British Council’s Schools Now! Martin Lowder, Head of Global Exams Services, The British Council, shared, ‘The spirit of Schools Now! is to establish global connections within the educational community, exploring insights and innovations in international education. Other distinguished speakers included Dr Funke Baffour-Awuah, Head of Well-being Division and Child Protection Lead, Al Rayan International School, Ghana, Kathleen O’Hare, British Council Education Consultant, Pamela O`Brien, Deputy Head and Jo Parkes, Deputy Head Academic from British Council School in Madrid. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through http://twitter.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org/.

Prosser, WA In the pursuit of enhancing almond genetic diversity for the ever-expanding global demand, researchers have delved into a private almond germplasm collection, shedding light on the potential for new cultivars adapted to diverse growing conditions. The study compared the genetic diversity of the private IPPFBE germplasm collection, which focuses on Central Asian origins, with the existing NPGS collection maintained near Davis, California. Through DNA fingerprinting using 10 simple sequence repeat markers, this research revealed insights into the diversity of these almond accessions. Two Prunus bucharica accessions from the IPPFBE collection stood out, displaying distinctive genetic traits compared to the rest of the collection. Analysis of the IPPFBE collection indicates that although it and the NPGS collection are broadly similar, the new material contributes positively to the genetic diversity of almond germplasm.

From Tribune staff reportsJEFFERSON COUNTY — A federal grand jury indicted three individuals from Jefferson County for their role in allegedly operating a scheme to defraud Chase Bank, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and U.S. The indictment alleges that between May 2022 and August 31, 2022, Spencer, Perkins, and Moody conspired together to defraud Chase Bank. The fraudulent checks were made payable to Moody and deposited into a Chase Bank account controlled by him. The defendants attempted twice to withdraw money for personal use from this Moody-controlled bank account. The total value of the checks deposited into the bank account and drawn on the accounts belonging to three separate businesses was more than $7,000.

Getting down to business straightaway, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gave the green signal on Monday to begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new long-term bailout package. He also directed for preparing a roadmap on war footing to deal with the current situation.The suspicious absence from Shehbaz’s core economic team was former four-time finance minister Senator Ishaq Dar. Shehbaz had also included Ali Pervaiz in his core team in April 2022, but he was not brought to the table. The huddle suggests that Shehbaz Sharif is keen to pick a new economic team instead of relying on experienced hands. On the issue of next programme, the prime minister was informed about the likelihood of revenue measures and cut in power subsidies.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has surpassed Tesla founder Elon Musk in wealth. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has become the richest person in the world after increasing his wealth by $23 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth of $200 billion. On the other hand, Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX and social media platform X, lost $31 billion in 2024 but is now the second richest person in the world with a net worth of $198 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates is in fifth place with a wealth of $150 billion. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is at the eleventh position in the list with a wealth of $115 billion

North Andover, MA (01845)TodayLight rain this evening. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..TonightLight rain this evening. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.

Pakistani actor and host Yasir Hussain recently took to Instagram to shower praise on the crime drama film Chikkar, the directorial debut of Zaheer Uddin. Sharing his thoughts on the social media platform, he posted pictures alongside Chikkar actor Usman Mukhtar, TV veteran Noor-ul-Hassan and Yasir’s own co-star from his recent release Taxali Gate, Umer Aalam, among others. The carousel post also featured video snippets from the cinema hall, offering glimpses of the film's impactful scenes. In an accompanying heartfelt message with the post, Yasir expressed his emotions after watching the film, saying, “Yesterday, I watched Chikkar. Giving a special mention to Faryal Mehmood's cameo appearance in the film, Yasir lauded her performance as a standout element.

If you love chatting with friends over text messages on Instagram, the good news is that Meta has introduced 3 new features for Direct Message. Meta has announced 3 big changes for the Instagram Direct Message section. Features like message editing, pin messages and read receipts will now be available to Instagram users. According to the company, it will be possible to edit messages sent in Direct Message within 15 minutes. Similarly, through the pin message feature, you will be able to pin 3 chats that will appear at the top of the direct message inbox.

From Tribune staff reportsSt. CLAIR COUNTY–Maxwell Allen St. John, 35, was charged on Monday with the murder of Kyla Elaine Bobo, according to the St. Clair County Sheriff. Bobo, who was from the Moody area, was last seen on Jan. 30, 2022 in Chula Vista. Her family contacted the sheriff’s office in February 2022 to report her disappearance. According to the sheriff’s office, the remains were processed for DNA testing by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences and in February 2024 preliminary results identified them as belonging to Bobo. St. John, who was serving an 11-year sentence for rape in a separate case, was later charged with one count of felony murder and one count of abuse of a corpse and extradited from Bullock Correctional Facility.

At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, Missouri made history — a good kind of history. During his media session on Thursday, he said he was “real upset” that he had to miss the event, and understandably so. Best quote from his media session: Robinson touched on various different topics during his media session, with his versatility on the defensive line being his main point of discussion. I felt like it was disrespectful to the SEC to go down there and lose to those guys the first year I was at Missouri,” Hopper said. Best quote from his media session: Schrader’s media session was filled with anecdotes about his career path up until this point.

Similar to the Earth, the Sun has two magnetic poles. NASA’s scientists predicted that the Sun’s poles will reverse in April, a regular cycle. The Sun’s solar storms could pose a potential threat to the Earth’s internal environment. On the positive side, solar storms can result in vivid auro­ras. The advent of solar storms and the flipping of poles may, too, re­verse its impacts, which is none­theless unpredictable.

Attock - Under Chief Minister Punjab Relief Package (CMRP), 86,279 families in six tehsils of Attock district will receive aid, comprising Atta, Ghee, Sugar, Rice, and Basin. DC Attock, Rao Atif Raza, confirmed the finalization of all arrangements for the distribution. He stated that 160 teams have been formed to deliver CMRPs directly to the doorsteps of pre-identified needy families. DC Atif Raza provided a breakdown of the relief distribution, specifying that 17,397 families in Tehsil Attock, 11,414 families in Tehsil Hazro, 9,013 families in Tehsil Hasanabdal, 13,924 families in Tehsil Fatehjang, 12,694 families in Tehsil Pindigheb, and 21,837 families in Tehsil Jand will benefit from the CMRP. The initiative aims to alleviate the economic impact on these families, ensuring essential supplies reach those in need.

By Johnny Sanders, Sports EditorLEEDS – On May 9, 2023, Jesse Turner was chosen to take over a softball team at Leeds that was looking to overcome a 4-18 season. This week, Leeds took on Victory Christian and traveled to Shades Valley and both games saw explosive offense by the Greenies that led to an early departure for their opponents. Against Victory Christian on Tuesday, Leeds pitcher Audrey Whitcomb found herself in a jam in the first, with the bases loaded much of the inning. A few errors later and the Lady Greenwave were down, but the damage was minimal as Victory Christian scored just two runs in the first. The second would be a low-scoring period as Leeds had a run in the top and blanked Shades Valley in the bottom or the inning.

KARACHI: A Karachi police officer was arrested for his alleged involvement in extortion and selling drugs. As per details, police conducted an intelligence-based operation on Karachi Super Highway and recovered drugs from the accused identified as ASI Imran whowas on duty at Gulshan-e-Maymar. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the motorcycle was registered in ASI Imran’s name and he was also trying to save the arrested suspect. Furthermore, ASI Imran was arrested from Mominabad for alleged extortion and a case has been registered against him. Earlier, a Karachi policeman was arrested for his alleged involvement in robberies, short-term kidnapping, and extortion.

The tragic train crash in India's Andhra Pradesh that claimed 14 lives in October was attributed to the train drivers being distracted by a cricket match on their phones, according to India's Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, BBC reported. The drivers were reportedly engrossed in the one-day World Cup match between India and England when the accident occurred. The collision, resulting from a missed signal, left dozens injured as the passenger train travelling between Visakhapatnam and Palasa collided with another train. The Andhra Pradesh train crash marked the third major incident since June the previous year, following a three-train collision in Odisha that claimed approximately 300 lives. Reflecting on India's railway history, the worst disaster occurred in 1981 when a derailment in Bihar resulted in nearly 800 fatalities.