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Pakistan launching national face biometrics authentication serviceMeta Platforms, owner of Facebook, will stand trial in April following allegations by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it purchased Instagram and WhatsApp to suppress budding competition. The case will be heard in a Washington court, as decided on Monday by the presiding judge. The FTC, which initiated the lawsuit in 2020 during the Trump administration, accuses Meta of illegal monopoly practices in the personal social networking space. It asserts that Meta overpaid for Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 as a strategy to neutralize potential threats rather than competing within the mobile ecosystem. Judge James Boasberg has set April 14 as the trial date. He dismissed Meta's argument that the case relies on a narrow perspective of social media markets, neglecting competition from platforms like TikTok, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn. Despite these points, the judge acknowledged the difficulties posed by time and technological advancements in shaping the FTC's market claims. (With inputs from agencies.)Governor and Chancellor of Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) Jishnu Dev Varma has asked the university to integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and renewable energy into the agricultural sector. He made these suggestions after inaugurating the two-day diamond Jubilee celebrations of the university on Friday (December 20) and called for collaboration among stakeholders to advance agricultural education, research, and extension. The Governor lauded the establishment of an artificial intelligence lab and also bringing agricultural education more accessible by reducing fee. Minister for Agriculture Tummala Nageshwar Rao urged scientists to guide farmers on suitable crops and technologies as they face climate change issues. He explained government’s commitment to farmers’ welfare with schemes such as loan waivers, insurance and Rythu Bharosa. Addressing the gathering, university Vice-Chancellor Aldas Janaiah said the university so far produced 32,000 agricultural graduates during the past 60 years. Published - December 21, 2024 01:07 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit

The first occupants of a temporary shelter built adjacent to the homeless encampment on Lower Patricia Boulevard will be moving into the facility at 397 Third Ave. starting the week of Dec. 16. After more than seven months of construction , the 42-room Homeless Encampment Action Response Temporary Housing (HEARTH) transitional shelter facility for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness is finished. Connective, the facility operator, will complete its staff training and kitchen setup over the next 10 days before the first occupants arrive. The shelter is equipped with a commercial kitchen, amenity space (dining room and offices) and a shared laundry room. Each of the 42 units is equipped with basic furniture, bed sheets, towels and blankets. Some units have washrooms accessible for people with mobility challenges. There is also some room for storage at the discretion of the operator, Connective. Pets might be allowed, on a case-by-case basis, and those decisions will be left to the people who operate the facility . A third-party security company has been hired and the modular camp is equipped with cameras. Staff are trained in how to utilize the cameras and security system to mitigate risks. The entire site is fenced and a gatehouse will be installed after occupancy begins. Residents who smoke or vape will be required to do so outdoors in a smoking area that is within sight of the office and cameras. The shelter will also have a supervised safe consumption area for drug users. The trailers are all equipped with a sprinkler system and residents will have the protection of fire alarms, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. The low-barrier housing will be made available to people who have a varying degree of needs and the transitional facility meets the government’s Housing First mandate which emphasizes housing as a basic need that provides the stability and safety needed for individuals to rebuild their lives. According to BC Housing, the criteria for choosing residents will be based on the following: “Residents will be people who are living in the community in shelters and from the Lower Patricia encampment who are ready for independent housing with embedded supports. Tenant selection is a collaboration between Connective (the building operator), BC Housing and several other agencies.” Preference will be given to Prince George residents, especially those currently living in encampments. The Third Avenue camp is not designed to allow couples to room together nor is there support for families with children. “For families who are experiencing homelessness, BC Housing prioritizes providing subsidized housing, as it’s available and when it matches the needs of the individual, said BC Housing spokesperson Cait Wills, in an email to The Citizen . “All shelter staff in Prince George have access to resources through the Ministry of Children and Family Development should anyone request supports for minors, and the Youth Connects youth shelter is also available as a service. Additionally, there are two women’s transition housing shelters in Prince George available for women and children fleeing domestic violence. “In Prince George, for couples seeking shelter, the Second Avenue Temporary Housing Drop-In Centre may be able to accommodate them. In supportive housing, couples are typically given their own units, and they can visit each other as they wish.” Third Avenue residents will receive daily meals and will have 24/7 on-site staff support, where they will have access to healthcare referrals/wellness checks and connections or referrals to community services and support groups. Residents will pay rent and be required to sign an agreement that outlines their responsibilities but that will not be considered a rental agreement because the units are considered transitional housing. Guests will be permitted but will be required to follow defined visitor policies. The provincial government is providing B.C. Housing $4.1 million in funding to establish the camp. The city provided $468,126 for ground preparation and water/sewer and utilities hookups that will serve the housing project. Site preparation began in early May and installation of the ATCO trailers that make up the facility started in June. BC Housing has a three-year temporary use permit and in April entered into a lease agreement with the city for the property. Connective is a community-based social services non-profit operating across BC and Yukon. The housing operator currently manages four other sites in Prince George. The province selected Connective as the Third Avenue operator based on its history of providing innovative, person-centered services that help individuals meet goals and become more independent. Eric Depeneau, the city’s director of administrative services, updated council in October and said the eventual dismantling of the legally protected Moccasin Flats (Lower Patricia) homeless encampment remains on track. The city still intends to go to the BC Supreme Court by the end of the year to request that the ban on evictions from the site be lifted now that the majority of residents of the flats have moved on. In February 2022, in a landmark court case , the city was barred from tearing down Moccasin Flats and displacing its residents until alternative shelter and daytime destinations could be arranged for them. BC Housing hosted two community engagement information sessions in March to discuss the Third Avenue shelter and several neighbouring business operators did express concerns about having the facility in the area. If you have any questions or comments, contact BC Housing through email at [email protected] .NYS Division of Consumer Protection provides tips for shopping returnsCapital One and Discover expect to close on their merger early next year. The merger, first announced in February , would bring together two financial institutions that have distinguished themselves in part by targeting consumers whose credit falls below prime levels . Credit scores from 660 to 719 are considered prime. The merger is still awaiting approval from government regulators, but the odds that it goes through seem higher following the November election of former President Donald Trump. After the election, Discover and Capital One shares rose dramatically. That rise reflects increased confidence in merger approval, Barron's reported . Some Democrats and consumer advocates have opposed the merger, arguing that it will reduce competition and harm consumers. Other experts see more promise in the combination, which could lead Capital One to offer rewards debit cards and enhance fraud protection. If you're a customer of either financial institution (or you're considering becoming one), you should keep an eye on credit card costs, debit card rewards and possible payment network changes in the wake of the merger. Here are some parts of the merger discussion with tangible implications for consumers. After the merger, Capital One would account for a larger portion of the credit card market. That boost in power, particularly among consumers with lower credit scores, has led some to ask whether the new entity would be able to unfairly raise interest rates. Consumers should always be aware of the rates and fees on their credit card accounts. But increasing costs may not be in Capital One's best interests. By doing so, it would risk its current edge with nonprime customers. "If Discover and Capital One then kind of ruin (their) position in that market by raising prices, then you can expect other kinds of banks to try to enter in that market," says Lulu Wang, an assistant professor in finance at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Raising rates could also be unattractive to Capital One because it could lead to a riskier customer profile. "The risk is then you raise interest rates, then only the people who are really desperate and likely to default are going to stick with you," Wang says. "The good borrowers who could do otherwise might go somewhere else." As it stands, rewards debit cards are uncommon. Many issuers stopped offering them following the Durbin Amendment, a part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act that caps debit card interchange fees (also known as swipe fees). Discover is excluded from this legal mandate when it acts as both a card issuer and a card network – meaning that it issues cards, manages accounts and provides the technology to process transactions. In short, unlike Capital One, Discover doesn't use Visa or Mastercard to make transactions possible. Unlike other issuers, Discover does offer a rewards debit card. Capital One intends to run its debit cards over the Discover network following the merger. This could come with an expansion in rewards offerings. As mentioned, Capital One plans to transition its debit cards to the Discover network after the merger. It also plans on moving some of its "credit portfolios" to Discover's network, according to a February investor presentation . If you're a Capital One cardholder, this may not be welcome news. Capital One stands out for charging no foreign transaction fees on any of its cards and offering cards that run on either the Mastercard or Visa network, each of which is widely accepted internationally. Discover doesn't charge foreign transaction fees either, but the Discover network isn't as widely accepted outside the United States. If you typically use your Capital One card abroad, you'll want to keep an eye on this in case you need to have a backup payment method available. Even if regulators approve the merger, changes won't happen overnight. If you're considering opening an account with either Capital One or Discover now, before the merger proceeds, you can feel comfortable doing so. "I’m sure that through the merger process, they'll integrate the customers of both organizations in an effective manner," says Julian Morris, senior scholar at the International Center for Law & Economics, or ICLE, which published a white paper on the merger in July. When and if the merger goes through, other things consumers can look out for include:

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Incoming border czar Tom Homan is warning sanctuary states and cities that opposing Donald Trump’s deportation agenda will lead to “the exact result you don’t want” and added that Trump’s policy will make the country “safer for everybody.” Appearing on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with host Maria Bartiromo, Homan explained that Trump’s massive repatriation plans will go forward despite the showboating by so-called “sanctuary” states and cities which have been making news by announcing their resistance to the plans. “You’ve got San Diego writing legislation. You’ve got Colorado and other states and other cities saying they’re going to prevent us doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I want to send a clear message. If you let us in the jail, we can arrest the bad guy in the jail and in the safety and security of the jail. One officer could do that, but when you release a public safety threat back in the community, you put the community at risk. You put my officers at risk. You put the alien at risk.” He went on to point out that if “sanctuary” areas want to keep the footprint of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to a minimum in their communities, then letting ICE into the jails is the smarter policy. “Here’s what’s going to happen – you release that guy in the community, I’m going to send an entire team to go look for the guy in your community. And what’s going to happen? We’ll find that guy. And when we find that guy, there’s probably going to be others that are not a priority,” he explained. “However, if they’re in the country illegally, they’ll be arrested, too, because we’re not going to tell an immigration officer like this [Biden] administration did, that you’re going to turn your back on an illegal immigrant. When you’re an immigration officer, you have an oath to uphold, so you are forcing us into community in large numbers where other non-priority aliens will be arrested,” Homan warned. “That’s the exact result you don’t want, so let us in the jail. It’s safer for everybody,” he said. A growing number of localities and governors in deep blue states are ginning up their supporters by proclaiming their intentions to resist Donald Trump’s plans to put an end to Joe Biden’s border crisis. In November, the far-left Democrat Mayor of Denver, Colorado, Mike Johnston, outrageously pledged to use the Denver Police Department as his ground troops to physically oppose Trump’s ICE operatives and to protect lawbreaking illegal aliens next year. He is far from alone. The city council of Los Angeles also jumped in to defend “sanctuary city” status last month with a unanimous vote to fully implement the policy in the crime-plagued city. The vote was called as an effort to signal to the Trump administration that officials there would resist federal authority on immigration issues. A number of left-wing governors from deep blue states have also made their fealty to illegal immigrants obvious by similarly announcing plans to resist ICE and any efforts to repatriate millions of illegal migrants. The list includes Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Washington State Gov. Bob Ferguson, and others. Like Denver’s Johnston, Boston’s radically woke Mayor Michelle Wu similarly vowed to resist Trump’s policies. And her city council responded by voting to reaffirm the city’s sanctuary status. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston , or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston

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Station Science Top News: Dec. 20, 2024One of the hardest questions to answer is a deceptively simple one: who are you? But this is precisely the question that “reminiscence” or “life review” therapies, which draw on autobiographical memory, looks to answer. It’s normal to think about our past or to relive memories in conversations with friends, but it is rare to do so in a considered, intentional way. In 2022, Jane Fonda spoke about conducting a life review after turning 60, telling Glamour , “it totally changed the way I thought about myself and about how I wanted to live the last third of my life”. But whether you’re 60 or 16, looking backwards can be a useful exercise in building purpose and meaning into your present and future. Credit: iStock What is reminiscence therapy? Reminiscence therapy is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of therapeutic approaches. David Hallford, a senior lecturer at Deakin University’s School of Psychology, says most therapy, “either implicitly or explicitly draws on memory”. “But reminiscence therapy is particularly focused on retrieving, reflecting on and reframing experiences into our understanding of ourselves.” Broadly speaking, he says reminiscence focuses on specific themes, like relationships, loss or challenges faced. Life review, on the other hand, is about a more systematic approach to reflecting on experiences across a whole lifetime. And reminiscence is about more than just mapping the big beats in our lives. Sunil Bhar, a professor of psychology at Swinburne University of Technology, says: “It’s not simply about documenting things, like where someone lived or who they married, where they end up with what is essentially a resume of their life. “We’ve discovered that what’s therapeutic about going back over someone’s life is not what they did, but who they are .” Reminiscence, he says, can help people answer the tricky question of “who are you?” “The most common answer to [this question] is, ‘I am a student’, ‘I am a daughter’, ‘I’m a son’; you talk about yourself in terms of the roles that you played in your life,” he says. “So reminiscence is a way of getting to the values that have been driving those roles and those life decisions.” What are its benefits? Research on reminiscence therapy has focused mostly on its benefits for older people, where it’s been shown to improve things like depression and life satisfaction . For people with dementia, reminiscence therapy can help create a sense of agency and improve mental health and cognition. Research has also found it can lessen the effects of anxiety and depression and that it can improve quality of life for cancer patients . However, an emerging body of research shows that reflecting on our lives can be beneficial at any age. Hallford’s research focuses on the benefits of life review , particularly for young adults. He thinks a lack of research is partly for cultural reasons, where there is the “preconception of sitting around and thinking about the good old days as a task of older adulthood, when we are not necessarily completing as many big life tasks like getting our careers started or having kids”. But the benefits of reminiscence therapy in older adults are much the same for younger ones. Research has shown reminiscence therapy to improve levels of self-esteem , confidence, optimism and life satisfaction . One small study led by Hallford this year found guided recall and interpretation of autobiographical memories helped improve young adults’ self-perception and views of others. Used in clinical settings, it has also been shown to reduce depression and anxiety, where it’s often part of a program involving cognitive behaviour therapy. Three great questions to ask How it works Typically, reminiscence therapy is conducted by a psychologist, either in a group setting or one on one. To explore this kind of therapy, you can chat to your GP, counsellor or psychologist. But you can still reap the benefits by reflecting on the past in a less structured way with friends or family. “There is a sense in the literature that maybe what is therapeutic about reminiscence therapy isn’t the outpouring of memories, but really it’s having someone listen,” says Bhar. “It brings the idea that what we’re really after is a human connection, and reminiscence is simply a way of eliciting that.” Hallford says journaling or voice recordings can help with this. It’s also common to use physical objects or music to prompt memories. Bhar says photographs can be a good starting point for talking about the past. So whether you’re spending the break alone or with friends or family, consider going through an old album, or talking about what matters to you most. It might help crystallise who you are. Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter . Get it in your inbox every Monday .