held last week, the Delhi government told the Justice Narula-led bench that Chief Minister Atishi had forwarded CAG reports to the office of L-G. After the counsel appearing for L-G said that Raj Bhavan had received some of the reports late on Wednesday, the Delhi HC decided to post the matter for hearing on December 16. In its affidavit, the Finance Department said that the reports under reference were not pending before it but were with the office of Chief Minister Atishi, who also holds the portfolio of Finance Minister. Earlier on October 29, the Delhi High Court agreed to examine the matter and issued notice to the Delhi government, the office of the Legislative Assembly Speaker, the L-G, CAG, and the Accountant General (Audit), Delhi. The petition claimed that CAG reports relating to pollution and rules and regulations related to alcohol were not placed before the L-G by the Finance Ministry and remain pending with Chief Minister Atishi, who also holds the portfolio of Finance Minister. “Despite the Lt. Governor’s repeated requests and constitutional obligation, these reports were not sent to the Lt. Governor and consequently could not be tabled in the Delhi Legislative Assembly,” said the plea filed by BJP MLAs Vijender Gupta, Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Bajpai, and Jitender Mahajan. It added that the opposition leaders tried their best to table the CAG reports when the Vidhan Sabha session was held on September 26-27 after a long gap, but ‘no action was taken for such tabling of the reports.’. The petition said that this deliberate suppression of vital information not only violates democratic principles but also prevents proper scrutiny of government action and expenditures, raising serious questions about the government’s financial propriety, transparency, and accountability. It further said that the delay was not merely a procedural oversight but a serious violation of constitutional obligations when the CAG had been forwarding the audit reports for laying before the Delhi Assembly. It said that the CAG is a “constitutional watchdog” created with the objective of providing independent and credible assurance to the public, the legislature, and the executive that the public funds are being collected and used effectively and efficiently.
