Drexel secures 83-71 win over Chicago StateDrones for commercial and recreational use have grown rapidly in popularity, despite restrictions on who can operate them and where they can be flown. No-fly zones are enforced around airports, military installations, nuclear plants, certain landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, and sports stadiums during games. Not everybody follows the rules. Sightings at airports have shut down flights in a few instances. Reported sightings of what appear to be drones flying over New Jersey at night in recent weeks have created anxiety among some residents, in part because it is not clear who is operating them or why. Some state and local officials have called for stricter rules to govern drones. After receiving reports of drone activity last month near Morris County, New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary bans on drone flights over a golf course in Bedminster , New Jersey, that is owned by President-elect Donald Trump, and over Picatinny Arsenal Military Base . The FAA says the bans are in response to requests from “federal security partners.” The FAA is responsible for the regulations governing their use , and Congress has written some requirements into law. With a 2018 law, the Preventing Emerging Threats Act, Congress gave certain agencies in the Homeland Security and Justice departments authority to counter threats from unmanned aircraft to protect the safety of certain facilities. New drones must be outfitted with equipment allowing law enforcement to identify the operator, and Congress gave the agencies the power to detect and take down unmanned aircraft that they consider dangerous. The law spells out where the counter-drone measures can be used, including “national special security events” such as presidential inaugurations and other large gatherings of people. To get a “remote pilot certificate,” you must be at least 16 years old, be proficient in English, pass an aeronautics exam, and not suffer from a ”mental condition that would interfere with the safe operation of a small unmanned aircraft system.” Yes, but the FAA imposes restrictions on nighttime operations. Most drones are not allowed to fly at night unless they are equipped with anti-collision lights that are visible for at least 3 miles (4.8 kilometers). Over the past decade, pilots have reported hundreds of close calls between drones and airplanes including airline jets. In some cases, airplane pilots have had to take evasive action to avoid collisions. Drones buzzing over a runway caused flights to be stopped at London’s Gatwick Airport during the Christmas travel rush in 2018 and again in May 2023 . Police dismissed the idea of shooting down the drones, fearing that stray bullets could kill someone. Advances in drone technology have made it harder for law enforcement to find rogue drone operators — bigger drones in particular have more range and power. Some state and local officials in New Jersey are calling for stronger restrictions because of the recent sightings, and that has the drone industry worried. Scott Shtofman, director of government affairs at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, said putting more limits on drones could have a “chilling effect” on “a growing economic engine for the United States.” “We would definitely oppose anything that is blindly pushing for new regulation of what are right now legal drone operations,” he said. AirSight, a company that sells software against “drone threats,” says more than 20 states have enacted laws against privacy invasion by drones, including Peeping Toms. Will Austin, president of Warren County Community College in New Jersey, and founder of its drone program, says it's up to users to reduce public concern about the machines. He said operators must explain why they are flying when confronted by people worried about privacy or safety. “It's a brand new technology that's not really understood real well, so it will raise fear and anxiety in a lot of people,” Austin said. “We want to be good professional aviators and alleviate that.” Associated Press reporter Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C., contributed.Sports Fodder: Jeff Choate, no matter what happens this Saturday night in Las Vegas with the Fremont Cannon on the line, deserves a passing grade for his rookie season as the Nevada Wolf Pack's head coach. How, you might be wondering right now, can a coach get a passing grade for a 3-9 record and a current five-game losing streak with one game remaining in the season? Nobody is saying Choate has turned one of the worst programs in the nation the last two years into the hottest ticket in town. You can't, after all, even give Wolf Pack tickets away right now. If you went to a Wal Mart parking lot and stuck Pack tickets under everyone's windshield wipers, they'd toss them away like they were an offer to blacktop their driveway. Make no mistake, Choate's not the best thing to enter the Wolf Pack world since the first, second and third coming of Chris Ault. But he's also not Chris Tormey, Brian Polian and Ken Wilson. He's not all that innovative or creative and he never met a cliche he didn't like. He's just a coaching lifer blessed with a non-stop work ethic, toughness, confidence and a belief he's going to succeed. And that, right now, is certainly good enough. Choate's grade right now is a respectable C+ and we'll elevate that to a B-minus if he stuns those cocky Rebels on Saturday and opens a few cans of blue paint when he gets back to Northern Nevada. Yes, the Pack has lost nine of 12 games this year and that will likely be 10-of-13 by late Saturday night, if you believe the oddsmakers (who have been kind to the Pack and listed UNLV as just a 17-point favorite). Those oddsmakers, no doubt, have noticed that six of the Pack losses have been by seven points or less. Oddmakers tend to notice those things. Those six losses have also been by a combined total of a mere 25 points. Ken Wilson's Wolf Pack, as a reminder, lost by 36 in the final game of his head coaching career (42-6 to Wyoming). Wilson went 4-20 at Nevada with just four of his 20 losses by seven points or less. Turn just half of Choate's six close losses into wins and we're looking at a 6-6 record right now with a bowl game invite on the line on Saturday. Choate has restored competitiveness and confidence to this Pack program after two years of Wilson excuses following double-digit losses. Nobody is laughing at the Pack anymore. Choate deserves to come back for a second year. The wins will come soon. ••• All Wolf Pack seasons, we're well aware, are judged on a pass-fail system depending on the UNLV game. No B-minus, C-plus, A, B, C or D. Just pass or fail. Don't believe it? Jay Norvell's first Pack team in 2017 went 3-9 but he beat UNLV in the last game of the season. Pass. Chris Ault's 1994 Wolf Pack went 9-2 but he lost to UNLV in the last game of the season with a Las Vegas Bowl and Big West outright championship on the line. Fail. Yes, Ault still claims a share of the title since UNLV, the Pack and Southwestern Louisiana all finished 5-1 atop the Big West and gave everyone rings after the year. But that's Chris Ault, who was his own boss at the time. Pack fans, on the other hand, had a sick feeling in their stomach after losing to UNLV in 1994 that lasted until they played UNLV in 1995. You don't like it? Well, go coach Sacramento State. But if you do, you better beat UC Davis or you'll be picking up trash on the side of I-80 the next fall. That's college football. It's all about the rivalry game, the thing that separates college football from the less fortunate sports. A Wolf Pack win on Saturday would immediately jump into the top 10 of all Wolf Pack wins in school history. It's one thing to whip UNLV when the Rebels are inept, barely give an effort and are coached by guys who couldn't get a job parking cars at Caesar's Palace. It's quite another thing to beat a cocky, confident and motivated Rebels team coached by a guy who thinks Las Vegas is the epicenter of college football. This is the greatest UNLV football season in the history of its program. They've already won nine games. They are headed to a bowl game and they expect to be playing for their first Mountain West championship at Boise State on Dec. 6. The Rebels also clearly believe they will destroy the Pack this week and Boise State the following weekend and will deserve a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. It's hard to argue with them right now. The Rebels have won 18-of-25 games since coach Barry Odom took over the program before the 2023 season. Odom has yet to win fewer than nine games in a season since he moved to Las Vegas. The Rebels under Odom have taken over the state and aren't looking back. They play in one of the most lavish and garish stadiums in the country that just so happens to sit in arguably the most lavish and garish cities in the world. The Wolf Pack, though, could destroy it all on Saturday and also take home a red, soon-to-be-blue, cannon as a prize. It would be a victory not soon forgotten north of Tonopah and one that would ruin the Rebels holidays. In other words, it would be Pack perfect. ••• Saturday night could be more than just a little weird for Wolf Pack fans. We could be looking at a scenario where the Wolf Pack could be doing former head coach Jay Norvell (the last Pack coach to beat UNLV, in 2021) a huge favor. Norvell's Colorado State Rams need to beat Utah State on Friday and also need the Pack to beat UNLV in order for the Rams to earn a spot in the conference title game. Imagine that. The Wolf Pack doing Norvell, the man who sent the Pack into the tailspin in which it still spins, a solid. The guy deviously abandons the program and takes with him half a coaching staff and a dozen or so players and recruits and the Pack could help send him to the league title game. But don't worry, Pack fans. Sending Norvell to the title game wouldn't spoil a Wolf Pack victory celebration on Saturday because, well, a blue Fremont Cannon is the No. 1 goal of every Pack season. And don't forget, you'll likely get to witness Norvell and the Rams get destroyed in the Mountain West title game. But the best scenario, then, for Wolf Pack fans this weekend is for Utah State to beat Norvell and the Rams on Friday and for the Pack to beat UNLV on Saturday. It's not perfect. UNLV would still go to the league title game. But it would make for a wonderful post-Thanksgiving Saturday night for Pack fans, who deserve something to celebrate this year. We wouldn't have to watch Norvell in the league title game and we could also then watch UNLV in the title game knowing they took a loss to the Wolf Pack with them to Boise State. Dare to dream, Pack fans. ••• It is still a bit difficult to figure out how the Wolf Pack got to this point. We are all a bit numb because of all the losing the last three years. It now just seems like part of our fall ritual, you know, like we are the new UNLV fans of the 1990s. It's difficult to believe this is actually happening. The Wolf Pack, believe it or not, has lost 30 of its last 37 games since Norvell left town. Did you ever think you'd see the day when Pack football would lose 30-of-37 football games? Of course not. Chris Tormey, don't forget, was laughed at and fired after going 16-31 from 2000-03. The next Pack coach to go 16-31 will get a three-year contract extension. Did you ever think you'd see the day when Nevada would lose 20-of-22 conference football games? Are you kidding? Two league wins in three years? This is the same program, after all, that won three or more league games every year from 1978 through 1997 and again from 2001 through 2021. The Pack, by the way, is still looking for its first league win under keep-'em-close Choate. There is simply no excuse for such utter destruction to a once-proud football program. Norvell didn't do it. Yes, he put it in motion. But the Pack has nobody to blame but itself for what has happened in the last 37 games. Norvell is not the cause of a 7-30 record overall and 2-20 in league games. Chris Ault left the program three times, and the Pack never went more than one season without a winning record after he left all three times. The Pack hasn't even had a true winning month since Norvell left unless, of course, you count the 1-0 record in August 2022 to start the Wilson era and the 2-1 record in October 2023 when the Pack smartly scheduled a bye week to start the month. The Pack has had only seven winning weeks since Norvell's been gone. Ault had 25 winning seasons out of 28. The Pack, a program that once was competing with Boise State for league titles, has now turned into New Mexico and San Jose State. Then again, New Mexico is 5-6 and San Jose State is 6-5 this year so, truth be told, the Pack hopes to grow up someday to become New Mexico and San Jose State. This is how you can legitimately give a passing grade to a coach with a 3-9 record. ••• Choate, if he is going to mature into a truly great coach, needs to learn how to win games as much as his players need to learn that skill. Players, after all, come and go all the time. Bad coaches tend to linger for a while, stinking up the football landscape. Choate might think he knows how to win after spending so many years coaching at successful programs, such as Boise State from 2006-11 and Texas from 2021-23. But it's one thing to be an assistant coach at winning programs and quite another to be the head coach. See Ken Wilson. Choate has been a head coach for five seasons (four at Montana State) and already has three losing seasons. A loss on Saturday will give him an overall record as a head coach of 31-32. His conference record in the Big Sky and Mountain West will be 18-21. None of that screams College Football Playoff. That doesn't mean he's a mediocre coach waiting to be fired like so many others down through the years at Nevada not named Chris Ault. Choate, we remind you, is still a rookie Division I-A FBS head coach. He talks like he's Barry Switzer or Bear Bryant but that's just his personality. If he was an experienced FBS head coach this year he likely would have pushed, pulled and magically transformed that 3-9 record into something along the lines of 7-5. He's done it before. When he was a rookie FCS head coach at Montana State in 2016, his first four losses were by six points or less. The following year he lost three games by four points or less. Over his final two years at Montana State, he lost just two games by seven points or less. He matured. He grew. The Pack needs that same type of growth from him starting, well, now. The other improvement Choate needs to make is to continually upgrade his expectations. Choate, it seems, has understandably tempered his expectations this year. The guy, after all, went from the national title game with Texas last year immediately into the Pack mess. Choate has been content this year to simply do everything in his power to keep games close and keep his fingers crossed that the ball will bounce just right at critical times. He's said as much almost every week, constantly reminding us that his goal is to make sure it is a one-score game in the fourth quarter. Congratulations. Mission accomplished. Eight of the dozen Pack games this year were one-score games at the final buzzer and the Pack lost six of them. That's what tends to happen when you don't reach for the stars and simply reach for the mashed potatoes across the table at dinner time. Choate will learn that turning close losses into close wins, just like turning a winning record as an assistant coach into one as a head coach, can't just be based on keeping games close and hoping for the best. We'll accept mashed potatoes as the prize this year. Next year, the stars need to start coming into focus.

He is not yet in power but President-elect Donald Trump rattled much of the world with an off-hours warning of stiff tariffs on close allies and China -- a loud hint that Trump-style government by social media post is coming back. With word of these levies against goods imported from Mexico, Canada and China, Trump sent auto industry stocks plummeting, raised fears for global supply chains and unnerved the world's major economies. For Washington-watchers with memories of the Republican's first term, the impromptu policy volley on Monday evening foreshadowed a second term of startling announcements of all manner, fired off at all hours of the day from his smartphone. "Donald Trump is never going to change much of anything," said Larry Sabato, a leading US political scientist and director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "You can expect in the second term pretty much what he showed us about himself and his methods in the first term. Social media announcements of policy, hirings and firings will continue." The first of Trump's tariff announcements -- a 25 percent levy on everything coming in from Mexico and Canada -- came amid an angry rebuke of lax border security at 6:45 pm on Truth Social, Trump's own platform. The United States is bound by agreements on the movement of goods and services brokered by Trump in a free trade treaty with both nations during his first term. But Trump warned that the new levy would "remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country" -- sowing panic from Ottawa to Mexico City. Seconds later, another message from the incoming commander-in-chief turned the focus on Chinese imports, which he said would be hit with "an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs." The consequences were immediate. Almost every major US automaker operates plants in Mexico, and shares in General Motors and Stellantis -- which produce pickup trucks in America's southern neighbor -- plummeted. Canada, China and Mexico protested, while Germany called on its European partners to prepare for Trump to impose hefty tariffs on their exports and stick together to combat such measures. The tumult recalls Trump's first term, when journalists, business leaders and politicians at home and abroad would scan their phones for the latest pronouncements, often long after they had left the office or over breakfast. During his first four years in the Oval Office, the tweet -- in those days his newsy posts were almost exclusively limited to Twitter, now known as X -- became the quasi-official gazette for administration policy. The public learned of the president-elect's 2020 Covid-19 diagnosis via an early-hours post, and when Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani was assassinated on Trump's order, the Republican confirmed the kill by tweeting a US flag. The public and media learned of numerous other decisions big and small by the same source, from the introduction of customs duties to the dismissal of cabinet secretaries. It is not a communication method that has been favored by any previous US administration and runs counter to the policies and practices of most governments around the world. Throughout his third White House campaign, and with every twist and turn in his various entanglements with the justice system, Trump has poured his heart out on Truth Social, an app he turned to during his 20-month ban from Twitter. In recent days, the mercurial Republican has even named his attorney general secretaries of justice and health via announcements on the network. "He sees social media as a tool to shape and direct the national conversation and will do so again," said political scientist Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University professor. cjc/ft/dw/bjtDrones for commercial and recreational use have grown rapidly in popularity, despite restrictions on who can operate them and where they can be flown. No-fly zones are enforced around airports, military installations, nuclear plants, certain landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, and sports stadiums during games. Not everybody follows the rules. Sightings at airports have shut down flights in a few instances. Reported sightings of what appear to be drones flying over New Jersey at night in recent weeks have created anxiety among some residents, in part because it is not clear who is operating them or why. Some state and local officials have called for stricter rules to govern drones. After receiving reports of drone activity last month near Morris County, New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary bans on drone flights over a golf course in Bedminster , New Jersey, that is owned by President-elect Donald Trump, and over Picatinny Arsenal Military Base . The FAA says the bans are in response to requests from “federal security partners.” The FAA is responsible for the regulations governing their use , and Congress has written some requirements into law. With a 2018 law, the Preventing Emerging Threats Act, Congress gave certain agencies in the Homeland Security and Justice departments authority to counter threats from unmanned aircraft to protect the safety of certain facilities. New drones must be outfitted with equipment allowing law enforcement to identify the operator, and Congress gave the agencies the power to detect and take down unmanned aircraft that they consider dangerous. The law spells out where the counter-drone measures can be used, including “national special security events” such as presidential inaugurations and other large gatherings of people. To get a “remote pilot certificate,” you must be at least 16 years old, be proficient in English, pass an aeronautics exam, and not suffer from a ”mental condition that would interfere with the safe operation of a small unmanned aircraft system.” Story continues below video Yes, but the FAA imposes restrictions on nighttime operations. Most drones are not allowed to fly at night unless they are equipped with anti-collision lights that are visible for at least 3 miles (4.8 kilometers). Over the past decade, pilots have reported hundreds of close calls between drones and airplanes including airline jets. In some cases, airplane pilots have had to take evasive action to avoid collisions. Drones buzzing over a runway caused flights to be stopped at London’s Gatwick Airport during the Christmas travel rush in 2018 and again in May 2023 . Police dismissed the idea of shooting down the drones, fearing that stray bullets could kill someone. Advances in drone technology have made it harder for law enforcement to find rogue drone operators — bigger drones in particular have more range and power. Some state and local officials in New Jersey are calling for stronger restrictions because of the recent sightings, and that has the drone industry worried. Scott Shtofman, director of government affairs at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, said putting more limits on drones could have a “chilling effect” on “a growing economic engine for the United States.” “We would definitely oppose anything that is blindly pushing for new regulation of what are right now legal drone operations,” he said. AirSight, a company that sells software against “drone threats,” says more than 20 states have enacted laws against privacy invasion by drones, including Peeping Toms. Will Austin, president of Warren County Community College in New Jersey, and founder of its drone program, says it's up to users to reduce public concern about the machines. He said operators must explain why they are flying when confronted by people worried about privacy or safety. “It's a brand new technology that's not really understood real well, so it will raise fear and anxiety in a lot of people,” Austin said. “We want to be good professional aviators and alleviate that.” Associated Press reporter Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C., contributed.Rich countries' promise of $300 billion a year in climate finance brought fury at talks in Baku from poor nations that found it too paltry, but it also shows a shift in global political realities. The two-week marathon COP29 climate conference opened days after the decisive victory in the US presidential election of Donald Trump, a sceptic both of climate change and foreign aid. In the new year, Germany, Canada and Australia all hold elections in which conservatives less supportive of green policies stand chances of victory. Britain is an exception, with the new Labour government putting climate high back on the agenda, but in much of the West, concerns about inflation and budgetary shocks from Russia's invasion of Ukraine have dented enthusiasm for aggressive climate measures. At COP29, Germany and the European Union maintained their roles championing climate but also advocated a noticeably practical approach on how much money historical polluters should give poorer countries. "We live in a time of truly challenging geopolitics, and we should simply not have the illusion" otherwise, European climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told bleary-eyed delegates at COP29's pre-dawn closing session Sunday, as activists in the back loudly coughed to drown him out. But he vowed leadership by Europe, hailing COP29 as "the start of a new era for climate finance". German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a Green party member and longtime climate advocate, called for flexibility on ways to provide funding. Europe should "live up to its responsibilities, but in a way that it doesn't make promises it can't keep", she said. Avinash Persaud, special advisor on climate change to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, called the final deal "the boundary between what is politically achievable today in developed countries and what would make a difference in developing countries". Activists say that climate funding is a duty, not choice, for wealthy nations whose decades of greenhouse gas emissions most contributed to the crisis that most hits the poorest. This year is again set to be the hottest on record on the planet. Just since COP29, deadly storms have battered the Philippines and Honduras, and Ecuador declared a national emergency due to drought and forest fires. Wealthy historic emitters' promise of $300 billion a year by 2035 is a step up from an expiring commitment of $100 billion annually, but all sides acknowledge it is not enough. The COP29 agreement cites the need for $1.3 trillion per year, meaning a whopping $1 trillion a year needs to come from elsewhere. Even within the $300 billion commitment, some activists see too much wiggle room. "It is, to some extent, almost an empty promise," said Mariana Paoli, the global advocacy lead at London-based development group Christian Aid. She described the target as "creative accounting", saying there was not enough clarity on how much money would come from public funds and in grants rather than loans. She acknowledged the politics of the moment but said that wealthy nations had options such as taxation on fossil fuel companies. "There is a backlash because there is no political will," she said. In one closely scrutinised part of the Baku deal, countries will be able to count climate finance through international financial institutions toward the $300 billion goal. The text states that it is "voluntary" -- potentially opening the way to include China, which is the world's largest emitter but refuses to have requirements like long-developed countries. In a joint statement at COP29, multilateral development banks led by the Washington-based World Bank Group but also including the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank -- which has long faced US criticism -- expected that they together can provide $120 billion annually in climate financing and mobilise another $65 billion from the private sector by 2030. Melanie Robinson, director of the global climate program at the World Resources Institute, said there were good reasons to rely on multinational development banks, including how much capital they can leverage and their tools to advance green policies. "They are the most effective way to turn each dollar of finance into impact on the ground," she said. She agreed that the $300 billion was insufficient but added, "It's a down payment on what we need." Beyond the debate on dollar figures, she pointed to an initiative within the G20 by Brazil, which holds COP30 next year, to reform financial institutions so as to incorporate debtor nations as well as climate concerns. "There is really a much bigger opportunity for us -- which is shifting the whole financial system," she said. sct/giv

AP Business SummaryBrief at 12:48 p.m. ESTProvidence, Oklahoma hope key players are back in Bahamas

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Eddie Lampkin Jr. and Donnie Freeman each posted a double-double and Jaquan Carlos finished an assist shy of joining them as Syracuse closed out its nonconference schedule with a 75-63 win over Bucknell on Saturday. The Orange evened their record at 6-6 with their sixth win in seven home games, taking a 12-point lead at intermission and maintaining it through the second half, handing the Bison (4-9) their seventh straight loss. Syracuse, which lost its Atlantic Coast Conference opener to Notre Dame, finished nonconference play 6-5. Lampkin and Freeman combined to score 24 first-half points and helped the Orange dominate the boards in the first half, 18-11. Pip Ajayi dunked near the 14-minute mark to get Bucknell within five, 48-43, but Elvin Edmonds IV missed a 3-point attempt to make it a one-possession game a minute later and Lampkin scored to push the lead to seven. Kyle Cuffe Jr. scored back-to-back baskets and Carlos added a layup to push the Syracuse lead back to a dozen points, 56-44. Lampkin finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds scored 15 points, grabbed 11 boards and dished three assists with a steal. Carlos posted 11 points with nine assists and three steals. Syracuse outrebounded Bucknell 43-27. John Bascoe hit 6 of 11 from behind the arc and led the Bison with 22 points. Noah Williamson finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Syracuse opens the heart of its ACC schedule when it plays host to Wake Forest on New Year's Eve. Bucknell opens Patriot League play January 2 at Lehigh. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Nation Remembers Heroes of 2001 Parliament Terror AttackThe 17th death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto is being observed today. Benazir Bhutto (b. June 21, 1953, d. December 27, 2007) was a Pakistani politician who is considered a modern Muslim political leader of South Asia as she became the first woman Prime Minister of the Muslim world. She had been in office as the Prime Minister of Pakistan twice (1988–90 and 1993–96). After a long round of discussions between Pervez Musharraf, the then military ruler, and Benazir, regarding the future power-sharing formula, she managed to return back to Pakistan. She landed in Karachi from Dubai in October 2007 after eight years of self-imposed exile. At the time of her assassination on 27 December 2007 at Rawalpindi, she was making a bid for a third term as the Premier of Pakistan. She was assassinated by a suicide bomber named Bilal, a 15-year-old, who had reportedly been asked to do so by the Pakistani Taliban. Subsequent years since she was assassinated by extremist groups have revealed more about how the Pakistani state apparatus works and who and why some groups of assassins had actually ordered to kill her. It was her commitment to promoting democratic ideals combined with her unweaving conviction to end militancy in Pakistan that contributed to her unfortunate murder. Her commitment to promoting democracy and reconciliation was neither acceptable to the undemocratic forces of Pakistan nor to militant groups within Pakistan and across the borders. Today’s Pakistan is divided on ethno-regional biases. It experiences religious extremism, unstoppable terrorism, political polarisation, and a divided society. Such a divided society has given rise to political instability that eventually contributes to economic instability. In these critical times, what seems an appropriate way to commemorate the death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto is to recall her message of cooperation and reconciliation that is necessary for promoting democratic norms and democratic governance in the country. Bitterness And The Path To Reconciliation She was a stanch supporter of adherence to uphold the essence of the Constitution of Pakistan. Evidence to her commitment to the constitutional supremacy is manifested in her words which she delivered while she was giving her speech at Governor’s House Lahore on December 25, 1988. She resolved that “ the real foundation of a country is its Constitution. It safeguards the rights of the provinces as well as those of the masses .” She not only encouraged the notion of cooperation from within the society and politics of Pakistan but also furthered the idea of reconciliation between Islam and Democracy and between the West and Pakistan to bridge the two polities and to clear the misconceptions that had been bone of contention between the West and East She further denounced coming into power with the support of illegitimate and undemocratic forces. She believed in coming into power with the support of the people of Pakistan as she reinforced that “ I believe in coming into power through people’s power and through the vote of the confidence of the people’s representatives. Therefore, the respect for the office of the Prime Minister is not mere respect for a particular office but denotes respect for the masses that have elected her .” In the same speech, she did not support the politics of confrontation, which for her promotes political instability combined with political hatred, and she always promoted reconciliation and cooperation as she reiterated that “ we do not want confrontation and, we have never, by ourselves, created a situation of confrontation...we want to create unity in the country, which is divided into linguistic groups .” Similarly, she not only encouraged the notion of cooperation from within the society and politics of Pakistan but also furthered the idea of reconciliation between Islam and Democracy and between the West and Pakistan to bridge the two polities and to clear the misconceptions that had been bone of contention between the West and East. She rejected the idea revolving around the inevitability of confrontation between Islam and the West that was triggered by Samuel Huntington’s work The Clash of Civilisations , the thesis that people’s cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. Benazir resolved to reconcile the West and Islam and she suggested Muslims adopt modernity that will, for her, not only end extremism from within Pakistan but also build friendly relations with religious ‘others’. SCBAP President Pays Tribute To 1971, 2014 Martyrs, Urges National Reconciliation She has been a proponent of eradicating religious extremism from within Pakistani society in particular and from the Islamic world in general She contended in her classic work titled Benazir Bhutto: Reconciliation, Islam Democracy and the West , over the issue of divide between the West and Islam that “ the clash is not certainly over theology...fundamentally, it is all about whether the Muslim people can survive and prosper in a modern ear or whether linkages with traditional interpretations of the sixteenth century will free them in the past...if the Muslims can adjust to the political, social and economic environment we will not only survive but flourish...if modernity is dogmatically resisted, the existence of Muslims as viable community will become vulnerable ,” p., 275. She also desisted from the military rule in the country and always promoted democracy as a system of governance in Pakistan and beyond. She argued that future of the Muslims across the globe depends on promoting democracy because “ it does not only replace the dictatorship but also it weakens the forces of extremism and militancy”. She further opines that “if the extremism and militancy are defeated, our planet can avoid the cataclysmic battle that pessimists predict is inevitable, ” p., 284. She has been a proponent of eradicating religious extremism from within Pakistani society in particular and from the Islamic world in general as she propounded that “ much of what I think needs doing to defeat Islamic extremism centers around what I think must be done to strengthen democracy among Islamic societies, ” p., 284. Another important democratic notion that she continuously advanced was women's emancipation and their economic empowerment. She advocated women's socio-political rights as she believed that the economic empowerment of women was essential for building a vibrant middle class that is considered a backbone of any modern polity for promoting prosperity and democratic governance. She always encouraged women to be educated and to be economically independent. She propounded that “ a true measure of liberation from traditional roles and traditional subordination by the men is the extent to which the women are economically self-sufficient .” To further augment her argument in favour of women’s economic independence, she maintains that “ economic independence brings political independence, and political independence within the family encourages pluralism and democratic expression and organisation outside the family ,” p., 289. Remembering Mummy Jennifer: The Irish Roots Of An Untiring Advocate For Balochistan - II Amongst others, she promoted the right to freedom of expression. In her address to a party in the honor of a journalist at Lahore, she maintained that “ we lay great emphasis on freedom of expression and freedom of thought...let me inform you of our Government policies that we would like to have as little as possible the State interference .” Similarly, she emphasised the equality of all citizens and their equal rights, as embedded in the Constitution of Pakistan, irrespective of their ethno-religious orientation and gender. In addressing medical students at Karachi, she said “ we have no allusions to abstract freedom. There are millions of Pakistanis, whether they are religious minorities or not who are deprived of their necessities of life. We envisage freedom in terms of raising the equality in our people’s life .” Benazir Bhutto stood resolved to promote democratic ideals and to advocate the politics of cooperation and reconciliation. She always desisted from dictatorship, militancy, and religious extremism, whose alliance took her life because she could prove a catalyst force for change and she had greatly forged a conviction to end religious extremism and rediscovered the agenda for tolerance, reconciliation, pluralism and democratic governance in the country. She was a renaissance woman who offered a way out of extremism. Thus, it is high time for the policy-makers in general and the claimants of Benazir’s political legacy to not only recall her democratic ideals but also to take some practical policy measures to overcome the menace of a divided society and polarised politics in Pakistan.Three Christmas coins that could be worth £8,000 - here's how to find them

NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it is investigating potential breaches of fiduciary duties by the directors and officers of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) in connection with Southwest Airlines’ information technology infrastructure impacting Southwest Airlines’ business, operations, and stock price. If you currently own shares of Southwest Airlines stock, please visit the firm’s website at https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=10716 for more information. You may also contact Phillip Kim of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via email at case@rosenlegal.com . Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm , on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/ . Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40 th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.comNEW YORK , Nov. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Why: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Paragon 28, Inc. (NYSE: FNA) between May 5, 2023 and September 20, 2024 , both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), and those who purchased Paragon 28 call options or sold put options during the Class Period, of the November 29, 2024 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities class action first filed by the Firm. So what: If you purchased Paragon 28 securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. What to do next: To join the Paragon 28 class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=27557 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than November 29, 2024 . A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Details of the case: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Paragon 28's financial statements were misstated; (2) Paragon 28 lacked adequate internal controls and at times understated the extent of the issues with its internal controls; and (3) as a result, defendants' statements about its business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Paragon 28 class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=27557 https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=28116 call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm . Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40 th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fna-deadline-fna-investors-with-losses-in-excess-of-100k-have-opportunity-to-lead-paragon-28-inc-securities-fraud-lawsuit-first-filed-by-the-rosen-law-firm-302314474.html SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A.