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Sectors like textiles, handloom, jewellery will benefit from India-UAE CEPA: Piyush Goyal
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday said that sectors such as textiles, handloom, jewellery, and footwear will benefit from the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between India and UAE.
- Country:
- India
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday said that sectors such as textiles, handloom, jewellery, and footwear will benefit from the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between India and UAE. India and the United Arab Emirates today signed CEPA that will help bolster the strategic partnership and take bilateral economic and commercial engagement to the next level.
"Sectors like textiles, handloom, gems, and jewellery, leather goods, footwear will benefit from the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. These are products that provide huge employment for people in India," Piyush Goyal told ANI. After the signing of CEPA, the union minister said medicines made in India will get access to the UAE market within 90 days of submission of an application on zero duty.
"The medicines made in India which are approved by the United States approved by the EU or UK, Canada, or Australia will get access to the UAE market within 90 days of submission of an application on zero duty," he said. "Around 90 per cent of products are exported to the UAE, estimating around Rs 2 lakh crore. The products that will be exported to the UAE market include leather, footwear, sports goods, furniture, cotton, agricultural goods, engineering products," he further said.
Goyal noted that petroleum products will be brought to India from the UAE. "Other metals and minerals can come to India on less duty. This will help industries in India to use raw materials at a cheap rate and this will benefit the consumers in India. CEPA was signed during a meeting between the Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and the UAE delegation led by Minister of Economy, Abdulla bin Touq Al-Marri and Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.
The Agreement will provide significant benefits to Indian and UAE businesses, including enhanced market access and reduced tariffs. It is expected that the CEPA will lead to an increase in bilateral trade from the current USD 60 bn to USD 100 bn in the next 5 years. (ANI)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/1928299-sectors-like-textiles-handloom-jewellery-will-benefit-from-india-uae-cepa-piyush-goyal | 2022-02-18T18:17:32 | en | 0.956142 |
The coastguard has urged everyone not to hit the waves during the stormy weather after a person was spotted surfing off Devon's coast today (February 18).
Parts of the county have suffered devastation as a result of the bad weather which has led to school closures, road closures and severe damage to properties.
And with wind speeds reaching up to an astonishing 100mph, one person has been filmed surfing the waves near Teignmouth.
Read more: Storm Eunice ravages Devon with road chaos and power cuts
According to the coastguard, there have been multiple reports of people at the waterline taking pictures of the waves, and even of families standing by the surf line with their children.
The Met Office has issued a red ‘danger to life’ weather warning and winds of 122mph have been recorded.
The footage comes as HM Coastguard Tactical Commander Ben Hambling issues a plea 'in the strongest possible terms to stay away from the coast'.
HM Coastguard Tactical Commander Ben Hambling said: “The reports we are receiving are absolutely terrifying. In these conditions all it takes is one wave.
“A dramatic photograph or selfie is not worth risking your life for and those who are going to the coast to take pictures are also putting our teams at risk.
“We are urging people in the strongest possible terms to stay away from the coast.”
If you do get into trouble or believe anybody to be in difficulty at the coast or at sea, please call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
Keep up to date with all of the latest on Storm Eunice here.
Get the best stories about the things you love most curated by us and delivered to your inbox every day. Choose what you lovehere. | https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/coastguard-warning-after-devon-surfer-6686389 | 2022-02-18T18:17:39 | en | 0.971045 |
India, UAE reaffirm joint commitment to fight against extremism, terrorism
India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday reaffirmed their joint commitment to the fight against extremism and terrorism, including cross-border terrorism at both regional and international levels.
- Country:
- India
India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday reaffirmed their joint commitment to the fight against extremism and terrorism, including cross-border terrorism at both regional and international levels. This statement comes after India and the United Arab Emirates signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that will help bolster the strategic partnership and take bilateral economic engagement to the next level.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan separately held a virtual summit on Friday. They also issued a joint vision statement. In the joint statement, the leaders agreed to enhance maritime cooperation contributing to the maintenance of peace and security in the region. "The leaders agreed to continue defence exchanges, sharing of experiences, training and capacity building."
Both the leaders recalled the importance of maintaining and strengthening peace in the Middle East. The leaders reiterated that dialogue and cooperation must be the cornerstone of a more integrated, stable and prosperous region, and India welcomed the outlook of the UAE in this respect, the joint statement said. In the joint statement, the two leaders also agreed to support international efforts to maintain peace and security in the region and resolve regional conflicts, including efforts to support the reactivation of the Middle East Peace Process in line with the two-state solution and based on the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and previous agreements between the parties, the joint statement said.
It further said that the leaders "expressed hope that the Abraham Accords will contribute to regional peace and create positive change for the Middle East region." "The leaders further agreed to deepen their bilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism, terrorist financing and extremism. In this context, they emphasized the importance of promoting the values of peace, moderation, coexistence and tolerance among peoples, and stressed the need for all forms of terrorism, extremism, violence, hatred, discrimination and incitement to be renounced," the statement said.
In view of the recent terror attacks against the UAE, PM Modi reiterated India's full solidarity with the leadership, government and people of the UAE and offered condolences to the UAE over the victims of the recent terrorist act. (ANI)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/1928304-india-uae-reaffirm-joint-commitment-to-fight-against-extremism-terrorism | 2022-02-18T18:17:39 | en | 0.939734 |
Hezbollah drone triggers air defences in northern Israel
A drone flown by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah crossed into northern Israel on Friday, triggering air defences and the scrambling of fighter jets before returning to Lebanon. Iran-backed Hezbollah, which fought a month-long war against Israel on the Lebanon border in 2006, said Friday's flight was a 40-minute reconaissance mission.
A drone flown by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah crossed into northern Israel on Friday, triggering air defences and the scrambling of fighter jets before returning to Lebanon.
Iran-backed Hezbollah, which fought a month-long war against Israel on the Lebanon border in 2006, said Friday's flight was a 40-minute reconaissance mission. Earlier this week, it said it had started producing its own drones in Lebanon. Hours later and roughly 100 km to the north, a thundering roar was heard in the Lebanese capital Beirut, probably caused by Israeli planes passing in the lowest overflight in years, according to a Reuters witness and a Lebanese security source.
The noise reminded residents of a huge 2020 port explosion. Israel's military said Hezbollah's radio-controlled drone had set off air raid sirens in the Galilee region of northern Israel warning residents to take cover.
"Aerial defence systems identified and tracked the threat along with helicopters and fighter jets that were dispatched," it said, adding that its Iron Dome defence system had tried to intercept the drone but it made it back. On Thursday, Israel said it had downed a drone that belonged to Hezbollah after it crossed into Israeli air space.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Separatists in eastern Ukraine say car blown up near rebel HQ - TASS
- Country:
- Russia
Russian-backed separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine said on Friday that a car had been blown up near their government building in the centre of the city of Donetsk, the TASS news agency reported.
Russia's Interfax news agency reported that nobody was hurt in the incident. Russia's RIA news agency reported that there had been a large explosion.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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PM to inaugurate Bio-CNG plant in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Saturday
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, providing green energy along with organic compost as fertilizer, it said.Indore Clean Energy Pvt Ltd, a Special Purpose Vehicle created to implement the project, was set up by Indore Municipal Corporation IMC and Indo Enviro Integrated Solutions Ltd.
- Country:
- India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a Bio-CNG plant in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Saturday via video conferencing, his office said.
The prime minister recently launched the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0, with the overall vision of creating "Garbage Free Cities", the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.
The Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0 is being implemented under the overarching principles of "waste to wealth" and "circular economy" for maximising resource recovery -- both of which are exemplified in the Indore Bio-CNG plant.
The plant, to be inaugurated by PM Modi at 1 PM on Saturday, has a capacity to treat 550 tonnes per day of segregated wet organic waste, the statement said.
It is expected to produce around 17,000 kg of CNG and 100 tonnes of organic compost per day. The plant is based on zero landfill models, whereby no rejects would be generated, the statement said.
Additionally, the project is expected to yield multiple environmental benefits, viz. reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, providing green energy along with organic compost as fertilizer, it said.
Indore Clean Energy Pvt Ltd, a Special Purpose Vehicle created to implement the project, was set up by Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) and Indo Enviro Integrated Solutions Ltd. (IEISL) under a Public Private Partnership model, with 100 per cent capital investment of Rs 150 crore by IEISL. Indore Municipal Corporation will purchase a minimum 50 per cent of CNG produced by the plant and in a first-of-its-kind initiative, run 400 city buses using it.
The balance quantity of CNG will be sold in the open market. The organic compost will help replace chemical fertilisers for agricultural and horticultural purposes, the statement said.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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38 Indian Mujahideen members sentenced to death in 2008 Ahmedabad blasts case; 11 get life term
- Country:
- India
A special court on Friday sentenced to death 38 members of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts which killed 56 people and injured over 200. It also gave life term to another 11 IM convicts in the case.
It is for the first time in the country that maximum number of death sentences were handed down by a court at one go. In January 1998, all 26 convicts in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 were given capital punishment by a TADA court in Tamil Nadu.
The quantum of punishment was pronounced by Special judge A R Patel, ten days after 49 people were convicted and 28 others acquitted.
After the sentencing, Public Prosecutor Sudhir Brahmbhatt told reporters that a charge-sheet filed by the Gujarat police in 2010 had shown that the convicts, who were associated with the IM, had also planned to eliminate the then chief minister Narendra Modi, who is now the prime minister.
''A charge-sheet filed in 2010 in the case contained a statement of an accused which he had given to the magistrate under section 164 of the CrPC. In his statement, the accused (who is among those convicted), had admitted that they had also hatched a plan to kill PM Modi, who was Gujarat's chief minister back then,'' said Brahmbhatt, who did not give the name of the convict.
Another prosecution lawyer, who claimed he had the opportunity to go through parts of the 7,000-page judgement, said the judge has observed in his verdict that the convicts had tried to ''kill the then CM Narendra Modi, the then Home Minister of Gujarat Amit Shah and local MLA Pradipsinh Jadeja. But fortunately, they survived.'' The lawyer did not want to be named and the judgement has not been made public yet.
The court termed the series of blasts as “rarest of rare” and ordered that the 38 convicts in the case be hanged till death, while 11 others were given life imprisonment till death, public prosecutor Amit Patel told reporters.
A total of 21 explosions had ripped through the city on July 26, 2008 within a span of 70 minutes.
Bombs had exploded at various spots in Ahmedabad, including the state government-run civil hospital, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, on buses, parked bicycles, in cars and other places, killing 56 people. As many as 29 live bombs were also found in Surat in the next couple of days, though none of them exploded.
All the convicts attended the hearing via video link from eight jails, including Sabarmati central jail in Ahmedabad, Tihar jail in Delhi and jails in Bhopal, Gaya, Bengaluru, Kerala and Mumbai.
Those sentenced to death included key conspirators Safdar Nagori and Qumaruddin Nagori (from Madhya Pradesh) and Qayumuddin Kapadiya, Zahid Shaikh and Shamsudding Sheikh (from Gujarat).
Both Safdar Nagori and Zahid Shaikh were accused of collecting funds for acquiring explosives and for other illegal activities of the banned outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), while Kapadiya had acquired mobile SIM cards using fake documents and stayed in hotels using fake identity.
Survivors and kin of those killed in the blasts welcomed the court verdict.
College student Yash Vyas, 22, was nine years old when he suffered severe burn injuries after a bomb went off at the trauma ward of the civil hospital.
''My mother and I have been waiting for this day for the last 13 years. I am happy that the court gave death penalty to 38 persons responsible for killing innocent people, including my father and brother,” he said.
“The court should have given capital punishment to all the convicts,” said Yash, the second-year B.Sc student. Yash spent four months in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital with 50 per cent burn injuries, and continues to suffer from partial hearing impairment because of the loud impact of the explosion.
Among the victims were Dr Prerak Shah, who used to serve in the civil hospital, and his pregnant wife Kinjal. The couple had come to the civil hospital's gynaecology ward for Kinjal's medical check-up.
''I welcome this verdict. I always had trust in police and judiciary that one day I will get justice. However, I feel all 49 guilty persons should have been given the death penalty. Nonetheless, I am satisfied 38 will hang,'' said Prerak's father Ramesh Shah, a resident of Modasa town.
The trial began in December 2009 against 78 persons linked to the IM, which was later banned in 2010. One of them turned approver. The court concluded the trial against the 77 accused in September last year.
Four more accused were arrested later, but their trial has not commenced yet, a government lawyer said.
The police had claimed that members of the IM, a radicalized faction of SIMI, were behind the blasts and was planned as a revenge for the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat that left over 1,000 people, most of them from the Muslim community, dead.
While 38 people were convicted by the court under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 11 others were held guilty for criminal conspiracy and under various sections of the UAPA, Prosecutor Patel said. The court imposed a fine of Rs 2.85 lakh on 48 convicts and Rs 2.88 lakh on another convict.
It also awarded compensation of Rs one lakh to the kin of those who died in the blasts, Rs 50,000 to those who were seriously injured and Rs 25,000 to those who received minor injuries.
Safdar Nagori, 54, appeared remorseless after the judge pronounced the death sentence and the convict was heard saying the Constitution does not mean anything to him.
“The Constitution does not count for me. For me, the decisions of the Koran are supreme,'' Bhopal Central Jail Superintendent Dinesh Nargawe quoted Nagori as saying soon after he was sentenced to death. Nagori is currently lodged in the Bhopal Central Jail.
The trial was conducted after the court merged 20 FIRs relating to Ahmedabad blasts and 15 FIRs regarding Surat incidents.
The state government had transferred the investigation to the Ahmedabad crime branch, under the supervision of the then JCP Ashish Bhatia, who is now serving as the Gujarat DGP.
Nine judges presided over the case, starting with Bela Trivedi, in whose court charges were framed against the accused on February 15, 2010. Justice Trivedi is now the judge of the Supreme Court. Judge A R Patel started hearing the case from June 14, 2017.PTI PJT PD NP LAL VT GSN GSN
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Kerala’s announcement on new Mullaiperiyar dam is arbitrary, amounts to contempt of court: TN
- Country:
- India
The Tamil Nadu government on Friday strongly condemned neighbouring Kerala's announcement to construct a new reservoir in the place of the existing Mullaperiyar dam and said the move was ''arbitrary and amounted to contempt of Supreme Court order''.
Responding to Tamil Nadu's charge, the Government of Kerala sought to allay concerns of the neighbouring state over the issue by clarifying that the proposal to build a new dam in the place of the over a century-old dam was put forth for ensuring the safety of the people living downstream.
Kerala Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine also made it clear that his state was committed to provide water to Tamil Nadu.
The state will hold talks with Tamil Nadu on the issue of constructing a new dam across Mullaperiyar, Augustine told reporters in Kottayam.
Mullaperiyar is pronounced as Mullaiperiyar in Tamil Nadu.
Earlier, lashing out at Kerala for the announcement in the state Assembly, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan said his state would oppose the move to construct a new dam in all aspects.
''Kerala government's announcement to build a new dam in the place of the existing one is arbitrary and unacceptable,'' he said.
The Tamil Nadu government will oppose this in all aspects and the state's rights (over Mullaperiyar) will not be given up for any reason, Duraimurugan said.
In a statement, the minister said the announcement in the Kerala Assembly by the Governor today on a proposal to build a new dam, is contrary to the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court on May 7, 2014 and ''contempt of the order of the apex court.'' The Supreme Court's order clearly stated that the Mullaperiyar dam is stable in all respects and that there is no need for a new dam. It has also made it clear that the Kerala government cannot impose the new dam project on the Tamil Nadu government, Duraimurugan said, citing the 2014 order.
The judgment, regarding water level in Mullaperiyar reservoir, had restrained Kerala by a decree of permanent injunction from applying and enforcing the impugned legislation or in any manner interfering with or obstructing Tamil Nadu from increasing the water level to 142 feet and from carrying out repair works.
Meanwhile, AIADMK coordinator and former chief minister O Panneerselvam condemned Kerala for the announcement and claimed the neighbouring state was emboldened due to the ''DMK government's soft approach.'' He urged Chief Minister M K Stalin to take all legal and political steps to oppose Kerala and to ensure Tamil Nadu's rights on Mullaperiyar prevailed.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Pakistan issues citizenship certificate to woman held in Indian jail
Pakistan has issued a citizenship certificate to a woman held in a jail in India, paving the way for her return to the country with her four-year-old daughter, according to a media report on Friday.
- Country:
- Pakistan
Pakistan has issued a citizenship certificate to a woman held in a jail in India, paving the way for her return to the country with her four-year-old daughter, according to a media report on Friday. Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Thursday that his ministry had issued the citizenship certificate for Sumaira, who is at a detention centre in Bengaluru, after verification of her family tree by the National Database and Regulatory Authority (Nadra), the Dawn newspaper reported. He said the certificate has been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi would issue a travel document to her, allowing her to return to Pakistan along with her daughter. Her case was raised in the Senate on Monday by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui. According to a BBC report, Sumaira, who was living in Qatar, married an Indian boy who took her to India without a visa. Later, Sumaira was arrested and subsequently sentenced to three years in prison. Two months later, she gave birth to a baby girl. Her husband left her during the period when she was in custody. After her release from prison, Sumaira is living at a detention centre in Bengaluru with her daughter, the report said.
Meanwhile, prison authorities in Bengaluru said on Friday they have not yet received any communication from the Government of India or Pakistan authorities about issuing Pakistani citizenship to Sumaira.
''There are news doing rounds that the said detenu has been granted Pakistani citizenship but we have not received any official communication so far,'' an officer told PTI on condition of anonymity. He added that the communication may arrive 'in due course of time'.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Estonia sends Javelin anti-tank weapons to Ukraine
- Country:
- Lithuania
Estonia delivered Javelin anti-tank weapons to Ukraine on Friday, the Estonian Defence Ministry said.
"At the moment, these missiles are more useful for Estonia's security in defence of Ukraine rather than at a live fire exercise on an Estonian training area," Lieutenant General Martin Herem, Commander of Estonian Defence Forces, said in a statement.
"This is a small step by Estonia in support of Ukraine, but it is a real and tangible contribution to defence against Russian aggression."
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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- Javelin anti-tank
- Ukraine
- Estonian
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Ahmedabad blasts: Convicts to move Gujarat HC against special court verdict
Lawyers of 49 convicts, 38 of them sentenced to death and others to life-long imprisonment in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case, on Friday said they will approach the Gujarat High Court against a special courts verdict pronouncing them guilty.According to defence lawyers, the special court should not have relied solely on circumstantial evidence and statements of some convicts while giving its judgement.The verdict was mainly based on circumstantial evidence, four statements given by the accused under section 164 of the CrPC and the statement of an approver.
- Country:
- India
Lawyers of 49 convicts, 38 of them sentenced to death and others to life-long imprisonment in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case, on Friday said they will approach the Gujarat High Court against a special court's verdict pronouncing them guilty.
According to defence lawyers, the special court should not have relied solely on circumstantial evidence and statements of some convicts while giving its judgement.
''The verdict was mainly based on circumstantial evidence, four statements given by the accused under section 164 of the CrPC and the statement of an approver. I believe that the court should have discarded such evidences.
''But since the verdict has come, it is natural that those who were convicted will approach the High Court against the verdict,'' said HM Sheikh, one of the defence lawyers.
''The judgement runs into over 7,000 pages and is yet to be made available to us. We will plan the future course of action after studying the judgement in the coming days,'' he said.
Khalid Shaikh, another defence lawyer, said the special court should have shown leniency as per principles laid down by the Supreme Court.
''We expected the court to show some leniency and award less harsher punishment. We will first study the verdict before taking a final decision on filing an appeal against it,'' said Khalid Shaikh.
Earlier in the day, the special court sentenced to death 38 members of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) in the case related to the serial blasts, which had claimed 56 lives and left over 200 injured.
The court also sentenced 11 other convicts to life imprisonment till death.
The court had convicted 49 persons and acquitted 28 others in the case on February 8. The pronouncement of the quantum of punishment by judge A R Patel came nearly 14 years after the bombings.
This is for the first time that so many convicts have been handed down death sentence by any court at one go.
In January 1998, a TADA court in Tamil Nadu sentenced to death all the 26 convicts in the case of assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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NCLAT dismisses Go Airlines petition against withdrawal of Sovika Aviation Services' insolvency proceedings
- Country:
- India
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed a petition filed by budget carrier Go Airlines against an order passed by the NCLT allowing withdrawal of insolvency proceedings against Sovika Aviation Services.
The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had on September 23, 2021 allowed the Section 12A application filed by the Resolution Professional for withdrawal of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against Sovika Aviation Services.
Go Airline was also an operational creditor, which after coming to know about the process filed its claim on September 6, 2021. A response to it was sent by the Resolution Professional on September 10, 2021.
The Resolution Professional was in the process of verification of the claims when the application under Section 12A was allowed by the NCLT on September 23, 2021.
Sovika Aviation is a provider of services ranging from aircraft management, ground handling and terminal management.
Under Section 12A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the tribunal can permit withdrawal of an ongoing insolvency process against a company subject to certain conditions. Such application is filed by the company with the approval of 90 per cent voting share of the Committee of Creditors (CoC).
A two-member NCLAT bench observed that the CoC in its seventh meeting held on March 19, 2021 had already resolved to withdraw CIRP against Sovika Aviation Services.
''In view of the sequence of events and facts brought on record that after Committee of Creditors approval dated March 19, 2021 for withdrawal of the CIRP proceedings against the Corporate Debtor after settlement between the parties claim of the Appellant was submitted on September 6, 2021, we do not find any error in the order of the NCLT dated September 23, 2021 permitting withdrawal of the CIRP,'' said NCLAT.
It further said regarding the claim of Go Airlines, which has not been entertained in the insolvency resolution proceedings, it is always open for the budget carrier to take recourse to appropriate legal proceedings before an appropriate forum.
''The fact that claim of the Appellant (Go Airlines) has not been entertained in the insolvency resolution process, there shall be no bar for the Appellant to take the appropriate legal remedy as permissible in law,'' it said.
The appellate tribunal also said: ''We make it clear that we have not expressed any opinion on the merits of the claim of the Appellant and it is for the appropriate forum to consider and take a decision in accordance with law.'' The NCLAT took note of the respondent's submission that Go Airlines has already filed a suit before the commercial court, and notice for mediation has been received.
''Be it as it may. It is always open for the parties to take recourse to appropriate remedy as permissible in law. With these observations the Appeal is dismissed,'' said NCLAT.
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- Go Airlines | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928212-nclat-dismisses-go-airlines-petition-against-withdrawal-of-sovika-aviation-services-insolvency-proceedings | 2022-02-18T18:18:49 | en | 0.954539 |
Ukraine says world must condemn Russian actions in its east
The Ukrainian government has strongly denied suggestions by Russia that it could launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine, where residents from two self-proclaimed republics received were ordered to evacuate. "...we are watching the Russian Federation launch a campaign to spread mass disinformation, increase shelling of Ukrainian positions and civilian infrastructure with weapons banned by the Minsk agreements, and escalate the security situation," the foreign ministry's spokesman said in a statement.
Ukraine on Friday called on the international community to condemn what it said were provocations by Russia in separatist-held eastern Ukrainian areas, saying that Moscow would only escalate the situation further if it did not. The Ukrainian government has strongly denied suggestions by Russia that it could launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine, where residents from two self-proclaimed republics received were ordered to evacuate.
"...we are watching the Russian Federation launch a campaign to spread mass disinformation, increase shelling of Ukrainian positions and civilian infrastructure with weapons banned by the Minsk agreements, and escalate the security situation," the foreign ministry's spokesman said in a statement. "Lack of a proper reaction or a neutral position will only fuel the escalation of the situation by Russia."
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Delhi govt to seek Rs 1,755 crore from Centre for clearing up three landfill sites
The Delhi government will soon send a proposal to the Centre, seeking Rs 1,755 crore for clearing up three landfill sites in the city that have outlived their lifespan, officials said on Friday.The city cumulatively generates around 11,400 metric tonnes of garbage, out of which nearly 6,200 metric tonnes is dumped at the three landfills in Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalaswa, falling under East, South and North Delhi Municipal Corporations, respectively, civic officials said.A senior Delhi government officer said that a proposal has been prepared under the Swachh Bharat Mission for flattening and clearing up the three landfill sites.
- Country:
- India
The Delhi government will soon send a proposal to the Centre, seeking Rs 1,755 crore for clearing up three landfill sites in the city that have outlived their lifespan, officials said on Friday.
The city cumulatively generates around 11,400 metric tonnes of garbage, out of which nearly 6,200 metric tonnes is dumped at the three landfills in Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalaswa, falling under East, South and North Delhi Municipal Corporations, respectively, civic officials said.
A senior Delhi government officer said that a proposal has been prepared under the Swachh Bharat Mission for flattening and clearing up the three landfill sites. The proposal, prepared along with the municipal corporations, will be sent to the Centre soon for its approval and release of funds.
''The proposal estimates the cost of the project to scientifically treat and remove the garbage at the three dump sites at Rs 1,755 crore. The proposal prepared by the Urban Development department will be vetted further before being sent to the Centre,'' he said.
If the Centre approves the proposal and provides the required funds, the three landfill sites are expected to be cleared of the legacy waste in one and half years, he added.
The three municipal corporations are already trying to bring down the size of the massive mountains of garbage dumps through bio-mining of legacy waste and setting up of waste-to-energy plants.
The North Delhi, South Delhi and East Delhi corporations have set deadlines of June 2022, December 2023 and December 2024, respectively, to shut landfill sites in their jurisdictions.
In 2019, the height of the Ghazipur landfill was 65 metres, which was only eight metres less than the height of Qutub Minar. In 2017, a portion of the landfill had fallen on an adjacent road in which two people were killed.
Currently, 140 lakh metric ton of waste is lying at the Ghazipur landfill site, officials said.
The authorities at the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) had last year estimated that nearly 60 lakh metric tonnes garbage was lying at the Bhalswa landfill site.
According to SDMC officials, around 3,600 metric tonnes of garbage is generated in south Delhi every day, of which only 50 per cent is processed by the SDMC and the rest is dumped at the Okhla landfill.
The civic body has plans to start operation of a waste-to-energy plant in June 2022 in Tahkhand area, having capacity to process around 2,000 metric tonnes waste material.
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Mali says France should withdraw troops 'without delay'
Relations between Paris and its former colony have deteriorated in recent weeks after the junta went back on an agreement to organise an election in February and proposed holding power until 2025. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday that Mali's capacity to fight against Islamist groups on its territory was now Mali's problem as French and allied forces will move to neighbouring countries to help reinforce national armies.
Mali's ruling military junta on Friday asked France to withdraw troops from its territory "without delay", calling into question Paris' plan for a four- to six-month departure and highlighting the breakdown in relations between the two countries. Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, a junta spokesman, said France's decision on Thursday to withdraw forces that have been fighting an Islamist insurgency was a unilateral move that violated military accords between Mali and France.
"In view of its repeated breaches of the defence agreements, the government invites French authorities to withdraw (French forces) without delay," Maiga said, speaking on national television. Maiga repeated the sentence three times, but did not give a deadline.
Announcing the French troop withdrawal on Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron said it would take four to six months. In response to Maiga's comments, Macron told reporters at an EU summit the withdrawal would be "implemented in an orderly manner so we can continue to ensure the security of MINUSMA (the U.N. peacekeeping force in Mali) and the security of our forces."
The U.N. force is examining how its military operations will be impacted by the departure of French troops, the force's commander Kees Matthijssen said on Friday, stressing a commitment to continue supporting Mali. Relations between Paris and its former colony have deteriorated in recent weeks after the junta went back on an agreement to organise an election in February and proposed holding power until 2025.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday that Mali's capacity to fight against Islamist groups on its territory was now Mali's problem as French and allied forces will move to neighbouring countries to help reinforce national armies. Mali has been the epicentre of a fight against militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State in the region. The departure of the foreign troops could complicate efforts to tackle the groups that have killed thousands and displaced over a million.
Neighbouring Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum said separately on Twitter that his nation had accepted that French and European special forces move across the border from Mali to combat jihadists and try to secure the border area. West African coastal nations have seen increased attacks from the militants in recent weeks and are also expected to host some foreign troops if needed.
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Canadian police start arresting protesters in Ottawa
- Country:
- Canada
Police began arresting protesters and towing away trucks Friday in a bid to break the three-week, traffic-snarling siege of Canada's capital by hundreds of truckers angry over the country's COVID-19 restrictions.
Working slowly and methodically, police led protesters away in handcuffs through Ottawa's newly snow-covered streets, with at least one of those under arrest carrying a sign that read, “Mandate Freedom.” Tow truck operators - wearing neon-green ski masks, with their companies' decals taped over on their trucks to conceal their identities - arrived under police escort and set to work removing the big rigs, campers and other vehicles parked bumper to bumper.
While some protesters surrendered, many remained defiant as the crackdown unfolded.
“Freedom was never free,” said trucker Kevin Homaund, of Montreal. “So what if they put the handcuffs on us and they put us in jail?” Police made their first move to end the occupation late Thursday with the arrest of two key protest leaders. They also sealed off much of the downtown area to outsiders to prevent them from coming to the aid of the self-styled Freedom Convoy protesters.
The capital represented the movement's last stronghold after three weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the US, caused economic damage to both countries and created a political crisis for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They also shook Canada's reputation for civility, with some foes of the unrest blaming the influence of the United States.
Over the past weeks, authorities had hesitated to move against many of the protesters around the country, in part for fear of violence. The demonstrations have drawn right-wing extremists and veterans, some of them armed.
With police and the government facing accusations that they let the protests gain strength and spread, Trudeau on Monday invoked Canada's Emergencies Act, giving law enforcement extraordinary authority to declare the blockades illegal, tow away trucks, arrest the drivers, suspend their licenses and freeze their bank accounts.
The emergency law also enabled law enforcement authorities to compel tow truck companies to assist. Ottawa police said earlier that they couldn't find tow truck drivers willing to help because they either sympathised with the movement or feared retaliation.
As police worked to dismantle the siege, Pat King, one of the protest leaders in Ottawa, told truckers, “Please say peaceful,'' while also threatening the livelihoods of the tow truck drivers.
“You are committing career suicide,” King warned on Facebook. “We know where the trucks came from.” Ottawa police had made it clear on Thursday they were preparing to end the protest and remove the more than 300 trucks, with the city's interim police chief warning: “Action is imminent.” The operation Friday in Ottawa began in the morning with police arresting protesters a few blocks from Parliament Hill, the heart of protest zone, where trucks were parked shoulder to shoulder. Some officers carried automatic weapons and wore tactical unit uniforms.
Even as the operation unfolded, police issued yet another round of warnings to the truckers, giving them a last chance to leave.
Not long after the arrests began, at least one big rig pulled away near the front of Parliament.
But despite warnings to leave posted by police on social media, a few protesters danced in the streets to the Beastie Boys anthem ”(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” and Bob Marley's “Get Up, Stand Up,” while shouting, “Freedom!” The two protest leaders under arrest were due in court Friday. Among the charges: mischief and obstructing police.
The bumper-to-bumper occupation infuriated many Ottawa residents, who complained of being harassed and intimidated on the streets and obtained a court injunction to stop the truckers' incessant honking of their horns.
The demonstrations around the country by protesters in trucks, tractors and motor homes initially focused on Canada's vaccine requirement for truckers entering the country but soon morphed into a broad attack on COVID-19 precautions and Trudeau's government.
The biggest border blockade, at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, disrupted the flow of auto parts between the two countries and forced the industry to curtail production. Authorities lifted the siege last weekend after arresting dozens of protesters.
The final border blockade, in Manitoba, across from North Dakota, ended peacefully on Wednesday.
The protests have been cheered on and received donations from conservatives in the US.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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UK advises against travel to Belarus
Britain said on Friday it was now advising against all but essential travel to Belarus. Moscow has said they would go back to Russia at some point following the drills, but has not said when. The new UK travel alert was made by the Foreign Office.
- Country:
- United Kingdom
Britain said on Friday it was now advising against all but essential travel to Belarus. As tensions build over Ukraine, there is also uncertainty over the Kremlin's intentions for tens of thousands of troops staging exercises in Belarus, north of Ukraine, which are due to end on Sunday. Moscow has said they would go back to Russia at some point following the drills, but has not said when.
The new UK travel alert was made by the Foreign Office.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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1 held for killing fast food vendor in west Delhi's Hari Nagar: Police
- Country:
- India
A man from Assam was held for allegedly killing a fast food vendor during a robbery bid in west Delhi's Hari Nagar, police said on Friday.
The Rajouri Garden police station was informed by the Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) hospital on Thursday that Ram Kishore, a resident of Hari Nagar, was declared brought dead by the doctors at the facility, a senior police officer said, adding that the deceased had stab injuries.
A case was registered on the basis of a complaint from the deceased's wife.
The complainant stated that she and her husband were walking in the Jassa Ram Park in Hari Nagar when a man, armed with a knife, asked for Rs 300 from them, the officer said.
As the victim refused to oblige, a scuffle broke out during which the accused stabbed the former and fled the spot after taking his wallet and mobile phone, police said.
The accused, a vagabond, was identified as Raj Das (35), a native of Assam. He has been arrested, police said, adding that the wallet and the mobile phone of the victim were recovered from him.
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- Raj Das | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928234-1-held-for-killing-fast-food-vendor-in-west-delhis-hari-nagar-police | 2022-02-18T18:19:35 | en | 0.985583 |
Ex-Minnesota police officer sentenced to 2 years prison in death of Daunte Wright
A Minnesota judge on Friday sentenced former police officer Kimberly Potter to two years in prison in the fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, a lighter sentence than the just over seven years in prison sought by prosecutors. "This is a cop who made a tragic mistake. She drew her firearm thinking it was a Taser and ended up killing a young man," Judge Regina Chu said during a sentencing hearing.
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Ex-Minnesota police officer sentenced to 2 years in death of Daunte Wright
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Daunte Wright's mother says can't forgive ex-Minneapolis cop
The mother of Daunte Wright said Friday she will never be able to forgive the former suburban Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed her son.Addressing the court during Kim Potters sentencing hearing for manslaughter, Katie Wright said she would only refer to Potter as the defendant because Potter only referred to her 20-year-old son as the driver at trial.She never once said his name.
- Country:
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The mother of Daunte Wright said Friday she will never be able to forgive the former suburban Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed her son.
Addressing the court during Kim Potter's sentencing hearing for manslaughter, Katie Wright said she would only refer to Potter as “the defendant” because Potter only referred to her 20-year-old son as “the driver” at trial.
“She never once said his name. And for that I'll never be able to forgive you. And I'll never be able to forgive you for what you've stolen from us,” a tearful Wright said. “A police officer who was supposed to serve and protect so much took so much away from us ... My life and my world will never ever be the same again,” she said, adding later: “Daunte Demetrius Wright, I will continue to fight in your name until driving while black is no longer a death sentence.” Wright was killed after Brooklyn Centre officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. The shooting, which came in the midst of Derek Chauvin's trial on murder charges in George Floyd's killing, sparked several days of demonstrations outside the Brooklyn Centre police station marked by tear gas and clashes between protesters and police.
Potter was convicted in December of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 killing. She'll be sentenced only on the most serious charge of first-degree manslaughter, which carries a presumptive penalty of just over seven years in prison.
Prosecutor Matt Frank said Friday that he believes the presumptive sentence is appropriate, given the loss of life and Potter's culpable negligence. “His life mattered, and that life was taken,” Frank said. “His name is Daunte Wright. We have to say his name. He was not just a driver. He was a living human being. A life.” The defense has asked for a lesser sentence, including one of probation only, but Frank said: “We are not agreeing to that your honour, but we have recognize this is a unique case. This is a very difficult case.” Defense attorney Paul Engh told Judge Regina Chu that Wright's death was ''beyond tragic for everybody involved.'' But, he added: “This was an unintentional crime. It was an accident. It was a mistake.” Engh held up a box displaying what he said were among “thousands” of letters and cards of support for Potter.
“People took the time to write her,'' Engh said. ''This is unheard of for a defendant. I dare say no one in this room has ever seen anything like this.” He urged the judge to sentence Potter to probation, saying sentencing guidelines are often not followed because they are too high for many defendants, including first-time offenders. He said Potter would be willing to meet with Wright's family and to speak to police officers about Taser mixups. If Potter is not sentenced to probation, then she should get a lower-than-usual sentence because Wright was the aggressor, Engh said. The testimony of other officers on the scene showed it was a dangerous situation because Wright was attempting to drive away, he said.
“This was an aggressive act. I don't know how it couldn't be an aggressive act,” said Engh, who also said Potter had the right to defend other officers and that she never should have been charged with first-degree manslaughter.
Evidence at Potter's trial showed officers learned he had an outstanding warrant for a weapons possession charge and they tried to arrest him when he pulled away. Video showed Potter shouted several times that she was going to use her Taser on Wright, but she had her gun in her hand and fired one shot into his chest.
Potter has been at the state's women's prison in Shakopee since the guilty verdict. Her attorney said Friday that her mental and physical health has declined because she is isolated for her safety.
“If you send her to prison, you will harm her,” Engh said. “We are not in the business of harming defendants.” Potter was also expected to make a statement.
Wright's father and siblings earlier addressed the court to speak of their loss.
The mother of Wright's son, Chyna Whitaker, said Friday that Wright would never have a chance to play ball with his son, or see him go to school. “My son shouldn't have to wear a rest in peace' shirt of his dad,” Whitaker said. For someone with no criminal history, such as Potter, the state sentencing guidelines for first-degree manslaughter call for a penalty ranging from slightly more than six years to about 8 1/2 years in prison, with the presumptive sentence being just over seven years. In Minnesota, it's presumed that inmates who show good behaviour will serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison and the rest on supervised release, commonly known as parole. That means if Potter gets the roughly seven-year presumptive sentence, she would serve about four years and nine months in custody, with the rest on parole.
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Oregon, California seek to protect election workers from threats
Lawmakers in Oregon and California are calling for tougher legislation to protect election workers in response to a continuing wave of threats and harassment inspired by former President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 vote was rigged against him. In Oregon, legislators are considering a measure that would make it a felony to harass or threaten election workers while they are performing their official duties, state officials said.
Lawmakers in Oregon and California are calling for tougher legislation to protect election workers in response to a continuing wave of threats and harassment inspired by former President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 vote was rigged against him.
In Oregon, legislators are considering a measure that would make it a felony to harass or threaten election workers while they are performing their official duties, state officials said. The measure would also exempt the personal information of election workers, such as home addresses, from certain public records. "In the months leading up to and since the 2020 election, election workers across the country have faced verbal abuse, harassment and violent threats on their lives,” Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, a Democrat, told state lawmakers on Tuesday. “As we head into the 2022 election season, we must do all we can to protect election workers against physical harm fueled by misinformation.”
Oregon joins at least nine other states considering stronger protections for election administrators who have faced a campaign of terror inspired by Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 vote. Reuters documented more than 850 threats and hostile messages to election workers and officials nationwide in a series of investigative reports. Reuters' reporting “made it clear that we had to do something to address the unprecedented rise in threats and harassment targeting election workers,” said Ben Morris, spokesperson for Fagan. The coverage “has been incredibly helpful in making the case for the bill.”
California is also considering legislation to provide stronger protections for frontline workers who administer elections. State Senator Josh Newman, a Democrat, introduced a bill on Wednesday that would give election workers the option of keeping their home addresses private. The measure is aimed at reducing harassment by preventing the public release of personal information online or on social media platforms. “Once your personal information is on the internet, there's no shortage of people that may act on that information, especially when triggered,” said Newman. “It's got to be terrifying.”
The bill would allow election workers to enroll in California’s existing privacy protection programs that are available to survivors of domestic violence, judges and politicians, among others. “U.S. election officials are overworked, underpaid, understaffed and now under attack, as has been well documented by Reuters,” said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, who helped draft the bill. “We also need law enforcement to intervene whenever election officials are harassed or threatened and prosecute attackers wherever possible to help deter this kind of heinous behavior.”
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NIA arrests IPS officer for 'leaking' secret documents to LeT terror group
He had sought repatriation citing personal reasons.He was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service after the investigation into the Hurriyat terror funding case.Negi was part of the NIA team that probed the cases related to fake currency circulation, terrorist recruitments by ISIS, use of trade across the Line of Control LoC to finance terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Country:
- India
Cracking down on its own officers, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested IPS officer Arvind Digvijay Negi, who was earlier posted as a Superintendent of Police (SP) in the agency, for allegedly leaking secret documents to an over ground worker of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, according to officials.
The 48-year-old officer, who was allotted the 2011 cadre of IPS and awarded gallantry medal, was arrested in connection with a case registered by the NIA on November 6 last year.
He has been booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The case pertains to the spread of network of over ground workers (OGWs) of the banned Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) for providing support in planning and execution of terrorist activities in India.
The NIA had earlier arrested six people in the case.
''During investigation, the role of A D Negi, IPS, SP posted at Shimla (since repatriated from NIA) was verified and his houses were searched. It was also found that official secret documents of the NIA were leaked by A D Negi to another accused person who is an OGW of LeT in the case,'' the NIA spokesperson said.
His premises in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur were one of the three places raided by the NIA in November after inputs about his leaking of documents were shared by central intelligence agencies.
Negi was repatriated to his cadre after being on deputation to the NIA for 11 years and three months, one of the longest tenures in the anti-terror probe agency since its inception. He had sought repatriation citing personal reasons.
He was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service after the investigation into the Hurriyat terror funding case.
Negi was part of the NIA team that probed the cases related to fake currency circulation, terrorist recruitments by ISIS, use of trade across the Line of Control (LoC) to finance terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. He was also part of the NIA team that probed the case that led to the arrest of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed Para.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928247-nia-arrests-ips-officer-for-leaking-secret-documents-to-let-terror-group | 2022-02-18T18:20:06 | en | 0.980996 |
OSCE monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine should be boosted, Germany says
The OSCE monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine should be strengthened as it is crucial to know what is going on in Donbass amid a Russian military build-up on the country's borders, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday. "The OSCE mission, it's so crucial now.
- Country:
- Germany
The OSCE monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine should be strengthened as it is crucial to know what is going on in Donbass amid a Russian military build-up on the country's borders, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday. "The OSCE mission, it's so crucial now. We are relying now on their information when we are hearing about kindergardens being shot, when we are hearing about an explosion," Baerbock told the Munich Security Conference, speaking in English.
"They are the only ones - and I mean Russia agreed to this mission - giving us the information. That's why I think it's so important that we support them, that we value their work and hopefully strengthen the OSCE mission again in the upcoming days and weeks," she added. Commenting on criticism that Germany is not exporting weapons to Ukraine, she said this was partly to preserve Berlin's status as an honest broker in the Normandy talks meant to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
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Container ship runs aground off German North Sea island | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928248-osce-monitoring-mission-in-eastern-ukraine-should-be-boosted-germany-says | 2022-02-18T18:20:15 | en | 0.966249 |
India and UAE ink comprehensive trade pact, Modi calls it 'game-changer'; two sides vow to jointly fight terror
- Country:
- India
India and the UAE on Friday inked a landmark trade agreement, vowed to jointly fight terror including cross-border terrorism and unveiled a roadmap to further boost overall ties as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held wide-ranging talks at a virtual summit.
In his remarks, Modi delved into various facets of bilateral ties and said both the countries will stand ''shoulder-to-shoulder'' against terrorism while reiterating India's condemnation of the recent terrorist attacks in the Gulf nation.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), India's first such elaborate trade pact in a decade, was signed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and the UAE's Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, less than three months after negotiation for it was launched.
The government said the agreement will provide for enhanced market access and reduced tariffs besides other benefits and that it is expected to increase the volume of bilateral trade from the current USD 60 billion to USD 100 billion in the next five years. After the summit, Modi tweeted that he believed the trade pact will be a ''game-changer'' in the economic ties and that the bilateral trade in goods should rise to USD 100 billion and services to USD 15 billion in the next five years. Modi said the India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership has undergone a ''huge transformation'' in the past seven years. Following the summit, the two sides released a vision statement titled 'Advancing the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: New Frontiers, New milestones' that laid a roadmap for overall expansion of ties in areas of defence and security, economy, education, health, food security, emerging technologies, energy, climate and culture.
The vision document said the two leaders reaffirmed their joint commitment to the fight against extremism and terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, in all forms, at both regional and international levels and agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in the fight against the menace such as terrorist financing and extremism. ''In this context, they emphasized the importance of promoting the values of peace, moderation, coexistence and tolerance among peoples, and stressed the need for all forms of terrorism, extremism, violence, hatred, discrimination and incitement to be renounced,'' it said.
In view of the recent terror attacks against the UAE, Prime Minister Modi reiterated India's full solidarity with the leadership, government and people of the UAE and offered condolences to the UAE over the victims of this cowardly terrorist act, it said.
The vision statement said the two leaders agreed to enhance maritime cooperation to contribute to the maintenance of peace and security in the region and agreed to continue defence exchanges, sharing of experiences, training and capacity building.
It said the roadmap agreed at the summit will ensure that the two countries work together even more closely to address the shared global challenges, achieve shared objectives and build a robust and resilient relationship that is future-ready.
The roadmap will promote the development of new trade, investment, and innovation dynamics, and intensify bilateral engagement in diverse areas, it added.
Referring to energy ties, the statement said the UAE remained committed to meeting India's growing energy demand and is proud to have been the first international partner to invest by way of crude oil in India's strategic petroleum reserves programme. It said work will be undertaken to identify new collaboration opportunities to support India's energy requirements, including new energies, and ensure the provision of affordable and secure energy supplies to the country's growing economy. In his remarks, PM Modi thanked the Crown Prince for taking care of the Indian community in the UAE during the coronavirus pandemic.
He also complimented the UAE for showing interest in investing in Jammu and Kashmir.
''Following the successful visit of the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to the UAE last month, several Emirati companies have shown interest in investing in Jammu and Kashmir,'' he said.
''We welcome investment by UAE in all sectors including logistics, healthcare, hospitality in J&K,'' he added.
On the trade pact, Modi noted that both sides could conclude the negotiations on such an important agreement in less than three months though it takes years for this type of agreement to conclude.
The CEPA covers trade in goods, rules of origin, trade in services, technical barriers to trade, dispute settlement, telecom, customs procedures and pharmaceutical. The pact is likely to benefit about USD 26 billion worth of Indian products that are currently subjected to 5 per cent import duty by the UAE.
The vision statement said the leaders also recalled the importance of maintaining and strengthening peace in the Middle-East and reiterated that dialogue and cooperation must be the cornerstone of a more integrated, stable and prosperous region.
The two leaders agreed to support international efforts to maintain peace and security in the region and resolve regional conflicts, including efforts to support the reactivation of the Middle East Peace Process in line with the two-state solution and based on the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and previous agreements between the parties. ''They expressed hope that the Abraham Accords will contribute to regional peace and create positive change for the Middle East region,'' it said.
On food security, the statement said it said the two leaders agreed to expand cooperation through enhanced bilateral Food and agriculture trade and responsible foreign investments in agriculture and food systems. ''The leaders agreed that India and UAE will contribute to promoting and strengthening the infrastructure and dedicated logistic services connecting farms to ports to final destinations in the UAE,'' it said.
The government said in the statement that both leaders expressed deep satisfaction at the continuous growth in bilateral relations in all sectors.
''Two MoUs signed between Indian and the UAE entities were also announced during the summit. These are, MoU between APEDA and DP World and Al Dahra on Food Security Corridor Initiative and MoU between India's Gift City and Abu Dhabi Global Market on cooperation in financial projects and services,'' it said. ''Two other MoUs -- one on cooperation in climate action and the other on education have also been agreed between the two sides,'' it added.
The two leaders also released a joint commemorative stamp on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of India's independence and the 50th year of the UAE's foundation.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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- 'Advancing India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: New Frontiers | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928250-india-and-uae-ink-comprehensive-trade-pact-modi-calls-it-game-changer-two-sides-vow-to-jointly-fight-terror | 2022-02-18T18:20:22 | en | 0.94607 |
Separatists in eastern Ukraine say vehicle blown up near their HQ
Russian-backed separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine said on Friday that a parked jeep with nobody inside had been blown up near a government building in the centre of the city of Donetsk.
A news outlet for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic urged residents to remain calm and not to move around the city if possible. Nobody was reported to have been hurt in the explosion.
A Reuters witness said the jeep had been completely torn apart.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Advertisement | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928254-separatists-in-eastern-ukraine-say-vehicle-blown-up-near-their-hq | 2022-02-18T18:20:30 | en | 0.979499 |
Estonia delivers Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine
Estonia delivered U.S.-made Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine on Friday, the Estonian defence ministry said. "At the moment, these missiles are more useful for Estonia's security in defence of Ukraine rather than at a live fire exercise on an Estonian training area," Lieutenant General Martin Herem, Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, said in a statement.
Estonia delivered U.S.-made Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine on Friday, the Estonian defence ministry said.
"At the moment, these missiles are more useful for Estonia's security in defence of Ukraine rather than at a live fire exercise on an Estonian training area," Lieutenant General Martin Herem, Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, said in a statement. "This is a small step by Estonia in support of Ukraine, but it is a real and tangible contribution to defence against Russian aggression."
The shoulder-operated medium-range missiles guide themselves after launching, allowing the shooter to take cover, according to the ministry. NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said on Jan. 21 they will provide Ukraine with U.S.-made anti-armour and anti-aircraft missiles, days after receiving clearance from the U.S. State Department to send U.S.-made missiles and other weapons there.
Lithuania sent a consignment of Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems and ammunition to Ukraine on Sunday.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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NATO Chief says discussed Ukraine with Hungarian Prime Minister after his visit to Russia | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928255-estonia-delivers-javelin-anti-tank-missiles-to-ukraine | 2022-02-18T18:20:38 | en | 0.948197 |
Odisha govt lifts night curfew amid declining COVID-19 cases
Amid declining COVID-19 cases in the state, the Odisha government lifted the night curfew on Friday.
- Country:
- India
Amid declining COVID-19 cases in the state, the Odisha government lifted the night curfew on Friday.
"A continuous decrease in the number of COVID cases is observed in the state and number of active cases has also decreased, therefore, the state government orders that the night Curfew is withdrawn/ lifted from all urban areas of the State with effect from February 18, 2022," says an order from the Special Relief Commissioner. (ANI)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Advertisement | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928261-odisha-govt-lifts-night-curfew-amid-declining-covid-19-cases | 2022-02-18T18:20:46 | en | 0.951017 |
Ex-Minnesota police officer sentenced to 2 years in death of Daunte Wright
Potter, 49 -- who mistook her handgun for her Taser in firing on Wright, 20, as he resisted officers who pulled him over in a Minneapolis suburb last April -- was found guilty by a jury in December of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter. "This is a cop who made a tragic mistake," Judge Regina Chu said in delivering the sentence of 24 months, two-thirds of which is to be served in prison and the remaining third on supervised release.
A Minnesota judge on Friday sentenced former police officer Kimberly Potter to two years in the fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, a lighter sentence than the just over seven years in prison sought by prosecutors. Potter, 49 -- who mistook her handgun for her Taser in firing on Wright, 20, as he resisted officers who pulled him over in a Minneapolis suburb last April -- was found guilty by a jury in December of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter.
"This is a cop who made a tragic mistake," Judge Regina Chu said in delivering the sentence of 24 months, two-thirds of which is to be served in prison and the remaining third on supervised release. The shooting in Brooklyn Center triggered multiple nights of protests there, capturing national attention at a time many Americans were reckoning with racism and police violence.
It happened just a few miles north of where Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was standing trial for killing George Floyd, a Black man whose 2020 death during an arrest helped set off demonstrations around the nation and the world. Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, was convicted of murder. Both he and Potter are white.
At Friday's sentencing hearing in Minneapolis, Wright's family members had asked Judge Chu to give the former officer the maximum sentence possible, questioning the sincerity of her remorse. His mother Katie Wright criticized Potter for not mentioning her son's name during her testimony and for her mug shot, taken after her conviction, in which she smiled.
"She left our world with so much darkness and heartache," Wright told the court. "I’ll never be able to forgive you," she told Potter.
Paul Engh, one of Potter's lawyers, said his client meant no disrespect with her booking photo, which shows her smiling. He said she was asked by a prison official to smile and complied. Engh asked the judge to consider that Wright had resisted arrest, which he said constituted an "aggressive act," and requested a sentence of probation.
"This was an unintentional crime. It was an accident," Engh said. The Minnesota attorney general's office had argued that Potter should be incarcerated for 86 months, or seven years and two months, in line with state guidelines for first-degree manslaughter.
Under state law, defendants facing multiple charges for the same act are sentenced only for the most serious count. "Life is something this society holds in the highest regard," Attorney General Keith Ellison wrote in a memo to Judge Chu's court on Tuesday. "The degree of Defendant Potter's recklessness in handling her firearm and causing Daunte Wright's death cannot be excused or even minimized."
In arguing for leniency, Potter's lawyers cited her lack of a prior criminal record, her complaint-free 26 years on the police force, and the remorse she showed during emotional testimony at trial. They centered their argument on a 1982 state Supreme Court case affirming a lower-court sentencing of Richard Trog, who had pleaded guilty to burglary with assault, to five years probation rather than prison as dictated by the guidelines. They said that Judge Chu should look at Potter in a similar light to Trog, who did not have a prior criminal record and was contrite.
Potter and a second officer pulled Wright over because there was an air freshener illegally hanging from his mirror and his vehicle registration tab had expired. They then learned of a warrant for his arrest on a misdemeanor weapons charge and sought to detain him. Wright resisted, breaking free from the second officer. Potter then shouted, "Taser, Taser, Taser" and fired at Wright with her handgun, video from her body-worn camera showed. Potter testified that she feared for the life of a third officer who had entered the car through the passenger side.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Hundreds in Minneapolis protest police killing of Black man in raid | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928262-ex-minnesota-police-officer-sentenced-to-2-years-in-death-of-daunte-wright | 2022-02-18T18:20:53 | en | 0.982429 |
TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A man has pleaded guilty for his role in a 2017 hammer attack in Pittstown. The Rensselaer County District Attorney’s Office said Duncan Maclean, 38, previously of Pittstown, pleaded guilty to attempted assault in the first degree.
Maclean is accused of attacking someone with a hammer in late 2017. The victim, who has moved away from the area, reported that he was called by Maclean to come over to his home to talk. After a few drinks, the victim turned his back to him and Maclean allegedly struck him several times with a five pound hammer.
Investigators found out about this assault while investigating the death of Maclean’s wife. Megan Dyer-Maclean was found dead alongside old railroad tracks in Johnsonville in 2018. Her death was ruled a homicide and no one has been charged for her death.
“This conviction is the direct result of the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office working together. Investigations Sergeant Jamie Panichi and Investigator Zach Sharpe’s efforts resulted in an oral admission from Maclean ultimately leading to information for the conviction,” said District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly.
Maclean will be sentenced to six years in state prison with three years of post release supervision for his role in the attack, according to the Donnelly.
The investigation into the death of Megan Dyer-Maclean is still open. If you have any information, you can contact the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office at (518) 270-0128. | https://www.news10.com/news/crime/man-pleads-guilty-to-2017-hammer-attack-in-pittstown/ | 2022-02-18T18:21:01 | en | 0.976961 |
G20 says global corporate tax deal should go live next year
There is no turning back, we need to move on," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told his counterparts during the meeting. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said: "It is an unquestionably ambitious timetable, but it is also a major and important project for international tax justice." Le Maire invited his G20 counterparts to come to Paris in June to sign the new multilateral legal framework needed to implement the agreement's first pillar, which makes it harder for digital giants to park profits in low-tax countries.
G20 finance ministers recommitted on Friday to implementing a global overhaul of cross-border corporate tax rules next year in the face of concerns that meeting the deadline could prove difficult. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has shepherded negotiations on the deal from the start, said that it was "still on track" but would need political compromise to take effect next year.
The deadline is widely considered to be highly ambitious, not least because U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is struggling to pass legislation that would bring U.S. law in line with the global deal. Years of negotiations culminated last October when nearly 140 countries reached a deal on a minimum tax rate of 15% on multinationals and agreed to make it harder for companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook to avoid tax by booking profits in low-tax jurisdictions.
The technical details are being hammered out at the Paris-based OECD so countries can bring the new rules onto their law books by next year. G20 finance ministers said in a joint statement after a meeting on Friday they were committed to ensuring the new rules will come into effect at global level in 2023.
"However, the task is daunting and we need your political support and steer to ensure that progress is made in a timely manner," OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann said in a report to the G20 finance ministers. "We need to count on your ability to compromise to make sure that we deliver on time," he added.
Previous less far-reaching tax agreements took years to be implemented as countries dragged their feet on updating their tax codes. "The key question is the implementation of our political agreement. There is no turning back, we need to move on," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told his counterparts during the meeting.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said: "It is an unquestionably ambitious timetable, but it is also a major and important project for international tax justice." Le Maire invited his G20 counterparts to come to Paris in June to sign the new multilateral legal framework needed to implement the agreement's first pillar, which makes it harder for digital giants to park profits in low-tax countries.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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INSIGHT-Why Biden has eased up on Facebook over COVID misinformation | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928271-g20-says-global-corporate-tax-deal-should-go-live-next-year | 2022-02-18T18:21:01 | en | 0.97133 |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. (WWLP) – A man was arrested after allegedly pointing a gun at a person Monday morning. Police said a ghost gun was recovered after the incident.
According to Officer Tyler Drewnowski, officers were called to an apartment complex for a report of a man pointing a firearm at another man and threatening to shoot him. When officers arrived, they talked to the victim and learned the suspect had entered another apartment.
Officers were given authority by the renter of the apartment to enter. They then found the suspect that matched the description by the victim.
Surveillance footage revealed the suspect removed a firearm from his sweatshirt and pointed it at the victim, confirming he was the person involved. He was place under arrest and through an investigation, officers found a loaded firearm with no serial number, known as a ghost gun.
The suspect was arraigned at Northern Berkshire District Court on the following charges:
- Assault and Battery
- Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (9mm handgun)
- Possession of Firearm without FID
- Possession of Ammunition without FID
- Improper Storage of a Firearm
- Carrying a loaded Firearm without a license
- Firearms Violation with 2 Prior Violent/Drug Crimes
North Adams police did not release the identity of the suspect. | https://www.news10.com/news/crime/north-adams-police-arrest-man-recover-ghost-gun/ | 2022-02-18T18:21:07 | en | 0.97497 |
Separatists in eastern Ukraine say they plan to evacuate 700,000 people
- Country:
- Russia
Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine said on Friday they planned to evacuate around 700,000 people to Russia from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
Most DPR residents are Russian speakers and many have already been granted Russian citizenship.
Ukraine says the people who run the DPR are not separatists but Russian proxies, something the Kremlin denies.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Advertisement | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928279-separatists-in-eastern-ukraine-say-they-plan-to-evacuate-700000-people | 2022-02-18T18:21:08 | en | 0.959243 |
KEEN, N.Y. (NEWS10) – According to the New York State Police, a man was arrested after a domestic incident in the town of Keene. The man allegedly assaulted and strangled the victim.
On February 17, 2022, State Police arrested Jamie E. Gardenier, 52, of Fulton.
Charges:
- Assault 2nd Degree
- Strangulation 2nd Degree
- Unlawful Imprisonment 2nd Degree
Gardenier is accused of assaulting the victim on February 11, in Keene.
Gardenier was arraigned in the Town of North Elba Court, where an order of protection was issued for the victim, and Gardenier was released without bail. | https://www.news10.com/news/fulton-man-arrested-for-assault-strangulation/ | 2022-02-18T18:21:13 | en | 0.968618 |
Tripura HC commends the role of police for tracing housewife missing since two years
The High Court of Tripura, in a recent order, commended the role of the state police force for successfully tracing a housewife who went missing two years back and taking the needful steps to investigate the missing complaint.
- Country:
- India
The High Court of Tripura, in a recent order, commended the role of the state police force for successfully tracing a housewife who went missing two years back and taking the needful steps to investigate the missing complaint. Hearing a Habeas Corpus petition, the High Court division bench comprising Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice SG Chattopadhyay reads: "We appreciate the efforts of Tripura Police and the assistance rendered by the Court at Thane to protect the interest of the alleged victim We also suggest to the Director-General of Police, Tripura to issue commendation to the Police Officers namely Inspector Rana Chatterjee and Inspector Jayanta Kumar Dey, who had gone to Mumbai to investigate into the matter since they have done a commendable job in not only locating the victim but also producing her before the appropriate Court at Thane and ensuring the recording of 164 statement."
The order was related to the missing case of a housewife from the Chailengta area under Tripura's Dhalai district. The team of Tripura police successfully traced her to Maharashtra where she was staying with another partner. In her statement, she clearly stated that the abusive nature of her husband turned her conjugal life unbearable. She was introduced to her present partner through an online dating platform and consequently, they started living together in Thane.
Advocate General of Tripura SS Dey informed the Court that the alleged victim girl in the case was willing to return to Tripura and stay with her father in her ancestral home. Considering the submission of the Tripura Government, the Court directed that police to file an appropriate application before the concerned Court seeking liberty. "We further direct the Tripura Police to send a team of officers including a lady officer to Mumbai to file an appropriate application through the alleged victim before the Court concerned and on being granted such liberty bring the alleged victim to the residence of her father. Since the alleged victim has been found and she is not in unlawful custody, nothing further remains for our consideration in the present writ of habeas corpus Accordingly, the present writ petition stands disposed of in terms of the aforesaid order," the order read. (ANI)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928284-tripura-hc-commends-the-role-of-police-for-tracing-housewife-missing-since-two-years | 2022-02-18T18:21:16 | en | 0.968447 |
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Global Partners has donated 1,500 gallons of home heating oil to Albany residents in need. Global Partners is an energy supply company based in Massachusetts.
The company makes an annual donation of heating oil to families in need across the Northeast. For over 25 years, Global said it has worked with local housing authorities and other non-profits to distribute this oil.
“It is important to us to support the communities that we’re a part of,” said Mark Romaine, Chief Operating Officer. “We’re happy to help our neighbors in need keep warm this winter.”
The donation is made to more than 15 cities and counties where Global Partners has terminals. This year, Global donated more than 16,000 gallons throughout the Northeast. | https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/company-donates-heating-oil-to-albany-residents/ | 2022-02-18T18:21:19 | en | 0.968286 |
India denied objectionable terms and conditions of top global manufacturers for COVID vaccine supply: Health Minister Mandaviya
Highlighting India's fight against the COVID pandemic, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said the government had denied accepting objectionable negotiation terms raised by the top vaccine manufacturers of the world for vaccine supply to the country.
- Country:
- India
By Shalini Bhardwaj Highlighting India's fight against the COVID pandemic, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said the government had denied accepting objectionable negotiation terms raised by the top vaccine manufacturers of the world for vaccine supply to the country.
Mandaviya on Friday launched the book titled "A Nation To Protect" authored by Priyam Gandhi Mody. Speaking at the book launch, the Union Minister said, "We told them to do business here in India but on India's terms and conditions. We clearly denied liability waiver and other objectionable terms in the contract. They also wanted sovereign guarantee waiver. PM Modi visited vaccine manufacturer companies, motivated scientists and manufacturers. We launched make in India vaccine in the country in nine months."
Dr V K Paul, Member (Health) Niti Aayog said, "We always invited other vaccine manufacturers to join hands with us to develop and manufacture vaccines on our soil. We have always been conveying this. But their conditions were on liability waiver and sovereign immunity waiver that was not accepted by the government, and therefore the negotiations could never get floated. By that time we had our own generous supply of vaccines." "A Nation To Protect" is Priyam Gandhi Mody's third book. She said the country fought well against the COVID pandemic.
The book highlights the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India's fight against COVID-19 in the past two years. Notably, Mansukh Mandaviya is another name that prominently features in Priyam's book, especially with the role that he played as the Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister during the second wave of COVID-19 when India was grappling with supplies of essential medicines and Remedisvir. (ANI)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928287-india-denied-objectionable-terms-and-conditions-of-top-global-manufacturers-for-covid-vaccine-supply-health-minister-mandaviya | 2022-02-18T18:21:24 | en | 0.968529 |
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The home improvement show “This Old House” filmed at Capital Region BOCES on Thursday. The show filmed a segment featuring welding and fabrication student Francesco DelGallo, who is a Schalmont High School senior.
Evan Williamson, a teacher at Schalmont High School, asked DelGallo to use his welding skills to make goals for a backyard ice rink. Williamson is rebuilding the ice rink as part of the restoration on his 1864 Saratoga Springs home that will be featured on “This Old House.” BOCES said when producers learned of DelGallo’s work on the goals, they wanted to include him in the show.
The eight-person production crew spent five hours on the BOCES campus filming DelGallo and his classmates for an episode. DelGallo spoke to “This Old House” host Kevin O’Connor about his experience in the program and his future plans. He then taught O’Connor how to weld one of the hockey goals.
“It’s really cool. I really enjoy welding and it’s cool that I get to show off my skills on a TV show. I never thought I would be doing a welding demonstration on national TV,” said DelGallo.
DelGallo told O’Connor hold he wants to join the family pool business and how coming to Capital Region BOCES was a life-changing event.
“I wanted to be a marine biologist. My goal was to be certified for Scuba diving, which I am now certified in, and then go to college for it. I came to BOCES just to learn a skill to always have my back pocket, something to fall back on if I needed it. I started doing welding more and I realized I don’t want to be a marine biologist. Welding is my passion,” said DelGallo.
“I love what Francesco is doing and I am happy to be able to do something to bring more young people to the trades,” said Christopher Ermides, a producer and editor of “This Old House.”
Filming is continuing at Williamson’s house. The episode is expected to air in late August on PBS. | https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/home-improvement-show-films-at-capital-region-boces/ | 2022-02-18T18:21:25 | en | 0.973489 |
TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – According to the Troy Police Department, a man was arrested in Troy after a domestic incident. The man was allegedly found with a handgun.
On Thursday, February 17, Robert C. Jett Jr, 50, was arrested and charged.
Jett was charged with the Criminal Possession Weapon in the 3rd degree and Menacing and violating a court order. | https://www.news10.com/news/man-arrested-in-troy-for-possessing-handgun/ | 2022-02-18T18:21:31 | en | 0.986118 |
Judge sentences cop who killed Daunte Wright to 2 years
The former suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser when she fatally shot Daunte Wright was sentenced Friday to two years in prison, a penalty below state guidelines after the judge found mitigating factors warranted a lesser sentence.Kim Potter was convicted in December of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 killing of Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist.
- Country:
- United States
The former suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for her Taser when she fatally shot Daunte Wright was sentenced Friday to two years in prison, a penalty below state guidelines after the judge found mitigating factors warranted a lesser sentence.
Kim Potter was convicted in December of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 killing of Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist. She was sentenced only on the more serious charge in accordance with state law.
For someone with no criminal history, such as Potter, the state guidelines on that charge range from slightly more than six years to about 8 1/2 years in prison, with the presumptive sentence being just over seven years.
Prosecutors said the presumptive sentence was proper, but defense attorneys asked for a sentence below the guidelines, including a sentence of probation only.
Judge Regina Chu imposed the sentence after hearing from Wright's family and Potter.
Wright's mother said she will never be able to forgive Potter and would only refer to her as “the defendant” because Potter only referred to her 20-year-old son as “the driver” at trial.
“She never once said his name. And for that I'll never be able to forgive you. And I'll never be able to forgive you for what you've stolen from us,” a tearful Wright said.
“A police officer who was supposed to serve and protect so much took so much away from us...My life and my world will never ever be the same again,” she said, adding later: “Daunte Demetrius Wright, I will continue to fight in your name until driving while black is no longer a death sentence.” Wright was killed after Brooklyn Centre officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror. The shooting, which came in the midst of Derek Chauvin's trial on murder charges in George Floyd's killing, sparked several days of demonstrations outside the Brooklyn Centre police station marked by tear gas and clashes between protesters and police.
Potter was convicted in December of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 killing. She'll be sentenced only on the most serious charge of first-degree manslaughter, which carries a presumptive penalty of just over seven years in prison.
Prosecutor Matt Frank said Friday that he believed the presumptive sentence is appropriate, given the loss of life and Potter's culpable negligence.
“His life mattered, and that life was taken,” Frank said. “His name is Daunte Wright. We have to say his name. He was not just a driver. He was a living human being. A life.” Defence attorney Paul Engh told the judge that Wright's death was ''beyond tragic for everybody involved.'' But, he added: “This was an unintentional crime. It was an accident. It was a mistake.” Engh held up a box displaying what he said were among “thousands” of letters and cards of support for Potter.
“People took the time to write her,'' Engh said. ''This is unheard of for a defendant. I dare say no one in this room has ever seen anything like this.” He urged the judge to sentence Potter to probation, saying sentencing guidelines are often not followed because they are too high for many defendants, including first-time offenders. He said Potter would be willing to meet with Wright's family and to speak to police officers about Taser mixups.
If Potter is not sentenced to probation, then she should get a lower-than-usual sentence because Wright was the aggressor, Engh said. The testimony of other officers on the scene showed it was a dangerous situation because Wright was attempting to drive away, he said.
“This was an aggressive act. I don't know how it couldn't be an aggressive act,” said Engh, who also said Potter had the right to defend other officers and that she never should have been charged with first-degree manslaughter.
Evidence at Potter's trial showed officers learned he had an outstanding warrant for a weapons possession charge and they tried to arrest him when he pulled away. Video showed Potter shouted several times that she was going to use her Taser on Wright, but she had her gun in her hand and fired one shot into his chest.
Potter has been at the state's women's prison in Shakopee since the guilty verdict. Her attorney said Friday that her mental and physical health has declined because she is isolated for her safety.
“If you send her to prison, you will harm her,” Engh said. “We are not in the business of harming defendants.” Potter was also expected to make a statement.
Wright's father and siblings earlier addressed the court to speak of their loss.
The mother of Wright's son, Chyna Whitaker, said Friday that Wright would never have a chance to play ball with his son, or see him go to school.
“My son shouldn't have to wear a rest in peace' shirt of his dad,” Whitaker said.
For someone with no criminal history, such as Potter, the state sentencing guidelines for first-degree manslaughter call for a penalty ranging from slightly more than six years to about 8 1/2 years in prison, with the presumptive sentence being just over seven years.
In Minnesota, it's presumed that inmates who show good behavior will serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison and the rest on supervised release, commonly known as parole. That means if Potter gets the roughly seven-year presumptive sentence, she would serve about four years and nine months in custody, with the rest on parole.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Warmer weather has made things difficult for winter events in the village of Lake George over the last two weekends. One big one, the Ice Castles attraction at Charles R. Wood Park, is set to close for its second weekend in a row, after two days of temperatures well above freezing. Despite a colder Friday, the future of the attraction is uncertain.
On Friday, a statement from Ice Castles was shared on Facebook via the nearby Lake George Steamboat Company, which has gotten the word out on previous changes. The steamboats are neighbors to the attraction, and to Charles R. Wood Park.
“Thank you for your support of Ice Castles,” said the statement. “We regret to inform you that due to rain and warm temperatures, Ice Castles in Lake George, N.Y. will be closed on the following dates.”
The castles gates are closed all day on Saturday, Feb. 19; from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 20; and all day on Monday, Feb. 21. Additionally, the castle’s “VIP Arctic Alcove” will be closed all day on Sunday.
Friday’s weather forecast showed temperatures as high as 56 on Friday. Those temperatures move down but stay above freezing, sitting in the mid-30s from Saturday to Monday. Ice Castles indicated that if those weather patterns continue, it could indicate things to come.
“These weather-related challenged may continue and, if so, could result in the end of our season,” the post read. Ice Castles Lake George opened in January.
Ice Castles said that the process of refunding tickets has already begun. People planning to visit on Thursday should have received refunds as well, as the castle closed down for the day. Due to the uncertainty of the attraction’s next few weeks, Ice Castles is not offering ticket exchanges for different dates. As of midday Friday, the full weekend was listed as sold out.
NEWS10 reached out to Ice Castles employees several times over the last week, asking for any information about how warm weather was affecting the castle long-term. The company was unable to provide any information.
The loss of Ice Castles would be a blow, but the empire of ice isn’t the only thing going on at Lake George this month. The Lake George Winter Carnival is set to enter its third weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Carnival co-organizer Nancy Nichols said that the only on-ice event canceled for the weekend were the scheduled motorcycle races. | https://www.news10.com/news/north-country/ice-castles-lake-george-closed-for-the-weekend/ | 2022-02-18T18:21:37 | en | 0.971349 |
Ex-Minnesota police officer sentenced to 2 years in death of Daunte Wright
"My heart is broken and devastated for all of you." Paul Engh, one of Potter's lawyers, had asked Chu to consider that Wright had resisted arrest, calling him an "aggressor." He stressed Potter's remorse while labeling the shooting an "unintentional crime." The Minnesota attorney general's office had argued that Potter should be incarcerated for 86 months, or seven years and two months, in line with state guidelines for first-degree manslaughter. Under state law, defendants facing multiple charges for the same act are sentenced only for the most serious count.
A Minnesota judge on Friday sentenced former police officer Kimberly Potter to two years in the fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, a lighter sentence than the roughly seven years in prison sought by prosecutors. Potter, 49 -- who mistook her handgun for her Taser in firing on Wright, 20, as he resisted officers who pulled him over in a Minneapolis suburb last April -- was found guilty by a jury in December of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter.
"This is a cop who made a tragic mistake," said Judge Regina Chu, who became emotional as she delivered the sentence of 24 months, two-thirds of which is to be served in prison and the remaining third on supervised release. Chu said that while she did not believe Potter posed a risk of committing future crimes -- one of the key factors in deciding on incarceration -- some punishment was justified because her mistake caused Wright's death.
"In this case, a young man was killed because Officer Potter was reckless," Chu said, calling the case one of the saddest in her career. "Rightfully, there should be some accountability." The shooting in Brooklyn Center triggered multiple nights of protests there, capturing national attention at a time many Americans were reckoning with racism and police violence.
It happened just a few miles north of where Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was standing trial for killing George Floyd, a Black man whose 2020 death during an arrest helped set off demonstrations around the nation and the world. Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, was convicted of murder. Both he and Potter are white.
Prior to Chu's ruling, Wright's family members had asked the judge to give the former officer the maximum sentence possible, questioning the sincerity of her remorse. "She left our world with so much darkness and heartache," Wright told the court," his mother Katie Wright said at the sentencing hearing in Minneapolis, at times directing her comments directly at Potter. "I'll never be able to forgive you for what you have stolen from us."
In brief remarks before the judge's ruling, Potter offered a tearful apology to Wright's family members. "I am so sorry that I hurt you so badly," Potter said. "My heart is broken and devastated for all of you."
Paul Engh, one of Potter's lawyers, had asked Chu to consider that Wright had resisted arrest, calling him an "aggressor." He stressed Potter's remorse while labeling the shooting an "unintentional crime." The Minnesota attorney general's office had argued that Potter should be incarcerated for 86 months, or seven years and two months, in line with state guidelines for first-degree manslaughter.
Under state law, defendants facing multiple charges for the same act are sentenced only for the most serious count. "Life is something this society holds in the highest regard," Attorney General Keith Ellison wrote in a memo to Chu's court on Tuesday. "The degree of Defendant Potter's recklessness in handling her firearm and causing Daunte Wright's death cannot be excused or even minimized."
In arguing for leniency, Potter's lawyers cited her lack of a prior criminal record, her complaint-free 26 years on the police force, and the remorse she showed during emotional testimony at trial. They centered their argument on a 1982 state Supreme Court case affirming a lower-court sentencing of Richard Trog, who had pleaded guilty to burglary with assault, to five years probation rather than prison as dictated by the guidelines. They said that Chu should look at Potter in a similar light to Trog, who did not have a prior criminal record and was contrite.
Potter and a second officer pulled Wright over because there was an air freshener illegally hanging from his mirror and his vehicle registration tab had expired. They then learned of a warrant for his arrest on a misdemeanor weapons charge and sought to detain him. Wright resisted, breaking free from the second officer. Potter then shouted, "Taser, Taser, Taser" and fired at Wright with her handgun, video from her body-worn camera showed. Potter testified that she feared for the life of a third officer who had entered the car through the passenger side.
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WHITEHALL, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Whitehall Jr./Sr. High School is drawing a line. Their Washington County community is “no place for hate.”
Around 30 students between 7th and 9th grades have been meeting as part of the school’s new “No Place For Hate” program. The group has been meeting regularly during lunch and advisory periods in the school day, to work together and host events that advocate stopping bullying and cultivating kindness.
So far, Whitehall students have hosted a viewing of the documentary film “Bully,” by Lee Hirsch. The film tells stories of five different young people who have faced different forms of abuse at the hands of fellow students, and discusses what those abuses have done to their emotional and physical wellbeing. The group is advised by Whitehall school counselor David Gale, and high school educator Andrea Mistretta.
“No Place For Hate” is a part of the state Anti-Defamation League, which gives schools and students tools to create an anti-bullying, anti-bias manta in their local school districts. The state organization gives annual awards for schools and educators who go the extra mile to make their communities live up to the name.
A list of “No Place For Hate” schools can be found online. There are dozens of schools across the state. Others in the Warren/Washington counties area include Hudson Falls, Queensbury and Granville. | https://www.news10.com/news/north-country/whitehall-high-school-adopts-no-place-for-hate/ | 2022-02-18T18:21:43 | en | 0.969121 |
Maha: Doctor ends life by injecting self with overdose of anesthetic drug
A doctor allegedly committed suicide by injecting an anesthetic drug in Ganeshpeth area of Nagpur on Friday, police said.The deceased has been identified as Pachpaoli resident Dr Abhijeet Ratnakar Dhamankar 38, who ended his life in Kimaya Hospital where he was employed for the past two years, an official said.The cause of death has been stated as overdose of atracurium a neuromuscular blocker.
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A doctor allegedly committed suicide by injecting an anesthetic drug in Ganeshpeth area of Nagpur on Friday, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Pachpaoli resident Dr Abhijeet Ratnakar Dhamankar (38), who ended his life in Kimaya Hospital where he was employed for the past two years, an official said.
''The cause of death has been stated as overdose of atracurium (a neuromuscular blocker). His suicide note has blamed his wife, brother-in-law and one more person. He injected himself at 2am and died at 5am while undergoing treatment,'' the Ganeshpeth police station official said.
Advertisement | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928298-maha-doctor-ends-life-by-injecting-self-with-overdose-of-anesthetic-drug | 2022-02-18T18:21:46 | en | 0.982496 |
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)- Parents play a big part in the development of healthy habits in their children but according to a new survey they may not be the best role model. Some parents admit when it comes to being active and eating healthy, they could do better.
Creating healthy eating and activity habits early in life can help kids avoid or manage health problems like obesity, stress, or heart disease. Kids who grow up learning to make healthy choices and stay active are also more likely to be successful, according to Business Insider.
16.2% of kids between the ages of 10-17 were considered obese nationwide in 2019-2020. New York had a slightly better percentage (11.5%) down from 14.8% in 2016, according to stateofchildhoodobesity.org. The percentage of obese adults in the state was 26.3% which has risen from 17.1% in 2000.
More than half (55%) of 1,006 parents polled by Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago said they did not set a good example for limiting the amount of time they spent sitting. 49% admitted they were not a good role model for staying fit and active. 35% admitted not setting a good example for healthy eating and 30% said they weren’t a good role model for avoiding overeating.
“Arguably, there is no more powerful influence on a child’s preventive health profile than behavior they see modeled by their parents. Of course, there are complex influences at every level of the family, and many adults struggle to eat well and be active even without the added burden of being an influence on children,” the hospital said.
Creating healthy habits in kids is further complicated by the fact 56% of parents say their children are less active than they were at the same age. These are the things parents said were different between their childhood and their kids:
- 94%- said they played outside more than their kids
- 74%- said their kids are on phones/computers more than they were
- 63%- said their kids play more video games
- 40%- said their kids watch more television
- 39%- said they played at school more than their kids
- 34%- said they played inside more than their kids
51% of parents said a diet high in sugar was as much a health risk as smoking. However, 68% also said they used food to reward kids and 39% admitted to using food to get children to behave a certain way.
More information from the survey can be found on the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago’s website. For ways to encourage your kid to say active visit healthychildren.org. To learn more about what a healthy diet consists of, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. | https://www.news10.com/news/poll-45-of-parents-not-a-healthy-role-model/ | 2022-02-18T18:21:49 | en | 0.985329 |
Canada police tow trucks, step up arrests to clear Ottawa protests
Police began towing trucks from central Ottawa on Friday and stepped up arrests of protesters in a bid to end a trucker-led movement that has blockaded Canada's capital for three weeks and embarrassed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.
Police began towing trucks from central Ottawa on Friday and stepped up arrests of protesters in a bid to end a trucker-led movement that has blockaded Canada's capital for three weeks and embarrassed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government. The protesters have lined up heavy trucks outside parliament and Trudeau's office, and Ottawa police, fearing escalation or violence, had sought to disperse them with fines and threats of possible arrest.
But with dozens of trucks still occupying the downtown, police on Thursday arrested two of the movement's leaders and charged them with mischief. By Friday, after a night of heavy snow, officers had set up 100 road blocks near the protest site to deny people access and starve it of new supplies, like food and fuel. "You must leave. You must cease further unlawful activity and immediately remove your vehicle and/or property from all unlawful protest sites. Anyone within the unlawful protest site may be arrested," Ottawa Police wrote on Twitter.
Police said they had arrested 15 protesters and towed four vehicles, including what a Reuters photographer said was an 18-wheeler truck. Hundreds of police lined up in front of protesters near parliament, slowly advancing towards them and making arrests. Some protesters kneeled in front of police with their arms linked. Others pushed back at police as they advanced, with the occasional scuffle breaking out. One man yelled "freedom" as police arrested him and led him away.
The protesters initially wanted an end to cross-border COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers but the blockade gradually turned into an anti-government and anti-Trudeau demonstration. They have vowed to remain peaceful but say they will stand their ground until police physically remove them. "If they want to arrest me, I'll put my hands out, and they can twist-tie me up like everybody else here. We're going peaceful," said Mark, a protester from Nova Scotia who would not give his last name. Nearby, protesters inside a tent were frying eggs on a portable stove, with no apparent plans to leave.
Police, who have deployed hundreds of officers to central Ottawa, say it will take days to clear the protests. At least one military-style armored vehicle was seen in downtown Ottawa. While most of the officers are not armed, some carried weapons including at least one equipped with a gun. Police said protesters had "put children between police operations and the unlawful protest site," adding: "The children will be brought to a place of safety." Reuters did not witness any protesters putting children near police sites.
"STAY AWAY" Trudeau on Monday invoked emergency powers to give his government wider authority to stop the protests. Legislators had been due to debate those temporary powers on Friday but the House of Commons suspended its session, citing police activity.
"If you are not in the House of Commons precinct, stay away from the downtown core until further notice," a House of Commons notice said. Trudeau sought the special powers after protesters shut down U.S. border crossings including Ontario's Ambassador Bridge to Detroit, a choke point for the region's automakers. The shutdown of the bridge, which was cleared on Sunday, had damaged both countries' economies and posed a major crisis for Trudeau.
As police accelerated work to clear the protesters' last stronghold, at least a dozen tow trucks were seen preparing to remove trucks and other protest vehicles still parked downtown. Many of the tow trucks had all identification marks removed. Before Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, police had said some tow truck drivers were afraid to cooperate with authorities, fearing they might be the target of retaliation.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp., citing security sources, said authorities had set up a number of temporary detention centers around the city, presumably to hold detained protesters.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Soccer-Greenwood a factor in Lingard staying at Man Utd, says Rangnick | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928307-canada-police-tow-trucks-step-up-arrests-to-clear-ottawa-protests | 2022-02-18T18:21:54 | en | 0.970344 |
(NEXSTAR) — Coca-Cola is trying to step out of its comfort zone—sort of—to provide customers with “magical” flavors as part of its new Coca-Cola Creations line. Its first venture? A space-inspired drink.
Starlight, soon available in both original and zero-sugar options, has the well-known appearance of Coca-Cola, but when held up to the light, it appears almost red or purple. The company describes the drink’s color as being “inspired by the light of the stars.” In fact, Starlight’s hue appears nearly like the red seen in the below photo taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope late last year, showing gas left behind by a supernova.
Don’t expect to be hit with a new cosmic flavor when you crack open a bottle or can of Starlight—you may not really notice it. The zero-sugar version might taste at first like regular Coke Zero. There is, however, a hint of s’more in Starlight. If you can imagine taking a drink of Coca-Cola and then a bite of a s’more, that’s Starlight.
If you don’t notice the s’more flavor at first, don’t worry. It might have more of a cotton-candy or berry essence up front, but after a couple of sips, the flavor starts to stand out.
What you will notice first is a unique cooling sensation in your throat. No, it’s not just because it’s a carbonated drink right out of the refrigerator—there really is a unique cooling feeling as you drink Starlight, and it seems appropriate for a space-inspired beverage.
You may not notice the “subtle cooling sensation” Coca-Cola describes until after a few sips. But from the unique color to the subtle s’more taste, it might just be worth trying this Coca-Cola creation if you’re a fan of soft drinks.
Ready to rocket off to the supermarket to try it for yourself? Hang out for a second: Coca-Cola Starlight won’t be available until Monday. You’ll be able to find it at your local grocery or convenience store in 20-ounce bottles and 10-packs of 7.5-ounce mini cans.
Starlight will be available for about six months, according to Coca-Cola. New flavors are expected to be released under the Creations line, but the company wouldn’t say which flavors are next, or when they’ll be available.
In addition to the new flavors, Coca-Cola is debuting other physical and digital aspects related to its beverage. In an effort to join the metaverse like countless other brands, you’ll be able to scan a bottle of Starlight and experience a digital concert by Ava Max, the singer behind “Sweet but Psycho” and “Kings & Queens.”
Coca-Cola is also releasing clothing and merchandise related to Starlight. | https://www.news10.com/news/what-cokes-new-space-inspired-drink-tastes-like/ | 2022-02-18T18:21:55 | en | 0.927129 |
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – According to the AARP, nearly 1 in 5 Americans are caregivers, having provided care to an adult at some time in the past 12 months. And 1 in 3 caregivers of someone age 65 or older reports the presence of Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Hugh Wallace is a paraplegic. He’s also the primary caregiver for his 83-year-old wife who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years ago.
“It was five years when she was officially diagnosed. But, prior to that, you begin to see signs. The trick is…are you aware of what the signs are? Our first sign was when she became confused while driving,” Wallace said.
Hugh has all the challenges that come with being paralyzed from the waist down, and now he’s taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s. Not easy. But Hugh quickly found out that he had quite the safety net in place.
He said, “Well, there are certain things that are just no problem. Others it’s a major problem. Thank goodness I have a support group that can’t be stopped! I live in an independent living facility run by the Colonie senior center. In this particular building there are about 100 people. All 100 of them are supportive.”
While most of his family is out of state, Hugh is lucky to have someone close by to take care of the groceries.
“Most of my family is in the Midwest, but I have one family member nearby who does all my shopping,” he said with a smile.
For any husbands and wives out there that are seeing the signs of Alzheimer’s in their spouse or children that are seeing signs in their parents, Hugh has this advice.
He said, “I think they have to know their environment. What’s available? Is it safe? For example, home. Or, if you have no alternative, where’s the best residential care. There are lots of sources out there. For example, Hospice, who helps my wife out a lot.”
Hugh reminds us that you can’t be afraid to ask for help. The Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York is full of resources, and people willing to help if you find yourself transitioning into a caregiver role. | https://www.news10.com/video/top-video/national-caregivers-day/ | 2022-02-18T18:22:01 | en | 0.980213 |
Ukrainian rebels evacuate civilians to Russia amid crisis
Spiking tensions in eastern Ukraine on Friday aggravated Western fears of a Russian invasion and a new war in Europe, with a humanitarian convoy hit by shelling and pro-Russian rebels evacuating civilians from the conflict zone. A strong explosion hit the eastern city of Donetsk.
The Kremlin declared massive nuclear drills to flex its military muscle, and President Vladimir Putin pledged to protect Russia's national interests against what it sees as encroaching Western threats. US and European leaders, meanwhile, grasped for ways to keep the peace and Europe's post-Cold War security order.
While Putin held out the possibility of diplomacy, a cascade of developments this week have have further exacerbated East-West tensions and fueled war worries.
This week's actions have fed those concerns: US and European officials, focused on an estimated 150,000 Russian troops posted around Ukraine's borders, warn the long-simmering separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine could provide the spark for a broader attack.
Vice President Kamala Harris said the US still hopes Russia will de-escalate but is ready to hit it with tough sanctions in case of an attack. US leaders this week issued their most dire warnings yet that Moscow could order an invasion of Ukraine any day.
“We remain, of course, open to and desirous of diplomacy...but we are also committed, if Russia takes aggressive action, to ensure there will be severe consequence,” Harris said at the annual Munich Security Conference.
While Russia snubbed this year's conference, lines of communication remain open: The US and Russian defense chiefs spoke Friday, and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin called for de-escalation, the return of Russian forces surrounding Ukraine to their home bases, and a diplomatic resolution, according to the Pentagon.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to meet next week.
Immediate worries focused on eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting pro-Russia rebels since 2014 in a conflict that has killed some 14,000 people.
A strong explosion was reported Friday in the center of the city of Donetsk, according to the rebel news agency DAN and an Associated Press stringer there. There were no immediate details on casualties or where it took place.
Separatists in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that form Ukraine's industrial heartland called the Donbas announced they are evacuating civilians to Russia starting Friday afternoon. The announcement appeared to be part of Moscow's efforts to counter Western warnings of a Russian invasion, and paint Ukraine as the aggressor instead.
Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk rebel government, said women, children and the elderly will be evacuated first, and that Russia has prepared facilities for them. Pushilin alleged in a video statement that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was going to order an imminent offensive in the area.
Shortly after his statement, authorities began moving children from an orphanage in Donetsk, and other residents boarded buses for Russia. Long lines formed at gas stations as more people prepared to leave on their own.
Putin ordered his emergencies minister to fly to the Rostov region bordering Ukraine to help organise the exodus and ordered the government to offer a payment of 10,000 rubles (about $130) to each evacuee, equivalent to about half of an average monthly salary in the war-ravaged Donbas.
Ukraine denied planning any offensive, with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba saying that “Ukraine does not conduct or plan any such actions in the Donbas.” “We are fully committed to diplomatic conflict resolution only,” he tweeted.
Around the volatile line of contact, a UNCHR convoy came under rebel shelling in the Luhansk region, Ukraine's military chief said. No casualties were reported. Rebels denied involvement and accused Ukraine of staging a provocation.
Separatist authorities reported more shelling by Ukrainian forces along the line. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the situation is “potentially very dangerous”.
A surge of shelling Thursday tore through the walls of a kindergarten, injuring two, and basic communications were disrupted. Both sides accused each other of opening fire.
US and European officials were on high alert for any Russian attempts at a so-called false-flag operation, according to a Western official familiar with intelligence findings.
Ukrainian government officials shared intelligence with allies that suggested the Russians might try to shell the areas in the Luhansk region controlled by separatists as part of an effort to create a false reason to take military action, according to the official who was not authorized to comment publicly.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the threat to global security is “more complex and probably higher” than during the Cold War. He told the Munich conference that a small mistake or miscommunication between major powers could have catastrophic consequences.
While Russia announced this week it is pulling back forces from vast military exercises that had sparked fears of an invasion, US officials have said they see no sign of a pullback — and instead saw more troops moving toward the border with Ukraine.
Austin said the US believes Russia could launch an attack “any time”.
The Kremlin sent a reminder to the world of its nuclear might, announcing drills of its nuclear forces for the weekend. Putin will monitor the sweeping exercise Saturday that will involve multiple practice missile launches.
The move overshadowed Russian offers of continued diplomacy to defuse the Ukraine crisis.
While the Kremlin insists it has no plans to invade, it has urged the West to keep Ukraine out of NATO and roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe — demands roundly rejected by Western allies.
Asked about Western warnings of a possible Russian invasion on Wednesday that didn't materialise, Putin said, “Frankly, I'm not paying attention to that. There are so many false claims, and constantly reacting to them is more trouble than it's worth.'' “We are doing what we consider necessary and will keep doing so,” he said. “We have clear and precise goals conforming to national interests.” Putin reaffirmed that Russia was open for dialogue on confidence-building measures with the West on condition that they will be discussed in conjunction with Moscow's main security demands.
He also urged Ukrainian authorities to implement a 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine that was brokered by France and Germany, adding that “regrettably, we are now seeing the exacerbation of the situation in Donbas”.
NATO allies are also flexing their might, bolstering military forces around Eastern Europe, but insist the actions are purely defensive and to show unity in the face of Russian threats.
The US announced the $6 billion sale of 250 tanks to Poland, a NATO member that has been occupied or attacked by Russia in the past. Announcing the deal, Austin said Russia's military buildup had only reinvigorated NATO instead of cowing it, as Moscow had hoped.
World leaders meeting in Munich warned that Europe's security balance is under threat. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the situation is “calling into question the basic principles of the European peace order”.
Biden planned to speak by phone Friday with trans-Atlantic leaders about the crisis and continued efforts at deterrence and diplomacy, and to give a speech about the situation.
Blinken revealed some conclusions of US intelligence in Thursday's speech at the UN Security Council, warning that Russia could create a false pretext for an invasion with a trumped-up terrorist bombing inside Russia, a staged drone strike, or a fake or real chemical attack.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Erdogan says Turkey will not respect Council of Europe | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928309-ukrainian-rebels-evacuate-civilians-to-russia-amid-crisis | 2022-02-18T18:22:01 | en | 0.96029 |
Haiti remains in ‘acute political and institutional crisis’, Security Council hears
Despite some signs of progress in ending the political, economic and humanitarian crisis that has worsened across Haiti since the assassination of its president last year, the situation there remains “fraught and highly polarized”, the UN envoy to the country told the Security Council on Friday.
Special Representative Helen La Lime, who also heads the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), outlined the need for structural reforms to tackle gang violence, address impunity and corruption, strengthen the justice system and sustainably transform the economy.
Security Council Session on the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH)
— BINUH (@BINUH_UN) February 18, 2022
18 February 2022https://t.co/rgA857SSVL
“The contours of a common vision shared by all, will ultimately depend on Haitian stakeholders placing the national interest above their own aspirations,” she said. “Success will be determined by their collective willingness to compromise”.
Tensions easing
She said the relative calm observed on 7 February – the date on which late President Jovenel Moïse’s term would have officially ended – was a good sign, telling ambassadors that the new Government, unveiled on 24 November, appears to have appeased tensions.
And while awaiting a revised electoral calendar, the BINUH chief noted that momentum seems to be building around “an inclusive, credible and effective Provisional Electoral Council”.
Bane of gang violence
Meanwhile, gang violence “continues to plunge major urban centres into lawlessness and grief.”
“Criminal armed groups have a strong hold on the economic and social lives of millions...Their indiscriminate use of abduction, murder, as well as sexual and gender-based violence, as a means to terrorize local populations in the fight to extend their territorial control is particularly abhorrent”, she explained.
Although the Haitian National Police has tried to stem the wave of violent crime, the “over-stretched, understaffed, and under-resourced police force, cannot on its own curtail the alarming rise in gang-generated insecurity”, she said.
Against this backdrop, the UN and Haitian Government have jointly resolved to strengthen international support, epitomized by the imminent creation of a multi-donor basket fund.
“The gang phenomenon cannot be addressed through policing alone”, Ms. La Lime explained, elaborating on the need for a law-enforcement approach that incorporates greater control of illegal weapons and is complemented by socio-economic projects and reintegration activities “aimed at generating employment and revenue in the neighbourhoods most affected by the scourge of gang violence.”
‘Successes offer hope’
The UN official commended the Haitian authorities on a national community violence reduction strategy that has, after years of closures, resulted in the reopening of several schools in the Port-au-Prince neighbourhoods of Cité Soleil and La Saline.
“These successes offer hope that resolute and coordinated government actions will lead to the provision of additional basic services in these communities, as well as to their extension to other areas,” she said.
“Our continued support is crucial to the success of this effort”.
Cracks in the law
Haiti also needs to urgently address the intractable phenomenon of impunity.
The Special Envoy cited the 2020 assassination of Monferrier Dorval, the 2018 massacre in La Saline, and the “ghastly assassination” of President Moïse, whose stalled murder investigation has exacerbated “both suspicion and mistrust within the country”.
The Haitian judicial system suffers from “grave structural weaknesses” she said, that cripple the courts’ ability to “investigate, process and try cases”.
And while modest signs of progress are encouraging, more action is needed for new penal and criminal codes, and to ensure that judicial reform can be sustained over the longer-term.
Layers of complexity
The devastating earthquake of last August, which destroyed parts of the Southern Peninsula and killed 2,248 people, has added another layer of difficulty to an already dire humanitarian situation, said Ms. La Lime.
“It is now estimated that 4.9 million people, or 43 per cent of the country’s population, will be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2022.”
Pointing to Wednesday’s international donors’ conference, she expressed her deep gratitude for $600 million in pledges for the Integrated Reconstruction Plan to rebuild the heavily damaged areas.
3 years cholera-free
This month marked three consecutive years without a laboratory-confirmed case of cholera in Haiti, a “watershed moment” representing “a significant step” towards eliminating the disease in the country, according to the Special Envoy.
She credited the “unwavering dedication” of the country’s frontline workers along with UN, bilateral and multilateral organizations partnerships.
“While these collective efforts have succeeded...the lack of impact and effectiveness of development aid...requires us to collectively formulate a new approach, one premised on a deeper coordination of international efforts and a real partnership with Haitian authorities and Haitian actors”, said Ms. La Lime.
In her closing remarks, she advised all Haitian leaders to engage constructively with one another to steer the country towards elections and emerge from the “acute political and institutional crisis” in which it has been plunged.
And the international community must also continue to engage with the government and others to create security and political conditions to hold national elections and ensure structural reforms.
“Now is not the time to let Haiti fall off the agenda,” the Special Envoy stated.
Visit UN News for more.
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Governor R N Ravi returns Tamil Nadu government bill seeking exemption to the state from NEET: Raj Bhavan. | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928311-haiti-remains-in-acute-political-and-institutional-crisis-security-council-hears | 2022-02-18T18:22:09 | en | 0.943813 |
Portugal: Serbian ambassador falls to his death from a cliff
- Country:
- Portugal
Serbia's ambassador to Portugal has died after falling from a cliff in a seaside scenic spot north of the Portuguese capital, local authorities and the Serb ministry of foreign affairs said Friday.
According to Portuguese media, Serb diplomatic personnel who were with Oliver Antic in the Boca do Inferno viewing point, near the seaside town of Cascais just north of Lisbon, alerted authorities early Friday afternoon.
Maritime police and firefighters pulled Antic out of the water alive, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, the Correio da Manha news website reported citing local sources.
A statement on the Serb ministry's website said that Antic had died “as a result of an accident”. The statement said Antic was “an excellent professor, great patriot and a lawyer with a sharp mind and sharp words”.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Portugal to drop COVID test requirement for arriving passengers | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928312-portugal-serbian-ambassador-falls-to-his-death-from-a-cliff | 2022-02-18T18:22:16 | en | 0.963428 |
Himanta Biswa Sarma says he met Sitharaman to discuss Assam budget
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is in Delhi, said he came to meet Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss the Assam budget, which is due to be released in March.
- Country:
- India
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is in Delhi, said he came to meet Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss the Assam budget, which is due to be released in March. "I came to meet the FM Nirmala Sitharaman to have discussions on Assam's budget that will be released next month. I wanted to get an estimate on what we can expect for the state from the Union Budget as this will help us in forming our State Budget," Sarma told ANI.
"I sought blessings from the Finance Minister," he added. On February 1, a new scheme, Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North-East, PM-DevINE was announced by Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2022-23.
Regarding the boundary demarcation issue between Assam and Meghalaya, Sarma said that six of border disputes with Meghalaya have been resolved. "As far as Assam and Meghalaya border dispute is concerned, we have already resolved six disputes and we have jointly written to the Govt of India regarding this. After the other disputed regions are pinpointed, further formal procedures will be done," Assam CM said. (ANI)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928313-himanta-biswa-sarma-says-he-met-sitharaman-to-discuss-assam-budget | 2022-02-18T18:22:24 | en | 0.972087 |
UPDATE 5-Canada police tow trucks, step up arrests to clear Ottawa protests
Police began towing trucks from central Ottawa on Friday and stepped up arrests of protesters in a bid to end a trucker-led movement that has blockaded Canada's capital for three weeks and embarrassed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.
Police began towing trucks from central Ottawa on Friday and stepped up arrests of protesters in a bid to end a trucker-led movement that has blockaded Canada's capital for three weeks and embarrassed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government. The protesters have lined up heavy trucks outside parliament and Trudeau's office, and Ottawa police, fearing escalation or violence, had sought to disperse them with fines and threats of possible arrest.
But with dozens of trucks still occupying the downtown, police on Thursday arrested two of the movement's leaders and charged them with mischief. By Friday, after a night of heavy snow, officers had set up 100 road blocks near the protest site to deny people access and starve it of new supplies, like food and fuel. "You must leave. You must cease further unlawful activity and immediately remove your vehicle and/or property from all unlawful protest sites. Anyone within the unlawful protest site may be arrested," Ottawa Police wrote on Twitter.
Police said they had arrested 15 protesters and towed four vehicles, including what a Reuters photographer said was an 18-wheeler truck. Hundreds of police lined up in front of protesters near parliament, slowly advancing towards them and making arrests. Some protesters kneeled in front of police with their arms linked. Others pushed back at police as they advanced, with the occasional scuffle breaking out. One man yelled "freedom" as police arrested him and led him away.
The protesters initially wanted an end to cross-border COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers but the blockade gradually turned into an anti-government and anti-Trudeau demonstration. They have vowed to remain peaceful but say they will stand their ground until police physically remove them. "If they want to arrest me, I'll put my hands out, and they can twist-tie me up like everybody else here. We're going peaceful," said Mark, a protester from Nova Scotia who would not give his last name. Nearby, protesters inside a tent were frying eggs on a portable stove, with no apparent plans to leave.
Police, who have deployed hundreds of officers to central Ottawa, say it will take days to clear the protests. At least one military-style armored vehicle was seen in downtown Ottawa. While most of the officers are not armed, some carried weapons including at least one equipped with a gun. Police said protesters had "put children between police operations and the unlawful protest site," adding: "The children will be brought to a place of safety." Reuters did not witness any protesters putting children near police sites.
"STAY AWAY" Trudeau on Monday invoked emergency powers to give his government wider authority to stop the protests. Legislators had been due to debate those temporary powers on Friday but the House of Commons suspended its session, citing police activity.
"If you are not in the House of Commons precinct, stay away from the downtown core until further notice," a House of Commons notice said. Trudeau sought the special powers after protesters shut down U.S. border crossings including Ontario's Ambassador Bridge to Detroit, a choke point for the region's automakers. The shutdown of the bridge, which was cleared on Sunday, had damaged both countries' economies and posed a major crisis for Trudeau.
As police accelerated work to clear the protesters' last stronghold, at least a dozen tow trucks were seen preparing to remove trucks and other protest vehicles still parked downtown. Many of the tow trucks had all identification marks removed. Before Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, police had said some tow truck drivers were afraid to cooperate with authorities, fearing they might be the target of retaliation.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp., citing security sources, said authorities had set up a number of temporary detention centers around the city, presumably to hold detained protesters.
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Soccer-Greenwood a factor in Lingard staying at Man Utd, says Rangnick | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928314-update-5-canada-police-tow-trucks-step-up-arrests-to-clear-ottawa-protests | 2022-02-18T18:22:31 | en | 0.970115 |
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday assured Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi that the government has taken the matter of alleged support to the AAP by the banned separatist group Sikhs for Justice and asserted that no one will be allowed to play with India's unity and integrity.
Shah also said it is highly condemnable that to grab power some people go to the extent of joining hands with the separatists and also go to the limits of breaking Punjab and the country. His assurance came in reply to a letter written by Channi claiming that he had received a letter by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) which shows that the group is in constant touch with the AAP.
Channi claimed that in the SFJ letter it was mentioned that it had given its support to AAP in the assembly elections in Punjab in 2017 and similarly in these polls too. The SFJ has exhorted the electorate to vote for AAP, Channi claimed. Polling for the Punjab assembly elections will be held on February 20.
"I want to assure you that no one will be allowed to play with the unity and integrity of the country. The government of India has taken the matter very seriously and I myself will look into the matter deeply," Shah said.
He said the issue of a political party having relations and getting support from a terrorist and banned organisation is a serious matter concerning the unity and integrity of the country.
Shah said the agenda of such forces is no different from the agenda of the country's enemies. "This is highly condemnable that to grab power such people go to the extent of joining hands with the separatists and also go to the limits of breaking Punjab and the country," he said. | https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-will-seriously-look-into-allegations-of-sikhs-for-justice-having-relations-with-aap-amit-shah-arvind-kejriwal-2935051 | 2022-02-18T18:22:33 | en | 0.985385 |
Spot rubber continued to remain neutral on Friday. RSS4 closed unchanged at ₹160 per kg, according to traders and the Rubber Board. The trend was partially mixed as Latex edged lower amidst dull volumes. As per reports, the market is expected to recover in tandem with a sharp recovery in global trend setters and a steady rise in domestic demand, next week. A leading tyre-maker bought RSS4 at ₹159.50 per kg during late trading hours on Thursday but they could not procure the desired quantity owing to short supplies. “We build up a stockpile expecting a moderate recovery in the market but we may end up at a loss since our average purchase rates are much above the current market price” a dealer told BusinessLine. “Some of us are in a severe financial crisis” he added. In futures, the February contracts were up 0.13 percent from Thursday’s settlement price to close at ₹162.20 per kg with a volume of 6 lots on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). RSS3 (spot) improved to ₹165.03 (162.85) per kg at Bangkok. SMR20 firmed up to ₹135.34 (132.41) and Latex to ₹126.13 (122.46) per kg at Kuala Lumpur. The natural rubber contract for the May 2022 delivery was up 1.26 percent from previous day’s settlement price to close at 14.31 Yuan (₹168.80) per kg with a volume of 207,812 lots in daytime trading on Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE). Spot rubber rates (₹/kg) were: RSS4: 160.00 (160.00), RSS5: 158.00 (158.00), ISNR20: 157.00 (157.00) and Latex (60% drc): 125.00 (126.00)
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Tunisia's military court sentences a lawmaker on charges of insulting president
- Country:
- Tunisia
The member of Tunisia's suspended parliament, Yassin Ayari, told Reuters that a military court sentenced him in absentia on Friday to 10 months in prison on charges of insulting the president and the army after he described his move to freeze parliament as a military coup.
President Kais Saied suspended the parliament on July 25, dismissed the government and seized control most of the authorities, drawing widespread criticism at home and abroad.
(Reporting By Tarek Amara; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Advertisement | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928316-tunisias-military-court-sentences-a-lawmaker-on-charges-of-insulting-president | 2022-02-18T18:22:39 | en | 0.963899 |
National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), the country’s sole independent audit regulator, on Friday said it has updated its database of companies and their auditors as on March 31, 2021 that came under its regulatory ambit.
This comprises of 6,820 companies, including 5,563 listed companies, 1,156 unlisted and 101 Insurance and Banking Companies. The details of 2,079 auditors of such entities have also been included in the database, an official release said.
Creation of this database involves steps like identification and verification of the primary data source and reconciliation of data (such as Corporate Identification Number (CIN) which is dynamic) from different sources. In this regard, the NFRA has been engaging with the Corporate Data Management (CDM) division of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and three recognised Stock Exchanges in India, the release added.
NFRA has regulatory oversight on auditors of public interest entities which covers both listed entities and large unlisted companies.
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- Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name, to avoid rejection. | https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/policy/audit-regulator-nfra-updates-database-on-companies-auditors/article65063620.ece | 2022-02-18T18:22:41 | en | 0.946964 |
HUA approves Rs 235 crore to Andhra Pradesh under 'Garbage Free Cities' vision
- Country:
- India
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved proposals worth Rs 235 crore to Andhra Pradesh under the 'Garbage Free Cities' vision, the largest one-time approval of funds for legacy dumpsite remediation, a statement said on Friday.
The Centre's share in these proposals will be Rs 77.66 crore, a ministry official said, adding that rest of the amount will be borne by the state.
The housing and urban affairs (HUA) ministry said legacy dumpsites pose a major threat to the environment and contributes to air pollution and water pollution.
It also said that clearing these mountains of years-old waste is critical to not just transforming the urban landscape of the country, but also addressing the issue of public health and environmental concerns.
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 1 last year with the vision of creating 'Garbage Free Cities' by 2026.
According to the ministry, one of the major objectives under the Mission is 'Lakshya Zero' dumpsite to remediate 16 crore metric tonnes (MT) of legacy waste dumpsites occupying nearly 15,000 acres of city land.
''The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved the proposal worth Rs 77.66 crore submitted by Andhra Pradesh for remediation of over 42 lakh MT of waste in 28 ULBs (urban local bodies),'' the statement stated.
Currently, 118 lakh MT of unremediated legacy waste is present across the state, locking up over 463 acres of valuable land, it stated.
The ministry's approval makes this the largest one-time approval of funds for legacy dumpsite remediation to Andhra Pradesh.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had also celebrated 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' from January 17-31 on the theme of 'Smart Cities, Smart Urbanisation'.
Prioritising the issue of dumpsite remediation, more than 260 cities across five states and Union territories have submitted their action plan for legacy waste remediation to the ministry, signifying their commitment to the vision of garbage free cities, the statement added.
PTI BUN SRY
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Minister abuses, threatens police inspector during Andhra Pradesh CM's visit to Vizag | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1928319-hua-approves-rs-235-crore-to-andhra-pradesh-under-garbage-free-cities-vision | 2022-02-18T18:22:47 | en | 0.935417 |
UN chief: Security threat seems higher than during Cold War
The Biden administration has made clear that an invasion would mean the end of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was built to increase Russian gas exports to Germany.We in Germany are ready to pay a high price for this, Baerbock said.
- Country:
- Germany
With East-West tensions at their highest point since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday the world is probably a more dangerous place now than during the Cold War.
Guterres warned that a small mistake or miscommunication between major powers could have catastrophic consequences.
“I am often asked whether we are in a new Cold War,” Guterres said in his opening speech at an annual security conference in Munich. “My answer is that the threat to global security now is more complex and probably higher than at that time.” During the decades-long standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 20th century, “there were mechanisms that enabled the protagonists to calculate risks and use back-channels to prevent crises,” Guterres said. “Today, many of those systems no longer exist and most of the people trained to use them are no longer here with us.” But he said he still believes the buildup of Russian troops around Ukraine won't result in a military conflict.
“I urge all parties to be extremely careful with their rhetoric. Public statements should aim to reduce tensions, not inflame them,” Guterres said.
While US Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were attending the Munich Security Conference, there was no senior official present from Russia.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the Russians missed an opportunity.
“Particularly in the current, extremely threatening situation it would have been important to also meet Russian representatives in Munich,” she said in a statement ahead of the conference. Even tiny steps toward peace would be “better than a big step toward war.” In her speech later Friday, she said the security crisis in Europe isn't a Ukraine crisis.
“It's a Russia crisis. We urgently call on Russia to immediately withdraw its troops,” she said. “First signals in that direction were a glimmer of hope, but we need to see actions now. Because the Russian threat remains real.” Baerbock said it was critical that the West should impose crushing sanctions on Moscow in the event of an invasion, even if that came at a heavy cost to Europe. The Biden administration has made clear that an invasion would mean the end of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was built to increase Russian gas exports to Germany.
“We in Germany are ready to pay a high price for this,” Baerbock said. “That is why all options are on the table, also Nord Stream 2.”
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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US to continue taking defensive and deterrent steps: State Department on Ukraine conflict | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928191-un-chief-security-threat-seems-higher-than-during-cold-war | 2022-02-18T18:22:54 | en | 0.975356 |
Indian Embassy in Kuwait hits out at Tharoor for retweeting 'anti-India' post
We should not encourage such anti-India elements. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also retweeted the Indian Embassy tweet.Responding to the Indian Embassys tweet, Tharoor said he doesnt endorse the individual, whom he had never heard of, but is concerned about the sentiment he conveys, which is sadly shared by many who are friends of India.
- Country:
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The Indian Embassy in Kuwait on Friday slammed Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for retweeting what it said was an ''anti-India tweet'' by a ''Pakistani agent'', and asserted that such anti-India elements should not be encouraged.
The sharp response from the Indian Embassy in Kuwait came after Tharoor retweeted a tweet which claimed that a group of ''powerful'' Kuwaiti parliamentarians have demanded from the government of Kuwait to put an immediate ban on the entry of any member of the ruling BJP of India into Kuwait. The tweet further said, ''We can't sit back and watch Muslim girls being publicly persecuted they said. Time for the Ummah to unite.'' Referring to the tweet, Tharoor said on Twitter, ''Domestic actions have international repercussions. I hear from friends across the Gulf of their dismay at rising Islamophobia in India & the PM's unwillingness to condemn it, let alone act decisively against it. 'We like India. But don't make it so hard for us to be your friends'.'' Hitting out at Tharoor, the Indian Embassy in Kuwait, from its official Twitter handle, said, ''Sad to see an Hon'ble Member of Indian Parliament retweeting an anti-India tweet by a Pakistani agent who was recipient of a Pakistani Award 'Ambassador of Peace' for his anti-India activities. We should not encourage such anti-India elements.'' Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also retweeted the Indian Embassy tweet.
Responding to the Indian Embassy's tweet, Tharoor said he doesn't endorse the individual, whom he had never heard of, but is concerned about the sentiment he conveys, ''which is sadly shared by many who are friends of India''. ''While accepting @indembkwt's view, I urge GoI not2give ammo to such anti-India elements by condoning misconduct here,'' he tweeted.
Some posts from unverified Twitter handles also claimed that protests were held outside the Indian Embassy in Kuwait.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday reiterated its stand on criticism by some countries over the simmering dress code row in Karnataka, saying comments by outsiders on internal issues will not be acceptable.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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PM Modi didn't create single PSU, privatised 23: Congress in RS | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928196-indian-embassy-in-kuwait-hits-out-at-tharoor-for-retweeting-anti-india-post | 2022-02-18T18:23:02 | en | 0.950186 |
Jharkhand govt pursuing politics of appeasement: BJP
- Country:
- India
The BJP on Friday slammed the JMM-led Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand, alleging that it was busy pursuing ''politics of appeasement'' in the state.
The remarks came after BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash was reportedly not allowed to visit Barhi town to meet the family of 17-year-old Rupesh Kumar Pandey, who was killed in a clash between members of two communities on February 6.
Prakash was scheduled to participate in the funeral ceremony of Pandey.
''Indulging in politics of appeasement, the Hemant Soren government has now stooped to dictatorship,'' Prakash asserted.
He claimed that the Hazaribagh district administration stopped him about 60 km from Pandey's residence, disallowing him to proceed further in the wake of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC that is in force in the area.
Prakash also wondered whether rules were different for ministers and MLAs of the ruling party, who had visited the minor boy's residence earlier this week.
''What is the government afraid of?'' he said.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who came to Ranchi on Wednesday from Delhi to meet Pandey's family members, had also claimed that he was detained by the Jharkhand Police at Birsa Munda airport for about five hours. Meanwhile, former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi, addressing a press conference in Pakur, alleged that the state government had become “a patron of criminals and the corrupt”, which was the reason for the “deteriorating” law and order.
“Naxalites and criminals are ruling the roost in Jharkhand…Mineral resources are being looted, and no work can be processed here without offering bribes,” Marandi said.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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BJP leader Kapil Mishra alleges he was 'detained' at Ranchi airport;, returns to Delhi
Viral video on Barhi killing fake, action taken against 100: Jharkhand police
BJP leader Kapil Mishra alleges that he has been 'detained' at Ranchi airport | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928211-jharkhand-govt-pursuing-politics-of-appeasement-bjp | 2022-02-18T18:23:10 | en | 0.975774 |
Biden to make remarks on Ukraine as conflict intensifies
President Joe Biden will deliver public remarks on Friday to give an update on U.S. diplomatic efforts to prevent what it calls an increasingly likely Russian invasion of Ukraine amid shelling and an evacuation in eastern Ukraine. Biden will speak at 4 p.m.
President Joe Biden will deliver public remarks on Friday to give an update on U.S. diplomatic efforts to prevent what it calls an increasingly likely Russian invasion of Ukraine amid shelling and an evacuation in eastern Ukraine.
Biden will speak at 4 p.m. (2100 GMT) following a call with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Britain, the European Union and NATO on Friday, the White House said. The president will provide "an update on our continued efforts to pursue deterrence and diplomacy, and Russia’s buildup of military troops on the border of Ukraine," the White House said.
A source familiar with the situation said Biden will provide brief comments in the White House's Roosevelt Room on the situation, not an address to the nation. His administration has said that a diplomatic solution remains possible if Russia chooses but that Washington and its European allies are prepared to enact harsh punishments if Moscow opts to invade. Biden on Thursday said a Russian invasion could come in the next few days.
The call comes as the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Russia's buildup of military personnel threatening Ukraine probably totals up to 190,000. Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine also announced an evacuation. Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, expressing concern amid the build-up and vowing to stay in close contact with NATO and U.S. allies.
"We feel very strongly about and will always be committed to the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty," Harris told reporters. "We remain of course supportive of diplomacy as it relates to the dialogue and discussions we've had with Russia, but we are also committed to taking corrective actions." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also addressed the conference on Friday, saying Washington remained "deeply concerned" that Russia was planning an attack on neighboring Ukraine within days.
Russia's actions near Ukraine's border have been aimed at creating false provocations designed to elicit a response, he said. Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov planned to meet next week in Europe.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also urged de-escalation in a call with his Russian counterpart on Friday, the Pentagon said in a statement.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928214-biden-to-make-remarks-on-ukraine-as-conflict-intensifies | 2022-02-18T18:23:17 | en | 0.956924 |
An appeals court late Thursday dismissed Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appeal of an order that blocked schools from enforcing state mask mandates.
Sangamon Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow issued a temporary restraining order Feb. 4 against the mandate for more than 700 parents and staff members at more than 140 school districts who sued the state. Parents in Carlinville, Staunton, North Mac, Southwestern, Carrollton and Jersey Community school districts were among those who were defendants in the lawsuit, which challenged the state's authority to require masks in schools.
Pritzker and Attorney General Kwami Raoul appealed the order. Pritzker also announced that Illinois planned to lift its mask mandate for some indoor locations on Feb. 28 but that the rule would remain in place for schools.
The bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules on Tuesday denied an Illinois Department of Public Health request to renew the order that required all who entered schools to wear masks. Pritzker on Wednesday acknowledged confusion, but maintained his executive order requiring masks in schools still was in effect.
But just before midnight, a three-justice panel of the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court said it had no “actual controversy” to decide because of the joint committee's action, and that the court would not take up the appeal.
“Because the emergency rules voided by the (temporary restraining order) are no longer in effect, a controversy regarding the application of those rules no longer exists,” the justices wrote. “Thus, the matter is moot.” | https://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article/Justices-reject-Pritzker-s-mask-case-appeal-16929868.php | 2022-02-18T18:23:19 | en | 0.966089 |
A nurse in Jacksonville Memorial Hospital's post-anesthesia care unit has been selected as the hospital's Colleague of the Month for January.
Registered nurse Laura Ward of Jacksonville has worked at the hospital for 43 years. She was nominated by co-worker Sadie Courson, who praised Ward's dedication.
“Laura always puts the patient’s safety first, she ensures the unit is germ-free and fully stocked, she is always on time, always up-to-date on skills and always willing to help wherever and however she can,” the nomination said. | https://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article/Ward-named-Jacksonville-Memorial-colleague-of-16924923.php | 2022-02-18T18:23:20 | en | 0.985065 |
BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon's drawing of the Massachusetts Lottery's "Numbers Midday" game were:
9-6-3-2
(nine, six, three, two)
BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday afternoon's drawing of the Massachusetts Lottery's "Numbers Midday" game were:
9-6-3-2
(nine, six, three, two) | https://www.chron.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Numbers-Midday-game-16930234.php | 2022-02-18T18:23:21 | en | 0.898385 |
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Thirteen people have been arrested on drug charges in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine as the result of a multi-month drug trafficking investigation among multiple agencies, authorities said Friday.
The people arrested age in range from 27 to 56. Most were arrested on a charge of conspiracy to sell methamphetamine and were arrested in New Hampshire. One person was arrested in Massachusetts and another was arrested in Maine. Some were arrested in December, and others were arrested Thursday.
Authorities said the investigation accuses one person of supplying methamphetamine and cocaine to others. They said the drugs were distributed in the Concord area, Lakes Region, Hudson, and Maine.
It wasn't immediately known if the group had attorneys. Some of the cases have scheduled court dates in March and April. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/13-arrested-on-drug-charges-in-NH-Mass-Maine-16929989.php | 2022-02-18T18:23:22 | en | 0.990524 |
NY Fed's Williams says central bank can manage soft landing for economy
- Country:
- United States
Supply chain issues may gradually recede over time, easing some inflationary pressures and helping the Federal Reserve achieve its goal of controlling inflation without sparking a recession, New York Fed President John Williams said on Friday.
"My expectation is that we can manage, if you will, the soft landing we often talk about in monetary policy, which means keeping the economy basically in a strong place and growing," while restoring more balance between supply and demand, Williams said during a virtual event organized by New Jersey City University.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
- READ MORE ON:
- Federal Reserve
- Williams | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928218-ny-feds-williams-says-central-bank-can-manage-soft-landing-for-economy | 2022-02-18T18:23:25 | en | 0.963633 |
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have detained several British citizens and an American, including a former freelance television journalist who has been coming to Afghanistan for more than 40 years, both governments and a family member say.
A statement from the British government this week said there are a number of British nationals currently in Taliban custody. While the government refused to release their identities, Hassina Syed, the wife of Peter Jouvenal, a former freelance cameraman turned businessman, told The Associated Press, her husband was taken on Dec. 13.
And U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that Washington was “actively working” to get the American released from Taliban custody. He refused to say more, citing the “sensitivity of it.”
The American detainee and at least four other British nationals in custody remain publicly unidentified. It was not clear how many were detained together.
Speaking to The AP by phone from her home in London, Syed, an Afghan, said her husband was in Afghanistan investigating business opportunities, including investment in lithium mining. Afghanistan is rich in lithium, a key component of energy-storage batteries. He was traveling alone and not associated with the other detainees, she said.
Jouvenal had worked as a freelance cameraman during the 1980s Soviet invasion in Afghanistan and followed the country through its many wars. He married Syed and they have three daughters.
Jouvenal, who speaks both Pashto and Dari, Afghanistan's two official languages, had held several meetings with the Taliban's mining ministry before being detained in December, Syed said, including with the minister. No charges have been filed and until his detention, Syed said, Jouvenal had been careful to stay in regular contact with the Taliban authorities to ensure that they were aware of his activities and movements.
In the mid 2000s, Jouvenal owed and operated the Gandamak Restaurant and guest house in the Afghan capital, which had become well known among the many journalists who traveled to Afghanistan during the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government in 2001.
The Taliban did not respond to requests for comment on the foreign nationals and on Jouvenal in particular.
In a statement, the British foreign office said the detention of British nationals is being discussed with the Taliban.
“UK officials have raised their detention with the Taliban at every opportunity, including when a delegation travelled to Kabul last week,” the British foreign office said in a statement earlier this week,
There's been no explanation for the detentions.
Syed said her husband was alone and was not travelling with the other men who have been detained.
According to people with direct knowledge of the men currently being held in Taliban custody, at least two of the detainees were apparently in Afghanistan to secretly evacuate Afghan nationals. The people with direct knowledge spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
The Taliban have made it clear that Afghans without proper documents would not be allowed to leave the country.
Syed said she feared her husband may have gotten caught up in a Taliban investigation into attempts to secretly transfer Afghan nationals out of the country.
But Syed said she, too, was planning to return to Afghanistan after her husband's initial trip looking for partners in mining ventures. Together they planned to establish joint ventures.
In the telephone interview, Syed expressed fear for her husband's welfare but also frustration with the Taliban administration.
“They say they want foreign and Afghan businesspeople to come to Afghanistan, to invest in Afghanistan, but why will anyone want to invest if they cannot be certain of their safety?" she asked.
______
Associated Press Writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Afghanistan-s-Taliban-detain-Brits-American-16929981.php | 2022-02-18T18:23:28 | en | 0.984048 |
BJP appeals for clear majority for Punjab's peace and prosperity
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday appealed to the people of Punjab to give the party-led alliance a clear majority for peace and prosperity in the state which goes to the polls on Sunday.Union Minister and the partys Punjab affairs in-charge, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said his party has come with a vision and agenda for the development of Punjab, unlike the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, which the saffron party claimed, are pursuing a divisive agenda.
- Country:
- India
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday appealed to the people of Punjab to give the party-led alliance a clear majority for peace and prosperity in the state which goes to the polls on Sunday.
Union Minister and the party’s Punjab affairs in-charge, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said his party has come with a vision and agenda for the development of Punjab, unlike the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, which the saffron party claimed, are pursuing a divisive agenda. Shekhawat, along with the state BJP general secretary, Subhash Sharma, said, the BJP was fighting the Punjab elections as a major partner for the first time while earlier it used to contest only 23 seats. He appealed to the people to give the BJP-led alliance a clear majority for Punjab's peace and prosperity.
The BJP, which had an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal earlier, used to fight 23 of the 117 seats while the remaining were contested by the SAD.
The SAD led by Sukhbir Singh Badal, however, broke ties with the saffron party over the farm laws issue in 2020.
The BJP is contesting the February 20 polls in alliance with former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led SAD (Sanyukt).
On the last day of the poll campaign, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also participated in a roadshow taken out by Amarinder Singh in Patiala.
People want to create a 'Nava Punjab' and only the BJP-led alliance can bring all-round progress in the state, Rajnath Singh later said.
Shekhawat cautioned against the ''hidden and divisive agenda'' of the Congress party. In an official statement, Shekhawat said the state of affairs in the Congress was so anarchic that it even forgot to release its manifesto till the last day ''and it only released it when it was pointed out by the media''. He said there is a ''vertical split'' in the Congress with PCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi pulling in diametrically opposite directions.
The BJP leader also targeted the AAP, referring to allegations levelled by former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas. He also said, not only Kumar Vishwas but other senior colleagues of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal too had from time to time revealed ''his (Kejriwal's) agenda to pursue personal ambitions''.
Shekhawat said the Punjabis have always rejected any ''sectarian, divisive and extremist agenda with the spirit of Punjabiyat and they will reject it this time also''. Appealing people to vote for the BJP-led alliance for a clear majority, Shekhawat said while other parties pursued divisive agenda, the BJP believed in peace, progress and social harmony, with ''sabka sath, sabka vikas'' (inclusive growth of all).
''You have given chance to the Congress and the Akalis, now give us one chance,'' he appealed to Punjabis while clarifying that although the BJP was an ally of the Akalis earlier, being a junior partner, it had only a limited role then.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Congress leader Surjewala attacks Kejriwal, calls him 'Chhota Modi' | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928233-bjp-appeals-for-clear-majority-for-punjabs-peace-and-prosperity | 2022-02-18T18:23:33 | en | 0.955038 |
SAN DIEGO (AP) — California bill seeks to use citizen lawsuits to go after gun companies in same way Texas law targets abortion providers.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — California bill seeks to use citizen lawsuits to go after gun companies in same way Texas law targets abortion providers. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Alert-California-bill-seeks-to-use-citizen-16930150.php | 2022-02-18T18:23:34 | en | 0.880281 |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Daunte Wright's mother on 2-year sentence for ex-cop Kim Potter: Justice system 'murdered' son 'all over again.'
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Daunte Wright's mother on 2-year sentence for ex-cop Kim Potter: Justice system 'murdered' son 'all over again.' | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Alert-Daunte-Wright-s-mother-on-2-year-sentence-16930096.php | 2022-02-18T18:23:39 | en | 0.834844 |
To grab power some people go to extent of joining hands with separatists, says Shah
- Country:
- India
(Eds: Updating) New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI) The Centre has taken ''serious'' note of a pro-Khalistan group's letter extending support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday as the controversy over the letter created a flutter on the last day of campaigning in Punjab.
The letter purportedly written by the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) in Gurmukhi was forwarded to the home minister by Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi along with a personal note saying the matter was ''serious'' and compromised the security and integrity of the nation.
Shah in his reply to Channi's letter said that no one will be allowed to play with India's unity and integrity.
He said it is highly condemnable that to grab power some people go to the extent of joining hands with the separatists and also go to the limits of breaking Punjab and the country.
He said this in reply to the letter written by Channi claiming that he had received a letter by SFJ which shows that the group is in constant touch with the AAP.
Channi claimed that in the SFJ letter it was mentioned that it had given its support to the AAP in the assembly elections in Punjab in 2017 and similarly in these polls too.
The SFJ has exhorted the electorate to vote for AAP, Channi further claimed.
Polling for the Punjab assembly elections will be held on February 20.
''I want to assure you that no one will be allowed to play with the unity and integrity of the country. The government of India has taken the matter very seriously and I myself will look into the matter deeply,'' Shah said in his response.
He said the issue of a political party having relations and getting support from a terrorist and banned organisation is a serious matter with regard to the unity and integrity of the country.
Shah said the agenda of such forces is no different from the agenda of country's enemies.
''This is highly condemnable that to grab power such people go to the extent of joining hands with the separatists and also go to the limits of breaking Punjab and the country,'' he said.
Channi, in his letter, said it was a very serious issue of compromising with the security and integrity of the country and thus needs to be thoroughly investigated.
''I would urge upon you to immediately get this matter investigated for taking appropriate action in this regard,'' he said.
In addition, Channi said Arvind Kejriwal's one time close aide Kumar Vishwas has made serious allegations of the AAP co-founder and Delhi chief minister's links with the Khalistani forces. ''These allegations also deserved to be probed comprehensively and necessary action taken accordingly. I hope you would consider this and take appropriate necessary action immediately keeping in view the seriousness of the matter involved as Punjab has already suffered heavily due to these separatist forces,'' he said.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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India nixes Pak allegation New Delhi responsible for delaying appointment of Pak envoy to US | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928246-to-grab-power-some-people-go-to-extent-of-joining-hands-with-separatists-says-shah | 2022-02-18T18:23:41 | en | 0.976151 |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Judge sentences Kim Potter, ex-Minnesota cop who said she confused gun with Taser in killing Daunte Wright, to 2 years.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Judge sentences Kim Potter, ex-Minnesota cop who said she confused gun with Taser in killing Daunte Wright, to 2 years. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Alert-Judge-sentences-Kim-Potter-ex-Minnesota-16930015.php | 2022-02-18T18:23:45 | en | 0.969991 |
Russian false flag operation more likely than invasion in Ukraine, Germany says
- Country:
- Germany
The most likely scenario for a Russian attack on Ukraine is not a fully-fledged invasion but rather a false flag operation or a coup, German Foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday.
"The scenario of a full invasion might be possible but I am not sure this is really the most likely scenario," she told the Munich Security Conference, speaking in English.
"I would be more afraid that the most likely scenario is a false flag (operation) or a coup or also other things like...if all the electricity will fall down here at this hotel, we would all go nuts and totally crazy," she added, apparently alluding to a cyber attack or an attack on Ukraine's critical infrastructure.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
- READ MORE ON:
- Annalena Baerbock
- English
- Ukraine
- German
- Munich Security Conference
- Russian
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Erdogan visits Ukraine hoping to play mediator with Russia | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928273-russian-false-flag-operation-more-likely-than-invasion-in-ukraine-germany-says | 2022-02-18T18:23:48 | en | 0.938464 |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kim Potter address Daunte Wright's family at sentencing: 'I am so sorry that I brought the death of your son.'
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kim Potter address Daunte Wright's family at sentencing: 'I am so sorry that I brought the death of your son.' | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Alert-Kim-Potter-address-Daunte-Wright-s-family-16929967.php | 2022-02-18T18:23:51 | en | 0.924857 |
Punjab polls: SAD-BSP alliance will win over 80 seats, claims Sukhbir Badal
- Country:
- India
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday claimed that the SAD-BSP alliance would win over 80 seats in the February 20 Punjab assembly polls.
Badal also predicted that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would fail to cross its tally of 20 seats that it won in the 2017 polls while the Congress was likely to be reduced to less than 10 seats in 117-member Punjab assembly.
The SAD-BSP combine is heading towards an absolute majority, he said.
“Our seats are increasing by the day as people are realising the time-tested pro-farmer, pro-poor policies of the SAD coupled with its commitment to peace and communal harmony is the only way forward,'' Badal said.
''We are on the 80-seat threshold and this figure may increase further on polling day,” the SAD president added.
Badal thanked the people for ''reposing'' their overwhelming faith and trust in the SAD-BSP combine by coming out in strength on the last day of campaigning to “snub both the AAP and Congress.” “Never before has Punjab witnessed such a sea of humanity coming out on the roads in overwhelming support of any political party,” Badal said after attending a road show from Kotkapura bypass to Ghaa Mandi chowk in the city, according to a party statement.
Speaking at the rally, Badal claimed, “The Congress party knows the game is up and that it has been consigned to the dustbin. It will not get more than 10 seats in the assembly elections”.
Attacking AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, he alleged, “Punjabis had also seen through AAP and its leader Arvind Kejriwal who has been thoroughly exposed as a divisive and communal leader with an anti-farmer and anti-poor agenda, besides being essentially anti-Punjab and anti-Punjabis”.
He claimed that AAP would not even be able to reach its last term figure of 20 seats and could secure between 10 to 15 seats.
Badal said even Kejriwal has seen the writing on the wall.
“That is why he is now crying wolf and complaining that all political parties have ganged up against him. Even he has realised that Punjabis have consolidated in favour of the SAD-BSP combine,” he said.
Badal said people know that the “Delhi Model” is a “sham” and accused Kejriwal of “trying to win the election on the basis of Rs 850 crore advertisement campaign.” On the Congress, Badal said “people are judging the Congress by its five-year misrule which was marked by corruption, scams, gang culture, and sand and liquor mafia.” “People realise that the Congress government added Rs one lakh to the state debt but did not implement even one of the promises made to the people, be it complete loan waiver, jobs for youth, Rs 2,500 per month old-age pension or Rs 2,500 per month unemployment allowance,” he said.
“It is due to this that the Congress party has been virtually dissolved in Punjab and will not cross the 10-seat mark,” he added.
Meanwhile, SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia appealed to the people of Amritsar East constituency, from where he is locked in a keen contest against State Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, to vote for change and development.
Polling in Punjab is scheduled to be held on February 20 while counting of votes will take place on March 10.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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In major scams people from particular place found involved: Akhilesh over Rs 22k cr bank fraud | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928275-punjab-polls-sad-bsp-alliance-will-win-over-80-seats-claims-sukhbir-badal | 2022-02-18T18:23:56 | en | 0.974785 |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota judge finds factors exist to warrant a lesser sentence for Kim Potter, the ex-officer who killed Daunte Wright.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota judge finds factors exist to warrant a lesser sentence for Kim Potter, the ex-officer who killed Daunte Wright. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Alert-Minnesota-judge-finds-factors-exist-to-16929991.php | 2022-02-18T18:23:57 | en | 0.954242 |
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (AP) — A state appeals court has ruled methamphetamine seized from a bicyclist in Wisconsin Rapids can't be used as evidence against him because the arresting law enforcement officer had no probable cause to stop him.
Jere Meddaugh was riding his bike behind a school in April 2020 when a deputy attempted to make contact. Meddaugh didn't stop, but the deputy later arrested him and found 57 grams of meth on him. At the time, investigators said Meddaugh had outstanding warrants.
Meddaugh was convicted of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. In October 2020, he was sentenced to four years in prison.
He appealed arguing that the deputy lacked reasonable suspicion to stop him and therefore violated his constitutional rights, WSAW-TV reported. The appeals court agreed.
“Based on events that occurred following the stop, Meddaugh was arrested and ultimately convicted. We agree with Meddaugh that the State failed to show that the investigatory stop was supported by reasonable suspicion. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment and the court’s denial of the suppression motion, ” the court said.
The appeals court sent the case back to the circuit court, where it could be revived, but without the drug evidence. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Appeals-court-sides-with-man-who-claimed-16930181.php | 2022-02-18T18:24:03 | en | 0.986239 |
Brazil surprised by U.S. rebuke on Bolsonaro "solidarity" visit to Moscow
Strong U.S. criticism of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro's expression of "solidarity" for Russia during a visit there this week took his government by surprise, Brazilian diplomats told Reuters on Friday. But the Brazilian government does not plan to respond to Thursday's rebuke by the U.S. State Department, they said.
Strong U.S. criticism of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro's expression of "solidarity" for Russia during a visit there this week took his government by surprise, Brazilian diplomats told Reuters on Friday.
But the Brazilian government does not plan to respond to Thursday's rebuke by the U.S. State Department, they said. The diplomats complained that Brazil's Foreign Ministry, known as Itamaraty, only found out about the State Department's reaction through the media and not through diplomatic channels.
"How do you respond to a text that you do not have," one diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to discuss the matter. "Our contacts with the State Department are frequent and always friendly on the bilateral agenda. They are not guided by anonymous statements circulated in the press," he said.
On Wednesday, during his state visit to Moscow, Bolsonaro, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a statement he was "in solidarity with Russia," without elaborating. With masses of Russian troops near Ukraine's borders raising fears of an invasion, the United States had called on Bolsonaro to put off his trip to Moscow, but he went ahead with it.
"The timing of the president of Brazil expressing solidarity with Russia, just as Russian forces are preparing to launch attacks on Ukrainian cities, could not be worse," a State Department spokesperson said. "It undermines international diplomacy directed at averting a strategic and humanitarian disaster, as well as Brazil's own calls for a peaceful resolution to the crisis," the text of the statement seen by Reuters said.
The U.S. comment amounted to unusually brusque criticism of the government of Latin America's largest country, with which the United States usually has cordial relations. Bolsonaro was a strong ideological ally of former president Donald Trump and relations have cooled under the administration of President Joe Biden, amid ructions over climate change and other issues.
"This is a matter of Brazil, as an important country, seeming to ignore armed aggression by a large power against a smaller neighbor country, a posture inconsistent with Brazil's historical emphasis on peace and diplomacy," the State Department said.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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US to continue taking defensive and deterrent steps: State Department on Ukraine conflict | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928289-brazil-surprised-by-us-rebuke-on-bolsonaro-solidarity-visit-to-moscow | 2022-02-18T18:24:04 | en | 0.978086 |
PHOENIX (AP) — A proposal that would bar any government agency in Arizona contracting with a firm that refuses to do business with a firearms company got strong support from majority Republicans on a state House committee but tough pushback from the banking industry.
The proposal from GOP Rep. Frank Carroll of Sun City West would require companies doing business with the state or local governments to certify they won’t refuse to serve a firearms-related company.
Carroll and other GOP supporters said some banks are refusing to do business with firms involved with the firearms industry. They framed it as an issue of barring people from exercising their Second Amendment rights.
“Why would you not want to do business with a Second Amendment-related business?” Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, asked a lobbyist for the banking industry during a Wednesday House Judiciary Committee hearing. “I feel that it’s more political.”
But bankers pushed back, calling it government overreach for lawmakers to try to force a business to deal with someone against their will and said it is not an issue in Arizona.
“This seeks to have government interfere with those private businesses and come put their finger on the scale in support of a single industry,” said Jay Kaprosy, a lobbyist for the Arizona Bankers Association. “What this bill is asking you all to do is to pick winners and losers about what businesses in Arizona we’re going to favor and that’s where we have a problem with it.”
Kaprosy noted that a loan officer at a bank specializing in farm banking may reject an application for a gun manufacturer because it is outside their firm’s focus, and under Carroll’s proposal they could be barred from handling government banking.
Michael Findlay, director of government relations for the firearms industry trade group the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said gun businesses have faced discrimination in banking.
“This bill is a Second Amendment bill,” Findlay said. “We have members in the state of Arizona as well as all over the country that have been discriminated on access to capital, payment processors.”
He noted that similar legislation has been enacted in Texas, Wyoming and Georgia.
But Kaprosy said the proposal is purely political and threatens the independence of the banking industry.
“It’s a stretch to suggest that this is a Second Amendment issue," Kaprosy said. ”This is a political issue in which banks and other businesses are innocent bystanders, frankly, in a war of words and culture that is going on outside the banks.”
The committee voted along party lines with no Democratic support to approve the bill, which now heads to the full House after a routine Rules Committee review.
Other firearms-related bills are making their way through the Legislature this year. Among them are two that passed House on Thursday that would loosen gun laws by allowing firearms in libraries and many other public buildings and by permitting loaded weapons to be carried in vehicles on school grounds.
Debates on two other proposals — one allowing guns on university campuses and another to let people between 18 and 20 years of age get provisional concealed weapons permits — were delayed. The Senate also has a university carry bill.
Arizona already has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the nation, allowing anyone legally allowed to own a gun to carry a firearm without a permit, making permits exceptionally easy to obtain and allowing private sales without a background check. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Arizona-House-bill-hits-banks-that-refuse-gun-16930105.php | 2022-02-18T18:24:10 | en | 0.97683 |
Somaiya files police complaint over 'missing bungalows' in Maha village
Sena MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut had earlier challenged the BJP leader to show the sites where these houses have been constructed.Somaiya separately said, Documents provided by the Korlai gram panchayat indicate that Rashmi Uddhav Thackeray and Maneesha Ravindra Waikar wife of a Shiv Sena leader have purchased these houses from Anvay Naik.
- Country:
- India
Maharashtra BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Friday filed a complaint with the police in Raigad district seeking an inquiry into ''bungalows'' allegedly linked to Rashmi Thackeray, wife of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Somaiya tweeted his complaint filed with the Revdanda police station in the adjoining district.
In a related development, family members of late architect Anvay Naik, linked to the property row, claimed the BJP leader has made their life 'miserable' and sought police protection from the government.
“We were told that there are 19 bungalows in Korlai village of Raigad district (allegedly) owned by Rashmi Uddhav Thackeray. The written answers to our queries were same so far.
“Today, we visited Korlai gram panchayat (administrative body of the village). Since last two days, the Sarpanch (elected head of gram panchayat) has been telling us that there are no bungalows,” said Somaiya in his complaint.
The former MP asked the police to inquire what happened to these bungalows.
The BJP leader has been alleging that there was no mention about the ownership of the property in the CM's affidavit filed with the Election Commission when he was elected to the Legislative Council in May 2020.
However, the Shiv Sena, headed by Uddhav Thackeray, has in the past questioned the very existence of bungalows mentioned by Somaiya. Sena MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut had earlier challenged the BJP leader to show the sites where these houses have been constructed.
Somaiya separately said, “Documents provided by the Korlai gram panchayat indicate that Rashmi Uddhav Thackeray and Maneesha Ravindra Waikar (wife of a Shiv Sena leader) have purchased these houses from Anvay Naik. But Uddhav Thackeray never mentioned it in his election affidavit. So, who is talking the truth.'' In May 2018, architect Naik, along with his mother Kumud Naik, were found dead at their bungalow in Alibaug. According to the police, Anvay Naik had committed suicide.
The wife of Anvay Naik, Akshata, and their daughter Adnya on Friday claimed Somaiya has made their live 'miserable' by constantly maligning their image.
Speaking to reporters here on Friday after meeting state home minister Dilip Walse Patil, Akshata Naik said, “We requested for police protection from the home minister as Somaiya has made our life miserable.'' Asked about the land deal, Adnya Naik said, “The land in question was sold when the BJP was in power (2014-19), but no leader spoke about it. Somaiya is now just indulging in politics over it.” PTI ND RSY RSY
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/1928315-somaiya-files-police-complaint-over-missing-bungalows-in-maha-village | 2022-02-18T18:24:11 | en | 0.977632 |
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A northwest Arkansas county issued a resolution praising the doctor at its jail who faces a lawsuit from inmates who say they were unknowingly prescribed ivermectin to treat COVID-19, despite warnings from health officials about the anti-parasitic drug.
The Washington County Quorum Court voted 9-4 Thursday night in favor of the resolution praising Dr. Robert Karas for his work treating inmates with COVID-19 at the county jail. The panel also rejected, by a 10-4 vote, a separate resolution supporting the principle of informed consent for medical treatments.
The nonbinding resolutions don't mention the lawsuit filed by inmates last month against Karas and Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder. The inmates said they weren't told they were being given ivermectin to treat COVID-19, and said instead were told they were being given vitamins, antibiotics or steroids. Attorneys for Karas and the county have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19 in humans. It has approved its use by people and animals for some parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions. According to the FDA, side effects for the drug include skin rash, nausea and vomiting.
The American Medical Association, the American Pharmacists Association and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists last year called to an immediate end to prescribing and using the drug to treat the coronavirus.
Karas is scheduled to appear in April before the state Medical Board, which has been investigating complaints against him over the drug's use at the jail. Karas has said he began giving inmates ivermectin in November 2020. He told a Medical Board investigator that 254 inmates were treated with the drug. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Arkansas-county-praises-doctor-who-gave-inmates-16930199.php | 2022-02-18T18:24:16 | en | 0.974994 |
Falling trees kill two as Storm Eunice hits the Netherlands
Falling trees killed two people as Storm Eunice pummelled the Netherlands on Friday, damaging buildings and blowing off parts of the roof at the stadium of soccer club ADO Den Haag, authorities said. The government sent out text alerts telling people to stay indoors and said they should only call emergency services in life-threatening situations.
Falling trees killed two people as Storm Eunice pummelled the Netherlands on Friday, damaging buildings and blowing off parts of the roof at the stadium of soccer club ADO Den Haag, authorities said.
The government sent out text alerts telling people to stay indoors and said they should only call emergency services in life-threatening situations. "The emergency number is overloaded," read the message. One person was killed by a falling tree in Amsterdam, and a second in the nearby Diemen area, the city's fire department said.
"Do not go out on the street anymore. It is truly dangerous," the city's police force said on Twitter. Schools sent children home early and train were cancelled nationwide from 2 p.m. local time (1300 GMT).
Images of a strip of roof hanging off The Hague soccer club's stadium circulated on social media. Eunice, an Atlantic storm, has been battering Britain and Ireland most of Friday, causing widespread damage and killing at least one person.
The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) issued a "code red" warning saying gusts could reach up to 130 km per hour in coastal areas as the storm reaches continental Europe.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Britain levies $47 mln fine on firms over anti-nausea tablet supply | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/science-environment/1928194-falling-trees-kill-two-as-storm-eunice-hits-the-netherlands | 2022-02-18T18:24:19 | en | 0.946454 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Ukrainian parliament thundered with applause as Joe Biden stepped into the wood-paneled chamber a little more than six years ago. Five hundred miles to the south and east, Russian troops and separatists were occupying parts of the country, and President Barack Obama had dispatched his vice president in a show of solidarity with the besieged nation.
His voice rising, Biden declared that Ukraine could demonstrate that aggressors “can’t use coercion, bribery, sending tanks and men across a border to extinguish the dreams and hopes of a people.”
“For if you succeed” — Biden rapped his fist on the podium — “that message is sent around the world.”
Ukraine's government was unable to retake the land it lost, and now the world waits to see what message will be sent as Russia readies what might be another, more expansive invasion that could end the nation's short history as an independent republic.
Such an attack would be the most difficult test yet for a president who has made the defense of democracy a cornerstone of his administration. If Biden's threats of sanctions, shipments of weapons and intelligence operations are not enough to deter war, his next challenge will be holding together a fractious international coalition to punish Russia both economically and diplomatically.
Biden planned to speak Friday with allies on both sides of the Atlantic as Western officials estimate that Moscow has between 169,000 and 190,000 troops in and around Ukraine.
Until recently, the U.S. president's long political career has paralleled democracy's expansion across Europe. Unlike Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former intelligence officer who views the collapse of the Soviet Union as a cascade of indignities, Biden cheered the so-called color revolutions that swept through former Soviet republics and supported the eastward expansion of NATO.
Daniel Fried, a longtime U.S. diplomat in the region, said Biden is someone with "a belief in the free world — without ironic tones.”
“It’s not put on," he said. "It’s real.”
Now, decades of progress could be rolled back in dramatic fashion in a country where Biden invested years of work to hold the line against Russian aggression.
“He represents an older generation of American politicians who grew up in the Cold War and for whom the trans-Atlantic community is the center of gravity,” said Charles Kupchan, who served on Obama’s National Security Council and traveled with Biden when he spoke to the Ukrainian parliament.
Although Biden has tried to focus his foreign policy on countering China’s expanding influence, a peaceful and democratic Europe remains central to his worldview.
“All of that effort to deal with the rise of China has to be anchored on a group of likeminded liberal democracies,” said Kupchan, now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “That’s why he’s gone out of his way to build a united front.”
Although Biden spent decades engaged on foreign affairs as a senator, his focus on Ukraine sharpened as Obama's vice president.
Today's crisis began when the country's Russia-aligned leader rejected an agreement that would have strengthened ties with the European Union, angering a populace that saw a better future looking west than east. A subsequent uprising known as the Revolution of Dignity toppled Ukraine's government in 2014, rattling Putin.
He responded by seizing Crimea, a peninsula that juts into the Black Sea, and backing separatists in the Donbas, a region along Ukraine's eastern edge.
“Everyone was caught totally off guard," said Max Bergmann, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who was serving in the U.S. State Department at the time.
A stalemate eventually took hold. Russian forces and separatists remained in control of parts of Ukraine, while a democratic government based in Kyiv, the capital, tried to carry on.
Biden traveled to Ukraine six times as vice president, and his work in the country is one of the major storylines of his 2017 memoir, “Promise Me, Dad."
He wrote that some warned him the situation would damage him politically because it “was bound to be a defeat for the West," but he “didn't much care.”
( It eventually caused headaches in a different way during the 2020 campaign, when President Donald Trump bludgeoned Biden with unproven allegations of corruption because his son, Hunter, served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company at the same time.)
Before his 2015 speech to the Ukrainian parliament, known as the Rada, Biden spent weeks developing his remarks and kept tweaking the text as he flew to the country. He described the government as struggling with twin threats of internal corruption and Russian aggression.
“Ukraine was at the crossroads of history,” Biden wrote, and he wanted “to remind the men and women sitting in the Rada that they were on the cusp of something extraordinary and — like all the most worthwhile things in life — extraordinarily fragile.”
A tactile politician who believes in the power of his personal relationships, Biden described feeling a connection with his audience.
“One thing I know from working with politicians and national leaders across the world is that they are a lot more like me than unlike me,” he wrote.
In his last mention of the country in his memoir, Biden wrote that its future remained uncertain — “It might take a generation or more to know if the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine had truly succeeded."
Putin is trying to ensure that it does not. He's spent months ratcheting up the pressure on Ukraine, and U.S. officials accuse him of planning false flag operations to create a pretense for an invasion.
Timothy Naftali, a historian at New York University who has studied the Soviet Union, said the Russian president is using “the same playbook” as his Cold War predecessors.
“You had a series of Soviet leaders who would try to get their way by scaring us," he said.
Biden has declined to commit American troops to defend Ukraine, which would raise the possibility of war between the U.S. and Russia, two nuclear-armed powers.
But he’s moved additional forces into Eastern Europe, warning Putin that he would “defend every inch of NATO territory,” and he's pumped more American-made weapons into Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.
U.S. analysts and former officials praise Biden for rallying European nations to oppose any Russian attack, a difficult task when countries have varying political and economic interests.
“This is what it looks like when it’s working," said Fried, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council whose decades-long career in the Foreign Service included a stint as the U.S. ambassador to Poland. "The French always have a different style. The Germans are always agonizing.”
Trans-Atlantic unity has been a priority for Biden since taking office, and Fried said solid relationships would make sanctions on Russia more damaging,
“If Putin is determined to start a war, he will start a war," Fried said. "But if he does, our job is to make sure it ends badly for his regime.”
Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who served as senior director for European and Russian affairs on Trump's National Security Council, said an invasion could have ripple effects around the world.
"This is not just about Ukraine, it’s about a precedent that is set globally,” she said.
That's something Biden is anxious to avoid as he watches democracy face threats at home and abroad. He frequently warns that autocrats like Putin, who has claimed that “the liberal idea has started eating itself," want to demonstrate that representative governments can't function in the current era.
During a December virtual Summit on Democracy, Biden called such threats “the defining challenge of our time.”
By that point, Russia already had tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine.
___
AP 's Tracy Brown contributed to this report. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Biden-faces-test-of-dedication-to-Ukraine-and-16930248.php | 2022-02-18T18:24:22 | en | 0.97946 |
Brazil's Bolsonaro says Petropolis mudslide destruction looks like war zone
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that the destruction in the mudslide disaster that killed at least 123 people in Petropolis looked like the mountain city had been hit by a war.
- Country:
- Brazil
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that the destruction in the mudslide disaster that killed at least 123 people in Petropolis looked like the mountain city had been hit by a war. "I saw intense destruction. It looked almost like there had been a war," Bolsonaro said after flying over the disaster in the town located in the mountains north of Rio de Janeiro that was hit by torrential rainfall.
Dozens of hillside houses were destroyed by the landslides on Tuesday in the heaviest rainfall registered since 1932. Cars and buses were swept away in the floods that left a trail of destruction down city streets. Downpours continued increasing the climate of fear and anguish in the city as residents searched for missing relatives and friends.
There is conflicting information regarding the number of victims of the tragedy. Police said on Thursday that more than 100 people were still missing, though other authorities put the number at 35 people.
Bolsonaro pledged federal assistance to help the city recover after a flyover on his return from a visit to Russia and Hungary. Petropolis and the surrounding region were previously hit by severe storms in 2011 when more than 900 people died in flooding and landslides.
The tourist destination is known as Brazil's "Imperial City" as it was the summer getaway of Brazilian royalty in 19th century Rio de Janeiro.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Police raid in Rio de Janeiro leaves at least 8 dead | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/science-environment/1928209-brazils-bolsonaro-says-petropolis-mudslide-destruction-looks-like-war-zone | 2022-02-18T18:24:27 | en | 0.974654 |
No matter how you look at them, Janita Poe and D. L. Dean are standout long-distance runners.
Poe, 58, of Atlanta, estimates she's completed 17 half-marathons, three full marathons, four half Ironman triathlons and one full Ironman. Dean, 52, of Marshalltown, Iowa, has done eight marathons, plus more than 350 half-marathons.
They also stand out because they are Black participants in an overwhelmingly white sport. That is why both also have found purpose in Black running clubs that help them spread the word about how running keeps them physically and mentally healthy.
"When I'm out there, I don't care what anybody says," said Poe, a member of South Fulton Running Partners, which was one of the nation's first Black running clubs when it started in 1979. In running, "I'm doing something really good for my body. I'm out here with nature. There's no better thing that I could do."
Running's health benefits are clear. A 2017 review in the journal Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases found runners may have at least a 30% lower risk of death from all causes compared to non-runners and at least a 45% reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease. (Any regular physical activity, even walking, can benefit health. Federal guidelines recommend adults get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or at least 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both.)
Data show Black people in the U.S. have disproportionate levels of obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, which could be helped through physical activity such as running. But surveys, and a glance at the crowd in many big races, show Black runners are relatively rare.
What's behind the gap? For Poe, it starts with the lack of role models.
"You don't see us," she said. And when you don't see Black people participating in running, "it's almost like the message is, 'It's for white people.'" Recreational running has a long history of being marketed just that way.
Another barrier, Dean said, is that Black men were stereotyped as sprinters, not distance runners. "The truth of the matter is, it wasn't really introduced to us," said Dean, captain of the Central Iowa chapter of Black Men Run, a national organization that encourages Black men to run for the sake of their health.
Researchers say a lack of safe neighborhoods or sidewalks can be a barrier to exercise for some Black people. And the 2020 murder of Black runner Ahmaud Arbery drew national attention to the dangerous realities of racism. That same year, a survey of runners by the trade group Running USA found 39% of Black runners have safety concerns related to systemic racism, compared with 2% of white runners.
Distance events sometimes involve isolated country roads, and Poe and Dean each have received clear messages of, "You don't belong here." In rural Georgia, Poe has seen Confederate flags flying as she went to pick up a race packet. During a triathlon, a pickup truck once let a group of white cyclists go past, then blocked her.
Dean had a dog let loose on him during one race. In another, a young white woman screamed because he crossed her path as he headed for the bathroom.
Such "running while Black" experiences are common. But Black runners also routinely find joy, health and camaraderie.
Poe, who started running in her 40s, said running is a relief from the stresses in her life, which include caring for her father while she finishes a doctorate at Georgia State University.
When she started running triathlons, she often was the only Black competitor, but she felt welcomed by other athletes. "It's not like we're being rejected when we get in the sport," she said. "It's just that we don't have the role models, the access or knowledge of how to get in."
Running clubs such as South Fulton Running Partners, Black Girls Run and others help with that by offering a welcoming starting point for beginners, Poe said.
It's also a place to share advice on Black-specific issues such as hair care – a significant concern for many Black women athletes trying to navigate complicated beauty standards. Poe celebrates that she knows runners "with every different hairstyle you can imagine."
Dean, a deputy sheriff, said Black Men Run, too, welcomes runners of all levels, and more. "We don't just run," he said. "We have cyclists. We have walkers. We do yoga."
The best part of running for him is the friendships he's formed. "You might not have known that person, but after one outing, one event, one run, you learn so much."
Running, he said, lets him talk to someone for a couple of hours while simultaneously doing something to promote Black health. He started running to be a model for others in his family, where heart disease runs rampant.
Dean ran while serving in the Army Reserve, but his first race wasn't until 2012. Since then, he's done races in every state – twice over. He wears a kilt, which he said is a celebration of his heritage and also a way to appear disarming in a way that helps people have fun.
Fun is important, he said. In each race, "there's only going to be one or two winners. The majority of us won't win." But he's happy at the back of the pack, cheering on slower runners. "I believe in bringing the party to the course."
When he started, he often was the lone Black runner, or he'd see others but wouldn't connect with them. Now, he'll often see five to 10 people he's befriended. "It's a wonderful feeling, to see I'm not alone out there."
Poe and Dean share a message to people considering the sport: Just try it.
"People think that you have to show up and you just have to run fast right away," Poe said. "You don't." You can walk. You can go a short distance. The first steps are easy. "Put on your running shoes. Open the door. Walk out the door."
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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The landslides that devastated Petropolis this week demolished houses and ripped families apart, scarred hillsides and hearts, left at least 120 dead and nearly as many missing.
And it was all largely predictable -- and to some degree, preventable.
Rapid urbanization, poor planning, lack of financing for subsidized housing -- all of these things have afflicted this mountain city in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state. Little has been done in response to repeated warnings about the risks of mountainside construction, researchers as well as current and former public servants told The Associated Press.
And with evidence indicating that climate change is causing more intense rainfall, peril has only increased — not just for Petropolis, but elsewhere as well.
More than 1,500 people have died in similar landslides in recent decades in that portion of the Serra do Mar range. There have been more than 400 deaths from heavy storms in Petropolis alone since 1981.
Antônio Guerra, a geography professor in the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, has studied weather-related catastrophes in Petropolis for almost 30 years. He has visited dozens of sites where houses and lives were swallowed by torrents of mud, and investigated the root causes.
“Rain is the great villain, but the main cause is poor land use. There’s a total lack of planning,” Guerra said in a phone interview.
Petropolis’s haphazard sprawl is recent. Nestled in the mountains some 40 miles from Rio de Janeiro and named for a former Brazilian emperor, Petropolis was among the nation’s first planned cities.
Earlier settlers built stately homes along its waterways. But in recent decades the city’s prosperity has drawn newcomers from poorer regions and the population grew to about 300,000. Mountainsides are now covered with small homes packed tightly together, constructed by people who aren’t fully aware of the dangers. Many have built without proper permissions because they can’t afford to do so elsewhere.
Many high-risk areas are even more vulnerable due to deforestation or inadequate drainage, Guerra said. As time goes by, people forget disasters and return to devastated areas, building houses on unsafe ground.
For nearly two decades, Yara Valverde led the local office of the federal environmental regulator. In 2001, she started the city’s first hydrogeological risk alert system, installing plastic bottles in communities to collect rainfall. When they reached a certain level, sirens blasted.
There was no public money allotted for the program, so she enlisted volunteers.
Between 2007 and 2010, Guerra and a team of civil engineers and geologists mapped risky areas in Petropolis and sent their findings to the city. The next January, heavy rain set off landslides that claimed nearly 1,000 lives, 71 of them in Petropolis. It was considered Brazil’s worst-ever natural disaster.
The city has recognized the problem. In 2017, authorities noted that 18% of the city -- including about 20,000 households -- was at high or very high risk. Yet another 7,000 would also need to be relocated, according to a plan devised by the city which called for construction of affordable housing units and a halt to new construction in at-risk areas.
Guerra, Valverde, non-governmental organizations and residents say little has been done to execute that vision.
There is little available space in Petropolis for new, safe construction, and removing residents from existing homes is unpopular politically -- there’s often nowhere to relocate residents near their original homes. Even before the pandemic slammed the local economy, Rio state was struggling to recover from a crushing, three-year recession.
But the Brazilian daily Folha de S. Paulo, citing official data, reported that Rio’s state government spent less than half of the money earmarked for its disaster prevention and response program.
Rio state’s construction and infrastructure secretariat said in an email to the AP that inspections of at–risk areas, housing policy and relocations are the city’s responsibility.
The city did not reply to repeated requests for information on how many families had been relocated since 2017 and what other measures had been undertaken to carry out the plan.
President Jair Bolsonaro tried to deflect the blame, saying the budget for preventive measures is limited. "A lot of times, we have no way to guard against everything that might happen,” he said Friday from Petropolis, responding to widespread outrage.
Heavy rains are typical in the region, especially during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, between December and March. But with climate change, the rains appear to be getting heavier, experts say.
Southeastern Brazil has been punished with heavy rains since the start of the year. More than 40 deaths were recorded between mudslides in Minas Gerais state in early January and Sao Paulo state later the same month. That followed months of drought — Brazil’s worst in nine decades — that saw hydroelectric reservoirs in the southeast fall to levels that raised concern about possible power rationing.
“They are all weather extremes, happening very close to one another. Climate change also acts to increase the frequency of events, and we are clearly observing this,” said Marcelo Seluchi, a coordinator at the government’s National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters. “It’s not about looking at a particular event, but the total.”
On the eve of the latest landslide, Seluchi’s center sent out a “very high” risk alert for Petropolis, warning of rains with “a potential to cause a great impact on the population.” The agency recommended authorities consider evacuation of at-risk areas.
The following day, 259 millimeters (10 inches) of rain poured down in just three hours — by far the most since 1932, according to the center.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Rio Gov. Claudio Castro insisted the deluge was “totally unpredictable.” He didn’t comment on whether the destruction and loss of life could have been avoided.
Eighteen of Petropolis’ 20 risk alert sirens sounded before Tuesday’s fatal landslides, warning resident of a looming danger, but the AP could find no evidence that the officials called for evacuations.
Some residents told the AP they had received text messages from authorities, warning them about the coming storm. Others said they had received no notice at all. And with most of the city’s sirens concentrated in the center of town, several districts were excluded.
The city didn’t respond to multiple requests from the AP for comment.
Fernando Araújo, 46, said the government has ignored his neighborhood of Vila Felipe for as long as he can remember.
“As a resident living here for 46 years, I’m sure that as soon the sun comes out and the weather stabilizes they won’t come here anymore and give attention to us. The people, on their own, will clean things up, rebuild, and sometime in the future this will happen again.”
Valverde, the former environmental regulator who set up the risk alert system, said many cities in the region lack the political will to face up to the problem.
“They say they care, but when the time comes to make decisions, to remove houses in risk zones, to prevent new construction ... they end up giving in,” she said.
“They have to be held accountable. If not, this will happen again and again.”
___
AP journalist Diarlei Rodrigues contributed to this report from Petropolis, and Débora Alvares from Brasilia. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Brazil-s-deadly-mudslides-reflect-neglect-16930095.php | 2022-02-18T18:24:34 | en | 0.966721 |
Odisha panchayat polls: 77 pc voting in 2nd phase
SEC office sources said that polling in two booths in Kanikapada Panchayat of Jajpur was disrupted after miscreants damaged 31 ballot papers and fled with some more.In Jagatsinghpur, a group of people created ruckus and ransacked two booths at Patasara panchayat.
- Country:
- India
Around 71 per cent of 62.10 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the second phase of polling for the three-tier panchayat elections on Friday, an official said.
Barring stray disruptions, the voting was by and large peaceful in comparison to the first phase held on February 16.
Nearly 71 per cent of the electorate voted at 20,436 polling booths to seal the fate of 747 candidates for 186 Zilla Parishad (ZP) posts in 1514 panchayats across 68 blocks in the state, an official of the State Election Commission (SEC) said.
The voting percentage may rise after final reports are received by the SEC from districts. State Election Commissioner A P Padhi said that except some stray incidents in Jajpur and Jagtsinghpur district, polling was peaceful in Maoist-infected regions and also in Kotia cluster of villages in Koraput district.
Both Odisha and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh claim ownership of the villages in Kotia.
"The polling was disrupted in parts of Jagatsinghpur and Jajpur due to violence. Re-polling is likely to be held at two or three places where voting was affected due to errors in ballot papers," Padhi said. SEC office sources said that polling in two booths in Kanikapada Panchayat of Jajpur was disrupted after miscreants damaged 31 ballot papers and fled with some more.
In Jagatsinghpur, a group of people created ruckus and ransacked two booths at Patasara panchayat. The police resorted to baton-charge after Gaisilet police station in-charge suffered injuries on the head during a face-off with some people outside a polling booth in Bargarh district.
In another incident, a mob damaged the personal vehicle of a presiding officer in Komna block of Nuapada district, alleging that it was carrying ballot boxes.
The first phase of polling had registered 77.2 per cent of votes.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/science-environment/1928256-odisha-panchayat-polls-77-pc-voting-in-2nd-phase | 2022-02-18T18:24:35 | en | 0.97553 |
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A new bill in California would allow private citizens go after gun makers in the same way Texas lets them target abortion providers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday backed legislation that would let private citizens enforce the state’s ban on assault weapons. It’s modeled after a Texas law that lets private citizens enforce that state’s ban on abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.
“If Texas can use a law to ban a woman’s right to chose and to put her health at risk, we will use that same law to save lives and improve the health and safety of the people in the state of California,” Newsom said at a news conference Friday.
Texas and other conservative-led states have tried for years to ban abortions once a heartbeat is detected, at around six weeks of pregnancy, which is sometimes before the person knows they are pregnant. But the states' attempts have been blocked by the courts.
But Texas’ new abortion law is unique in that it bars the government from enforcing the law. The idea is if the government can’t enforce the law, it can’t be sued to block it in court. That hasn’t stopped abortion providers from trying to block the law. But so far, the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority has allowed the abortion law to stay in place pending a legal challenge.
That decision incensed Newsom and his Democratic allies in the state Legislature. California has banned the manufacture and sale of assault weapons for decades. But last year, a federal judge overturned that ban. The law is still in place while the state appeals the decision.
But the decision inspired Newsom and Democrats in the state Legislature to copy Texas’ abortion law, but make it apply to gun makers instead of abortion providers.
“Our message to the United States Supreme Court is as follows: What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” said Democratic state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, the author of the proposal. “I look forward to rushing a new bill to the governor’s desk to take advantage of that United States Supreme Court guidance.”
The proposal fulfills fears from some gun rights groups, who have opposed the Texas abortion law because they worried liberal states like California would use the same principle to on guns.
“If Texas succeeds in its gambit here, New York, California, New Jersey, and others will not be far behind in adopting equally aggressive gambits to not merely chill but to freeze the right to keep and bear arms,” attorney Erik Jaffe wrote in a legal brief on behalf of the Firearms Policy Coalition, a nonprofit group that advocates for gun rights.
California's bill has not been filed yet in the state Legislature. But a fact sheet provided by Hertzberg's office said the bill would apply to those who manufacture, distribute, transport, import into California, or sell assault weapons, .50 BMG rifles, ghost guns or ghost gun kits.
Ghost guns are weapons bought online and assembled at home. They don't have serial numbers, making them difficult to trace.
The bill would let people seek a court order to stop the spread of these weapons and recover up to $10,000 in damages for each weapon, plus attorney's fees. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/California-bill-would-allow-citizens-to-enforce-16930151.php | 2022-02-18T18:24:40 | en | 0.949621 |
Storm Eunice sends crane crashing onto Belgian hospital
Storm Eunice sent a crane crashing onto the roof of a hospital in the Belgian town of Tournai on Friday, as winds of up to 130 km per hour (80 miles per hour) swept in.
- Country:
- Belgium
Storm Eunice sent a crane crashing onto the roof of a hospital in the Belgian town of Tournai on Friday, as winds of up to 130 km per hour (80 miles per hour) swept in. No deaths were reported, but people were injured in the hospital, according to media reports.
Images on social media showed the crane's tip crashed into the roof of the hospital and through the ceiling of the top floor. Another piece fell on the ground in a building site close to the crane's base that stayed standing.
In a separate incident a teenager was hit by a falling branch while running in the nearby town of Menen. Both towns are close to the French border. The storm, which is also battering other northern European countries, including Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands, has disrupted transport services in Belgium.
The football game between the teams of Ghent and Seraing for the country's top league was postponed after the roof of Ghent's stadium was damaged by the strong wind.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Britain levies $47 mln fine on firms over anti-nausea tablet supply | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/science-environment/1928281-storm-eunice-sends-crane-crashing-onto-belgian-hospital | 2022-02-18T18:24:43 | en | 0.959763 |
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against Gov. Kim Reynolds by a group of six Des Moines-area bars that challenged her brief shutdown of their businesses in August and September 2020 when COVID-19 was rapidly spreading.
The bars initially sought damages but later dropped those claims and were asking the court to allow their case to go to trial so they could pursue their argument to limit the governor's powers to close targeted groups of businesses during a proclaimed emergency. A state court judge dismissed their case, concluding it was moot because the governor closed the bars for only weeks and then allowed them to reopen.
The bars claimed Reynolds' actions were unlawful for several reasons, including their contention that a public health disaster as defined in Iowa law didn't exist when Reynolds closed them and that only a portion of the affected area was shut down. They claimed their constitutional rights to equal protection and due process were violated.
The court declined to consider the arguments, agreeing with the trial court judge that the case is moot because the bars have been open since the governor rescinded their closure in September 2020.
The justices rejected the argument of the bars' attorney that the court should rule because another situation could emerge that would prompt the governor to act similarly again. The court said the issues presented are of a public nature and important, but that doesn’t mean they are likely to recur, at least in the same form they had in August and September 2020.
“Courts exist to decide cases, not academic questions of law. For this reason, a court will generally decline to hear a case when, because of changed circumstances, the court’s decision will no longer matter. This is known as the doctrine of mootness," the court wrote.
A lawyer representing the bars and a spokesman for Reynolds did not immediately respond to a messages. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Court-dismisses-lawsuit-from-bars-over-brief-16930011.php | 2022-02-18T18:24:46 | en | 0.987886 |
Storm Eunice kills 79 year-old man in Belgium - media
- Country:
- France
A 79-year old English national died in the Belgian town of Ieper, not far from the North Sea coast, after being pushed from his boat in the water by the strong wind as storm Eunice battered the region, local media reported on Friday.
He was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries, broadcaster VTM reported.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Advertisement | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/science-environment/1928282-storm-eunice-kills-79-year-old-man-in-belgium---media | 2022-02-18T18:24:51 | en | 0.987854 |
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A prison intake photo of Kim Potter that showed her smiling widely after she was convicted of manslaughter in Daunte Wright's death flared up at her sentencing Friday, with Wright's mother saying it showed Potter wasn't genuinely sorry for his death.
Potter's attorney said no disrespect was intended and Potter was simply doing as instructed by the prison staff.
Katie Wright brought up the mug shot as she addressed the court. Potter, then a Brooklyn Center police officer, said she confused her handgun for her Taser when she fatally shot Wright last April. A jury convicted her in December.
Katie Wright said Potter never looked at her and other Wright family members as they passed in the hallway during the trial, and when she testified, expressed sorrow only after a break where she “had time to be coached on how to gain some sort of sympathy from the jury.”
“How do you show remorse when you’re smiling in your mug shot after being sentenced to manslaughter? After taking my son’s life? How do you say you’re sorry with no tears?” Katie Wright said.
Defense attorney Paul Engh began his remarks by responding to Wright's anger.
“There’s no disrespect intended to the booking photograph," he said. "Ms. Potter indicates they asked her to smile, she smiled. It was not meant to be disrespectful, it was in response to the prison’s request.”
Potter is white. Wright, who was Black, was killed after Brooklyn Center officers pulled him over for having expired license tags and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror.
Judge Regina Chu later sentenced Potter to two years, well below prosecutors' request, saying that mitigating factors warranted it.
___
Find the AP’s full coverage of the Daunte Wright case: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Daunte-Wright-s-mother-angered-by-Potter-s-16930232.php | 2022-02-18T18:24:53 | en | 0.9829 |
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A large dog fatally mauled a longtime volunteer at a Florida animal shelter who was trying to help it acclimate to humans after it was found in the Everglades.
Pam Robb, a 71-year-old retired high school teacher, died in Thursday's attack at the 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida shelter near Fort Lauderdale, officials said. A second woman who tried to intervene suffered minor injuries.
Robb's wife, Angie Anobile, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that Robb had been working with the female mixed-breed dog the shelter named Gladys since the dog arrived about a month ago. She said the dog pulled Robb to the ground by the arm and attacked her.
She said Robb had been gushing recently about the progress Gladys was making. The dog weighs more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms).
Robb “was one of the few that the dog resonated with,” Anobile told the newspaper. "She was just starting to build trust with the dog. Her greatest joy was having these dogs respond to human contact, and I don’t blame anybody. It was a tragic accident, but I do blame people who abuse animals, who don’t love them like they should be loved."
The shelter issued a Facebook post saying the staff is grieving and asking for privacy.
In a Jan. 18 Facebook post, the shelter showed Gladys' rescue. The dog was sitting on a canal bank in an empty field and had been there for at least three days, the video says. The rescuers threw chicken to the dog until they were able to coax her into a car to applause.
The shelter then posted periodic video updates on Gladys, recently saying her progress was “slow and steady."
“We have no idea what this poor girl (has) seen in her past but it (has) definitely traumatized her and made her rehab difficult, but we are pressing on,” the post said. It said volunteers were "trying to teach her to be confident, and not to be afraid.” In the video, Gladys was sedately lying next to someone, chewing on a bone.
Broward County animal control took Gladys after the attack. The agency did not immediately return an email Friday seeking comment on what will happen with the dog. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Dog-fatally-mauls-volunteer-at-Florida-shelter-16930084.php | 2022-02-18T18:24:59 | en | 0.984341 |
U.N. draft resolution shows countries aim to create chemical waste body
The proposal, co-sponsored by 14 other countries, including Britain and six African countries, would aim to create an authoritative "Science-Policy Panel" similar to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Switzerland's Ambassador Franz Xaver Perrez who is representing Bern at the summit in Kenya this month told Reuters that chemical waste represented a "more imminent" threat than climate change.
A Swiss-led proposal could form a new intergovernmental panel to study the dangers of chemical waste and pollution, a draft resolution on the agenda of a U.N. environment summit showed.
Proponents say that pollution from pesticides, plastics and electronic waste is an overlooked problem and that there is currently no global body to assess the scale of the risks. This week, a U.N. expert warned that such pollution was contributing to more deaths globally than COVID-19 and called for action, including a ban on some toxic chemicals. The proposal, co-sponsored by 14 other countries, including Britain and six African countries, would aim to create an authoritative "Science-Policy Panel" similar to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Switzerland's Ambassador Franz Xaver Perrez who is representing Bern at the summit in Kenya this month told Reuters that chemical waste represented a "more imminent" threat than climate change. With climate change "the bigger impact is in the future," he said. "But the chemicals impact is the immediate future, it's right now."
"This (proposal) would bring together, like with climate change, the best available science to better understand the threats and risks that we do not fully understand yet." He added he expected the proposal to be adopted by consensus and said the panel could be set up within "one to two years" under the oversight of the World Health Organization and summit host the United Nations Environment Programme.
The main focus of the Kenya summit will be the drafting of a blueprint for a global plastics treaty, which is touted as being the most important environment pact since the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Switzerland already hosts both the WHO and the IPCC and would have a financial stake in creating such a panel, were it to be based in Geneva.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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African tech solutions to plastic pollution can only flourish if there is consumer buy-in | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/science-environment/1928300-un-draft-resolution-shows-countries-aim-to-create-chemical-waste-body | 2022-02-18T18:24:59 | en | 0.957011 |
Dog fatally mauls volunteer at Florida shelter
The rescuers threw chicken to the dog until they were able to coax her into a car to applause.The shelter then posted periodic video updates on Gladys, recently saying her progress was slow and steady.
A large dog fatally mauled a longtime volunteer at a Florida animal shelter who was trying to help it acclimate to humans after it was found in the Everglades.
Pam Robb, a 71-year-old retired high school teacher, died in Thursday's attack at the 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida shelter near Fort Lauderdale, officials said. A second woman who tried to intervene suffered minor injuries.
Robb's wife, Angie Anobile, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that Robb had been working with the female mixed-breed dog the shelter named Gladys since the dog arrived about a month ago. She said the dog pulled Robb to the ground by the arm and attacked her.
She said Robb had been gushing recently about the progress Gladys was making. The dog weighs more than 100 pounds (45 kg).
Robb "was one of the few that the dog resonated with," Anobile told the newspaper. ''She was just starting to build trust with the dog. Her greatest joy was having these dogs respond to human contact, and I don't blame anybody. It was a tragic accident, but I do blame people who abuse animals, who don't love them like they should be loved.'' The shelter issued a Facebook post saying the staff is grieving and asking for privacy.
In a Jan 18 Facebook post, the shelter showed Gladys' rescue. The dog was sitting on a canal bank in an empty field and had been there for at least three days, the video says. The rescuers threw chicken to the dog until they were able to coax her into a car to applause.
The shelter then posted periodic video updates on Gladys, recently saying her progress was "slow and steady''. "We have no idea what this poor girl (has) seen in her past but it (has) definitely traumatised her and made her rehab difficult, but we are pressing on," the post said.
It said volunteers were ''trying to teach her to be confident, and not to be afraid." In the video, Gladys was sedately lying next to someone, chewing on a bone.
Broward County animal control took Gladys after the attack. The agency did not immediately return an email Friday seeking comment on what will happen with the dog.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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GLOBAL MARKETS-Shifting central banks, Facebook status update restart selloff | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/science-environment/1928317-dog-fatally-mauls-volunteer-at-florida-shelter | 2022-02-18T18:25:06 | en | 0.980365 |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An intense fire burned a downtown Los Angeles commercial building early Friday.
More than 100 firefighters were brought in to battle the fire, which was declared a major emergency, the Fire Department said.
Firefighters made quick progress against flames on the first floor but the fire had extended through the second floor and into the attic, according to department spokesperson Margaret Stewart.
Firefighters working in thick smoke on the roof cut holes to vent the heat to prevent total loss of the structure, which had signage indicating it was a toy company.
Preliminary information indicated that the fire began outside and extended into the building. Arson investigators were called in. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Fire-damages-downtown-Los-Angeles-commercial-16930102.php | 2022-02-18T18:25:11 | en | 0.983615 |
ISL: NorthEast United dent Bengaluru's top-four hopes with 2-1 win
Bengaluru FC's top-four aspirations were dealt a blow as NorthEast United FC came from behind to win 2-1 in the Indian Super League at the PJN Stadium in Fatorda on Friday.
- Country:
- India
Bengaluru FC's top-four aspirations were dealt a blow as NorthEast United FC came from behind to win 2-1 in the Indian Super League at the PJN Stadium in Fatorda on Friday. Cleiton Silva gave Bengaluru the lead in the 66th minute after a barren first half, but two goals in the space of six minutes from Deshorn Brown (74th) and Laldanmawia Ralte (80th) allowed Khalid Jamil's team to snap a 10-game winless run and move up a rung from the foot of the points table. NorthEast United now have 13 points from 18 matches. SC East Bengal dropped to the bottom of the heap, having just 10 points from 17 outings.
Bengaluru, meanwhile, endured a second straight defeat, remaining at sixth place with 23 points from 17 games. It will now be harder for Marco Pezzaiuoli's charges with only three games remaining and teams above them having more games in hand. NorthEast United got the first real chance of the game when Imran Khan headed a Joe Zoherliana cross wide. One minute later, Deshorn Brown hit the crossbar after Suhair Vadakkepeedika set him up with a brilliant ball as the Highlanders kept Bengaluru backline on tenterhooks.
Bengaluru took time to warm up to the contest, Sunil Chhetri making runs down the left channel to try and find the likes of Cleiton Silva. But the better chances kept falling to NorthEast United as Hernan Santana forced Lara Sharma into a great save just before the cooling break. At halftime, both teams were locked goalless although Bengaluru looked the better side enjoying more ball possession but lacking teeth upfront. NorthEast United had the better opportunities in goal but failed to make the most of it.
Sharma was called into action early on in the second half and he did well to keep Suhair's effort at bay while at the other end Mirshad Michu saved well from Chhetri who ran at the NorthEast United defence with venom and played a one-two with Udanta Singh before taking a swipe at goal but Michu narrowed the angle down in time and got his right leg in the way. The deadlock was finally broken and Silva was at the right place at the right time, slotting home a Danish Farooq cross by outwitting Zakaria Diallo.
But the Blues' joy was short-lived as Brown got on the scoresheet, Zoherliana whipping in a cross for Brown to leap over Yaya Banana and nod past Sharma and into the goal. NorthEast United added to their tally and made a remarkable comeback minutes later, Marcelinho doing all the spadework to escape a few Bengaluru shirts and put the ball on a plate for Laldanmawia Ralte who tapped home with ease. It was heartbreak for Bengaluru as they tried hard to wrest back the advantage but in the end, NorthEast United prevailed. (ANI)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/sports-games/1928192-isl-northeast-united-dent-bengalurus-top-four-hopes-with-2-1-win | 2022-02-18T18:25:13 | en | 0.968965 |
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A grand jury has ruled three officers were justified in the fatal shooting of a man after officers attempted to stop his car in Salem, Oregon.
Marion County District Attorney officials said Richard Allan Meyers was struck by five bullets police fired. Dashcam video of the shooting provided to the Statesman Journal shows multiple officers firing more than a dozen times at Meyers, who was in his vehicle.
Officers testified Meyers, 40, raised what looked like a firearm at officers following an attempted traffic stop and chase in the early hours of Feb. 7.
Police later reported the object Meyers raised was a pellet gun.
Officials said there was significant testimony regarding Meyers’ mental health before a grand jury released its decision evening. During the grand jury hearing, state police testified Meyers had previously made multiple statements to people about committing suicide, specifically wanting law enforcement to shoot him.
Meyer was hit twice in the arm, twice in the torso, once in the right thigh, all toward the right side of his body.
The video footage shows officers following the shots being fired waiting behind a Salem Police car and repeatedly yelling at Meyers to “show” his hands, get out of the car and lay on the ground.
Meyers repeatedly yells that he can’t do those things because he’s been shot. He screams and pleads for help several times, twice yelling “I can’t breathe.”
“I’m dying,” he yells back to police at one point.
Police said they provided first aid to Meyers once he was out of the car and on the ground. He was taken to Salem Hospital where he died of his injuries.
The grand jury heard testimony from four civilians, witnesses from the Salem Police Department, investigators from the Oregon State Police, and Meyers’ sister, Rachel Coble.
Coble said her brother had reached out for help on several occasions.
“He was turned away every single time because he was an addict, because he was homeless, because he had a criminal background,” Coble said. “They used that to dehumanize him and used it as an excuse to murder him and I will not let them do this to anyone else." | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Grand-jury-Police-justified-in-shooting-Salem-man-16930233.php | 2022-02-18T18:25:17 | en | 0.987155 |
Hamilton wants social media companies to curb online abuse
Lewis Hamilton urged social media companies to do more to stop the spread of online abuse after fellow Formula One driver Nicholas Latifi received death threats following the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.Latifi crashed his Williams car with a few laps left and with Hamilton coasting toward an eighth F1 title.
- Country:
- United Kingdom
Lewis Hamilton urged social media companies to do more to stop the spread of online abuse after fellow Formula One driver Nicholas Latifi received death threats following the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Latifi crashed his Williams car with a few laps left and with Hamilton coasting toward an eighth F1 title. The incident led to a safety car, and Max Verstappen overtook the seven-time F1 champion Hamilton on the last lap to win the world title amid huge controversy.
Although blameless, Latifi was hounded online as outrage grew at how Hamilton's title was so suddenly lost.
“Ultimately, I don't think there's been a huge change or shift, or enough work that's been done by these social platforms. We still have to apply pressure for them to make changes,” Hamilton said Friday after the unveiling of Mercedes' 2022 car. “Mental health is a real thing and through these social platforms people are experiencing abuse.
“No one deserves that and that should never be tolerated,” the 37-year-old British driver added. ''(Social networks) are able to change these things and make changes, but they don't seem to do it quick enough. So, I think we just need to continue to apply pressure.” Latifi was so affected that he hired bodyguards for a sightseeing trip to London with his girlfriend.
“I was in touch with Nicholas, he has my full support and I know how difficult it can be in those situations,'' Hamilton said. '' It's important for him to know he has support from people around him.” Mercedes driver George Russell, who was previously Latifi's teammate at Williams, agreed with Hamilton.
“I think more needs to be done for athletes, for people in the spotlight because people behind the computer, behind the keyboard think they have a right to say what they like,” Russell said. “It's almost forgotten that everybody is human ... Something really does need to be done and I felt really, really bad for Nicholas.'' Russell had at times also struggled in the same car.
“Mistakes happen and I know firsthand how difficult that specific Williams car was to drive,” he said. “He didn't deserve at all to get what he received so definitely more needs to be done.” Latifi, a 26-year-old Canadian, spoke about the impact the threats had on his mental state.
“I was back in London after the race and I had security with me when I went to Winter Wonderland with my girlfriend,” he said Tuesday. “You have to take the threats seriously because you don't know what might happen and it is just an unfortunate reality of the world we live in.” Latifi had anticipated receiving abuse and so deleted Instagram and Twitter from his phone.
“Using social media as a channel to attack somebody with messages of hate, abuse and threats of violence is shocking, and something I am calling out,” he said.
Hamilton also removed himself from his platforms following Abu Dhabi, re-emerging only two weeks ago.
The new 23-race season begins on March 20 at the Bahrain GP. AP BS BS
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/sports-games/1928200-hamilton-wants-social-media-companies-to-curb-online-abuse | 2022-02-18T18:25:21 | en | 0.986062 |
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A police group that advocates for minority officers filed a lawsuit against St. Louis and some city officials contending that procedures used for promotions do not give minority officers an equal chance to advance their careers.
The Ethical Society of Police said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the city is breaking its own rules by maintaining the same rank promotion lists for more than four years, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The city has had the same promotion lists since June 2017, although city civil service rules say the lists are supposed to expire after two years unless extended.
Tests overseen by the St. Louis Department of Personnel are used to create lists of the best candidates to be promoted to lieutenant and captain.
The lawsuit contends the personnel department has sought emergency extensions to delay the tests without proper justification.
The older lists are more likely to include a larger proportion of white officers hired before racial equity standards were implemented and who have more experience in the jobs, "allowing them to rank better on the promotion lists,” according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs want the city to pause promotions to the ranks of lieutenant and captain until testing produces a new list of candidates.
Korey Lewis, assistant city counselor, wrote in documents filed with the lawsuit that testing was postponed for financial reasons because the process is expensive.
Mayoral spokesman Nick Dunne said the city could not comment on pending litigation. | https://www.chron.com/news/article/Group-sues-St-Louis-over-police-promotion-16930075.php | 2022-02-18T18:25:23 | en | 0.971798 |
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