text
stringlengths 102
112k
| url
stringlengths 37
240
| crawl_date
timestamp[us, tz=UTC]date 2024-01-04 00:15:18
2024-01-31 23:10:45
| exclusion_reason
stringclasses 1
value |
|---|---|---|---|
A Now Playing HUD which shows the current playing media, and provides quick controls such as play/pause and scrubbing. It can be shown "inside" the notch, or in a separate bubble. An audio, brightness and keyboard brightness HUD which replace the native HUDs.
|
https://www.producthunt.com/posts/mediamate
| 2024-01-29T12:18:08Z
|
blocked_url
|
TOKYO – Long hair, youthful smile, thick glasses slightly askew: For decades, the black-and-white photo of one of Japan’s most wanted fugitives has been a ubiquitous sight at police stations nationwide.
But after nearly 50 years, Satoshi Kirishima – wanted over deadly bombings by leftist extremists in the 1970s – reportedly died on Jan 29, days after local media said he had finally been caught.
Last week, the 70-year-old revealed his identity after he admitted himself to hospital under a false name for cancer treatment, according to Japanese media.
The reports were a sensation in Japan, where his young face is so widely recognised that it has inspired viral Halloween costumes.
But police were still scrambling to conduct DNA tests when the man believed to be Kirishima passed away on Jan 29.
“Investigators looked into and eliminated past tips, but there is a very high possibility that this individual is actually Kirishima,” a police source told the Asahi newspaper.
Plain sight
Details are emerging of how Kirishima may have been hiding in plain sight for decades.
Born in Hiroshima in January 1954, Kirishima attended university in Tokyo, where he was attracted by radical far-left politics.
He joined the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front, one of several militant groups active in the era along with the once-feared Japanese Red Army or the Baader-Meinhof Group in West Germany.
The revolutionary Armed Front carried out bombings at Japanese companies, including one at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that killed eight people.
It operated in three cells, with fanciful names: “Wolf”, “Fangs of the Earth” and “Scorpion” – Kirishima’s outfit.
Under the radar
Alongside physical descriptors on Kirishima’s wanted posters – 160cm tall, full lips, very short-sighted – is a summary of his crime.
In April 1975, the young radical allegedly helped set up a bomb that blasted away parts of a building in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district. No one was killed.
He has been on the run ever since.
TV Asahi and other outlets said he lived a double life for years, working at a building contractor in the city of Fujisawa in Kanagawa region, under the alias Hiroshi Uchida.
He was paid in cash and went under the radar with no health insurance or driving licence, the reports said.
At the nondescript office where the man reportedly worked, someone who knew him told TV Asahi that the suspect had “lost a lot of weight” compared to the wanted photo.
The man believed to be Kirishima began to receive treatment for stomach cancer under his own expense, the reports said.
It was at a hospital in the city of Kamakura that he finally confessed that he was 70-year-old Kirishima, they added.
Walking free
Nine other members of the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front were arrested, the Asahi newspaper said.
But two 75-year-olds are still on the run after being released in 1977 as part of a deal by the Japanese Red Army, which hijacked a Japan Airlines plane in Bangladesh.
Fusako Shigenobu, the female founder of the Japanese Red Army, walked free from prison in 2022 after completing a 20-year sentence for a 1974 embassy siege.
Shigenobu’s group carried out armed attacks in support of the Palestinian cause during the 1970s and 80s, including a mass shooting at Tel Aviv airport in 1972 that killed 24 people.
Kirishima, though, escaped justice, or so it seems.
“I want to meet my death with my real name,” he told staff at the hospital, according to NHK. AFP
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/notorious-japanese-fugitive-dies-after-50-years-on-the-run
| 2024-01-29T12:40:04Z
|
blocked_url
|
Former Malaysian finance minister Daim Zainuddin, 85, cut a pitiful figure when he arrived in a Kuala Lumpur court on Jan 29 in a wheelchair to face charges.
The two-time finance minister was alleged to have failed to declare his assets, which comprised 38 companies and 25 properties in KL, Selangor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Perak and Kedah, as well as a bank account and seven luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce.
Daim had said in December that the investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) were politically motivated.
The anti-graft body said the probe was linked to the release of the Pandora Papers by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which revealed offshore accounts of present and past leaders from around the world.
Daim pleaded not guilty and was given bail at RM280,000 (S$79,300) with no additional conditions after his lawyer told the court that he is “not going anywhere” owing to his health condition.
If found guilty, he faces a maximum jail term of five years and a RM100,000 fine, with the next mention set for March 22.
Here are five things to know about the businessman-turned-politician.
1. Meteoric rise in politics
Daim was finance minister from 1984 to 1991 and rejoined the Cabinet between 1998 and 2001, following the sacking of then finance minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is now Prime Minister.
Daim’s handling of Malaysia’s purse strings came as the world underwent financial crises, but his political career started before that.
In December 1980, then Prime Minister Hussein Onn appointed him as a senator, before he contested the Kuala Muda parliamentary seat in April 1982.
Barely two years later, he was named finance minister by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
During his two ministerial stints, he was credited with steering Malaysia out of recessions
2. Lifelong scholar
At the age of 81, Daim obtained a PhD from Universiti Malaya in 2019 after submitting his thesis about the implementation of Malaysia’s New Economic Policy and its effects between 1970 and 2008.
It took him 11 years to complete his thesis, with his convocation was attended by his wife, five children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
But even before that, he had an educational background that was atypical for those born in his era.
He started at Seberang Perak Malay School and later attended Sultan Abdul Hamid College, which taught lessons in English, and completed his upper secondary education at St Xavier’s Institution, which also holds lessons in English.
For 18 months after that, he studied law at Lincoln’s Inn in London before being called to the English Bar in 1959 at the age of 21.
In 1977, he enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, to pursue a Master in Urban Planning. Fourteen years later, he became a visiting scholar at the Harvard Institute of International Development.
He became a visiting fellow at Cambridge University between 2002 and 2003.
3. Close allies with Mahathir
As Kedah natives, Daim and Tun Dr Mahathir have been friends for decades.
When Dr Mahathir became president of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) and prime minister in 1981, Daim was appointed the head of the party’s investment arm, Fleet Holdings, the following year.
The two have enjoyed a close relationship over the decades, with Daim being brought back into politics after Dr Mahathir became prime minister again in 2018.
The statesman established a five-man Council of Eminent Persons three days after the Pakatan Harapan government took power to advise the government on economic and financial matters.
The council was led by Daim, and its other members were former central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former CEO of state oil company Petronas Hassan Marican, business tycoon Robert Kuok, and prominent economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram.
4. History with Anwar
Once touted as Dr Mahathir’s protege, Datuk Seri Anwar had previously been finance minister in 1991 after Daim left office the first time around.
Two years later, Mr Anwar was appointed deputy prime minister, with the top job all but certain. But in 1998, the heir-apparent was sacked after a rift with his mentor over economic policy.
In the lead-up to the sacking, Daim was economic adviser to the Malaysian government, with The Washington Post reporting in 1998 that he had reversed most of Mr Anwar’s economic policies, which were in line with recommendations made by the International Monetary Fund.
Their relationship has been tenuous over the years, with Mr Anwar saying in a press conference in July 2022 that Daim will have “sleepless nights” if he were to become prime minister.
Mr Anwar’s comments were in response to Daim’s criticisms and calls for his retirement from politics.
5. Incredibly wealthy
Although his total net worth is not known, information revealed in court has painted Daim as a man of great wealth.
Daim ventured into business in 1969 and founded property development firm Syarikat Maluri, he said in court documents. The firm developed two townships in Kuala Lumpur.
In 1981, Daim bought Indo-Suez bank, which was renamed the Malaysian-French Bank. He later exchanged his majority stake in the Malaysian-French Bank for a smaller stake in the United Malayan Banking Corporation, then the second-largest bank in Malaysia.
In an affidavit, Daim said he had controlling or substantial interests in many public-listed companies, including SimeUEP, now known as Sime Darby, Guthrie, TV3, Maybank, Consplant, Cold Storage and Nestle Malaysia.
His family owns the 60-storey Ilham Tower in KL, which was built at an estimated cost of US$580 million (S$778 million). The tower was seized by the authorities on Dec 18.
On Jan 17, the ICIJ said it had obtained documents from a Cayman Islands financial services firm which showed that his two younger sons and his wife were the beneficiaries of a trust that held assets worth US$52.5 million as recently as 2020.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/5-things-about-malaysian-ex-finance-minister-daim-zainuddin-who-was-charged-in-graft-crackdown
| 2024-01-29T12:40:05Z
|
blocked_url
|
MANILA – CNN Philippines will stop operations from Jan 31 due to “significant financial losses”, its owner announced on Jan 29, in the latest blow for the media industry in the South-east Asian nation.
The broadcaster began operating in the Philippines in 2015 as a franchise of CNN, delivering mainly English-language news on free-to-air, cable and pay television.
Staff were told on Jan 29 of the decision to shut down news and production operations on all platforms.
“The decision follows significant financial losses sustained over the past years, despite rigorous efforts to adapt and innovate in a rapidly evolving and challenging media landscape,” CNN Philippines-owner Nine Media Corporation said, without providing details.
“We are aware of the impact of this closure on our valued employees and talents, we assure all affected staff will be provided with severance packages.”
The closure will affect around 300 employees, an employee told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said the closure meant “one less source of reliable information for the public at a time when disinformation and misinformation are rampant”.
Broadcasting giant ABS-CBN – a critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte – was forced to slash its operations in 2020 after advertising revenues were ravaged by the loss of its free-to-air licence. AFP
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/cnn-philippines-to-close-due-to-losses-amid-challenging-media-landscape
| 2024-01-29T12:40:06Z
|
blocked_url
|
LONDON - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was concerned about tensions in the Middle East and urged Iran to de-escalate, after an attack that killed three U.S. service members in northeastern Jordan near Syria's border.
Sunak said Britain "absolutely condemned" the drone attacks which U.S. President Joe Biden said had been carried out by Iran-backed militants.
"We are concerned and would urge Iran to continue to de-escalate tensions in the region," Sunak told broadcasters on Monday.
"We stand resolutely with our allies to bring stability and peace to the region and that's what we continue to work towards."
The attack, which also wounded 34 U.S. service personnel, is the first deadly strike against U.S. forces since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October, and marks a major escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East.
Iran's mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Monday that Tehran was not involved in the attack. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/uk-pm-sunak-urges-iran-to-de-escalate-tensions-after-jordan-drone-strike
| 2024-01-29T12:40:07Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - Stocks ended lower on Jan 29, bucking gains in the region.
The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 0.6 per cent, or 19.22 points, to 3,140.31. Losers outnumbered gainers 279 to 270, after 1.39 billion securities worth $961.7 million changed hands.
Key indexes in the region largely ended higher.
The Hang Seng Index gained 0.8 per cent, the Nikkei 225 was also up by a similar percentage, while the Kospi Composite Index rose 0.9 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index climbed 0.6 per cent.
Mr Vishnu Varathan, chief economist for Asia (excluding Japan) at Mizuho Bank, noted that investors have several key events to watch in the week ahead, including the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
While the Federal Reserve is expected to keep rates steady, the post-FOMC presser could still be a trigger for potentially emphatic pivot bets, he said.
Sentiments in Asia may also remain wary, due to spillover risks from China and rising political risks ahead, despite Fed pivot bets priming markets for “risk on”, he added.
“Between Fed pivot bets, persistent China (asset market) pressures and emerging political risks, markets must confront obscured outlook rather than obviated risks,” Mr Varathan said.
On the STI, Mapletree Industrial Trust was the biggest loser, falling 3.7 per cent, or nine cents, to $2.36.
On Jan 25, the real estate investment trust posted a 0.9 per cent fall in distribution per unit to 3.4 cents for its third quarter ended Dec 31, on an enlarged unit base.
The biggest gainer was Seatrium, which rose 3.9 per cent, or 0.4 cent, to 11 cents.
The trio of local banks ended the day in the red. DBS Bank fell 0.7 per cent, or 21 cents, to $31.89; OCBC Bank lost 0.8 per cent, or 10 cents, to $12.88; while UOB was down 0.7 per cent, or 19 cents, to $28.31. THE BUSINESS TIMES
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singapore-stocks-buck-regional-trend-to-end-lower-on-jan-29-sti-down-06
| 2024-01-29T12:40:08Z
|
blocked_url
|
You are reading the Evening Update newsletter. Get up to speed with the important stories from the day. Subscribe to our newsletter.
Woodlands Checkpoint expansion work to start in 2025, first phase to be completed by 2032
MBS gets URA approval to build 587-room fourth tower, down from previous 1,000-room plan
The Ministry of Education also gets the nod to build office and retail development in North Buona Vista Drive.
COE quota for February to April will be 14,707; 2.2% more than previous quarter
7 in 10 young Singaporeans feel it is not necessary to marry, but most still want to: Poll
They are held back by practical concerns, such as wanting to first advance their careers and build a comfortable life.
MAS keeps Singdollar policy unchanged, lowers overall inflation forecast for 2024
Some analysts say it may keep its policy unchanged through most of 2024 amid pressures on core inflation.
16 charged with corruption in relation to advertisement and servicing contracts
7 new charges for money laundering accused who allegedly planned to submit fake marriage cert to MOM
Su Wenqiang, who is originally from China and holds a Cambodian passport, now faces nine charges in total.
‘Let’s move on’: Malaysia’s King calls for political stability at the end of five-year reign
Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah said it was important to have a stable country and government to attract foreign investors.
Unexplained exclusion of sci-fi works for top award raises issue of Chinese censorship
All four writers have said that they have not received official reasons for their exclusion.
Revisiting America after 31 years: Tips to save and live big in a supersized country
Make your trip more wallet-friendly by opting for a buffet breakfast at your hotel and smaller rental cars.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/evening-update-today-s-headlines-from-the-straits-times-on-jan-29-2024
| 2024-01-29T12:40:25Z
|
blocked_url
|
BEIJING – The former head of China’s top football body Chen Xuyuan pleaded guilty to bribery on Jan 29, Beijing’s state media said, as an anti-corruption drive sweeps up once-major figures in the sport.
Chen – who as boss of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) once promised to turn a page on the corruption scandals that have plagued the sport – was placed under investigation in February 2023 for “serious violations of discipline and the law”.
On Jan 29, the prosecution accused him of taking more than 81 million yuan (S$15.3 million) in bribes in exchange for helping with “project contracting, investment and operation”, among other matters.
Chen pleaded guilty and “expressed remorse”, state news agency Xinhua said.
The trial was adjourned, with judgement to be announced at a later, unspecified, date.
Chen was indicted in September for corruption, and earlier this month appeared in a televised documentary, confessing to having accepted large sums from those wishing to get in his good graces.
Former Chinese national football team coach Li Tie also appeared in the documentary, in which he said he paid Chen two million yuan in bribes to secure his job.
“When I was a player, I hated people who played fake football the most,” claimed Li, a former Everton
midfielder who had almost a century of caps for the Chinese national team.
“But I knew that these might be able to help our team increase our chances of promotion, I also had this kind of mentality of wanting to prove myself,” he added of his time in club football.
CCTV regularly airs confessions by criminal suspects, including former officials, before they have appeared in court – a practice widely condemned by rights groups.
“Fans can accept the fact that the state of Chinese football is bad,” Chen said in the documentary.
“But they cannot forgive corruption,” he added. “I would like to deeply apologise to all Chinese fans.”
Football fan President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China not only to host the World Cup, but win it.
But that goal appears further away than ever after the corruption probe and the national team’s worst Asian Cup performance in history in January.
Around 10 senior leaders and executives of the CFA have been brought down in recent years, including Chen.
Xinhua said that it understood two other sports officials’ bribery cases had been heard by courts on Jan 29, including that of Chen Yongliang, the former CFA executive deputy secretary-general. AFP
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/former-china-football-head-pleads-guilty-to-bribery
| 2024-01-29T12:40:36Z
|
blocked_url
|
DOHA - South Korea coach Juergen Klinsmann said on Monday that he does not fear Saudi Arabia but he has a lot of respect for the Gulf team managed by Roberto Mancini, who they face in the headline act of the Asian Cup last 16.
South Korea failed to top their group and although that saw them avoid Japan in the first round of the knockout stage, it put them on a collision course with three-times champions Saudi Arabia who finished first in their group.
Saudi Arabia have also had the upper hand in the Asian Cup having never lost to South Korea in three encounters but Klinsmann predicted a "nail biter" and said the match could even go to penalties.
"I don't fear anybody. No fear but a lot of respect for every opponent," Klinsmann told reporters ahead of Tuesday's clash where the Saudi supporters are expected to outnumber the South Koreans at Education City Stadium.
"Roberto is doing a fantastic job, it's a step-by-step process that he had to go through. It's obviously a new adventure for him and a new adventure for me being in Korea.
"We have a lot of respect for Saudi Arabia. I've played Mancini many times in my career... You can now see his handwriting on the team after 10 games."
Klinsmann was seen smiling in the dugout when South Korea conceded an equaliser against Malaysia in the 15th minute of stoppage time, with critics saying it was part of the plan to avoid topping the group and facing Japan, Asia's top-ranked side.
But the German said their aim was to top the group and that his smile had nothing to do with who they faced in the knockout phase.
"My smile was because I saw it coming. It was a game where we had nearly 85% possession, 20 corner kicks, many chances and did not score another goal," he explained.
"Usually in football, this is what happens in the very last minute if you don't finish off the game, you get punished."
Mancini's side lost to South Korea in a friendly match last year soon after he took over the team and the Italian is not taking Klinsmann's side lightly even though they conceded in all three group games.
"South Korea is a very good team. Just because they conceded six goals in the group stage doesn't change their strengths," Mancini said.
"We play one of the best teams in the tournament. Not just their attackers, the whole team is good. They have speed and quality with players who play in Europe.
"But we've improved a lot in the past month and we're positive." REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/south-korea-coach-klinsmann-has-no-fear-only-respect-for-mancinis-saudi-arabia
| 2024-01-29T12:40:46Z
|
blocked_url
|
India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul will miss the second test match against England due to injuries, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said on Monday.
The BCCI has called up Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar to replace them.
"Jadeja sustained a hamstring injury during play on Day 4 of the first test in Hyderabad while Rahul complained of a right quadriceps pain," the BCCI said in a statement.
Medium pacer Avesh Khan, who has previously represented India in limited-overs cricket, has also been named in the squad but has not been asked to immediately join the national team.
"Avesh Khan will continue to travel with his Ranji Trophy team Madhya Pradesh and will join the test squad if required," the BCCI added.
The second test is set to begin in Visakhapatnam on Friday. India trail the five-match series 1-0 after losing the first test by 28 runs. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/indias-jadeja-rahul-out-of-second-test-v-england-with-injuries
| 2024-01-29T12:40:57Z
|
blocked_url
|
HAWAII – Brazil’s Filipe Toledo and American Caroline Marks will look to defend their crowns when surfing’s world championship tour kicks off in Hawaii this week, with the 2024 Olympics in the pristine tubes of Tahiti also looming for top contenders.
The nine-stop tour starts with a bang at Pipeline, where the powerful waves and shallow reef have often intimidated and occasionally injured some of the world’s top surfers over the years.
“That’s like the arena of all arenas. If you can perform at Pipeline... the respect and admiration you get from your peers, that’s what you want to achieve,” Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion Carissa Moore said.
But while 2024’s tour has much to look forward to, including a crop of talented newcomers and the return of Fiji to the list of venues, some absent stars, criticism over competition changes and the lack of a permanent leader for the governing World Surf League (WSL) has prompted questions about where the professional sport is heading.
Moore announced in January she was taking a break from competitive surfing after the Pipeline contest but would still surf at the Olympics. Days later, Australia’s eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore said she was taking a year off the tour to refresh herself and surf some new places.
“I’m still passionate and dedicated to competing, and I have goals and dreams that I’m still chasing – I’m excited for something fresh this year and I look forward to returning to competition in 2025,” Gilmore said on Instagram.
Surf historian Matt Warshaw said while the WSL had done some good things including introducing equal pay for women and improving the quality of its broadcasts, a number of missteps around formats, judging and venues had alienated many fans.
“It has gotten to the point where it’s harder and harder to laugh it off or ignore it. People are sitting here waiting for whatever the next iteration of what the pro tour is going to be,” he said.
Holding the one-day finals event for three years running in the gentle waves of Trestles in Southern California – where Toledo is almost unbeatable – rather than a wave of consequence, like Pipeline, was the biggest “stick in the eye” for surf fans, he said.
“Continuing to keep deciding the world title at the same, B-grade surf break that is below what these surfers deserve,” Warshaw said.
“You want to decide the title in waves that are challenging for the surfers.”
The WSL did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In 2023, it said Trestles had been a reliable, fair playing field to decide the world title.
The governing body, owned by billionaire Dirk Ziff and his wife Natasha for more than a decade, has been without a permanent CEO since Erik Logan suddenly departed without explanation during an event in Brazil in June.
Deciding an Olympic surfing champion in 2024 is likely to be a very different proposition than the WSL Finals at Trestles.
The heaving barrels of Teahupo’o in Tahiti, where the Olympics will be held, are regarded as among the most dangerous and technically difficult in the world.
Favourites for the events are the top-flight WSL surfers, such as tube-riding experts like Hawaii’s John John Florence, and Australians Jack Robinson and Molly Picklum, while local Tahitian qualifiers Vahine Fierro and Kauli Vaast will also be among the favourites. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/pipeline-kicks-off-surfing-s-world-tour-as-olympics-loom
| 2024-01-29T12:41:07Z
|
blocked_url
|
SAO PAULO - Carlos Bolsonaro, one of the children of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, was targeted by federal police raids on Monday as part of their probe into alleged illegal spying during his father's term, local media reported.
Carlos, who is a city councillor in Rio de Janeiro, had his office searched as part of the raids, according to multiple Brazilian outlets. Federal police are investigating the alleged illegal monitoring of citizens by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) during Bolsonaro's administration. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/bolsonaro-son-targeted-by-brazils-police-raids-local-media
| 2024-01-29T12:41:17Z
|
blocked_url
|
KYIV - Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto arrived in Ukraine for talks with senior officials on Monday, days before a European Union summit that will seek agreement on a financial aid package that has been held up by Budapest.
Szijjarto's talks in the western city of Uzhhorod with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak follow weeks of Hungarian opposition to the EU providing 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in aid.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's political director said earlier on Monday that Budapest was open to using the EU budget for a proposed aid package, a shift in Budapest's stance.
"A frank and constructive dialogue is expected to improve relations between states," the Ukrainian president's office said on its official channel on the Telegram messaging app alongside a photo of Szijjarto, Kuleba and Yermak.
Ukraine has said it hopes the bloc's 27 member states will agree at the summit in Brussels on Thursday to provide the four-year package that Kyiv plans to use to plug its budget deficit this year as it battles Russian forces in its south and east.
Hungary was the only member state that did not back the aid package at a summit in December.
Kyiv has said Monday's talks would try to lay the ground for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Orban's government has long had strained relations with Kyiv and has maintained better ties with Moscow than other EU states since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Ihor Zhovkva, Zelenskiy's top diplomatic adviser, told Reuters last week the talks in Uzhhorod, which is home to a sizeable Hungarian minority, would touch on bilateral cooperation.
"We are two neighbouring countries, we have (things) to talk about in the economy, logistics, infrastructure and energy sector," he said.
Ukrainian officials have said they expect Orban to visit Ukraine. No date or time has been disclosed. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/hungarian-foreign-minister-visits-ukraine-before-eu-summit-on-aid-package
| 2024-01-29T12:41:29Z
|
blocked_url
|
ROME - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed more than 20 African leaders to Rome on Monday to present her long-awaited plan aimed at re-setting Italy's relations with the continent and curbing immigration.
The summit, being held in Italy's ornate Senate, will last all day, with Italian ministers due to outline an array of initiatives, from energy and infrastructure to health and education, that Meloni says will be mutually beneficial.
"We believe it is possible to envision and write a new chapter in the history of our relationship, a cooperation among equals, far from any predatory imposition or charitable stance towards Africa," Meloni said in an opening speech.
She said the initiative would have an initial endowment of more than 5.5 billion euros ($5.95 billion), including public guarantees for investment projects and 3 billion euros from an international climate fund set up in 2021.
However, critics say heavily indebted Italy cannot hope to compete with the likes of China, Russia and Gulf states, that are all looking to boost their presence in Africa, which is home to many of the world's natural resources.
While Rome claims ownership of the plan, which it has named after the late Enrico Mattei, who founded state oil company Eni, Meloni said her government would look to help from the private sector and international bodies such as the European Union.
Underscoring that point, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and the head of the EU Parliament were all at the Rome meeting.
Among the African leaders present were the presidents of Tunisia, Senegal, Kenya, the Republic of Congo and Somalia. In all, 45 African states were represented at various levels.
ENERGY NEEDS
Meloni has made the Mattei plan a central plank of her foreign policy since taking office in late 2022.
Energy needs lie at the heart of the initiative, with Rome looking to serve as a gateway into European markets for natural gas from Africa that has become vital after Russia's invasion of Ukraine made diversification of supplies a priority for the EU.
Eni, Italy's largest importer of natural gas, has already countered lower Russian supplies by shipping increased volumes from Africa, where it has had a presence for decades. The company has said Algeria, Egypt and Libya will be Italy's main gas suppliers for the next few years.
But the Italian leader has repeatedly said Europe must forge closer ties across industry and agriculture, looking to strengthen African economies as a way of persuading disaffected young Africans from migrating north.
Some 157,600 boat migrants reached Italy last year, the largest number since 2016, undermining Meloni's electoral pledge to halt the flow of unauthorised arrivals.
Most had departed from North African countries such as Tunisia and Libya, many fleeing poverty and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.
"Mass immigration will never be stopped, human traffickers will never be defeated if we do not address the many causes that push a person to leave their home," Meloni told the summit. "This is exactly what we intend to do." REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/italys-meloni-opens-africa-summit-promises-new-partnership
| 2024-01-29T12:41:39Z
|
blocked_url
|
RAFAH, Gaza - Palestinian medical student Aseel Abu Haddaf was due to graduate medical school in Gaza this year but instead she is living in a tent as her home and her university lie in rubble from Israeli air strikes, wondering if she will ever become a doctor.
Israel's war in Gaza, triggered by a Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,200 people, has uprooted every vestige of normal life in the tiny, crowded enclave and killed about 25,000 Palestinians according to local health authorities.
For students like Abu Haddaf the future is even more uncertain than for most, not knowing if their hard years of study will now count for anything or if what remains of the university still has any record of their academic progress.
"Medicine has been my ambition ever since I was young. As a child I always used to see myself as a doctor because of the situation we live in Gaza," Abu Haddaf said, adding that the devastation of the war had made her yet more determined to achieve that goal.
She had been in the final year of her six-year course at al-Azhar University in the southern part of Gaza City, ready to graduate later this year and start work as an intern to become a fully fledged doctor. She hoped eventually to become a surgeon.
Gaza City has been largely cut off from the rest of the enclave for weeks after Israeli forces encircled it during their first major offensive into the enclave, but massive destruction has been evident from video, photographs and satellite pictures.
Abu Haddaf has no idea what has become of her lecturers, other university staff or fellow students. "There is no connection. I know nothing about them, if they are alive or dead," she said of classmates.
"I hope we can go back to our studies even if it is in tents and to have access to the educational staff to teach us and help fulfil our dreams to become doctors," she said.
VOLUNTEER
The Abu Haddaf family had lived in Khan Younis, the biggest city in southern Gaza. Israeli strikes have pounded the entire strip since the start of the war but have greatly intensified in Khan Younis as ground forces invaded it this year.
Their home was destroyed and like about 85% of Gaza residents the family is now homeless. Like most others they are now in Rafah, hard against the Egyptian border and seen as relatively safer from Israel's bombardment.
Abu Haddaf spends much of her day cleaning the family tent, washing clothes, cooking the little food they can find and getting through the many hard chores required when living without a house or electricity.
But she also volunteers for medical duties as far as she can with local authorities to get practical experience in doctoring, but she regards it as a poor substitute for her university training.
Gaza needs all the medics it can get, with tens of thousands of people injured by Israel's bombardment, the enclave facing famine according to U.N. projections and much of the population at growing risk from disease.
Whether medical students like Abu Haddaf will ever complete their training is yet another of the war's unanswered questions. Meanwhile, like everybody else in Gaza, her biggest focus is simply survival.
"Here in the camp we live through tough days. All that consumes us is how to find food and drink," she said. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/gaza-medical-students-dreams-of-becoming-doctor-tested-by-war
| 2024-01-29T12:41:49Z
|
blocked_url
|
Prince Abdul Mateen of Brunei has made his first high-profile appearance with his new wife Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Isteri Anisha Rosnah following their royal wedding.
The Sultan of Brunei's son got married in a lavish celebration spread over ten days from 7 to 16 January 2024. Just weeks later, the newlyweds have taken a step out of the limelight as they marked their friend Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha's, CEO of King Power Group and president of Leicester City Football Club, nuptials.
Anisha was pictured enjoying the Thai billionaire's big day in a dazzling caped wedding guest dress in a midnight blue colour covered with sparkly waterfall-effect embellishments that cascaded down the front.
The demure high neckline, elegant floor-length skirt and statement caped sleeves may look familiar to royal fans, as it is a classic Jenny Packham style loved by the likes of the Princess of Wales.
Anisha's latest look bore several similarities to Kate's gold sequinned frock for the James Bond film premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in 2021, in which the royal was labelled a "Bond girl" with her Jenny Packham creation.
Mateen's wife was thought to be wearing the brand's 'Atlantis' gown which retails for £3,905 and is available in a silver colour as part of the SS24 Resort collection. According to the designer, her "signature style" is "sculptural silhouettes, exquisite detailing, hand-beading and glittering embellishments. Her sharp, architectural crepes contrast against sweeping silk chiffons, sumptuous tulles and liquefied metallic dresses, all exuding an attitude of modern femininity."
Anisha teamed the frock with a mini silver clutch bag with a jewel buckle and a structured handle from Roger Vivier, which retails for £2,750, alongside drop diamond earrings and a matching bracelet. Her long brunette hair fell in soft waves to her waist, with the top section fastened back into a half-up style.
Earlier this month, Brunei's wife proved her penchant for sparkles with her spellbinding final bridal gown - a custom ZUHAIR MURAD for her wedding banquet at Balai Persantapan at the palace. Walking hand-in-hand with her new husband, Brunei's former most eligible bachelor, the 29-year-old looked stunning in a fishtail gown with a high scooped neckline, elegant long sleeves and a rippling train, all adorned with thousands of hand-sewn jewels.
An exquisite embroidered veil was topped with Mateen's sister Princess Fadzilah of Brunei's diamond bridal tiara, marking the second time Anisha had borrowed family jewels. For her wedding ceremony, the beguiling bride walked down the aisle at Istana Nurul Iman in an ivory wedding dress with a delicate pattern and a mini V-neck, accessorising with a floor-length embellished veil secured in place with a tiara that belonged to her sister-in-law, Princess Azemah Ni'matul Bolkiah.
Azemah had previously worn the bespoke headpiece by Singapore jeweller Flower Diamond for her wedding with her first cousin Prince Bahar ibni Jefri Bolkiah in January 2023.
Alexandra Michell, Gemologist at Prestige Pawnbrokers of Channel 4’s Posh Pawn, discussed Azemah's "practical" bridal tiara, thought to be worth £10 million.
"The 838 diamonds totalling 132 carats set in white gold piece was designed in 2023 as an easy to wear and lightweight tiara but with an impressive effect for HRH Princess Azemah’s wedding. I would estimate the value to be upwards of £10 million.
"Heavily laden tiaras can become uncomfortable to wear, especially when they must be worn during lengthy ceremonies. It is possible that this one was chosen for Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Isteri Anisha Rosnah to wear for practical reasons so as not to encumber her during the formal proceedings," Alexandra explained to HELLO!.
SEE: Exclusive: Steph McGovern reveals why she wasn’t at Carol Kirkwood’s 'very private' wedding
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/brides/512253/prince-mateen-of-brunei-wife-anisha-copies-kate-middleton-dazzling-caped-wedding-guest-dress/
| 2024-01-29T12:55:18Z
|
blocked_url
|
Karren Brady, 54, rarely discusses her marriage with former footballer Paul Peschisolido, 52, but she made an exception recently as she opened up about their home life with kids Sophia and Paolo.
Despite pointing out that their careers separated them geographically, with Karren staying at home while Paul travelled the world, she said they have remained a tight-knit family. Not only did The Apprentice star call her husband her "best friend", but she also shut down any implications that there was "jealousy" in her marriage.
"We’ve always been there for each other and supported one another. There’s never been any jealousy or one-upmanship or anything like that.
"What we have in common is the complete love for both of our children, and their health and wellbeing is at the centre of everything we do," she told The Sun, adding that they talk to their kids several times a week.
Former West Ham manager Karren continued by stressing that there is no "aggravation" between the pair, who got married in 1995.
"When you have aggravation at work, what you don’t want is to come home and have aggravation there, too," she said. "I haven’t deliberately set out to separate my work life and family life, but they are quite separate – mainly because my husband couldn’t care less what I do!"
Karren and Paul met in 1993 when she was managing director of Birmingham City, the club he played for. They got married two years later, with photos showing the bride in an ivory gown with a sweetheart neckline and off-the-shoulder sleeves. She teamed it with long satin gloves and a simple white bouquet, styling her long hair in an intricate bun positioned at the crown of her head.
An embellished hair accessory and a veil secured at the bottom of the bun added the finishing touches, while the groom looked dapper in a tux and bow tie.
Although they haven't discussed their relationship on many occasions since their wedding day, Karren joked that Paul "isn't romantic" and shows his affection through acts of service.
She told The Mirror: "Paul isn’t romantic, but I reckon he thinks he does romantic things. For instance, he’ll fill up my car with petrol for me, which is helpful I suppose. I can’t complain!"
READ: Jennifer Hudson's boyfriend Common teases marriage amid blossoming romance: 'Why not?'
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/brides/512256/the-apprentice-karren-brady-discusses-jealousy-aggravation-marriage-footballer-husband/
| 2024-01-29T12:55:24Z
|
blocked_url
|
When Taylor Swift watched her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, secure his team's place in the 2024 Super Bowl on Sunday, fans immediately began wondering if the singer would make it to the big game.
The Kansas City Chiefs will face off against the San Francisco 49ers on February 11 in Las Vegas. While Taylor has been on the sidelines supporting her beau for several of his games, this one may be a bit more tricky.
On February 7, Taylor will resume her Eras Tour in Tokyo and this includes a show the day before the Super Bowl.
However, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said that it is possible for Taylor to make it back due to the international date line.
"Tokyo is 17 hours ahead," he wrote on X. "That means, this concert on Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. starts at 1 a.m. Vegas-time [Pacific Time] the same day, so the morning before, essentially.
"Let’s say it's a five-hour concert, ends about 11 p.m. local, which is 6 a.m. — remember, still Saturday in Las Vegas — figure a 12-hour flight, maybe she leaves about an hour later, Taylor Swift could still get to the Super Bowl to Vegas about 7 or 8 p.m. Saturday night, just in time to party."
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 on Sunday, and Taylor, 34, was there to cheer on Travis and congratulate him with a big kiss.
Fans went wild as she made her way down to the field at M&T Bank Stadium to meet her boyfriend as he waited for the trophy presentation.
The superstar appeared overjoyed as she greeted Travis, 34, who was surrounded by his teammates and his parents, Donna and Ed Kelce.
She was animated during the game and was spotted jumping up and down in the suite as the game played out before her.
Taylor looked radiant wearing a bright red knitted jumper that matched her signature red lipstick.
Travis recently addressed reports that Taylor was a distraction to his game when he brought up the subject at a press conference ahead of Sunday's game.
"As long as we're happy, we can't listen to anything that's outside noise. That's all that matters," he said. "You hear the media throughout the year if we're not having success, you know, maybe throw it out there that I wasn't focused or that the team isn't focused on certain things, and if you're in this building, you know exactly what's going on," he added.
"So, you gotta compartmentalize what you're hearing and make sure that you're staying on task, and giving everybody in the building and on that team the right perception."
It's been a whirlwind romance for the pair and Taylor finally opened up about their relationship win an interview for TIME magazine's 2023 Person of the Year cover story.
"This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell," she said of the July podcast episode. "We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I'm grateful for, because we got to get to know each other.
"By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date."
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletterand get them delivered straight to your inbox.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/512254/will-taylor-swift-attend-the-2024-super-bowl-support-travis-kelce/
| 2024-01-29T12:55:31Z
|
blocked_url
|
Dakota Johnson and her mom Melanie Griffith had the ultimate mother-daughter matching moment over the weekend as they attended the Saturday Night Live afterparty in New York City.
The Fifty Shades of Grey actress was in town to guest host the sketch show and was joined by her famous mother for the festivities afterward, and both were donning all-black outfits for the occasion.
The 34-year-old looked stunning in an all-black ensemble, consisting of a long, sheer-panelled dress adorned with sparkle.
Adding a layer of warmth, Dakota draped a chic feathered jacket over her shoulders and finished off the look with subtle accessories including dainty diamond-drop earrings and pearl and diamond rings. The star also held onto a gorgeous black velvet bag which had a diamond encrusted strap.
Melanie, meanwhile, matched her daughter perfectly by also donning a classic all-black outfit. While Dakota opted for a dress, the Working Girl actress, went for casual chic in a high-neck black jumper, with a stylish open shirt draped over the top.
The 66-year-old rocked a pair of cool jeans and heeled boots, with a dark, long puffer jacket and a Louis Vuitton cross-body bag over the top.
Melanie looked thrilled to be out on the town with her daughter, who she welcomed back in 1989 with her ex-husband Don Johnson.
During the outing, Melanie and Dakota were also joined by Melanie's ex-husband, fellow actor Antonio Banderas, proving that the exes remain on good terms. Melanie and The Mask of Zoro actor married in 1996, the same year they welcomed their daughter, Stella.
MORE: Melanie Griffith's lookalike mom Tippi Hedren turns 94 and she looks unbelievable
MORE: From Melanie Griffith to Dakota Johnson: the most famous nepo-babies to be Golden Globe Ambassadors
However, the pair divorced in 2015. Find out more about Melanie's love life history in the video below...
Meanwhile, Dakota was on Saturday Night Live to host alongside musical guest, Justin Timberlake, and Jimmy Fallon – who crashed the Fifty Shades star's opening monologue. Before rocking her afterparty look, the star looked sensational in a number of gorgeous looks throughout the taping.
For the show's promo video alongside Justin and regular SNL star Sarah Sherman, the star wore a daring black mini-dress with a cross-shoulder detail and cut-out panels on the bust. She polished off the look with elegant sheer black tights. Later, Dakota opted for a halter neck jumpsuit, complete with a gold-buckled belt around the waist.
The actress, who is dating Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, has been doing the talk show rounds in recent times to promote her movie, Madame Web, in which she has the starring role in the Marvel Comics movie, alongside co-stars Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merce and Emma Roberts.
Prior to her appearance on SNL, Dakota appeared on Tonight with Jimmy Fallon where she put to bed previous headlines that suggested she needed 14 hours to sleep. After being quizzed by the host about it being a "long time to sleep", the actress laughed and said: "I said that I could easily sleep 14 hours but I don't, like, demand it. I'm not a monster!"
She added: "I have a job! Leave me alone!
"I'm just asleep, I'm literally doing nothing. I'm just sleeping. I don't have to take anything to sleep like that, either", Dakota insisted. "I can just sleep like that. I think if I took an Ambien, I'd wake up next year."
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/celebrity-style/512247/dakota-johnson-34-and-mother-melanie-griffith-66-have-ultra-rare-matching-moment/
| 2024-01-29T12:55:37Z
|
blocked_url
|
Kali Reis is the breakout star of the gripping revival of True Detective, in which she stars opposite Jodie Foster as two police officers looking into the mysterious disappearance of eight men from a research station in the fictional mining town of Ennis, Alaska.
The professional boxer plays the role of state trooper Evangeline Navarro, who believes the investigation could be linked to a cold murder case that she was unable to solve. While Kali's role in the drama will no doubt shoot her to stardom, how much do you know about the boxer-turned-actress? And did you know that her husband is also a sports star?
Kali, 37, is a fairly fresh face on the acting scene, having only made her on-screen debut in 2021, when she starred in the indie thriller film, Catch the Fair One. From there, she landed a supporting role in the 2023 thriller drama, Black Flies.
Prior to her acting carer, Kali made her name in the world of boxing, taking part in 27 fights, resulting in 19 wins, seven losses and a tie.
The actress is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC female middleweight title in 2016 and the WBA, WBO, and IBO female light welterweight titles between 2020 and 2022.
While her last fight was back in 2021, Kali confirmed that she wasn't retired in an interview with Bleacher Report. "To see women's boxing on the rise and see where it's at from when I started to where it's at now and where it's going, I've been a part of that," she said.
"I like to say I'm the J Cole of women's boxing because I ain't retired, and I'll drop a hot 16 on you real quick."
Who is Kali Reis' husband?
Kali is married to retired professional boxer Brian Cohen, who works as a boxing manager and trainer.
During his career, the Philadeplhia-based boxer was ranked in the top 40 of the WBC and has held the WBC Continental Americas light heavyweight title.
The couple first met through boxing, and Brian later became Kali's trainer and manager. The relationship eventually turned romantic and the lovebirds tied the knot on November 21, 2021.
Reflecting on the big day on their first wedding anniversary, Kali shared a loving tribute to her husband. "Happy 'Til death do us part' day," she began. "One year ago today we said NUKEES to forever. This was one of thee HAPPIEST day of my life so far. I wouldn’t want to do this life without you. And we will always find each other in any life or any realm.
"I choose you and will always choose you. Thank you for EVERYTHING you are & are striving to be. You always want better & I love that you push beyond the normal 'limitations'. The way you believe in me and in US is sometimes unfathomable."
The actress went on to hail her other half as a "unique wonder, a gentle soul with a pure heart", as well as an "amazing human, loving father & extraordinary husband".
While the couple don't share any children, Kali is a stepmother to Brian's 13-year-old daughter.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/512258/meet-true-detective-kali-reis-husband-brian-cohen/
| 2024-01-29T12:55:43Z
|
blocked_url
|
Taylor Swift is busy celebrating her boyfriend Travis Kelce's big win, whereas we're out here celebrating her first-class red lip.
The international hitmaker took some time out of her busy schedule to support her boyfriend on Sunday at the AFC championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.
Taylor avidly watched the match from the side lines, looking in excellent spirits as she cheered on her new beau while sporting an orange-red jumper from model Gigi Hadid's knitwear label Guest In Residence.
The American football player and the rest of his team were victorious over the Ravens, sealing their place in the prestigious upcoming Super Bowl, prompting Taylor to make her way onto the field at M&T Bank Stadium to congratulate him.
The pair shared a sweet kiss, sparking a flurry of internet discussions around the singer's lipstick of choice.
MORE: Taylor Swift's 2024 winter outfit formula is so easy to recreate
READ: Taylor Swift cozies up with Jason and Kylie Kelce at Travis’ latest game
Her crimson pout remained entirely intact, refusing to budge or transfer onto Travis – what is this makeup sorcery, we hear you ask?
"The real winner is whatever brand makes Taylor Swift's red lipstick," one fan wrote on X. And another chimed in, writing: "I just wanna [sic] know how Taylor Swift keeps her red lipstick flawless, when I wear it, it ends up all over my face."
READ: Selena Gomez follows in BFF Taylor Swift's footsteps in sheer Emmys dress
Sadly, neither Taylor nor her go-to makeup artist Lorrie Turk shared the exact product deets, but lots of rumours have been flying around.
One lipstick that she has been reportedly loving throughout her Eras Tour is Pat McGrath's LiquiLUST: Legendary Wear Matte Lipstick in 'Elson 4', a luxurious, blue-based red which shade-wise certainly looks like it could have been responsible for the singer's infallible pout.
READ: Travis Kelce shares rare insight into romance with Taylor Swift: 'We're happy'
Time to up our red lipstick game…
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/beauty-trends/512252/taylor-swift-red-lipstick-kissproof-travis-kelce/
| 2024-01-29T12:55:49Z
|
blocked_url
|
Alexa Chung celebrated Burns Night in her personal signature, a stereotypically striking outfit.
For her recent trip to Scotland she donned an unorthodox lingerie-inspired dress from Shushu/Tong’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection.
The dress's cut emphasises a cool girl fusion of modesty and revelation, with the bow at the high neckline adding a touch of classic femininity. The form-fitting bodice transitions into a gathered skirt, separated by suggestive lace detail that traces and hints at the form of undergarments.
In the images, posted on her Instagram, Chung stands confidently against a floral curtain, the dress exuding a blend of traditional elegance and provocative design. The garment features a solid black hue, adorned with the intricate lace detailing, a distinctive characteristic of the collection's exploration of undergarments as outerwear.
MORE: This Miu Miu bag is going to be everywhere in 2024
RELATED: 7 ways to add 'Big Bow Energy' into your wardrobe according to a Gen Z Fashion Editor
Shushu/Tong's collection is a nod to the work of Helmut Newton, particularly his ‘Big Nude’ series, which is an unabashed celebration of female empowerment through minimalistic attire. The label's SS24 lineup honoured the legendary photographer’s work by integrating undergarment silhouettes into its designs. The transparency of the fabric and the distinct outline of underwear beneath the surface play with the concept of ‘what is hidden and what is revealed.’
“The introduction of bras and silk deep V-neck dresses attempts to break free from the constraints that have bound women, presenting intimate garments that blend beauty and desire, revealing an elusive and captivating sensuality,” the brand explained. Chung's choice to wear such a bold piece to celebrate Burns Night— the Scottish holiday honouring their national bard Robert Burns — added a modern and eclectic twist to the traditional festivities.
MORE: Alexa Chung stuns in a dazzling metallic disc dress at the Fashion Awards 2023
RELATED: Alexa Chung’s 40th birthday train trip was a high-fashion affair
Alexa didn’t stop her Highland fashion parade there of course… she also shared photos where she embraced the rugged Scottish outdoors. The presenter-turned-style icon dressed in an ensemble that subtly mirrored the practical yet understated style often associated with the Queen during her stays in Scotland.
Chung's outfit features a large, padded coat in a neutral tone, a sensible choice for the cold Scottish climate, prioritising function over formality as well as the piece de resistance… a cosy knitted scarf worn atop her head aligning with her maesty's well-known penchant for the accessory.
Queen Elizabeth II was known for her sensible outdoor attire when at Balmoral Castle, favouring practicality and comfort suitable for the Scottish countryside.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/512249/alexa-chung-the-queens-scotland-burns-night/
| 2024-01-29T12:55:55Z
|
blocked_url
|
Rita Ora has long been known for her daring fashion choices, and her latest shimmering look is a radiant testament to her bold style.
The I Will Never Let You Down singer turned heads as she sparkled in a head-to-toe crystal outfit (right down to the boots) dazzling the audience in her role as a judge on The Masked Singer.
The outfit was a 90s pop star coded crystal-embellished mesh ensemble, that shone with every movement. Thel embellishments have been sparkling on runways and beyond, as designers and Influencers have found a new way to bring the classic sequin dress into the modern age by updating it (aka replacing it) with megawatt crystals.
In the Spring/Summer 2023 collections, household names such as Valentino and Alaïa showcased gleaming looks that were hard to miss. This light-reflecting trend has even made its way into daytime fashion, breaking the confines of evening wear.
MORE: I tried the Mesh Ballet flats trend and they honestly go with every outfit
RELATED: Skims x Swarovski: Here's what to buy for party season
Ora's ensemble took the trend to the next level by pairing her crystal mesh top and skirt set with matching slouch knee high boots. “A SPARKLY episode tonight,” Rita confirmed on her Instagram. The outfit was expertly curated by finger-on-the-pulse stylist Pippa Atkinson, who also collaborated with Ora on her Primark campaign. Atkinson's choice of outfit for Ora proves that the trend is here to stay in 2024.
The outfit was complemented by a high ponytail styled by Rio Sreedharan, adding to the overall glamorous aesthetic. Lisa Laudat, her makeup artist, created a flawless base with Augustinus Bader's skin prep face cream and Monika Blunder foundation, giving Ora a radiant complexion. Her makeup featured Charlotte Tilbury lipstick and eyeshadow finished off with Victoria Beckham Beauty’s eye kajal liner. Plus a pop of colour from Tom Ford Beauty blusher to accentuate her cheekbones.
MORE: Rita Ora's "morning pilates" outfit is giving modern Princess Diana
RELATED: Rita Ora, Dua Lipa, Kendall Jenner: How the A-list fashion set spent New Year's Eve
Rita Ora's look was a sparkling homage to the timeless appeal of crystals, and it looks like they’re not just for party season anymore.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/512257/rita-ora-masked-singer-crystal-mesh-outfit/
| 2024-01-29T12:56:01Z
|
blocked_url
|
The Princess of Wales has been discharged from hospital, Kensington Palace has confirmed.
Kate, 42, spent 13 days at the private London Clinic after planned abdominal surgery.
In a statement, the palace said: "The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery. She is making good progress.
"The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided.
"The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world."
The Prince of Wales, King Charles and Queen Camilla and the Middletons were among the family members to visit the Princess during her hospital stay.
William, 41, has temporarily stepped back from royal duties to care for his wife and their three children, Prince George, ten, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.
Kate left the London Clinic earlier on Monday and it is understood her return to official duties will depend on medical advice nearer the time.
Once the princess's care and recovery has settled, William plans to resume his public engagements.
READ MORE: Inside Princess Kate's road to recovery - exclusive
Kate was first admitted on Tuesday 16 January, just days after marking her 42nd birthday.
Kensington Palace has not revealed further details of the princess’s condition, but confirmed it was non-cancerous.
A royal source previously told The Sunday Times that the Princess is set to maintain contact with some of her charities and specifically, her Shaping Us campaign.
The Princess was last seen publicly when she and Prince William and their children attended church on Christmas Day with the royal family.
Meanwhile, King Charles reportedly extended his hospital stay after undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate at the same London hospital.
Queen Camilla was seen visiting her husband on four occasions over the weekend after Charles was admitted on Friday.
LISTEN: King Charles 'loves' seeing his grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/511909/kate-middleton-discharged-from-hospital-after-abdominal-surgery/
| 2024-01-29T12:56:08Z
|
blocked_url
|
The Princess of Wales has an incredibly close relationship with her family and this week marks a special occasion for Kate's mother, Carole Middleton.
The businesswoman will celebrate her 69th birthday on Wednesday 31 January.
It's sadly unlikely that Kate, 42, will be able to attend any big family gatherings given her recovery from abdominal surgery.
On Monday, the Princess was discharged from the London Clinic and is now continuing her recovery at her Windsor home, with Kensington Palace adding in a statement that Kate is "making good progress".
The Prince of Wales, 41, has temporarily stepped back from public duties to care for Kate and their three children, Prince George, ten, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.
As well as being cared for by dad William and their nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, it's understood that George, Charlotte and Louis have also spent time with Carole and Michael Middleton at their home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, during their mother's hospital stay.
Members of the Middleton family are understood to have visited Kate in hospital, too. The Princess has two younger siblings – Pippa Matthews and James Middleton.
In the past, William and Kate have joined the Middletons on holiday on the Caribbean island of Mustique to celebrate Carole's birthday.
And in 2019, Pippa threw a party at her Chelsea home for her mother's 64th birthday. Kate was spotted arriving at the bash, wearing a red off-the-shoulder Alexander McQueen dress.
Carole and Michael sold their family-run business, Party Pieces, which they founded in 1987, to entrepreneur James Sinclair after it felt into administration, it was revealed in May last year.
In a newsletter for Party Pieces last year, Carole spoke about her birthday plans, writing: "Is it just me or has January flown by? Which means it is nearly my birthday. I often go away on holiday for my birthday, but this year I am bringing the sunshine to me by throwing a party featuring lots of bright and bold colours."
And during lockdown in 2021, Carole revealed how she made the most of her special day even when she couldn't see family and friends.
She wrote on an Instagram post: "If, like me, your birthday falls during the cold, dark days of winter, your loved ones can still make the day full of surprises. Our customers have been transforming their surroundings with our sparkly backdrops and bright balloons for small ‘at-home’ parties for their household. It may not be how we imagined we would be celebrating, but a little effort can still lift the spirits and bring some joy. This year it’s down to my husband to help me mark my day - no pressure!"
Carole met flight dispatcher Michael when they both worked for British Airways. The couple married in 1980 and welcomed eldest daughter and future royal Catherine two years later. Second daughter Pippa arrived in 1983, followed by son James in 1987.
The couple are grandparents to George, Charlotte and Louis, as well as Pippa's three children – Arthur, Grace and Rose. They welcomed their seventh grandchild last night with the arrival of James Middleton and Alizee Thevenet's son, Inigo.
LISTEN: King Charles 'loves' seeing his grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/512250/kate-middleton-to-miss-carole-middleton-birthday/
| 2024-01-29T12:56:14Z
|
blocked_url
|
The Duke of Edinburgh showed off his trim figure as he sported a rare casual look during his visit to the island of St Helena last week.
Prince Edward, 59, usually opts for suits and blazers and shirts, but he donned a black polo shirt as he hiked to Blue Point and learned about the area's wildlife.
The father-of-two began his four-day visit to the remote island on Tuesday, and encountered the world's oldest living land animal – Jonathan the 191-year-old giant tortoise.
Like many of his family members, Edward is a big fan of sport and was seen sporting wraparound sunglasses on the his overseas trip, a common accessory for runners and cyclists. And back in 2016, the royal was seen wearing a FitBit.
One of Edward's major focuses is The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, which centres around fitness, wellbeing and community service.
Edward is also an avid tennis player and has even hit the court on some of his public engagements, including playing in an exhibition match of real tennis in La Bastide Clairence, southwestern France in 2018.
He is Patron of the British Paralympic Association, GB Snowsport, Badminton Scotland, The Tennis & Rackets Association, and President of the Sport & Recreation Alliance.
The Duke is also Vice-Patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation, having attended every Commonwealth Games since Edinburgh hosted the event in 1986.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Edward was joined by his wife, Sophie, and their two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex.
Ahead of Edward's 60th birthday, HELLO! has spoken to Monique Eastwood, celebrity trainer to A-List stars including Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci and founder of fitness app, Eastwood Fit.
Telling us why it’s so important to keep in shape as you get older, Monique says: "It’s the unfortunate reality that as we age, we lose muscle mass and bone density. This therefore also heightens the risk of falling and the possibility of breaking our bones.
"Balance and stability therefore are very important and we need strength to maintain this in our bodies. Maintaining muscle is crucial for a healthier metabolism too."
With the Office for National Statistics reporting a record increase in 2022 in the number of people still working over the age of 65, keeping fit and healthy is more important than ever.
Monique says: "Keeping our lungs and heart healthy as we age is essential too. As we age we need to feel we are still able to live a normal lifestyle. E.g. walking , swimming, skiing, playing tennis, lifting and playing with grandchildren, lifting heavy objects etc.
"Exercise can prevent some serious illnesses, e.g. diabetes and heart disease so as we age we should be really focusing on spending time taking care of ourselves to prevent any potential health problems."
So what kinds of exercise are best if you're over 60?
Monique tells HELLO!: "It doesn't matter what exercise you choose to do, as I think the most beneficial thing is to do something you enjoy and will continue to do. So try to mix it up! Variety will stimulate your brain and your body much more.
"At this stage I also think it's important to be part of exercising with others as this is vital for our mental health and wellbeing. Whatever exercise you choose to do just make sure it challenges your body enough to maintain your muscles and build up enough strength in your whole system.
"Including weight-bearing moves to improve bone density and any exercise that's going to improve, maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system too."
She adds: "In my Eastwood Movement Method, I run what I call 'Technique' sessions. These are sequences that are very controlled but you're lifting a heavier weight. Because the session has elements of balance, cardio and weight-bearing strength sets – it helps to build better endurance plus, the all-important – mobility and flexibility!"
LISTEN: The moment royal author Robert Hardman wanted to ‘blend in with the wallpaper’ during visit to Balmoral
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/512255/prince-edward-displays-trim-figure-ahead-of-60th-birthday/
| 2024-01-29T12:56:20Z
|
blocked_url
|
Just after I was invited to visit the Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort - hotel group Hyatt’s new opening in Montenegro - travel bible Time Out released their list of the world’s 30 Most Beautiful Places. Imagine my surprise and delight to discover that the very place I was heading - Kotor Bay, the unspoilt, UNESCO World Heritage site - had been given the number one spot? As a keen traveller and photographer, I was beside myself with excitement… But curious to know if the area - and the hotel - would live up to the hype. Read on for my honest review…
Rooms
Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort features 205 eco-consciously designed guest rooms, all creatively inspired by the dramatic beauty of the local area. There are 21 premium apartments and 26 deluxe apartments, including one, two, three and four-bedroomed beachfront apartments with swim-up pools or roof terraces with hot tubs.
We stayed in a bedroom apartment which consisted of three well-designed floors. At first, I was worried that going up and down the stairs would become tiresome, but having the extra space was wonderful, and it really felt like home. The ground floor featured a fully equipped kitchen with a Lavazza coffee machine and kettle, a two-hob sink and a sizeable fridge. The mini bar was reasonably priced, ranging from 3 Euros for a local Montenegrina chocolate bar or 4.50 Euros for a water or coke, up to 16 Euros for a 200ml bottle of Prosecco. We were given complimentary water, however, and the tap water is considered safe in Montenegro and tasted great, so we certainly didn’t spend any money in this department.
Also on this floor, there was a sofa bed and 65-inch HDTV as well as a marble table and a compact yet stylish bathroom with a walk-in rainfall shower with added attachment and a great mirror with a backlight. It was stocked with toiletries by clean-beauty skincare brand Pharmacopia as well as the usual amenities you’d expect - including a shower cap and cotton buds. A balcony with two chairs - and breathtaking views over Kotor Bay - was the final area to note on the ground floor.
Taking the wooden stairs up to the second floor, we found a bedroom which opened out onto a second balcony. There was a king-size bed (which was extremely comfortable) with duvet and feather pillows. Opposite the bed, there was another 65-inch HDTV, which we managed to connect to an iPad via Chrome Cast to watch movies. There was plenty of cupboard space, and more than enough hangers for our needs (eight in total). The plush carpet, two palm-tree print pouffes and small bench at the end of the bed added to the sense of cosiness in the room.
The bathroom on this floor featured a double sink, a large mirror which featured a back light and time and temperature display. There was another walk-in rainfall shower as well as a hairdryer, bathrobe and slippers and more toiletries by Pharmacopia. On each floor there was a smart control panel to control the temperature of the room as well as controls for the shutters and curtains.
The third floor was the last one to explore, and it contained a small sink area and opened out onto the 44 square metre roof terrace, which was decked out with two sun loungers and our very own jacuzzi to enjoy!
Style
The rooms - as well as the hotel - are tastefully decorated in a minimalist, almost Scandinavian style with interiors that clearly take inspiration from the nature of the surrounding area. Earthy tones of beige, fawn grey and cream, lots of natural wood and marble, and soft warm light set the tone - with a sense of calm reigning supreme. Pops of colour are added in the form of chair furnishings, paintings and wall murals, mainly in varying shades of ochre blue.
I was obsessed with the two-tone curtains in our room - a deep ochre blue at the bottom, fading out to beige. Fittings, in chrome matt silver and bronze, and nature and leaf patterns on the upholstery added were great finishing touches.
Location
Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort is located on the spectacular seashore of the much-undiscovered destination of Kotor Bay in Montenegro. It’s not an area of the world I was familiar with at all - and it took my breath away. It nestles at the heart of the region’s majestic fjord-like coastal mountains of the Adriatic Sea. Remembering some of the scenery and sunsets now as I write this review, it honestly gives me shivers to relive it.
The hotel is accessible by land, boat and plane - it’s just a short taxi ride from Tivat International Airport.
Kotor Bay is a great outdoor destination whichever month you visit thanks to its boundless wild beauty, which can be enjoyed while kayaking or riding a paddle board, or hiking the formidable Vmac mountain, or - as we did - via a private boat tour. We loved the experience of exploring the bay by boat so much that we did it twice.
There’s so much to see: highlights included a trip to Perast - one of the most beautiful towns on the Adriatic Sea - the tiny town is about a 1.5km walk from end to end and packed full of palaces, churches, tiny shops and a museum. We stopped for a lobster and oysters lunch here at Conte Hotel Restaurant and while it wasn’t cheap, it was one of the best lobsters I’ve ever eaten.
Another must-see is Our Lady of the Rocks - a church which sits atop the only artificial Island in the Adriatic. According to legend locals made the tiny island by sinking ships and throwing rocks into the water.
Culture lovers will also love exploring the white-walled, orange-roofed winding streets of the historic old town of Kotor, which is home to numerous majestic churches and cathedrals dating back to the 12th to 14th Century as well as restaurants and souvenir shops. Everything is contained within the laneways and staircases that make up the maze of passages and hidden courtyards found within the town walls. Built by the Venetians, the old town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
Also well worth visiting is the ultra-modern Porto Montenegro. It's a haven of al fresco dining and designer boutiques - you can find Cartier, Chloe, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and Ralph Laurent to name but a few - and super yachts. While we were there, we managed to see the groundbreaking superyacht The Black Pearl, and I was completely floored by her size and sleekness.
Dining
Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort offers several gourmet dining options. The Lighthouse restaurant - my personal favourite - is located right by the sea and is accessible by boat via the hotel's private marina. It offers high-quality Mediterranean cuisine and highlights included the spicy steak tartare and the delicious grilled tuna steak with sesame crust.
The Hedonist Rooftop restaurant is another option, featuring tasting menus of modern Balkan cuisine from locally sourced, farm-to-table groceries.
There’s also Blue, which features a Montenegro food corner, promoting the country’s centirues-old rich gastronomic heritage, and the more relaxed Piano Bar and Terrace, perfect for a morning coffee, refreshing afternoon cocktails or an evening digestif.
If you’re in the mood for tasty tapas, ceviche, salsa and quesadillas, Olé! restaurant and beach bar - Located on the longest natural beach in Kotor Bay - is the one you want. A dynamic hotspot, it has spectacular views, DJ and live music. Last but not least, Pool Bar Bliss serves up healthy snacks, signature cocktails, smoothies and fresh bites.
I’m a big coneurseur of hotel breakfasts, and Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay definitely passed my test. There was the standard selection of fried breakfast fare you’d expect plus a great selection of local cheeses and pastries, plenty of cold-cut meats and smoked salmon and a wide selection of fresh fruit and vegetables. The best part, however, was the egg and pancake station where you could place your order and have it delivered to your table. There’s nothing quite like eating a delicious eggs benedict while gazing out of the azure waters of Boka Bay!
Spa and Wellness
It’s nothing new for a hotel to have an on-site spa, but Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay has something truly unique - a physician-led health centre. This is in keeping with the fact that the area itself is long-famed for its natural healing powers due to its unique combination of air and sea aerosols.
The Vrmac Health & Wellbeing Retreat de’MAR offers medical, holistic and wellness treatments and retreats which can be booked for a variety of ailments and chronic conditions. Single treatments are also on offer - all under the professional supervision of the on-site, certified medical experts. I visited the centre to check out their therapy rooms, which are equipped for treatments including lymphatic drainage and cosmetic facial procedures such as fillers, botox and mesotherapy. I passed on the botox but did try out an amazing anti-ageing facial. My other half, meanwhile saw an osteopath, who gave him some great advice about what to do about persisting niggles he still has from an old skateboarding injury.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the tour was the medical clinic - kitted out with an EKG and Vyntus Body analyser – an up-to-the-minute device for complete functional lung testing.
Guests who are seeking a more typical spa experience can make use of the resort’s Spa Soul - there’s a fitness centre, steam room and sauna with a sea view as well as a heated indoor swimming pool which also overlooks the bay. A wide range of treatments are available, including an incredible Hamman ritual, which I tried out and left feeling like the stresses of the past 12 months had melted away with the layers of soapy suds.
Value for money
Rooms at the Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay Resort start from £86 per room per night and that includes a king-size bed, (or twins if preferred), a walk-in shower and double sink, a well-equipped work desk and a fully set balcony, with stunning mountain views. Value for money? Absolutely yes - that’s £43 per person! I had to double-check to make sure the price wasn’t a mistake!
Prices over the peak summer period will be higher. That rate is available in April and May, when the weather is beautiful, and - according to locals - the best time to visit, before places get too crowded.
How to book: I recommend booking via Booking.com or Love Holidays.
Getting there
Take a direct flight (2.5 hours) from London, Manchester and - soon to be added - Birmingham to Tivat with easyJet and Jet2. Or fly to Dubrovnik via British Airways and transfer down the Adriatic coast by car or boat.
Why you should trust me
As well as being a lifelong travel enthusiast, I’ve been reviewing hotels and travel experiences for HELLO! Online for the past decade. Having stayed in hundreds of different hotels across the globe, from boutique hotels on the clifftops of Iceland to overwater cabins in French Polynesia, I’ve seen every type of hotel imaginable, and I know what’s fab and what’s drab, and I’ll always tell you the truth.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/travel/512070/hyatt-regency-kotor-bay-montenegro-review/
| 2024-01-29T12:56:26Z
|
blocked_url
|
ASTANA – Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) held its first scientific and innovation exhibition in Urumqi, reported the Ministry of Science and Higher Education on Jan. 27.
The exhibition brought together 196 provosts and heads of research centers of local universities, representatives of more than 600 Chinese universities, heads of 40 large manufacturing enterprises, and the diplomatic corps of the two countries, as well as scientists and entrepreneurs.
Kazakh researchers presented patented scientific and innovative projects ready for commercialization, including dietary supplements and herbal teas from medicinal plants, new antibacterial drugs that treat sturgeon species for various diseases, chemical galvanic packaging and nano-spacecraft, assembled for the first time at KazNU and launched into space.
The international scientific symposium of Kazakh and Chinese universities followed the exhibition.
The meeting participants discussed common goals and cooperation in education and science, commercialization of KazNU scientific projects, and exchanged experiences.
Kazakh Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Darkhan Ahmed-Zaki noted the significance of the event in China, which consolidated the innovative ideas of scientists from the two countries and emphasized the role of international experience in the development of university science.
“The work of the international exhibition and symposium as a scientific platform opens a new stage of productive cooperation between the most talented scientists of China and Kazakhstan. I believe that this initiative will make a great contribution to attracting partners to implement effective Kazakh scientific projects,” said Ahmed-Zaki.
As a result of the working visit of the KazNU delegation to Urumqi, bilateral memorandums were signed with Xinjiang University in chemistry and chemical engineering, law, information technology, Earth remote sensing, academic and scientific cooperation.
KazNU also agreed with Xinjiang University to open a joint research center of Chinese-Kazakh universities and signed a memorandum with Xinjiang Normal University.
|
https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/al-farabi-kazakh-national-university-scientists-hold-innovation-exhibition-in-urumqi/
| 2024-01-29T13:07:29Z
|
blocked_url
|
The year 2024 marks the 32nd anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Kazakhstan, a testament to the enduring partnership that has evolved since Kazakhstan’s independence in 1991. Over the years, trade and diplomatic relations between our nations have followed a continuous upward trajectory, reflecting the resilience of our bonds.
The historical relationship between Malaysia and Kazakhstan is characterized by a multifaceted partnership that extends beyond economic cooperation. Both nations have actively engaged in fostering economic cooperation, with bilateral trade steadily increasing, reaching $121 million in 2022. Malaysia continues to play a constructive role in Kazakhstan’s economic landscape, with Malaysian investments totalling over $1 billion since 1992 in various sectors such as oil and gas and construction materials, substantially contributing to Kazakhstan’s national development and progress.
Malaysia is also keen to explore various other opportunities in the Muslim-friendly tourism and agro-food sectors. As one of the largest exporters of palm vegetable oils to Central Asia, Malaysia sees Kazakhstan as an indispensable market in the region. Coupled with the fact that Kazakhstan remains a powerhouse in agricultural produce, including wheat and high-quality fruits and vegetables, deeper cooperation in the agro-food trade can help both nations alleviate potential pressures on food security amid future climactic and geopolitical challenges.
Beyond economic considerations, Malaysia’s government shares similar concerns with Kazakhstan over the recent conflict in the middle east. The shared call for an immediate truce to the hostilities and averting a humanitarian catastrophe underscores our shared commitment to international peace and security. Our common values have the potential to foster deeper multilateral collaboration on broad humanitarian issues, aligning with Malaysia’s eagerness to work with like-minded nations such as Kazakhstan to find long-term, effective solutions to the complex issues facing the world.
It stands to reason then that Kazakhstan holds an important and strategic position as Malaysia’s key partner in Central Asia. The strategic alliance between our nations has not only strengthened economic ties but also facilitated diplomatic collaboration. Malaysia recognises Kazakhstan’s significance as a gateway to the Central Asian region, providing a platform for expanded trade and cooperation through various multinational arrangements. Additionally, cultural and people-to-people exchanges offer vast potential in reinvigorating the tourism sector of both nations.
Crucially, the fundamental principles of Malaysia’s prevailing MADANI government emphasizes its commitment to the rule of law and the utmost respect for constitutional rights. As Kazakhstan maintains the path of reform and progress becomes vital, ensuring the supremacy of law, social cohesion, and reverence for the constitutional rights of the people. The integrity, credibility, and confidence placed in legal institutions and governance architecture form the foundation of a flourishing economic and diplomatic partnership. Kazakhstan’s commitment to a robust legal system is paramount towards continued international business participation and investment.
Looking ahead, Malaysia eagerly anticipates deepening collaboration with Kazakhstan, paving the way for enhanced economic development and fostering a strong and enduring bilateral relationship. Malaysia is committed to further cooperation, as our shared values and mutual dedication to common objectives position Kazakhstan and Malaysia as steadfast partners on the global stage.
The author is Professor Dr Mohd Faiz Abdullah, the Chairman, Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Astana Times.
|
https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/harmony-across-horizons-malaysia-and-kazakhstans-enduring-journey-of-friendship/
| 2024-01-29T13:07:36Z
|
blocked_url
|
ASTANA – Kazakh MPs paid a visit to the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) headquarters in Astana on Jan. 25, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service.
Addressing the meeting participants, Deputy Foreign Minister Alibek Bakayev spoke about the achievements of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the CICA, emphasized the importance of the implementation of the roadmap for transforming the CICA into a full-fledged international organization, and outlined the upcoming tasks and priorities for the CICA development.
CICA Secretary General Kairat Sarybay reminded the MPs of the history of the CICA’s establishment and evolution, its existing bodies, and institutions, and spoke about the CICA’s ongoing activities.
“Based on the organization’s core ideas, CICA pursues a policy centered around the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of the member states, economic, social and cultural cooperation to expand partnerships by developing multilateral approaches to bolster peace, security and stability in Asia,” said Sarybay.
Chair of the Committee on International Affairs, Defence and Security of the Mazhilis, a lower house of the Parliament, Aigul Kuspan, emphasized the importance of the work undertaken by CICA.
“CICA has evolved into not only a platform for broad cooperation but also an effective institution of international diplomacy. We express our support for the initiatives to hold the CICA Ministerial Conference on Environmental Issues in August in Astana, as well as the Rally of Volunteer Movement Leaders under the auspices of the CICA Youth Council,” she said.
During the meeting, Bakayev and Sarybay signed a roadmap for implementing the priorities of the CICA chairmanship for the coming period.
The document includes tasks for CICA transformation, activities of working bodies, strengthening external relations, and holding major international events, among other measures.
|
https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/kazakh-mps-visit-cica-headquarters-address-tasks-for-2024/
| 2024-01-29T13:07:42Z
|
blocked_url
|
ASTANA – A sixteen-year-old school student from the Kyzylorda Region, Assylzhan Abdullayev, has developed the QazaqGPT artificial intelligence application in the Kazakh language, reported Khabar TV channel on Jan. 26.
Artificial intelligence can draw, write, answer questions, and generate information, photos and voice messages for the Kazakh-speaking audience.
Abdullayev, who studies at school No. 210 in the Terenozek village, dreams of getting an educational grant from the Seoul National University of Science and Technology or SeoulTech.
According to Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek, Abdullayev’s project is more extensive than the American prototypes. Today, more than 2,000 users have tried the application.
“I presented my project to U.S. expert Randell Bruns and got great feedback. … Our project passed the selection stage at the U.S. contest and qualified for the semi-finals. We will launch the application by March,” said Abdullayev.
|
https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/kazakh-school-students-create-ai-app-for-kazakh-speaking-users/
| 2024-01-29T13:07:49Z
|
blocked_url
|
ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Alibek Bakayev and Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Kazakhstan Kestutis Jankauskas discussed holding the second round of what they termed “formal consultations” to facilitate the visa application process for Kazakh citizens on Jan. 27, reported the Foreign Ministry’s press service.
Visa facilitation means reduced consular fees, increased visa validity period, reduced time for processing of applications, and a unified list of documents required for a visa.
Following the meeting, the sides agreed to strengthen friendly relations in the consular sphere.
Kazakhstan unilaterally introduced a visa-free regime for citizens of all EU states in 2017 to develop business cooperation, tourism, and people-to-people contact.
|
https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/kazakhstan-eu-continue-talks-on-visa-facilitation-for-kazakh-citizens/
| 2024-01-29T13:07:56Z
|
blocked_url
|
ASTANA – Kazakhstan joined the Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, known as the United Nations (UN) Watercourses Convention, to resolve the question of joint use of waters of transboundary rivers, reported the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation on Jan. 29.
The convention, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on May 21, 1997, ensures the fair distribution of water in transboundary rivers and regulates its use. The Watercourses Convention entered into force on Aug. 17, 2014.
The international agreement creates mechanisms for resolving possible disputes over water allocation and interstate cooperation for the development of water resources, taking into account the interests of all parties.
According to the convention, “watercourse states shall, in utilizing an international watercourse in their territories, take all appropriate measures to prevent the causing of significant harm to other watercourse states.”
The parties also regularly share available data on water flow, quality, and related forecasts. In addition, watercourse countries consult with each other and negotiate the possible effects of planned activities on international watercourses.
|
https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/kazakhstan-joins-un-watercourses-convention-to-enhance-cross-border-cooperation/
| 2024-01-29T13:08:02Z
|
blocked_url
|
ASTANA – Kazakhstan has opened its Honorary Consulate in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), to attract more investment and expand trade and economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Canada, reported the Foreign Ministry’s press service on Jan. 25.
CEO of Arras Minerals mining company Darren Klinck has been appointed to serve as Honorary Consul.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Canada Dauletbek Kussainov, British Columbia Minister of State for Trade Jagrup Brar, and representatives of the diplomatic corps and business circles.
Addressing the guests, Kussainov noted that the opening of the Honorary Consulate would give impetus to the development of Kazakh-Canadian cooperation.
Brar, in turn, emphasized Kazakhstan’s high economic and investment prospects.
For his part, Klinck expressed gratitude for the high trust shown by the Kazakh side and confirmed his readiness to intensify Kazakhstan’s economic, cultural and humanitarian interaction with British Columbia.
Today, three Honorary Consulates of Kazakhstan operate in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
|
https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/kazakhstan-opens-third-honorary-consulate-in-canada/
| 2024-01-29T13:08:08Z
|
blocked_url
|
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s analytical centers presented their research results on the current value orientations of the country’s residents at the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS) expert platform on Jan.26, reported the institute’s press service.
According to KazISS Director Yerkin Tukumov, Kazakhstan has witnessed consistent gross domestic product growth over the past decades, leading to shifts in core values. The state’s economic progress directly affects the population’s living standards, resulting in inevitable cultural and fundamental changes in Kazakh society.
Tukumov outlined three distinct population groups, stating, “The first group embodies carriers of traditional, materialistic values. The second group comprises those with post-materialistic values. The third and most extensive group consists of individuals with mixed values”.
Yelena Burova, the chief research fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, Political Science, and Religious Studies of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, focused on the sociological aspects of the relationship between religious and secular values in contemporary society in Kazakhstan.
“Sociological research shows that the process of religious revival in the country’s society has experienced a stage of religious renaissance. Currently, religious traditions and practices are starting to contend with secular institutions, traditions, and practices. Nineteen percent of the Kazakh population shape their lives with a strong connection to religious values,” she said.
Aigul Zabirova, the KazISS’s chief research fellow, identified six main trends in values based on the institute’s research.
Zabirova noted that family values dominated among the surveyed respondents at 98%, followed by the importance of friends at 91%. Respondents described friendship as a significant resource. In the third position, nearly 89% emphasized the value of free time, which was perceived as a modern priority. Work ranked fourth, with over 88% highlighting its significance. Religion was recognized as a value by over 76% of respondents, while politics garnered acknowledgment from over 61%.
Gulmira Kurganbayeva, the head of the National Mentor Online Academy, discussed the role of modern schools in shaping values, noting that the Z and Alpha Generations especially emphasize their individuality.
“They reject group perception, demand recognition of individuality, and seek to hear each person’s opinion. Their second value is freedom, demonstrated in their choices of academic profiles, schedules, and teachers. Another significant value for many is leadership, with schools now promoting leadership as both individualism and team spirit. For these generations, creativity is a mandatory value, emphasizing the need to innovate and create meaningful new realities,” said Kurganbayeva.
Speakers also highlighted various factors influencing the formation of values and changes in Kazakh society’s value system. These include urbanization, socio-economic conditions, demographic and generational shifts, digitization, and the noteworthy role of the creative industry in elevating the Kazakh language’s status as a national value.
|
https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/top-analytical-centers-provide-insights-into-kazakh-value-system/
| 2024-01-29T13:08:15Z
|
blocked_url
|
CLAY TOWNSHIP — Township residents have two new trustees.
The two new trustees are Angela Howell and Kevin Wrightsman.
Howell received the oath of office on Thursday, Jan. 18, after being selected by a five-member committee to replace Duane Heuker.
Heuker selected the five-member panel when he filed with the Montgomery County Board of Elections to run for the position.
Ohio law states a candidate can name a five-person committee who will select a replacement if the candidate, after being elected, doesn’t complete the term.
Howell and remaining trustee Kyle Groh selected Kevin Wrightsman during a public meeting on Monday, Jan. 22, to fill the position left vacant by Dale Winner.
Winner did not select a five-person committee.
Heuker and Winner submitted letters of resignation to township fiscal officer Mark Brownfield on Jan. 11.
Neither Heuker or Winner gave a reason for their resignations.
Prior to selecting Wrightsman, Howell was named trustee chairperson after being nominated by Groh.
At the Jan. 22 meeting, township resident and former Clay Township trustee Steve Denlinger asked why Winner and Heuker resigned and township zoning officer Kevin Garlitz quit.
Garlitz also submitted a letter to Brownfield on Jan. 11, indicating he is quitting in two weeks as part-time zoning officer.
Garlitz didn’t give a reason why he is quitting.
“Is there a problem here that somebody in this room isn’t saying what it is? Why all of a sudden did the zoning guy quit and two trustees quit? Is there a personnel problem?” Denlinger asked.
“I’m concerned. There is a problem here that we’re not seeing and I’m not hearing what I want to hear,’ Denlinger continued.
“I understand and we know that. There’s some thing’s that I haven’t been let in on yet, but that will change very soon,” Howell replied.
“I’m not just going to say we’re going to start fresh. I will be reviewing everything, but I’ve had one business day and then today, so I will get to the bottom of what’s going on and I can assure you it has nothing to do with the township’s money. It has nothing to do with the township’s procedures,” Howell continued.
Howell also pointed out before she was appointed on Thursday, Jan. 18, no township business could be conducted while there was only one trustee.
“Now that I’ve been appointed, tonight’s hope is to get the third trustee. That way we can begin to move forward, finish the agenda, approve meeting minutes that you don’t have access to right now so we can try to untangle what has happened,” Howell said.
Howell said the reason she accepted the trustee position was to make sure all decisions affecting the township were made by trustees comprised of township residents.
“When I heard what was happening and if somebody wasn’t chosen by us in the township, a probate judge would be assigning people here,” Howell said.
“That did not sit well with me,” Howell said.
Howell, who has served as a township board of zoning member for nearly one year, said she has “no experience on how to do this.”
“I am in the medical billing field. I’ve ran medical billing offices. I’m great with people. I’m a great researcher. I follow the rules. I’m a law follower,” Howell said.
“I am completely committed to keeping this area rural,” Howell added.
Howell, a 2000 Northmont High School graduate, said she and her husband have lived in the township for 20 years. The couple have two children.
Wrightsman also indicated he favors a rural township.
“I’m not politically minded, but I would like to see the township stay rural,” Wrightsman said.
Howell said after the meeting he has a farming background having grown up on a dairy farm.
Wrightsman said he likes living in the township because he prefers the small town atmosphere.
“I grew up in a small town. I like the small town atmosphere. I grew up knowing people’s names. I feel that same community feeling here and I would really like to see that stay. It’s important,” Wrightsman said.
Wrightsman said he has lived in the township with his wife, Kaitlin, for 20 years.
The couple own and operate AVCO Enterprises, a small business located at 8451 National Road in the township.
“We do excavating and concrete work,” Wrightsman said.
The next regularly scheduled trustee meeting is Monday, Feb. 5, at 5 p.m. at the township administration building, located at 8207 Arlington Road.
Reach Terry Baver at [email protected].
|
https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/26/2-township-residents-named-as-trustees/
| 2024-01-29T13:23:39Z
|
blocked_url
|
MIAMI VALLEY — A new year can mean a fresh start for many. In fact, about 38.5 percent of US adults set New Year’s resolutions annually according to Insideout Mastery. Among those resolutions, one of the most popular is health/fitness. According to Forbes, 48 percent of people say improving fitness is a top priority in 2024. If you’re considering fitness as a new year resolution, make sure you choose the right gym for you.
Choosing a gym can be overwhelming, especially if you’ve never had a membership to one. There are plenty of things to consider, such as type of equipment, convenience, hours and so much more. The Better Business Bureau offers tips for choosing a gym:
• Determine your fitness goals, which will help you select a facility perfect for you.
• Do your research. Look at online reviews. Ask family and friends for recommendations about what facility they’re using or have used in the past. Also, ask your physician or family doctor for recommendations.
• Consider location. Is it close to home or work? A good rule of thumb is not to choose a gym more than 15 minutes away.
• Check if your apartment or office building has a gym you can use.
• Consider the type of equipment, classes and other amenities available.
• Be sure the gym is open the days and times you intend to work out.
• Request a tour. Ask about busy times, wait times for equipment, whether classes require pre-registration, availability, cost of trainers, etc. Ask how the gym staff maintains the cleanliness of the facility.
• Ask what happens to your membership if the gym were to close unexpectedly and will your membership renew automatically annually.
• Sign up for a free trial to see if the gym is a good fit for you and meets your needs before you commit. However, make sure you understand the terms and what the price will be once the introductory period is over.
• Consider gym reciprocity. While you may not believe you need it, being able to go to related gyms wherever you may be could come in handy.
• Consider checking into the gym’s childcare opportunities if you have a child you want to bring with you.
• Understand the fees and what they include.
• Read the contract carefully before signing. Make sure any verbal promises are included.
• Know how you can get out of the contract. Many times, specific actions are needed to cancel, such as submitting a cancellation request in writing 30 days before the requested cancellation date.
• Don’t give in to high-pressure sales tactics to join right away. A reputable gym will give you enough time to read the contract, tour the facility, do research and make an informed decision.
During your search, you can also reach out to the Better Business Bureau at BBB.org or 937-222-5825. BBB can provide lists of BBB Accredited gyms and Business Profiles on the ones you’re considering.
|
https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/26/bbb-offers-tips-for-choosing-a-gym/
| 2024-01-29T13:23:45Z
|
blocked_url
|
CLAY TOWNSHIP — Fiscal officer Mark Brownfield is searching for a township resident to succeed him.
Brownfield emphasized his decision to step down as fiscal officer is not related to the resignations of trustees Dale Winner and Duane Heuker.
Brownfield was elected as fiscal officer in the Nov. 7 election.
Prior to being elected, Brownfield served as fiscal officer beginning last July after resigning as a trustee to fill the position held by Holly Buchanan.
Buchanan resigned from the position due to moving out of the township.
Brownfield indicated he is resigning from the fiscal officer position due to issues with his retirement benefits.
“The reason is I am a retiree from the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, but I’m still covered by the Ohio Public Retirement System, so I’m denied access to certain benefits because I’m still technically working,” Brownfield said.
Brownfield retired as Englewood’s police chief on June 30, 2023, before becoming a township trustee and a fiscal officer.
Brownfield said he made the decision to resign before the issues leading to the resignations of Winner and Heuker took place.
“Long before any of this happened I had told the trustees I am going to be departing. I’m trying to do it as a transition by finding my replacement first and then training them on how to do the job. After that, I will step away,” Brownfield said.
Brownfield said in addition to being a township resident, the ideal replacement is someone with an accounting background.
“An accounting background is preferred. Governmental accounting would be perfect,” Brownfield said.
Brownfield noted the fiscal officer is a salaried position.
“The position pays nearly $26,000 a year,’ Brownfield said.
Brownfield said there aren’t any set hours when the job must be done.
“I think it works better when someone is here during the day as opposed to after hours, but the job could be done after hours,” Brownfield said.
Brownfield said the job has become more manageable since he has taken over the position.
“The job has gotten a lot better, making it less time intensive since I’ve been doing it the last six months,” Brownfield said.
Brownfield said his plan is to hire an assistant to the fiscal officer.
“The plan is to hire an assistant, and then once he or she learned it and as long as the trustees would approve it, that person would become my replacement,” Brownfield said.
Brownfield noted, however, finding an assistant has been difficult.
“There’s nobody that has stepped up in the township and said I would like to do that job,” Brownfield said.
“I reached out to some CPAs I know in the area and they are just too busy being CPAs that they just don’t have the time to do it,” Brownfield said.
“I also had one person who expressed interest in doing it, but the person doesn’t live in the township,” Brownfield continued.
Despite the fact no one has expressed interest in the position as of yet, Brownfield believes the right person will be found.
Any township resident interested in the assistant to the fiscal officer position may go to the township website at www.claytontowshipoffices.com and download an application form.
Application forms are also available at the township administration offices, located at 8207 Arlington Road.
Reach Terry Baver at [email protected].
|
https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/26/clay-township-searching-for-fiscal-officer/
| 2024-01-29T13:23:52Z
|
blocked_url
|
EATON — In 2022, Ohio County Auditor’s, Weights and Measures inspectors, found that Dollar General had between 16 percent and 88 percent of products at individual stores priced incorrectly. Ohio Law only allows a two percent error rate for individual stores. For instance, a can of pasta would be priced at $1.50 on the shelf but at the register it would ring up with a cost of $2.25.
Attorney General, David Yost filed a law suit against the Dollar General, and in 2023, a settlement was reached. The settlement is for $1 million dollars, with $750,000 going to the office of Attorney General Yost, and $250,000 covering penalty and investigative costs. Dollar General admits to no wrong doing. Under the settlement Dollar General agreed to provide enough staffing coverage to keep shelf prices up to date. For customers who find an item that costs more than the shelf price Dollar General has to honor the shelf price and fix the incorrect price within 24 hours. District managers also have to conduct random price checks “no less than 45 days,” according to the settlement.
The $750,000 that is going to the office of the Attorney General is being given to food banks and other groups that provide food or personal care items for those in need. Yost asked each County Auditor to pick a food pantry in their county to award their share of the settlement money.
Preble County Auditor Lavon Wright selected The Common Good Food Pantry, located at 113 S. Cherry St., Eaton. Preble County was awarded $6,290.77, and The Common Good Food Pantry was asked by the auditor to split the money between all six food pantries in Preble County.
Funds will be used to purchase food to meet the increasing needs of the pantries. Pantries rely on monetary donations and donations for nonperishable foods to operate.
“I am glad that Attorney General Yost fought to have Dollar General stores change their practices, and to use the settlement money to help food pantries, help people in need,” Wright said. “I’m happy that part of my duties as county auditor is to be the Sealer of Weights and Measures, and that I can help protect the consumer by having our certified inspector,s Tim Hoffman and Sean Maggard, do routine price checking, fuel dispensing tests, and scale testing, throughout the county. This not only helps protect the consumer but it also helps protect the business.”
Preble County food pantries, locations, and service hours:
•The Common Good Food Pantry located within the Once Around Shop at 113 S. Cherry St., Eaton, serving residents of the Eaton Community School District, service hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday 2-4 p.m.
•New Paris Community Food Pantry located in St. Paul’s United Methodist Church at 301 E. Main St., New Paris, serving residents of Jefferson and Jackson Township, service hours Wednesday 2-5 p.m.
•Monroe Township Food Bank located within Ware’s Chapel United Methodist Church at 1060 Foos Rd., West Manchester serving residents of Monroe Township, service hours: Wednesday 3-5 p.m.
•Lewisburg Area Food Pantry located at 106 W. Dayton St., Lewisburg, serving residents of Tri-County North School district, Monday 1-4 p.m., Wednesday 2-5:30 p.m. and the third Saturday of each month, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
•West Alexandria Food Pantry located within St. John’s United Church of Christ, 20 E. South St., West Alexandria, serving residents of Twin Valley South School District, Monday and Wednesday 10 a.m.-noon and the second and last Wednesday of the month 6-7:30 p.m.
•Camden Fish Pantry located 230 N. Main St., Camden, serving residents of the Preble Shawnee School district every Friday, hours vary and the Wednesday after the second Friday, 6-8 p.m.
All the pantries are choice pantries allowing families to choose the foods that best meet their needs and allow families to receive food at least one time per month and more often as needed, but not to exceed one time per week when a family is in great need. In addition, the pantries collaborate to share resources and grant funds to ensure that no matter where you live in the county, you have access to a variety of nutritious food.
In 2023, the six pantries served a combined total of 7,870 households for 22,791 individuals and provided 300,060 meals to families in need. This is a significant increase in comparison to 2022. Food pantries report serving a higher number of households who have never had to request help with food and are needing to come at least one time a month almost every month to make ends meets.
|
https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/26/dg-settlement-helping-preble-foodbanks/
| 2024-01-29T13:23:58Z
|
blocked_url
|
EATON — On Monday, Jan. 15, Home is the Foundation (H.I.T. Foundation) hosted Congressman Warren Davidson and Representative Rodney Creech for a discussion about the affordable housing challenges and homelessness in Preble County.
Home is the Foundation has been serving Preble County residents for 20 years and has extensive experience responding to the housing challenges of Preble County residents. The purpose of meeting with our local representatives was twofold. One, our staff and board of directors are proud of the work we have done in Preble County and we want to share our success with the political leaders who often have the opportunity to make positive changes in housing for Preble County. Secondly, we want our local political leaders to know and see how Preble County is benefiting from specific programs supported by the federal and state government.
For example, with funding from the Ohio Department of Development and the Federal Home Loan Bank, Home is the Foundation assisted over 20 senior adults with home repairs totaling nearly $200,000. It goes to show how important government, non-profit organizations and communities can work together to make a positive difference. According to Clayton Genth, HIT Executive Director, housing is the single most mentally stabilizing thing we can do for people. Whether you need an affordable place to call home, or a senior adult in need of an urgent repair on your home, or in need of emergency shelter; housing is the first step in stability, maintaining independence and improving your health.
Congressman Davidson toured Preble County’s emergency homeless shelter for the first time. Approximately 100 Preble County residents experience homelessness in Preble County each year. The HIT Foundation began offering Homeless Services for Preble County residents in March, 2015. The shelter serves as a temporary housing facility for Preble County residents. Clients meet regularly with shelter staff and a case manager to work toward their housing needs, employment needs, healthcare needs and more. They are expected to meet weekly goals focusing on housing, in order to obtain housing with 30-45 days. Clients are also expected to follow a daily schedule and must agree to adhere to shelter rules.
Want to help make a difference in Preble County? Visit us at https://hitfoundation.org/volunteer-donate or contact Lindsay Watson at [email protected]
If you or someone you know is facing a housing crisis, Home Is The Foundation can be reached at 937-472-0500.
|
https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/26/officials-discuss-homelessness-visit-shelter/
| 2024-01-29T13:24:04Z
|
blocked_url
|
EATON — The Preble County District Library has released the following calendar of programming and events for the month of January.
New: Weekly Winter Storytimes & Crafts for Kids
Many of our branches offer weekly in-person storytimes for kids of All ages. Our storytimes are formulated around Every Child Ready to Read initiative, focusing on the five early literacy practices of reading, singing, playing, talking, and writing. Some crafts may get a little messy.
• Every Monday at New Paris at 5:30 p.m.: Storytime
• Every Tuesday at Camden at 5:30 p.m.: Little Ones Storytime
• Every Saturday at West Alexandria at 11 a.m.: Magical World of Storytime
New: Eaton Storytimes – Winter Session Registration Open
Runs through Feb. 8. Registration is required. To register, cAll the Eaton Branch at 937-456-4331.
• Mother Goose Storytime (birth-age 3): Wednesday or Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
• Eaton Library Mice Storytime (age 3-Pre-K): Wednesday or Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
• Family Storytime (birth-age 5): Thursday at 4:45 p.m.
• After School Crew Storytime (age 6-12): Thursday at 4:45 p.m.
New: Kids Grab & Go Crafts – All Branches
January’s Kids Grab & Go kit is a Winter Diorama craft.
Kids grab & go kits are available at All branches unless noted otherwise. Contact your local branch to reserve a kit while supplies last.
New: Tween/Teen Grab & Go Crafts – All Branches
January’s Tween/Teen Grab & Go kit is a lip balm craft.
Tween/Teen grab & go kits are available at All branches unless noted otherwise. Contact your local branch to reserve a kit while supplies last.
New: Adulting Can Be Fun!
The Preble County District Library offers various adult craft and social programs in January at several of our locations throughout Preble County. Some programs require registration, please cAll the hosting branch for details.
• Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. at Eaton: AYA Book Club
New: Weekly Teen Programs at the Eaton Branch
On Tuesdays at 3:30 p.m., teens in grades 6-12 can come to the Eaton Branch to enjoy activities such as coloring and simple crafting, board games, video games, and more!
• Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 3:30 p.m. at Eaton: Monthly Movie
New: Build Something New with LEGO Programs
Let your imagination run wild as Preble County District Library hosts LEGO Club. LEGO Club is kids and teens to show off their Master Builder skills. If you bring LEGOs from home, please label them in a container with your child’s name.
• Saturday, Jan. 27 at noon at West Alexandria: Lego Club
• Monday, Jan. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at Eaton: Lego Club
• Tuesday, Jan. 30 during open hours at New Paris: After School Lego Time
New: Bluey Day! Saturday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. at Eaton
Are you a fan of the lovable puppy Bluey, her Mum, Dad, and little sister Bingo? Then this program is for you! Join us for a Bluey filled afternoon. We’ll have crafts, games, prizes, and more! Feel free to come in your best Bluey costume or attire!
Other Library Program Offerings:
Book a Librarian
Would you like to learn more about computers? Do you have a new tablet or smartphone you’d like to learn more about? The Reference Librarian is happy to help! Book an appointment on Monday afternoons between 1-4 for assistance with: tablets/e-readers, computers, Microsoft Office, Internet, resumes and job searching, using the library catalog, and research. Call 937-456-5562, email preblerefatpreblelibrary.org, or stop by the library in person to set up an appointment!
Explore & More Adventure Pass Program
Explore & More NOW with your PCDL Library Card! We are excited to introduce our newest service, the Explore & More Adventure Pass Program, enabling PCDL patrons to borrow passes using their library card. This one-time pass, which must be checked out in person at the Eaton Branch, grants patrons limited free access to attractions that would otherwise charge admission fees.
Participating organizations include The Dayton Art Institute, Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, Johnston Farm & Indian Agency, and Carillon Historical Park.
*Each organization sets its own rules for how many individuals are covered under its passes and which days the passes will be honored. Patrons are advised to cAll the organization ahead of their visit for hours and rules.
Don’t Throw Away Local History – Contact the Preble Co. Genealogy Room, Instead!
The Preble Co. Genealogy Room is interested in archiving any local and family historical items you might come across as you clean. This includes (but is not limited to): old paperwork/documents/records, family bibles with family information, pictures of Preble Co. residents, landmarks, and properties, old maps and land records and any items having to do with the history of Preble County, its families and the surrounding areas.
If you come across an item as you clean and wish to donate it to the PC Room, please contact us at 937-456-4970 Monday -Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., or by email at [email protected].
Preble Co. Records Online – families, obituaries, marriages, historic landmarks, and more
Search the library’s in-house Genealogical & Historical Records collections. Visit https://preblelibrary.org/genealogy to get started on your search! Family files can also be researched in person at the PC Room. To view a list of All PC Room resources, visit https://preblelibrary.org/genealogy/holdings.
|
https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/26/pcdl-january-programming-4/
| 2024-01-29T13:24:10Z
|
blocked_url
|
EATON — A Preble County man will serve up to 4 1/2 years in prison after being charged with aggravated possession of drugs in July 2022.
On Jan. 24, 2024, Robert Raybourne Jr., 58, most recently from Camden, was sentenced to an indefinite term of three to four and one half years in prison by the Preble County Court of Common Pleas.
Raybourne entered a plea of guilty “as charged” to one count “aggravated possession of drugs,” a felony of the second degree, carrying a mandatory term of between 2 and 8 years in Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections custody, to be imposed in one-year increments, according to Preble County Prosecuting Attorney Marty Votel.
“The charges stem from a July 19, 2022 incident when Raybourne was discovered asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle on a Camden side street. Chief Matthew Spurlock of the Camden Police Department responded to a complaint filed by a citizen who was concerned about Mr. Raybourne’s condition,” Votel explained in a press release. “When Chief Spurlock approached the car, he saw a glass ‘methamphetamine pipe’ in plain view in the center console of the vehicle.”
Raybourne was arrested for the drug paraphernalia charge, and a search subsequent to his arrest revealed 18.43 grams of methamphetamine in his pocket, along with a number of Xanax pills in a plastic baggie, according to Votel.
“Raybourne was on parole at the time of this offense and was sent back to prison on a violation. It was this parole development, as well as a back-log at the state forensic lab, which caused delay in the prosecution of the case,” Votel noted.
“This defendant has a significant criminal history dating back 40 years, with multiple prison terms and many serious criminal convictions, including illegal manufacture of drugs, illegal assembly of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, aggravated possession of drugs, theft, and receiving stolen property,” Votel said. “Although the Prosecutor’s Office formally recommended a longer prison sentence in this case, the state does believe this defendant’s incarceration will help protect the Preble County community from future crime by this defendant, particularly in the vicinity of Camden. Compliments to Chief Spurlock and the Camden Police Department for a job well done.”
|
https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/26/raybourne-sentenced-in-drug-case/
| 2024-01-29T13:24:16Z
|
blocked_url
|
MU Dean’s List
Miami University students who are ranked in the top 20 percent of undergraduate students within each division for the Fall semester 2023 have been named to the Dean’s list recognizing academic excellence. Local students named include: Mallory Deaton of Eaton, Lindsey Koenig of Lewisburg, Cam Lewis of Eaton, Lorena Cravens of Eaton, Eliot Feck of Eaton, Dylan Jackson of Eaton, Vanessa Mann of Eaton, Joel Combs of Eaton, Taylor Murray of Camden, Travis Pittman of Eaton, Chelsey Pauley of Brookville, Allie DeLong of West Alexandria, Emma Personette of Camden, Kurtis Anderson of Camden, Tristan Bowers of Eldorado, Lily Hampton of College Corner, Anna Kramer of Eaton, and Wes Taylor of New Paris.
Dean’s List at MU Regionals
Miami University Regionals names students to the part-time dean’s list who earned a high academic standing and were enrolled in less than 12 graded credit hours and earning a 3.6 or higher GPA during the 2023 fall semester. Students named include: Hannah Creech of College Corner, Tyler Coveney of Eaton, Belle Blevens of Eaton, Eli Moreland of Camden, Julie Rich of Eaton, Shaun Smart of Eaton, Kelle Fecher of Eaton, and Karmen Huff of Camden.
MU Fall 2023 President’s List
Miami University students ranked in the top three percent of undergraduate students within each division for the fall 2023 semester have been named to the President’s list recognizing academic excellence. Students named include: Ashton Geoit of Eaton, Coen Reed of Brookville, Izzy Bowen of Lewisburg, Lillian Davis of Lewisburg, Ashley Earley of Eaton, Jaelyn Hawkins of Lewisburg, Kami Hawley of Camden, Owen Hewitt of Eaton, Lehua Hoops of Brookville, Angel Bowers of Eldorado, Ayden Childers of Camden, Gracie Lovely of Camden, Alexis Miller of Camden, Kendra Worley of Camden, Garland Weaver of Eaton, Buddy Henderson of West Alexandria, Sydney Aldrich of West Alexandria, Gabrielle Brown of Eaton, and Hailie Edwards of Eaton.
|
https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/26/student-notes-167/
| 2024-01-29T13:24:23Z
|
blocked_url
|
BROOKVILLE — This week at the Brookville Branch Library-120 Blue Pride Drive, Brookville:
Monday, Jan. 29
Play and Learn Story Time, 10-10:30 a.m.
This active story time full of fun books, music, movement and sensory play is ideal for kids ages 2-4. Registration is not required.
Diamond Dot Art, 6-7 p.m.
Calling all kids ages 6-12 who like to craft! This glamorous version of color by number involves placing sparkly little dots all over sticky fabric!
Register in advance under the Brookville Branch Events tab online at daytonmetrolibrary.org, by calling 937-463-2665 or at the library.
Tuesday, Jan. 30
Mother Goose on the Loose: Baby and Toddler Storytime, 10-10:45 a.m.
Bring babies and toddlers for games, songs and stories that have an early literacy base and are designed to aid in stimulating the learning process for babies and toddlers. Caregivers are encouraged to bring children from ages birth to 24 months old to join in this fun program. Registration is not required.
Tween Tuesday, 3-4 p.m.
Kids ages 9-12 years old can hangout, play video games, make crafts and more with their friends! Each week will be something different! Registration is not required.
Line Dancing, 6-7 p.m.
This program is for folks of all ages who want to enjoy line dancing. Participants will have fun listening to a variety of music while learning dances from basic to intermediate level.
Attendees will be required to sign a waiver to participate in this program. Copies of this waiver will be available on the day of the event. The waiver will only be for those who have not signed one for the line dancing program before.
To register in advance, visit the Brookville Branch Events tab online at daytonmetrolibrary.org, by calling 937-463-2665 or at the library.
Wednesday, Jan. 31
Preschool Storytime, 10-11 a.m.
Children ages 3 – 5 years can enjoy stories, songs (Miss Teresa plays her guitar), and other fun learning activities designed to develop the language, literacy, and social skills a preschooler needs for school success. Registration is not required.
Thursday, Feb. 1
Movers and Shakers Storytime, 10-10:30 a.m.
It’s never too early to grow a child’s love of learning. This early literacy-based program features music, dancing, rhymes, stories, and more. Kids and their adults will shake it together! Sing, dance and enjoy music, movement and fun! This program is recommended for children ages 1-4 years and all abilities are welcome. Registration is not required.
Teen Gaming, 3-5 p.m.
Teens in grades 7 through 12 can meet up to play a variety of super fun games! Bring friends and meet new ones after school at the library! Registration is not required.
Family Storytime, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Come to the library for quality family time with books, songs, and activities that children and caregivers can enjoy together. Geared towards K-3rd graders, but children of all ages and their families are welcome. Registration is not required.
Friday, Feb. 2
History Buff Book Club: “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store,” 10-11 a.m.
Hey history buffs, there’s a book club that meets every other month to read and discuss historical fiction and nonfiction. December’s non-fiction book is The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. The book has been named by the New York Times as one of the 100 notable books of 2023.
Register in advance under the Brookville Branch Events tab online at daytonmetrolibrary.org, by calling 937-463-2665 or at the library.
Saturday, Feb. 3
All Ages Crochet Club, 10-11 a.m.
This program is open to crafters ages 6 to adult, and crafters of all skill levels are welcome. If someone has been wanting to learn to crochet, staff will be happy to teach them. Children may need their adult to stay and help them. Crochet hooks and yarn will be provided, but crafters are also encouraged to bring their own if they wish.
Register in advance under the Brookville Branch Events tab online at daytonmetrolibrary.org, by calling 937-463-2665 or at the library.
Magazine and Puzzle Swap, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.
All ages may visit the library’s Quiet Reading Room on the first Saturday of every month for a magazine and puzzle swap. Drop in anytime that day to see what’s up for grabs!
Magazines and puzzles will be available for those who want to swap previously read or new mags for others they’d like to have or trade puzzles for different ones. Anyone can participate, whether they’d like to swap, pick up or donate.
Donations of recent or specialty magazines and puzzles in good condition are welcomed prior to the swap at the library during regular library hours or during the event.
Magazines will include those removed from the library’s collection and patron donations. Registration is not required. v
|
https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/26/this-week-at-brookville-branch-library-16/
| 2024-01-29T13:24:29Z
|
blocked_url
|
Editors note: Organizations wanting meeting notices or events included in the Veterans News are encouraged to send scheduling updates to Editor Eddie Mowen Jr. at [email protected]. Deadline for inclusion in the Wednesday edition is 5 p.m. the Friday prior; deadline for inclusion in the Saturday edition is 5 p.m. the Wednesday prior. Items are published as space allows until the date of events has passed, or for ongoing listings, until removal is requested.
Brookville VFW Post 3288
The Post 3288 canteen is open at 11 a.m. every day. Post 3288 is located at 210 Carr Drive in Brookville.
West Manchester American Legion Post 655
Post 655 is dark during the winter. The first pork chop dinner and cruise-in next year will be March 21, 2024.
West Alexandria American Legion Post 322
Games and cards take place every Saturday from noon-5 p.m. for members and invited guests. Includes Happy Hour. Bring your cards or favorite board games.
Euchre every Wednesday at 7 p.m., $5 entry fee, Ladies Night, drink specials, and 50/50 raffle is open to the public.
Sr. Fun Bunch meets every Thursday from 1-4 p.m. at James E. Ryan Post 322, Ohio 503 South.
Monthly meetings are held as follows: Legion members — second Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m.; Sons members — second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m.; Auxiliary members — first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. Euchre is played every Wednesday at 7 p.m. $5 entry fee, 50/50 raffle. Sr. Fun Bunch meets Thursdays from 1-4 p.m. For hall rentals call 937-839-4015. With any other Legion questions, contact Steve Ward, Commander, at [email protected].
Eaton VFW Post 8066
Kitchen open Fridays beginning at 4 p.m. Karaoke begins at 7 p.m. on Friday. Open to public on Tuesday and Friday.
New Paris American Legion Post 360
Post 360 is open Sundays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday-Thursday, 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays 1 p.m. to midnight, Saturdays 11 a.m. to midnight. Looking for a home Post? There is always something going on at Post 360 and new members are welcome. Monthly events open to the public include: the second Saturday of every month, DJ Duo spinning favorite tunes; the third Saturday of every month, a euchre tournament, and the fourth Saturday of each month, karaoke.
Camden VFW Post 1577
The Auxiliary’s monthly meetings are held the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Camden VFW Post 1577 is located at 291 S. Main St., Camden.
New Lebanon American Legion Post 762
Post 762 is open Monday from 4:30 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to midnight, Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon and 4:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinner is from 6-8 p.m. There is breakfast on Saturday from 8-11 a.m.
DAV meetings
Disabled American Veterans meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the American Legion Post #322 at 1477 Ohio 503 South in West Alexandria. Members are encouraged to attend. Veterans looking for a home legion are welcomed to come. Active duty and younger veterans are encouraged to become members as well.
PC Veterans Service ID Cards
Preble County Veteran Services is now offering honorably discharged veterans the opportunity to have a picture identification card. You may obtain your ID card at Veterans Services at no cost to you. You must bring a copy of your DD214 verifying character of discharge. For additional information you may contact Veterans Services at 937-456-6111.
Preventive Dental Program
Preble County Veterans Service Commission has a preventative dental program to promote good oral hygiene and overall health through connecting veterans with local dentists in Preble County. Services offered include: basic annual examination; basic dental cleaning; panoramic x-ray (if recommended; wing bite x-ray (if recommended; fluoride treatment (if recommended.) Should, after exam, the dentist discover other dental issues (other than root canal, braces, or crowns) PC VSC may assist with additional items on a case-by-case basis based upon treatment plan of treating dentist. If interested in utilizing this program, contact the Preble County Veterans Service Commission, 1322 North Barron St., Eaton, at 937-456-6111.
Editor’s Note: Organizations with meeting notices or events included in Veterans News are encouraged to send updated information to Eddie Mowen Jr. at [email protected].
|
https://www.registerherald.com/2024/01/26/veterans-news-118/
| 2024-01-29T13:24:35Z
|
blocked_url
|
Ukraine’s minister of defense, reporting about his work at the beginning of 2024, said that support for Ukraine continues within the Ramstein format – the latest meeting was held on 23 January 2024. The Minister didn’t disclose any details publicly.
At the same time, he outlined other agreements which were reached with other countries.
In particular, Umerov said, Ukraine and Belgium signed six documents on cooperation in the defense industry to establish joint production in Ukraine. Together with Ukraine’s Minister of Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshyn, they held a meeting with a delegation of the Belgian Ministry of Defence and representatives of defense companies led by the Director of National Armaments of the Armed Forces of Belgium, Frederic Guetin.
As was reported earlier, Belgium announced it would provide €611 million ($655 million) in military assistance to Ukraine this year on 21 January.
Also, Umerov said Ukraine proposed to conduct a joint forum on localization of production with the Baltic countries.
“I suggested to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, during his visit to hold such a forum in the near future. We have great potential with the Baltic countries to expand the production of drones and ammunition for them.”
On 27 January 2024, Ukraine and Lithuania have also agreed on joint steps for manufacturing drones to meet the needs of the Ukrainian military, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during a joint press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis in Kyiv.
In addition, as per Umerov, Sweden and the UK have declared their readiness to join the drone coalition and together strengthen Ukraine with more drones.
He also repeated the previous statement that the Netherlands have agreed to contribute € 10 million to the IT coalition. This coalition, led by Estonia and Luxembourg, aims to support Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces in IT, communications, and cybersecurity.
Read more:
- Ukrainian cyberattacks cripple Russian defense contractor, weather center
- WP: new US plan aims to strengthen Ukraine military by 2024, not retake land
- Spiegel: Russia behind massive disinformation campaign to undermine support for Ukraine in Germany
- Zelenskyy, Duda discuss Ukraine-Poland defense cooperation, Ukraine’s EU aspirations
- Zelenskyy meets with leaders of US defense companies
- Biden: “Failure to support Ukraine is just absolutely crazy”
|
https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/29/defense-cooperation-ukraines-defense-minister-outlines-new-agreements-with-the-uk-the-netherlands-belgium-and-baltic-states/
| 2024-01-29T13:25:37Z
|
blocked_url
|
Rustem Umerov was appointed Ukraine’s new minister of defense on 6 September 2023. He announces he will “clear the system.” One of the first steps became the introduction of a new agency, State Pperator of the Rear, to ensure that procurement of food, clothes, fuel, and all other non-lethal products would be conducted according to the ordinary procedure with open tenders.
Ukraine launches a new agency in the Ministry of Defense to make procurement more efficient
Now, Umerov said they “have the first significant results” after his team conducted the unannounced audit of other old agencies of the ministry.
In particular, the Minister wrote, former and current officials of the Ministry and their accomplices were charged with laundering almost UAH 1.5 billion ($39 million) from the Ministry of Defence while purchasing mortar rounds for the Armed Forces, according to the preliminary investigation.
Also, the Ministry’s team conducted unplanned inspections of warehouses with products in military units. They discovered the lack of food worth more than UAH 50 million ($1.4 million) in total.
“We monitor the violations and deal with each case separately. As a result of the previous trip last week, the Ministry of Defence changed the supplier for some military units. I am grateful to the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the Prosecutor General’s office for their coordinated and professional work,” Umerov wrote.
He also said there were “numerous violations” detected at the military enlistment offices. “The Ministry of Defense team is working to systematically correct all deficiencies. We will continue, and there will be more news,” the minister concluded.
He also said that the ministry has already returned to the budget UAH 1.5 billion ($39 million), which was laundered during the corruption scheme for the purchase of artillery shells for the Armed Forces. He also said that the Ministry of Defence has already won the court case against Lviv Arsenal LLC for the non-delivery of mines and the compensation of another UAH 1.5 billion ($39 million) is expected soon.
Read more:
- SBU uncovers that officials, arms dealers steal some $40 mn budget for 100K mortar shells
- Ukrainian MoD contractor nabbed amid $ 1.2 bn fraud probe as minister vows to clean house
- Five Ukrainian war startups taking on Russia’s brute force
- Ukraine launches a new agency in the Ministry of Defense to make procurement more efficient
|
https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/29/ukraines-minister-of-defense-has-conducted-unannounced-audits-reported-on-violations-to-clean-up-the-system/
| 2024-01-29T13:26:17Z
|
blocked_url
|
In a letter sent to Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis on 27 January, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken outlined the steps to expand cooperation between Athens and Washington in the security field, according to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. Blinken indicates openness to boosting US military aid to Greece to help enable Greek arms transfers to Ukraine.
Read also:
|
https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/29/us-offers-up-to-200-mn-boost-in-military-aid-to-facilitate-greeces-arms-transfers-to-ukraine/
| 2024-01-29T13:26:57Z
|
blocked_url
|
Ed Westwick and Amy Jackson are engaged! The happy couple announced their news on Instagram by sharing photos of the glacier proposal, which took place on a suspension bridge in Switzerland.
While soaking up the views of the Alps on Peak Walk by Tissot, the Gossip Girl actor dropped to one knee to propose to his model partner. Dressed in a chic snow-white jacket and matching trousers, Amy held her hands up to her mouth in surprise as Ed opened the ring box. Further photos on the carousel show a closer look at the engagement ring, which is a dazzling oval diamond on a delicate band.
Other guests had stopped at the edge of the 107-metre-long bridge to observe the adorable proposal.
"Hell YES," Amy captioned the photos, which were met with an outpouring of love and congratulatory messages from famous friends and fans alike. The announcement didn't come as a huge shock to his followers since Ed had opened up about his desire to get married in a recent interview with HELLO! in 2023.
In stark contrast to his lovable bad boy character Chuck Bass, Ed had revealed that settling down was on the card for himself and Bollywood actress Amy, who is mother to a son called Andreas, four, from a previous relationship.
"Yes! One hundred per cent. I grew up in a wonderful household where my mum and dad were married. My parents loved each other fiercely right up to the end. I idolised them and their relationship. Just that kind of support!" he said.
The couple have been in a relationship for three years after meeting at Silverstone Racetrack in 2021. Deep Fear actor Ed continued: "I was there with a friend who knew her. I saw her and thought, I’m going to make my move! We chatted for a bit and I asked her if she wanted to meet me for a coffee.
"We had a wonderful day and she beat me. Her lap time was a lot better than mine! She’s been making my heart race from day one!"
After moving to the same area, Hampstead in London, their relationship blossomed. They have since purchased a home in the countryside, and although Ed said the renovations have taken up a lot of their time, he insisted they are "very, very happy" and "love the peace and tranquility."
Opening up about wanting more space to expand their family in the future, he added: "The ambition is to have our own family. There are no announcements to make yet!"
DON'T MISS: 15 best diamond engagement rings for 2024: From oval to princess cuts
DON'T MISS: Dreaming of a Valentine's Day proposal? This family-run company offers dazzling diamonds at up to 70% off
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/brides/512263/ed-westwick-switzerland-glacier-engagement-amy-jackson-ring-photos/
| 2024-01-29T13:47:53Z
|
blocked_url
|
Oprah Winfrey is 70! The self-made billionaire celebrated the huge milestone on January 29, and she has come a long way, both personally and professionally, since she got her first media job at age 17.
The former chat show star has not only turned herself into a household name but she's used her fame to create opportunities for others and has donated millions of dollars of her own money to various charities, as well as setting up her own.
So, as Oprah turns 70, we're looking back at her life and career…
Rise to fame
Oprah got her first taste of working in media when she was 17 and landed a part-time job at a local radio station.
One credit short of finishing her communications degree at Tennessee State University, she dropped out of college after she was offered a role at WLAC-TV Nashville, becoming the network's first black female news anchor.
In 1976, she became a co-anchor on the 6 p.m. news at WJZ-TV in Baltimore. However, she was soon demoted to host the affiliate's local talk show, People Are Talking, which she later said made her realize that hosting a talk show was the career for her.
Oprah took her newfound passion to WLS-TV Chicago's morning talk show, AM Chicago, and turned it from the network's lowest-rated show to the number-one local talk show in a matter of months.
One year later, Oprah struck a deal, and the program was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. It went on to become the highest-rated talk show in television history and ran from 1986 to 2011.
Illustrious career
Being the queen of talk shows wasn't enough for Oprah – she had other plans for her lucrative career.
She made her acting debut in 1985's The Color Purple, which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Oscars and a Golden Globe nomination.
Oprah has since appeared in TV shows, including Greenleaf, and starred in over 15 movies, including Selma, Beloved, The Butler, and The Color Purple remake.
In 2011, she launched her cable channel, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, and in 2020 she sold most of her stake to Warner Bros. Discovery in exchange for shares in the company.
She also has her own production company, Harpo Productions, which has produced her TV shows, films, and books.
Oprah Radio is another string to her bow, as well as her magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine – which became digital and was rebranded as Oprah Daily in 2021. She is also a successful author.
Self-made billionaire
With all her successful businesses and savvy investments – including a stake in WW (formerly Weight Watchers) whose stock reportedly rose 500% after her involvement – it's not surprising that Oprah has built up a sizeable net worth. ,
According to Forbes, she is estimated to be worth a whopping $2.8 billion!
During her heyday on The Oprah Winfrey Show, she was reportedly making around $315 million a year. Although now, her annual income varies depending on her projects, in 2019 she is believed to have made a staggering $37 million.
While she may not have a talk show anymore, Oprah still commands a hefty fee for her one-off interviews. In 2021, when she sat down with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, she was reportedly paid between $7 million and $9 million by CBS.
That same year, CBS reportedly forked out between $5 million and $7 million for her interview with Adele, which featured in the special, Adele: One Night Only.
Oprah is also said to charge between $1.5 million and $2.5 million for speaking engagements.
Philanthropy
Oprah doesn't keep her billions to herself. Over the years she has donated an estimated $400 million through her charities, the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, and the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation, to organizations that "serve children, families, and communities, with a specific focus on youth education".
In 1998, she created the public charity, Oprah's Angel Network, which helped establish 60 schools in 13 countries, created scholarships, supported women's shelters, and built youth centers and homes.
Before it was dissolved around 2010, Oprah's Angel Network raised more than $80 million.
In 2007, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls opened its doors in South Africa. The school provides education for academically gifted girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"I wanted to build a school for girls like me," Oprah said. Over the years, she has contributed more than $200 million to the school.
Her philanthropy efforts haven't gone unnoticed. In 2013, she was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2018, she received the Cecil B. de Mille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Childhood abuse
Oprah has revealed that she was abused by several of her relatives when she was just a child. At the age of 14, she fell pregnant with her uncle's baby. Two weeks after she gave birth, her son – whom she later named Canaan – died in hospital.
In 2021, Oprah opened up about the sexual abuse she was subjected to by her then-19-year-old cousin. "At nine and 10 and 11 and 12 years old, I was raped by my 19-year-old cousin," she said on her Apple TV+ mental health series, The Me You Can't See.
"I didn't know what rape was. I certainly wasn't aware of the word. I had no idea what sex was, I had no idea where babies came from, I didn't even know what was happening to me. And I kept that secret."
She added: "The telling of the story, the being able to say out loud, 'This is what happened to me,' is crucial."
Sex trafficking claims
After years of suffering abuse from her family members, Oprah was horrified to discover in 2020 that she was at the center of sex trafficking claims.
Fake news reports began circulating online during the coronavirus pandemic, claiming that Oprah's Florida home had been raided by police and she was arrested for sex trafficking.
Shutting down the rumors, Oprah wrote on Twitter: "Just got a phone call that my name is trending. And being trolled for some awful FAKE thing. It’s NOT TRUE.
"Haven’t been raided, or arrested. Just sanitising and self distancing with the rest of the world. Stay safe everybody."
Love life
Oprah has been in a relationship with Stedman Graham for almost 40 years after they met at a charity event in 1986. The couple got engaged in 1992 but called it off one year later after she realized she didn't want a marriage.
"I realized I didn’t actually want a marriage. I wanted to be asked,” she wrote in an essay for O, The Oprah Magazine in 2020.
"I wanted to know he felt I was worthy of being his missus, but I didn’t want the sacrifices, the compromises, the day-in-day-out commitment required to make a marriage work," she added.
The couple credits their decision to not marry as the reason they are still together today. "Both he and I now say, 'If we had married, we would not be together,'" she told People. "No question about it — we would not stay married."
Oprah now refers to her relationship with Stedman as a "spiritual partnership", a term she learned from author Gary Zukav, which means a "partnership between equals for the purpose of spiritual growth".
Children
Oprah and Stedman share no children – and she has no regrets about her decision not to become a mom.
She previously explained that during her years on The Oprah Winfrey Show, she witnessed "the depth of responsibility and sacrifice that is actually required to be a mother".
“I realized, ‘Whoa, I’m talking to a lot of messed-up people, and they are messed up because they had mothers and fathers who were not aware of how serious that job is,'" she told People.
"I don't have the ability to compartmentalize the way I see other women do. It is why, throughout my years, I have had the highest regard for women who choose to be at home [with] their kids.
"I don’t know how you do that all day long. Nobody gives women the credit they deserve."
Weight loss
Oprah's weight loss journey has been a talking point throughout most of her career. At her heaviest, she weighed 237lbs, but in recent months she has been displaying noticeable weight loss.
While she previously credited WW with helping her lose 40lbs and is an ambassador for the points-based weight loss program, she recently sparked controversy after admitting she turned to weight-loss medication.
Her revelation sparked outrage as she previously said drugs like Ozempic were an "easy way out".
However, standing by her decision to turn to weight loss medication – although she didn't reveal what drug she uses – she told People: "I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yo-ing.
"The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for."
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletterand get them delivered straight to your inbox.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/512160/oprah-winfrey-at-70-look-back-personal-life-career-weight-loss/
| 2024-01-29T13:47:59Z
|
blocked_url
|
Chrissy Teigen confessed "it's been a week" when she took to Instagram on Sunday documenting her latest trip to New York.
The supermodel gave a glimpse into her time on the East Coast with a selection of photos and one, in particular, got fans talking.
There were several photos of Chrissy in bed, looking like she was feeling unwell, including a close-up in which she sported a big bump on her forehead.
She didn't address the cause of the lump and fans immediately began quizzing her on it.
"How'd you get the bump on your head?! Ouch," asked one, while a second said: "It's probably from Botox," and a third urged: "Concussions are serious, speaking from experience; get that checked out especially if you're sleepy."
Hopefully the bump was a minor accident as other photos showed her without it.
Chrissy had a whirlwind few days in Manhattan and confessed she was missing her four children, Luna, seven, Miles, five, Etsi, one, and Wren seven months who stayed at the family home in Los Angeles.
She was counting down the days until she was headed back to California and wrote on Instagram: "One more day. Miss my four so much it hurts my bones."
Chrissy, her children, and her husband, John Legend, are going through a shift in their family dynamic currently.
She revealed on SiriusXM's TODAY radio Show Happy Hour that her beloved mother, Vilailuck "Pepper" Teigen, has moved out of the family home and back to Thailand, to live her "best life".
"We haven't really told the world or the internet, and everyone's gonna be probably so confused," Chrissy explained. "She is meant to go live her best life."
Pepper had been living with Chrissy and John since their firstborn was little. Speaking to HELLO! relationship expert Louella Alderson, who is the co-founder of dating app, So Syncd, spoke about the impact of Pepper's move on her loved ones.
"Moving can have a significant impact on families, especially when a parent or other close family member leaves to live in another country. The impact can be both emotional and practical, and it can affect each family member in different ways," she said.
She added: "Pepper was heavily involved in helping with the children, and not having her around will be a big change for everyone. While Chrissy is lucky enough to have nannies to help, having her mum living with her provided support from someone she trusts on a deep level.
"In Chrissy's case, her children may experience mixed emotions as they will miss their grandmother but they may also be excited about the prospect of visiting Thailand. They are lucky enough to be surrounded by a loving and supportive family that can help them cope with the changes."
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletterand get them delivered straight to your inbox.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/512245/chrissy-teigen-mysterious-bump-sparks-reaction-eagle-eyes-fans-photo/
| 2024-01-29T13:48:05Z
|
blocked_url
|
Strictly Come Dancing tour host Janette Manrara has shared the sweetest videos with her Instagram fans, showing the long-awaited moment she returned home to her family.
The star, who also co-hosts Strictly: It Takes Two with singer Fleur East, posted a clip of her dancer husband Aljaz Skorjanec lovingly waiting for Janette with baby Lyra in his arms, her little hand raised by daddy to wave at her mum.
Janette wrote: "When mami arrived, they were there waiting for me. My heart."
In a second clip, we see cutie-pie Lyra in her bouncy chair as her proud mum says: "Who is six months old today? You are!" and the baby girl makes the sweetest giggle as Janette tickles her. What a special Sunday evening for the happy family of three.
Earlier in the day, Janette gave an emotional update to her social media followers after wrapping the final show.
Speaking in the sweet video, she shared: "I'm coming home!!!! I get to celebrate 6 months with you in my life today! Cannot wait to hold you in my arms. When they say time flies, it really does! I love you my beautiful Lyra," she enthused alongside a cute snap of her smiling daughter.
"You are my everything and life has become the most incredible adventure now having you in it. I love you and your ati @aljazskorjanec with all my heart and soul."
The tour took Janette to Sheffield and Newcastle-upon-Tyne before heading to Glasgow this past weekend. For weeks, the mum-of-one has toured the country with the Strictly cast while Aljaz and Lyra remained at their Manchester home, although they have visited Janette on the road.
On one visit to see, Lyra even appeared on stage with her famous mum. Janette wrote of the exciting visit: "Such a beautiful moment having Lyra [rose emoji] and @aljazskorjanec come to visit and get on stage w/ me.
"I was pregnant w/ her all of the @strictlycomedancinglive last year, so it was quite a full circle moment to have her on stage. I miss them both, but so thrilled to show her one day how much mami loved doing what she did and how wonderful it is to bring so much joy to those who come watch. Feeling very blessed."
The couple, who welcomed Lyra in July last year, were over the moon when Janette fell pregnant naturally just as they prepared to start their IVF journey.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/512246/janette-manrara-emotional-homecoming-baby-lyra/
| 2024-01-29T13:48:11Z
|
blocked_url
|
Queen Camilla's younger sister, Annabel Elliot, has given an extremely rare insight into what Her Majesty and King Charles' relationship is really like behind closed doors.
Annabel, 74, speaks openly about her royal sister and brother-in-law's playful behaviour at home in an extract taken from royal expert Robert Hardman's new book, Charles III New King. New Court. The Inside Story.
Away from the regalities of royal life, it seems the King and Queen are just like any married couple, enjoying takeaways and taking part in petty arguments, such as the monarch's "compulsive window-opening" at Clarence House.
King Charles' penchant for frost in his palatial suites is arguably one of his more peculiar habits, which leads to "battles" with his wife who prefers her living spaces to be "warm and cosy".
"There’s a constant battle about it," explains Annabel Elliot. "He will have opened it. She will creep in behind and shut it. So there’s a lot of: 'Oh, darling, you shut the window.' 'Yes, I have, because we’re all freezing.' So a lot of banter goes on.'"
"If the King usually wins on that front, says his sister-in-law, Queen Camilla 'wins most other things'," Robert concludes.
"If you ever wander around the royal buildings and are wondering where the King is, look for the flapping curtains," is the sentiment amongst his staff. Listen to Robert's full interview with HELLO! on the latest episode of A Right Royal Podcast below...
Yet King Charles' preference for cooler conditions may not be totally random. Studies show that hot, clammy offices and poor air quality could potentially reduce our brain power by up to 50%.
The King's disciplined work ethic is well documented, even down to his choice to view lunch as "a luxury that gets in the way of his work," according to royal commentator Gordon Raynor.
Lady Frederick Windsor also revealed in a recent interview with Tatler that the King "works all day long, has a quick supper and then disappears until about 4am to write letters."
While a warm and cosy office á la Queen Camilla's preference may be more inviting, a colder room with fresh, crisp air circulating through it is no doubt a must for supporting the King's razor sharp focus and long hours.
His Majesty's commitment to being a lifelong environmentalist has no doubt influenced his partiality for teeth-chattering conditions. He has been known to regularly hit net zero emissions at Buckingham Palace, and has recently turned down the temperature on the royal residence's secret swimming pool in a bid to further reduce energy consumption.
Writing in The Sunday Times last year, Julian Payne, his former communications secretary, recalled: "The King always has the windows wide open. A meeting at Birkhall, his home in the Highlands, in the middle of winter was not for the faint-hearted. I can remember more than one occasion when I thought I might have actually got frostbite while trying to write with a hand I could no longer feel."
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/512262/king-charles-bizarre-living-conditions-cold-rooms/
| 2024-01-29T13:48:17Z
|
blocked_url
|
Astrologer to the stars, Debbie Frank, reveals what's in store for you this week. Read your horoscope below...
ARIES
This is the kind of week that lights your fire. Discussions are lively and engaging so you’re enjoying playing around with ideas. Venus is also streaming a heart lifting vibration which helps to dissipate any recent tension, encouraging you to live in the moment.
TAURUS
Now that sizzling Uranus is powering ahead in Taurus, you’re finding new moves are easier to make. Stealing yourself to be the change-maker rather than the recipient of a fete accompli. As you’re feeling upbeat and generally joyous it’s simple to look forward rather than back.
GEMINI
An opportunity to switch things up is always welcome and you’ll find new projects flow effortlessly without any resistance. If you believe in the law of attraction this might have a lot to do with your own positive mindset which is perfectly aligned with the current planetary picture.
CANCER
As Mercury and Mars have been busy in Capricorn you’ve been on full alert. However, this week Venus forms a beautiful alliance with generous Jupiter and the cosmic dynamics settle into the kind of flow and rhythm which offers pleasure and delight. A big plus for you.
LEO
Post the Leo Full Moon you’re already getting to grips with everything that needs to be done. What’s more, you’re getting a thrill out of up-cycling many elements of your life, leaving you feeling lighter and brighter. Early February provides the creative edge you love.
VIRGO
Getting the job done provides you with more satisfaction than any other sign. So this week’s sense of accomplishment releases you to re-structure other areas of your life, add in new ingredients and also have time to simply enjoy yourself rather than attend to your to-do list.
LIBRA
If things have felt rather out-of-balance, put it down to a demanding cosmos so far this year which now gives way to an easier time. Your own self confidence is getting a boost which spills into your perception of what’s possible. Viewing upcoming changes as exciting rather than daunting is helpful.
SCORPIO
Whilst you enjoy having a sense of purpose the level of daily demands in recent weeks has been off the scale. So you’ll welcome a change in the frequency this week which enables you to get back in touch with your creative spark and appeals to your appreciation of all things magical and uplifting.
SAGITTARIUS
It used to be that you were either galloping along or feeling tethered to obligations. However, you’re experiencing a very different vibrational energy these days. Allowing yourself to feel positive whilst keeping track of practicalities is becoming your new normal.
CAPRICORN
Whilst Mercury, Venus and Mars pulse through Capricorn it’s a full-on time, even if you’re experiencing an internal awakening rather than a tight schedule. Late January and early February set the tone for the rest of 2024, enabling you to make decisions that turn out to be life enhancing.
AQUARIUS
Since Pluto entered Aquarius on January 21st you’re aware that anything which lacks meaning and purpose in your life needs to be re-examined. Far from being an onerous task, you’ll romp through this review and feel thrilled to direct your passion towards something that counts.
PISCES
Having always done your best to work within a team or circle adding value where you can, you’re feeling that you need to do what’s right for you now. This involves setting clearer boundaries which gives you an unexpected sense of delight and more time to explore.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/news/512054/horoscope-for-the-week-29-january-4-february-2024/
| 2024-01-29T13:48:23Z
|
blocked_url
|
If you're planning ahead for a family getaway in 2024 - especially over the school holidays - we're here to help with this reviewed edit of the best family holiday destinations.
Whether you're hoping to jet off to France or you're looking for a cheap and cheerful family holiday in Spain, there are some bargain deals around at the moment. So if you haven't got a family holiday booked yet, now is the time to start looking!
We reached out for expert tips from Frankie & Becky, the founders of Tiny Travelship, a global community of over 26,500 parents seeking and sharing stylish family travel recommendations, tips & tricks and expert itineraries.
Frankie & Becky, what's your advice to parents travelling with babies
Make the most of it. Contrary to popular belief, travelling with super young babes is a lot easier than you may first think (first time family travel nerves aside). Before tots are crawling, when they’re still small, sleepy and super portable, the world really still is your oyster. Board those long haul flights now, before you have a terrible toddler to contend with, and don’t rule those bougie boutiques off your bucket list just yet as a surprising number warmly welcome babes in arms.
Don’t fear the flight. A smooth flight begins way before take off. When flying with a baby, it definitely pays to plan ahead. Even if you want to walk your baby to the plane in their pram, it’s well worth bringing your carrier too as walking your tot up and down the aisle in the air can help them fall asleep (we love the Ergobaby 360, £129.90, £129.50). Feeding on take off and landing really helps babies to equalise their ears, so if you formula feed, pack a lot more than you might have planned to account for this. Try and book a front row seat so you have plenty of space at your feet for easy to reach essentials (don’t forget a change of clothes for yourself as well as the baby) and check the bassinet policy of your airline as these can vary - for example, Virgin Atlantic allocate according to age, giving the tiniest tots priority, whereas British Airways operate on a first come first serve basis. Remember, your baby is never as loud as you think - most people will be wearing headphones on the flight and the holiday is always worth the journey.
Pack smart. While travelling hand luggage-only might be a thing of the past, that’s not to say you can’t travel (relatively) lightly. More and more hotels, villas and even Airbnbs have an extensive range of parental paraphernalia, from cots and highchairs to baby baths and buggies. Email in advance to see what is available and don’t be afraid to ask for photos if it makes you feel more comfortable - particularly of car seats and cots.
What's your advice to parents travelling with toddlers
Make your life as easy as possible. You know your toddler better than anyone else, and the parental pain points you experience at home won’t magically disappear on holiday, so tailor your getaway with these in mind to relieve stress all round. If your child hates the car seat, look for hotels or home stays close to the airport, with plenty of facilities on site (come rain or shine). If it took your tot a while to warm up to nursery, don’t expect them to run into a Kids Club without a backwards glance - it may be that you get your adults only time via post bedtime babysitters instead. If you have a fussy eater or allergies on your hands, self catering options can be a life saver - this doesn’t mean ruling out hotels, but looking for those ‘best of both; gems e.g. Chateau Les Carrasses and Martinhal Sagres which have onsite restaurants as well as accommodation options with fully equipped kitchens.
Consistency is key. Toddlers are creatures of habit, so try to recreate a home from home vibe on holiday. This doesn’t mean sticking rigidly to your every day routine, but creating a sense of familiarity in new, unfamiliar surroundings by packing favourite comforters, bedtime stories, and introducing your tots to their new sleep environment as soon as possible - bonus points for playing games and making them giggle in their new cot.
Be space savvy. Don’t be a prisoner to your baby's naps while you’re away - there is nothing worse than knowing the sun is shining outside whilst you're trapped in a darkened room. Separate sleep spaces don’t need to cost the earth - you can get creative and turn a walk-in wardrobe or even a bathroom into a makeshift nursery. Think about where your baby monitor will stretch to during nap times - while a private pool is the ultimate parent pleaser, small gardens, patios or even balconies can also be a godsend.
Holidaying with babies and toddlers can be significantly more challenging than an adult break - have you considered the travel time, the weather and what child-friendly amenities the hotel or apartment offers?
Trying to find the perfect balance can become very stressful, so we've rounded up some of the best holiday destinations for toddlers and babies you should consider for 2024.
How we chose the best holidays and hotels for babies and toddlers
HELLO! reviews: The HELLO! editors are often hosted on trips either in a group capacity or with a family member. The writer will evaluate whether the hotel looks suitable for kids or babies.
Online reviews: We trawl through the reviews looking for parent opinions on the best places to go on holiday with your kids.
Expert verified: The list has been checked over by the experts in this article, tinytravelship.com features lots of parent pleasing properties, all visited and verified by a fellow family.
The best family-friendly resorts for babies & toddlers
Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai
If you're looking for a family holiday that young kids will love and your teenagers will too, this is it. The Jumeirah Beach Hotel has thrills, spills and unlimited fun for teens thanks to the rides and slides at Wild Wadi Waterpark which is situated on the grounds. There are also tennis courts, football training and cinema under the stars. You'll also find that the hotel is home to Football Escapes with current and ex-professional players coming from all over to teach the kids a thing or two.
With vibrant indoor and outdoor spaces and play areas, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel KiDS Club is home to a kaleidoscope of social activities, from aqua fun, to crafting and face painting.
Parents seeking a moment of quiet relaxation can enjoy peace of mind with the babysitting services. Dedicated specialist staff that have met international childcare standards are at hand, so that you and your loved ones remain loved for.
We went in April and it was the perfect time but Dubai is nice all-year round, though bear in mind June - August might be too hot for little ones.
HELLO! Recommends Jumeirah Beach Hotel. To book your stay, visit booking.com.
TinyTravelship approved: "We agree, Jumeriah Beach is highly recommended by our community."
Feuerstein, Italian Alps
TinyTravelship Recommends: "Does a parent pleasing spa hotel with 70 hours of complimentary childcare a week sound like the dream? No need to answer. Feuerstein Nature Family Resort, home to Europe’s first family spa, is a stunning, sophisticated Alpine stay designed to relax and re-energize all ages. Family activities include high ropes and hiking plus pony rides and petting zoos. Complimentary childcare starts from newborn, and all you need to pack for your little ones is their clothes as everything else from nappies to nightlights is provided. In winter, snow dusted mountains dominate the landscape while come summer, you’re dwarfed by verdant sun drenched valleys. Whatever the season, wholesome outdoor adventures, fresh air and quality family time await."
Winter kicks off around the beginning of December and ski resorts are open from December until Easter. In early April nature awakens and the first signs of spring appear in the valley. The warm yet not too hot days between mid-May and the end of June are ideal. Most alpine huts are open until the end of October and November is the ideal month to enjoy a few days of wellness.
Fairmont Royal Palm, located only twenty minutes away from the Medina of Marrakech, is extremely family-friendly. The enchanting Kids' Club promises the little guests a world of discoveries with a wide range of activities and a dedicated outdoor play area complete with a trampoline, a bouncy-castle, a mini soccer field, and two mini clay tennis courts.
The best time to visit Marrakech is in the spring and autumn when temperatures are consistently pleasant without getting unbearably hot. May and September are the most ideal months to visit as rainfall tends to be lower than the other autumn and spring months.
HELLO! Recommends Fairmont Royal Palm. To book your stay, visit fairmont.com.
Although it's a slightly longer flight to take with a baby or toddler, the Canary Island of Tenerife is a great choice for a holiday with little ones at any time of year. Some of the most family-friendly resorts include Playa de las Americas and Costa Adeje, but we love the five-star hotel Fantasia Bahia Principe.
Make their dreams come true with the Cinderella-style castle, two splash parks and five outdoor swimming pools and a playground. There is also a heated swimming pool for kids, all-day clubs for children aged 3 and over and plenty of entertainment to keep them occupied in the evening.
If you're worried the holiday excitement may impact their sleep, use the blackout blinds to enjoy a slightly longer lie in.
The highest temperatures in Tenerife appear between June and September although the sub tropical climate offers sunshine throughout the year and winter months are equally popular with visitors. The hottest month of the year is August, which might be too hot for little ones.
We travelled in November but we were unlucky with the weather, and experienced rain and chilly temperatures on some days.
The newly-renovated Da Balaia resort perched on the cliffs of the Algarve is a veritable paradise for families with young kids. Guaranteed to offer mum and dad the one thing they really need - a break - this hotel has literally everything you could think of for young families.
First off, there's the childcare. Taking babies from 4 months old and up to teenagers, there's a club for every age and a plethora of activities to get stuck into. While many parents start the week sure their child will only want to pop in for a session or two, the GOs (the staff looking after the kids) are so amazing and the fun so plentiful, kiddos are usually begging to stay all day.
While children are occupied, mum and dad can get some much-earned rest, either taking a dip in the adult-only, chlorine-free zen pool, or getting a treatment in the luxurious Cinq Mondes spa.
Food is divine - with bottle stations in each accommodation block and freshly-made purees. Little ones may prefer the more temperate April and May to the blazing heat of the summer - great deals can be found outside of school holidays too.
Each of the five Center Parcs villages across the UK is suitable for holidaying with a baby or toddlers, with lots to explore and activities including swimming pools which have separate areas for youngsters, while the crèche offers three-hour sessions for children up to 35 months. The accommodation is fully-equipped too; lodges are fitted with stair gates and have high chairs and a cot.
There's an array of indoor and outdoor activities for toddlers, from mini football, to pottery painting and much inbetween. Many restaurants include baby stations with free baby food, bottle warmers and anything else your little one could require. There are even soft play zones inside some restaurants so there's no fear of hungry tantrums while you're waiting for supper to arrive.
There are kiddie zones in the Subtropical Swimming Paradise, as well as baby trailers to hire to attach little ones onto the back of bikes if they're too small to ride. And if you go down to the woods (which you must - because the play parks are a lot of fun) you might be in for a big surprise. A real life teddy bear's picnic. Sign us up!
If you go out of season, a trip to Centre Parcs will be cheaper. Don’t be put off by the thought of going in the winter as there’s still so much to do. If you’re not tied to school holidays you can get a midweek break for a really good price. Peak summer you may find it to be super busy.
Spain is such a hit with families, and the short flight time certainly helps. One of the most popular hotels to visit with your loved ones has to be IKOS Andalusia, located in Estepona, and acknowledged in TripAdvisor’s awards as the best all-inclusive resorts in the world.
With two complimentary kids’ clubs offering a range of activities including arts and crafts, sports, cooking and water sports and 24-hour room service, parents will be free to enjoy all the resort has to offer with total peace of mind.
Whether you take the time out to enjoy the Ikos Spa by Anne Sémonin Paris (with nine private treatment rooms), or one of the eight indoor and outdoor pools, on site hairdressing salon or fitness studio with state-of-the-art equipment.
We went in April and it was the perfect temperature. Andalucia has a mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and mild winters. If you're a sunseeker the best time to visit Andalucia is between June and September. The hottest month of the year is August, which might be too warm for the kids.
TinyTravelship Approved: "We agree, Ikos is highly recommended by our community."
Disneyland Paris, France
Disneyland Paris is the ultimate holiday destination when the kids are young. While an action-packed trip to Paris might have to wait a few years, the theme park in Marne-la-Vallée is the ultimate mini-break location for a young family.
There's something for everyone; the little ones will adore the gentle rides and meeting all the characters, while adults can wind down after a busy day in one of the eight resort hotels, go for a spin on the golf course, or hit the shops and bars. And don't forget sister park Walt Disney Studios, perfect for thrill-seekers and film buffs alike.
If you want to visit when it's a little less busy, plan to stay mid-week (Tuesdays to Thursdays) during mid-January through mid-March or mid-April through mid-May. You'll find shorter waiting times. However, there may be fewer scheduled shows and events during these periods. We went in April and had the BEST time as a family.
If you want to visit whilst the Disney Parks have extended hours and more scheduled shows and events, plan your stay for weekends, including extended holiday weekends, during the summer months and for special seasonal events. However, it will be busier.
TinyTravelship Approved: "One of the perks of staying in a Disney hotel is definitely early access to the parks - you’re allowed in an hour before the general masses - however, if you’re looking for a stay that’s a little more Parisian chic, check out this gorgeous airbnb. With two bedrooms, a light and bright Belle Epoque living space, and fully equipped kitchen, you can live like a local while being only a 30 minute metro ride away from the park. Disneyland lacks healthy food options but you can bring your own in so arm yourself with snacks, and try to dodge traditional meal times when the restaurants are at their busiest for less stress."
Disney World Resort, Florida
You must visit Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, where the adventure of a jungle safari comes alive right before your eyes. The resort has restaurants, bars, a spa, swimming pool and kids club, and the best bit is that you might even see the zebras and giraffes roaming free from your very own room.
The weather is best from September to November and prices are usually lower at this time.
TinyTravelship Approved: "For a parent pleasing holiday to Disneyworld, big on magic and memories but light on crowds and cost, consider checking into this 5 bedroom airbnb in Kissimmee. While you lose out on early access to the park by not staying on site, the Genie Plus pass starts at $15 per person/per day, and considering park hotels are 5x more expensive than local villas, your purse will definitely thank you. If you visit in the height of summer, be prepared for some seriously hot weather - we’d recommend spending your mornings by the villa pool, and heading into Disneyworld in the late afternoon for evening fun until the gates close."
M Social Hotel Paris, France
When looking for a hotel in Paris, you'll no doubt want somewhere family-friendly and typically Parisian too. The M Social Hotel Paris Opera is the best of both worlds, and it's situated on the famous Boulevard Haussmann.
It was glam, it was chic… it was just breathtakingly gorgeous. The rooms were so elegant and featured the very Instagrammable floor-to-ceiling balcony window doors that are so famous in the City of Love.
My kids particularly loved the hotel’s vintage lifts and the décor at the bar on the ground floor.
The hotel is also located close to the metro and is surrounded by incredible restaurant options. It was a big hit with all the family – which goes to show that you should always aim high even when travelling with little ones!
The best time of year to visit Paris with kids is either in the spring or in the early fall. We went in April and it was pretty much perfect.
Jet off to Corfu for some gorgeous sun. Known for its stunning views, Mar-Bella is a great place to go for long relaxing days looking out to the ocean, enjoying the time with your family.
At Mar-Bella, kids can play on their very own waterpark under the watchful eye of qualified staff. Anemelia Aqua Park offers guests their very own water world on site and is the first aqua park in a five-star hotel with slides in Corfu.
We travelled late-September looking for a nice dose of sunshine before winter in the UK and the weather was phenomenal. Though I will say there were a lot more wasps around at this time, which might be a bit tricky with kids (and adults!).
If you want guaranteed sunshine, it's best to go between June and August. The hottest month of the year is July and the coolest month of the year is January.
Far from being your stereotypical travel influencers sharing their personal trips, Frankie & Becky, the founders of Tiny Travelship, pull on the collective knowledge of their global community of over 26,500 well travelled parents, who share their top family friendly finds with them. From world-class parent pleasing hotels to hidden gem homestays. The dynamic duo are building a big (little) black book of stylish family travel recommendations you can trust, as each and every one has been visited and verified by a fellow family. Head to tinytravelship.com for more parent pleasing properties, and follow on Instagram for daily inspiration, itineraries, insider reviews and the chance to share your own recommendations.
|
https://www.hellomagazine.com/travel/512068/best-holiday-destinations-with-babies-toddlers/
| 2024-01-29T13:48:29Z
|
blocked_url
|
Scientists have had to stop using the Corbassière glacier in Valais, Switzerland, as a record of the changing climate, because the climate has changed too much.
Much of what we know about the Earth’s climate, we have learned from ice. Glaciers capture bubbles of air that reveal atmospheric concentrations of gasses when the ice formed. Isotopes of oxygen in the water molecules provide clues to temperatures at the time. Pollutants trapped in the ice contain their own information.
Together, these inspire climatologists to travel to Greenland, Antarctica, and the tops of mountains to obtain ice cores. However, they only work because ice is laid down in layers each winter. These, like the rings of trees, provide information on the events of that particular year – if the layers cannot be distinguished, the ice ceases to serve its purpose.
Some ice sheets record the climate over hundreds of thousands of years, but the ice in the Corbassière is of much more recent ilk. Near its top, it consists of firn: a stage in the process of snow becoming ice. An average of 2 meters (7 feet) of firn from each year between 2011 and 2018 is found at Corbassière, allowing for much greater resolution than most locations.
Summer winds bring pollution in the form of ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate to the Alps, where they are deposited on glaciers like Corbassière. Colder winter air rises less, and concentrations of these particulates fall.
When Paul Scherrer Institute PhD student Carla Huber and Professor Margit Schwikowski studied a 14-meter (49-foot) core collected in 2018, they could see the previous seven years in outstanding detail. Yet an 18-meter (59-foot) 2020 core produced very different results, with lower trace concentrations, and far less seasonal variation.
Huber, Schwikowski, and colleagues conclude recent summers have gotten so hot that the glacier melted so deeply that even layers buried beneath meters of firn were affected. Deposits from different seasons mixed, leading to smoothing out, Moreover, some of the meltwater drained away, causing gaps in the glacier to sink to the bottom. “Apparently the water there did not freeze again, concentrating the trace substances,” said Schwikowski in a statement. “But instead it drained off and literally washed them away.”
The team compared the process to a library break-in where pieces of different books get mixed up, and some are stolen altogether.
This would be worrying enough for the future if Grand Combin, from which the glacier flows, had experienced some freak event. However, the nearest weather stations indicate it did not. Instead, it has simply warmed in line with the global average.
"From this we conclude that there was no singular trigger for this strong melting, but that it resulted from many warm years in the recent past," Schwikowski said. "It seems a threshold has been crossed, which now has led to a comparatively strong effect."
It’s yet another example of how the effects of climate change are surprising even those who have been studying it for decades, and seldom in a good way. "For a long time it has been clear that the glacier tongues are retreating. But we would not have thought that the areas feeding high alpine glaciers would also be so severely affected – that is, their highest part, where the ice replenishment is formed," Schwikowski said.
Schwikowski is part of a project by the Ice Memory Foundation seeking to collect cores from 20 endangered glaciers before they melt, and store them in a global climate archive. Corbassière was to be one of these. The 2018 core may still be included, but Schwikowski says much of the 2020 core is now useless. The transition between hard and soft layers as a result of melting and refreezing almost destroyed a very expensive drill bit. Plans to drill much deeper to collect thousands of years' worth of data were abandoned.
"At the Grand Combin, we're already too late." Schwikowski said.
It's possible that nearby glaciers could take Corbassière’s place in the archive, but with all but two of the Alps’ glaciers starting at lower altitudes, the rest may be similarly affected.
Footage of the spectacular retreat of many glaciers has become a symbol and warning of global heating – but even where the effects are not visible to the naked eye, the consequences may still be serious.
“The threat of glacial-archived information being lost forever is a major challenge faced by the scientific community, as it forms one of the best records of past climatic and environmental changes,” the paper on the situation notes.
The study is published open access in the journal Nature Geoscience.
|
https://www.iflscience.com/glacier-melting-destroys-climate-data-disrupting-ice-archive-plans-72664
| 2024-01-29T13:55:11Z
|
blocked_url
|
Ten days after its soft landing on the Moon, Japan’s history-making Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is back in action. The lander had a slight mishap while carrying out its precision landing, ending up on its side, which prevented its solar panels from powering up and left the lander running on batteries. Crucially, the solar panels were pointing West – facing away from the Sun at that time – leaving the team with the hope that as the Moon slowly rotated, sunlight would eventually reach the panels. And so it did, yesterday. SLIM has woken up and even sent back a photo.
Without wasting any time, the team started working on the scientific mission, which has already exceeded expectations for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The goal was a precision pinpoint soft landing within 100 meters (330 feet) of a specific target area. In comparison, the expected landing site for Apollo 11 was an ellipse 20 kilometers by 5 kilometers (12 by 3.1 miles). SLIM appears to have landed just 55 meters (180 feet) from its target, a precision never achieved before on another world.
Despite the slightly askew landing, SLIM deployed its two small rovers – one of which snapped the image of SLIM slanted on the surface – which are exploring their surroundings. Now that power is back on and it doesn’t have to rely on batteries, SLIM is using its cameras to study the interesting rocks near the lander.
Six have been identified and they have been named after dog breeds: Toy Poodle, Shiba Inu, Bulldog, Akita Inu, Kai Ken, and St Bernard. SLIM has begun analyzing the Toy Poodle rock using spectroscopy – a technique that allows us to work out the composition of an object based on its light. Once, Toy Poodle is fully analyzed, SLIM will move on to the next rocks.
While the work on the surface continued, SLIM was also snapped from orbit. On January 22, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft passed over the landing site and photographed SLIM from orbit. LRO was about 80 kilometers (50 miles) above the Lunar surface at the time. A before-and-after photo shows not only the 2.4 meter-long (8 feet) lander but also the effects of its rocket on the Moon.
The retrorockets lifted the top layer of lunar soil, the regolith, which is darker than what lies below it. It is made of thin, weathered, tiny, and sharp rocks. It is dangerous to instruments and even to humans; Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt was discovered to be allergic to Moon dust.
The regolith lifting was seen around India's Vikram lander last summer and even during the Apollo missions; so much so during Apollo 11 that Buzz Aldrin noted that they were “picking up some dust” as they were about to touch down on the Moon's surface.
SLIM will now try its best to catch up on lost time and conduct its science mission before the Sun sets on it, and the lander goes back into sleep mode, bracing for the freezing 14-day lunar night.
|
https://www.iflscience.com/its-alive-japans-moon-lander-comes-back-to-life-starts-snapping-photos-72672
| 2024-01-29T13:55:17Z
|
blocked_url
|
The speed and voracity with which our innate immune system responds to invaders is great – until it turns against us. That happens in autoimmune conditions like lupus, and researchers have been trying to better understand how the system gets so out of control. In a new study, not only have scientists identified a new control mechanism that can trigger lupus, but also traced it back to a single genetic mutation.
The team, based at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, focused on Toll-like receptor-7 (TLR7); this is a protein found in immune cells that acts as a sensor for the genetic material of viruses and bacteria. When detected, the receptor triggers an immune response.
However, for this response to happen quickly and with appropriate strength, immune cells are constantly producing and degrading receptors to maintain a balanced number of them. Too many, and things can go wrong, increasing the chance of the immune cells reacting against the body’s own cells and leading to lupus.
“From earlier experiments in mice carried out a few years ago at the University of Berkeley in California, we already knew that too many of these receptors are a problem,” explained group leader Olivia Majer in a statement.
To figure out how a cell could end up with too many receptors, Majer and the team looked toward the molecules that help to break them down. In doing so, they identified a protein complex called BORC and demonstrated that this requires another protein, UNC93B1, in order to degrade TLR7.
Neither BORC nor UNC93B1 had previously been associated with lupus, but thanks to lupus specialist Fabian Hauck and a patient at the Ludwig Maximilian University Hospital in Munich, the team’s findings were confirmed; the patient had a single mutation in the gene encoding UNC93B1.
“When I got the first call from Fabian Hauck, I thought it was too good to be true,” says Majer, “but within eight busy weeks of joined effort, we were able to confirm that the mutation in UNC93B1 was the cause of this patient’s lupus.”
Lupus is estimated to affect at least 5 million people worldwide. Due to the immune system attacking the body’s own tissue, it can result in symptoms ranging from fatigue and skin rashes to severe damage to the lungs and kidneys. Actress and singer Selena Gomez was diagnosed with lupus in her early 20s, and received a kidney transplant back in 2017 due to the effects of the disease.
It’s hoped that by identifying this new mechanism and the role of UNC93B1, testing for mutations in the protein could become a new part of lupus treatment. With further research, it may even represent a new therapeutic target for minimizing or stopping the damage caused by the disease in the first place.
The study is published in the journal Science Immunology.
|
https://www.iflscience.com/newly-discovered-lupus-trigger-traced-back-to-single-mutation-72666
| 2024-01-29T13:55:23Z
|
blocked_url
|
BANGKOK - Members of a dissident Russian rock band critical of the war in Ukraine are facing possible deportation home from Thailand after they were arrested in the resort island of Phuket for working without a permit, several officials told Reuters on Monday.
Human rights activists fear the self-exiled rock band Bi-2 would face harsh punishment if it was sent back to Moscow. The group is known for its condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with its lead singer Igor Bortnick labeled by Russian authorities as a "foreign agent" after he criticised President Vladimir Putin online.
Seven band members were detained at Bangkok's immigration detention centre after their arrests on Jan. 24 for working without a permit, Kriangkrai Ariyaying, the superintendent of Phuket's Immigration Bureau, told Reuters.
"This usually results in deportation to their country of origin but there is some discretion (about the destination)," Kriangkrai said.
Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher on Thailand for Human Rights Watch, said the band members would "likely face harsh prosecution and other grave dangers" if they were sent back to Russia due to their dissident status.
"This case is a litmus test of Thailand's compliance with fundamental human rights principles," he said.
Other officials who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media told Reuters that the band members could seek an alternative destination if they felt unsafe to return to Russia.
Band members with dual citizenship have the option of choosing any other country that they belong to as a country of origin, one official said.
Some band members have dual citizenship with Israel and Australia, the two places the band were based before they moved to Russia in 1999. The management of Bi-2, the Israel embassy in Bangkok and Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/dissident-russian-rock-band-faces-deportation-from-thailand
| 2024-01-29T14:12:26Z
|
blocked_url
|
TBILISI - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said in a televised briefing on Monday that he was resigning ahead of parliamentary elections due by October.
Georgian media had earlier reported that Irakli Kobakhidze, chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, would replace Garibashvili, who has served as prime minister since 2021. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/georgian-prime-minister-garibashvili-announces-his-resignation
| 2024-01-29T14:12:36Z
|
blocked_url
|
JERUSALEM/GENEVA - An Israeli intelligence dossier that prompted a cascade of countries to halt funds for a U.N. Palestinian aid agency includes allegations that some staff took part in abductions and killings during the Oct. 7 raid that sparked the Gaza war.
The six-page dossier, seen by Reuters, alleges that some 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad militants. It has names and pictures for 11 them.
The Palestinians have accused Israel of falsifying information to tarnish UNRWA, which says it has fired some staffers and is investigating the allegations.
One of the 11 is a school counsellor accused in the Israeli dossier of providing unspecified assistance to his son in the abduction of a woman during the Hamas infiltration in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 253 kidnapped.
Another, an UNRWA social worker, is accused of unspecified involvement in the transfer to Gaza of a slain Israeli soldier's corpse and of coordinating the movements of pick-up trucks used by the raiders and of weapons supplies.
A third Palestinian in the dossier is accused of taking part in a rampage in the Israeli border village Beeri, one tenth of whose residents were killed. A fourth is accused of participating in an attack on Reim, site both of an army base that was overrun and a rave where more than 360 revellers died.
The dossier was shown to Reuters by a source who could not be identified by name or nationality. The source said that it had been compiled by Israeli intelligence and shared with the United States, which on Friday suspended funding for UNRWA.
The accusations that 190 staff have militant links would represent nearly 15% of UNRWA's total Gaza employees of 13,000.
Asked about the dossier, a spokesperson for UNRWA said she could not comment due to an ongoing probe by the United Nations.
More than 10 countries, including major donors the United States and Germany, have halted their funding to the agency.
AID OPERATION JEOPARDIZED
That is a huge problem for an agency that more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians look to for day-to-day assistance, and which has already been hard-stretched by Israel's war on Hamas in the enclave.
UNRWA said on Monday it would not be able to continue operations in Gaza and across the region beyond the end of February if funding were not resumed.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency was set up for refugees of the 1948 war at Israel's founding in what had been British-ruled Palestine. It also tends to millions of the original refugees' descendants in Palestinian territories and abroad.
Israel has long accused UNRWA or perpetuating conflict by discouraging the resettlement of refugees, and has on occasion said agency staff took part in armed attacks against it.
UNRWA denies wrongdoing, describing its role as relief only.
"From intelligence information, documents and identity cards seized during the course of the fighting, it is now possible to flag around 190 Hamas and PIJ terrorist operatives who serve as UNRWA employees," the Hebrew-language dossier says.
It accuses Hamas of "methodically and deliberately deploying its terrorist infrastructure in a wide range of U.N. facilities and assets", including schools. Hamas denies that.
Two of the alleged Hamas operatives cited in the dossier are described as "eliminated", or killed by Israeli forces. A 12th Palestinian whose name and picture are provided is said to have no factional membership and to have infiltrated Israel on Oct 7.
Also in the list of 12 men are an UNRWA teacher accused of arming himself with an anti-tank rocket, another teacher accused of filming a hostage and the manager of a shop in an UNRWA school accused of opening a war-room for Islamic Jihad.
More than 26,000 people have been killed in Israel's military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, the enclave's health ministry said. With flows of aid like food and medicine just a trickle of pre-conflict levels, deaths from preventable diseases as well as risk of famine are growing, aid workers say.
Most of Gaza's people have become more reliant on UNRWA aid, including about one million who have fled Israeli bombardments to shelter in its facilities.
"The terrrorist organisations are cynically exploiting the residents of the Strip and the international organisations whose mission is to provide aid ... and in doing so are causing de facto harm to residents of the Strip," the dossier said. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/israeli-intelligence-accuses-190-gaza-un-staff-of-hamas-islamic-jihad-roles
| 2024-01-29T14:12:47Z
|
blocked_url
|
LONDON – The Princess of Wales has returned home from hospital after abdominal surgery, Kensington Palace said in a statement on Jan 29, adding that she was making “good progress”.
The princess, 42, the wife of the heir to the British throne, Prince William, had spent around two weeks in recovery at the London Clinic hospital after undergoing surgery for a non-specified, but non-cancerous, condition.
King Charles is thought to still be in the same hospital after he had planned treatment there on Jan 26 to address an enlarged prostate.
Kensington Palace said the princess was now back at home in Windsor.
“She is making good progress,” the statement said. “The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at the London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided.” REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/kate-uks-princess-of-wales-returns-home-after-surgery
| 2024-01-29T14:12:57Z
|
blocked_url
|
ISTANBUL - A man who was killed by two Islamic State gunmen during Sunday service at a church in Istanbul had gone into the building while out for a walk, his cousin said on Monday, while authorities said the attack could have been deadlier if not for a jammed weapon.
Authorities said the masked gunmen entered the building and shot dead a 52-year old Turkish citizen, Tuncer Murat Cihan, at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in the Sariyer district. The attackers, one from Tajikistan and another from Russia, have been detained, along with 51 others after the attack.
Murat Cihan, the victim's cousin, said his relative had no political or religious connections and lived "in his own world".
"He got out for a walk and went to the church and this unfortunate thing happened to him there," he told reporters at his cousin's funeral.
Sariyer's district mayor Sukru Genc was cited by local media as saying two shots were fired by the perpetrators before one of their guns jammed, adding it was not clear whether the attackers planned to kill more people.
CCTV footage verified by Reuters shows the two gunmen waiting briefly in an entrance hall at the church, before following a man inside. Another angle shows the attackers shooting the man walking in ahead of them.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said the Polish consul general was also inside the church with his family during the attack. On Sunday, President Tayyip Erdogan had called the Polish diplomat, along with the church's priest, to offer his condolences.
Footage from inside the church on Monday showed bullet holes on the side of a pew, as well as another in a wall. Candles were lit inside, with the building surrounded by police.
Islamic State claimed the attack in a statement on Telegram, saying it was in response to calls by its leaders to target Jews and Christians.
Tuncer, the victim, was Alevi, a religious minority whose beliefs draw on Shi'ite Muslim, Sufi and Anatolian folk traditions, and a funeral was held for him at a cemevi, the Alevi places of worship. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/man-killed-in-istanbul-church-shooting-was-out-for-a-walk-relative-says
| 2024-01-29T14:13:07Z
|
blocked_url
|
JAKARTA – Indonesia will provide additional cash handouts for three months covering January, February and March to mitigate the risk of rising food prices, its chief economic minister said on Jan 29, though some questioned the timing ahead of the election.
The government has allocated about 11.25 trillion rupiah (S$953 million) for the programme and the handouts will be given to 18.8 million families, Minister Airlangga Hartarto told reporters.
Each family will receive 200,000 rupiah for each of those months.
“The programme will last until March. After that, we will evaluate,” Mr Airlangga said.
Indonesia’s headline inflation was 2.61 per cent at the end of 2023, within the central bank’s target range. In 2024, inflation is targeted at 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent.
Mr Mohammad Faisal, an economist with the local think-tank Centre of Reform on Economics, criticised the timing of the programme as food supplies, especially rice, will be sufficient with the incoming harvesting period and imports.
“I think this is very wrong because the risk of rising food prices will be lower after January, as we will enter harvest season soon,” he said.
Rice harvest typically starts around March or April, but there are concerns there would be delays due to lingering impacts of the dry weather pattern El Nino in 2023.
Indonesia has set a rice import quota of two million tonnes for 2024. The state food procurement agency has launched a tender to buy 500,000 tonnes of rice earlier in January and expect the shipment to arrive before the harvest.
Mr Faisal said the cash handout is prone to be misused for political purposes, as the timing is close to the upcoming general election on Feb 14.
However, Mr Myrdal Gunarto, an economist from Maybank Indonesia, said the programme is needed to boost the purchasing power of low-income consumers in order to reach economic growth of around 5 per cent in the first quarter.
The new cash handouts came after the government extended for six months its rice handout scheme until June 2024, a programme that provides 10kg of rice monthly to 22 million lower-income households to help them cope with high prices of the staple.
The government also provided a two-month cash handout for millions of households of 400,000 rupiah per family for November and December 2023. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesia-to-provide-more-cash-handouts-to-mitigate-risk-of-rising-food-prices
| 2024-01-29T14:13:18Z
|
blocked_url
|
WASHINGTON - The White House said on Monday that talks to secure a new release of hostages held by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza were constructive and promising but there was still a lot of work to be done.
A series of negotiations in recent days involving CIA Director William Burns and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk focused on securing the release of hostages as well as a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
"I think it's fair to describe them as constructive," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on CNN.
"We think there's a framework here for another hostage deal. That could really make a difference in terms of getting more hostages out, getting more aid in and actually getting the violence to come down."
U.S. President Joe Biden has been trying to facilitate the release of the more than 100 hostages who remain captive after the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by militants from Hamas, which rules Gaza.
Burns met with the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service and Qatar's prime minister along with the head of Egyptian intelligence on Sunday in talks described as constructive by Israel, but with significant gaps in positions.
Kirby said there have been very good discussions with the Qataris, the Egyptians and the Israelis.
"We're not over the finish line right yet," he said on CNN. "But we feel pretty good about the discussions and where they're going and the promise of something potentially pretty significant."Some 1,200 people were killed and 253 abducted in Hamas' cross-border rampage on Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials. The attack ignited Israel's war to eliminate Hamas, unleashing a torrent of strikes on Gaza that have flattened most of the Palestinian enclave and killed more than 26,000 people, Palestinian health officials say.
Tensions have surged around the Middle East since Israel began its aerial and ground offensive, with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi forces striking U.S. and other targets in the Red Sea in attacks that have disrupted global shipping.
In a major escalation, three U.S. service members were killed and at least 34 wounded in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants on U.S. troops in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, U.S. officials said on Sunday. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/white-house-calls-talks-on-hamas-hostage-deal-constructive-promising
| 2024-01-29T14:13:28Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - CapitaLand India Trust (Clint) on Jan 29 reported a 21 per cent lower distribution per unit (DPU) for FY2023 of $0.0645, compared to $0.0819 in FY2022.
DPU for the second half of FY2023 also fell 21 per cent to $0.0309 from $0.0391 in FY2022, said the trust in a bourse filing.
Distributable income slipped 10 per cent in the second half of FY2023 to $45.7 million from $50.6 million in the second half of FY2022. FY2023 distributable income was down 10 per cent to $94.6 million from $105.7 million.
The drop in distributable income was due to higher finance costs and current income tax. The enlarged unit base following the preferential offering as well as the appreciation of the Singapore dollar against the Indian rupee led to the fall in DPU.
Total property income for the second half of FY2023 rose 15 per cent to $123.6 million from $107.3 million a year prior. This brought total property income for FY2023 to $234.1 million, up 11 per cent from $210.6 million in FY2022.
The increase in total property income was driven by new acquisitions, Arshiya Warehouse 7, Industry Facility 1, Block A, International Tech Park Hyderabad, International Tech Park Pune-Hinjewadi and higher rental incomes of existing properties. Meanwhile, the Singapore dollar appreciated 9 per cent to the Indian rupee in FY2023 compared to FY2022.
Total property expenses were up 24 per cent in the second half of FY2023 at $29.5 million, from $23.9 million in the second half of FY2022. Similarly, total property expenses for FY2023 rose 24 per cent to $54.4 million from $43.8 million in FY2022. The increase in property expenses was mainly due to higher operations and maintenance expenses and property management fees.
Net property income for the second half of FY2023 grew 13 per cent to $94 million from $83.4 million in the second half of FY2022. For FY2023, net property income grew 8 per cent to $179.6 million from $166.8 million in FY2022.
“Despite the elevated interest rate environment, our weighted average cost of debt remained unchanged at 6.3 per cent in both H1 FY2023 and H2 FY2023,” said Mr Sanjeev Dasgupta, chief executive officer of CapitaLand India Trust Management, the trustee-manager of Clint.
Gearing for Clint as at Dec 31 2023 was 35.8 per cent.
“In FY2024, we anticipate the full-year income from Block A, International Tech Park Hyderabad as well as 100 per cent leased Industrial Facility 2 and 3 at Mahindra World City, Chennai, to contribute to Clint’s overall growth,” said Mr Dasgupta.
Units of Clint closed 0.9 per cent or $0.01 lower at $1.06 on Jan 29. THE BUSINESS TIMES
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/capitaland-india-trust-fy2023-dpu-falls-21-to-309-cents-year-on-year
| 2024-01-29T14:13:39Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust’s (MPACT) distribution per unit (DPU) fell by 9.1 per cent to 2.20 Singapore cents for its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2023.
Gross revenue was up 0.8 per cent to $241.6 million for the quarter, from $239.8 million previously, said the manager in a bourse filing on Jan 29.
Net property income grew 1.7 per cent to $182.4 million, from $179.4 million in the corresponding year-earlier period.
MPACT’s manager said the growth was primarily driven by Singapore’s “robust performance”, which delivered positive contribution despite higher utility expenses.
While Hong Kong and Japan delivered steady earnings in local currency terms, their contributions were dampened by a stronger Singapore dollar.
Distributable income declined 9.3 per cent year on year to $115.3 million, from $127 million previously.
The distribution will be paid out on March 14 after books closure on Feb 6.
Giving an outlook on the Singapore market, the manager said that the retail sector could face challenges, including persisting inflationary pressures, manpower shortages, and high operating costs.
The continued strength of the Singapore dollar could also encourage outbound travel, impacting local retail sales.
As for Singapore office rentals, the manager noted that approximately 3.9 million square feet of new office space is expected from 2024 to 2025, averaging 2 million sq ft per year, which is higher than the past five-year annual average of 1.1 million sq ft.
But ongoing global economic uncertainties are expected to dampen office demand and slow rental growth in 2024. “The build-up of shadow and secondary spaces, as well as new supply, could add further pressure.”
Overall, macroeconomic challenges including persistent geopolitical conflicts, high inflation rates, and protracted period of high interest rates remain. Amid these broad challenges, MPACT’s strategy focuses on “sustaining healthy occupancy levels and ensuring steady rental revenue, while managing cost efficiency”, said its manager.
In the long run, the Reit’s strength is underpinned by its core assets – the Mapletree Business City and VivoCity – combined with its manager’s operational expertise, it said. “These position MPACT to adeptly navigate current headwinds and seize emerging opportunities.”
Units of the Reit closed $0.02 or 1.4 per cent lower at $1.39 on Jan 29 before the announcement. THE BUSINESS TIMES
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/mapletree-pan-asia-commercial-trust-reports-91-drop-in-q3-dpu-to-22-cents
| 2024-01-29T14:13:49Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) fell 2.2 per cent to $0.0178 in the first half of FY2024 ended Dec 31, 2023, from $0.0182 a year earlier, its manager said on Jan 29.
The fall in DPU was in tandem with the fall in income available for distribution, which fell 3.8 per cent to $41.9 million in the first half of FY2024 from $43.6 million in the first half of FY2023.
This was driven by higher net finance costs and a one-off leasing commission fee for a master lease renewal with Toshin, the speciality store manager of Takashimaya at Ngee Ann City.
Gross revenue fell as well, by 0.1 per cent to $94.6 million in the first half of FY2024, from $94.7 million a year earlier.
Net property income, however, rose 0.3 per cent to $74.5 million, from $74.3 million in the first half of FY2023.
This increase was mainly driven by the Reit’s properties in Singapore and the Myer Centre Adelaide shopping mall in Australia. It was partially offset by net movement in foreign currencies and the loss of income arising from the divestment of a Tokyo property in December 2022.
As at Dec 31, 2023, the Reit’s committed portfolio occupancy was at 98.7 per cent, and its portfolio weighted average lease term expiry was extended to 7.9 years after the renewal of the master lease with Toshin.
“The renewed master lease will allow Starhill Global Reit to also participate on the upside with a new profit-sharing arrangement,” said Mr Ho Sing, chief executive of the Reit’s manager.
The Toshin renewal is for an initial term of 12 years commencing from June 8, 2025 to June 7, 2037, with an option for a renewal of another six years by either party, and a further three years by Toshin.
The agreement has an annual turnover rent component, comprising Toshin’s annual operating income over and above the agreed revenue and profit margin thresholds.
Starhill Global Reit’s gearing stands at 36.8 per cent as at Dec 31, 2023 with an average debt maturity profile of three years.
Units of Starhill Global Reit closed up 1 per cent or $0.005 to $0.51 on Jan 29, before the news. THE BUSINESS TIMES
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/starhill-global-reit-s-dpu-falls-22-in-first-half-of-fy2024
| 2024-01-29T14:13:59Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - The use of a newly proposed sentencing regime that could see serious sexual or violent crime offenders held in jail indefinitely will be decided by the Singapore courts and not the Government.
Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said the period of continued incarceration will be assessed by a detention review board, which will decide if the offender is suitable for release.
Speaking to the media on Jan 22 on the proposed Sentence for Enhanced Public Protection (Sepp) law, Mr Shanmugam said there is potential for some misunderstanding on the Government’s role in the sentencing process.
“When a person is first convicted, the court can choose to impose either a normal sentence or Sepp sentence. So it’s complete discretion with the court,” said the minister.
He added that if the court decides the offender is a suitable case for Sepp, then he serves a minimum period. At the end of the minimum period, he is assessed by experts.
“We are talking about psychiatrists, psychologists, a detention review board, to see how much risk you pose to society at that point in time, when you are due to be released,” added Mr Shanmugam.
The offender can make written representations by himself or through a family member, or through a lawyer.
“That is then reviewed by the minister and if you’re no longer posing a high risk to society, you can be released. But if you still pose a high risk, then you can continue to be detained and your case will be reviewed every year,” said Mr Shanmugam.
Sepp was introduced as part of the Criminal Procedure (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill in Parliament on Jan 10. It is to prevent dangerous offenders from being automatically released from prison after their jail terms end, especially if they show signs of reoffending.
Sepp is limited to those who commit serious violent offences such as culpable homicide and attempted murder, and serious sexual offences such as rape and sexual penetration of a minor.
In a joint statement, the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Home Affairs said current sentencing options are inadequate to deal with such serious offences. They said Sepp will ensure serious offenders are detained for as long as is needed for public safety.
Meanwhile, the Home Affairs Minister will decide if a person sentenced under Sepp is to be released after serving his or her time, based on the advice of an expert panel.
Mr Shanmugam said that the new law involves a few dangerous offenders who have committed very serious crimes, to keep them from doing further harm to the rest of society.
“It is the court which decides the sentence, whether they impose the Sepp or not. So whether Sepp is more appropriate than a normal imprisonment term for this specific offender, that is for the court to decide.
“After that minimum period, the offender will be assessed by experts with a very simple objective. What is the risk he is posing to society? Is society better off? Then the decision will be made by the minister based on expert opinions,” he added.
Offenders sentenced under Sepp can be jailed for between five and 20 years. They will not be eligible for remission, which is a discount on the sentence.
Offenders deemed suitable to leave prison may be required to attend counselling, remain at home during certain hours and don an electronic tag. He will be assessed every two years for his suitability to be discharged unconditionally.
Offenders assessed as not suitable for release can be detained indefinitely, with the case reviewed annually.
Mr Shanmugam said the Government’s key duty is to protect the public.
He noted that Sepp is a step along the same lines as the corrective training and preventive detention prison regimes.
With corrective training, offenders can be sentenced to imprisonment of between five years and 14 years. In the case of preventive detention, the courts can order a person to be detained for a long period to protect the public.
In both instances, the Home Affairs Minister decides whether an offender should be released. For life imprisonment, the Home Affairs Minister decides on remission.
Mr Shanmugam said that with the Sepp prison regime, judges could mete out shorter sentences.
“With Sepp, the judge who is posing the sentence would have greater clarity and greater peace of mind because he can impose what he thinks is a shorter sentence, at least a certain minimum duration… knowing that at the end of the minimum duration, the offender can be released depending on if he is rehabilitated, or if experts assess he is still a risk, he may be kept in longer,” he added.
Some people may end up being detained for longer, said Mr Shanmugam.
“Let’s say the sentence is for 10 years, but at the end of 10 years, the medical experts say it’s too risky to release him now.
“During the 10 years, we will also attempt to rehabilitate the person, and we will look at the track record of his ability to rehabilitate. If you rehabilitate, you can be released,” said the minister.
He added that if it clearly shows that the offenders’ ability to rehabilitate is not there, and they pose a serious risk and the experts say so, then they may be detained longer.
The proposed amendment comes in the wake of more egregious cases, particularly involving serial sexual offenders, in recent years, said Mr Shanmugam.
In May 2022, a man was sentenced to the maximum 20 years’ preventive detention for sexually assaulting two of his grandnieces.
This came less than three years after he served a sentence of 19 years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane for statutory rape of his six-year-old stepdaughter in 2001.
Mr Shanmugam said the court noted that his risk of sexual reoffending was high, and that he had disregarded the consequences of his actions.
However, under the existing legal framework, offenders who have finished their sentences must be released unconditionally even if they are likely to go on to reoffend, he said.
The minister said the Sepp prison regime is a response to such cases. It will apply to those aged 21 and above, and will not just be for recalcitrant offenders but for first-time offenders as well.
Forensic medical examinations
Proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill tabled in Parliament on Jan 10 will also see powers afforded to the police to subject accused individuals to forensic medical examinations.
Forensic medical examinations consist of physical medical examinations and collection of samples from any body part, as well as taking of photographs, casts and impressions of body parts, which may include intimate parts.
Under the Criminal Procedure (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, accused individuals who are required to take part in the examinations but refuse without reasonable excuse can be jailed for up to seven years, fined or both.
Mr Shanmugam said the police can proceed with examinations even if the accused is not cooperative, as long as it does not involve intimate parts or invasive procedures.
But those who are required to take part in forensic examinations involving intimate parts or invasive procedures and refuse to cooperate may be charged with an offence.
Consent will generally be required for forensic examinations on victims – with some exceptions.
Mr Shanmugam said the authorities can proceed with the examinations without the victim’s consent if the delay will result in the loss of evidence, and if the victim has a physical or mental condition that means he or she cannot give consent within a reasonable time.
“This is important because time is often very critical, especially for DNA evidence,” he said.
Such forensic examinations can even help solve cold cases, added the minister.
In 2002, a man, then 23, raped a 12-year-old near her home. Swabs were taken from the victim and an unknown DNA sample was found.
The case was solved 12 years later when the accused was arrested in 2014 for theft and a blood sample was taken from him and sent for DNA testing.
His DNA profile matched the one retrieved from the girl’s body.
In 2016, the man was sentenced to 16½ years’ jail and 18 strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to one count each of rape, outrage of modesty and criminal intimidation for his assault of the girl.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/courts-decide-use-of-new-law-to-hold-serious-sexual-crime-offenders-indefinitely-shanmugam
| 2024-01-29T14:14:10Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - A newly proposed sentencing regime, which may see offenders locked up indefinitely, has received mixed reactions from lawyers in Singapore, with some noting the potential impact on rehabilitation for the offenders.
The Sentence for Enhanced Public Protection (Sepp) law was introduced as part of the Criminal Procedure (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill in Parliament on Jan 10.
It is to prevent dangerous offenders from being automatically released from prison after their jail terms end, especially if they show signs of reoffending.
Sepp is limited to those who commit serious violent offences such as culpable homicide and attempted murder, and serious sexual offences such as rape and sexual penetration of a minor.
Mr Riko Isaac, a partner at Amolat & Partners, said the law may be detrimental to reintegration efforts.
Those charged under Sepp, who are later released on licence, may be subjected to curfews or an electronic tag for more than two years, he noted.
“This may be difficult for an ex-offender who is released on licence to incorporate into his or her working life on a long-term basis if they procure full-time employment,” he added.
Mr Isaac said the comprehensiveness of the assessment and criteria that an offender needs to meet to be unconditionally discharged are also unclear.
“The Sepp may, in theory, be applied to other offences in which public protection is one, or becomes one, of the key considerations in determining the sentence of an offender,” he added.
Mr Wong Kok Weng, Chief Public Defender at the Public Defender’s Office, said Sepp could have a positive impact on rehabilitation.
“From the defence’s perspective, the review at the end of the minimum term will provide a strong incentive for the offender to take his rehabilitation in prison seriously, so he can demonstrate that he has reformed and no longer poses a danger to others.”
He said that even with the proposed law, there has to be a balance between public protection and safety, and safeguards for offenders.
Mr Wong said this is to ensure that offenders are given a chance to reform themselves, but noted that Sepp will be limited to a small number of cases.
He added: “Given the strict legal conditions set out in the Bill, I expect that Sepp will be applied in only a small number of egregious cases, such as for serious sexual offenders. It should not affect the vast majority of cases.
“However, for the small number of cases to which Sepp will apply, it will be a useful sentencing option to better protect the public from dangerous offenders who are assessed by the court to pose a threat to public safety.”
Offenders who have finished serving their sentences under Sepp will be required to undergo an assessment to determine their suitability to be released.
Those who are deemed suitable to leave prison may still be required to attend counselling, or face curfews and be tracked by an electronic tag. They are then assessed again every two years for their suitability to be discharged unconditionally.
Those who are deemed unsuitable for release can be detained indefinitely, with their case reviewed annually.
Mr Sunil Sudheesan, director at Quahe Woo & Palmer, said senior members of the criminal justice system could be included in the detention review board.
Under the proposed law, the board will determine the level of risk an offender poses to society before his release.
“Certainly, the input of the prisoner and his or her lawyer must be sought, as well as must be thoroughly examined,” he said.
Mr Wong noted that the detention review board, which will assess the offender and advise the Home Affairs Minister, will comprise people with experience in forensic psychiatry or psychology, and those experienced with the criminal justice system.
“These may include retired judges and retired judicial commissioners, senior lawyers or senior psychiatrists and psychologists,” he added.
Mrs Stefanie Yuen-Thio, a joint managing partner at TSMP Law Corporation, said that to build trust in the new system, the review board should be made public. “If for operational reasons, certain people (like the psychiatrists) cannot be (made public), then a description of their job and qualifications (could be provided),” she said.
She added that for cases where offenders are deemed unsuitable for release, the authorities should be required to provide yearly public updates on the number of cases where convicts are detained under Sepp, with relevant details.
“This can be anonymised, but there should be clearly enough information so that there is public accountability,” she said.
Mr Isaac said the mandated assessments that come with Sepp could provide some comfort to society. “This would suggest that a dangerous offender has been thoroughly assessed to be unlikely to reoffend again in the future, given that psychiatric and psychological testing was done prior to his or her release.”
Meanwhile, Mr Justin Ng Cho Yang, a senior associate at Kalco Law, said the new Sepp regime does not amount to detention without trial. That alone makes the proposed law fundamentally different from detention orders under the Internal Security Act 1960, the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act 1955 and the Misuse of Drugs Act, he said.
Instead, Sepp stands as a new sentencing option that judges can utilise after an offender is found guilty in a court of law.
Said Mr Ng: “In this manner, an offender who is sentenced to Sepp is afforded the same due process as any other accused person that goes through our criminal justice system.”
Assistant Professor Benny Tan from the National University of Singapore’s law school said there could be concerns that an offender’s risk of reoffending is overestimated, resulting in the offender being detained for an unwarranted extended period of time.
To prevent that, the assessment methodology will need to be rigorous and based on up-to-date scientific research and knowledge, he said.
He added: “I would also strongly recommend that the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt be applied for the reviews to decide whether to continue to detain an offender sentenced to Sepp after the end of the minimum term.
“In other words, an offender sentenced to Sepp should be kept incarcerated only if the evidence shows beyond reasonable doubt that the offender still poses a threat to the public.”
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/lawyers-mixed-on-assessment-to-determine-if-offenders-can-be-released-under-new-sentencing-regime
| 2024-01-29T14:14:20Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - A man died while two others were taken to the hospital, following a five-vehicle collision at Choa Chu Kang on Jan 29 afternoon.
When contacted, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the accident along Choa Chu Kang Way at about 2pm. The accident involved three heavy vehicles and two cars, the police added.
A man was found trapped in the driver’s seat of a road tanker – a lorry that can carry liquids in bulk – and was freed by SCDF officers with hydraulic rescue equipment. The man, 56, was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic.
Police investigations are ongoing, they added.
In videos uploaded to the SG Road Chat Telegram group, a stationary grey sedan is seen perpendicular to a blue lorry in the rightmost lane of the four-lane road. Beside the lorry is a concrete mixer truck rear-ended by a green military vehicle.
Some distance behind the four vehicles is the road tanker on the second-leftmost lane, with the driver side of the cabin smashed in.
SCDF said two people were taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and another two people had minor injuries and declined to be taken to the hospital.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/tanker-driver-dies-after-five-vehicle-collision-at-choa-chu-kang-two-taken-to-hospital
| 2024-01-29T14:14:31Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - Young people in Singapore are interested and engaged in politics, and Singapore undersells itself if it thinks it is not politically mature, said Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, and Health.
He observed that young people ask questions, turn up at grassroots events and even send him messages to offer their views. There are also platforms like Forward Singapore sessions that engage young people.
“Well, who says we are not politically mature?” he said, responding to a question on how Singapore can develop into a politically mature and conscious society. “So what is the political maturity you are looking for?”
He was speaking to a 1,200-strong audience – many of them young people – at the closing of the Singapore Perspectives 2024 conference, organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Jan 29. Online sessions were held earlier on Jan 22.
“We listen to you because we do need to understand what are the issues that young people are concerned about... what would they do as they participate in the building of Singapore in the future,” he added in reply to a question about empowering young people to engage with politics.
The theme of this year’s conference was “Youth”, focusing on how today’s young are coming of age in a period of unprecedented change on many fronts – socio-economic, technological, demographic, and even the “nuclear family”.
While Singapore should never consider itself as having arrived, it should not start from the basis that it is not a politically mature society, Dr Janil said, adding that Singapore should not rate itself worse than other societies out there.
His comments followed a pre-conference survey by IPS, which showed that younger respondents tend to be more civically engaged compared with their older counterparts. This younger group participates in such activities both online and offline, and feels more empowered to create change.
The poll was conducted with 2,356 Singapore residents between November and December 2023. The respondents were divided in three age groups: 21 to 34, 35 to 49, and 50 to 64.
In the dialogue moderated by IPS senior research fellow Kalpana Vignehsa, who conducted the poll, Dr Janil said one of the issues that keeps him awake at night is the possibility of polarisation in Singapore society. This can be brought about by a number of structural incentives such as advertising money and audience drive on social media, he said.
“We are still a society where regardless of whatever party we voted for... we still find common ground,” he said. “But there are societies in this world where the opposite has happened, and where political affiliation has come along with ideological polarisation.”
He added that while Singapore has political contestation, there should not be ideological and social polarisation.
Asked about his role as the PAP’s party whip, he said parties have positions they take and values they espouse. His role is to bring together diverse issues and provide a platform to settle that divergence, so that they can drive the agenda forward and build a sense of cohesion.
Dr Janil was also asked about meritocracy and how it may propagate inter-generational inequality, where families of high socio-economic standing can fund the development of their children. In response, he said it is unworkable to absolutely ensure that there is no difference between every child.
What is being done is to have programmes that help those who do not have the benefit of intergenerational transfers, such as in pre-schools and early childhood education where the skills and expertise of educators and social workers are applied to those who do not have any advantage.
“Meritocracy is something that needs to be nurtured and grown, tended to carefully, (and) adjustments made along the way,” he said.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/who-says-we-are-not-politically-mature-janil-puthucheary
| 2024-01-29T14:14:41Z
|
blocked_url
|
DOHA - Jordan advanced to the Asian Cup quarter-finals after two stoppage-time goals secured a 3-2 win over Iraq, who had striker and tournament top scorer Aymen Hussein sent off late on for excessive goal celebrations on Monday.
With Iraq looking destined to move into the last eight when the clock struck 90 minutes, Jordan's Yazan Al-Arab equalised in the 95th before Nizar Al-Rashdan scored two minutes later with a glorious long-range effort to break Iraqi hearts.
Jordan went ahead on the stroke of halftime when Yazan Al-Naimat pounced on a sloppy pass and raced past the defence.
The 24-year-old chipped the ball over goalkeeper Jalal Hassan to score before celebrating with his team mates by sitting on the turf and pretending to eat a meal.
Iraq struck back in the 68th when Saad Natiq headed home from a corner before Hussein scored eight minutes later when he controlled a cross and fired into the bottom corner.
The joy of scoring his sixth goal of the tournament quickly turned to shock when the referee produced a second yellow card for excessive celebrations after the striker mimicked Jordan's players and sat on the turf, pretending to eat by himself.
While Iraq fumed, Jordan took full advantage of the extra man and when Mousa Tamari's stoppage time effort was parried by Hassan, Al-Arab was on hand to fire home the rebound.
The comeback was complete when midfielder Al-Rashdan was left unmarked outside the box and curled his shot past the keeper to set up a quarter-final with tournament debutants Tajikistan. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/jordan-leave-it-late-to-beat-iraq-3-2-and-reach-asian-cup-quarter-finals
| 2024-01-29T14:14:52Z
|
blocked_url
|
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe hopes to have several key players back in the squad including attacking midfielder Miguel Almiron as they look to end a four-match losing streak in the Premier League when they visit Aston Villa on Tuesday.
The Paraguay international, who has started 18 league games this season, has not played for two weeks due to illness.
However, central defender Jamaal Lascelles may miss the game due to a calf injury, Howe told reporters on Monday.
"We hope Miggy will be with us. Jamaal, I’m not so sure about. It's not a serious injury but I think it might be enough to keep him out of this game, it will be close," Howe said.
Newcastle have been without a number of regulars through injury in a run of six defeats over their last seven league games but Howe hopes some will return in the coming weeks.
"Harvey (Barnes) is getting closer. He's probably the closest, along with Callum (Wilson). Then you go a little bit further back to Joe (Willock) and a bit further again to Elliot (Anderson)," Howe said.
Newcastle thrashed Villa 5-1 at St James' Park in August but have been unable to maintain any momentum and are in 10th place with 29 points, while Villa are fourth, 14 points above them. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/newcastle-hope-to-have-key-players-back-in-bid-to-end-losing-run-howe
| 2024-01-29T14:15:02Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) fired Lions coach Takayuki Nishigaya on Jan 29 as “recent performances and results of the national team have been below expectation”.
The national body, in a media statement, said the decision was “reached after careful consideration” and a successor will be announced in due course.
It thanked Nishigaya for his work here but added: “The recent performances and results of the national team have been below expectation, and the FAS believes an early transition to a fresh successor would re-energise the team and allow a longer runway for the national team to prepare for important matches in the next few months and the year-end AFF tournament.”
Tsutomu Ogura, 57, a former Japan national team assistant, is soon expected to be announced as the country’s next national coach.
That would make Ogura the third straight Japanese to take charge of the Lions.
Nishigaya, 50, was hired on a two-year contract in April 2022 as the replacement for Tatsuma Yoshida, who resigned and left his post in Dec 2021, a year before his contract was up.
The Lions’ next match will be back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against China on March 21 and 26. The first match will be played in Singapore, while the second will be an away fixture.
Nishigaya was appointed following a hiring process that took more than four months. He was recommended to FAS by the Japan Football Association technical committee, and appointed by a panel comprising then FAS president Lim Kia Tong, current president Bernard Tan, vice-president Teo Hock Seng, council member Goh Tat Chuan and general secretary Yazeen Buhari.
This was Nishigaya’s first international gig after spells in charge of J2 side Mito Hollyhock and Japan’s third-division club SC Sagamihara.
His tenure ends with eighth wins, eight losses and five draws in 21 matches as Lions coach. A particular low point of his spell in charge came in January 2023, when the Lions were trounced 4-1 by Malaysia before a meek exit at the group stage of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Championship.
While there were three straight wins – over Guam, in a two-legged World Cup qualifier, and Chinese Taipei – last September and October, the Lions have largely looked dismal under Nishigaya.
His departure does not come as a surprise, given the discontent amongst fans and some players.
Sections of Lions supporters chanted for Nishigaya to be sacked after Thailand’s 3-1 win over Singapore in a World Cup qualifier at the National Stadium on Nov 21, with the sentiments spilling over to social media.
The Straits Times reported a few days after the defeat by the Thais, that the FAS had sounded out potential candidates to replace Nishigaya, with compatriot Ogura understood to be the front runner for the job.
Ogura was an assistant coach at Tokyo Verdy, who gained promotion to the Japanese top tier last season. Verdy announced on Jan 12 that Ogura had left the club.
Ogura was Japan’s assistant coach from 2006 to 2010 and was part of the Samurai Blue’s 2010 World Cup team who lost to Paraguay on penalties in the round of 16. He was then appointed assistant coach of Japan’s Olympic team from 2010 to 2012, when they finished fourth in London.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/singapore-national-football-coach-takayuki-nishigaya-leaves-role
| 2024-01-29T14:15:12Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE – As the football world digests the bombshell news of Jurgen Klopp’s departure, the debate has intensified on who should step into the German’s big shoes.
Former Liverpool star John Arne Riise believes his ex-teammate and current Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso fits the bill perfectly.
Klopp stunned the football world on Jan 26 when he announced that he would be stepping down as Liverpool manager at the end of this campaign, adding that he was running out of energy going amid his ninth season at Anfield.
Riise, who is in Singapore for the announcement of the April 20-21 StarHub Football Festival, told The Straits Times on Jan 29 that Liverpool need a “hungry manager, someone who wants to improve and someone who knows the club”.
“Xabi Alonso has been a player at the club, he knows the club, he knows the fans,” added the 43-year-old Norwegian. “He knows what is expected when it comes to results.
“At Liverpool... expectations are high and you need to have a good relationship with the fans. And he has that, so my pick will be him. He is hungry, he is young and he has already proven he is a good manager.”
Riise, a former left-back, knows what it takes to succeed on Merseyside.
He spent seven seasons at Liverpool, making more than 250 appearances from 2001 to 2008, during which he won the 2005 Champions League and 2006 FA Cup with Alonso.
The Spaniard is in his first role in senior management after being appointed as Leverkusen coach in October 2022.
He took over a team who were mired in the relegation zone and led them to a sixth-placed finish. This season, his Leverkusen side have set the Bundesliga alight. They are perched atop the table, two points above defending champions Bayern Munich, after staying unbeaten in 19 matches.
Alonso, who has played down speculation linking him to the Anfield hot seat, has also earned admirers for his work, with his team playing an exciting, attacking brand of football.
Riise is not surprised by his former teammate’s rise, adding that it was apparent from their days in the locker room that Alonso had an affinity with the tactical board.
“You could see it in the way he plays football, his character, how he trains. He is tactically smart, he is always looking around, he’s always taking in everything people said, he reads the game very well and he can change a play during a game. And that’s how you have to be as a manager,” said Riise.
Alonso has also honed his tactical acumen, having played under serial winners Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti (both Real Madrid) and Pep Guardiola (Bayern Munich), which puts him in good stead for a top coaching appointment, added Riise.
Riise himself had also coached. He was most recently in charge of top-tier Norwegian women’s side Avaldsnes IL from 2021 to 2023.
Fans in Singapore may get a chance to witness Riise’s ferocious left-footed rockets, when he laces up his boots for an exhibition match in the StarHub Football Festival at Our Tampines Hub on April 21.
He will be starring for the EPL legends as they take on the Singapore legends, led by former Lions forward Aleksandar Duric.
Riise is expected to line up alongside former Manchester United stars Dwight Yorke and Teddy Sheringham and former Reds such as Glen Johnson, Patrik Berger and Vladimir Smicer.
Tickets for the match, priced from $30 to $60, will be available exclusively on Movetix from Jan 30 to Feb 5 before also being made available on Sistic.
Organised by World Football Legends in collaboration with StarHub, the two-day festival will kick off on April 20 with coaching sessions for children and other activities such as workshops and meet-and-greet sessions with the legends.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/former-liverpool-star-john-arne-riise-picks-ex-teammate-xabi-alonso-as-jurgen-klopp-s-successor
| 2024-01-29T14:15:22Z
|
blocked_url
|
Welcome to the latest edition of ST Full-time Report, where the best sports content from The Straits Times is delivered to your inbox every Monday evening. Subscribe here for the weekly updates.
Dear ST reader,
Having filled her trophy cabinet with multiple shiny medals in 2023, Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira will be heading to Florida, United States, hoping that a two-month training camp in the Sunshine State will propel her into another glittering season.
Next, The Straits Times’ sports desk has launched a new series called Play of the Month. From January to December, an expert in each of the 12 sports will provide tips on how to play and get better at it. The January spotlight is on floorball.
Finally, our English Premier League columnist John Brewin examines the shock news that Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of the season and what the future holds for the Reds.
See you again next week. For the latest news on Singapore sports, check out ST Sport on Instagram.
Shanti Pereira to train in US and compete in Europe ahead of Paris Olympics
Her goal for this season is to further eclipse her national records of 11.20sec (100m) and 22.57sec (200m).
ST Sports’ Play of the Month – Floorball
The new monthly series will have experts providing tips on how to play and get better in a sport.
Winging it on the water, wingfoiling picks up in Singapore
It combines elements of windsurfing, kitesurfing and foiling - the winger stands on a board while holding onto an inflatable wing.
A dream ends for bowler Jazreel Tan, who has retired after 21 years in the Singapore national team
Among her achievements are an Asian Games team gold in 2014 and a Masters silver at the World Women’s Championship.
Composure and character take Jannik Sinner to a first Grand Slam title
Italian world No. 4 recovers from two sets down to outlast Russian Daniil Medvedev in Australian Open final.
Goalkeeper Hazel Lim earns overseas stint while on holiday in Australia
She signed a contract till the end of the season with Melbourne-based side Southern United.
On The Ball: Jurgen Klopp’s departure leaves big shoes to fill for the likes of Xabi Alonso
Roberto de Zerbi is the other immediate front runner for Liverpool job, but both insist they are focused on current sides, writes John Brewin.
Singapore’s Zeanne Law named Wushu Taolu Rising Star of the Year by world body
She won the women’s taijiquan title at the World Wushu Championships in Texas last November.
Podcast: Outlining 2024 in Singapore sports with SportSG and SSI
Top Singapore sports administrators take the hot seat in our studio with Deepanraj Ganesan.
S’pore’s Chen Xingtong, 15, wins qualifier to earn debut at golf’s HSBC Women’s World C’ship
If you received this newsletter from someone, sign up here to get weekly updates right in your inbox.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/shanti-pereira-to-train-in-us-ahead-of-paris-2024-st-sports-launches-new-series-play-of-the-month
| 2024-01-29T14:15:33Z
|
blocked_url
|
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Monday joined the chorus of congratulations for Jannik Sinner, the first Italian to win a tennis Grand Slam trophy in 48 years.
Francis complimented Sinner and his compatriots while giving an audience to members of a tennis club from Barcelona, a Vatican statement said.
"We have to congratulate the Italians because they won in Australia yesterday," the 87-year-old pope, whose best known sporting passion is soccer, said in unscripted remarks.
Sinner, 22, beat Russia's Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open on Sunday, overcoming a two-set disadvantage to win 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3.
The Italian hails from the German-speaking Alpine region of South Tyrol, and initially practiced skiing before switching to focus on tennis in his youth. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/pope-francis-hails-italys-sinner-for-grand-slam-victory
| 2024-01-29T14:15:43Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - Having trouble booking a badminton court? It could soon be as easy as telling a chatbot when and where you want to play badminton.
The People’s Association (PA) and the Government Technology Agency of Singapore have collaborated on onePA Facilities Booking Recommender, a tool that allows users to find available badminton courts and other PA facilities simply by typing in your preferred venue and dates in any of the Republic’s four official languages.
The tool, which will also recommend nearby facilities to provide users with more choices, will initially be trialled with community centre reception desk staff.
It is just one of the generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) solutions developed as part of an initiative to accelerate the adoption of the technology here.
After the AI Trailblazers initiative was announced in July 2023, 84 businesses and government agencies here have developed more than 100 GenAI solutions.
The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Communications and Information Ministry, Digital Industry Singapore, the Smart Nation Group and Google Cloud.
It aims to help organisations here use GenAI to solve real-world challenges, with government agencies and businesses gaining free access to Google Cloud’s AI toolsets for up to three months under the initiative.
Another solution, developed by Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), uses AI to guide academic staff through the process of developing course content, such as teaching slides, allowing the school to offer new or updated courses more quickly for adult learners.
A total of 43 organisations, whose GenAI solutions were developed under the initiative, were highlighted during the Explore AI summit, held at Google’s Asia-Pacific campus at Mapletree Business City on Jan 29.
During the summit, Google Cloud South-east Asia managing director Mark Micallef announced an expansion of the initiative, dubbed AI Trailblazers 2.0, which aims to help up to 150 more organisations here.
“The sheer variety of Gen AI solutions that have been developed through AI Trailblazers reinforces this technology’s ability to help us make sense of the information and perform daily tasks in ways never before possible,” said Mr Micallef.
Organisations under the expanded initiative will be able to use new tools such as Gemini – a new multimodal large language model developed by Google – as well as Duet AI for Developers, an AI-powered tool that helps developers build applications faster.
This comes after Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in December announced the revised National AI Strategy, which focuses on ways to get the Republic’s economy to embrace and utilise AI, and expand on use cases within sectors such as healthcare and education.
Also announced during the summit were a slew of other programmes aimed at expanding the adoption of AI here.
They include a collaboration between Google Cloud and Enterprise Singapore, which aims to grow 100 “high-potential” AI start-ups over the next three years and allow them to expand into new markets.
In line with efforts to grow the AI skills of the Singapore workforce, Google also announced that it is offering an additional 3,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships locally, bringing its total commitment to 13,000 scholarships here.
Focused on upskilling mid-career professionals, the certificates are in areas such as cyber security and data analytics, and can be completed within six months through flexible online training.
In line with the Government’s aim to triple the number of AI practitioners here to 15,000 over the next three to five years, NYP will become the first institute of higher learning in Singapore to incorporate advanced industry training programmes from Google Cloud into its core curriculum.
This will benefit more than 1,000 full-time diploma students in its School of Information Technology, with the programmes including professional data engineer certification and courses on building and deploying AI solutions on Vertex AI, Google’s machine-learning platform.
Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, who attended the event, said part of good governance in AI is partnering others to build the capabilities needed to support the sector.
“It means making sure that people not only have access to the tools, but are provided with the opportunities to grow the skills that will enable them to use these tools well,” said Mrs Teo.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/tech-news/more-than-100-solutions-developed-as-part-of-generative-ai-initiative
| 2024-01-29T14:15:53Z
|
blocked_url
|
KORSOR NAVAL BASE, Denmark - Denmark on Monday sent a frigate to the Red Sea, where it will participate in a U.S.-led coalition to safeguard commercial traffic against attacks by Yemen's Houthi militants.
The Iran-aligned Houthi have launched waves of exploding drones and missiles at commercial and navy vessels since Nov. 19, in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza.
In response, shipping firms have since December diverted hundreds of vessels around southern Africa's Cape of Good Hope, a journey that takes 10-14 days longer and is more costly than the passage via the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
Denmark, home to shipping company Maersk, is sending the 139-metre Iver Huitfeldt frigate to the area as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian formed last month to protect merchant vessels.
“If you think that the answer to the Houthis is to simply allow them to terrorise free world trade, you are on the wrong track," Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told reporters on board the frigate before it departed the Korsor naval base.
"That is also why we, together with the Americans and the British, are now showing responsibility and sending a signal that we will not tolerate what is happening,” the minister said.
The Houthi rebels last week fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles toward a U.S.-flagged container ship operated by Maersk.
The frigate carries U.S.-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles and ESSM surface-to-air interceptor missiles, but will not be able to defend itself or other ships against ballistic missiles, said head of the Danish Navy Command, Henrik Ryberg.
Denmark has for years planned to buy the more powerful and longer-range SM-2 and SM-6 missiles capable of defending against ballistic missiles but has not got delivery of those yet, he said.
Danish special operation forces, which have previously been used to combat pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, will not participate in this operation, Ryberg said.
The frigate with a crew of around 175 will begin operations in the Red Sea once the Danish Parliament approves a resolution to send the warship into the area, which is expected on Feb. 6.
It will not participate in U.S.-led offensive operations against the Houthis, the minister said.
Danish shipping companies annually send about 2,500 ships through the Red Sea, a route that accounts for about 15% of the world's shipping traffic.
"Right now, we have very few Danish ships sailing through the strait, simply because it is too unsafe. But in order to return, we need more security and that's what the coalition is all about," said Anne Steffensen, head of industry group Danish Shipping. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/danish-frigate-departs-for-the-red-sea-to-assist-us-led-operation
| 2024-01-29T14:16:04Z
|
blocked_url
|
PARIS - French farmers blocked major highways to Paris on Monday as they pursue protests over a range of grievances, despite several measures announced by the government.
Here are some of the issues that have prompted the protest movement and what the government could do next.
WHY ARE FARMERS PROTESTING?
Farmers in France, the EU's biggest agricultural producer, say they are not being paid enough and are choked by excessive regulation on environmental protection.
Some of their concerns, like competition from cheaper imports and environmental rules, are shared by producers in the rest of the EU while other issues such as food price negotiations are more specific to France.
COSTS
Farmers argue that a push by the government and retailers to bring down food inflation has left many producers unable to cover high costs for energy, fertiliser and transport.
A government plan to phase out a tax break for farmers on diesel fuel, as part of a wider energy transition policy, was also a flashpoint.
IMPORTS
Large imports from Ukraine, for which the EU has waived quotas and duties since Russia's invasion, and renewed negotiations to conclude a trade deal between the EU and South American bloc Mercosur, have fanned discontent about unfair competition in sugar, grain and meat.
The imports are resented for pressuring European prices while not meeting environmental standards imposed on EU farmers.
ENVIRONMENT, RED TAPE
Farmers take issue both with EU subsidy rules, such as an incoming requirement to leave 4% of farmland fallow, and what they see as France's overcomplicated implementation of EU policy, such as in restoring hedges.
Green policies are seen as contradicting goals to become more self-sufficient in production of food and other essential goods in the light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Rows over irrigation projects and criticism about animal welfare and pesticides have heightened feelings among an ageing French farmer population as being disregarded by society.
WHAT HAS THE GOVERNMENT DONE SO FAR?
The government is under pressure to defuse the crisis ahead of European elections in June and the annual Paris farm show in late February.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced on Jan. 26 the scrapping of diesel tax increases for farmers. He also set out steps to reduce red tape and offered extra aid including for farmers affected by a cattle disease in the south.
WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT?
The initial announcements drew mixed reactions and farmers' unions have called for protests to continue.
The government is maintaining a tolerant stance towards the protests, despite some violent incidents. It has ordered police, however, to protect Paris' airports and wholesale food market after calls for them to be targeted.
The government has promised further measures within days.
Further support for wine producers hit by falling consumption is being studied while additional measures for livestock are also expected.
With most agricultural policies and subsidies determined at EU level, Paris is seeking concessions from its partners, such as trying to build support for a waiver on the fallow land requirement, an issue President Emmanuel Macron could push at a leaders' summit on Thursday.
On trade, another area run at EU level, Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau called for measures to prevent imports from Ukraine destabilising EU markets, notably in sugar, poultry and eggs. That marks a shift by Paris, previously opposed to moves by eastern EU countries to limit flows of Ukrainian produce.
WHERE ELSE IN EUROPE ARE FARMERS PROTESTING?
Traffic around the Belgian capital was also disrupted by angry farmers on Monday and about a dozen tractors made it through to Brussels' EU area where they honked loudly.
Farmers stopped about five trucks with Spanish vegetables and dumped the produce near the distribution centre of Belgian retailer Colruyt near Brussels, Belgian media reported.
Germany has also faced tensions, with protests erupting after a government decision to phase out a tax break on agricultural diesel as it tried to balance its 2024 budget. Earlier this month Berlin was brought to a near standstill as one of its central avenues filled with trucks and tractors.
Farmers and truck drivers in Romania have also taken action this month with protests against high business costs blocking access to a border crossing with Ukraine. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/explainer-why-are-french-farmers-protesting
| 2024-01-29T14:16:14Z
|
blocked_url
|
THE HAGUE - The United Nations' highest court will rule on Friday whether it will hear a case in which Ukraine has accused Russia of violating international law by saying its invasion was launched to stop an alleged genocide.
Ukraine brought the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
In hearings in September, lawyers for Moscow urged judges to throw out the case, saying Kyiv's legal arguments were flawed. The ICJ on Monday said a ruling on Russia's objections to the court's jurisdiction will be handed down on Friday.
Kyiv says Russia is breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention by saying the invasion was justified to stop an alleged genocide of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine says there was no risk of genocide in eastern Ukraine, where it had been fighting Russian-backed forces since 2014.
Moscow has said Ukraine is using the case as a roundabout way to get a ruling on the overall legality of Russia's military action.
The same court on Friday ordered Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide as it wages war against Hamas militants in Gaza, and do more to help civilians. It stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire as requested by South Africa.
The court did not rule on the core of the case - whether genocide has occurred in Gaza. But it recognised the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide.
If the ICJ does decide the Ukraine-Russia case can move forward, it could take many months before hearings on the merits are scheduled.
On Wednesday, the ICJ will rule in another case brought by Ukraine against Russia in which it accused Moscow of violating U.N. anti-terrorism and anti-discrimination treaties in relation to the downing of flight MH17 in July 2014. Russian has denied involvement in the incident. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/icj-to-rule-on-jurisdiction-in-russia-ukraine-genocide-case
| 2024-01-29T14:16:25Z
|
blocked_url
|
The wife of Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza said on Monday that he had left the Siberian penal colony where he had been imprisoned since September, and she did not know where the authorities had taken him.
Evgenia Kara-Murza wrote on social media platform X that her husband, who suffers from a nerve disorder after surviving two poison attacks, had been in solitary confinement during the four months he had spent in the harsh-regime IK-6 colony in Omsk.
Convicted prisoners can disappear for long periods while being transferred by rail and prison car between far-flung points of Russia's penal system. In December, the family and lawyers of opposition leader lost contact with him for nearly three weeks while he was being moved to a penal colony in the Arctic.
The Russian prison service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kara-Murza's whereabouts.
The dissident was jailed for 25 years last April for treason and spreading "false information" about Russia's war in Ukraine. He denied the charges and compared the proceedings to Stalinist show trials of the 1930s.
Kara-Murza, 42, has a condition called polyneuropathy that
takes away the sensation in his limbs unless controlled by
medicines and exercise. His wife has voiced fears for his life in jail.
Poisoning episodes in 2015 and 2017 sent Kara-Murza into a coma both times. Navalny too survived an attempt to poison him with a nerve agent in 2020.
Kara-Murza, who holds Russian and British passports, is one of a small number of prominent opposition figures who stayed in Russia and continued to speak out against President Vladimir Putin after his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/russian-dissident-kara-murza-transferred-to-unknown-location-wife-says
| 2024-01-29T14:16:35Z
|
blocked_url
|
GAZA – Israel launched an assault overnight on Gaza’s main northern city weeks after pulling back from there, while Washington promised to respond to the first deadly strike on its forces in the Middle East since the Gaza war began.
Three US servicemen were killed and at least 34 wounded in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants in north-eastern Jordan near the Syrian border, US Central Command said on Jan 28, an escalation in the violence that has erupted beyond Gaza.
United States President Joe Biden said the attacks were carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.
Iran denied any role, but the first fatalities in what have been scores of attacks on US forces in the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war broke out prompted calls from US politicians for a direct response.
Mr Biden has ordered retaliatory attacks on Iranian-backed groups but has stopped short of attacking Iran directly for fear of igniting a broader war amid violence that has already hampered world trade through attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
“Have no doubt, we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing,” he said on Jan 28.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, behind regular attacks on shipping in the region, said on Jan 29 they fired a rocket at US warship Lewis B. Puller in the Gulf of Aden on Jan 28. There was no immediate response from Washington.
Inside Gaza, residents said air strikes on neighbourhoods across Gaza City killed and wounded many people. While tanks shelled the eastern areas of the city, naval boats fired shells and gun rounds at the beachfront areas in the west, they said.
Israel said late in 2023 that it had largely completed operations in northern Gaza. The push back into Gaza City, where residents reported fierce gun battles near the main Al-Shifa hospital, indicated that the war was not going to plan.
Among those killed were two Palestinian journalists, Mr Essam El-lulu and Mr Hussein Attalah, along with several members of their families, health officials and the journalist union said.
Israel ‘ignoring world court’
Gazans said the renewed violence made a mockery of a ruling by the United Nations’ International Court of Justice calling on Israel to do more to help civilians.
Health officials say 26,422 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, with thousands more bodies likely under the rubble of destroyed buildings across the coastal territory.
“The war continues in a dirtier manner,” said Gaza City resident Mustafa Ibrahim, a Palestinian human rights activist now displaced with his family in Rafah near the southern border with Egypt, along with more than a million other Gazans.
Israel, which blames Hamas for the deaths of civilians, ordered new evacuations of the most populated areas of Gaza City, but people said communications blackouts meant many would miss them.
Those who did flee had to run the gauntlet of Israeli tanks placed on the main north-south road, residents said.
People in the north have been grinding animal feed to make flour after flour, rice and sugar ran out, part of an aid crisis now exacerbated by a withdrawal of support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The United States, Australia, Canada, Britain, Italy, Finland and Japan are among countries that have suspended aid to the agency since Jan 26, after Israel said 12 of UNRWA’s 13,000 staff in Gaza were involved in the Oct 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed.
The UNRWA said it would have to end operations within a month if funding was not restored.
“What is the world waiting for? Animal feed has begun to run out of northern Gaza markets,” local journalist Anas Al-Sharif wrote on X. “What will people eat when animal feed runs out?” he said.
Air strikes also hit the southern city of Khan Younis. Israel said four among dozens of Palestinian gunmen it had killed in the past 24 hours had been preparing to ambush troops near Al-Amal hospital.
In the middle of Gaza, health officials said 13 Palestinians were killed in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood after Israeli forces stormed a shelter for displaced people there.
Significant gaps
Aware of the growing risks of a wider conflagration, Mr Biden and other leaders have been pushing for a new temporary ceasefire to allow for the release of hostages held by Hamas and get more aid into Gaza as a prelude to a permanent truce.
Talks on Jan 27 initiated by Qatar and involving US, Israeli and Egyptian intelligence chiefs were “constructive”, Israel said, while adding that “significant gaps” remain.
Hamas said any release of hostages would require a guaranteed end to Israel’s offensive in Gaza and full withdrawal. Israel rejects such a plan, although a Palestinian official close to mediation talks said implementation would not have to be immediate.
More than 100 people remain captive in Gaza, out of 253 seized when Hamas militants attacked Israeli bases and towns on Oct 7.
The Gaza war has also inflamed violence in the occupied West Bank. Five Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in four different incidents there in the past 24 hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
The Israeli military said two of the incidents came in response to attempted gun and knife attacks on them.
Within Israel, the military said a soldier in Haifa in the north was rammed by a motorist who then tried to attack with an axe. It said the assailant, who it did not identify, was shot.
Also on Jan 29, several explosions were heard near a shrine complex on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, according to news outlet Sham FM and one witness.
A source in Iran’s regional alliance said the strike had hit a location used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/israel-charges-back-into-gaza-city-as-us-considers-response-to-killing-of-its-troops
| 2024-01-29T14:16:45Z
|
blocked_url
|
PARIS – The world’s top bottled water seller Nestle Waters used “food safety” treatments that infringe French law, the company said on Jan 29.
It said it passed some waters, such as Perrier and Vittel, through ultraviolet light and active carbon filters “to guarantee food safety”, confirming an initial report from business daily Les Echos.
Nestle said it “lost track of the importance of conforming to regulations”, but that all the brands concerned now fulfil French requirements.
It said it told the French authorities in 2021.
Nestle did not immediately make clear when it stopped treating water sold under the Perrier, Vittel, Hepar and Contrex brands.
French law bans any disinfectant treatment of mineral waters, which are supposed to be safe to drink when they emerge from their sources.
Tap water, by contrast, is disinfected before being classed as drinkable.
Nestle said there were “changes in the environment around its sources, which can sometimes make it difficult to maintain stability of vital characteristics” in the water, namely the absence of pollution and mineral composition.
Since stopping the treatments, Nestle has paused production at some wells in the Vosges department of eastern France due to their “sensitivity to climate hazards”, forcing it to slash production of Hepar and Contrex. AFP
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/nestle-admits-treating-some-mineral-waters-to-guarantee-food-safety
| 2024-01-29T14:16:56Z
|
blocked_url
|
In a significant move to cater to the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, MLCommons, a nonprofit organization renowned for its cloud computing-based AI benchmarks, has announced the formation of a groundbreaking initiative. The MLPerf Client working group aims to set the gold standard for measuring AI performance on personal computing devices. As AI increasingly shifts from the cloud to local device processing, the benchmarks seek to provide valuable insights into the capabilities of desktops, laptops, and workstations, influencing consumers’ choices in a rapidly advancing technological era.
MLPerf client benchmarks – Unveiling the next frontier for AI performance
With the growing significance of artificial intelligence in various facets of our lives, MLCommons recognizes the need to extend its influence beyond cloud-based standards. The MLPerf Client working group, established with the primary goal of introducing benchmarks for local AI workloads, is set to revolutionize the way consumers evaluate the performance of their personal computing devices. Unlike conventional benchmarks, the new standards are envisioned to be scenario-based, focusing on real-world applications and drawing inspiration from feedback within the community.
The inaugural benchmark introduced by MLCommons concentrates on generative AI text-generation, a pivotal aspect of contemporary AI applications. This benchmark assesses the performance of laptops, desktops, and workstations running Meta Platforms Inc.’s Llama 2. The collaboration with industry leaders like Microsoft and Qualcomm indicates a concerted effort to optimize Llama 2 for Windows and specific mobile devices. The scenario-based approach ensures that the benchmarks are not just theoretical but grounded in the practical needs and experiences of users.
The participation of major companies such as Advanced Micro Devices, Arm, ASUSTek Computing, Dell Technologies, Intel, Lenovo, and Nvidia in the MLPerf Client working group underscores the industry-wide acknowledgment of the importance of local AI processing. With MLCommons steering the direction, these benchmarks are poised to become the go-to guide for businesses and consumers navigating the complex landscape of AI-capable personal computing devices.
Industry Perspectives – Shaping the future of AI performance
According to the executive director of MLCommons, David Kanter, he conveyed optimism about the initiative, emphasizing that large language models serve as a natural and exciting starting point for the MLPerf Client working group. The focus on client systems is timely, reflecting the increasing importance of AI in day-to-day computing experiences. Nvidia’s director of performance benchmarking, Jani Joki, highlights the crucial role MLPerf benchmarks have played in measuring advancements in machine learning within data centers and anticipates a similar impact on client systems.
Interestingly, Apple Inc. is notably absent from the list of collaborators, raising questions about the potential exclusion of MacBook devices from these benchmarks. As generative AI becomes a staple in the tech landscape, Apple might find itself compelled to participate in the future iterations of MLPerf Client benchmarks, especially if the ability to run generative AI locally becomes a decisive factor for consumers.
As MLCommons sets the stage for a new era in AI performance evaluation on personal computing devices, the notable absence of Apple Inc. prompts a critical question: How will the company respond to the evolving landscape of generative AI, and will it eventually join the ranks of those contributing to the establishment of client system benchmarks? In a world where the efficiency of AI on personal devices holds increasing importance, the trajectory of Apple’s involvement could significantly impact the choices available to consumers in the realm of AI-powered computing.
|
https://www.cryptopolitan.com/ai-performance-standards-on-pcs/
| 2024-01-29T15:17:13Z
|
blocked_url
|
Financial management reimagined with Blox: Streamline planning and reporting. Ditch the complex spreadsheets. Trusted by finance teams, Blox integrates operational and financial data giving you visibility, empowering bold decisions and fueling rapid growth.
"Hey 👋We hope Blox can be a great help to you👍💪🚀🧑🚀We love feedback and we're always striving to do better!Do you have any thoughts or comments - positive or constructive -> We're very grateful for all feedback; it’s a gift.Lets chat :)"
|
https://www.producthunt.com/posts/blox-6
| 2024-01-29T15:20:56Z
|
blocked_url
|
As artificial intelligence (AI) technology continues to advance rapidly, questions arise regarding the potential impact on various professions. Among them, professional photography faces the challenge of evolving from a skill-based art to a technology-driven field. While some experts express concerns about the potential obsolescence of traditional photography skills, others believe in the enduring value of human creativity.
The evolution of photography in the age of AI
A recent report published on Medium suggests that AI and image processing are fundamentally transforming the field of photography. This transformation is shifting the focus from skill-based artistry to technology-driven solutions. As AI capabilities continue to improve, high-quality photography becomes more accessible to a wider audience. This shift challenges the traditional concept of professional photography as a unique skill.
AI’s impact on photography skills
The report emphasizes how AI’s ability to handle complex tasks is changing the landscape of photography. Tasks such as composition and post-processing, which previously required human expertise, are now being automated by AI. Consequently, the need for extensive professional training in photography is diminishing, making the field more accessible to novices.
Despite the promise of AI in enhancing photography, concerns have been raised by experts who believe that AI should not replace human creativity. Jake Denton, a research associate at the Heritage Foundation’s Tech Policy Center, highlights the distinction between AI-generated art and human artistry. While algorithms can replicate artistic styles and techniques, they lack the nuanced sensibilities, depth, and emotional resonance that human artists infuse into their work. Denton argues that true art requires insights, imagination, and a unique human perspective.
Preserving human perspectives in art
Denton underscores the importance of preserving human perspectives in art and creativity. While technological advancements offer impressive possibilities, they cannot replicate the depth of human-made creative works. He advocates for a critical approach to AI-generated art to ensure that human creativity remains central in the world of photography and other creative fields.
Diverse opinions on the role of AI in photography
Not all experts share the same concerns about AI’s impact on professional photography. Some argue that AI technology, particularly in smartphone cameras, has made it easier for individuals to capture high-quality photos. While AI can streamline certain aspects of photography, it cannot fully replace the ingenuity and perspective of human photographers. This perspective suggests that creative professions like photography may be more insulated from the threat of AI than others.
The consumer perspective
Phil Siegel, founder of the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation (CAPTRS), points out that AI’s role in photography may ultimately be driven by consumer preferences. People can choose to take their own photos or hire professional photographers, much like they can decide to cook their meals or hire chefs. In this context, AI’s impact on photography may lead to more choices for consumers, focusing on service, time, distribution, and cost rather than the quality or cost of equipment.
Professional photography’s future
Aiden Buzzetti, President of the Bull Moose Project, remains optimistic about the future of professional photography. He acknowledges that AI tools in cameras, especially on mobile phones, have made photography more accessible to the general public. While there may be short-term shifts as more people enter the field and edit their photos with AI tools, Buzzetti believes that professional photography will not become obsolete. Instead, he suggests that photography will continue to be valued for its real-world authenticity, and AI may support artistic endeavors rather than replace them.
The rapid advancement of AI technology has raised questions about the future of professional photography. While some express concerns about the potential obsolescence of traditional photography skills, others believe in the enduring value of human creativity. The role of AI in photography may evolve, but the unique perspectives and insights provided by human photographers are likely to remain central to the art form.
|
https://www.cryptopolitan.com/ai-raise-concern-future-of-photography/
| 2024-01-29T15:21:34Z
|
blocked_url
|
Dessert brand Sara Lee, best known for making frozen cheesecakes, pies and ice cream for 52 years, has been rescued out of administration, the Australian media reported on Jan 29.
The manufacturer was sold to former race car driver Klark Quinn and his partner Brooke Quinn for an undisclosed sum, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
In October 2023, Sara Lee went into voluntary administration after it faced high operating costs and supply chain issues.
Business consulting firm FTI Consulting was appointed by Sara Lee to keep operations running by selling or restructuring the business.
The business sale ensures that the brand’s 200-strong workforce at its manufacturing facility in New South Wales (NSW) will keep their jobs, said administrator Vaughan Strawbridge, as reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
“Staff and consumers have rallied behind the business during this tough time, and we are so grateful to the loyal workforce and management team who have made this process a success while they have continued to produce amazing products,” Mr Strawbridge said.
The sale is slated for completion in the coming weeks.
The Quinns said it was their tradition to have Sara Lee apple pie and vanilla ice cream every Sunday night.
“We could not be more proud to put the Aussie made and owned stamp on the Sara Lee brand,” they said.
Established in 1971 in NSW, Sara Lee also trades in New Zealand, the Middle East and South-east Asia.
This is not the first time the Quinn family has helped confectioneries stay afloat.
In 2012, Queensland-based tycoon Tony Quinn, who is Mr Klark Quinn’s father, saved chocolate brand Darrell Lea when it went into voluntary administration, according to the Daily Mail.
He bought the brand for A$11 million (S$9.7 million) and sold it at A$200 million in 2018.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australianz/dessert-brand-sara-lee-to-stay-afloat-after-sweet-deal
| 2024-01-29T15:44:56Z
|
blocked_url
|
A Swiss man cut off his arm with a pocket knife after a bear bit into it at a wildlife foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Mr Stefan Specogna, a wildlife volunteer, had stretched his right arm into a black bear’s cage to feed the animal when it suddenly chomped into his arm and refused to let go, reported Thai news outlets.
The 32-year-old man tried to free his arm but eventually resorted to cutting it off.
Witnesses rushed to give him first aid before taking him from the wildlife foundation in Chiang Dao district in the north of the province to a nearby hospital. His arm was damaged from the elbow down, reported the Bangkok Post.
Mr Specogna was later transferred to a private hospital in Chiang Mai for surgery.
His severed arm was found in a shredded condition.
The Sun, a British newspaper, quoted a local who praised Mr Specogna for having a kind heart as he would rather cut off his own arm than hurt the bear.
Custody of the Asiatic black bear was transferred to the wildlife foundation from Doi Pha Daeng National Park in Chiang Dao, according to Thai news outlets.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/swiss-man-cuts-off-arm-to-escape-bear-attack-in-chiang-mai
| 2024-01-29T15:44:56Z
|
blocked_url
|
LONDON - Britain on Monday imposed sanctions on Iranian officials it said were involved in threats to kill journalists on British soil, and others it said were part of international criminal gangs linked to Iran.
The sanctions, imposed in coordination with the United States, target seven individuals and one organisation, Britain's Foreign Office said.
The sanctioned Iranian officials are members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Unit 840, which an ITV investigation in Britain said was involved in plots to assassinate two television presenters from news channel Iran International in the UK.
“The Iranian regime and the criminal gangs who operate on its behalf pose an unacceptable threat to the UK’s security," British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said.
“Today’s package exposes the roles of the Iranian officials and gangs involved in activity aimed to undermine, silence and disrupt the democratic freedoms we value in the UK."
Earlier, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was concerned about tensions in the Middle East and urged Iran to de-escalate after an attack that killed three U.S. service members in northeastern Jordan near Syria's border.
Police and security officials have warned about Iran's growing use of criminal proxies.
"Why would you do it yourself when you can procure an organised criminal to take the action on your behalf and provide distance and deniability," Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes, Britain's head of counter-terrorism policing, told media earlier this month. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/uk-sanctions-iranian-officials-over-plot-to-kill-journalists
| 2024-01-29T15:44:57Z
|
blocked_url
|
WASHINGTON - The United States and Britain are taking action against a network of people who targeted Iranian dissidents and opposition activists for assassination at Iran's direction, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday.
The network is led by Iranian narcotics trafficker Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti and directed by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), Treasury said.
The Treasury statement said Zindashti’s network has carried out assassinations and kidnappings across a number of jurisdictions, aiming to silence Tehran's perceived critics.
"The Iranian regime’s continued efforts to target dissidents and activists demonstrate the regime’s deep insecurity and attempt to expand Iran’s domestic repression internationally," said Brian Nelson, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Treasury said its action was being taken in conjunction with the unsealing of an indictment by the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/us-uk-taking-action-against-network-that-targeted-iranian-dissidents-us-treasury
| 2024-01-29T15:44:59Z
|
blocked_url
|
SINGAPORE - OUE Reit’s distribution per unit stayed flat year on year at $0.0104 for its second half ended Dec 31, 2023, its manager reported on Jan 29.
This was even as the revenue of the real estate investment trust (Reit) rose 16.4 per cent on the year to $146.3 million, from $125.7 million previously.
Net property income for the half year grew 15.9 per cent on the year to $119.7 million, from $103.3 million.
The manager attributed the higher revenue and net property income to the strong operational performance of its Singapore portfolio, driven by the full-room inventory of Hilton Singapore Orchard.
“Stable occupancies and rental growth achieved at OUE Reit’s other commercial properties also contributed to the growth,” said the manager.
Distributable income climbed 10.8 per cent year on year to $57.7 million, from $52.1 million in the corresponding year-ago period.
The distribution will be paid out on Feb 28, after the books are closed on Feb 6, 2024.
Meanwhile, for the full year ended Dec 31, 2023, DPU was lower at $0.0209, from $0.0212 the previous year; distributable income grew 3.3 per cent to $115.3 million.
Revenue was 18 per cent higher at $285.1 million, and net property income rose 19.3 per cent to $235 million for the full year.
As at Dec 31, 2023, the valuation of the Reit’s properties increased 1.7 per cent year on year to $6.3 billion, mainly driven by higher valuations for its hotel properties, which benefited from the significantly improved hospitality sector post-pandemic.
The valuation of its Singapore offices remained stable, supported by positive rental reversion achieved during the year, said the manager.
Macroeconomic uncertainties continue to weigh on Singapore’s economy, but the manager of the Reit remains confident that OUE Reit’s prime portfolio of hospitality and commercial assets will continue to clock a “stable performance” for unit holders.
In the commercial sector, OUE Reit plans to leverage the prime locations and well-diversified tenant mix of its green-certified, core Grade-A office assets to capitalise on the continued demand for green-certified buildings.
And with global air travel volume expected to make a full recovery early this year, OUE Reit’s hospitality assets are “well-positioned to capitalise on the anticipated increase in tourists and business travellers in 2024 and beyond”, said its manager.
Units of OUE Reit traded flat at $0.28 on Monday before the announcement. THE BUSINESS TIMES
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/oue-reit-s-dpu-stays-flat-at-104-cent-for-second-half-despite-higher-revenue
| 2024-01-29T15:45:00Z
|
blocked_url
|
LONDON – Despite slipping to mid-table, Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe believes his side remain in the hunt to finish in the English Premier League top four, saying a “run of form can change everything”.
The Magpies recent run of form has been poor, with six defeats in their last seven league matches, but they will hope to turn that around on Jan 30 at Aston Villa, who occupy the final Champions League spot in fourth.
Unai Emery’s side are 14 points ahead of the Magpies, who are on 29 points. Both teams have 17 league matches left to play.
Asked about Newcastle’s top-four prospects, Howe said on Jan 29: “The gap is not big, and a run of form can change everything.
“We are not looking at our season being over or being negative. It is all to play for and we still have the FA Cup.”
Much has changed since the sides met in their opening fixture of the season in August, when Newcastle repeatedly exploited Villa’s high defensive line in a 5-1 romp at St James’ Park.
Said Howe: “It will be a very difficult game. They’re in very good form, so we need to get our game plan right. It seems a long time ago (since the 5-1 win on opening day).
“I think we were at our best from an attacking sense that day. We grew in confidence as the game went on and we scored some great goals.
“The squad looked healthy and we had options – it was a difficult team to pick. I think that showed what we’re capable of.”
At Villa Park, the Magpies will be missing the injured Joelinton, Nick Pope, Matt Targett, Joe Willock, Elliot Anderson and Harvey Barnes.
Sandro Tonali remains suspended, Callum Wilson is a doubt, while Miguel Almiron, Jamaal Lascelles and Jacob Murphy face late fitness tests.
Villa’s injury list features Emiliano Buendia, Tyrone Mings and Jhon Duran, while Pau Torres, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey are doubts.
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said speculation linking him with the Barcelona job is “totally untrue”.
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez made the shock announcement last weekend that he would be leaving his post, saying “the club need a change of dynamic”.
He added: “Being Barca manager is cruel... people don’t value your work. It’s terrible wear and tear.”
Like his Spanish compatriot Xavi, Arteta is a product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia youth academy.
However, unlike club legend Xavi, he never made the grade at the Catalan giants and found his fortune elsewhere, playing for Rangers, Real Sociedad, Everton and Arsenal.
Speaking on Jan 29, ahead of his team’s Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest a day later, Arteta responded to questions linking him to the Barca job by saying: “Who, me? No. That is totally fake news.
“What you read, I’m really upset about it. I couldn’t believe it. It has no sources.
“I’m in the right place with the right people and feel really good about it.
“I’m embracing a beautiful journey with this club and there’s still a lot to do. I have a strong relationship with the board.
“Things come in a natural way. When the time is right we will have those (contract) discussions and find the best way to deal with it.”
Arteta’s Arsenal contract runs till the summer of 2025.
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/eddie-howe-still-bullish-about-newcastle-united-s-top-four-hopes
| 2024-01-29T15:45:17Z
|
blocked_url
|
DOHA – Jordan advanced to the Asian Cup quarter-finals after two stoppage-time goals secured a 3-2 win over Iraq, who had striker and tournament top scorer Aymen Hussein sent off late on for excessive goal celebrations on Jan 29.
With Iraq looking destined to move into the last eight when the clock struck 90 minutes, Jordan’s Yazan Al-Arab equalised in the 95th minute before Nizar Al-Rashdan scored two minutes later with a glorious long-range effort to break Iraqi hearts.
Jordan went ahead on the stroke of half-time when Yazan Al-Naimat pounced on a sloppy pass and raced past the defence.
The 24-year-old chipped the ball over goalkeeper Jalal Hassan to score before celebrating with his teammates by sitting on the turf and pretending to eat a meal.
Iraq struck back in the 68th when Saad Natiq headed home from a corner before Hussein scored eight minutes later when he controlled a cross and fired into the bottom corner.
The joy of scoring his sixth goal of the tournament quickly turned to shock when the referee produced a second yellow card for excessive celebrations after the striker mimicked Jordan’s players and sat on the turf, pretending to eat by himself.
While Iraq fumed, Jordan took full advantage of the extra man and when Mousa Tamari’s stoppage time effort was parried by Hassan, Al-Arab was on hand to fire home the rebound.
The comeback was complete when midfielder Al-Rashdan was left unmarked outside the box and curled his shot past the keeper to set up a quarter-final with tournament debutants Tajikistan.
On Jan 28, Tajikistan upset the United Arab Emirates 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the last eight and keep their dream run alive after the game ended 1-1 after extra time at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.
Tajikistan took the lead through Vahdat Hanonov’s first-half goal before Khalifa Al Hammadi forced extra time with a stoppage-time header.
In the shoot-out, UAE’s Caio Canedo had his effort saved by goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov before Tajikistan’s Alisher Shukurov scored the decisive spot kick.
Tajikistan are now only the second tournament debutants since Australia in 2007 to reach the quarter-finals but this was a much bigger upset for the minnows compared to an established Australian team who made the switch to the Asian Football Confederation.
Ranked outside the top 100, the Central Asian side coached by Petar Segrt sit 42 rungs below UAE, a team that had reached the semi-finals in both the 2015 and 2019 editions.
“Nobody will sleep in Tajikistan tonight,” a grinning Segrt said after the upset win.
“We are now the dark horses in this tournament. Nobody knows how far we can go. I have no limits for my players, they’ve surprised me again...
“But my biggest win has been the unity that now exists in the team, as nothing is more important to me than harmony among teammates.” REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/jordan-leave-it-late-to-beat-iraq-3-2-and-reach-asian-cup-quarter-finals-0
| 2024-01-29T15:45:27Z
|
blocked_url
|
Scotland have called up prop Javan Sebastian and flyhalf Ross Thompson to their squad in preparation for their opening Six Nations clash with Wales in Cardiff on Saturday but front row WP Nel is out of contention with a neck injury.
Scotland are training in Spain ahead of the fixture with Sebastian, who was part of their World Cup squad in France last year, filling the void left by Nel.
Thompson is a replacement for Adam Hastings, who dropped out of the squad last week with a knee injury that will leave him sidelined for the duration of the Six Nations.
Uncapped Euan Ferrie, who can play at lock or in the back row, and scrumhalf Jamie Dobie are also training with the group, officials said on Monday. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/scotland-call-up-sebastian-thompson-ahead-of-six-nations-opener-v-wales
| 2024-01-29T15:45:38Z
|
blocked_url
|
LAUSANNE – Teenage Russian skater Kamila Valieva received a four-year ban from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Jan 29 for failing a doping test before the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The three-member panel in sport’s highest court said: “A period of four years ineligibility is imposed on Ms Valieva, starting on Dec 25, 2021.
“All competitive results of Ms Valieva from Dec 25, 2021 are disqualified, with all the resulting consequences (including forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, profits, prizes, and appearance money).”
Valieva was just 15 when she tested positive, raising questions not just about her guilt and the Russian Olympic system after the Sochi Winter Games of 2014 but how she was treated as a minor, the way the test was conducted and the value of the drug involved for enhancing performance.
The case came to CAS following Valieva’s exoneration by Russia’s anti-doping agency (Rusada).
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and the International Skating Union (ISU) then appealed Rusada’s ruling, as did Rusada itself.
Three CAS judges met in Lausanne in September to hear the case, with Valieva and some of the experts and witnesses taking part via videoconferencing.
At the Beijing Games, Valieva became the first female skater to land a quadruple jump in Olympic competition, helping Russia secure gold in the team event. The United States took silver, with Japan getting the bronze and Canada placing fourth.
The next day, she was told she had tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug used to treat angina but banned for athletes.
Her team have said the positive test, collected at the Russian national championships in December 2021, could have been due to a mix-up with her grandfather’s heart medication.
Under the pressure of suspicion and attention, Valieva cracked in the individual event in Beijing, stumbling four times in the long programme and finishing in tears as she tumbled from first to fourth.
At the end of the year, Rusada ruled that Valieva bore “no fault or negligence” for the positive test.
From the start, the case has presented a dilemma. Valieva’s age, 15 at the time, should have guaranteed her confidentiality under Wada rules for “protected persons” younger than 16. But her display in the Olympic team event had already drawn worldwide attention.
The ISU is raising the lower age limit for its senior category from 15 to 17 from 2024, citing the “physical, mental and emotional health” of competitors. AFP, REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/russian-figure-skater-valieva-banned-for-doping-roc-loses-olympic-gold-cas
| 2024-01-29T15:45:48Z
|
blocked_url
|
LONDON - Britain's King Charles left hospital on Monday after a three-night stay following treatment for an enlarged prostate, television footage showed.
The king, 75, who was admitted for a planned procedure on Friday, waved at crowds as he headed home from the London Clinic accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla.
He left hours after his daughter-in-law, Kate, the Princess of Wales, also left the same hospital following her two week recovery from abdominal surgery. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/britains-king-charles-leaves-hospital-after-prostate-treatment
| 2024-01-29T15:45:58Z
|
blocked_url
|
LONDON - Schools could be mothballed in London because of falling pupil numbers caused by high living costs, an exodus of families after Brexit and a declining birth rate, a new report warned on Jan 29.
Some 8,000 fewer children are predicted to require places over the next four years, creating significant budget shortfalls for schools across the capital, the London Councils group said.
“There are a number of localised factors which have led to families moving away from London, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the increase in the cost of living, the UK’s exit from the European Union and the lack of affordable housing available in London,” the report states.
“These factors are continuing to be significant in determining where families choose to live, particularly in central London.”
A 17 per cent fall in the birth rate in the city – 23,225 live births – between 2012 and 2021 is another main reason for the decrease in demand for school places, said the group, which represents the 32 councils covering Greater
London.
As more people choose not to raise a family in the capital, the birth rate in London has decreased, the report says, warning that the situation is unlikely to change.
In some cases, the decline will worsen, leading to more reductions in pupil numbers in schools and “potential school closures”, the report warns.
Schools, which are funded by government according to the number of pupils, will have to make “difficult decisions” to balance their budgets, the councils warn.
This could include cutting teachers, narrowing the curriculum or offering fewer extracurricular opportunities.
“The drop in the child population is creating challenges for schools, many of whom are already in deficit, and face further budgetary reductions due to fewer pupils on their school roll,” the report says.
“There is an imminent risk that falling rolls and stretched budgets will lead to a drop in standards which will impact children’s long-term educational attainment.”
Falling numbers of pupils have already seen several schools shut their doors.
The Guardian newspaper reported in 2023 that an “urban exodus” of young families because of rising housing and childcare costs had created a similar situation in towns and cities across England. AFP
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/london-schools-under-threat-from-cost-of-living-councils
| 2024-01-29T15:46:09Z
|
blocked_url
|
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to allow organisations the authorities deem economically significant to avoid disclosing information about their activities as Moscow seeks to limit its exposure to Western sanctions.
Russia started withholding some data shortly after its troops entered Ukraine in February 2022. Certain oil and gas statistics and federal budget details are hidden, while banks were ordered to limit disclosures.
The new decree, dated Jan. 27, widens the pool of entities that can avoid scrutiny by giving "economically significant organisations" and their owners the right to stop disclosing information.
The "economically significant" definition first appeared in Russian legislation in 2023 and was described by officials as applying to companies that are of significant importance to ensuring Russia's economic sovereignty and security.
The list of companies judged to qualify for the designation has not yet been made.
Under the decree, companies and persons deemed economically significant will have to notify regulators of their right not to disclose information and give some details to the authorities, but this data will not be made public. REUTERS
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/putin-lets-economically-significant-entities-limit-information-disclosures
| 2024-01-29T15:46:19Z
|
blocked_url
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.