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PGA Tour seeks extension on commercial deal with Saudis, private investors
(AP) - The PGA Tour believes it has made enough progress with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf to extend their negotiations into next year for a new commercial deal that would include a U.S. investment group and the European tour.
Commissioner Jay Monahan sent a memo to players on Sunday afternoon, just seven hours before the deadline to finalize the deal that was set in the June 6 framework agreement.
The PGA Tour board unanimously agreed three weeks ago to negotiate exclusively with Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of American-based professional sports teams owners led by Fenway Sports Group.
Monahan said the tour has made “meaningful progress” with SSG and provided the group with all the information it requested.
“As we move forward in our discussions, we are focused on the finalization of terms and drafts of necessary documents,” Monahan said.
Far more complicated are the negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the financial supporters of the rival LIV Golf League which lured away Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka in 2022, and most recently Masters champion Jon Rahm earlier this month.
Monahan described conversations with PIF and the European tour as “active and productive.”
The framework agreement was to expire Dec. 31, though it included language that the deadline could be extended if all parties agreed. “We are working to extend our negotiations into next year based on the progress we have made to date,” Monahan said in his memo.
Monahan said the goal for 2024 was to reach agreements with SSG, PIF and the European tour to bring them in as minority co-investors in the for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises.
“These partnerships will allow us to unify, innovate and invest in the game for the benefit of players, fans and sponsors,” Monahan said.
Under the framework agreement, PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan would have a seat on the PGA Tour board. The agreement also included PGA Tour Enterprises doing an “objective, empirical-driven evaluation” of LIV and to determine if team golf can be integrated into the PGA Tour and European tour.
It also was to determine a “fair and objective” process for LIV players who might want to return to the PGA Tour or European tour, which is said to be a sticking point because of the players who turned down Saudi riches to remain on the PGA Tour.
The PGA Tour season begins Thursday at The Sentry on Maui, the first of eight “signature” events with a $20 million purse and limited field. LIV Golf already has announced the bulk of its 2024 schedule and $20 million purses. It starts the first week of February.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wistv.com/2024/01/01/pga-tour-seeks-extension-commercial-deal-with-saudis-private-investors/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:03Z
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Google celebrates Happy New Year 2024 with festive doodle
Google celebrates New Year 2024 with a vibrant doodle, displaying disco balls and confetti.
Happy New Year 2024: Google celebrates New Year 2024 with a vibrant doodle. The Google Doodle 2024 displayed sparkling disco balls, confetti, showing the essence of celebration.
Revelers counted down to midnight on New Year's Eve across the globe on Sunday as fireworks and festive lights offered a hopeful start to 2024 for billions of people.
Happy New Year 2024 to you all
Several people across the country greeted the new year with prayers.
A large number of people from different faiths gathered at their religious places of worship to welcome the new year amid prayers and celebrations.
On the first day of New Year in Amritsar, devotees bowed down at Golden Temple Gurudwara. Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal along with wife MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal offered prayers at the gurudwara on Sunday night.
People also performed Ganga and Surya aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, Varanasi on Sunday.
Happy New Year 2024: Top 10 gadgets to gift to your loved ones this New Year
In Delhi, a New Year's aarti was performed at Jhandewalan Devi Temple, and huge crowds gathered at Connaught Place.
A large number of devotees visited Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple in Pathanamthitta on the last day of the year. Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi, Maharashtra, also witnessed devotees gathering to offer their prayers on the last day of the year.
New Year 2024: 5 key finance-related changes set for rollout from January 1
Special prayers were held in churches in Rameswaram at the beginning of the New Year 2024 on Sunday.
Similarly, Kamarajar Salai in Chennai saw a large turnout, and Mall Road in Shimla was filled with people welcoming the upcoming year.
On the occasion of New Year, sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a 25 ft high sand sculpture of Lord Jagannath at Blue Flag Beach in Puri.
Besides, Goa, Bengaluru, and Mumbai were dazzled with a magnificent display of fireworks.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
|
https://www.livemint.com/news/india/google-celebrates-happy-new-year-2024-with-festive-doodle-11704070790373.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:03Z
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Here are the key points and main highlights of the leadership lecture given by Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw at St. Xavier's College in Bombay. Though delivered in 1998, Manekshaw touched on several themes that hold relevance even today:
Here's the link to the
full videoShortage of Leadership- For a long time, Manekshaw has been watching the India story carefully. He has observed that there are shortages everywhere – shortage of fuel, shortage of food, foreign exchange, schools, colleges, houses. People talk about these shortages all the time. But the one shortage that leads to all these shortages is shortage of leadership.
- Shortage of leadership does not merely imply political inadequacy – it is an acute shortage everywhere – political, administrative, in edu institutes, organizations, labour, law and order, industry.
- Some people say “Leaders are born”. Even then, India has ~800Mn people and procreates at the
- rate of one Australia every year. Yet, there’s a shortage of leadership.
- Manekshaw’s view is that leaders are made. “Give me a man with common sense and a fair sense of decency, and we can make a leader out of him”.
Leadership Lecture Sam Manekshaw
Attributes of leadership1. Professional knowledge and competence - One cannot be born with professional knowledge. It has to be acquired the hard way. It is a constant and continuous study.
- In India, once we reach positions of power, we think we are the repository of all knowledge, just because “we have arrived”. Without professional knowledge, one can’t have professional competence, and without professional competence, one cannot lead.
- Professional knowledge is a sine qua non of leadership. One has to have professional competence if one is expected to lead.
Leadership Lecture Sam Manekshaw
2. Decision making and accountability- A true leader has the ability to make up their mind and take a decision, and having taken that decision, accept full responsibility.
- An act of omission is much worse than an act of commission. An act of commission can be put right, but act of omission cannot.
- Why is a leader not able to make a decision? Because he lacks confidence. And he lacks confidence usually because of lack of professional knowledge and competence.
- When leaders don’t take decisions, cost escalate, and by the time a decision is finally made, costs are tenfold, and only the people suffer. “If you must be a bloody fool, be one quickly.”
Leadership Lecture Sam Manekshaw
3.
Absolute justice and impartiality
- No man likes being punished, and yet men will accept punishment if they know that everyone who commits the same crime gets the same punishment, because that’s fair.
- No man likes being superseded, and yet people will accept being superseded if they know it’s being done fairly and on merit. But they wouldn’t accept this if other factors like favouritism are at play.
Leadership Lecture Sam Manekshaw
4. Moral and physical courage- In India, we have tremendous pressures from our large families, members of parliament and more. And we lack courage to withstand that pressure. Courage comes in two kinds – moral, and physical.
- Moral courage
It is the ability to distinguish right from wrong, and having the courage to stand up and say your piece.
A yes man is a horrible man, a disgrace. He must be shunned. He will be used by his superiors, disliked by his colleagues, and disrespected by subordinates. He may rise, but will never be a leader.
- Physical courage
Fear is a natural phenomenon, like hunger and sex. Anyone who says they do not feel fear, is a liar.
It is one thing to be frightened, and yet another to show fear. If you show fear in front of your subordinates, you should quit.
It is when your knees are knocking, and your teeth are chattering, and you are about to make your own geography, is when the real leader comes out.
Leadership Lecture Sam Manekshaw
5. Loyalty- Loyalty is a two way street. We all expect loyalty from our subordinates, but we also have to give it to them. We have to give it to colleagues too.
- A leader expects loyalty, but also gives loyalty.
Leadership Lecture Sam Manekshaw
6. Management of men and resources- Leadership is nothing but management of men and resources.
- Men in numbers can be nasty, and a leader must be able to deal with them very firmly.
- Men have problems of debt, family problems, and many more problems. Leaders should have a human touch, to pull people out of their despondency.
Leadership Lecture Sam Manekshaw
7. Discipline- Discipline is a code of conduct for decent living in society.
- Especially in India, we are terribly ill-disciplined. We think that because we’ve gotten freedom, we can do whatever we want to.
- Why do we have to spit paan all over? Why do we have to keep staircases dirty? Why do we have to throw garbage on the road? These are all acts of ill-discipline. It is because of such acts of ill-discipline that we have smuggling, corruption and large-scale acts of ill-discipline.
- Non-punctuality is an act of ill-discipline, which is injurious to the state and its people.
Leadership Lecture Sam Manekshaw
Leadership Lecture Sam Manekshaw
8. Character- Of course one must be honest, truthful, and have other normal traits of a ‘good character’. But when Manekshaw says a leader has ‘character’, it’s something bigger than that, which is knowing oneself, knowing who one really is, and then being genuine in one’s actions and decisions.
Leadership Lecture Sam Manekshaw
|
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/leadership-lecture-by-field-marshal-sam-manekshaw-key-points-and-highlights/articleshow/106422057.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:21:04Z
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SYDNEY - Australia opener David Warner said on Monday he had decided to call time on his one-day international and test careers to spend more time with his family.
The 37-year-old, a key member of the Australia team that won the 50-overs World Cup for the sixth time in India last year, will play his 112th and final test against Pakistan at his home Sydney Cricket Ground starting on Wednesday.
"I said at the World Cup that I wanted to get through that ... but I've decided to also announce my retirement from that format," Warner told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground. "It'll help the one-day team move along a bit ... but if they need me, they know where I am."
Warner scored 22 centuries and 6,932 runs at an average of 45.30 over 161 one-day internationals after his debut in January 2009, winning two World Cups in the format. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/warner-retires-from-one-dayers-as-well-as-tests
| 2024-01-01T02:21:04Z
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Astana announces team roster for Tour of Oman 2019
21:43, 14 February 2019
ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Astana Pro Team is going to take part in the prestigious UCI Asia Tour race Tour of Oman, which will be held from February 16th 21st, the team's press office informs.
Team's line-up: Davide Ballerini, Zhandos Bizhigitov, Yevgeniy Gidich, Hugo Houle, Alexey Lutsenko, Magnus Cort and Artyom Zakharov.
Sports directors in the race: Dmitriy Fofonov and Lars Michaelsen.
|
https://en.inform.kz/amp/astana-announces-team-roster-for-tour-of-oman-2019_a3498388/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:05Z
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LIGHT SHOWERS or sprinkles will be possible today. Otherwise, dry and stable weather is expected through Monday. Wet and unsettled weather will return Tuesday through Wednesday. A series of colder storms are expected Friday through Sunday. (NWS)
STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A much cooler 46F this last day of 2023 with clear skies & only .03" in the bucket. Some clouds & maybe a shower today then the new year starts out lovely Monday. Rain Tuesday & Wednesday. Dry Thursday. Yep, more of the same. 2023: Oct 1.82” - Nov 3.24” - Dec 7.73” - YTD 12.79”
THE ANDERSON VALLEY ADVERTISER PRESENTS…
THE END-OF-THE-YEAR AWARDS
MOST INEFFECTUAL PUBLIC BODY: Mendocino County Board of Supervisors for ignoring the will of the voters on almost every local ballot measure, and for providing zero leadership as Mendocino County goes slowly broke while providing unsupervised blank checks to outside County contractors, especially lawyers and architects.
PROFILE IN COURAGE: Congressman Jared Huffman for signing a Gaza ceasefire resolution then, the next day, reneging and apologizing to his millionaire funders for his “mistake.”
DEVOTED SON of the year with a family values notation: Assemblyman James Wood for announcing he was leaving politics to care for his aged mother when, a week later, Wood was appointed to a state legislative sinecure.
LAWN GUY of the year, DA David Eyster with a RoundUp cluster for the only Ukiah lawn with no dandelions over a decade.
MOST PROMISING political newcomers, Carrie Shattuck, Adam Gaska, Jacob Brown.
HINDU OF THE YEAR. Craig Stehr
SCAPEGOAT of the Year: Chamise Cubbison
BEST SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT in Mendocino County for raising Boonville's perennialy saggy educational scores while revitalizing all three local schools.
BEST COMMUNITY GUY AND GALS. Captain Rainbow, Karen Ottoboni, Saffron Fraser, DeAnn Wallace.
ALL-HOURS EMERGENCY HEROES AND HEROINES, the AV Ambulance Crew gets special kudos for turning out in all kinds of weather and at all hours to attend to all kinds of disasters.
RAGE MONKEY of the year: James Marmon, diehard Trumper
AHAB OF THE YEAR. Mike Geniella for his dogged pursuit of the truth in the Cubbison case.
MOST ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC SERVANT, Sheriff Matt Kendall who returns calls and does not hesitate to mix it up on-line or anywhere else where local police conduct is questioned. (Sorry to disappoint the Blue Meanie Brigades, Mendo cops go about their difficult work efficiently and humanely.)
KIM IL SUNG history rewrite award: The frantically virtue-signalling Name Change Fort Bragg.
MAZIE MALONE. Coolest Mendo name of the year, and coolest globally since Stella Dallas.
BUNCO VICTIMS OF THE YEAR. The voters of Mendocino County who voted for Measure B mental health services funding only to see the money spent on, like, whatever.
VICTIM OF DA SADISM of the year, the martyred Noble Waidelich, removed as Ukiah Police Chief on the basis of an allegation of sexual misconduct only to remain uncharged ever since.
ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR MENDO HISTORIANS, Brad Wiley, Katy Tahja, with matching appreciation for the Kelly House Museum in Mendocino, and Alyssa Ballard at the Held-Poage Library in Ukiah. Without them, Amnesia County, where history starts all over again every day and you are whatever you say you are, would have even less memory than it does.
GETTIN' IT DONE AWARD: Jayma Shields of Laytonville for taking the initiative to serve snow-stranded motorists while the County withheld permission to break out emergency gear.
ELK'S GREAT DAY AWARD: Mike Koepf moved to Wyoming.
HIGH SCHOOL COACH of the year: John Toohey, Anderson Valley High School for taking a group of kids who'd never played football before and molding them into a small school powerhouse.
BEST RUN MENDO CITY of the year: Fort Bragg, Willits a strong second, Ukiah poised for receivership.
LEAST VISIBLE city official: Ukiah's ‘Seldom Seen’ Sage Sangiacomo. When he's in, he's out, and when he's out he's in.
ARRESTEE OF THE YEAR. Sacto attorney Kelli Johnson who claimed to have been mistreated by deputies, then recreationally mistreated again by jail staff as deputy and jail videos showed her steadily mistreating deputies and jail staff.
SAVVIEST POLITICAL ENDORSEMENT of the year or any year. The unanimous endorsement of the feckless Trevor Mockel for supervisor by the supervisors.
MENDOCINO COUNTY'S loss is Redding's, too. County Counsel Christian Curtis, the Professor Irwin Corey of Low Gap Road, has been hired by Redding to screw up its legal affairs.
PROXY WAR CRIMINALS of the year, the Democrats of Mendocino County. It goes without saying that County Republicans are even more eager to extinguish the people of Gaza as they yearn for serial strafing runs at the border with Mexico.
ONGOING BOONDOGGLES of the decade, the first brought to us by the Superior Court of Mendocino County with a new County Courthouse no one but them wants; and, two, The Great Redwood Trail consisting of two miles of pavement running through Ukiah's industrial wastelands culminating at the town's waste treatment plant.
SPORTS HERO OF THE YEAR: Brock Purdy of the San Francisco Forty-Niners.
DHARMA BUM OF THE YEAR: Craig Stehr, presently of Ukiah, age 72, who has lived well for years but hasn't worked since his morning paper route as a 12-year-old. Contributions welcome at his PayPal account.
UNOFFICIAL MAYOR and daylight watchdog of the Anderson Valley, Jose ‘Lumpy’ Garcia.
MARIE ANTOINETTE AWARD IN PERPETUITY goes to the wineries of the Anderson Valley for unapologetically destroying the sleep of at least two thousand Valley residents every Spring for nights on end, their monarchical arrogance memorably expressed by Ted Bennett of the Navarro Winery, “My grapes are more important than your sleep.”
HENDY WOODS FREE DAY
Free Day for Mendocino County Residents New Years Day At Hendy Woods State
Park & a Guided Walk for all (at 11 AM)
Mon 01 / 01 / 2024 at 7:00 AM
Where: Hendy Woods State Park
More Information (https://andersonvalley.helpfulvillage.com/events/3660)
UKIAH SHELTER PET OF THE WEEK
Wally is a very social dog. He’s easy to handle on leash and stays right by your side. He sure enjoys getting out and about. Wally will be happiest in a home where he will be with his pack, hangin' with his family. We think Wally will enjoy the company of children in his new home. Wally is a year old and weighs 66 adorable pounds. And seriously: that face!
For more about Wally and all our adoptable dogs and cats, head to mendoanimalshelter.com. For information about adoptions, call 707-467-6453. Check out our Facebook Page and please share our posts!
Yappy New Year To Y'all
ED NOTES
I'VE SPENT a productive Saturday with Dan Hibshman, not the man himself but two books he's written, ‘Disquiet — Stories from a Law Library’ and ‘Of a Lifetime, Stories 1963-2023,’ both of which held my fragged attentions throughout.
MR. HIBSHMAN is a long-time Mendo resident mostly, I gather from his stories, as a resident of Ukiah. I've known the author, casually, for many years.
HE'S better than a good writer. Mr. H. is a very good writer, who has the gift of relaying his stories in a way that draws the reader in.
‘DISQUIET’ is a collection of accounts of the author's encounters in the law library of the Mendocino County Courthouse, over which he presided for many years. As anybody knows who works at a job where one's job begins with whomever walks through the door, that anybody walking through your door in these unrestrained times can, and often is, an adventure.
DAN HIBSHMAN was good at his job of both leading his customers through the free legal labyrinth, he managed the unmanageable with the aplomb of a practiced therapist, patiently enduring insult and the impossibly needy alike without losing it himself.
IN THE DISQUIET stories Mendocino County is lightly disguised as Manzanita County, Ukiah as unironically (I think) Grant City. Prominent figures are also disguised, but I recognized Al Kubanis, Tommy Wayne Kramer, Judge Anne Moorman, and other local luminaries and habitues of the Courthouse. Hibshman also captures perfectly the comedic flurry of a female activist, gearing up to protest the Willits Bypass, as she transmits a letter to the editor from the law library's computer; the activist seems to be a bustling, barely civil composite of Naomi Wagner and Sister Yazmin.
ALTHOUGH SITE-SPECIFIC in Ukiah, these stories will travel far from Mendocino County because they are interesting in themselves, not at all dependent on the personalities of our reliably odd jurisdiction. The unrestrained are everywhere!
MR. HIBSHMAN'S second book begins in his childhood where he suffers the usual indignities of early dependence most of us raised in the stable 50s and early 60s ambiance of the lower rungs of the middleclass also experienced, a kind of Everyman's American Childhood, but thereafter, well, here we are in a land where social predictability is long gone, a transition from tranquil then to the tumult inspiring the voluntary poverty of the Northcoast's first-wave Back to the Landers.
THE AUTHOR'S TRAJECTORY, in broad outline, resembles that of many of us who made our way to the Northcoast's outback in the late 1960s, early 1970s. We all had the metaphorical Shimmins Ridge experience, the author’s being full-on, extremely uptight people like myself, as visitors, which couldn't be avoided since that entire newcomer Mendo demographic, long hair or mental shirt and tie, had everything political in common — unyielding opposition to Nixonism.
I'M STILL IN MEXICO with Mr. Hibshman, about halfway through ‘Of A Lifetime,’ having sympathetically accompanied him through his marital break-up, his interludes of single parenting, his unhappy experience with a lawn-committed landlord. As of 4pm Saturday, I'm with him in Mexico. By Niner kickoff Sunday morning we'll both be back in Mendo.
(Both books get the AVA's five-star must read, and I hope to see both in all the local bookstores.)
* * *
WILLIAM RAY COMMENTS ON ‘DISQUIET’:
Few novels honor the urban Everyman questing after justice, certainly not one trapped in the stultified air of the court's law library. But the author here has managed to humanize and deepen the life of a minor bureaucrat, Henry Daniels, known about the building like the subalterns of another age by his first name. His vocation requires a certain deft Kabuki of clerkdom, to oversee as best he can the minute protocols and ceremonies of maintaining his single small room, dedicated to the principles of equity and fairness. He gets paid there not to be a hero. The pompously secure and the walking wounded dispense the same coin denominations for use of the library photocopy machine. The author's veiled chronicle of Humdrum USA becomes the Human Comedy. A subtle tale of our time Henry James might have admired for its unhurried objectivity.
MENDO HISTORY
My great grandfather William Scott Saunders and his brother Albert Pope Saunders were appointed as the mill boss and sawyer boss, respectively, of the Ten Mile mill in 1885, and shortly thereafter became the planer boss and sawyer boss, respectively, in the Fort Bragg mill when C. R. Johnson moved the operation to town. Scott lost the pinky of his left hand in the mill while cleaning the equipment in 1890. I don't know what became of it. In 1898 these two enterprising individuals saw an opportunity and took over the running of a saloon on Fort Bragg's Main Street in a building owned by John Ketchum. It was initially known as Saunders Brothers Saloon, but later more commonly as the Elk Horn Saloon. In 1900 they put in a “nickel-in-the-slot machine” that was described as “the best finished and most expensive machine of the kind ever brought to this section.” I'd love to have that machine (and some of the nickels) today. They ran this bar together for a few years, and then Scott ran it alone from 1901 to 1915. John “Johnny” Ketchum, the landowner, became ill and in March 1903 was staying in a back room of this saloon when he cut his throat in a fit of delirium, ran out into the street, and died. In 1913 his remarried widow sold the land to Scott for the whopping sum of ten dollars. Scott retired and sold the land and the saloon for five hundred dollars in 1915. In 1901 Albert moved two doors north where he partnered with Theodore Chester in another saloon commonly known as the Old Corner Saloon. He worked there until he died in 1907.
This photo was taken between 1898 and 1901 and shows Albert behind the bar in front of the north wall of the Saunders Brothers/Elk Horn Saloon. If a person were to walk out the back of this place even up to the 1940s there would have been a number of small cabins known as the Redwood Rooms and occupied by “single” women. The spot today would be where Cowlick's sits, the north half of 250 North Main Street. The site of the Old Corner Saloon would be on the southeast corner of Redwood and Main where the Club Fort Bragg was later located and where a tourist shop is today.
— Jack Saunders
CATCH OF THE DAY, Saturday, December 30, 2023
MICHAEL BARNES, Willits. Failure to appear, probation revocation.
CURTIS EVANS, Ukiah. Failure to appear.
YVONNE GARCIA, Carswell, Washington/Ukiah. DUI-alcohol&drugs, suspended license.
COLE HARBOUR, Fort Bragg. Provation violation.
NICOLE HAWKINS, Covelo. Failure to appear.
ALEXANDER RAMIREZ, Fort Bragg. Elder abuse, battery with serious injury, county parole.
JACINTO TUPPER, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.
JOSE VAZQUEZ-DUENAS, Fort Bragg. DUI.
BANNING TRUMP
Dear Editor,
Chris Christie and Gavin Newsom both say Donald Trump must not be kicked off the ballot, because, apparently, voting is the only way to prevent someone from office-holding in America. This betrays an extreme ignorance of law and history.
The Constitution specifies office-holding requirements related to maturity and familiarity with the American way of life, for starters. We also have a system of civil and criminal justice whereby offenders can lose the civil right to move about and keep up their predatory behavior. This is another large hint that bad actors are not welcome at polling places in a democracy.
In the 3,500-year recorded history of democracy there has always been disqualification of candidates who have been involved in malfeasance in office and/or civil misbehavior or criminal conduct at any time in their lives. If we go with the idea our very special Donald Trump must be allowed on the ballot, we are opening up his pathway to perpetual monarchy, which says “The king can do no wrong.”
That’s our choice folks. Rule by one-person, or rule by everyone else. Allowing Trump on the ballot takes a giant step toward disqualifying 330 million people from the ballot in America.
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
ED REPLY: On the off chance you're a real person and not some kind of Demo AI creation, not really, Kim. It's not a democratic step forward by allowing partisan judges and officials determine who appears on ballots. Newsom and the fat man are correct, and I daresay reflect majority American opinion. Because the Democrats can't beat Trump at the polls they've resorted to all manner of crumb bum tactics, from the phony Russiagate smears to these outrageous attempts to keep him off ballots for his alleged insurrectionary behavior. Keep it up, Democrats, and we might have real insurrections.
THERE IS NO SWEETNESS without loss.
— Craig Johnson
FED UP
Editor:
Am I the only one left with any observation skills, or has most people’s cellphone addictions turned them into full-fledged zombies? This country is in big trouble for the so-called middle class. The taxpayers are funding two foreign wars at a cost of several billion dollars so far. Living in California, there seems to be a new tax every day — or a new bond, just a tax extended over many years.
Let’s not forget how many companies seem to love adding on fees. Here a fee, there a fee, everywhere a fee. Did I mention all the socialized housing popping up everywhere? Let’s not forget, when someone gets something for free, someone else usually has to pay for it. People who get a paycheck have to live for 365 days per year. But when a giant amount of their check is deducted for taxes, obviously they’re going to be in the red.
Income tax and property tax ought to be dissolved immediately. What’s next? A toilet paper tax, where users must document their usage for Uncle Sam?
Jim Owen Jr.
Santa Rosa
POLITICAL PODCASTS: My favorites; what are yours? Editor,
Interested in progressive political podcasts? I want to know your favorites. Mine are below. Send me yours and I’ll post on MCN Announce and in an email to you the results of this poll once I’ve compiled all your responses. Let me know if I should keep your list anonymous and not use your name. Send your list of favorite progressive political podcasts to: tw@mcn.org
Favorite progressive political podcasts, in order, favs at the top:
- Start Making Sense, from Nation magazine
- Background Briefing, with Ian Masters
- Left, Right & Center, discussion from across the spectrum
- The Rachel Maddow Show, from MSNBC
- Behind the News, with Doug Kenwood
- The Listening Post, from Al Jazeera
Tom Wodtzki
Albion
JESS WILLARD was born on December 30, 1881 in Pottawatomie County. In his teens and 20s he worked as a cowboy, then started boxing when he was 27. On April 5, 1915, Willard became the world heavyweight boxing champion, defeating defending champion Jack Johnson in Havana, Cuba. At 6 feet and 6 ½ inches, he was billed as the “Pottawatomie Giant.” Willard had a career of 25 wins but lost his title when he was defeated by Jack Dempsey in 1919. After his boxing career was over, he tried his hand at acting in vaudeville and movies. Willard died in Los Angeles on December 15, 1968, at the age of 86.
WIN WIN
Dear Editor,
Readers this morning as I do most (try) I must to gain abundance and prosperity through the rare art of lottery tickets.
Today’s efforts were driving through the bypass bridge and offers a money clip to enhance my chances. Lol.
I would rather have stopped and set it aside to let go of my past exploits to win but there are no places on a bridge.
I hope your are well and content. I plan to walk since the sun has come out.
Sincerely yours
Greg Crawford
Fort Bragg
MEMO OF THE AIR: We got pie.
Here's the recording of last night's (Friday 2023-12-29) 7.5-hour-long Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio show on 107.7fm KNYO-LP Fort Bragg (CA) and KNYO.org (and, for the first hour of it, also 89.3fm KAKX Mendocino): http://tinyurl.com/KNYO-MOTA-0573
Besides all that, at https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com you'll find a fresh batch of dozens of links to worthwhile items I set aside for you while gathering the show together, such as:
A quiet story about two ghosts at a sea-theme park after the end of the world. You might need the closed captions. https://nagonthelake.blogspot.com/2023/12/el-after-del-mundo.html
If the moon hit the earth. A fully comprehensive end of the world. https://theawesomer.com/if-the-moon-hit-the-earth/725996/
And a single-rail gyro-balanced train system designed in 1910. This reminds me of a Larry Niven science fiction story whose climax was the overburdening and catastrophic failure of the gyro system trying to keep a rocketship standing upright that had had one of its three landing fins shot off. The criminal in the rocket didn’t realize the predicament he was in. The pursuer just stood there at a safe distance and kept him talking on the radio until the rocket, gyros winding up past the speed their bearings and structure could take, tipped over, flipped and flopped around like a fish out of water, and flew into bits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUYzuAJeg3M
Marco McClean, memo@mcn.org, https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com
SONOMA COUNTY READERS vote with their library cards: 2023’s winner is John Grisham ‘The Boys from Biloxi’
Local readers threw their overwhelming support to John Grisham, making his legal thriller “The Boys from Biloxi” the Sonoma County Library’s most checked-out book of 2023.
by Meg McConahey
Voting with their library cards, Sonoma County readers threw their overwhelming support to John Grisham, making his legal thriller “The Boys from Biloxi” the Sonoma County Library’s most checked-out book of 2023. The book, released in 2022, was checked out a whopping 263,023 times over the past 12 months.
So tell us again how nobody reads anymore?
Throughout the country, libraries are crunching their numbers to produce their top-10 lists, and the results seem to underscore that when it comes to reading tastes, Americans are, as they commonly say in Thailand, “Same-same, but different.”
Readers in New York City and Washington, D.C., clambered for “Lessons in Chemistry.” Bonnie Garmus’s best selling novel, recently made into a TV series on Apple TV, is about a woman chemist in the early 1960s who, as the reluctant host of a cooking show, subversively teaches women about more than blanching and braising. “Lessons in Chemistry” was the San Francisco Public Library’s most checked-out book of the year.
While it wasn’t No. 1 in Sonoma County, it was among the county’s top 10 books and was a top favorite among e-books and audiobooks.
The numbers provide a snapshot of Sonoma County’s reading preferences, and in terms of categories, locals go more for novels than nonfiction, said Jaime Anderson, collection services division manager for the Sonoma County Library.
Nine of the 10 most checked-out books were fiction. The exception was Prince Harry’s explosive “Spare,” which also was the most checked-out nonfiction book.
When you break down the numbers, there is not a huge difference between the number of people who checked out Grisham’s book and those who dove into the royal tell-all by the prince who traded England for a California life. “Spare” clocked in with 235,205 checkouts.
Still, those astronomical numbers are just a fraction of the 4,055,981 items checked out collectively from all 15 branches (including the Bibliobus, rural stations and the History and Genealogical Library) between January and December.
And in case you haven’t visited your local library lately, know that it now offers not just books, DVDs, movies for streaming and e-books, but audiovisual equipment, tool kits and even regional and state park passes.
Anderson said 5,852 California State Parks passes were checked out this year; a pass can save a family $10 per car in parking fees. Because you can check it out like any book for three weeks, you can rack up savings when you visit more parks.
In 2023, library cardholders checked out 427 Sonoma County Regional Parks Discovery Backpacks, available at every branch and filled with a parking pass, a parks map, trail itineraries, hiking tips and wildlife guides. They’re good at all 56 regional parks in Sonoma County.
Does anyone read anymore?
A Gallup poll earlier this year suggested that American reading habits are declining.
People surveyed reported reading 12.6 books in the past year, down by two to three books between 2001 and 2016 and the lowest of any survey dating back to 1990.
And yet, library checkouts are on the rise in Sonoma County, Anderson said.
In fiscal year 2018-2019, library card holders checked out 4,446,831 items, which was 609,150 fewer than this year. Digital media drove the demand, with an almost threefold increase in digital media checkouts, from 485,798 to 1,444,647 this year.
Among the top 10 digital titles Sonoma County readers borrowed was Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead,” Stanford medical professor and bestselling author Abraham Verghese’s “The Covenant of Water” and Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass.”
Tastes in movies ranged from blockbusters like “Top Gun: Maverick” to the dark Irish comedy, “The Banshees of Inisherin,” a nominee for Best Picture this year.
Santa Rosa author Maia Kobabe’s acclaimed graphic memoir “Gender Queer,” published in 2019, did not make any top-10 list. But it had the distinction of being the American Library Association’s Most Challenged Book of the Year.
“Nationwide, there has been an uptick in library books being challenged for removal or, in worst cases, being banned, which means library boards have to pull a book permanently from their collection,” Anderson said.
Kobabe’s book has not been challenged in Sonoma County. The Sonoma County Library does have a form for challenging or filing a formal complaint about material in the collection, but there were no challenges this year, she added.
Graphic novels for teens
Graphic novels are gaining popularity among all age groups, but particularly among kids and teens.
The top 10 books for kids and teens includes graphic novels “Spy Camp: The Graphic Novel” and the latest in the Hilo graphic novel series, “Hilo Book 9: Gina and the Last City on Earth.”
With the long winter months stretching ahead, the top-books lists can serve as a good tip sheet from your Sonoma County neighbors about what might make for good reading and viewing. The library staff also picked out their own favorites of the year. You can see those at sonoma-library.org/2023StaffPicks.
Many people’s budgets took a major hit after last year’s nearly 7% inflation rate. Energy costs were up more than 9%. The sticker shock has also hit the book market, making the library an attractive choice readers.
“It can really save a bundle of money,” Anderson said. “Even if it’s not about finances for your family, not everyone can have the space to buy and store all of the books they might want to read or need for research. We’re all about sharing.”
Top 10 most checked-out books
- “The Boys from Biloxi,” John Grisham
- “Mad Honey,” Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
- “Demon Copperhead,” Barbara Kingsolver
- “Spare,” Prince Harry
- “It Starts With Us,” Colleen Hoover
- “Lessons in Chemistry,” Bonnie Garmus
- “Desert Star,” Michael Connelly
- “Our Missing Hearts,” Celeste Ng
- “A World of Curiosities,” Louise Penny
- “Someone Else’s Shoes,” Jojo Moyes
Top 10 e-books and audiobooks
- Audiobook: “The Covenant of Water,” Abraham Verghese (unabridged)
- Audiobook: “Spare,” Prince Harry (unabridged)
- Audiobook: “Fourth Wing,” Rebecca Yarros (unabridged)
- Audiobook: “Demon Copperhead,” Barbara Kingsolver
- E-book: “Lessons in Chemistry,” Bonnie Garmus
- Audiobook: “Lessons in Chemistry,” Bonnie Garmus
- Audiobook: “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” Jennette McCurdy (unabridged)
- Audiobook: “Demon Copperhead,” Barbara Kingsolver (unabridged)
- Audiobook: “101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think,” Brianna Wiest (unabridged)
- Audiobook: “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants,” Robin Wall Kimmerer (unabridged)
Top 10 adult nonfiction books
- “Spare,” Prince Harry
- “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times,” Michelle Obama
- “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” Jennette McCurdy
- “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” Matthew Perry
- “The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder,” David Grann
- “Crying in H Mart: A Memoir,” Michelle Zauner
- “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity,” Peter Attia
- “Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience,” Brene Brown
- “How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing,” KC Davis
- “Happy-go-lucky,” David Sedaris
Top 10 movies
- “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
- “The Fabelmans”
- “Top Gun: Maverick”
- “The Whale”
- “Tar”
- “The Banshees of Inisherin”
- “A Man Called Otto”
- “Babylon”
- “Amsterdam”
- “The Menu”
Top 10 children’s books
- “Dogman: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea,” Dav Pilkey
- “Baby-sitters Little Sister: Karen’s Birthday,” Katy Farina
- “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer,” Jeff Kinney
- “Hilo Book 9: Gina and the Last City on Earth,” Judd Winick
- “Big Nate: Nailed It!” Lincoln Peirce
- “Spy Camp: The Graphic Novel,” Stuart Gibbs
- “Squished: A Graphic Novel,” Megan Wagner Lloyd
- “The One and Only Ruby,” Katherine Applegate
- “School Trip: A Graphic Novel,” Jerry Craft
- “Dragon Masters: Curse of the Shadow Dragon,” Tracey West
(Santa Rosa Press Democrat)
PG&E ANNOUNCES YET ANOTHER INCREASE TO 2024 UTILITY BILLS
by Julie Johnson
Pacific Gas and Electric bills will jump by about $34.50 each month for average households starting Monday, according to an end-of-the-year rate adjustment the company filed with state regulators Friday.
The new forecast — about $2 higher than earlier estimates — rounds out a historic year of PG&E rate hikes the company estimates will increase household gas and electric bills by more than $400 annually compared to 2022.
The California Public Utilities Commission and PG&E executives have said the rate changes are necessary for the company to update its aging infrastructure, meet a growing demand for electricity and reduce the risk of power line-sparked fires after years of disastrous blazes.
Carla Peterman, chief sustainability officer and executive vice president of corporate affairs for PG&E Corp., said in a statement that the company plans to minimize future rate changes to align more closely with inflation.
“The investments we plan in 2024 and beyond focus on three goals: keeping our energy system safe and reliable for our customers, meeting growing energy demand and adding even more renewables to our energy mix,” she said.
Critics, however, decry the rate hike as untenable for most households in California, where utility prices are some of the highest in the country.
Mark Toney, executive director of ratepayer advocate nonprofit The Utility Reform Network, said his organization is pushing the state to establish a cap on rate increases, and said a lack of limits on utility bills are hurting Californians.
“We are in an affordability crisis, the likes we’ve never seen before,” Toney said. “These increases are just unprecedented.”
PG&E bills have risen dramatically over the past 10 years. Average monthly residential bills for electric and gas service jumped from $154.52 in January 2016 to $241.03 in January 2023 — an increase of $86.51, according to data from PG&E obtained by the Chronicle.
And in November, state regulators voted unanimously on one of the biggest rate increases for PG&E in recent memory. The increases reflect PG&E’s four-year budget through 2026 and help set the company’s project agenda, including funding to bury about 1,230 miles of power lines in communities where the risk for wildfires is high.
The rate adjustment PG&E submitted to the PUC on Friday includes increases to account for money PG&E already spent during previous storms and wildfires on top of the four-year budget plan.
These new rates also calculate a decrease in natural gas prices compared to 2023 — an unusual year when natural gas prices spiked amid a series of challenges including the war in Ukraine, gas storage limits and problems with a critical pipeline delivering gas from Texas.
PG&E said January gas bills were expected to be about 9% lower compared to 2023 — a difference of about $17 for the average residential customer’s gas bill.
(SF Chronicle)
BEAVERS RELEASED INTO CALIFORNIA WILD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 75 YEARS
by Amanda Bartlett
The little buck-toothed critter warily peered out of his kennel perched at the edge of a pond in Northern California, his beady eyes following five of his family members that were already paddling out toward the pine trees dotting the horizon.
The water glimmered in the October sun as the willows rustled in the breeze. A group of wildlife officials and conservationists watched from the shore as the colony of beavers began to explore their new home in Tásmam Koyóm, a 2,325-acre valley in Plumas County and the ancestral lands of the Mountain Maidu people. Unbeknownst to the 2-month-old kit, a historic moment was underway for his keystone species — the first time they had been returned to their native state habitat in nearly 75 years, as part of a major project spearheaded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Maidu Summit Consortium.
Nevertheless, he stayed put.
The beaver’s protective mother remained right by his side, but eventually even her curiosity got the best of her, and she took off, too. Valerie Cook, the beaver restoration program manager for the CDFW, slipped on a pair of gloves and carefully removed the young beaver from his enclosure and into the grass, hoping to coax him to join the rest of his family. When he wouldn’t even leave the top of her rubber boot, she grinned down at him.
“I knew what he was doing,” said Cook. “He was waiting for someone to give him a ride on their tail.”
Sure enough, one of the beaver’s siblings returned, hoisted the baby onto its back, and off they went into the wild. Cook explained that this dogpile behavior isn’t atypical for the species, and sometimes she’ll see as many as three at a time stacked on top of one another, an activity that likely offers security to some of the younger animals in the colony.
“You just saw this tiny brown furball, this little nugget, catch a ride on the back of his sibling’s tail, and it looked like he was surfing,” Cook said with a laugh. “I don’t think it set in for days afterward, but that moment will go down as one of the highlights of my entire career. I think we were very proud of what we had done, and really optimistic about the potential that this represents for us and the good we think we can do moving forward.”
Beavers are native to Northern California, but their population was practically decimated during the fur rush in the 1800s, when maritime traders converged in the Bay Area and California’s Central Coast to harvest the valuable, chestnut-colored fur from the species, as well as otters, seals, mink and other mammals. By 1912, fewer than a thousand beavers lived in California.
Research from historical ecologist Rick Lanman proved the species’ California roots when he discovered a skull from a beaver that had been living in Saratoga Creek circa 1855. California Department of Fish and Wildlife translocated beavers to Lexington Reservoir and upper Los Gatos Creek in 1980, and though experts initially thought the semi-aquatic rodents wouldn’t utilize the surrounding creeks, they proceeded to chart new territory down to the Guadalupe River, which flows through downtown San Jose and into the South Bay. The animals continued to venture northward from there, and the discovery of beavers in Matadero Creek last year marked a major comeback for the species in the Bay Area.
Meanwhile, the CDFW received nearly $2 million in funding from the state budget to build upon its existing beaver restoration program, hiring a team of environmental scientists who are tasked with determining nonlethal strategies for people and beavers to coexist, and ultimately promoting a larger effort to help mitigate the impacts of wildfires, climate change and drought by allowing beavers to repopulate the habitats where their ancestors once resided. Releasing beavers into Tásmam Koyóm is the first phase of this project following a lot of contention surrounding the species.
“Over the last hundred years, there’s been a roller coaster surrounding how they should be managed,” said Cook, who is also the nutria eradication program manager for the CDFW, “as a nuisance or as a resource.”
Because beavers don’t reproduce prolifically like other rodents (they tend to have one to two litters of just a few young per year) and juveniles typically have a 45% survival rate, Cook said allowing them to disperse and reestablish their territory can be a lengthy and challenging process. Human-wildlife conflict arises, and when people don’t like the impacts to the landscape that beavers can cause, like minor flooding and tree damage, the animals have to be removed, Cook said.
But at the same time, Cook said, many government agencies statewide are spending hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a year just to mimic what beavers naturally do to restore the natural ecosystems they live in. The animals are capable of reconnecting streams to floodplains and can help recover near-extinct species like coho salmon by creating new wetland habitats and encouraging the growth of the plankton and insects they feed on. Beaver dams can also slow down water flow and improve water quality by preserving sediment and nutrients in streams.
“This program will allow us to play a more active role to return them to where they were historically, and it’s a twofold process,” said Cook. “We’re restoring them so they can do their job restoring the environment they live in.”
Beyond the ecological benefits, Cook underlined the importance of collaborating with the Maidu Summit Consortium and restoring a species that’s so important to the Maidu’s cultural history.
“They’re our little cousins, and we’re going to pray for them to be safe and have a good life here in this beautiful environment,” said Allen Lowry, vice chairman of the Maidu Summit Consortium. “We’re so happy to be able to release them here, and we pray that they make a good home forever here.”
This family of seven beavers was relocated from Sutter County and now joins a single beaver that had already been living in Tásmam Koyóm. Cook hopes these efforts will expand as the CDFW works with the Tule River Tribe to reintroduce another beaver family to the Tule River Reservation in the southern Sierra Nevada by next year.
“The unfortunate reality down there is with all the high flows and flooding that happened in the spring of last year, the habitat they had ready just ended up really getting blown out, delaying the trajectory of the project,” Cook said. “But it presents a real opportunity for beavers to come in and foster those changes the tribe is looking for.”
Future projects could be headed for the Bay Area soon. Cook said there’s a lot of interest in the North Bay, particularly Lagunitas Creek in Marin County, which is home to a precarious population of endangered coho salmon. The CDFW hopes to have a beaver translocation project proposal submission form available on its website by late January for landowners to submit requests, but how the department prioritizes each project that gets approved will be determined by issues such as drought resiliency, high risk for wildfires, low flows and dry conditions in each area.
“Basically, we’re looking at what’s the most bang for our beaver buck we can get,” Cook said. “One hundred percent, it’s going to happen in the Bay Area, but when and where yet, we don’t know.”
Since the Oct. 18 release, the beaver family group in Tásmam Koyóm has explored miles and miles of habitat, located the territory of the resident beaver, which could lead to mating opportunities in the future, and established shelter for the winter. The CDFW and Maidu Summit Consortium will continue to monitor the colony for several years to come, assessing whether the population grows, how the habitat is utilized, and what benefits, conflicts and changes may arise as a result of the beaver engineering on the landscape, a news release from the CDFW read.
“I got a little choked up and teary-eyed,” Chuck Bonham, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said of the animals’ release. “I saw the beavers come into the water, and some swim off. About 20 minutes later, they’re out there making a home. This could be forever, and it’s the right thing to do.”
PAINTING IS TERRIBLY PAINFUL
by Julian Barnes
Early in 1971, Robert Hughes, recently appointed as Time magazine's chief art critic, was ripping out his loft apartment at 143 Prince Street when he received an unexpected visitor. This was Henry Geldzahler, curator of modern art at the Metropolitan Museum. Hughes, probably the most macho and combative critic in his profession, was, by his own account, sweaty, foul-tempered, sore-footed and “gray with ingrained dirt.” Geldzahler, a “happily smiling little roly-poly fonctionnaire … [was] immaculately jaunty in a pale blue suit.”
He wanted to see the loft. Hughes told him there was nothing to see; Geldzahler insisted. They took the elevator to the fifth floor, where there was only dust and filth and dangling cables. The following exchange then took place:
“Well, come on,” he said, “I want to see it.”
“This is it, Henry.”
“No, no. Where do you keep it?”
“Where do I keep what?”
“Your collection. I want to have a peek. Is it in storage somewhere?”
“There is no collection, Henry. I'm not a collector. I'm sorry, I don't have a goddamn collection.”
Geldzahler peered at me incredulously.
“Well,” he exhaled at last. “Someone in here is going to die poor, isn't he?”
This exchange is recorded in Hughes's trenchant essay about the New York art scene, “Graft—Things You Didn't Know.” He describes a place where money, or potential money, was sloshing around, and where “the whole domain of relations between artists and critics, critics and curators —indeed, of everything that bears upon the art market and its insiders — was then and largely remains today an ethical slide area.”
The high-priest critic Clement Greenberg “didn't believe in buying art, but he liked receiving it,” from artists and art dealers whom his words had assisted or would assist. But “by far the most corrupt art-world figure I knew in New York … was Henry Geldzahler.” When the director of the Met, Thomas Hoving, wanted to put on an Andrew Wyeth show, Geldzahler was against it — Wyeth's figurative paintings were the very opposite of the art he believed in and succored. But when it became clear the show would go ahead, Geldzahler “wrote privately to Wyeth himself, offering to curate the show in return for a nice Wyeth watercolor that Henry would personally select. Much to the flinty Wyeth's credit, this overture was rebuffed.”
(London Review of Books)
ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY
Trump nor Biden may get elected, but rest assured Lockheed and Northrop will win big!
Global back orders for ahh-hem defense orders are at a record $776 billion.
Our Overlords rule with a license to spill blood and it never grows old.
Happy New Year
Predictions:
Another unfathomable election year in the US.
RFK assassination attempts.
Legal fights all summer on mail-in ballots.
Biden’s sudden health problems take him off the ticket.
Govornor Gavin to rescue the Dems.
US insolvency issues spark crisis.
Ukraine government overthrown by miltary, Zelensky murdered, peace with Russia signed.
More Right Wing leaders elected in Europe.
Israel ends the incursion into Gaza but takes a third of the land. Netanyahu forced to resign in disgrace.
New Preposterous Woke Social Cause unveiled.
OKLAHOMA, 1930s...
AULD LANG SYNE
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And the days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll drink a cup of kindness yet
For the sake of auld lang syne
And surely you will buy your cup
And surely I'll buy mine!
We'll take a cup of kindness yet
For the sake of auld lang syne
We two have paddled in the stream
From morning sun till night
The seas between us Lord and swell
Since the days of auld lang syne
For old acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind
Should old acquaintance be forgot
For the sake of auld lang syne?
For old acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind
Should old acquaintance be forgot
In the days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll drink a cup of kindness yet
For the sake of auld lang syne
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https://theava.com/archives/235271
| 2024-01-01T02:21:05Z
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amount-spellout.10000 Swedish kronor to Tajikistani somonis
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https://wise.com/in/currency-converter/sek-to-tjs-rate?amount=10000
| 2024-01-01T02:21:05Z
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EAST NEW YORK, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Firefighters are battling intense flames at a Brooklyn apartment fire.
The fire broke out on fourth-floor scaffolding at the Boulevard Houses on Scheneck Ave in East New York just before 7:30 on Sunday.
The fire quickly escalated to four alarms after spreading to several units.
One firefighter and three others were taken to the hospital with injuries. Their conditions are currently unknown.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
ALSO READ | MTA officers fatally shoot man after he allegedly groped a woman
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https://abc7ny.com/nyc-apartment-fire-brooklyn-east-new-york/14252329/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:07Z
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Chief Justice John Roberts on Sunday turned his focus to the promise, and shortcomings, of artificial intelligence in the federal courts, in an annual report that made no mention of Supreme Court ethics or legal controversies involving Donald Trump.
Describing artificial intelligence as the "latest technological frontier," Roberts discussed the pros and cons of computer-generated content in the legal profession. His remarks come just a few days after the latest instance of AI-generated fake legal citations making their way into official court records, in a case involving ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
"Always a bad idea," Roberts wrote in his year-end report, noting that "any use of AI requires caution and humility."
At the same time, though, the chief justice acknowledged that AI can make it much easier for people without much money to access the courts. "These tools have the welcome potential to smooth out any mismatch between available resources and urgent needs in our court system," Roberts wrote.
The report came at the end of a year in which a series of stories questioned the ethical practices of the justices and the court responded to critics by adopting its first code of conduct. Many of those stories focused on Justice Clarence Thomas and his failure to disclose travel, other hospitality and additional financial ties with wealthy conservative donors including Harlan Crow and the Koch brothers. But Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor also have been under scrutiny.
The country also is entering an the beginning of an election year that seems likely to enmesh the court in some way in the ongoing criminal cases against Trump and efforts to keep the Republican former president off the 2024 ballot.
Along with his eight colleagues, Roberts almost never discusses cases that are before the Supreme Court or seem likely to get there. In past reports, he has advocated for enhanced security and salary increases for federal judges, praised judges and their aides for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and highlighted other aspects of technological changes in the courts.
Roberts once famously compared judges to umpires who call balls and strikes, but don't make the rules. In his latest report, he turned to a different sport, tennis, to make the point that technology won't soon replace judges.
At many tennis tournaments, optical technology, rather than human line judges, now determines "whether 130 mile per hour serves are in or out. These decisions involve precision to the millimeter. And there is no discretion; the ball either did or did not hit the line. By contrast, legal determinations often involve gray areas that still require application of human judgment," Roberts wrote.
Looking ahead warily to the growing use of artificial intelligence in the courts, Roberts wrote: "I predict that human judges will be around for a while. But with equal confidence I predict that judicial work — particularly at the trial level — will be significantly affected by AI."
SEE MORE: These were the top tech stories of 2023
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com
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https://www.ksby.com/chief-justice-roberts-casts-a-wary-eye-on-use-of-ai-in-federal-courts
| 2024-01-01T02:21:07Z
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US Navy helicopters fire at Yemen’s Houthi rebels and kill several in latest Red Sea shipping attack
BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military said Sunday that its forces opened fire on Houthi rebels after they attacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, killing several of them in an escalation of the maritime conflict linked to the war in Gaza. “We’re going to act in a self-defense going forward,” a White House official said.
In a series of statements, the U.S. Central Command said the crew of the USS Gravely destroyer first shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou late Saturday, after the vessel reported getting hit by a missile earlier that evening as it sailed through the Southern Red Sea.
Four small boats then attacked the same cargo ship with small arms fire early Sunday and rebels tried to board the vessel, the U.S. Navy said.
Next, the USS Gravely and helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier responded to the Maersk Hangzhou’s distress call and issued verbal warnings to the attackers, who responded by firing on the helicopters.
“The U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense,” sinking three of the four boats and killing the people on board while the fourth boat fled the area, the U.S. Central Command said. No harm to U.S. personnel or equipment, or casualties from the cargo ship, were reported.
The Houthis acknowledged that 10 of their fighters were killed in the confrontation and warned of consequences.
In Washington, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council sidestepped a question about the possibility of a preemptive strike against the Houthis to safeguard commercial shipping in the vital waterway.
“I won’t say what’s on or off the table right now,” John Kirby told ABC’s “Good Morning America,” adding, “We’re going to do what we have to do to protect shipping.” He said the United States has “significant national security interests in the region” and “we’re going to put the kind of forces we need in the region to protect those interests and we’re going to act in self-defense going forward.”
He said the U.S. has made it clear to the Houthis that “we take these threats seriously and we’re going to make the right decisions going forward.″
The events surrounding the Maersk Hangzhou represented the 23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping since Nov. 19, the Central Command said. It was the first time the U.S. Navy said its personnel had killed Houthi fighters since the Red Sea attacks started.
For over a month, Iran-backed Houthis have claimed attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports. They say their attacks aim to end the Israeli air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip that was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ Oct.7 attack in southern Israel.
However, the links to the ships targeted in the rebel assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue.
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee called on President Joe Biden “to look at what actions need to be taken in Yemen to be able to prevent the Houthis to continue to put commercial and military vessels at risk.”
Noting Iran’s support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, told ABC’s ``This Week” that the Biden administration should be more aggressive “in responding to escalation by Iran.’’
The Denmark-based shipping giant Maersk, owner of Maersk Hangzhou, said Sunday it would suspend shipping through the Red Sea again after the two attacks on its freighter.
“In light of the (most recent) incident — and to give time to investigate the details of the incident and assess the security situation further — it has been decided that all transits through the area will be postponed for the next 48 hours,” Maersk was quoted as saying by the Danish public broadcaster DR.
On Saturday, the top commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East said Houthi rebels have shown no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea even as more nations join the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic begins to pick up.
Earlier this month, Washington announced the establishment of a new international coalition to protect vessels traveling through the waterway. The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain are also part of the new maritime security mission.
Since the Pentagon announced Operation Prosperity Guardian to counter the attacks just over 10 days ago, 1,200 merchant ships have traveled through the Red Sea region, and none had been hit by drone or missile strikes, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper told The Associated Press in an interview on Saturday.
—-
Associated Press writer Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Finland, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wistv.com/2024/01/01/us-navy-helicopters-fire-yemens-houthi-rebels-kill-several-latest-red-sea-shipping-attack/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:09Z
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Happy New Year 2024: Google celebrates New Year 2024 with a vibrant doodle. The Google Doodle 2024 displayed sparkling disco balls, confetti, showing the essence of celebration.
Revelers counted down to midnight on New Year's Eve across the globe on Sunday as fireworks and festive lights offered a hopeful start to 2024 for billions of people.
Several people across the country greeted the new year with prayers.
A large number of people from different faiths gathered at their religious places of worship to welcome the new year amid prayers and celebrations.
On the first day of New Year in Amritsar, devotees bowed down at Golden Temple Gurudwara. Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal along with wife MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal offered prayers at the gurudwara on Sunday night.
People also performed Ganga and Surya aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, Varanasi on Sunday.
Happy New Year 2024: Top 10 gadgets to gift to your loved ones this New Year
In Delhi, a New Year's aarti was performed at Jhandewalan Devi Temple, and huge crowds gathered at Connaught Place.
A large number of devotees visited Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple in Pathanamthitta on the last day of the year. Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi, Maharashtra, also witnessed devotees gathering to offer their prayers on the last day of the year.
New Year 2024: 5 key finance-related changes set for rollout from January 1
Special prayers were held in churches in Rameswaram at the beginning of the New Year 2024 on Sunday.
Similarly, Kamarajar Salai in Chennai saw a large turnout, and Mall Road in Shimla was filled with people welcoming the upcoming year.
On the occasion of New Year, sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a 25 ft high sand sculpture of Lord Jagannath at Blue Flag Beach in Puri.
Besides, Goa, Bengaluru, and Mumbai were dazzled with a magnificent display of fireworks.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
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https://www.livemint.com/news/india/google-celebrates-happy-new-year-2024-with-festive-doodle/amp-11704070790373.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:09Z
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PSCA Annual Performance-2023: 27.5m calls received; 2.5m cases generated
LAHORE: Punjab Safe Cities Authority has issued annual Performance statistics for 2023.
The 15 Emergency Helpline received more than 27.5 million calls, and 2.5 million cases are with genuine concerns, and the dispatch control center generated cases for further action. 20 million calls were considered irrelevant.
The Electronic Data Analysis Center provided 4,600 audio & video electronic evidences to police investigation officers. Virtual Patrolling Officers took immediate action on more than 1,500 suspicious persons and activities with the help of Safe City cameras.
The PSCA Lost and Found Center contributed to recovery of more than 1,000 vehicles including motorbikes, cars, and auto-rickshaws which were handed over to the owners.
The Media Management Center reported more than 2,500 social media pages to LEAs. Moreover, PSCA media center continued more than 2600 campaign messages regarding driving license, women safety app, road safety, efficient use of 15 emergency helpline, and other issues on official social media pages. PSCA also played a vital role in securing religious rituals such as Urs of Syed Ali Hajvery and Chehlum congregations.
PSCA is determined to extend its services and cooperation with LEAs, and all others in need, whenever required. Citizens are requested to contact 15 help lines in case of any emergency or to report illegal activity in the city.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281388/psca-annual-performance-2023-275m-calls-received-25m-cases-generated
| 2024-01-01T02:21:09Z
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In 2023, the Supreme Court of India undertook a transformative journey, implementing advanced reforms such as updated e-filing systems and 166 Special Bench sittings. The Supreme Court successfully disposed of 52,220 cases, a notable increase from the previous year's 39,800, this progress was tempered by a spike in case filings, reaching 53,753.
The year 2023 saw the Supreme Court make several landmark decisions that will reverberate through society for years to come:
Supreme Court's verdict on demonetisationA 5-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on January 2 upheld the validity of Centre's November 2016 decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.The majority held that the government's actions were justified for the proper purposes of eliminating fake currency, black money, and terror financing.
'Demonetisation was an exercise of power, contrary to law, and therefore unlawful,’ says dissenting Justice B V Nagarathna
The five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court, headed by Justice S A Nazeer, said the Centre's decision-making process could not have been flawed as there was consultation between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Union government for a period of six months. The court said the notification dated November 8, 2016 cannot be said to be unreasonable and struck down on the ground of decision-making process.
Supreme Court upholds Article 370 abrogationOn Monday, December 11, the Supreme Court made a landmark decision regarding the controversial matter of Article 370. The Supreme Court upheld the government's decision to repeal Article 370, which conferred special status upon the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. It directed that measures be taken to conduct assembly elections by September 30 of the following year.
The verdict was delivered by a five-judge constitution bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya Kant.
Supreme Court verdict: 'Article 370 was a temporary provision, J&K did not retain an element of sovereignty after joining India'
CJI DY Chandrachud said, "Article 370 of the Constitution was an interim arrangement due to war conditions in state. Constituent assembly of J&K was never intended to be permanent body."
Challenge to the practice of jallikattuIn a unanimous decision on May 18th, the Supreme Court upheld the practice of jallikattu, kambala, and bailgada sharyat, overturning the 2014 ban. The court emphasised the Tamil Nadu government's efforts to minimise cruelty to animals and refrained from extending fundamental rights to animals, causing concern among animal rights activists.
Also read: Supreme Court upholds Tamil Nadu law passed to overturn court's jallikattu banAccountability of civil services in the NCT of DelhiA constitutional tussle between the Union and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi concluded on May 11th. Despite the initial win for the Delhi government in the Supreme Court, the Union nullified the judgement through an Ordinance, returning control over 'services' to the Union and granting the Lieutenant Governor 'sole discretionary' power over civil servant appointments in the NCT.
Appointments of election commissionersIn March, the Supreme Court issued a directive to establish a committee composed of the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha to oversee the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs).
Also read: Chief Election Commissioner, election commissioners to be appointed by a panel of PM, CJI and leader of opposition: Supreme CourtJustice KM Joseph, leading a five-judge bench, presided over the hearing of a series of petitions advocating for reforms in the procedure for appointing members of the Election Commission of India. The bench emphasised that the electoral process must unquestionably be fair, placing the responsibility on the Election Commission of India (ECI) to guarantee the integrity of elections.
Maharashtra Shiv Sena splitOn May 11th, the Supreme Court waded into the tumultuous political waters of Maharashtra, declaring the events leading to Mr. Eknath Shinde's rise to power as illegal. While leaving the disqualification of rebel Shiv Sena members to the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the court rebuked Governor B.S. Koshyari for ordering a floor test based on intra-party disputes.
Also read: Sena vs Sena: SC gives Maharashtra speaker final opportunity to set realistic time-frame for deciding disqualification pleasSupreme Court halts Rahul Gandhi's conviction in defamation caseIn August, the Supreme Court halted the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case related to his "Modi surname" remark. The court emphasised the need for the trial court judge to provide reasons for imposing the maximum punishment for a non-cognizable offence.
Supreme Court stays Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in defamation case over ‘Modi surname’ remark | LIVE
A three-judge bench comprising Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha, and Sanjay Kumar noted the broad implications of the trial court's order in the case and asserted that the "order of conviction should be suspended until final adjudication."
The Supreme Court addressed Rahul Gandhi's appeal against the Gujarat High Court's decision, which had denied a stay on his conviction. The Gujarat High Court had remarked that granting a stay on the conviction would be an exception rather than a rule.
Same-sex marriage verdictIn a landmark decision on October 17th, 2023, the Supreme Court, in a narrow 3-2 ruling, declined to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages. The bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, emphasised that such matters fall within the jurisdiction of the legislature, specifically the Parliament. However, the court did not leave the LGBTQ community without hope, directing the Union of India to form a high-powered committee to explore the rights and entitlements of individuals in queer relationships, outside the institution of marriage.
Supreme Court refuses to recognise same-sex marriage: Key points
SC's power to grant divorce under Article 142On May 1st, a constitution bench clarified that the Supreme Court has the power to grant divorce directly under Article 142 of the Constitution, particularly in cases of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. However, the court cautioned against the indiscriminate use of this power.
Validity of unstamped arbitration agreementA constitution bench, led by Justice K.M. Joseph, ruled on April 25th that unstamped arbitration agreements are not enforceable until stamp duty is paid. The majority argued that recognizing the validity of arbitration agreements without stamp duty payment would undermine the law, while dissenting judges raised concerns over potential delays in arbitration proceedings.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/legal-limelight-key-supreme-court-developments-of-2023/articleshow/106422305.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:21:10Z
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Lagarde Says Euro Gives Greater Sovereignty In A Turbulent World
The euro reaching the quarter-century mark on Jan. 1 shows the endurance of a monetary arrangement whose disintegration has often been predicted.
(Bloomberg) -- The euro helps Europe stay self-determined globally, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said in an op-ed marking the currency’s upcoming 25th anniversary.
“Issuing the world’s second most important currency has given us greater sovereignty in a turbulent world,” Lagarde wrote in the joint article with Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, Roberta Metsola and Paschal Donohoe — presidents of the European Commission, Council, Parliament and Eurogroup, respectively.
“We face rising geopolitical tensions, not least Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, which calls for bold collective decisions,” the officials said. “We confront an accelerating climate crisis that we can only truly solve together: carbon emissions do not stop at borders. And we face unprecedented challenges to our competitiveness from energy and industrial policies in other parts of the world.”
Launched by 11 countries at the start of 1999, the euro stayed an electronic currency for its first three years. The euro area now includes 20 countries, making it the payment method for some 350 million people.
“It has made life simpler for European citizens, who can easily compare prices, trade and travel,” the leaders said. “It has given us stability, protecting growth and jobs amid a series of crises.”
The euro reaching the quarter-century mark on Jan. 1 shows the endurance of a monetary arrangement whose disintegration has often been predicted.
As the Greek crisis raged in 2015, for example, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan reckoned that “it’s just a matter of time before everyone recognizes that parting is the best strategy.” Greece didn’t leave, and instead, the region welcomed its newest member, Croatia, at the start of 2023.
Two other euro hopefuls haven’t been so fortunate. Romania’s bid for membership has been hampered by internal squabbling, evidenced by the highest turnover of governments in the EU. And Bulgaria, the bloc’s poorest country, this year had to abandon its plan to join in 2024.
While adopting the euro is theoretically a condition of signing up to the European Union, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Sweden don’t seem interested. Denmark, which clinched an opt-out on acceding before the dawn of the currency, isn’t budging either.
“With several countries currently in the process of joining the EU, we must retain our capacity to act decisively,” Lagarde and the other EU leaders wrote. “Enlarging and deepening are not mutually exclusive. But enlargement may require changes to how the EU is organized.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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https://www.ndtvprofit.com/global-economics/lagarde-says-euro-gives-greater-sovereignty-in-a-turbulent-world
| 2024-01-01T02:21:11Z
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Astana announces team's roster for Tour of Rwanda 2019
19:21, 21 February 2019
ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Astana Pro Team is ready for its debut at the 2.1 UCI Africa Tour race Tour of Rwanda, which will be held from February 24th to March 3rd, the team's press office informed.
Team's line-up: Merhawi Kudus, Yuriy Natarov, Rodrigo Contreras and Nikita Stalnov.
Sports director in the race: Sergey Yakovlev.
Race information: www.tourdurwanda.com
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https://en.inform.kz/amp/astana-announces-team-s-roster-for-tour-of-rwanda-2019_a3500708/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:11Z
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20 Swedish kronor to Tajikistani somonis
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https://wise.com/in/currency-converter/sek-to-tjs-rate?amount=20
| 2024-01-01T02:21:12Z
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Santa Barbara County Department firefighters responded to a structure fire in Orcutt early Sunday morning on the 800 block of Millstone Ave. just after 6:30 a.m.
Fire officials say a detached accessory structure sustained moderate damage and a fence had minor damage.
No other structures were involved and there were no injuries reported.
The cause is under investigation.
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https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/orcutt-structure-fire-breaks-out-early-sunday-morning-no-injuries-reported
| 2024-01-01T02:21:13Z
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Ukraine's shelling of the city of Donetsk in early New Year's Day hours killed four people, a Russian-installed official in the eastern region of Ukraine said, while Ukrainian officials said at least one person was killed in Russia's air attack on Odesa.
Fourteen people were also injured in "heavy shelling" by Ukrainian forces on the centre of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of the broader Donetsk region of which the Donetsk city is the administrative centre, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
At least one person was killed in Russia's drone attack on the Ukrainian southern port of Odesa, Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region that encompasses the city of Odesa, said on Telegram.
Kiper said that Ukraine's air defence systems were engaged in repelling the drone attack, but the falling debris caused several fires in residential buildings in different parts of the city, also injuring several people.
A social media video, posted by Odesa Mayor Henadii Trukhanov, shows him inspecting a damaged apartment with broken windows.
"They say that how you welcome the New Year is how you will live the year," Trukhanov said in a post.
"Well, this year Ukraine will break this rule: we will persevere and we will win.
Ukraine's air force said that Russia's air attack also targeted the Mykolaiv and Dnipro regions.
Reuters could not independently verify the Russian and Ukrainian reports. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that started with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/ukraine-russia-accuse-each-other-of-early-new-years-day-attacks
| 2024-01-01T02:21:14Z
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NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu extended her greetings to all the countrymen on the eve of New Year 2024 and called upon the people to pledge to build a prosperous society.
In a message, the President said, "On the joyous occasion of the New Year, I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to all Indians living in India and abroad. The arrival of the New Year is an occasion to move forward with new resolutions and goals."
"May the year 2024 bring happiness, peace and prosperity for all. May we continue to contribute to the progress of our country," she added.
Calling upon the people to pledge to build a prosperous society, Murmu said, "Let us welcome the New Year and take a pledge to build a prosperous society and nation.
Meanwhile, security has been tightened at various places in the wake of the New Year.
Vehicles are being checked in
Maharashtra's Thane by the police as a security measure.
The Delhi Police also conducted a flag march in Connaught Place on the occasion of New Year's Eve.
Additional DCP New Delhi District, Ravikant Kumar, said, "Heavy police forces have been deployed in the crowded areas of Connaught Place. The force has been briefed on handling the situation. To avoid mishaps, the force has been deployed in the inner and outer circles; vehicles are being checked; and we are using an alcometer too."
A large number of tourists also flocked to different places in the country to celebrate the New Year with enthusiasm, along with their family members.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/lets-pledge-to-build-prosperous-society-nation-president-murmu-extends-new-year-greetings/articleshow/106425567.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:21:15Z
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New Year 2024: From Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu, here's how the beginning of the year was marked across India
Various cities in India, including Jaipur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Shimla, Chennai, and Srinagar, celebrated the arrival of 2024 with fireworks, light shows, dance performances, and vibrant celebrations.
Several cities across India marked the beginning of the year 2024 with celebrations and festivities. From Jammu and Kashmir to Chennai, here's how these states welcomed New Year.
Delhi
In Delhi, devotees welcomed New Year with prayers at Jhandewalan Temple as the temple held its first aarti of the year. Moreover, huge crowds gathered at Connaught Place to welcome New Year.
Also read: Happy New Year 2024 LIVE: A very Happy New Year to you all
Punjab
In Amritsar, the Golden Temple saw devotees welcoming the new year by offering prayers.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President, Sukhbir Singh Badaland his wife MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, visited the Golden Temple and offered prayers to mark the beginning of 2024.
Sukhbir Badal said, "We are here at the Darbar Sahib to pray that the new year becomes a year of happiness for everyone. May the country and Punjab develop," reported ANI.
Also read: Happy New Year 2024: Wishes, WhatsApp messages, quotes for your family and friends
Kerala
A large number of devotees visited Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple in Pathanamthitta on the last day of the year.
Maharashtra
In Maharashtra's Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi, devotees flocked in large numbers to offer their prayers on the last day of the year.
Also read: IPOs in 2024: From Ola Electric to Firstcry here are 11 expected issues in the new year; check out the full list
Rajasthan
In Jaipur, Rajasthan Chief Minister, Bhajanlal Sharma, marked the beginning of the year by visiting shelter homes in Ramniwasbagh and JK Lone Hospital. At these shelter homes, he held an inspection and distributed warm clothes to homeless people. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Rajasthan BJP Organisation General Secretary Chandrashekhar.
Also read: New Year Bank Holiday 2024: What's the status of bank opening on January 1?
In Udaipur, lavish celebrations were held as people welcomed the new year with light and dance shows and performances.
In Ajmer, residents welcomed the year 2024 with fireworks, light shows, and dance performances.
Also read: Google Doodle Rings in 2024 with Sparkle and Shine | Watch here
Himachal Pradesh
In Shimla, people in large numbers flocked to Mall Road to welcome the upcoming year.
Tamil Nadu
In Chennai, Kamarajar Salai saw a large a turnout of crowds to welcome New Year 2024.
Jammu and Kashmir
In Srinagar, a large number of people gathered at Lal Chowk to welcome the new year. Srinagar Municipal Corporation Commissioner and CEO of Srinagar Smart City Ltd., Athar Aamir Khan, in a post on X said, "This is Srinagar Square, Lal Chowk right now! A city life never seen before. The celebration, the vibrancy like never before!"
He added, "This is probably the biggest alibi to the transformation that Srinagar city has witnessed with the implementation of Srinagar Smart City (SMC) projects! Immensely proud of my Srinagar Smart City and SMC team for making this happen! Happy New Year!."
In Baramulla district, lavish New Year's Eve celebrations took place as laser shows and dance performances were held in Gulmarg town.
(With inputs from ANI)
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https://www.livemint.com/news/new-year-2024-from-jammu-and-kashmir-to-tamil-nadu-heres-how-the-beginning-of-the-year-was-marked-across-india-11704069676260.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:15Z
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ISLAMABAD: The interim government on Sunday kept the ex-depot prices of petrol and high speed diesel (HSD) unchanged for first half of January 2024 following a marginal increase in the prices of Brent globally and stable exchange rate.
According to the Finance Division statement, the prices of petrol and HSD are kept unchanged with effect from January 1, 2024. However, the price of kerosene oil (SKO) has decreased by Rs 2.19 per litre, whereas, the rate of light speed diesel (LDO) was increased by Rs 1.19 per litre.
The price of LDO has risen to Rs 165.83 per litre from Rs 164.64 per litre in last fortnight. The price of SKO has decreased from Rs 191.02 to Rs 188.83 per litre.
Sources said the government has made slight changes in IFEM and dealers’ margin and ex-refinery prices of petroleum products. The new prices were recommended by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA). The government has allowed zero adjustment in exchange rate and no change in petroleum levy (PL) rates and general sale tax (GST) rates. The government is charging Rs60 per litre PL on petrol and HSD and zero rates on GST.
Brent oil prices internationally remained between $77.95 and $ 81.07 per barrel since December 16, 2023. In the last review, the government applied an exchange rate of Rs284.28 against the US dollar.
Sources said that the decision to keep the prices of petrol and HSD unchanged would help to boost the consumption of petroleum products and boost economic activities.
The data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) shows refined product imports dropped by 29 percent to $499 million in November 2023 compared to $708 million the previous year. Meanwhile, crude oil imports were increased by four percent to $566 million from $546 million in the same month last year.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281389/prices-of-petrol-hsd-kept-unchanged
| 2024-01-01T02:21:15Z
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LAHORE: Post Graduate Medical Institute and Lahore General Hospital Principal Prof. Al-Fareed Zafar has said that in the new year 2024, the quality of providing the best medical facilities for the service of suffering humanity and the treatment of diseases will rise to greater heights.
General Hospital is the biggest treatment center of the province, will also become the most standard hospital. The reconstruction of the Emergency Ward will provide world-class medical facilities to the citizens.
While presiding over a meeting of the administrative doctors of various departments of the General Hospital, Al-Fareed said that “we will go to the last extent to give the patients their right to treatment.
It is the mission of me and my team to give the best healthcare system to the suffering humanity.” He said that the General Hospital healthcare system will be made ideal with the help of doctors.
He said that due to the extraordinary efforts and hard work of Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the status quo of lack of provision of medical facilities in all hospitals has been broken.
The Chief Minister has instilled a new determination and passion to serve the ailing humanity in all the stakeholders of the healthcare system by taking lightning fast steps. He said that during the year 2023, where the doctors of the General Hospital worked day and night to provide treatment facilities, they not only saved the life of Rizwana, a victim of domestic violence, but also gave her a new life through timely treatment.
They made her again standing on her feet and accomplished a wonderful feat. For which my medical team deserves congratulations.
Al-Fareed expressed his determination to rebuild the emergency department of the hospital and revamp other departments in the New Year.
By virtue of these steps, the quality of medical facilities for the service and treatment of patients in the hospital will be improved.
The doctors and paramedics of the hospital will perform their duties with new enthusiasm and determination and ensure the worldly as well as success for the life to come, he concluded.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281390/lgh-principal-says-quality-of-services-facilities-will-improve
| 2024-01-01T02:21:17Z
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Macron Pushes For Economic ‘Rearmament’ To Reach Full Employment
Macron also said his government would start major programs in nuclear power, artificial intelligence and transportation in 2024.
(Bloomberg) -- French President Emmanuel Macron took credit for pushing through sometimes unpopular reforms in 2023 and said he would drive an economic “rearmament” to try to meet his goal of full employment by 2027.
“These past months have been far from the futility that some predicted and that’s good,” Macron said in his traditional New Year’s Eve national address on Sunday, citing both the law that increased the retirement age and the immigration bill adopted this month.
In the 13-minute televised speech, he also said his government would start major programs in nuclear power, artificial intelligence and transportation in 2024.
“We’ll be determined in amplifying our industrial, technological and scientific rearmament,” Macron said. “We need to do all we can to meet our goal of full employment: continue to innovate, but also attract companies and create more in France,” he said.
Read more: Macron Says Tougher Immigration Bill Only Way to Counter Le Pen
While Macron heads into 2024 with the relief of rapidly easing inflation, sluggish growth may undermine his efforts to create jobs and repair public finances.
With more than three years left of his tenure, France’s leader faces mounting political challenges. The immigration bill, which passed thanks to conservatives’ votes, deepened fractures within his party and its allies in the National Assembly, prompting many analysts to say they expect a cabinet reshuffle in the coming months.
Macron also brought up European elections scheduled in June, saying thy represent a decisive choice between “keeping Europe going or blocking it.”
Polls show far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party leading voting intentions in France for those elections.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
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https://www.ndtvprofit.com/global-economics/macron-pushes-for-economic-rearmament-to-reach-full-employment
| 2024-01-01T02:21:17Z
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Astana Botanical Garden to open in April
"The Astana Botanical Garden was established as a multifunctional center for researches, cultural and educational programs. In this regard, it is planned to conduct educational courses for schoolchildren and university students. We intend to begin tours for city dwellers starting April. In the future, we want to create a nature museum for various master classes, etc.," said Gulnara Sitpayeva.
She highlighted that the institute and the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University have already signed an agreement on student internship. Besides, the possibility of signing a memorandum with the S. Seifullin Kazakh Agro Technical University is under consideration.
Students can undertake internships at the Botanical Garden this year.
"A collection of medicinal plants will be created at the Botanical Garden. Biological faculties' students majoring in Ecology, Forest Resources, and Environmental Protection, as well as students of medical institutions, will be eligible for the internships," she added.
In addition, it is planned to open Green school, where children will gain skills of work with plants and learn how to properly care for them.
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https://en.inform.kz/amp/astana-botanical-garden-to-open-in-april_a3500693/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:18Z
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In preparation for one of the biggest drinking holidays of the year, bars from San Luis Obispo to Paso Robles have protocols in place to ensure their patrons get home safely.
San Luis Obispo's downtown barcade, BA Start, has been open since November of 2022 and is geared up for their first New Year's Eve celebration — fit with drinks at the door, arcade games and live entertainment.
While the bar doesn't serve hard liquor, owner Rob Peterson said they still have security at the door to ensure no patrons enter the facility too intoxicated.
"We have a doorman that will be checking for that. I mean, nothing changes in terms of safety. Safety practices are always being applied no matter what day it is," Peterson said.
In North County, safety is just as big of a priority. Bartender Jason Gomez of The Pour House in Paso Robles said part of his training to become a bartender included learning when to refuse service.
"We have a good idea of how to serve here, so we want to make sure that we're not serving intoxicated people," Gomez said.
He added that they can and will call ride services for those who aren't capable of driving home safely.
However, he also recommends using a designated driver if possible.
"Use your community of friends to help each other out to make sure that your friend isn't driving intoxicated," Gomez said.
For those interested in attending either New Year's Celebration, see the details below:
BA START - San Luis Obispo:
- $50 entry fee
- Can purchase tickets at door
- 21+ only
- 9 p.m. - 1 a.m.
- Admission includes a drink at the door, food, live music, and $10 in tokens
The Pour House - Paso Robles:
- $20 fee at the door
- Live music - The Vibe Setters
- 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.
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https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/slo-county-bars-prepped-for-2nd-booziest-holiday-of-the-year
| 2024-01-01T02:21:19Z
|
2000 Swedish kronor to Tajikistani somonis
Convert SEK to TJS at the real exchange rate
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https://wise.com/in/currency-converter/sek-to-tjs-rate?amount=2000
| 2024-01-01T02:21:19Z
|
Several cities across India marked the beginning of the year 2024 with celebrations and festivities. From Jammu and Kashmir to Chennai, here's how these states welcomed New Year.
Delhi
In Delhi, devotees welcomed New Year with prayers at Jhandewalan Temple as the temple held its first aarti of the year. Moreover, huge crowds gathered at Connaught Place to welcome New Year.
Also read: Happy New Year 2024 LIVE: A very Happy New Year to you all
Punjab
In Amritsar, the Golden Temple saw devotees welcoming the new year by offering prayers.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President, Sukhbir Singh Badaland his wife MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, visited the Golden Temple and offered prayers to mark the beginning of 2024.
Sukhbir Badal said, "We are here at the Darbar Sahib to pray that the new year becomes a year of happiness for everyone. May the country and Punjab develop," reported ANI.
Also read: Happy New Year 2024: Wishes, WhatsApp messages, quotes for your family and friends
Kerala
A large number of devotees visited Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple in Pathanamthitta on the last day of the year.
Maharashtra
In Maharashtra's Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi, devotees flocked in large numbers to offer their prayers on the last day of the year.
Also read: IPOs in 2024: From Ola Electric to Firstcry here are 11 expected issues in the new year; check out the full list
Rajasthan
In Jaipur, Rajasthan Chief Minister, Bhajanlal Sharma, marked the beginning of the year by visiting shelter homes in Ramniwasbagh and JK Lone Hospital. At these shelter homes, he held an inspection and distributed warm clothes to homeless people. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Rajasthan BJP Organisation General Secretary Chandrashekhar.
Also read: New Year Bank Holiday 2024: What's the status of bank opening on January 1?
In Udaipur, lavish celebrations were held as people welcomed the new year with light and dance shows and performances.
In Ajmer, residents welcomed the year 2024 with fireworks, light shows, and dance performances.
Also read: Google Doodle Rings in 2024 with Sparkle and Shine | Watch here
Himachal Pradesh
In Shimla, people in large numbers flocked to Mall Road to welcome the upcoming year.
Tamil Nadu
In Chennai, Kamarajar Salai saw a large a turnout of crowds to welcome New Year 2024.
Jammu and Kashmir
In Srinagar, a large number of people gathered at Lal Chowk to welcome the new year. Srinagar Municipal Corporation Commissioner and CEO of Srinagar Smart City Ltd., Athar Aamir Khan, in a post on X said, "This is Srinagar Square, Lal Chowk right now! A city life never seen before. The celebration, the vibrancy like never before!"
He added, "This is probably the biggest alibi to the transformation that Srinagar city has witnessed with the implementation of Srinagar Smart City (SMC) projects! Immensely proud of my Srinagar Smart City and SMC team for making this happen! Happy New Year!."
In Baramulla district, lavish New Year's Eve celebrations took place as laser shows and dance performances were held in Gulmarg town.
(With inputs from ANI)
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https://www.livemint.com/news/new-year-2024-from-jammu-and-kashmir-to-tamil-nadu-heres-how-the-beginning-of-the-year-was-marked-across-india/amp-11704069676260.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:21Z
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BHOPAL: Six days after his 28 ministers were sworn in, MP CM Moan Yadav allocated portfolios to them late Saturday, retaining home, PR, industrial policy and mining with himself.
Finance was entrusted to deputy CM Jagdish Devda, who held the same job in the Shivraj cabinet. The other deputy CM, Rajendra Shukla, was allocated health.
Tulsi Silawat was given water resources and Pradyuman Singh Tomar energy.
Both are supporters of Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
They were part of the Shivraj cabinet with the same portfolios. Govind Singh Rajput, another Scindia supporter who held revenue and transport earlier, was entrusted with food, civil supplies and consumer protection.
Former BJP general secretary and senior leader Kailash Vijayvargiya was given urban administration and housing, besides legislative affairs.
CM Yadav has done a balancing act by giving some important portfolios to senior and experienced members and in doing so, has also kept in mind the regional balance.
Among MPs who became MLAs and then state ministers, Prahlad Patel - earlier a Union minister - was allocated panchayat and rural development. Former BJP state chief Rakesh Singh was given public works. Another of the MPs, Uday Pratap Singh, was entrusted with school education and transport.
Bhopal MLA Vishvas Sarang, who was medical education minister in the Chouhan dispensation, has got sports and youth welfare. Govindpura MLA Krishna Gaur was given the departments of OBC and minority welfare.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/madhya-pradesh-cm-keeps-home-deputy-cms-get-finance-health/articleshow/106411654.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:21:21Z
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Reckitt’s Mead Johnson Nutrition recalls baby formula powder from US: FDA
NEW YORK: Reckitt Benckiser Group’s Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) is voluntarily recalling select batches of Nutramigen Powder from the US market due to a possibility of contamination with Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria in product sampled outside the United States, the Food and Drug Administration said on Sunday.
Nutramigen Powder, a specialty infant formula for the dietary management of Cows Milk Allergy (CMA) in 12.6- and 19.8-ounce cans, went through extensive testing by MJN and tested negative for the bacteria, the FDA said.
The Nutramigen containers were manufactured in June 2023 and distributed primarily in June, July and August, the FDA said.
“Based on the limited availability of the remaining stock of this special infant formula, it is believed that much, if not all, of the products recalled in the United States have been consumed,” the FDA said, adding there are no reports of illnesses or adverse events to date.
All the recalled products have the “Use By Date” of “1 Jan 2025,”, Reckitt said, asking customers to dispose of the products if they belong to the recalled batches.
“No other US-distributed Nutramigen batches or other Reckitt products are impacted,” Reckitt said.
Cronobacter bacteria can cause severe, life-threatening infections or meningitis. The infection may also cause bowel damage and may spread through the blood to other parts of the body.
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281391/reckitts-mead-johnson-nutrition-recalls-baby-formula-powder-from-us-fda
| 2024-01-01T02:21:23Z
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U.S. Consumer Debt Just Returning To Normal Levels, Bernstein Says
A 3.7% rise in disposable income over the past year is “one of the tailwinds that’s helping to support consumer spending,” he said.
(Bloomberg) -- Strains on US consumer spending such as rising delinquency rates on credit cards largely indicate that Americans’ debt is returning to pre-pandemic levels, the head of President Joe Biden’s council of economic advisers said.
Jared Bernstein, a key advocate for Biden’s economic agenda as the president seeks a second term in 2024, cited wealth gains, job market strength and rising real wages in 2023 as evidence that the US is moving forward from an inflation surge that has depressed Biden’s approval ratings.
At the same time, consumer debt has risen as pandemic-era stimulus programs fade. Credit card balances in the US increased by about 4.7% to $48 billion in the third quarter, pushing the total to $1.08 trillion, according to New York Federal Reserve data — the highest total in data going back to 2003.
“Some of what you’re calling ballooning is really a return to kind of normal levels of credit card delinquencies or debt levels,” Bernstein said on . “But if you actually look at how much it costs people to service their debt, even as interest rates have gone up, they’re in quite good shape.”
A 3.7% rise in disposable income over the past year is “one of the tailwinds that’s helping to support consumer spending,” he said.
With inflation in retreat, economists are increasingly betting that the Fed is done with interest-rate increase and will cut borrowing costs next year. A University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey rose to a five-month high in December, and Americans are more optimistic about the outlook for inflation than they have been since 2021.
It’s the kind of data the White House is counting on to persuade voters of Biden’s stewardship of the economy. Asked about Biden’s agenda for 2024, Bernstein said: “I’ve got two words for you: lowering costs.”
That means continuing to “build on the progress we’ve made” to lower costs for items such as insulin, prescription drugs and health care as well as curbing so-called junk fees that Americans pay on everything from concerts to banks, he said.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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https://www.ndtvprofit.com/global-economics/us-consumer-debt-just-returning-to-normal-levels-jared-bernstein-says
| 2024-01-01T02:21:23Z
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CUSA Games Today: How to Watch CUSA Games, TV Schedule, Live Streaming Options - Bowl Season
Published: Dec. 31, 2023 at 2:10 PM EST|Updated: 1 hour ago
Looking for info on how to watch all of the college football postseason action now that bowl season and the College Football Playoff are here? Below, we highlight how you can watch all four games involving teams from the CUSA.
Watch college football all season long on Fubo and ESPN+!
CUSA Games on TV This Week
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wistv.com/sports/betting/2023/12/16/bowl-season-cusa-college-football-live-stream-5/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:23Z
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Astana controls Tour Colombia 2.1 Stage 2
For Astana Pro Team it was a day to pass it through without any problem or stress. Thus, the team spent this day having the race under its full control, while team's leader Miguel Angel Lopez finished the stage inside the main group as well as all other riders of Astana Pro Team.
Nikita Stalnov became the best Astana's performer, taking a 16th place.
"We did not have any problem today. The stage was very fast and, of course, a bit stressful for all teams. But, all went ok. The guys did a good work, always staying in front and supporting our leader Miguel Angel Lopez," explained Aritz Arberas, Astana Pro Team trainer.
The stage winner Hodeg became the new race leader. Miguel Angel Lopez moved up to 13th position, 24 seconds behind the leader.
Stage 3 will be held tomorrow: 167,6 km in Llanogrande.
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https://en.inform.kz/amp/astana-controls-tour-colombia-2-1-stage-2_a3498192/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:25Z
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A surfer in Hawaii died at the hospital after a shark attack Saturday.
According toMaui County authorities, they received a report at around 11 a.m. local time Saturday about “a miscellaneous type incident.” Upon arrival, they discovered that Ocean Safety Officers had rescued and transported Jason Carter, a 39-year-old man, to shore using a jet ski.
Responders conducted life-saving measures until medical personnel arrived, and Carter was then taken to the Maui Memorial Medical Center for further treatment.
According to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Carter, who is originally from Haiku, faced the shark encounter while surfing at Paia Bay, where shark warning signs are placed on beaches one mile on either side of the bay.
While initial signs of foul play were not evident, the police department reports that the investigation is ongoing and an autopsy has been scheduled.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com
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https://www.ksby.com/surfer-dies-following-a-shark-encounter-in-hawaii
| 2024-01-01T02:21:25Z
|
250 Swedish kronor to Tajikistani somonis
Convert SEK to TJS at the real exchange rate
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Simply type in the box how much you want to convert.
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Choose your currencies
Click on the dropdown to select SEK in the first dropdown as the currency that you want to convert and TJS in the second drop down as the currency you want to convert to.
- 3
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- Bulgarian Lev
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- Chinese Yuan RMB
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- Euro
- Hong Kong Dollar
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- Indian Rupee
- Indonesian Rupiah
- Israeli New Sheqel
- Japanese Yen
- Malaysian Ringgit
- New Zealand Dollar
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- Romanian Leu
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https://wise.com/in/currency-converter/sek-to-tjs-rate?amount=250
| 2024-01-01T02:21:26Z
|
The battles we won: A former Ukrainian Prime Minister writes
Summary
- For starters, the scope and intensity of the conflict may drive home to Israelis and Palestinians alike that they need to break the cycle of violence.
Hamas’s murderous raid into southern Israel on 7 October triggered a new round of horrific bloodshed in the Middle East. Even if Israel’s military campaign in response to the atrocities succeeds in defanging Hamas, it will leave behind a Gazan population that is reeling, suffering, and angry. Moreover, the war will damage Israel’s relations with the broader Palestinian community and their Arab brethren throughout the region. Picking up the pieces will take quite some time.
It is hard to see any silver lining in this dreadful bout of violence. Nonetheless, it is worth considering whether the shock caused by the war could push the seemingly intractable Israel-Palestine conflict towards an eventual resolution. Might this tragedy, which has forced both Israelis and Palestinians to stare into the abyss, prove to be a turning point that will clear the path towards a lasting peace?
Taking this possibility seriously, and gazing beyond the horizon more generally, is not just an exercise in wishful thinking. Exploring how the current conflagration could set the stage for peace can help provide a road map for Israelis, Palestinians, and the international community to follow after the dust has settled.
For starters, the scope and intensity of the conflict may drive home to Israelis and Palestinians alike that they need to break the cycle of violence that has plagued the region for decades. Admittedly, previous bursts of fighting have over time hardened attitudes on both sides, and for understandable reasons.
Israelis have tended to respond to sporadic assaults by Palestinians by retaliating and imposing tight restrictions on the Palestinian people—an approach that has evolved, in part, from Israel’s prior history with Gaza. When Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, it only cleared the way for Hamas to take power and begin launching a succession of attacks. That experience, along with the continuing acts of violence carried out by Palestinians in the West Bank, has convinced many Israelis that peacemaking efforts aimed at returning more land would be foolhardy and that maintaining the status quo is a far safer alternative.
The problem is that the status quo—the occupation of the West Bank and the throttling of Gaza—is intolerable and unacceptable for Palestinians, who see Israel’s mix of repression and diplomatic intransigence as a casus belli. For many Palestinians, only through active resistance, including violence, can they impress upon Israelis that their comfortable status quo is not so comfortable.
As a result, Palestinians fight on, and Israelis respond by tightening their grip. Each side blames the other, and the cycle of violence grinds on.
But this time could be different. Israelis are aghast at the failure of their country’s vaunted national-security institutions. Military superiority, deterrent threats, pervasive surveillance, fences, walls, and checkpoints: these pillars of Israeli defence policy did nothing to prevent Hamas from slaughtering more than 1,400 people on 7 October. Something needs to change.
The same goes for Palestinians. Hamas’s nihilistic terror has brought only widespread death and destruction to Gaza, driving home the need for a change of course. In fact, even before the current spasm of violence, many Gazans were ready for an alternative to Hamas’s extremism.
An opinion survey conducted only days before the attack showed that 67% of Gazans had little or no trust in the Hamas-led government. Moreover, only 27% of the population selected Hamas as their preferred party, and an even smaller share—just 20%—supported Hamas’s call for the destruction of Israel. The vast majority of Gazans preferred a peaceful settlement to the conflict, with more than 50% favouring a two-state solution.
If the current round of warfare simultaneously drives political change in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel, it could lead to a mutual awakening rather than just another turn in a continuing cycle of violence. In Gaza, Hamas’s rule is presumably finished as a result of Israel’s campaign to dismantle it, as well as growing disaffection among the local population.
In the West Bank, the sclerotic Palestinian Authority—widely seen by residents of both the West Bank and Gaza as corrupt and ineffective—staggers on with scant public support. Despite being elected in 2005 to a four-year term, PA President Mahmoud Abbas remains in office; no presidential election has been held since then. Some 80% of Palestinians believe that the 87-year-old president should step down. Clearly, the PA’s leadership is well past its expiration date.
In Israel, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s political career is likely over, too. The deadliest day in the country’s history occurred on his watch—a devastating blow for a politician whose brand had been built on the idea that only his leadership was capable of keeping Israelis secure. It does not help matters that the judicial reforms that his government had been pursuing prior to the war’s outbreak produced paralyzing discord within Israeli society. Netanyahu’s poll numbers are cratering as he deflects blame for the current crisis and as accusations mount that his divisive leadership set the stage for the grave security lapse on 7 October.
To be sure, the prospect of a concurrent change in government in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel could lead to a prolonged period of uncertainty and elevate even more radical forces. But it could also bring to power a new cadre of Israeli and Palestinian leaders who are more willing to give peace a chance.
The latest round of warfare between Israel and Hamas has repercussions beyond the Middle East, precisely why the United States and the broader international community are engaging in intense diplomacy. Looking ahead, the international community should build on its surging engagement in the region to revive a peace process that has become effectively defunct.
Despite making polite references to the need for a two-state solution, American diplomats have done almost nothing to match their words with actions. But the Israel-Palestine conflict is now front and centre: US President Joe Biden flies to wartime Tel Aviv rather than wartime Kyiv. After the current bloodshed comes to an end, American policy makers must take advantage of this opening to drive forward negotiations.
The US will need considerable help, especially since the diplomatic chessboard in the Middle East has been shifting, largely owing to China’s arrival on the scene. In 2023 alone, China brokered the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, hosted Abbas in Beijing to discuss the peace process, and deepened ties with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf monarchies.
The Israel-Hamas war has created an opportunity for the US and China to work together to advance peace prospects in the Middle East—a subject that was high on the agenda during Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to Washington in October. Given that both the US and China seem interested in looking for ways to tame the intensifying geopolitical rivalry between them, teaming up to help advance the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians would be a good place to start.
China’s diplomatic engagement could be particularly important in reining in Iran, which remains a dangerous puppet master in the Middle East, providing funds and arms to Hamas, Hezbollah, and other extremist groups. China is Iran’s largest trading partner, giving the Chinese government considerable leverage over the Islamic Republic. For its part, an isolated Iran looks to China as its diplomatic lifeline.
With talks on normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel on hold, but by no means dead, the US and China might be able to work with a coalition of regional powers to make Iran less willing—and less able—to stoke sectarian cleavages, inflame anti-Israeli forces, and stir up trouble across the region.
Against the backdrop of Hamas’s atrocities and the devastation wrought by Israeli retaliation, a peace settlement seems far off. But no one imagined amid the shock of the 1973 Yom Kippur War that Israel and Egypt would sign a peace treaty six years later. Wars can lead to new beginnings as they confront combatants with harsh realities that demand resolutions.
For Israelis and Palestinians, the harsh reality is that there are around seven million Israeli Jews and seven million Palestinians living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, with the latter on their way to gaining a demographic majority. Under these circumstances, there is no such thing as a one-state solution. Israelis will never allow their country to be governed by a Palestinian majority. At the same time, Israel cannot rule indefinitely over millions of Palestinians living in a stateless limbo.
The only path to peace is a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians live securely alongside each other. The shock of this war might just make both sides recognize that reality.
Charles A. Kupchan is professor of international affairs at Georgetown University and has served on the US National Security Council under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
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https://www.livemint.com/news/the-battles-we-won-a-former-ukrainian-prime-minister-writes-11704046421107.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:27Z
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MEERUT: A 62-year-old man was found dead near Badkala firing range in UP's Saharanpur district on Friday. The man, identified as Ghulam Mustafa, died due to "excessive blood loss" amid an Army practice session, police said on Saturday. Mustafa, who belonged to Van Gujjar community, was living "illegally" in a thatched hut in Badkala forest, near the range, reports Krishna Chaudhary.
SP (Rural, Saharanpur), Sagar Jain, said, "The cause of Mustafa's death remains unclear. The preliminary postmortem report says that he suffered pelvic fracture and severe bruises in the back. He probably fell on his back while trying to run away from the firing exercise and died due to blood loss from the bruises."
Notably, this is the third such incident in a month in the region. On December 14, Hanif Ahmed, 11, also from the Van Gujjar community, died while trying to dismantle an explosive material secured from a nearby firing range, about 2km away from home at Mirzapur in Saharanpur. On November 29, a 37-year-old scrap dealer, Mohd Tauseef, died when a misfired shell - from a different firing range - which he was trying to dismantle, exploded in his shop in Meerut's Amheda village.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/man-found-dead-near-army-firing-range-3rd-case-in-month/articleshow/106409992.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:21:27Z
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Note: The information provided herein or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice. Gateway Pundit benefits from purchases made through our sponsors.
by Genesis Gold Group
There’s great news and horrible news in the precious metals industry. Even the most skeptical analysts are starting to admit that gold and silver offer more than just a “safe haven” against the economic turmoil engulfing America. They’re seeing gains today and predicting more gains into the future. Those who are either invested in precious metals already or who plan to do so now are seeing safety and security on the horizon.
Unfortunately, this surge in interest has also prompted gold “sharks” to spend heavily and put out their “chum” to entice Americans to purchase their products. They’re hiring celebrity spokespeople. They’re making logic-defying offers like “free” silver with “qualified” purchase. They’re even engaging in email spam, a practice that infuriates most Americans but is deemed acceptable by gold “sharks” who hope to catch the scent of unsuspecting prey.
Genesis Gold Group has always taken a different approach. As a faith-driven precious metals company, they hold their marketing and sales teams at a higher standard, offering education and a mix of gold and silver products designed for each individual client rather than the high-margin “shotgun” approach. They aren’t spamming. They aren’t making ludicrous offers of “free” stuff in hopes of finding the gullible. They’re just applying proper financial and Biblical stewardship to help Americans protect their wealth and retirement.
“These are dangerous times for retirees and investors who aren’t paying close attention to what they’re buying,” said Jonathan Rose, co-founder of Genesis Gold Group. “On one hand, the demand for precious metals is at an all-time high, as it should be. On the other hand, the risk of bad deals being sold during high demand times is rising.”
Unlike other precious metals companies, Genesis Gold Group does not pressure clients into buying the products with the highest margins. Instead, they personalize the “metals mix” for their clients with physical gold and silver to back their self-directed IRAs. They do this by educating their clients and offering a wide range of products to cater to their individual needs.
“An educated buyer is the best buyer,” Rose said. “This has never been more true than it is today.”
Part of the education surrounds an understanding of recognizing false-positives in the metals market. Precious metals prices spiked following the start of the banking collapse in March, 2023, but quickly retreated to standard prices. The current rally seems to have stronger legs as it’s based on a multitude of financial indicators.
In other words, the current spike is not a knee-jerk response to an event but rather a sustained reaction to the financial headwinds facing the U.S. Dollar.
According to Greg Guenther, chief strategist at Forge Research Group, it’s not unrealistic to expect the current rally to extend for a while.
“Once gold extends into blue skies, it’s highly unlikely the rally ends anytime soon. Remember, this breakout is years in the making. The bigger the base, the higher in space.
“Precious metals have taken their sweet time to get their act together. But I believe a bigger breakout will attract more eyeballs from mainstream investors and the financial media. That will have a snowball effect as more speculators add gold positions to their portfolios.
“This first move above $2K is only the beginning. Once we churn past some of this whipsaw action, a quick jump to $2,600 is possible before gold even thinks about consolidating.”
Genesis Gold Group clients are poised to take advantage of this surge. The physical gold and silver Genesis puts in their clients’ depository can be distributed directly to them when the time comes. Most have their physical precious metals distributions shipped directly to their door.
If you want to consider protecting your life’s savings with physical precious metals, contact Genesis Gold Group today and learn how a faith-driven company does better by you.
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https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/future-gold-is-bright-sharks-are-circling-chum-2/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:29Z
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Charting the Global Economy: Maritime Attacks Drive Up Costs
Shipping costs are rising as hundreds of container ships that typically transit the key maritime artery of the Red Sea and Suez Canal are rerouting after a multitude of attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants.
(Bloomberg) -- Shipping costs are rising as hundreds of container ships that typically transit the key maritime artery of the Red Sea and Suez Canal are rerouting after a multitude of attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants.
Combined with disruptions at a drought-stricken Panama Canal in the Western Hemisphere, the rise in merchant shipping rates poses headwinds for central bankers in their inflation fight.
Meantime, the economy in Vietnam exceeded expectations this year and is poised for better results in 2024. For economies in many African nations next year, credible elections and improved governance are key.
Here are some of the charts that appeared on Bloomberg this week on the latest developments in the global economy:
World
Half of the container-ship fleet that regularly transits the Red Sea and Suez Canal is avoiding the route now because of the threat of attacks, according to new industry data. The tally compiled by Flexport Inc. shows 299 vessels with a combined capacity to carry 4.3 million containers have either changed course or plan to. That’s about double the number from a week ago and equates to about 18% of global capacity. Diverted voyages are more costly and may lead to higher prices for consumers on everything from sneakers to food to oil if the longer journeys persist.
The theme for the African continent in 2024 appears to be all about who’s in charge. From South Africa to Algeria, a third of the continent’s nations will choose new governments, including coup-hit Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso — if their junta leaders keep their word. Credible elections and improved governance will form the bedrock for some of the world’s poorest — and youngest — nations to reduce conflict, spur economic growth and boost employment. The prevailing environment makes that difficult.
Asia
Vietnam’s economy fared better than expected in 2023, indicating it will keep improving as consumer demand returns, exports recover and investments surge. GDP rose 5.05% from a year earlier after increasing an initial 8.02% in the previous year. The economy is expected to return to 6% growth next year, and vie for the best-in-Asia growth tag by 2025, a Bloomberg survey shows.
South Korea’s semiconductor industry recorded the largest gains in years in both production and shipments, underscoring a revival of technology momentum that bodes well for the nation’s economic outlook next year and for the global tech sector.
Investors who bought into the idea two years ago that China’s consumer and green energy stocks stand to win big from President Xi Jinping’s renewed economic agenda would have seen their holdings pummeled in 2023.
Europe
Spanish inflation remained steady at the end of 2023, tempering a likely euro-zone pickup that may embolden policymakers to keep pushing against bets on imminent interest-rate cuts. Even though inflation may remain elevated in the near term, central banks in Spain, France and Italy all project it will slow to 2% or even lower in 2025. Germany’s Bundesbank isn’t so optimistic, seeing Europe’s largest economy stuck above the target into 2026, kept higher by wages.
Britain’s economy probably will avoid a recession in 2024 and strengthen in the second half of the year as consumers benefit from falling inflation and the easing of a lengthy cost-of-living crisis. In aggregate, the 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg believe the Treasury and the Bank of England will engineer a soft landing for the economy next year, with growth of 0.3%.
Russia’s oil-product exports dropped on a weekly basis, led by a slump in shipments of diesel, naphtha and fuel oil. However, the four-week average climbed to the highest in more than seven months amid a ramp-up in oil processing at Russian refineries.
US
Initial applications for US unemployment benefits increased in the week leading up to Christmas, while remaining at a level that is consistent with a resilient labor market.
Employers expect to hire less in 2024, according to several regional Federal Reserve bank surveys, a trend that’s set to limit wage gains and cool inflation pressures. At the same time, the results don’t indicate an outright contraction in payrolls.
Emerging Markets
Kenyan consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in almost two years in December, while economic growth accelerated more than expected in the third quarter, delivering some respite for the battered East African economy.
Brazil’s annual inflation slowed less than expected in mid-December, highlighting the difficulties facing central bankers as they cut interest rates while attempting to haul prices to the tolerance range by year’s end.
--With assistance from Philip Aldrick, Maria Eloisa Capurro, Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen, Arijit Ghosh, Sam Kim, Alex Longley, Ishika Mookerjee, Macarena Muñoz, Brendan Murray, Helen Nyambura, Rodrigo Orihuela, Prejula Prem, Augusta Saraiva and Zoe Schneeweiss.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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https://www.ndtvprofit.com/global-economics/world-economy-latest-houthi-attacks-drive-up-shipping-costs
| 2024-01-01T02:21:30Z
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JAKARTA: A series of shallow earthquakes hit Indonesia’s West Java province on Sunday with the biggest at magnitude 4.8 during night causing residents to flee their homes, damage to buildings but no casualties, local authorities said.
The quake’s epicentre was 2 km (1.25 miles) northeast of Sumedang in West Java province at a depth of 5 km, while two previous quakes were in smaller magnitude, the country’s geophysics agency (BMKG) said.
Authorities in Sumedang said no casualties had been recorded so far, but three residents suffered minor injuries and there had been damage to houses and two hospitals where patients had to be evacuated to emergency tents.
BMKG asked residents and local authorities to stay vigilant because of the risk of aftershocks and advised people to avoid hilly areas due to the risk of landslides.
Indonesia straddles the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area of high seismic activity that rests atop multiple tectonic plates.
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281392/magnitude-48-quake-hits-indonesias-west-java-no-casualties
| 2024-01-01T02:21:29Z
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Bowl season and the College Football Playoff are here, with eight games involving teams from the Pac-12 on the docket. For info on how to watch all of the hard-hitting action, keep scrolling.
Watch college football all season long on Fubo and ESPN+!
Pac-12 Games on TV This Week
Get your fix this season by signing up for Fubo and ESPN+!
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https://www.wistv.com/sports/betting/2023/12/17/bowl-season-pac-12-college-football-live-stream-49/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:30Z
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Astana duo records album of Kazakh songs in French
The members of the duo are Assem Abdykassymova and Polina Tyrina, talented and charming residents of the capital of Kazakhstan.
Assem graduated from the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University with a civil engineering degree. In Nantes, France, she majored in Environment and Urban Planning under the Erasmus Mundus program, a post-master degree in Business and Management, and completed an internship under the Copernicus program from the French Embassy in Kazakhstan. Now she works at the France-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As for Polina, she graduated from the Astana Polytechnic College as a manager of tourism. Having studied at the Omsk State University, she received a diploma of a journalist.
The singers made up the duo in 2016. Presently, their repertoire includes songs in 9 languages: Kazakh, Russian, English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Polish, and Ukrainian.
"The album includes 15 tracks: 5 Kazakh folk songs translated into French, 5 Kazakh folk songs in the original language, and 5 unreleased French works of authorship. Recording it, we used dombra, jetygen, sybyzgy, cello, violin, and guitars. A complete mixture of cultures and styles truly reflects the essence of our duo," Assem smiles.
According to her, the project was implemented with the support from the French Embassy in Kazakhstan within the Francophone spring festival.
"Both Polina and I love the French language and France. In addition to speaking it fluently, I also write songs in French. Together we have been in Paris. Both of us have won Francophone music contests. I think that's what accounts for why the album is in French. When the French Embassy offered to start a joint project, we agreed to do it without a moment's hesitation," says Assem.
According to the duo, their album will be of interest in France as well. Besides, brilliant Amre Kashaubayev is still remembered there.
In addition to Almas Duo, 8 more musicians took part in the recording of the album.
"Katrina Viloria, the most unusual member of our team, was in charge of percussion. Kat is from the Philippines. Katrina teaches English at Miras International School. She plays drums, guitar, and piano. She composes beautiful songs," says Polina.
The other musicians include Venera Tabys (playing the jetygen), Sanjay Almishev (sybyzgy and shankobyz), Ardak Yeleusiz (dombra), Azamat Temirbayev (bass guitar), Vlad Russanov (guitar), Asya Nurzhigitova (violin), and Aidar Kazken (cello).
"We would like to thank you the musicians who worked with us! Thank you for being with us, helping, believing, and supportin us. They came for recording in freezing temperatures and blizzards, at weekends and on holidays, having cold, and with children. All of them are not just professionals but people who are in love with music," says Assem.
"The preliminary presentation of the album of Almas Duo FRANÇAIS À LA KAZAKH will take place on February 28 in one of the restaurants of the capital, and the official one will be on March 9 in a Meloman store," Assem and Polina told the residents and guests of Astana.
For those who cannot attend the events, there is an opportunity to contemplate the duo's works via its pages on Instagram and Facebook.
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https://en.inform.kz/amp/astana-duo-records-album-of-kazakh-songs-in-french_a3501606/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:32Z
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5 Swedish kronor to Tajikistani somonis
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https://wise.com/in/currency-converter/sek-to-tjs-rate?amount=5
| 2024-01-01T02:21:32Z
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Hamas’s murderous raid into southern Israel on 7 October triggered a new round of horrific bloodshed in the Middle East. Even if Israel’s military campaign in response to the atrocities succeeds in defanging Hamas, it will leave behind a Gazan population that is reeling, suffering, and angry. Moreover, the war will damage Israel’s relations with the broader Palestinian community and their Arab brethren throughout the region. Picking up the pieces will take quite some time.
Hamas’s murderous raid into southern Israel on 7 October triggered a new round of horrific bloodshed in the Middle East. Even if Israel’s military campaign in response to the atrocities succeeds in defanging Hamas, it will leave behind a Gazan population that is reeling, suffering, and angry. Moreover, the war will damage Israel’s relations with the broader Palestinian community and their Arab brethren throughout the region. Picking up the pieces will take quite some time.
It is hard to see any silver lining in this dreadful bout of violence. Nonetheless, it is worth considering whether the shock caused by the war could push the seemingly intractable Israel-Palestine conflict towards an eventual resolution. Might this tragedy, which has forced both Israelis and Palestinians to stare into the abyss, prove to be a turning point that will clear the path towards a lasting peace?
It is hard to see any silver lining in this dreadful bout of violence. Nonetheless, it is worth considering whether the shock caused by the war could push the seemingly intractable Israel-Palestine conflict towards an eventual resolution. Might this tragedy, which has forced both Israelis and Palestinians to stare into the abyss, prove to be a turning point that will clear the path towards a lasting peace?
Taking this possibility seriously, and gazing beyond the horizon more generally, is not just an exercise in wishful thinking. Exploring how the current conflagration could set the stage for peace can help provide a road map for Israelis, Palestinians, and the international community to follow after the dust has settled.
For starters, the scope and intensity of the conflict may drive home to Israelis and Palestinians alike that they need to break the cycle of violence that has plagued the region for decades. Admittedly, previous bursts of fighting have over time hardened attitudes on both sides, and for understandable reasons.
Israelis have tended to respond to sporadic assaults by Palestinians by retaliating and imposing tight restrictions on the Palestinian people—an approach that has evolved, in part, from Israel’s prior history with Gaza. When Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, it only cleared the way for Hamas to take power and begin launching a succession of attacks. That experience, along with the continuing acts of violence carried out by Palestinians in the West Bank, has convinced many Israelis that peacemaking efforts aimed at returning more land would be foolhardy and that maintaining the status quo is a far safer alternative.
The problem is that the status quo—the occupation of the West Bank and the throttling of Gaza—is intolerable and unacceptable for Palestinians, who see Israel’s mix of repression and diplomatic intransigence as a casus belli. For many Palestinians, only through active resistance, including violence, can they impress upon Israelis that their comfortable status quo is not so comfortable.
As a result, Palestinians fight on, and Israelis respond by tightening their grip. Each side blames the other, and the cycle of violence grinds on.
But this time could be different. Israelis are aghast at the failure of their country’s vaunted national-security institutions. Military superiority, deterrent threats, pervasive surveillance, fences, walls, and checkpoints: these pillars of Israeli defence policy did nothing to prevent Hamas from slaughtering more than 1,400 people on 7 October. Something needs to change.
The same goes for Palestinians. Hamas’s nihilistic terror has brought only widespread death and destruction to Gaza, driving home the need for a change of course. In fact, even before the current spasm of violence, many Gazans were ready for an alternative to Hamas’s extremism.
An opinion survey conducted only days before the attack showed that 67% of Gazans had little or no trust in the Hamas-led government. Moreover, only 27% of the population selected Hamas as their preferred party, and an even smaller share—just 20%—supported Hamas’s call for the destruction of Israel. The vast majority of Gazans preferred a peaceful settlement to the conflict, with more than 50% favouring a two-state solution.
If the current round of warfare simultaneously drives political change in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel, it could lead to a mutual awakening rather than just another turn in a continuing cycle of violence. In Gaza, Hamas’s rule is presumably finished as a result of Israel’s campaign to dismantle it, as well as growing disaffection among the local population.
In the West Bank, the sclerotic Palestinian Authority—widely seen by residents of both the West Bank and Gaza as corrupt and ineffective—staggers on with scant public support. Despite being elected in 2005 to a four-year term, PA President Mahmoud Abbas remains in office; no presidential election has been held since then. Some 80% of Palestinians believe that the 87-year-old president should step down. Clearly, the PA’s leadership is well past its expiration date.
In Israel, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s political career is likely over, too. The deadliest day in the country’s history occurred on his watch—a devastating blow for a politician whose brand had been built on the idea that only his leadership was capable of keeping Israelis secure. It does not help matters that the judicial reforms that his government had been pursuing prior to the war’s outbreak produced paralyzing discord within Israeli society. Netanyahu’s poll numbers are cratering as he deflects blame for the current crisis and as accusations mount that his divisive leadership set the stage for the grave security lapse on 7 October.
To be sure, the prospect of a concurrent change in government in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel could lead to a prolonged period of uncertainty and elevate even more radical forces. But it could also bring to power a new cadre of Israeli and Palestinian leaders who are more willing to give peace a chance.
The latest round of warfare between Israel and Hamas has repercussions beyond the Middle East, precisely why the United States and the broader international community are engaging in intense diplomacy. Looking ahead, the international community should build on its surging engagement in the region to revive a peace process that has become effectively defunct.
Despite making polite references to the need for a two-state solution, American diplomats have done almost nothing to match their words with actions. But the Israel-Palestine conflict is now front and centre: US President Joe Biden flies to wartime Tel Aviv rather than wartime Kyiv. After the current bloodshed comes to an end, American policy makers must take advantage of this opening to drive forward negotiations.
The US will need considerable help, especially since the diplomatic chessboard in the Middle East has been shifting, largely owing to China’s arrival on the scene. In 2023 alone, China brokered the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, hosted Abbas in Beijing to discuss the peace process, and deepened ties with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf monarchies.
The Israel-Hamas war has created an opportunity for the US and China to work together to advance peace prospects in the Middle East—a subject that was high on the agenda during Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to Washington in October. Given that both the US and China seem interested in looking for ways to tame the intensifying geopolitical rivalry between them, teaming up to help advance the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians would be a good place to start.
China’s diplomatic engagement could be particularly important in reining in Iran, which remains a dangerous puppet master in the Middle East, providing funds and arms to Hamas, Hezbollah, and other extremist groups. China is Iran’s largest trading partner, giving the Chinese government considerable leverage over the Islamic Republic. For its part, an isolated Iran looks to China as its diplomatic lifeline.
With talks on normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel on hold, but by no means dead, the US and China might be able to work with a coalition of regional powers to make Iran less willing—and less able—to stoke sectarian cleavages, inflame anti-Israeli forces, and stir up trouble across the region.
Against the backdrop of Hamas’s atrocities and the devastation wrought by Israeli retaliation, a peace settlement seems far off. But no one imagined amid the shock of the 1973 Yom Kippur War that Israel and Egypt would sign a peace treaty six years later. Wars can lead to new beginnings as they confront combatants with harsh realities that demand resolutions.
For Israelis and Palestinians, the harsh reality is that there are around seven million Israeli Jews and seven million Palestinians living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, with the latter on their way to gaining a demographic majority. Under these circumstances, there is no such thing as a one-state solution. Israelis will never allow their country to be governed by a Palestinian majority. At the same time, Israel cannot rule indefinitely over millions of Palestinians living in a stateless limbo.
The only path to peace is a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians live securely alongside each other. The shock of this war might just make both sides recognize that reality.
Charles A. Kupchan is professor of international affairs at Georgetown University and has served on the US National Security Council under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
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https://www.livemint.com/news/the-battles-we-won-a-former-ukrainian-prime-minister-writes/amp-11704046421107.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:33Z
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Mann Ki Baat Live: On Sunday morning, the nation has tune in to catch the last "Mann Ki Baat" of the year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As the country enters a pivotal election year, the content of this radio program is expected to undergo scrutiny, analysis, and debate, influencing discussions on whether the BJP's momentum will persist in the upcoming elections. Stay with TOI for latest updates-Read Less
May you all reach new heights of success in 2024, may you all stay healthy, stay fit, stay immensely happy - this is my prayer. In 2024 we will once again discuss the new achievements of the people of the country. Thank you very much.
My dear countrymen, that's all with me today in 'Mann Ki Baat'. 2024 is just a few hours away. India's achievements are the achievements of every Indian. We have to continuously work for the development of India keeping in mind the Panch Pran.
One thing comes to my mind…could we all share all such creations with a common hash tag? I request you to share your creations on social media with the hashtag Shri Ram Bhajan: PM Modi
My family members, there is excitement and enthusiasm in the entire country in connection with the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. People are expressing their feelings in a multitude of ways: PM Modi
Since 2017, Bhai Jagdish Trivedi ji has spent approximately Rs 8.75 crores on myriad social work: PM
This book is a kind of balance sheet. The complete account of how much income Bhai Jagdish Trivedi ji received from particular programs in the last 6 years and where it was spent is given in the book: PM
There is a tradition of Dairo in Gujarat. Throughout the night, thousands of people join Dairo and acquire knowledge along with entertainment.
The name of Rani Velu Nachiyar is also one among the many great personalities of the country who fought against foreign rule. My brothers and sisters of Tamil Nadu still remember her by the name of Veera Mangai i.e. brave woman: PM Modi
The name of Rani VeluNachiyar is included among those who formed an All-Women Group for the first time in their army. I offer my tributes to these two brave women: PM Modi
In our country, many children used to leave studies midway due to language difficulties: PM Modi
This language (Kudukh) was gradually becoming extinct; to save it, this community has decided to educate children in their own language: PM Modi
I now want to tell you about a tribal village in Jharkhand. This village has taken a unique initiative to provide education to its children in their mother tongue: PM Modi
The day is not far when an address will be delivered in one language and the public will listen to the same speech in their own language in real time. The same will happen with films also when the public will listen to Real Time Translation with the help of AI in the cinema hall: PM
You know that thousands of people had reached Kashi from Tamil Nadu to participate in the Kashi Tamil Sangamam. There I publicly used the Artificial Intelligence AI tool Bhashini for the first time to communicate with them: PM Modi
Friends, everyone has expressed one’s own views but everyone has the same mantra – ‘Stay Healthy Stay Fit’. What could be a bigger resolve than your own fitness to start 2024?: PM Modi
There are many other start-ups in this sector, so I thought of discussing it with a young start-up founder who is doing excellent work in this field: PM Modi
I also want to share with you the experiences of well-known people who talk about physical and mental health. The first message is from Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev ji - Fitness of the Mind : PM
Friends, today there is a lot of discussion about physical health and well-being, but another important aspect related to it is that of mental health: PM
Through India’s efforts, 2023 was celebrated as International Year of Millets. This has given a lot of opportunities to the startups working in this field; these include many start-ups like ‘Keeros Foods’ started from Lucknow, ‘Grand-Maa Millets’ of Prayagraj and ‘Nutraceutical Rich Organic India’. : PM
We just discussed the hope and enthusiasm about India that pervades everywhere - this hope and expectation is very good. When India turns developed, the youth will benefit the most. But the youth will benefit more, when they are fit: PM Modi
Country imbued with spirit of ‘Viksit Bharat', self-reliance; we have to maintain this spirit, momentum in 2024: PM Modi
The record business on Diwali proved that every Indian is giving importance to the mantra of 'Vocal For Local': PM
India is brimming with self-confidence, imbued with the spirit of a developed India; the spirit of self-reliance. We have to maintain the same spirit and momentum in 2024 as well: PM
In 108 episodes of Mann Ki Baat, we have seen many examples of public participation and derived inspiration from them: PM Modi
This is the 108th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat'. In our society, the number 108 has a special importance.
This is the 108th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat'
Mann Ki Baat Live: PM Modi addresses the nation in his last monthly broadcast of 2023
PM Modi to address the nation shortly
Mann Ki Baat Live: In addition, the program will also be live-streamed on the mobile applications, and YouTube channels of the Akashvani, DD News, PMO, and Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
Mann Ki Baat Live: The 108th episode of PM's monthly radio program ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is scheduled to be broadcast on Akashvani and Doordarshan at 11 am.
Mann Ki Baat Live: Mann Ki Baat can be listended again in regional versions at 8 pm on respective regional channels of Akashvani and Doordarshan.
Mann Ki Baat Live: This broadcast will mark his last radio address of the year.
Scheduled to begin at 11 am, the program typically sees the Prime Minister discussing various topics of national and social importance.
Mann Ki Baat Live: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the nation in the 108th edition of his monthly radio program, 'Mann ki Baat'.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/mann-ki-baat-live-updates-pm-narendra-modi-108th-episode-today-31st-dec/liveblog/106413762.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:21:33Z
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How Incred's Aditya Khemka Builds His Portfolio Of Healthcare Stocks
There are five quadrants of healthcare stocks the fund looks at—unbranded generics, branded generics, APIs/CDMO/CMO, hospitals and diagnostics.
Classifying stocks into investible categories, screening companies on qualitative and quantitative parameters, and spotting tailwinds in segment specific businesses is how Incred AMC's Aditya Khemka manages his healthcare-focused portfolio.
Incred Healthcare PMS was started in February 2021 and currently has 15-17 stocks, with a top heavy model. "Top ten positions would be about 70-75% of the portfolio," he said on the Portfolio Manager Show.
Khemka, who has worked in healthcare and pharma sectors for much of his career, said there are five quadrants of healthcare stocks the fund looks at — unbranded generics, branded generics, APIs/CDMO/CMO, hospitals and diagnostics.
"We look at branded generics, hospitals and diagnostics as branded businesses. We like this bucket because India is a brand-conscious market and evidence suggests the more the brand is accepted, the more robust its business model," he said.
On API, CMOs and CDMOs, the sector has tailwinds thanks to the 'China+ strategy' in the active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing segment, Khemka said. But it is volatile and the business model is concentrated revenues with few customers, he said.
"We take a prudent approach here. Buy them after bad quarters and trim positions after good ones to balance composition costs and exit price."
The unbranded generics are seen as commodity trading players. "For the past 7-8 years, the demand has been slower than supply. That has kept us from entering this segment...Its not a bucket we feel will be structurally invested for more than 5 or 10 years."
Business Classification Model
The fund divides companies into three categories — 'Great', 'Good' and 'Ugly', and follows a 10-point framework, consisting of five qualitative and five quantitative parameters on which companies are scored.
Such a framework follows elimination at the start and then choosing the investible stocks to go bottom up. "Less than 500 stocks are considered out of 6,500."
"We buy 'Great' companies at fair value so we can ride on their growth engine. Markets give you 'Good' companies often at a discount. We are not interested in 'Ugly' ones, which have corporate governance issues and are fragile business models," he said.
Bullish Bets For 2024
Explaining Incred's position for 2024, Khemka said diagnostics would be a big bet, which was neglected post-Covid. "We have a good entry point. These are businesses we can extrapolate over the next 30-40 years and the profitability has been restated to normal."
Secondly, branded generics. "Such companies do business in India and shipping costs are not that relevant to them, compared to global players," he said, noting that disruption in shipping lines in the Red Sea spurring trade concerns.
"They are taking some price increases. China supplying chemicals at a steady pace is keeping costs low. This will help expand margins," he said.
Watch the full conversation here:
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https://www.ndtvprofit.com/markets/how-increds-aditya-khemka-builds-his-portfolio-of-healthcare-stocks
| 2024-01-01T02:21:36Z
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SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wrapped up the year with fresh threats of a nuclear attack on Seoul and orders for a military arsenal build-up to prepare for a war that can “break out any time” on the peninsula, state media reported Sunday.
Kim lambasted the United States during a lengthy speech at the end of five days of year-end party meetings that set his country’s military, political and economic policy decisions for 2024.
The meeting announced plans for further military development in the coming year, including launching three more spy satellites, building unmanned drones and developing electronic warfare capabilities, as well as strengthening nuclear and missile forces, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
This year, Pyongyang successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite, enshrined its status as a nuclear power in its constitution and test-fired the most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its arsenal.
Kim accused the United States of posing “various forms of military threat” and ordered his armed forces to maintain the “overwhelming war response capability”, according to KCNA’s account of the meeting that ended on Saturday.
The meeting concluded that it is a “fait accompli that a war may break out on the Korean peninsula any time due to the enemies’ reckless moves for invading the DPRK”, KCNA said, using the acronym of the North’s official name.
In an effort to deter Pyongyang, Washington deployed a nuclear-powered submarine in the South Korean port city of Busan this month and flew its long-range bombers in drills with Seoul and Tokyo.
The North has described the deployment of Washington’s strategic weapons, such as B-52 bombers, in joint drills on the Korean peninsula as “intentional nuclear war provocative moves”.
The military “should rapidly respond to any possible nuclear crisis and put continuous spurs to the preparations for a great event to suppress the whole territory of south Korea by mobilizing all physical means and forces including nuclear forces in contingency”, Kim said.
Kim told the meeting he would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, noting the “uncontrollable crisis” that he said was triggered by Seoul and Washington.
Inter-Korean relations have deteriorated to a low point this year, with Pyongyang’s spy satellite launch prompting Seoul to partially suspend a 2018 military agreement aimed at defusing tensions.
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281393/n-koreas-kim-orders-military-to-prepare-for-possible-war
| 2024-01-01T02:21:36Z
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Top 25 College Football Streams & TV Channel Info | Bowl Season
Published: Dec. 25, 2023 at 3:46 PM EST|Updated: 2 hours ago
Among the best games on the 2023 bowl game schedule is the No. 3 Texas Longhorns squaring off against the No. 2 Washington Huskies in the Sugar Bowl.
Find what you need regarding how to watch this weekend of college football right here. Check out the links below.
How to Watch AP Top 25 Games
No. 24 James Madison Dukes at Air Force Falcons
- Time: 3:30 PM ET
- Date: Saturday, December 23
- Venue: Amon G. Carter Stadium
- TV Channel: ABC
- Live stream: Fubo
- Favorite: Air Force (-2)
Virginia Tech Hokies at No. 23 Tulane Green Wave
- Time: 2:00 PM ET
- Date: Wednesday, December 27
- Venue: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live stream: Fubo
- Favorite: Virginia Tech (-11.5)
No. 16 Louisville Cardinals at USC Trojans
- Time: 8:00 PM ET
- Date: Wednesday, December 27
- Venue: Petco Park
- TV Channel: FOX
- Live stream: Fubo
- Favorite: Louisville (-4.5)
Texas A&M Aggies at No. 22 Oklahoma State Cowboys
- Time: 9:00 PM ET
- Date: Wednesday, December 27
- Venue: NRG Stadium
- TV Channel: SECN
- Live stream: Fubo
- Favorite: Oklahoma State (-3.5)
No. 17 SMU Mustangs at Boston College Eagles
- Time: 11:00 AM ET
- Date: Thursday, December 28
- Venue: Fenway Park
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live stream: Fubo
- Favorite: SMU (-13)
No. 19 NC State Wolfpack at Kansas State Wildcats
- Time: 5:45 PM ET
- Date: Thursday, December 28
- Venue: Camping World Stadium
- TV Channel: ACCN
- Live stream: Fubo
- Favorite: Kansas State (-3)
No. 14 Arizona Wildcats at No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners
- Time: 9:15 PM ET
- Date: Thursday, December 28
- Venue: Alamodome
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live stream: Fubo
- Favorite: Arizona (-2.5)
No. 21 Oregon State Beavers at No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Time: 2:00 PM ET
- Date: Friday, December 29
- Venue: Sun Bowl Stadium
- TV Channel: CBS
- Live stream: Fubo
- Favorite: Notre Dame (-5.5)
No. 9 Missouri Tigers at No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes
- Time: 8:00 PM ET
- Date: Friday, December 29
- Venue: AT&T Stadium
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Favorite: Ohio State (-4)
No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels at No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions
- Time: 12:00 PM ET
- Date: Saturday, December 30
- Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Favorite: Penn State (-6)
No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs at No. 4 Florida State Seminoles
- Time: 4:00 PM ET
- Date: Saturday, December 30
- Venue: Hard Rock Stadium
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Favorite: Georgia (-22.5)
Wisconsin Badgers at No. 13 LSU Tigers
- Time: 12:00 PM ET
- Date: Monday, January 1
- Venue: Raymond James Stadium
- TV Channel: SECN
- Live stream: Fubo
- Favorite: LSU (-8.5)
No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes at No. 25 Tennessee Volunteers
- Time: 1:00 PM ET
- Date: Monday, January 1
- Venue: Camping World Stadium
- TV Channel: ABC
- Live stream: Fubo
- Favorite: Tennessee (-5.5)
No. 18 Liberty Flames at No. 8 Oregon Ducks
- Time: 1:00 PM ET
- Date: Monday, January 1
- Venue: State Farm Stadium
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Favorite: Oregon (-17.5)
No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 1 Michigan Wolverines
- Time: 5:00 PM ET
- Date: Monday, January 1
- Venue: Rose Bowl
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Favorite: Michigan (-1.5)
No. 3 Texas Longhorns at No. 2 Washington Huskies
- Time: 8:45 PM ET
- Date: Monday, January 1
- Venue: Caesars Superdome
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Favorite: Texas (-3.5)
Bet on Top 25 games today with BetMGM!
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https://www.wistv.com/sports/betting/2023/12/23/2023-bowl-games-top-25-college-football-live-stream-107/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:36Z
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SAO PAULO: Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin on Sunday unveiled government measures aimed at providing companies with tax benefits so they can buy new machinery and invest in transportation.
The measures are part of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s plan to “re-industrialize” Latin America’s largest economy, where industrial output still lags behind pre-pandemic levels and is more than 18% below its 2011 high.
The Lula administration has pledged to boost industrialization by incentivizing “green” projects including flex-fuel and electric vehicles, renewable power and biofuels.
Alckmin told a press conference that the first measure was an executive order establishing the “Mover” program, which lowers income taxes levied on transportation companies for them to invest in new technologies, research and development.
The program is set to provide benefits totaling 3.5 billion reais ($721.34 million) next year but will gradually increase until reaching 4.1 billion in 2028, said Alckmin, who is also Lula’s minister of Development and Industry.
“This will attract investments to Brazil,” he said. “Our problem is low investment and low productivity. We need to act to increase both.” An executive order means the program takes effect immediately but is required to receive Congress approval within four months.
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281394/brazil-unveils-tax-benefits-for-firms-to-boost-investments
| 2024-01-01T02:21:37Z
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China: President Xi Jinping vows to strengthen economic recovery after ‘tough’ year
Chinese President Xi Jinping acknowledges economic challenges and job difficulties facing the country in his annual new year address.
Chinese President Xi Jinping during his annual New Year address, pledged to strengthen economic momentum and job creation. He acknowledged that some companies and citizens had endured a difficult year 2023.
Also read: 'China's 'reunification' with Taiwan inevitable': Xi Jinping's big claim during New Year's speech
This marks a rare admission from China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong of domestic challenges facing the country. Xi Jinping conveyed his message to 1.4 billion people in China as the most anticipated post-pandemic economic boom failed to materialise in 2023. China experienced a peak in youth unemployment during the summer, reaching a record high, after which the government stopped publishing figures.
Also read: China to ease visa restrictions for US visitors from 1 January. Details
He used this address to glorify his nation’s achievements and admitted that some “enterprises had a tough time" and “people had difficulty finding jobs and meeting basic needs." He listed down some domestically produced projects including the C919 passenger jet, a made-in-China cruise ship, Chinese space programs, manned submersibles and electric cars.
Also read: The India-China dynamic seems set to lead an age of meta-reason
In a televised address on Sunday, Xi Jinping said, “We will consolidate and strengthen the momentum of economic recovery, and work to achieve steady and long-term economic development."
He further said that the government’s goal is “delivering a better life for the people," and pledged to provide better education and career opportunities for the young and healthcare for the elderly. “All Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," he added.
Also read: Indian stock market: 6 things that changed for market over weekend - Gift Nifty, FPI buying to China’s factory activity
He also said that China's "reunification" with Taiwan is inevitable ahead of the general elections in the Chinese-claimed island to elect a new leader, reported Reuters. "The reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability," the Chinese President said. “China will surely be reunified," he added. "Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," Xi Jinping said.
Also read: China’s liquidity boost cheers markets with PBOC’s massive fund injection; economists eye rate cut
In 2024, China is anticipated to set a growth target of approximately 5%, aiming to steer clear of the self-fulfilling negative cycle that a lower number could instigate. However, sustaining this level of growth poses a greater challenge due to the higher comparison base.
China's economy displays signs of weakness as factory activity has been shrinking which dropped to the lowest level in six months in December. The crackdown on China's gaming industry led to $80 billion in losses. Annual purchases of Chinese stocks by Foreign investors were the lowest in 2023 while higher interest rates overseas led to capital outflows.
(With inputs from agencies)
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https://www.livemint.com/news/world/china-president-xi-jinping-vows-to-strengthen-economic-recovery-after-tough-year-11704071034636.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:39Z
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POONCH/JAMMU: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti Sunday demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh, a government job and a residential plot for the families of three civilians who were found dead a day after being picked by the security forces following a terrorist ambush on two Army vehicles. Mufti alleged that despite visits by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande no action has been taken to deliver
justice to the victims.
"I urge the Lieutenant Governor to ask the defence minister to provide a compensation of Rs 50 lakh, a government job, and a roadside plot to the next of kin of the slain civilians. Injured individuals should be given Rs 5 lakh compensation," Mufti told reporters.
She demanded a judicial probe into the incident.
The three civilians picked up by the Army for questioning after the terrorist ambushed two Army vehicles on December 21 in Poonch were found dead Friday last week.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has announced monetary compensation and jobs to the families. It said the medico-legal formalities were conducted and legal action on the matter has been initiated.
The Army has ordered a thorough internal investigation into the civilian deaths and said it is committed to extending full support and cooperation in the conduct of the investigation.
Mufti questioned the ongoing inquiry. "We have seen the fate of probe reports in past incidents. Following the inquiry report of three youths killed by the Army in Rajouri, the officers admitted to fake killings but were let off. What probe will you do in this?" she questioned.
Mufti pointed out that an FIR was lodged against unknown persons in the latest case. "People are identifying police and army personnel, so how can they be unknown? If you don't punish the culprits, you are promoting the criminalisation of the system. How can justice be served?" she alleged.
Mufti also said she was disallowed from meeting the affected families and the injured people, despite attempts.
"I tried to visit them. I was put under house arrest. Later, I was told you can go, as BJP J&K chief Ravinder Raina and NC leadership were allowed to the area. But they prevented me from going there. They wanted to hide atrocities committed on them. I wanted to visit hospital to meet the injured. Then I wanted to visit Bangie from where these people were picked up. I was prevented from moving forward on the pretext of search operation," she said.
She stressed the need for empathetic engagement with the affected families and open dialogue to effectively resolve grievances.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/mehbooba-demands-rs-50-lakh-compensation-jobs-for-kin-of-civilians-killed-in-poonch/articleshow/106422849.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:21:40Z
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50 Swedish kronor to Tajikistani somonis
Convert SEK to TJS at the real exchange rate
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https://wise.com/in/currency-converter/sek-to-tjs-rate?amount=50
| 2024-01-01T02:21:39Z
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Stock Market Holidays 2024: Full List Of BSE, NSE Trading Holidays
Check the full list of trading holidays in 2024. The lists included 14 trading holidays and another five that fall on weekends.
The Indian stock market will be closed for trading for a total of 14 days in 2024, one day more than in 2023.
In January 2024, Dalal Street will have only a single holiday on January 26 for Republic Day, according to the calendar released by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
February has no designated share market holidays, but March has three holidays on the 8th, 25th and 28th, corresponding to Maha Shivaratri, Holi and Good Friday.
In April, the stock market will remain closed on the 10th, 14th, 17th and 21 in celebration of Eid Al Fitr, Ambedkar Jayanti, Ram Navami and Mahavir Jayanti.
A solitary holiday has been earmarked the following month on May 1, Maharashtra Day. On June 17, the market takes a break for Bakri Id/Eid ul-Adha.
July hosts only one holiday on the 17th, marking Muharram, while August sees a single holiday on the 15th for Independence Day. September holds one holiday on the 7th for Ganesh Chaturthi.
October features a holiday on October 2 for Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti and another on October 13 for Dussehra/Dasara.
November commences with market closure on the 1st and 2nd for Diwali, followed by a holiday on November 15 for Guru Nanak's Birthday.
In December, the stock market observes its final holiday of the year on December 25 in celebration of Christmas.
Full List Of Stock Market Holidays 2024
January 26, Friday: Republic Day
March 08, Friday: Maha Shivaratri
March 25, Monday: Holi
March 29, Friday: Good Friday
April 10, Wednesday: Eid-Ul-Fitr (Ramzan Eid)
April 17, Wednesday: Ram Navami
May 01, Wednesday: Maharashtra Day
June 17, Monday: Bakri Eid
July 17, Wednesday: Moharram
August 15, Thursday: Independence Day
October 02, Wednesday: Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti
November 01, Friday: Diwali-Laxmi Pujan*
November 15, Friday: Gurunanak Jayanti
December 25, Wednesday: Christmas
*Muhurat Trading will be conducted on Friday, November 01, 2024. Timings of Muhurat Trading shall be notified subsequently.
Holidays That Fall On Saturday And Sunday.
From the above list, these are the days which fall on Weekends
April 14, Sunday: Dr.Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti
April 21, Sunday: Mahavir Jayanti
September 07, Saturday: Ganesh Chaturthi
October 13, Sunday: Dussehra
November 02, Saturday: Diwali-Balipratipada
Kindly note, that NSE remains closed on all Saturdays and Sundays, including these festival holidays.
The Exchanges may alter/change any of the above holidays, for which a separate circular shall be issued in advance.
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https://www.ndtvprofit.com/markets/stock-market-holidays-2024-full-list-of-bse-nse-trading-holidays-npc
| 2024-01-01T02:21:42Z
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With the regular season behind us, it's time for bowl season and the College Football Playoff. The postseason slate includes eight games that feature teams from the Big Ten. To ensure you catch all of the action, see the column below for details on how to watch.
Watch college football all season long on Fubo and ESPN+!
Big Ten Games on TV This Week
Get your fix this season by signing up for Fubo and ESPN+!
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https://www.wistv.com/sports/betting/2023/12/24/bowl-season-big-ten-college-football-live-stream-51/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:43Z
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SINGAPORE: Singapore’s economy avoided a recession and expanded 1.2 percent in 2023, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday, warning however that geopolitical risks will weigh on next year’s growth.
The affluent city-state’s economic performance is often seen as a barometer of the global environment because of its reliance on international trade.
“We made 1.2 percent growth this year, avoiding a recession,” Lee said in his New Year’s message.
For next year, growth is projected to come in at 1.0-3.0 percent “but much will depend on the external environment,” he added, pointing to the continuing war in Ukraine and Israel’s conflict with Hamas.
The economy has been hurt by softer global demand for its exports, with the return of air travel after the Covid-19 pandemic boosting domestic growth.
“For some years to come, we must expect the external environment to be less favourable to our security and prosperity. Geopolitical uncertainties will continue weighing on the global economy,” he said.
“In our own region, there are tensions and risks over rival claims in the South China Sea, and because of the cross-Strait situation. These can affect confidence in the region, and hence our growth.”
Maritime tensions have risen recently in the sea after China and the Philippines traded blame for a series of incidents in the area, including a collision between their vessels.
Lee also cited climate change as another challenge for the low-lying island-state. “We are already feeling its effects,” he warned.
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281395/singapore-economy-grows-12pc-in-2023-pm-lee
| 2024-01-01T02:21:43Z
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep and Kerala on January 2-3, an official statement released by Prime Minister's Office said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Modi will Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu where he will attend the 38th Convocation Ceremony of Bharathidasan University. PM Modi is the Chief Guest for the event.
At around 12 Noon, at a public programme in Tiruchirappalli, Prime Minister will inaugurate, dedicate the nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 19,850 crore related to aviation, rail, road, oil and gas, shipping and higher education sectors.
"At the public programme in Tiruchirappalli, Prime Minister will inaugurate the New Terminal Building at Tiruchirappalli International Airport. Developed at a cost of more than 1100 crore, the two-level new international terminal building has the capacity to serve more than 4.4 million passengers annually and about 3,500 passengers during peak hours. The new terminal hosts state- of -the- art amenities and features for passenger convenience," PMO said.
Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation multiple railway projects worth. These include the project for doubling of 41.4 Km Salem-Magnesite Junction-Omalur-Mettur Dam section; project for doubling of rail line section of 160 Km from Madurai - Tuticorin; and three projects for rail line electrification viz Tiruchchirappalli- Manamadurai- Virudhunagar; Virudhunagar - Tenkasi Junction; Sengottai - Tenkasi Junction - Tirunelveli- Tiruchendur.
"The rail projects will help in improving the rail capacity to carry freight and passengers and contribute to economic development and employment generation in Tamil Nadu," PMO said in a statement.
Prime Minister will dedicate five road sector projects which includes 39 km four lane road for Trichy - Kallagam section of NH-81; 60 km long 4/2-laning of Kallagam - Meensurutti section of NH-81; 29 km four-lane road of Chettikulam - Natham section of NH-785; 80 km long two lane with paved shoulder of Karaikudi - Ramanathapuram section of NH-536; and 44 km long four laning of section of NH-179A Salem - Tirupathur - Vaniyambadi Road.
Also Read
"The road projects will facilitate safe and faster travel of people of the region and improve connectivity of industrial and commercial centres like Trichy, Srirangam, Chidambaram, Rameshwaram, Dhanushkodi, Uthirakosamangai, Devipattinam, Erwadi, Madurai, among others," PMO said.
Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the General Cargo Berth-II (Automobile Export/Import Terminal-II & Capital Dredging Phase-V) of Kamarajar Port.
"The inauguration of General Cargo Berth-II will be a step towards strengthening the country's trade which will help boost economic growth and employment generation," PMO said.
Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the Demonstration Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant (DFRP) at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam.
"DFRP, developed at a cost of Rs 400 crore, is equipped with a unique design, which is the only of its kind in the world and is capable of reprocessing both carbide and oxide fuels discharged from the fast reactors. It is entirely designed by Indian scientists and signifies a crucial step towards building large commercial-scale fast reactor fuel reprocessing plants," an official statement issued by PMO said.
Afterwards, around 3:15 PM, Prime Minister will reach Agatti, Lakshadweep where he will address a public function.
Prime Minister Office said that on January 3, 2024, at around 12 Noon, PM Modi will reach Kavaratti, Lakshadweep, where he will dedicate to nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects in Lakshadweep related to sectors such as telecommunications, drinking water, solar power and health, among others.
According to PMO, Prime Minister had resolved to overcome the challenge of slow internet speed in the Lakshadweep island by initiating the Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fiber Connection (KLI - SOFC) project and made announcement regarding the same in the Independence Day speech in August 2020 at Red Fort.
PMO said that the project has now been completed and will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister.
"This will lead to an increase of internet speed for more than 100 times (from 1.7 Gbps to 200 Gbps). For the first time since independence, Lakshadweep will be connected through Submarine Optic Fibre Cable," PMO said.
Prime Minister will dedicate to the Nation the Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) plant at Kadmat.
"This will produce 1.5 lakh litres of clean drinking water every day. Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) in all households of Agatti and Minicoy islands," PMO said.
Other projects which are dedicated to Nation include the solar power plant at Kavaratti, which is the first ever battery backed solar power project of Lakshadweep.
PMO said that it will help to reduce dependency on Diesel based Power Generation plant; and the new administrative block and 80 Men barrack in India Reserve Battalion (IRBn) Complex at Kavaratti.
Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the renovation of Primary Health Care facility in Kalpeni and the construction of five model Anganwadi Centres (Nand Ghars) in the five islands of Androth, Chetlat, Kadmat, Agatti and Minicoy.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/pm-modi-to-visit-tn-lakshadweep-kerala-on-jan-2-3-to-attend-programmes-123123100860_1.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:44Z
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Chief Justice Roberts casts a wary eye on the uses of artificial intelligence in the federal courts
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts on Sunday turned his focus to the promise, and shortcomings, of artificial intelligence in the federal courts, in an annual report that made no mention of Supreme Court ethics or legal controversies involving Donald Trump.
Describing artificial intelligence as the “latest technological frontier,” Roberts discussed the pros and cons of computer-generated content in the legal profession. His remarks come just a few days after the latest instance of AI-generated fake legal citations making their way into official court records, in a case involving ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
“Always a bad idea,” Roberts wrote in his year-end report, noting that “any use of AI requires caution and humility.”
At the same time, though, the chief justice acknowledged that AI can make it much easier for people without much money to access the courts. “These tools have the welcome potential to smooth out any mismatch between available resources and urgent needs in our court system,” Roberts wrote.
The report came at the end of a year in which a series of stories questioned the ethical practices of the justices and the court responded to critics by adopting its first code of conduct. Many of those stories focused on Justice Clarence Thomas and his failure to disclose travel, other hospitality and additional financial ties with wealthy conservative donors including Harlan Crow and the Koch brothers. But Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor also have been under scrutiny.
The country also is entering an the beginning of an election year that seems likely to enmesh the court in some way in the ongoing criminal cases against Trump and efforts to keep the Republican former president off the 2024 ballot.
Along with his eight colleagues, Roberts almost never discusses cases that are before the Supreme Court or seem likely to get there. In past reports, he has advocated for enhanced security and salary increases for federal judges, praised judges and their aides for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and highlighted other aspects of technological changes in the courts.
Roberts once famously compared judges to umpires who call balls and strikes, but don’t make the rules. In his latest report, he turned to a different sport, tennis, to make the point that technology won’t soon replace judges.
At many tennis tournaments, optical technology, rather than human line judges, now determines “whether 130 mile per hour serves are in or out. These decisions involve precision to the millimeter. And there is no discretion; the ball either did or did not hit the line. By contrast, legal determinations often involve gray areas that still require application of human judgment,” Roberts wrote.
Looking ahead warily to the growing use of artificial intelligence in the courts, Roberts wrote: “I predict that human judges will be around for a while. But with equal confidence I predict that judicial work — particularly at the trial level — will be significantly affected by AI.”
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kxii.com/2024/01/01/chief-justice-roberts-casts-wary-eye-uses-artificial-intelligence-federal-courts/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:44Z
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Another storm expected for next few days in Bay Area
Don't put away the umbrella just yet.
After a sunny New Year's Day, forecasters say another Pacific storm will bring more rain to the Bay Area from Tuesday through Thursday.
The National Weather Service said Sunday to expect a half-inch to an inch of rain inland and 1.5 to 2 inches near the coast. The bulk of the rain will move through Tuesday night into Wednesday.
Strong winds could down trees and branches and cause power outages.
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https://www.ktvu.com/news/another-storm-expected-for-next-few-days-in-bay-area
| 2024-01-01T02:21:44Z
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Gazebo Gazette
Governor Tate Reeves announced a series of new appointments at the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA). Reeves ap- pointed William “Bill” Cork as Executive Director/Chief Economic Development Officer, PJ Waldrop as Chief Operations Officer, and Steven McDevitt as Chief Investment Officer.
“Mississippi achieved record breaking lev- els of economic development in recent years, and we have no plans to slow down anytime soon,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “We are committed to expanding our economy, driving further growth, raising wages, and bringing in more jobs for the people of Mississippi. This team will be key to accomplishing that mission, and I have the utmost confidence in them.”
Bill Cork has been the MDA Deputy Director and Chief Economic Development Officer since 2020. In this role he led the teams responsible for Foreign Direct Investment and Domestic Recruiting, International Trade, Small and Minority Business, Entrepreneurship, Community Services Support and Aspire Program, Research, and the State Energy Office.
Prior to serving at MDA, Cork’s 30- year economic and industrial development career included roles as the CEO of the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission, the CEO of the Texarkana, Texas Regional Chamber of Commerce, the CEO of TexAmericas Center, New Boston TX and owner of his own consulting and real estate companies. Cork also led sales operations for Sempra Energy Solutions and ICF Consulting after working on military base redevelopment with the U.S. Army Corps of En- gineers, Construction Engineering Research Laboratories throughout the 1990’s.
Cork earned a master’s degree in urban and regional planning, with a concentration in economic development and fiscal packaging, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He and his wife of 39 years, Nina, have 4 children and 6 grandchildren.
“Serving as part of a record setting and nationally recognized economic development organization over the last three and a half years is already a career highlight,” said Bill Cork. “The invitation to lead this amazing group of professionals, as part of Governor Tate Reeves’ leadership team, is truly humbling. I look forward to serving the great state of Mississippi in this new role and building upon the amazing momentum we are achieving together.”
Paul Jerrod “PJ” Waldrop has served as the Director of the Governor’s Office of Military Affairs since the office’s creation in 2021.
In this role he assisted Governor Tate Reeves with the creation of the Defense Communities Development Council and has led efforts to attract new defense missions to the state as well as strengthen the existing defense missions.
He worked with the Defense Community Development Council, the Installation Commander’s Council, the Mississippi National Guard, and the Mississippi Congressional Delegation on a variety of projects to support our defense economy.
Previously, Waldrop spent 15 years working as a staffer in the United States Senate advising three different senators, including Senator Thad Cochran.
During his time in the Senate, he served as a Legislative Director and Deputy Chief of Staff overseeing legislative and operations staff. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Delta State University and a master’s degree in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi. Waldrop currently lives in Brandon, Mississippi with his wife Rebecca and son Ryland.
Steven McDevitt has served as the Deputy Commissioner of Finance at the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS) since 2020. In this role he has overseen the agency’s accounting, budget, human resources, purchasing, property and information technology operations. He has also been responsible for the Office of Public Safety Planning which issues grants to local governments throughout the state of Mississippi.
Prior to joining DPS, McDevitt worked 12 years in state government. During that time, he served in multiple financial positions, including Deputy Director and Bond Advisory Director for the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration. McDevitt is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Mississippi and holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Mississippi College. He currently lives in Madison with his wife Kristin and two children.
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https://thegazebogazette.com/2023/12/governor-announces-new-appointments-to-mda/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:45Z
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While most people focus on making their New Year’s resolutions all about themselves, sometimes, it’s a good idea to make them for your relationships.
Setting goals for ourselves and looking to expand upon our careers and overall well-being is something we should all be doing at the start of a new year. But if you’re tired of putting so much pressure on yourself to change, start thinking about ways to improve your relationship in the new year.
If you want to put a new spark in your relationship in 2024, here are some relationship resolutions that will help you out.
Try new things together
This is an especially great goal if you’re in the early stages of a romantic relationship. Sticking to the same routines with a partner gets boring after a while.
One of the best ways to learn new things about your partner is to try new things with them. Attend a cooking class together, travel somewhere neither of you have been to, learn a new skill together, etc.
Show more affection
With the world we’re living in, we could all use a little extra comfort and affection as we enter the new year. If your partner is comfortable with touch and physical affection, try showing them a little more this year!
Give them a little kiss on the cheek or a wholesome hug when they least expect it, or hold their hand through mundane activities. It’s a sweet way to let them know you appreciate them and have their back.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
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https://www.chipchick.com/2023/12/if-you-want-to-put-a-new-spark-in-your-relationship-in-2024-here-are-some-resolutions-that-will-help-you-out.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:44Z
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US Navy choppers fire at Yemen's Houthi rebels, kill several in latest Red Sea shipping attack
Beirut, Jan 1 (AP) The US military said Sunday that its forces opened fire on Houthi rebels after they attacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, killing several of them in an escalation of the maritime conflict linked to the war in Gaza. “We're going to act in a self-defence going forward,” a White House official said.
In a series of statements, the US Central Command said the crew of the USS Gravely destroyer first shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou late Saturday, after the vessel reported getting hit by a missile earlier that evening as it sailed through the Southern Red Sea.
Four small boats then attacked the same cargo ship with small arms fire early Sunday and rebels tried to board the vessel, the US Navy said.
Next, the USS Gravely and helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier responded to the Maersk Hangzhou's distress call and issued verbal warnings to the attackers, who responded by firing on the helicopters.
“The US Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defence,” sinking three of the four boats and killing the people on board while the fourth boat fled the area, the US Central Command said. No harm to US personnel or equipment, or casualties from the cargo ship, were reported.
The Houthis acknowledged that 10 of their fighters were killed in the confrontation and warned of consequences.
In Washington, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council sidestepped a question about the possibility of a preemptive strike against the Houthis to safeguard commercial shipping in the vital waterway.
“I won't say what's on or off the table right now,” John Kirby told ABC's “Good Morning America,” adding, “We're going to do what we have to do to protect shipping.” He said the United States has “significant national security interests in the region” and “we're going to put the kind of forces we need in the region to protect those interests and we're going to act in self-defence going forward.” He said the US has made it clear to the Houthis that "we take these threats seriously and we're going to make the right decisions going forward".
The events surrounding the Maersk Hangzhou represented the 23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping since November 19, the Central Command said. It was the first time the US Navy said its personnel had killed Houthi fighters since the Red Sea attacks started.
For over a month, Iran-backed Houthis have claimed attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports. They say their attacks aim to end the Israeli air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip that was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas' October 7 attack in southern Israel.
However, the links to the ships targeted in the rebel assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue.
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee called on President Joe Biden “to look at what actions need to be taken in Yemen to be able to prevent the Houthis to continue to put commercial and military vessels at risk.” Noting Iran's support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, told ABC's 'This Week' that the Biden administration should be more aggressive "in responding to escalation by Iran".
The Denmark-based shipping giant Maersk, owner of Maersk Hangzhou, said Sunday it would suspend shipping through the Red Sea again after the two attacks on its freighter.
“In light of the (most recent) incident — and to give time to investigate the details of the incident and assess the security situation further — it has been decided that all transits through the area will be postponed for the next 48 hours,” Maersk was quoted as saying by the Danish public broadcaster DR.
On Saturday, the top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East said Houthi rebels have shown no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea even as more nations join the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic begins to pick up.
Earlier this month, Washington announced the establishment of a new international coalition to protect vessels travelling through the waterway. The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain are also part of the new maritime security mission.
Since the Pentagon announced Operation Prosperity Guardian to counter the attacks just over 10 days ago, 1,200 merchant ships have travelled through the Red Sea region, and none had been hit by drone or missile strikes, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper told The Associated Press in an interview on Saturday. AP
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https://thefederal.com/category/international/us-navy-choppers-fire-at-yemens-houthi-rebels-kill-several-in-latest-red-sea-shipping-attack-104953
| 2024-01-01T02:21:44Z
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Chinese President Xi Jinping during his annual New Year address, pledged to strengthen economic momentum and job creation. He acknowledged that some companies and citizens had endured a difficult year 2023.
Also read: 'China's 'reunification' with Taiwan inevitable': Xi Jinping's big claim during New Year's speech
This marks a rare admission from China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong of domestic challenges facing the country. Xi Jinping conveyed his message to 1.4 billion people in China as the most anticipated post-pandemic economic boom failed to materialise in 2023. China experienced a peak in youth unemployment during the summer, reaching a record high, after which the government stopped publishing figures.
Also read: China to ease visa restrictions for US visitors from 1 January. Details
He used this address to glorify his nation’s achievements and admitted that some “enterprises had a tough time" and “people had difficulty finding jobs and meeting basic needs." He listed down some domestically produced projects including the C919 passenger jet, a made-in-China cruise ship, Chinese space programs, manned submersibles and electric cars.
Also read: The India-China dynamic seems set to lead an age of meta-reason
In a televised address on Sunday, Xi Jinping said, “We will consolidate and strengthen the momentum of economic recovery, and work to achieve steady and long-term economic development."
He further said that the government’s goal is “delivering a better life for the people," and pledged to provide better education and career opportunities for the young and healthcare for the elderly. “All Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," he added.
Also read: Indian stock market: 6 things that changed for market over weekend - Gift Nifty, FPI buying to China’s factory activity
He also said that China's "reunification" with Taiwan is inevitable ahead of the general elections in the Chinese-claimed island to elect a new leader, reported Reuters. "The reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability," the Chinese President said. “China will surely be reunified," he added. "Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," Xi Jinping said.
Also read: China’s liquidity boost cheers markets with PBOC’s massive fund injection; economists eye rate cut
In 2024, China is anticipated to set a growth target of approximately 5%, aiming to steer clear of the self-fulfilling negative cycle that a lower number could instigate. However, sustaining this level of growth poses a greater challenge due to the higher comparison base.
China's economy displays signs of weakness as factory activity has been shrinking which dropped to the lowest level in six months in December. The crackdown on China's gaming industry led to $80 billion in losses. Annual purchases of Chinese stocks by Foreign investors were the lowest in 2023 while higher interest rates overseas led to capital outflows.
(With inputs from agencies)
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https://www.livemint.com/news/world/china-president-xi-jinping-vows-to-strengthen-economic-recovery-after-tough-year/amp-11704071034636.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:45Z
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IMPHAL: Suspected militants shot and killed a village guard at Kadangband Part II area in
Manipur's Imphal West district around 3.30am on Saturday, police said. The deceased, identified as 31-year-old Ningombam Jamesbond, was guarding the village with other volunteers when he was fatally shot from a nearby hill.
The attack came 26 days after 13 men were killed in Tengnoupal, bordering Myanmar.
"We have been spending sleepless nights here since the ethnic clashes broke out. Today's attack happened despite the presence of Assam Rifles, CRPF and some state forces," a Kadangband Meira Paibi (woman vigilante) leader said. Kadangband, on the fringes of Imphal West district, shares a boundary with Kangpokpi district that has been recording violence since May 3.
Locals said Jamesbond was a sports journalist with a vernacular daily, Naharolgi Thoudang, some time ago. CM N Biren Singh condemned the killing. "The matter is under probe and combing operation is on to nab culprits," he said.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/militants-gun-down-village-guard-in-imphal-west/articleshow/106409668.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:21:46Z
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500 Swedish kronor to Tajikistani somonis
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https://wise.com/in/currency-converter/sek-to-tjs-rate?amount=500
| 2024-01-01T02:21:46Z
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Astana Hub set a task to attract KZT 4.8 bln of investments
"Astana Hub shows good results. We have already held three acceleration programs to select 47 startups and attract more than KZT 180 mln of investments," the Minister told the expanded board meeting.
According to him, this year the Astana Hub is assigned to attract KZT 4.8 bln of investments.
He has encharged Vice Minister Dinara Shcheglova jointly with Zerde Holding to elaborate the corresponding roadmap.
He also stressed that work aimed at improvement of legislation will be continued further. "In particular, the draft law on amendments to some legislative acts of Kazakhstan on regulation of digital technologies has been developed. The law is meant to lay foundation for regulation of sooner adoption of technologies such as blockchain, Big Data, AI, robotization," Abayev resumed.
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https://en.inform.kz/amp/astana-hub-set-a-task-to-attract-kzt-4-8-bln-of-investments_a3500099/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:46Z
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Treasuries Post First Gain Since 2020 As Fed Pivot Gets Traction
Fed policymakers began to signal that additional rate increases appeared unnecessary.
(Bloomberg) -- The US Treasury market posted its first annual gain since 2020 as slowing growth and inflation bolstered views that the Federal Reserve’s campaign of interest-rate increases is likely over.
The result stands in sharp contrast to the market’s performance for most of 2023. Benchmark yields were propelled to multiyear highs in October by the prospect that monetary policy would remain tight indefinitely. Growth in the supply of Treasury debt also spurred investors to demand higher rates of return. At its worst point on Oct. 19, year-to-date losses reached 3.3%.
But then a slower pace of employment growth was sustained and inflation rates ebbed to levels last seen in 2021. Fed policymakers began to signal that additional rate increases appeared unnecessary. At the same time, the Treasury Department slowed the pace of its auction-size increases, and crude oil and gasoline prices declined.
As measured by the Bloomberg US Treasury Index, the market’s gains in December and November were among its biggest in years. Short-maturity yields, more sensitive to changes in monetary policy, declined the most, leaving yield-curve spreads steeper or less inverted.
For 2024, many US interest-rate strategists expect that short-maturity yields will continue to decline as the Fed lowers its target for the fed funds rate from 5.25%-5%, with most expecting cumulative cuts of one to two percentage points.
- The Bloomberg US Treasury Index returned 4.1%, its first full-year gain since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic caused a global recession; the best months for the index were November (3.5%), December (3.4%), March (2.9%) and January (2.5%); the worst were February (-2.3%) and September (-2.2%)
- 2023 changes for benchmark yields:
- 2Y -18bp
- 5Y -16bp
- 10Y +0.4bp
- 30Y +6.5bp
- Yields charted a meandering course during the early part of the year as a regional bank crisis in March cast doubt on the economy’s prospects; they began a sustained rise in May as expectations for another Fed rate increase mounted amid strong economic data, stability in regional bank shares and an agreement to suspend the federal debt ceiling
- 10-year yields reached their lowest level of the year, 3.25%, in April and peaked near 5.02% in October
- The Fed raised rates for the last time in July, its 11th increase since March 2022
- Oil and gasoline prices were a factor; WTI crude futures began the year at about $80, peaked in late September near $95 and ended around $72
- Inflation expectations implied by yields on Treasury inflation-protected securities declined, with the five-year breakeven rate reaching lowest level since early 2021
- Actual inflation continued to slow, with the Consumer Price Index up 3.1% y/y in November; core inflation rose 4%
- Expectations for Fed rate changes shifted dramatically after the central bank’s final meeting of the year on Dec. 12-13, which included new quarterly forecasts for the fed funds rate with a median of 4.625% for end-2024, down from 5.125% previously
- Other major sovereign bond markets followed a similar course, with 10-year yields in the UK, Germany and Japan also retreating from year-to-date highs reached during the second half of the year; key central banks around the world also are expected to pivot to rate cuts in 2024
- Frequent large daily swings in yield remained a feature of the landscape, and gauges of volatility and liquidity reached historically high levels
- Some of the biggest daily moves occurred on:
- March 10 (Silicon Valley Bank collapses)
- March 13 (high-volume global bond rally as rate-hike expectations crumble after US authorities took extraordinary measures to shore up confidence in the financial system)
- March 15 (Credit Suisse heads for takeover after deposits plunge)
- March 27 (poor 2-year note auction, corporate bond supply)
- May 1 (strong ISM manufacturing, corporate bond supply)
- May 2 (weak job-openings data, stock-market selloff)
- June 29 (strong GDP data)
- Oct. 12 (poor 30-year bond auction)
- Nov. 9 (poor 30-year bond auction)
- Nov. 14 (benign CPI data)
- Dec. 13 (FOMC rate decision)
- The Treasury Department resumed increasing auction sizes in August, announcing a quarterly plan that was more ambitious than most Wall Street dealers anticipated; by contrast, the next plan announced in November entailed smaller increases for longer-maturity debt offerings than most dealers thought were likely
- See also:
- 2022 summary
- 2021 summary
- 2020 summary
- 2019 summary
- 2018 summary
- 2017 summary
- 2016 summary
- 2015 summary
- 2014 summary
The first trading week of 2024 brings a heavy slate of US economic data and the minutes of last month’s Fed meeting. Data include the December employment report on Jan. 5, among other key labor-market indicators, and gauges of manufacturing and service-sector activity. Treasury supply includes only bill auctions.
What to Watch
- Economic data:
- Jan. 2: S&P Global US manufacturing PMI; construction spending
- Jan. 3: MBA mortgage applications; ISM manufacturing; JOLTS jobs openings
- Jan. 4: ADP employment; Challenger job cuts; jobless claims; S&P Global US services PMI
- Jan. 5: Employment report; factory orders; ISM services
- Fed Calendar:
- Jan. 3: Federal Open Market Committee Dec. 12-13 meeting minutes; Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin
- Jan. 5: Barkin
- Auction calendar:
- Jan. 2: 13-, 26-week bills and 42-day cash-management bill
- Jan. 3: 17-week bills
- Jan. 4: 4-, 8-week bills
--With assistance from Michael Mackenzie.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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https://www.ndtvprofit.com/markets/treasuries-post-first-gain-since-2020-as-fed-pivot-gets-traction
| 2024-01-01T02:21:48Z
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KYIV: Kyiv said Sunday it had destroyed 21 of 49 Iranian-made drones fired after Russia vowed to retaliate for what it called a “terrorist attack” on a border city that left 24 dead.
The Ukrainian air force said that the “Shahed” drones were particularly targeted at “the front line of defence, as well as at civilian, military and infrastructure facilities in the front-line territories”. Six guided missiles had also targeted the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Kyiv said in a statement on Telegram, without specifying whether they had hit their targets.
Oleg Sinegubov, the head of Kharkiv’s military administration, said there had been 28 civilians wounded in the attack on the city, including two teenagers and a foreign citizen. Residential buildings, offices and cafes were hit in the latest overnight attacks, said Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov. “On the eve of the New Year, Russians want to intimidate our city, but we are not scared,” he said.
The fresh Russian strikes came a day after the deadliest attack on civilians in Russia since the start of the conflict in February 2022.
The official death toll has risen to 24 with 108 wounded in Belgorod — just 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the border, which has been repeatedly struck by what Moscow says is indiscriminate shelling.
The two sides took turns to accuse each other of pummelling civilian areas of their shared frontier region over the weekend.
Moscow said the Belgorod attack had included the use of controversial cluster munitions, and told an emergency meeting at the UN Security Council that Kyiv had targeted a sports centre, an ice rink and a university.
Russian envoy Vasily Nebenzya called it a “deliberate, indiscriminate attack against a civilian target”.
Ukraine’s allies countered that responsibility ultimately lay with Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading the neighbouring country nearly two years ago.
“If Russia wants someone to blame for the deaths of Russians in this war, it should start with President Putin,” said British envoy to the UN Thomas Phipps.
Both Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky were due to give New Year’s Eve speeches Sunday after the latest escalation in violence.
The Belgorod attack came a day after Ukraine said a barrage of Russian missile strikes on several cities, including the capital, had killed 39 people.
Schools, a maternity hospital, shopping arcades and blocks of flats were among the buildings hit in Friday’s barrage, one of the most violent attacks since the start of the war.
Ukraine was still sifting through the rubble on Saturday when fresh strikes hit the regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Chernigiv, according to local authorities.
Three more people were killed by Russian strikes across Ukraine on Saturday, the officials said.
January 1 was to be declared a day of mourning in the capital Kyiv, where 19 people had been killed, city officials said.
Russia’s army said it had “carried out 50 group strikes and one massive strike” on military facilities in Ukraine over the past week, adding that “all targets were hit”.
The United Nations condemned the attacks and said they must stop “immediately”.
Ukraine is urging Western allies to maintain military support.
“Next year will be a time of many decisions — global decisions. And Ukraine needs to be able to influence them to be able to achieve its goals,” Zelensky said in his evening address Saturday.
“We will fight for our influence, for justice for Ukraine, and I am grateful to all the leaders who help, who have been with us since February 24th and will be with us in 2024.”
Britain announced it would send hundreds more air-defence missiles to Kyiv, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared: “We must continue to stand with Ukraine — for as long as it takes.”
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281396/ukraine-downs-drones-as-russia-retaliates-for-belgorod-terrorist-attack
| 2024-01-01T02:21:49Z
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Michigan vs. Alabama Rose Bowl Semifinal Predictions & Picks: Odds, Moneyline, Spread - Monday, January 1
Based on our computer projection model, the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines will take down the No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide when the two teams come together at Rose Bowl on Monday, January 1, which starts at 5:00 PM. For our projections on the spead, point total, and final score, check out the rest of the article below.
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Michigan vs. Alabama Predictions and Picks
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- Iowa vs Tennessee
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Michigan Betting Info (2023)
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- Based on this game's moneyline, the Wolverines' implied win probability is 55.6%.
- The Wolverines have seven wins in 12 games against the spread this season.
- In games this season when favored by 1.5 points or more, Michigan are 7-5 against the spread.
- The Wolverines have seen seven of its 12 games go over the point total.
- The average total for Michigan games this season has been 47.7, 2.2 points higher than the total for this game.
Alabama Betting Info (2023)
- Oddsmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Crimson Tide have a 48.8% chance to win.
- The Crimson Tide are 8-4-0 ATS this season.
- Alabama is 1-0 against the spread so far this season when playing as at least 1.5-point underdogs.
- Crimson Tide games have hit the over in eight out of 12 opportunities (66.7%).
- The average point total for Alabama this season is 5.9 points higher than this game's over/under.
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Wolverines vs. Crimson Tide 2023 Scoring Insights
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wistv.com/sports/betting/2024/01/01/michigan-alabama-rose-bowl-semifinal-college-football-picks-predictions/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:49Z
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The direction of interest rates globally and results of the Lok Sabha elections will determine the trajectory of the Indian equity markets in 2024, says Taher Badshah, chief investment officer (CIO), Invesco Mutual Fund. In a telephonic interview with Abhishek Kumar, Badshah says he is seeing opportunity in the mid-to-lower-end consumption pockets of the market that have not done well in the past two years. He is expecting the FMCG, banking and information technology sectors to turn the corner in 2024. Edited excerpts:
The market has ended 2023 on a strong note. Can this momentum continue in 2024?
What will
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https://www.business-standard.com/markets/interviews/don-t-shun-midcaps-smallcaps-just-because-they-surged-40-50-invesco-cio-123123100445_1.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:51Z
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Michigan home explosion heard for miles kills 4 and injures 2, police say
DETROIT (AP) — Four people died and two others were injured Saturday in a Michigan house explosion that could be heard miles away, police said.
The explosion happened before 4 p.m. in Northfield Township, about 45 miles (72.4 kilometers) west of Detroit. The structure was destroyed, leaving only the basement, Northfield Township Police Lt. David Powell told reporters Saturday.
The blast, which could be heard about 9 miles (14.4 kilometers) away, sent debris into the air that landed on both sides of a nearby highway. Neighboring homes were not damaged, Powell said.
Six people were in the home, with four fatalities discovered at the scene and the two surviving victims hospitalized in critical condition. Police did not immediately know if the victims were related, Powell said.
Authorities have not determined the cause of the explosion.
Northfield Township police did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking additional information on Sunday.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kxii.com/2024/01/01/michigan-home-explosion-heard-miles-kills-4-injures-2-police-say/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:51Z
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Head-on collision on Byron Highway kills 1, injures 2
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - One person was killed and two were injured Saturday in a head-on collision in eastern Contra Costa County, the California Highway Patrol said.
The crash occurred about 6:25 p.m. when a white Chevrolet Silverado, traveling north on Byron Highway near Clifton Court Road, crossed into oncoming traffic, police said.
The Chevrolet collided head-on with a southbound grey Kia sedan. The driver of the Kia, who was alone in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The driver of the Chevrolet was injured and was airlifted to John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center, the highway patrol said. A passenger in the Chevrolet who was injured was taken by ambulance to John Muir Walnut Creek.
A Hyundai Elantra traveling south behind the Kia struck debris on the road, causing minor damage but no injuries to the driver or passenger, police said.
A northbound Hummer traveling behind the Chevrolet also struck debris and possibly struck the Chevrolet after the initial crash, the CHP said. The Hummer suffered minor damage with no injuries to the driver or a minor passenger.
An investigation determined that the driver who died wasn't properly wearing their seatbelt, police said. Driving under the influence wasn't a factor in the collision, police said.
The crash is under investigation. Anyone who witnessed it or the events leading up to it is asked to contact CHP Contra Costa in Martinez at (925) 646-4980 or email contact information to 320Investigations@chp.ca.gov to be contacted by the investigating officer.
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https://www.ktvu.com/news/head-on-collision-on-byron-highway-kills-1-injures-2
| 2024-01-01T02:21:51Z
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Gazebo Gazette
A first-generation student from North Carolina will return to school in January feeling more motivated and better connected to her future thanks to time invested as a NASA Pathways Intern at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Raquel Cervantes Espinosa, the first member of her family to attend college and a rising junior at Duke University, applied to the internship at NASA Stennis because of opportunities the site presented, such as working with large rocket engines.
She admits to initially being nervous, having never traveled to Mississippi or the Gulf Coast area.
The electrical engineering major says she was welcomed with open arms. She grew fond of the diverse and highly skilled workforce that showed how her studies apply to working with NASA, which makes leaving after the fall semester bittersweet.
“It feels like NASA is really investing in me as an individual, and the people that I work with make it feel that way, too,” Cervantes Espinosa said. “I feel valued here and feel like I can grow with my career and degree studies in terms of what I want to do in the future. I really enjoyed my time at NASA Stennis during the fall and look forward to returning in the summer.”
During the fall semester, Cervantes Espinosa worked with test stand camera systems, including those in support of NASA’s certification test series of the RS-25 engine. The series will lead to production of updated engines that will help power future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.
“Raquel had a great first semester as a Pathways Intern learning about various electrical and mechanical systems,” said David Carver, deputy branch chief of the Electrical Operations Branch at NASA Stennis. “Her shining accomplishment for the semester was the new test operations video system that she helped design and bring online. The system will provide test engineers with new in- sight into the operation and health of critical propulsion systems. I look forward to seeing what she accomplishes in the future.”
The thermal visual cameras set up by Cervantes Espinosa at the Fred Haise Test Stand, where RS-25 hot fires take place, help ensure safe operations by allowing engineers to monitor key areas of the test stand, such as the liquid oxygen stalls and hydrogen systems.
The cameras can also identify potential gas leaks not seen with the naked eye. Additionally, Cervantes Espinosa had the opportunity to analyze data and work on instruments that are used on the RS-25 engine.
“A lot of the experience I’m getting from working at NASA Stennis, a lot of the stuff I’m learning now, is really shaping how I see engineering differently than I used to,” she said.
The Duke student says one key takeaway from the fall semester was learning beyond electrical engineering and understanding how her physics minor can be applied in the aerospace industry – an industry she now wants to join following graduation.
On pace to graduate in 2026, Cervantes Espinosa said it can be challenging at times in unfamiliar territory, whether as an intern at NASA Stennis or as a first-generation engineering student.
“I would encourage other first-generation students to keep your head up and keep going,” Cervantes Espinosa said. “It sounds very cliché, but I think it’s really accurate for people like me and a lot of my friends who are first-generation students in engineering and beginning to immerse ourselves into the workforce and see what we need to do. Keep your head up, keep going, and really take advantage of such opportunities because they are out there, and people want the best for you and want to invest in you. You just have to go and seize the opportunity.”
The NASA Pathways Intern Program opens in the spring and fall each year with job postings on USAJobs.gov.
The application windows open two times each year – typically around February and September.
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https://thegazebogazette.com/2023/12/nasa-stennis-internship-brings-aerospace-industry-to-life/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:51Z
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Happy New Year 2024 Photos: From Athens to London, stunning glimpses of new year celebrations around the world
Fireworks displays and gatherings in iconic locations marked the start of the new year in New Zealand.
New Year 2024: As the world bid farewell to the old year, countries across the Pacific Islands were among the first to welcome the dawn of 2024, marking the onset of global New Year celebrations.
Happy New Year 2024 LIVE: A very Happy New Year to you all
New Zealand, following closely as the second country to enter the new year, illuminated the night sky with dazzling fireworks displays, while people gathered in various iconic locations to usher in the fresh beginning. Pictures captured the vibrant festivities, showcasing the diverse ways in which different nations embraced the joyous occasion.
These snapshots of celebration and unity around the globe served as a visual testament to the shared optimism and hope that accompany the start of a new year across cultures and time zones.
Breathtaking fireworks exhibitions illuminated renowned landmarks, such as the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and reflected against the sleek glass facades of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, a shared jubilation echoed through the atmosphere in Nairobi, Kenya, as dazzling displays marked the celebrations in these diverse global locations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is gearing up for an upcoming election in March, briefly mentioned his country's involvement in the conflict in Ukraine in his New Year address on Sunday.
London welcomed the New Year with the resonant chimes of the Big Ben bell in Westminster tower, accompanied by a spectacular display of fireworks.
The festivities also included a showcase of news highlights, prominently featuring King Charles' coronation in the visual presentation.
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https://www.livemint.com/news/world/happy-new-year-2024-photos-from-athens-to-london-stunning-glimpses-of-new-year-celebrations-around-the-world-11704071459924.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:51Z
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NEW DELHI: As many as 43 suspects have been identified in cases related to the vandalism attacks on Indian High Commissions in UK, US and Canada, through the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) efforts at crowd-sourcing information. Also, as part of its stepped-up investigations into these cases in recent months, the NIA has carried out more than 50 raids and searches and examined 80 persons in India for alleged links to the conspiracy behind the attacks.
Sharing this update as part of a year-end review of its actions and achievements, NIA informed that it has scored an overall conviction rate of 94.70%, arrested 625 accused and ensured the attachment of 240 assets, including 156 bank accounts, all worth around Rs 56 crores, in 2023 as part of an intensified and focused fight against terrorists, gangsters, drug smugglers, human traffickers and other criminals working against national interests.
NIA said its scaled-up operations across India in 2023 saw a 28% rise in arrests from 490 in 2022 to 625 this year. While 65 accused were arrested this year in ISIS cases, 114 were arrested for jihadi terror cases, 45 in human trafficking cases, 28 for terrorist and organized criminal activity and 76 in Left-Wing Extremism-related (LWE) cases.
NIA registered 68 cases in 2023, including 18 related to jihadi terror across multiple states, 3 related to J&K, 12 related to LWE, 7 cases involving terrorist & organised crimes in Punjab, 5 cases concerning the northeast region and 2 related to fake Indian currency notes.
The total number of persons chargesheeted and convicted in NIA cases stood at 513 and 74 respectively, as against 459 and 79 in 2022. NIA managed to track down and arrest 47 accused in 2023, 14 more than last year. Also, arrests were made upon deportation and extradition – those in the net include Amritpal Singh @ Ammy, Amrik Singh, Manpreet Singh @Peeta and Mandeep Singh deported from the Philippines. Vikram Brar was arrested upon deportation from the UAE.
The number of searches and raids by the NIA also recorded a significant increase, going up from 957 in 2022 to 1040 in 2023.
In line with its targeted strategy to squeeze terror funding by seizing properties and dismantling the terror and crime ecosystems, the NIA attached properties and assets worth Rs 56 crore, up from Rs 10.5 crore attached in 2022. The 12 properties, worth Rs 1.5 crore, attached in 2023 belonged to six listed ‘individual terrorists’.
Dismantling of the terrorist-gangster nexus by NIA saw the registration of two cases, charge-sheeting of 55 persons, 253 raids, 27 arrests and attachment of 18 properties in 2023.
Crackdown by NIA on cadres and sympathizers of the banned CPI Maoist and People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI) brought about the arrest of Dinesh Gope, supremo of PLF that is a splinter group of CPI (Maoist), in May 2023. He was absconding for almost two decades and was wanted in more than 150 cases of the state police as well as NIA, and was carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 30 lakh.
Six individuals, namely Mohammed Amin Khubaiab, Arbaz Ahmad Mir, Dr. Asif Maqbool Dar, Arshdeep Singh Gill, Harwinder Singh Sandhu and Lakhbir Singh Landa were designated as ‘individual terrorists’ during 2023, as proposed by NIA. Also, four terrorist organisations - The Resistance Force (TRF), People's Anti-Fascists Front (PAFF), Jammu & Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF) and Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF)) – were banned, again on the recommendation of the NIA.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/nia-identifies-43-suspects-involved-in-attacks-on-indian-high-commissions-in-uk-us-and-canada/articleshow/106421241.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:21:52Z
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Will 2024 bring more wars or unrest? 5 hotspots to watch in coming year
Besides Palestine and Ukraine, other countries too are grappling with simmering unrest. Here are 5 nations where civil wars may take a nasty turn in 2024
Sadly, 2023 has been a violent one on the global stage. War broke out between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, leading to the deaths of thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of Israelis, including many children on both sides. And the bitter war between Russia and Ukraine continued with no end in sight.
As a result of the focus on these two conflicts, other countries have dropped off the radar for many people. Some of these nations have been dealing with simmering unrest, however, which could erupt in 2024 and seize the global spotlight.
So, where should we be watching in the coming year? Here are five places where I believe civil conflicts or unrest could worsen and potentially lead to violence.
Myanmar
Myanmar descended into chaos in 2021 when a military coup overthrew the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and sparked widespread civil protests that eventually morphed into an armed resistance.
The country, home to 135 ethnic groups, has rarely known peace. For years before the coup, there was a ongoing, low-grade civil conflict between the military and several minority ethnic groups who have long sought control over natural resources in their regions and independence from the state.
This exploded after the coup as ethnic militia groups joined forces with pro-democracy fighters from the Bamar majority protesting the junta.
Their resistance escalated in late 2023 with a coordinated northern offensive dealing the military its most significant losses in many years.
Insurgents won control of towns and villages on the northeastern border with China, including control over key trade routes. This led to renewed fighting in western Rakhine state, as well as in other areas.
The tenacity of the resistance of these minority groups, paired with the refusal of the military to compromise, suggests the country’s civil war may worsen considerably in 2024 and regain international attention.
Mali
In Mali, a nation in the turbulent Sahel region of Africa, tensions escalated throughout 2023 and now threaten to erupt into a full-scale civil war.
Mali has long battled insurgent activity. In 2012, Mali’s government fell in a coup and Tuareg rebels, backed by Islamist militants, seized power in the north.
A United Nations peacekeeping mission was established in 2013 to bring stability to Mali. Then, in 2015, key rebel groups signed a peace agreement with the Mali government.
After two more coups in 2020 and 2021, military officers consolidated their power and said they would restore the state’s full territorial control over all of Mali. The regime insisted the UN peacekeeping mission withdraw from the country, which it did in June 2023. Subsequently, violence broke out between the military and rebel forces over future use of the UN bases.
In November, the military, reportedly backed by Russia’s Wagner Group, took control of the strategic northern town of Kidal which had been held by Tuareg forces since 2012. This undermines the fragile peace that has held since 2015.
It is unlikely the military will regain complete control over all rebel-held areas in the north. At the same time, insurgents are emboldened. With the 2015 peace agreement now all but dead, we can expect increased volatility in 2024.
Lebanon
In 2019, widespread civil protest broke out in Lebanon against leaders who were perceived not to be addressing the day-to-day needs of the population.
The situation continued to deteriorate, with a reshuffled government, escalating economic crisis and a massive port explosion that exposed corrupt practices.
The International Monetary Fund criticised Lebanon in September for a lack of economic reform. The Lebanese government has also failed to reach agreement on appointing a president, a post that has been vacant for more than a year.
This risks undermining the fragile power-sharing arrangement in Lebanon in which the key political posts of prime minister, speaker and president are allocated to a Sunni-Muslim, Shia-Muslim and Christian Maronite, respectively.
Most recently, the war between Israel and Hamas has threatened to spill over to Lebanon, home to the Hezbollah militant group, which claims to have an army of 100,000 fighters. Importantly, this jeopardises tourism as a key hope for Lebanon’s economic recovery.
These factors may precipitate a more serious economic and political collapse in 2024.
Pakistan
Since Pakistan’s independence in 1947, the military has played an interventionist role in politics. Though Pakistani leaders are popularly elected, military officials have at times removed them from power.
In 2022, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan fell out of favour with Pakistan’s militant leaders. He was subsequently ousted from power in a parliament vote and later arrested on charges that his supporters claim are politically motivated.
Violent demonstrations broke out nationwide after his arrest — a display of anger against the military that was once unthinkable.
Pakistan also faces spillover from instability in neighbouring Afghanistan and increased terror attacks. These security challenges have been compounded by a struggling economy and ongoing costs from the devastating 2022 floods.
Pakistan is expected to hold parliamentary elections in February 2024, after which the current military caretaker government is expected to transfer power back to civilian rule. Many are watching the military closely. If this transfer of power does not take place, or there are delays, civil unrest may result.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka faced a debilitating economic crisis in 2022 that led to critical fuel, food and medical shortages. Civil protests caused then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country. He was quickly replaced by current President Ranil Wickremesingh.
Stability returned in 2023 as Sri Lanka began implementing economic reforms as part of a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund. However, widespread dissatisfaction with political elites and the underlying drivers of the country’s economic hardship have not been addressed.
Elections are also due in Sri Lanka by late 2024. While Wickremesingh, the incumbent, is likely to run for a second term, he has low trust with the public. He is viewed as too close to corrupt political elites.
This dissatisfaction could lead to renewed protests — particularly if the economy stumbles again — in a repeat of the situation that led to Rajapaksa’s ousting in 2022.
(By Jessica Genauer, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Flinders University, for The Conversation)
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https://thefederal.com/category/international/will-2024-bring-more-wars-or-unrest-5-hotspots-to-watch-in-coming-year-104939
| 2024-01-01T02:21:51Z
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5000 Swedish kronor to Tajikistani somonis
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https://wise.com/in/currency-converter/sek-to-tjs-rate?amount=5000
| 2024-01-01T02:21:52Z
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Astana Mayor proposes solutions to support large families
"Recently, district administrations and specialized departments have carried out reception of citizens. As a result, we made a database of particularly needy families. We see the picture and know the specific needs and problems of each of the families. At the first stage, we provided prompt assistance in terms of food, coal, school supplies, and conducted outreach activities. Sponsors and volunteers supported the initiative of the city districts' administrations to install gas analyzers in huts and private dwellings. We mapped out individual plans to support each family," said Bakhyt Sultanov.
One of the key issues raised by citizens is the affordability of housing.
"We should provide low-income and particularly needy families, including multi-child families, with municipal housing," the mayor concluded.
The mayor entrusted to decide on support tools through the Employment Roadmap, the Business Roadmap, social support and targeted social assistance for each family undergoing hardship.
At the same time, he emphasized the need to increase the level of solvency of citizens.
"Malika Bekturova, I charge you with exploring the possibility of providing members of large families with higher income jobs. In case of insufficient skills, it is necessary to ensure professional development and subsequent employment of citizens in the city's prioritized areas. In addition, based on the information available, I instruct you to make up the scheme for raising resources for assistance, including the possibility of awarding housing certificates," said Bakhyt Sultanov.
The mayor tasked the heads of the districts, jointly with the heads of Astana Administration's departments, to continue face-to-face meetings with citizens within the framework of the open week announced earlier.
"All statements and requests voiced by large families and other citizens should be promptly systematized, analyzed and submitted to the Government for consideration by the working group," said the mayor.
According to the latest data, 10,095 families living in Astana raise four or more children.
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https://en.inform.kz/amp/astana-mayor-proposes-solutions-to-support-large-families_a3498553/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:53Z
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Valuations Not In Favour Right Now, Says Ajay Tyagi Of UTI AMC
Large caps continue to be cheaper and small caps are expensive, which is raising concerns, says Tyagi.
Indian stock market rose 20% in 2023, ending with gains for the record eighth straight year but valuations still remain a concern.
Despite all the segments in the market doing well, large caps continue to be cheaper and small caps are expensive, which is raising concerns, said Ajay Tyagi, head of equities at UTI Asset Management Co.
"We were used to listening to hire for longer," Tyagi told NDTV Profit. "Despite all of this, the year is ending on a very solid note. The only piece of caution here for all investors is that valuations clearly are not in our favor right now."
Though large caps can't be termed as favorably placed—due to their longer-term valuation averages—they are still relatively more attractive than mid and small-caps, he said.
Among possible risks, geopolitics could be a key factor influencing many elements, according to Tyagi. If things move towards the worse, it could impact the cost of food in India and at the same time impact the inflow on income.
The other important factor that could impact the markets would be if the current government does not come back to power, he said. The markets will take a few months to come back to normal if such a situation arises, he said.
However, looking at India's growth these risks will not have a long-term effect and will only be limited to the small-term impacts, Tyagi said.
He leans towards private banks as they will be runners in the coming year, according to him. The second choice is consumer staples and durables. Despite being negatively impacted on account of weakness in rural India, consumer staples "should also see some bit of strength in the coming quarters", he said.
Watch the full conversation here:
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https://www.ndtvprofit.com/markets/valuations-not-in-favour-right-now-says-ajay-tyagi-of-uti-amc
| 2024-01-01T02:21:54Z
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LONDON: London’s Big Ben on Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of its “bongs” to ring in the New Year being broadcast live across the world.
Ever since New Year’s Eve 1923 when BBC engineer A.G. Dryland clambered onto a roof opposite the British parliament to record the strikes, live transmission has become an annual tradition.
The unmistakable sound of the “nation’s timepiece” has long occupied a special place in national life.
The bongs are heard twice daily — at 6pm and midnight and three times on Sunday — on BBC radio, and at the start of the nightly News at Ten on commercial channel ITV.
Such is their importance that even during the recently-ended five-year restoration programme when they were largely silenced, important exceptions were made.
As well as New Year, Big Ben also continued to mark Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday when the nation remembers its war dead.
Big Ben also rang out to mark Britain’s departure from the European Union in 2021 and the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 After a week of testing, normal service finally resumed last November.
While the rest of London is enjoying New Year’s Eve, clock mechanic Andrew Strangeway will be at the top of the 96-metre (315-foot) Elizabeth Tower.
The tower houses the clock and its five bells, including the largest one from which Big Ben takes its nickname.
Along with the two other members of the in-house timekeeping team, the 37-year-old will be making last minute checks to make sure the clock will be “within fractions of a second of being correct.”
Although the chances of a mishap on the big night are tiny, Strangeway said the clock did suffer a disaster during the 1970s when it stopped due to metal fatigue.
“I think the chances of anything going seriously wrong are small. Our main worry on things like New Year is — is it going to go off and is it going to be on time,” he said.
Completed in 1859, the structure was known as the Clock Tower before being renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to honour the late queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
In the years before the renovation, parliament’s timekeepers would benchmark the Great Clock’s time against the telephone speaking clock.
Now, it is calibrated by GPS via Britain’s National Physical Laboratory.
But the method to adjust the clock’s timing mechanism remains old-fashioned: old pennies are added or removed from weights attached to two giant coiled springs, to make or lose a second.
“It’s a fantastic job,” Strangeway told AFP, adding that even when he was out and about in London he would frequently look for Big Ben and think “yes it’s still running”.
He said he was very excited that he would be “right next to the bells... at that moment when everyone is looking at that clock for the start of the New Year”.
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281397/britains-big-ben-marks-100-years-of-new-year-bongs
| 2024-01-01T02:21:56Z
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Despite multiple headwinds at the start of 2023, the Indian markets delivered a strong performance, posting 19-20 per cent growth for the year. Even as new records were set, investor sentiment remains strong going into 2024, given the lower inflation, expectations of steady to lower interest rates, higher economic growth, and strong inflows.
However, the overriding concern for most brokerages is valuations. HDFC Securities points out that the Nifty50 index is now trading at 23x its FY24 and 20x FY25 consensus earnings per share, indicating limited upside potential over the next 12 months.
Axis Securities, too, believes that current valuations
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https://www.business-standard.com/markets/news/brokerages-firms-bullish-on-largecaps-for-better-returns-in-2024-123123100503_1.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:57Z
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Nearly half of all states will raise the minimum wage in 2024
Published: Dec. 31, 2023 at 7:57 PM CST|Updated: 18 minutes ago
(CNN) - Millions of workers will get a pay bump when the clock strikes midnight on Monday, January 1.
Nearly half of all U.S. states and the District of Columbia will increase their minimum wage in 2024.
Washington state will continue to have the highest minimum wage in the country at $16.28 an hour. That’s up from $15.74 an hour.
And over in Hawaii, workers will receive the largest increase, raising its minimum wage to $14 an hour.
And Washington D.C. will have the highest hourly minimum wage in the country at $17.05. The city will raise its minimum wage again this summer.
Copyright 2023 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kxii.com/2024/01/01/nearly-half-all-states-will-raise-minimum-wage-2024/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:57Z
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BEIJING: President Xi Jinping said on Sunday that China will consolidate and enhance the positive trend of its economic recovery in 2024, and sustain long-term economic development with deeper reforms.
In a televised speech to mark the New Year, Xi said China would deepen reforms to shore up confidence in the economy.
Xi said China will “consolidate and enhance the positive trend of economic recovery, and achieve stable and long-term economic development,” Xi said.
“We must comprehensively deepen reform and opening up, further boost confidence in development, enhance economic vitality, and make greater efforts to promote education, promote science and technology, and cultivate talents.”
Xi voiced his concerns over difficulties facing some firms’ operations and the hardship facing some people in employment and their daily lives, and the impact of natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes in some regions.
China will promote high-quality development and balance development and security in a well-coordinated way, Xi added.
The government has in recent months announced a series of measures to shore up China’s feeble post-pandemic economic recovery, which is being held back by a property slump, local government debt risks and slow global growth.
Analysts expect China’s economic growth to hit the official target of around 5% this year, and Beijing is expected to maintain the same target next year.
Earlier this month, top Chinese leaders met and laid out economic plans for 2024, pledging to take more steps to support the recovery. The central bank has pledged to step up policy adjustments to support the economy and promote a rebound in prices, amid signs of rising deflationary pressures.
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281398/xi-says-china-to-consolidate-and-enhance-economic-recovery-in-2024
| 2024-01-01T02:21:57Z
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New Year 2024: As the world bid farewell to the old year, countries across the Pacific Islands were among the first to welcome the dawn of 2024, marking the onset of global New Year celebrations.
New Zealand, following closely as the second country to enter the new year, illuminated the night sky with dazzling fireworks displays, while people gathered in various iconic locations to usher in the fresh beginning. Pictures captured the vibrant festivities, showcasing the diverse ways in which different nations embraced the joyous occasion.
These snapshots of celebration and unity around the globe served as a visual testament to the shared optimism and hope that accompany the start of a new year across cultures and time zones.
Breathtaking fireworks exhibitions illuminated renowned landmarks, such as the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and reflected against the sleek glass facades of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, a shared jubilation echoed through the atmosphere in Nairobi, Kenya, as dazzling displays marked the celebrations in these diverse global locations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is gearing up for an upcoming election in March, briefly mentioned his country's involvement in the conflict in Ukraine in his New Year address on Sunday.
London welcomed the New Year with the resonant chimes of the Big Ben bell in Westminster tower, accompanied by a spectacular display of fireworks.
The festivities also included a showcase of news highlights, prominently featuring King Charles' coronation in the visual presentation.
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https://www.livemint.com/news/world/happy-new-year-2024-photos-from-athens-to-london-stunning-glimpses-of-new-year-celebrations-around-the-world/amp-11704071459924.html
| 2024-01-01T02:21:57Z
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PYONGYANG: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is planning to launch three additional spy satellites next year, Yonhap news agency reported, citing Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The announcement comes after the successful launch of the country's first military reconnaissance satellite last month.
North Korean leader set forth the goal as he wrapped up five days of the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on Saturday, as reported by KCNA.
"Based on the experience of successfully launching and operating the first spy satellite in 2023 in the
space development sector, the task of launching three more spy satellites in 2024 was unveiled and all-out measures to spur the development of space science technology were discussed," the report said.
Recently, North Korea successfully put a military spy satellite, Malligyong-1, into orbit on November 21 after two failed attempts in May and August.
However, there are suspicions that North Korea might have received technical support from Russia in return for its arms supplies for use in Moscow's war in Ukraine, reported Yonhap news agency.
"We need to swiftly respond to a possible nuclear crisis and mobilize all physical means, including nuclear force, in a bid to accelerate preparations for the great event of putting the entire territory of South Korea under our control," Kim said.
He further boosted the country's nuclear arsenal as the top policy priority for next year and ordered the Navy to enhance its military capabilities, Yonhap news agency reported citing KCNA.
Kim called for developing powerful unmanned armed aerial vehicles and means for electronic warfare in a bid to accomplish its key defence projects.
Highlighting the inter-Korean ties, Kim stated that he will no longer consider South Korea a counterpart for reconciliation and unification, adding that Seoul has declared the North as a main enemy.
The Workers' Party has also concluded that unification with South Korea is not possible, Kim was quoted as saying, Yonhap news agency reported.
Calling for a "fundamental change" in dealing with South Korea, the North's leader said that inter-Korean relations have become those of "two hostile countries" or "countries engaged in the state of combat."
Reportedly, relations between South and North Korea remained sharply strained this year as the latter focused on advancing its nuclear and missile programs, including the launch of solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles.
North Korea's leader vowed an "offensive and ultra-powerful" stance against the US in 2024, denouncing Washington's deployment of strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula and its military drills with Seoul.
"If the US and the South pursue military confrontations with us, we will not hesitate to take critical action against them with our nuclear deterrence," Kim said.
Earlier in September, North Korea amended the constitution to enshrine the policy of strengthening its nuclear force, according to Yonhap news agency.
Moreover last year, the country enacted a new nuclear law authorizing the preemptive use of nuclear arms, calling its status as a nuclear state "irreversible."
At last year's party plenary meeting, Kim called South Korea an 'undoubted enemy' and called for an 'exponential' increase in the country's nuclear arsenal and the development of tactical nuclear weapons.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/north-korea-planning-to-launch-3-more-military-spy-satellites-next-year/articleshow/106413214.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:21:58Z
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Attacks on cargo vessels: Indian Navy deploys frontline destroyers, frigates in Arabian Sea
New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) The Indian Navy has deployed task groups comprising frontline destroyers and frigates in the central and north Arabian Sea and augmented its force levels in the region to undertake maritime security operations in view of recent attacks on commercial vessels in key shipping lanes.
The Navy said on Sunday that it has "substantially enhanced maritime surveillance efforts" and that recent incidents including the drone attack on commercial vessel MV Chem Pluto around 220 nautical miles southwest of Porbandar indicated a shift in maritime incidents closer to India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The additional deployment of the assets including long-range maritime patrol aircraft by the Indian Navy in the region came amid increasing global concerns over the Houthi militants targeting various cargo vessels in the Red Sea against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Navy said the overall situation is being closely monitored in coordination with national maritime agencies and asserted that it remains committed to ensuring safety of merchant shipping in the region.
"Task Groups comprising destroyers and frigates have been deployed to undertake maritime security operations and render assistance to merchant vessels in case of any incident," it said.
Liberian-flagged vessel MV Chem Pluto, with 21 Indian crew members, was the target of a drone attack off India's west coast on December 23 that triggered security concerns in New Delhi as it came amid the Iran-backed Houthi militants launching strikes on several commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Besides MV Chem Pluto, another commercial oil tanker that was on the way to India came under a suspected drone strike in southern Red Sea on the same day. The vessel had a team of 25 Indian crew.
In another incident, Malta-flagged vessel MV Ruen was hijacked on December 14 by pirates.
"The last few weeks have witnessed increased maritime security incidents on merchant vessels transiting through international shipping lanes in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Central/ North Arabian Sea," the Navy said.
"The piracy incident on MV Ruen approximately 700 nautical miles from the Indian coast and recent drone attack on MV Chem Pluto, approximately 220 nautical miles South West of Porbandar indicates a shift in maritime incidents closer to Indian EEZ," it said.
In a statement, the Navy said that in response to these incidents, it has "substantially enhanced maritime surveillance efforts" in the central and north Arabian Sea and "augmented" force levels.
"Aerial surveillance by long-range maritime patrol aircraft and RPAs (remotely piloted aircraft) has been enhanced to have a complete maritime domain awareness. Towards effective surveillance of EEZ, the Indian Navy is operating in close coordination with the Coast Guard," the Navy said.
"The overall situation is being closely monitored by the Indian Navy in coordination with national maritime agencies. The Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring safety of merchant shipping in the region," it said.
Against the backdrop of Houthi rebels stepping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Friday said it is carefully evaluating all aspects of the unfolding situation in that region.
At the same time, he said India is not part of any multilateral initiative or operation in and around the Red Sea.
"As we said earlier, we value the free movement of commercial shipping, which is one of the fundamental principles underpinning global commerce," Bagchi had said.
"We are carefully evaluating all aspects of the unfolding situation in that region. Our defence forces are taking necessary measures in this regard," he said.
Without elaborating, Bagchi had said the defence forces are taking required measures. PTI
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https://thefederal.com/category/news/attacks-on-cargo-vessels-indian-navy-deploys-frontline-destroyers-frigates-in-arabian-sea-104952
| 2024-01-01T02:21:58Z
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https://wise.com/in/currency-converter/sek-to-tmt-rate?amount=1
| 2024-01-01T02:21:59Z
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More stunning bravery and loyalty from Israel’s Oketz (Sting) combat dog unit: Oketz dogs are sent to conduct initial scanning before the soldiers raided terrorist infrastructure, Arutz Sheva reports. The dogs identify terrorist threats, preventing harm to Israeli forces, as well as mapping houses and locating weapons and explosives.
During a joint operation with the 460th Brigade in the Jabalia area, a dog named Patrick scanned the location before the forces entered the building, Arutz Sheva writes. During the scan, Patrick detected a terrorist prepared to ambush the forces at the entrance and neutralized him, thus preventing an attack.
In another operation in the Rimal area, a dog named Toy found a corridor connecting the building where the soldiers were located to another building where a terrorist was lying in ambush. Toy neutralized the terrorist, thus saving the force from operating in a dangerous building.
in light of the recent attacks and attempted intrusions into farms throughout Israel, the Israel Dog Unit (IDU), a nonprofit specializing in working dogs, has increased the pace of training and distributing security dogs to civilian security coordinators and emergency squads, Arutz Sheva reports.
These dogs are trained to deter threats, detect suspicious movements, and aid in neutralizing threats and terrorists who are attempting to intrude into towns. The IDU has also arranged supplementary lessons and training for security personnel in which they learn to use the dogs for protection.
The Israel Defense Forces also destroyed explosive devices and other terrorist infrastructure inside a kindergarten in the Gaza Strip on Saturday as the military continued its offensive against Hamas, JNS reported.
Troops found the explosives planted inside the school during searches on the outskirts of Al-Shati Camp on the northern Gaza coast.
IDF troops from the Desert Reconnaissance Battalion (Bedouin Battalion) uncovered two tunnel shafts in southern Gaza and destroyed them with the assistance of armored and engineering forces, JNS writes. The IDF said on Saturday night that Hamas terrorists had fired on Israeli soldiers from a Gaza school where civilians were sheltering.
Soldiers from the IDF’s 188th Brigade’s combat team had been operating in the area of a school in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, encountering Hamas squads firing from buildings. On Thursday, the military received intelligence that dozens of Hamas terrorists had entrenched themselves inside a school together with civilians, JNS reports.
“The terrorists took advantage of the presence of civilians in the school area in order to fire RPGs and small arms at the forces while hiding behind women and children,” the IDF said.
Additionally, the Israeli Air Force struck dozens of terror targets during the overnight hours, including military compounds and a tunnel.
Israeli Hero Bomb Dog Makes Miracle Recovery After Being Blown up by a Hamas Terrorist’s Grenade
Good Boy! Watch IDF K-9 Dog Soldier Sniff out Hamas Terror Tunnel
“My Dog Saved My Life”: IDF Dogs Clear 50 Hamas Booby-Traps in Gaza (VIDEO)
The Israel Guys: How Obama LIES about Hamas and Israel
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https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/good-boy-toy-israeli-combat-dog-sniffs-ambush/
| 2024-01-01T02:21:59Z
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2024 Is Poised To Be A Year Of Renewal, And Let Us Celebrate That
When I look at the key events of 2024, I am more optimistic than ever because we are better equipped to handle challenges coming our way.
According to The Economist's calculations, over four billion people in 76 countries are set to cast their votes in 2024 to elect governments. It states that populous countries like Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States will have elections in 2024.
This is a remarkable coincidence, but the team at The Economist seems less enthused. They observe: "More people will vote in 2024 than in any previous year. But this great march to the ballot box does not necessarily mean an explosion of democracy." Instead of embracing the convergence of this global democratic carnival, the magazine opines that "2024 will be stressful for those who care about liberal democracy".
Democratic Renewal Of The Kind We Have Not Seen Before
While I admire the audacity of some intelligent individuals sitting in a London office and offering their insights to the world, my humility reminds me not to dismiss the collective wisdom of a staggering four billion people. It is not my place to question the innate intelligence of voters. They have the right to make their choices, and who are we to challenge their preferences in the name of a flawed construct called "flawed democracies".
To me, an election is about engagement. It involves the pledges that parties make to voters, recognizing the importance of people at its core. It signifies a transition from the old to the new and a renewal of commitments, government structures, policy frameworks, and the engagement between people and government.
While some may have the audacity to despair at such a large-scale renewal, I do not share that sentiment. I wholeheartedly support the celebration of democratic renewal in 2024 on an unprecedented scale, and that is precisely the kind of optimism I eagerly anticipate as we await the arrival of the new year.
In India, we are gearing up for the largest event of all—the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for April-May 2024. Additionally, key states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and possibly Jammu & Kashmir will hold elections. Regardless of the outcome (current indications suggest a one-sided election in favour of the Modi regime in New Delhi), India will move one step closer to its dream of achieving a $30-trillion economy.
Interest Rate Cuts Across The World
A year marked by numerous elections will also witness another record, one not seen in 14 years. According to The Wall Street Journal, "With inflation crumbling around the globe, Bank of America strategists project 152 global central bank rate cuts next year, the most since 2009."
Interest rates cuts in 152 countries! This prospect is enough to bring a smile to even the most pessimistic observers of the economy. It is no wonder that Goldman Sachs is confidently asserting that the global economy will perform better in 2024 than many expect, with India retaining its title as the fastest-growing large economy.
Amidst the prevailing optimism fuelled by the grand-scale democratic renewal and declining credit costs worldwide, a note of caution emerges as the impact of climate change becomes increasingly evident in our lives. June of this year was the warmest on record, and some days in July recorded the highest temperatures ever. Dire predictions loom for 2024—it is projected to be even hotter than 2023, with global temperatures expected to surpass 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The Furious Climate Change Nightmare Unfolding
The significance of the 1.5-degree Celsius target cannot be overstated; repeated breaches will have catastrophic consequences. If such breaches occur in the coming years, we must be prepared to bear a heavy price. The other side of this challenge is the significant investment in green technology and the raw materials that power it, a process already underway worldwide and poised to accelerate. This offers a silver lining amidst the chaos induced by climate change, which continues to unfold at frequent intervals across the globe.
What is heartening is the kind of decisive stand India has taken on this count. Even as India and many other developing countries have gone extra mile on green transition, what is worrying is vacillation and double-speak by the developed countries. Hope better sense prevails in 2024.
When I look at the key events of 2024, I am more optimistic than ever because we are better equipped to handle challenges coming our way. While occasional geopolitical flare-ups may occur, the global system has developed a remarkable capacity to contain them locally.
As I bid farewell to the year that marked a period of recovery after the pandemic-induced hardships, I am confident that the year ahead will be one of renewal and consolidation.
The year 2023 started on a sombre note in India. There was a sense of gloom with geo-political tensions and spiking inflation. The end, however, has been exact opposite of that. There is an unprecedented consensus on ‘we will do it’ theme. Regardless of challenges ahead, there is a seamless flow of collective energy ever eager for a big leap.
Let us all pledge to be at the forefront of democratic renewal and the resulting advancements. And let us all celebrate the impending India moment.
Wishing you all a very happy New Year.
Sanjay Pugalia is Executive Director, NDTV; and CEO, AMG Media Network
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https://www.ndtvprofit.com/opinion/2024-is-poised-to-be-a-year-of-renewal-and-let-us-celebrate-that
| 2024-01-01T02:22:00Z
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Astana, New Delhi discuss trade, economic and investment coop
During the Ministerial Session on ‘Collaborating for a sustainable and secure energy access for all', Kanat Bozumbayev spoke on Kazakhstan's energy potential, the modernization initiative and investment opportunities in the energy industry in Kazakhstan, Kazakh Invest says.
In addition, Kanat Bozumbayev had a meeting with Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas of India. During the meeting, the parties discussed possibility of collaboration in the O&G sector as well as the prospects of cooperation between Kazakh and Indian companies for O&G exploration and development.
During the meeting with N. Sivasailam, Special Secretary of the Department of Commerce, the delegation of Kazakhstan discussed opportunities for trade, economic and investment cooperation, the advantages of logistics integration as well as economic benefits of exploring transit capabilities of both countries. The emphasis was made on the proposal of Kazakhstan to create a Consortium that would connect the railway network of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran with Chabahar port and, thus, enable transportation of goods from Central Asia to India.
Along with this, E. Kosherbayev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and B. Sarsenbayev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to India, met with P. Saran, Deputy National Security Adviser of India. The parties agreed to conduct the 3rd Meeting of the Security Council of Kazakhstan and India in March 2019.
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https://en.inform.kz/amp/astana-new-delhi-discuss-trade-economic-and-investment-coop_a3497769/
| 2024-01-01T02:22:00Z
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SAT awaits new presiding officer
The Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT) is waiting for the appointment of a new judicial member as presiding officer (PO). Justice Tarun Agarwala, who was appointed to the SAT in December 2018, bid farewell last week. In August 2023, the Ministry of Finance invited applications for filling up the position of PO. During his tenure, Justice Agarwala delivered crucial orders on NSE colocation matters, Karvy Stockbroking, and several other corporations. However, several other appeals from big firms are pending before the tribunal. The SAT is a statutory body which hears and disposes of appeals against the
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https://www.business-standard.com/markets/news/street-signs-sat-awaits-presiding-officer-nifty-showing-signs-of-fatigue-123123100759_1.html
| 2024-01-01T02:22:03Z
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PGA Tour seeks extension on commercial deal with Saudis, private investors
(AP) - The PGA Tour believes it has made enough progress with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf to extend their negotiations into next year for a new commercial deal that would include a U.S. investment group and the European tour.
Commissioner Jay Monahan sent a memo to players on Sunday afternoon, just seven hours before the deadline to finalize the deal that was set in the June 6 framework agreement.
The PGA Tour board unanimously agreed three weeks ago to negotiate exclusively with Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of American-based professional sports teams owners led by Fenway Sports Group.
Monahan said the tour has made “meaningful progress” with SSG and provided the group with all the information it requested.
“As we move forward in our discussions, we are focused on the finalization of terms and drafts of necessary documents,” Monahan said.
Far more complicated are the negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the financial supporters of the rival LIV Golf League which lured away Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka in 2022, and most recently Masters champion Jon Rahm earlier this month.
Monahan described conversations with PIF and the European tour as “active and productive.”
The framework agreement was to expire Dec. 31, though it included language that the deadline could be extended if all parties agreed. “We are working to extend our negotiations into next year based on the progress we have made to date,” Monahan said in his memo.
Monahan said the goal for 2024 was to reach agreements with SSG, PIF and the European tour to bring them in as minority co-investors in the for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises.
“These partnerships will allow us to unify, innovate and invest in the game for the benefit of players, fans and sponsors,” Monahan said.
Under the framework agreement, PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan would have a seat on the PGA Tour board. The agreement also included PGA Tour Enterprises doing an “objective, empirical-driven evaluation” of LIV and to determine if team golf can be integrated into the PGA Tour and European tour.
It also was to determine a “fair and objective” process for LIV players who might want to return to the PGA Tour or European tour, which is said to be a sticking point because of the players who turned down Saudi riches to remain on the PGA Tour.
The PGA Tour season begins Thursday at The Sentry on Maui, the first of eight “signature” events with a $20 million purse and limited field. LIV Golf already has announced the bulk of its 2024 schedule and $20 million purses. It starts the first week of February.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kxii.com/2024/01/01/pga-tour-seeks-extension-commercial-deal-with-saudis-private-investors/
| 2024-01-01T02:22:03Z
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Israel-Palestine War Day 87: Pope Francis’ message, Israel’s attack in Gaza, Netanyahu’s comment; 10 updates
Israeli operations in central Gaza killed at least 35 lives on December 31. Check 10 updates on the Israel-Palestine war.
Here are the top 10 updates on the Israel-Palestine war:
Pope Francis prays for Israel-Palestine
At the Vatican, Pope Francis remembered 2023 as a year filled with the pain of war. The pontiff prayed for the “tormented" people of Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Sudan and others.
Also Read: Israel-Iran Tensions Rise as Israeli Forces Trade Fire With Militias in Syria, Lebanon
“At the end of the year, we will have the courage to ask ourselves how many human lives have been shattered by armed conflict, how many dead and how much destruction, how much suffering, how much poverty," he said.
Hamas launches rockets
At the onset of 2024, Hamas launched over 20 rockets towards southern and central Israel, causing alarm as the new year began. Sirens had been heard across various cities including Ashdod, and Sderot, as well as in Rehovot, Ness Ziona, Holon, Lod, and Modiin. There have been no injuries reported.
Israel attacks central Gaza
Israeli operations in central Gaza killed at least 35 lives on December 31, according to local hospital authorities. The conflict continues to escalate within the small territory. Air strikes hit central Gaza, destroyed a house and killed 10 people. Many others left for Rafah, near the Egyptian border, as Israeli tanks fought with Hamas fighters.
Netanyahu says war to continue
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will continue for “many more months". His promise to take back control over the border with Egypt also brings up fresh doubts about the possibility of a two-state solution in the future.
Israel FM asks settlers to return
Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has asked Jewish settlers to the Gaza Strip after the war and encouraged Palestinians there to move away. Smotrich has said that, to keep the area safe, Israel needs to be in charge.
Former Israel minister says sorry
A former Israeli minister, Galit Distel Atbaryan, apologised for her part in the country's arguments before the violence started on October 7. She suggested that arguments among Israelis might have looked like a weakness, which led to Hamas’ attack.
Also Read: The Palestinian cause has been damaged by factionalism, argues a former prime minister
"I sinned against you, I caused pain for you, I caused you to fear for your lives here, and I am sorry for this," she said.
Hostage returns to Israel
Itay Regev, 18, met his sister Maya Regev, 21, at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel. He just got back to Israel after being held by Hamas in Gaza. Maya, who was also held in Gaza, got out a few days before Itay.
Israel to release reservists
The Israeli military plans to send home some reservists called up for duty in Gaza. They say this will help the economy as the country gets ready for more conflict. "Some of the reservist soldiers will return to their families and their jobs already this week," military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated.
Jama Masjid Shahi Imam comments
Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, says that the Muslim world has “not lived up to its responsibilities" on the Israel-Palestine issue. He has also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use India's influence to help stop the conflict with Israel.
PM Modi on resolving conflicts
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India believes "honest dialogue and sincere diplomacy" are the best ways to settle conflicts without fear or force. “Be it in Ukraine or in Gaza, our approach has been guided by this belief. We cannot let terrorists or violence set the agenda," PM Modi told India Today.
(With agency inputs)
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https://www.livemint.com/news/world/israelpalestine-war-day-87-pope-francis-message-israel-s-attack-in-gaza-netanyahu-s-comment-10-updates-11704074565454.html
| 2024-01-01T02:22:03Z
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BEIJING: China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is inevitable, President Xi Jinping said in his New Year’s address on Sunday, striking a stronger tone than he did last year with less than two weeks to go before the Chinese-claimed island elects a new leader.
The Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections are happening at a time of fraught relations between Beijing and Taipei. China has been ramping up military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims over democratically governed Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan to be its “sacred territory” and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Chinese control, though Xi made no mention of military threats in his speech carried on state television.
“The reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability,” Xi said, though the official English translation of his remarks published by the Xinhua news agency used a more simple phrase: “China will surely be reunified”.
“Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” he added. The official English translation wrote “all Chinese” rather than “compatriots”. Last year, Xi said only that people on either side of the strait are “members of one and the same family” and that he hoped people on both sides will work together to “jointly foster lasting prosperity of the Chinese nation”.
China has taken particular exception to current Vice President Lai Ching-te, the presidential candidate for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Party (DPP) and leading in opinion polls by varying margins, saying he is a dangerous separatist.
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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281399/xi-says-reunification-with-taiwan-is-inevitable
| 2024-01-01T02:22:03Z
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BHUBANESWAR: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik will lay the foundation stone for the much-awaited Bhubaneswar Metro project on January 1, 2024.
CM Patnaik announced the project on Odisha Diwas on April 1, 2023, for which the Detailed Project Report has been approved by the Government.
Patnaik, who reviewed the project earlier, approved the 'detailed project report' (DPR) and said that it is going to be a major landmark project for Odisha.
"Reviewed the status of Phase-1 of Bhubaneswar Metro Rail project which is going to be taken up under our 5T initiative. It is going to be a major landmark project for Odisha and with this, Bhubaneswar will join the select cities in the country with a metro rail system," the CM posted on X earlier.
"This project will further strengthen the public transport in the city and spur economic growth. Bhubaneswar has been recognised for various urban projects and is emerging as a city with an enhanced quality of life. I am sure this mega project will make Bhubaneswar a top liveable city in the country," he added.
Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Corporation signed a contract with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for the construction of the Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Project - Phase-I from Bhubaneswar Airport to Trisulia in Cuttack.
A total of Rs 6255 crore will be spent on the project which is the single largest investment made in any infrastructure project in Odisha.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Mayer Sulochana Das said that tomorrow will be a historic day for Odisha.
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/odisha-cm-naveen-patnaik-to-lay-foundation-stone-of-bhubaneswar-metro-project-on-january-1/articleshow/106420427.cms
| 2024-01-01T02:22:04Z
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It's Destination Thrissur as BJP seeks to make a mark in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram is passe; actively courting Christian votes and leveraging Suresh Gopi’s widespread media presence, BJP zeroes in on Thrissur for 2024 polls
On January 3, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will commence its campaign for the 2024 general elections when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Thrissur in Kerala to inaugurate a women’s convention organised by the Mahila Morcha. While Thiruvananthapuram is where the BJP has consistently secured the second spot in the last two general elections, this time its attention has shifted slightly to Thrissur for reasons ranging from its outreach among the Christian community to the presence of actor-turned-politician and former Rajya Sabha member Suresh Gopi as its candidate.
The BJP-led NDA has had a decent performance in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in this region. Suresh Gopi has commenced an unofficial campaign, and the BJP’s primary focus will likely be on this constituency in Kerala. The prime minister’s scheduled programme, including a road show, has been strategically organised, allowing the BJP to kickstart its election campaign in a grand manner.
2019 scorecard
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, there were five constituencies in Kerala where the NDA secured more than two lakh votes, including Thiruvananthapuram, where their candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan finished second behind Shashi Tharoor of the Congress who won by almost one lakh votes.
In 2014, BJP’s veteran O Rajagopal came agonizingly close to Tharoor, thanks to a weak candidate put up by the Communist Party of India (CPI), but could not open the account for the saffron party in Kerala. The only time the NDA had representation in parliament was in 2004 when PC Thomas of his erstwhile IFDP (Indian Federal Democratic Party), a breakaway faction of the regional Kerala Congress (M), won. But the Supreme Court disqualified him in 2006 on the ground that he used his religious background to woo voters.
The electoral landscape in Thrissur appears to exhibit nuanced variations depending on the nature of the election — Assembly or Lok Sabha.
UDF bastion
Traditionally a stronghold of the Congress-led UDF (United Democratic Front), Thrissur has shifted its allegiance to the LDF (Left Democratic Front) in the last two Assembly elections, big time. The Left parties hold all the constituencies except one in the district. However, the dynamics differ in Lok Sabha elections, where the Congress has consistently held an edge in this constituency, particularly benefiting from the significant Christian vote share. In 2019, UDF candidate TN Prathapan secured a resounding victory in Thrissur. He got 415,089 votes. Rajaji Mathews Thomas from the CPI received 321,456 votes. Suresh Gopi of BJP obtained 293,822 votes, a significant vote share of 28.2 per cent.
This was notable, especially when compared to 2014 when the BJP’s KP Sreeshan garnered 102,681 votes in the same constituency.
Suresh Gopi
In Assembly elections of 2016, BJP candidates secured 235,556 votes across the seven segments falling within the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency. In 2021, this fell to 183,256. But Suresh Gopi, who contested from the Thrissur Assembly segment, achieved a personal milestone by securing 40,457 votes, an all-time high for BJP votes in this constituency.
Despite finishing third behind the LDF and UDF candidates, his increased vote count suggests a growing support base for the BJP in the region. With the BJP actively courting Christian votes and leveraging Suresh Gopi’s widespread media presence, the party aims to significantly increase its vote share, potentially winning the constituency. However, the Church’s support is not guaranteed, especially after the Manipur violence. Top bishops have been invited to the prime minister’s Christmas party.
Thiruvananthapuram
The UDF relies heavily on its MP Prathapan's popularity to maintain its stronghold in Thrissur. Meanwhile, the LDF is considering fielding former agriculture minister and CPI leader V S Sunilkumar, who is popular in Thrissur.
The election in Thrissur will be a closely contested affair, with each party strategically positioning its candidates to appeal to the diverse voter base.
Thiruvananthapuram is a constituency where the BJP has gradually expanded its vote base since the 1980s. In 2014, Rajagopal got 282,336 votes, and the victorious Tharoor got 297,806, leaving the LDF’s Dr Bennette Abraham in third place with 248,941 votes.
Taking on Tharoor
Rajagopal led in four of the seven Assembly segments but the three minority-dominated segments prevented a victory. Despite his strong performance, the demographics of certain segments played a crucial role in the final outcome. Rajagopal went on to win the Nemom Assembly constituency in 2016 to become the first BJP MLA of the state. But in 2021 the CPI(M) wrested it back with a resounding victory by present education minister V Sivankutty.
In 2019, the BJP’s Kummanom Rajasekharan secured a record 316,142 votes but fell way short of Tharoor’s 416,131 at the expense of the LDF’s former state minister C Divakaran of CPI who got 258,556 votes.
The BJP is actively seeking a candidate who can effectively challenge Tharoor. The names of Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar have surfaced in the media as potential candidates.
Modi a candidate?
There is also speculation about the possibility of Modi contesting from Thiruvananthapuram, following a strategy similar to what Rahul Gandhi did in 2019.
However, some within the BJP are cautious about this move, fearing that it could lead to minority consolidation against the BJP. There are concerns that such a high-profile candidacy by the prime minister might prompt the Left parties to withdraw their candidate, potentially resulting in a defeat for Modi.
Building on the momentum from 2019, the BJP is strategically focusing on Pathanamthitta and Attingal as well. In Pathanamthitta, K Surendran, the state president, got 295,627 votes while Sobha Surendran garnered 248,081 votes in Attingal. The BJP attributes these gains to the Sabarimala issue, which led to religious polarization, an uncommon occurrence in Kerala’s political landscape.
Other constituencies
Additionally, the BJP is targeting Palakkad and Kasargode, two constituencies bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka respectively. Traditionally, it has had better prospects in these regions. The strategic focus on these constituencies reflects the party’s intention to capitalize on local sentiments and historical voting patterns in these areas. The Sabarimala issue seems to have played a significant role in shaping the BJP’s electoral strategy in these regions.
Now, with Modi kicking off the campaign in Thrissur with another temple card in hand, the BJP is eying to cash on the Christian votes as an add-on. But according to many political observers, the political atmosphere and climate in the state is yet to be conducive for the saffron party. There are many challenges for the BJP to make significant inroads in Kerala. Unlike in the other parts of India, the BJP may need to navigate carefully to gain acceptance among Kerala’s diverse electorate.
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https://thefederal.com/category/states/south/kerala/determined-to-make-a-mark-in-kerala-bjp-shifts-focus-to-thrissur-104837
| 2024-01-01T02:22:04Z
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10 Swedish kronor to Turkmenistani manats
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https://wise.com/in/currency-converter/sek-to-tmt-rate?amount=10
| 2024-01-01T02:22:05Z
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2023’s Economy Will Be Hard To Top, But 2024’s Just Might
The year ended with a flurry of good news for U.S. consumers and workers, and it looks set to continue into the new year.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The American consumer ended 2023 with a burst of economic good cheer, relatively speaking. (Which is to say: happier than they were a few months ago, not as happy as they were a few years ago.) Even better, they expect the good times to continue into 2024, for both themselves and the nation.
They’re right: There is ample reason to be optimistic about the US economy.
The biggest factor arguing for improved sentiment is that the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq reached record highs in December, and the S&P 500 is on the verge of doing so. Progressives like to point out that the stock market is not the economy. But it is a frequently updated, highly salient index of economic conditions.
It’s also the case that most Americans own at least some stock — and that’s especially true of the kind of white-collar, educated workers who derive particularly large direct benefits from the low unemployment rate. Stock market performance is one clear, objective way in which President Joe Biden’s economy has performed worse than Barack Obama’s or Donald Trump’s before the pandemic. More green next to voters’ 401(k)s will make a big difference in that regard.
At any rate, upward market moves are generally in response to good news about the economy — which of course benefits more than just investors.
And in this case it’s no big mystery what the news is: The rate of inflation has plummeted, especially the core personal consumption expenditure deflator that the US Federal Reserve uses as its guide for setting monetary policy.
That means expectations of lower interest rates, which have not only driven share prices up but should also help drive a more functional housing market. New starts leapt upward in the most recent data, helped in part by lower mortgage rates. Lower rates should also help address the acute lack of inventory in the housing market, which has been fairly dysfunctional for the past couple of years.
Americans love their quirky and unique 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, but it can have perverse impacts during a period of rising interest rates: Because a loan is tied to a specific home, people who bought during the long era of low rates found they often couldn’t afford to sell their house and buy a new one of equivalent price at the higher interest rates of 2022-2023. That’s an annoyance for middle-class people who need (or just want) to relocate. But it’s also a powerful disincentive to empty-nest couples to consider downsizing, and helped exacerbate a shortage of units for young families.
Falling mortgage rates will save lots of buyers some money — and boost the home equity of many others — but more to the point, they will create a more normal market, with many buyers and many sellers.
Meanwhile, inflation continues to decrease. There’s a theory that voters won’t be satisfied with a falling rate of inflation, because what they really want is a falling price level. There’s no doubt something to that. But if a falling rate of inflation is good enough to boost retirement accounts and unstick the housing market, even people upset that prices haven’t fallen may be happy.
The cascading effect of the good news continues with the impact of a lower inflation rate on real wages. A lot of Democrats have confused themselves about the situation here. Throughout Biden’s presidency, real wages have been above their pre-pandemic levels. But one major reason for that is that wages grew faster than prices for the final 12 months of Trump’s presidency — which is true even if you adjust for compositional effects. Starting in spring 2021, prices started rising faster than wages for most workers, and did until about the mid-2023.
Unsurprisingly, people weren’t happy about this. The comparison to pre-pandemic wage levels was a valid refutation of overstated doomerism about the economy, but it didn’t change the reality: Real wages were falling. People saved up extra money during the pandemic, both because of government relief efforts and because they were spending less. Then, when the pandemic ended, they spent their extra money —pushing consumption up more rapidly than production could expand, leading to prices that rose faster than wages.
Whether you want to call that inflationary episode “transitory” or not, it’s now over. The economy is back to normal operating mode, where spending is related to earnings and earnings are rising faster than prices due to rising productivity.
Rising average wages will also set the stage for some more optimistic discussion of other economic trends. The racial wage gap, for example, has been falling for several years.
That’s part of a larger trend toward equality of the wage scale that the economists David Autor, Arin Dube and Annie McGrew have documented. What they call the “unexpected compression” of wages actually began before the pandemic, as low unemployment started raising pay at the bottom faster than pay at the top. But compression really took off during and after the pandemic, when ferocious competition for workers ensured that real wages rose at the bottom even during the worst of inflation. Nobody felt very good about this, because most people’s income was falling — it was like a parody of progressive economics, where people became more equal by becoming poorer.
But the circumstances of the compression have remained in place even as inflation has receded. The US continues to be a place where it’s relatively easy to find work, and where even politically conservative small business owners who say the economy is terrible also say they are planning to add workers.
None of this is to say that 2024 will be an unambiguously great year for America. It’s a presidential election year, after all, so no matter what happens, about half the country will end up dissatisfied. When it comes to the economy, however, they should have precious little to complain about.
Elsewhere in Bloomberg Opinion:
- The Year There Was No Recession: Nir Kaissar and Jessica Karl
- There Was Good News About the Climate in 2023: David Fickling
- America Is Finally Losing That ‘Vibecession’ Feeling: Conor Sen
For more Bloomberg Opinion, subscribe to our newsletter.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Matthew Yglesias is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A co-founder of and former columnist for Vox, he writes the Slow Boring blog and newsletter. He is author of “One Billion Americans.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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https://www.ndtvprofit.com/opinion/us-economy-2023-will-be-hard-to-top-but-2024-could-do-it
| 2024-01-01T02:22:06Z
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Astana Opera, Astana Ballet, and Bolshoi Theatre of Russia ink cooperation agreement
The Cooperation Agreement was the result of talks, according to which the parties will develop the partnership in several areas. During the discussion, the management of the two opera houses and the ballet theatre outlined a number of projects, among them performances and training of the Astana Opera and Astana Ballet's soloists at the Bolshoi Theatre. The long-term collaboration plans included exchange tours of the Astana Opera and the Bolshoi Theatre.
It is worth emphasizing that the warm friendly creative ties of the Astana Opera and the Bolshoi Theatre have been formed for a long time, and in the year 2017, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the two opera houses in Moscow, and now the parties have signed a Cooperation Agreement.
Kazakh artists have performed on the famous Moscow stage more than once. For example, the Astana Opera's Principal Soloists Honored Workers of Kazakhstan Talgat Mussabayev and Dina Khamzina performed the main parts in Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin. In 2017, the Etoile of the Astana Opera Honored Worker of Kazakhstan Bakhtiyar Adamzhan performed on this illustrious stage and won the first prize at the XIII International Ballet Competition and Contest of Choreographers. The Soloist of the Astana Opera Maria Mudryak made her house debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in 2018 in Puccini's opera La Boheme.
The soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre, in turn, also had the opportunity to present their art to the Astana's audience. Thus, Principal Dancer People's Artist of Russia Svetlana Zakharova took part in a gala concert dedicated to the world premiere of the Astana Opera. It is important to note that the Principal Conductor of the Astana Opera, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan Alan Buribayev is a Guest Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.
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https://en.inform.kz/amp/astana-opera-astana-ballet-and-bolshoi-theatre-of-russia-ink-cooperation-agreement_a3497316/
| 2024-01-01T02:22:07Z
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Growth with a dress code. New Year reading
Tamal Bandyopadhyay: A rate cut will happen this year. When? It will depend on the growth-inflation dynamics as well as the US Fed action
Debashis Basu: The economy is in the swing. But just a bit of bad news can bring things down.
Ajit Balakrishnan looks at various dress code ideas and if there is any change afoot.
The second edit says T+0 will deepen investor participation. But two ways of settlement can complicate things. And the first edit looks at what’s ahead and how to keep up the growth story
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https://www.business-standard.com/opinion/specials/best-of-bs-opinion-decoding-india-s-dress-code-instant-settlement-more-123123100741_1.html
| 2024-01-01T02:22:09Z
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US Navy helicopters fire at Yemen’s Houthi rebels and kill several in latest Red Sea shipping attack
BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. military said Sunday that its forces opened fire on Houthi rebels after they attacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, killing several of them in an escalation of the maritime conflict linked to the war in Gaza. “We’re going to act in a self-defense going forward,” a White House official said.
In a series of statements, the U.S. Central Command said the crew of the USS Gravely destroyer first shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou late Saturday, after the vessel reported getting hit by a missile earlier that evening as it sailed through the Southern Red Sea.
Four small boats then attacked the same cargo ship with small arms fire early Sunday and rebels tried to board the vessel, the U.S. Navy said.
Next, the USS Gravely and helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier responded to the Maersk Hangzhou’s distress call and issued verbal warnings to the attackers, who responded by firing on the helicopters.
“The U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense,” sinking three of the four boats and killing the people on board while the fourth boat fled the area, the U.S. Central Command said. No harm to U.S. personnel or equipment, or casualties from the cargo ship, were reported.
The Houthis acknowledged that 10 of their fighters were killed in the confrontation and warned of consequences.
In Washington, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council sidestepped a question about the possibility of a preemptive strike against the Houthis to safeguard commercial shipping in the vital waterway.
“I won’t say what’s on or off the table right now,” John Kirby told ABC’s “Good Morning America,” adding, “We’re going to do what we have to do to protect shipping.” He said the United States has “significant national security interests in the region” and “we’re going to put the kind of forces we need in the region to protect those interests and we’re going to act in self-defense going forward.”
He said the U.S. has made it clear to the Houthis that “we take these threats seriously and we’re going to make the right decisions going forward.″
The events surrounding the Maersk Hangzhou represented the 23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping since Nov. 19, the Central Command said. It was the first time the U.S. Navy said its personnel had killed Houthi fighters since the Red Sea attacks started.
For over a month, Iran-backed Houthis have claimed attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports. They say their attacks aim to end the Israeli air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip that was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ Oct.7 attack in southern Israel.
However, the links to the ships targeted in the rebel assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue.
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee called on President Joe Biden “to look at what actions need to be taken in Yemen to be able to prevent the Houthis to continue to put commercial and military vessels at risk.”
Noting Iran’s support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, told ABC’s ``This Week” that the Biden administration should be more aggressive “in responding to escalation by Iran.’’
The Denmark-based shipping giant Maersk, owner of Maersk Hangzhou, said Sunday it would suspend shipping through the Red Sea again after the two attacks on its freighter.
“In light of the (most recent) incident — and to give time to investigate the details of the incident and assess the security situation further — it has been decided that all transits through the area will be postponed for the next 48 hours,” Maersk was quoted as saying by the Danish public broadcaster DR.
On Saturday, the top commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East said Houthi rebels have shown no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea even as more nations join the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic begins to pick up.
Earlier this month, Washington announced the establishment of a new international coalition to protect vessels traveling through the waterway. The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain are also part of the new maritime security mission.
Since the Pentagon announced Operation Prosperity Guardian to counter the attacks just over 10 days ago, 1,200 merchant ships have traveled through the Red Sea region, and none had been hit by drone or missile strikes, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper told The Associated Press in an interview on Saturday.
—-
Associated Press writer Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Finland, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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https://www.kxii.com/2024/01/01/us-navy-helicopters-fire-yemens-houthi-rebels-kill-several-latest-red-sea-shipping-attack/
| 2024-01-01T02:22:09Z
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Here are the top 10 updates on the Israel-Palestine war:
Pope Francis prays for Israel-Palestine
At the Vatican, Pope Francis remembered 2023 as a year filled with the pain of war. The pontiff prayed for the “tormented" people of Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Sudan and others.
Also Read: Israel-Iran Tensions Rise as Israeli Forces Trade Fire With Militias in Syria, Lebanon
“At the end of the year, we will have the courage to ask ourselves how many human lives have been shattered by armed conflict, how many dead and how much destruction, how much suffering, how much poverty," he said.
Hamas launches rockets
At the onset of 2024, Hamas launched over 20 rockets towards southern and central Israel, causing alarm as the new year began. Sirens had been heard across various cities including Ashdod, and Sderot, as well as in Rehovot, Ness Ziona, Holon, Lod, and Modiin. There have been no injuries reported.
Israel attacks central Gaza
Israeli operations in central Gaza killed at least 35 lives on December 31, according to local hospital authorities. The conflict continues to escalate within the small territory. Air strikes hit central Gaza, destroyed a house and killed 10 people. Many others left for Rafah, near the Egyptian border, as Israeli tanks fought with Hamas fighters.
Netanyahu says war to continue
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the war will continue for “many more months". His promise to take back control over the border with Egypt also brings up fresh doubts about the possibility of a two-state solution in the future.
Israel FM asks settlers to return
Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has asked Jewish settlers to the Gaza Strip after the war and encouraged Palestinians there to move away. Smotrich has said that, to keep the area safe, Israel needs to be in charge.
Former Israel minister says sorry
A former Israeli minister, Galit Distel Atbaryan, apologised for her part in the country's arguments before the violence started on October 7. She suggested that arguments among Israelis might have looked like a weakness, which led to Hamas’ attack.
Also Read: The Palestinian cause has been damaged by factionalism, argues a former prime minister
"I sinned against you, I caused pain for you, I caused you to fear for your lives here, and I am sorry for this," she said.
Hostage returns to Israel
Itay Regev, 18, met his sister Maya Regev, 21, at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel. He just got back to Israel after being held by Hamas in Gaza. Maya, who was also held in Gaza, got out a few days before Itay.
Israel to release reservists
The Israeli military plans to send home some reservists called up for duty in Gaza. They say this will help the economy as the country gets ready for more conflict. "Some of the reservist soldiers will return to their families and their jobs already this week," military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated.
Jama Masjid Shahi Imam comments
Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, says that the Muslim world has “not lived up to its responsibilities" on the Israel-Palestine issue. He has also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use India's influence to help stop the conflict with Israel.
PM Modi on resolving conflicts
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India believes "honest dialogue and sincere diplomacy" are the best ways to settle conflicts without fear or force. “Be it in Ukraine or in Gaza, our approach has been guided by this belief. We cannot let terrorists or violence set the agenda," PM Modi told India Today.
(With agency inputs)
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https://www.livemint.com/news/world/israelpalestine-war-day-87-pope-francis-message-israel-s-attack-in-gaza-netanyahu-s-comment-10-updates/amp-11704074565454.html
| 2024-01-01T02:22:09Z
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