Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi "stressed Iran's continued support for the government, nation and army of Syria in their fight against terrorism," during a phone call with his Syrian counterpart Bassam al-Sabbagh, according to a statement.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Richard Moore, the head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service known as MI6, said in a speech in Paris on Friday that were  Putin to succeed in reducing Ukraine to a vassal state, he would not stop there.

"Our security - British, French, European and transatlantic- will be jeopardised."

"We have recently uncovered a staggeringly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe, even as Putin and his acolytes resort to nuclear sabre-rattling to sow fear about the consequences of aiding Ukraine".

He said the cost of supporting Ukraine was well known, but added: "The cost of not doing so would be infinitely higher. If Putin succeeds China would weigh the implications, North Korea would be emboldened and Iran would become still more dangerous."

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The units could be deployed for up to six months, the ministry said in a statement.

"With this we will protect a logistical hub in Poland which is of central importance for the delivery of materials to Ukraine," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said.

His Polish counterpart Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a post on social media platform X that Warsaw welcomed the decision.

Germany previously deployed 300 troops along with three Patriot units to Poland from January to November 2022.

They were based in the town of Zamosc, about 50 km (31 miles) from the Ukrainian border, to protect the southern town and its crucial railway link to Ukraine.

The deployment was triggered by a stray Ukrainian missile that struck the Polish village of Przewodow in November 2022, in an incident that raised fears of the war in Ukraine spilling over the border.
 

"I haven't had plastic surgery. I am scared of what can happen, and I don't like to have something heavy. Sometimes it is a bit heavy and terrible," Ms Wildenstein told the outlet. 

The 84-year-old claims to have eschewed even Botox after a bad experience with the cosmetic treatment. "I don't like the Botox. Everyone has a different reaction to it," she explained, adding, "I have had Botox only twice. I don't know if I am allergic, but when I had it, it did not go well with me. It was not a good result. My face swelled up. If [other women] want to do it too strong, it doesn't work well."

Ms Wildenstein also insisted that she has never used any fillers. "I never did any fillers. I have some friends who had fillers and were not happy," she said. 

Also Read | This Adult Star Earns Rs 360 Crore Annually, Surpassing NBA Superstar's Earnings

Jocelyn Wildenstein became a tabloid fixture in the 1990s during her divorce from her billionaire art dealer husband Alec Wildenstein. Several reports suggest that she began her facial transmogrification because of her late ex-husband, who wanted her to look like a lynx. 

According to People magazine, Mr Wildenstein once also claimed that he and Jocelyn both got some of their respective first plastic surgeries together about a year after they got married. 

Notably, Ms Wildenstein's face has earned her the nickname "Catwoman". However, she has repeatedly said that some of her facial features are partially natural. "The lynx has perfect eyes. If I show you pictures of my grandmother, what you see is these eyes - cat eyes - and high cheekbones," she once said. 

thankful for one year on here ?? pic.twitter.com/Rq8KU5ju7n

— Sophie Rain (@sophieraiin) November 28, 2024

According to EssentiallySports, Sophie Rain's earnings reportedly surpass Jayson Tatum's annual salary, a jaw-dropping stat that has many fans talking. While Tatum continues to shine on the court for the Boston Celtics, Rain proves that success can come from unexpected streams in this modern-day internet age.

In comparison to Sophie Rain's $43 million this year, Jayson Tatum made $35 million. Rain's pay check is almost 23% more than what the C's forward gets paid for his MVP-calibre performances day in and day out.

And it's not just Tatum; according to Basketball Forever, in 2023, OnlyFans creators earned a staggering $6.6 billion, surpassing the combined salaries of every NBA star for the 2023-2024 season. The players' combined payroll was $4.9 billion.

The post by Rain immediately went viral, with close to 17 million views. The social media user went on and talked about this huge sum of earnings.

"OnlyFans pays better than Real Madrid," commented a user.

"I would need like two lifetimes to spend this," wrote another user.

"Think about how much we could accomplish if OnlyFans income was taxed like regular earnings," commented a third user.

Her resignation is the first by a member of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's cabinet since his Labour party won power at a general election in July.

She handed in her notice after media reports emerged on Thursday evening that she had incorrectly told police her work mobile phone was stolen when she was mugged in 2013.

But she found the handset later and did not inform police. British media said she admitted a fraud charge in court in 2014 and was discharged without any further action.

In a resignation letter, published by Downing Street, Haigh, 37, said she wanted to avoid being a "distraction" to the government. 

"I remain totally committed to our political project, but I now believe it will be best served by my supporting you from outside government," she wrote.

Starmer thanked Haigh for her work and said she had made "huge strides" to get the country's railways back into public ownership.

Starmer lost his chief of staff Sue Gray in October, following months of intense media scrutiny over her role.

Haigh oversaw the progress of the new high-speed HS2 train, which has been mired in controversy since the previous Conservative government axed key legs of the railway due to spiralling costs.

She was also charged with delivering on the government's pledge to renationalise the ailing rail services, with the plans getting the green light from parliament last week.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The team from Gladstone Institutes in California engineered mice to mimic key aspects of Alzheimer's and used the new video-based machine learning tool to detect early signs of the brain disease.

The findings, published in the journal Cell Reports, sheds light on a new strategy for identifying neurological disease earlier than currently possible and tracking how it develops over time.

Gladstone investigator Jorge Palop said that AI can potentially revolutionise how the analysis of Alzheimer's-linked behaviours -- indicative of early abnormalities in brain function -- is conducted.

The machine learning platform called VAME, (Variational Animal Motion Embedding) analysed video footage of mice exploring an open arena. It identified subtle behavioral patterns -- disorganised behaviour, unusual patterns and transitioning more often between different activities -- as the mice aged. These behaviours, likely associated with memory and attention deficits, were captured on camera but may not be noticed by simply looking at the mice.

The tool may help decode the origin and progression of the devastating brain disorders, Palop said, noting it can also be applied to other neurological diseases.

Further, the new study also used VAME to learn whether a potential therapeutic intervention for Alzheimer's would prevent disorganised behavior in mice.

They found that genetically blocking a blood-clotting protein called fibrin from triggering toxic inflammation in the brain can prevent the development of abnormal behaviors in Alzheimer's mice.

The team said the intervention also tackled the spontaneous behavioral changes in Alzheimer's mice.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The National Disaster Command Centre said 80,589 residents were evacuated to 467 temporary shelters in seven states this week, with northeastern Kelantan state and neighbouring Terengganu the worst hit.

A search and rescue team has been mobilised to aid rescue operations in affected states, specifically Kelantan, the disaster centre said in a statement.

Four deaths have been recorded across Kelantan, Terengganu and Sarawak, according to disaster officials. 

Heavy rain, which has already lasted several days, is forecast nationwide until Saturday, a meteorological department spokesperson told AFP.

Floods are an annual phenomenon in the Southeast Asian nation of 34 million people due to the northeast monsoon that brings heavy rain from November to March.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Thursday that the floods were "expected to be more severe than in 2014" -- when about 118,000 people fled their homes -- according to the official Bernama news agency.

Thousands of emergency services personnel have been deployed in flood-prone states along with rescue boats, four-wheel-drive vehicles and helicopters, Zahid, who chairs the National Disaster Management Committee, was also quoted as saying. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dong Yuyu, a senior columnist at the Communist Party newspaper Guangming Daily, was detained in February 2022 along with a Japanese diplomat at a Beijing restaurant.

The diplomat was released after a few hours of questioning, but Dong, 62, has been in custody since and was charged with spying last year.

"The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court convicted Yuyu of espionage, a crime that requires that the prosecution prove that the defendant knowingly acted on behalf of 'espionage organisations' and their agents," a statement shared with AFP by his family said.

According to the judgement, the Japanese diplomats Dong met with, including then-ambassador Hideo Tarumi and current Shanghai-based chief diplomat Masaru Okada, were named as agents of an "espionage organisation", the statement added. 

"We are shocked that the Chinese authorities would blatantly deem a foreign embassy as an 'espionage organisation' and accuse the former Japanese ambassador and his fellow diplomats of being spies."

Under Chinese law, someone convicted of espionage can be jailed for three to 10 years for less severe cases or receive heavy punishment, including life imprisonment, for serious cases.

Dong's work has been published in the Chinese editions of The New York Times and the Financial Times.

He won the prestigious Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 2006-2007. 

He was also a visiting fellow at Keio University in Japan in 2010 and a visiting professor at Hokkaido University in 2014.

Civil liberties and freedom of expression have dramatically receded in China under President Xi Jinping's decade-long tenure.

The Communist Party maintains tight restrictions on domestic media outlets, and Chinese nationals that work with foreign outlets are routinely harassed.

China is the worst country for jailing media workers with 44 journalists behind bars as of December last year, according to a Committee to Protect Journalists ranking.

In February, a Beijing court handed a suspended death sentence to jailed dissident writer Yang Hengjun after finding the dual Chinese-Australian citizen guilty on espionage charges.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Spanish hotels currently ask guests for their ID cards or passport details but the new decree requires businesses to collect up to 31 pieces of data.

Social media users are slamming the "Big Brother" attitude.

"Boycott Spanish islands altogether, rather go to Turkiye anyway," one user commented. "No great loss there. I hated my two weeks on holiday there," said another.

Spain defends the new rule

In a statement, Spain's Secretaria de Estado de Seguridad (State Secretariat for Security) said, "The greatest attacks on public safety are carried out by both terrorist activity and organised crime, in both cases with a marked transnational character."

It added that foreign nationals are involved in "terrorist threats and other serious crimes".

The new rules will also be applicable on guests staying at Airbnb.

What details are being sought?

From December 2, tourists will have to share personal details such as:

• Full name
• Gender
• Nationality
• Passport number
• Date of birth
• Home address
• Landline phone number (if you have one)
• Mobile phone number
• Email address

Those under the age of 14 are exempt from the new rule, but adults travelling with them must explain their relationship with children.

It is important to note that there are no penal provisions on tourists, but accommodation providers will be fined if proper data is not collected.

Five Chinese and six Russian military aircraft entered and exited the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone in the East Sea and South Sea from 9:35 am (0035 GMT) to 1:53 pm, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

But the planes crossed into the KADIZ "without violating South Korean airspace", the JCS said, adding that the military "identified the aircraft before they entered KADIZ and deployed Air Force fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies".

An air defence identification zone is a broader area than a country's airspace in which it tries to control aircraft for security reasons, but the concept is not defined in any international treaty.

China's defence ministry called the flights "their ninth joint strategic patrol", which occurred above the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea in South Korea.

It added in a post on its official social media account that the flights were held Friday "according to the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries".

South Korean military officials told local media that Chinese military aircraft flew towards the small Dokdo islands off South Korea's eastern coast, after passing between the Korean peninsula and Japan near the contested submerged rock of Ieodo.

Russian planes also flew south towards the Dokdo islets, known as Takeshima in Japanese.

Officials said the Chinese and Russian aircraft flew together over the sea south of Dokdo before departing.

Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea's air defence zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.

Similar incidents occurred in June and December last year, and in May and November 2022, with Beijing and Moscow describing the flights as "joint strategic air patrols".

South Korea's defence ministry on Friday "expressed regret" to China and Russia over their military aircraft entering the South's air defence zone and "flying for an extended period without prior notice", according to a statement.

The ministry requested that "appropriate measures be taken to prevent a recurrence", adding that such actions could "unnecessarily heighten tensions in the region".

China and Russia have expanded military and defence ties since Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine nearly three years ago.

Both are also traditional allies of North Korea, Seoul's arch-foe.

South Korea and the United States have accused nuclear-armed North Korea of sending thousands of soldiers to Russia to fight in Ukraine and this month Pyongyang ratified a landmark defence pact with Moscow.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

At the hospital, the doctors performed a nasal endoscopy and revealed a dice lodged in the 23-year-old's nasal cavity, the outlet reported. The doctors discovered the "foreign object" covered with secretions. Upon extraction, it turned out to be a 2-centimetre dice. 

"During the nasal endoscopy, we discovered a foreign object - a white lump coated with secretions. Upon extraction, it turned out to be a two-cm dice, partially corroded from being lodged in his nasal cavity for an extended period. It was located in the lower nasal passage, causing damage to the nasal mucosa," Dr Yang Rong, an otolaryngologist at the hospital, explained.

Doctors said that the situation was particularly dangerous because the dice had adhered to the surrounding tissues over the years. Any improper handling during the procedure could have caused it to fall into his airway, potentially leading to suffocation. Fortunately, the object was successfully removed through surgery. 

Also Read | Young Gorilla Dies At Canada Zoo After Accidentally Being Crushed By Hydraulic Door

It remains unclear if the 23-year-old has experienced any long-term health consequences or side effects from living with the dice for more than 20 years. 

Mr Xiaoma recalled that the dice may have accidentally entered his nose when he was around three or four years old.

Meanwhile, on social media, the incident has sparked a flurry of reactions. "He's only 23 years old, and the dice has been lodged in his nose for 20 years? How big was his nostril at three years old? Honestly, it's impressive he managed to live with that for 20 years," wrote one user. 

"This is really horrifying. It's been corroded. Just looking at the picture makes me uncomfortable," commented another. 

"This is a wake-up call for parents. Foreign objects in the nose are no joke; any abnormal symptoms should be addressed immediately at a hospital!" said a third user.

The House of Commons last debated, and defeated, a euthanasia bill in 2015, but public support for giving terminally ill people the choice to end their lives has since shifted in favour, polls show.

A change in the law would see Britain emulate several other countries in Europe and elsewhere who allow some form of assisted dying.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who is behind the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, opened the debate by arguing that changing the law would give terminally ill people "choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives".

Advocates also argue that it would make some deaths less painful.

But other MPs expressed concern that people might feel coerced into opting for euthanasia, while some said they were worried it would discriminate against people with disabilities.

Opponents also worry that the healthcare system is not ready for such a landmark change and that it could cause a decline in investment for palliative care.

"True dignity consists in being cared for to the end," Conservative MP Danny Kruger told a close-to-full chamber, urging colleagues to reject a "state suicide service".

Outside, dozens of opponents gathered holding signs with "Kill the Bill, not the ill" and "care not killing", urging MPs to vote against the proposed legislation.

A nearby gathering in favour of the legislation saw people dressed in pink holding placards with slogans like "my life, my death, my choice".

Assisted suicide currently carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

'Shortening death'

In Scotland, which has a separate legal system and devolved powers to set its own health policy, it is not a specific criminal offence. But it can leave a person open to other charges, including murder.

Leadbeater's bill would allow assisted suicide in England and Wales for adults with an incurable illness who have a life expectancy of fewer than six months and are able to take the substance that causes their death themselves.

Any patient's wish to die would have to be signed off by a judge and two doctors.

The measures are stricter than assisted dying laws in other European countries and also proposed legislation being contemplated in France.

Consideration is being given to a similar bill in Scotland.

Leadbeater's initiative is a so-called private members' bill and is not part of the government's agenda.

The debate was due to end at 2:00 pm (1400 GMT), with a vote on progressing the bill to its next parliamentary stage expected shortly afterwards.

MPs will have a free vote, meaning the outcome is very difficult to predict.

If the legislation is advanced then it would kickstart parliamentary scrutiny that could take months or years.

The bill follows Prime Minister Keir Starmer's vow, before winning power in July, to allow parliament to revisit the issue.

The UK leader, who voted in favour of permitting assisted suicide in 2015 but with "robust" safeguards, has not revealed his current view.

His ministerial team had been instructed to remain neutral but several expressed views, both in support and against.

Two polls last week indicated that a majority of Britons back changing the law.

Faith leaders are among the stringent opponents, with nearly 30 signing a joint letter last weekend arguing they are "deeply concerned" by the plans.

Ex-premiers Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Gordon Brown have all said they oppose the legislation.

But former prime minister David Cameron, who resisted the 2015 law change, revealed he had changed his mind on the issue.

"As campaigners have convincingly argued, this proposal is not about ending life. It is about shortening death," he wrote in The Times newspaper on Thursday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Her mother, Svetlana Krivonogikh, with whom Putin allegedly had a love affair was a cleaner once but is now a multi-millionaire. According to UK-based daily, The Telegraph, she is now worth £83 million and owns multiple houses in Monte Carlo, a yacht and is a board member of Bank Rossiya - a bank used by the elites to move money around. Apart from this, she also has a stake in the Igora Ski Resort near Finland and is the director of National Media Group, which is used to regulate key propaganda channels by the Kremlin.

Leaked Pandora Papers brought out in the open how Krivonogikh gradually became rich after 2000 when Putin became Russia's president.

Proekt, an independent investigative news organisation, mentions that Krivonogikh and Putin developed a friendship when he was St Petersburg's mayor, while also being married to Lyudmila Shkrebneva, with whom he has two legitimate daughters.

Rozova had social media accounts, on which she posted photos of herself, posing and dancing. However, she deleted her accounts in 2022, shortly after Putin announced the invasion of Ukraine, when she was trolled in the comments with people posting Ukraine flag emojis and accusing her of hiding in a bunker.

So, according to Luiza Rozova's birth certificate, she does not have a father's name but her patronymic name has been mentioned as Vladimirovna but Rozova denied any connection by saying, "Listen, judging by his young photos, probably, yes, it looks similar. But, as it turned out, there are a lot of people who look like Vladimir Vladimirovich", using the formal address in Russian.

Andrey Zakharov, now a BBC journalist, had then broken the story for Proekt. "Have I caused you a bad trauma by my investigation?" he asked Rozova on Clubhouse, a social audio app, to which she replied, "Oh no, not at all. My life was so stagnant, I am very grateful for the chance to be in the limelight, that people heard about my account."
 

Spain's labour minister Yolanda Diaz said that the new measure aims to "regulate in accordance with the climate emergency" so that "no worker must run risks". If emergency authorities raise the alarm about a risk, "the worker must refrain from going to work", said Ms Diaz, per the outlet. Separately, the government stated that employees can resort to a reduced working day beyond the four-day period, a mechanism that already exists for emergencies. 

"In the face of climate denialism from the right, the Spanish government is committed to green policies," the labour minister added. 

Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo highlighted the growing financial impact of extreme weather, warning that related costs could double by 2050. He also announced 2.3 billion euros in new aid for flood victims.

Also Read | Massive 411-Mile Snowstorm To Hit UK This Week, Warnings Issued

In October, Valencia was hit the hardest by the floods, with at least 216 fatalities reported in the region. Conservative regional president Carlos Mazon admitted mistakes, however, he resisted calls to resign, describing the floods as an "apocalyptic" event that overwhelmed systems.

Notably, just two weeks after the devastating floods, torrential rains returned to Spain, forcing 3,000 residents in Malaga to evacuate their homes.

Climate experts have linked the intensifying rainfall to human-driven climate breakdown. According to The Guardian, they explained that this is because warmer air can hold more water vapour, making extreme rainfall events more frequent and severe, particularly in Europe, most of Asia, central and eastern North America and parts of South America, Africa and Australia. However, the extent of flooding is also influenced by factors such as flood defences and land use, experts said. 

Studying CMEs is one of the most important scientific objectives of Aditya-L1.

"Made up of charged particles, a CME could weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed of up to 3,000 kilometres per second while travelling. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth," Prof R Ramesh of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics that designed Velc told the BBC.

"Now imagine this huge fireball hurtling towards Earth. At its top speed, it would take just about 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance," he further said.

How can Aditya-L1 mission protect our infrastructure?

The CMEs can lead to serious impact since the charged particles can make all satellites and electronic equipment malfunction. These particles can also knock down power grids and affect the weather.

Scientists say if they are able to see a solar storm in real time and track its trajectory, they can switch off power grids and satellites to protect them.

NASA and space agencies of other countries have also been watching the Sun for decades. But the coronagraph on Aditya-L1 has a slight advantage over other missions' equipment.

"With Velc, we can precisely estimate the time a coronal mass ejection begins and in which direction it's headed," said Professor Ramesh.

About Aditya-L1 mission

Named after the Hindi word for Sun, this mission follows ISRO's achievement of being the first country to successfully land on the Moon's south pole, surpassing Russia's failed Luna-25 with the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Chandrayaan-3 landed on the unexplored south pole of the Moon in August last year.

Scientists involved in the project aim to gain insights into the impact of solar radiation on the increasing number of satellites in orbit, with a particular focus on phenomena affecting ventures like Elon Musk's Starlink communications network.

The clip showed a man seemingly praying on top of a 25-foot-tall tower of shipping containers erected to block protesters from reaching their destination. Security forces are then seen following him to the top, surrounding him and then pushing him off the edge. 

Take a look below: 

Pakistani police throw man from three-story-high stack of shipping containers while he is praying pic.twitter.com/vjaVXza4Vb

— Bad Cops ? (@CopsGoneWrong) November 27, 2024

According to The Independent, the condition of the man remains unknown. A PTI official said that the party was still investigating what happened to him. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan was marred by protests in the past few days. At least six people - four security forces and two civilians - died in the clashes during the protests. On Wednesday, police in Islamabad also said that 600 protesters had been arrested following Tuesday's operation, bringing the total since the protest sit-in began to over 1,000.

On Sunday, Imran Khan's party launched a march toward Islamabad, demanding the release of the jailed leader. Protesters said that they would not leave the capital until Mr Khan, who is in prison on several criminal charges including fraud, was freed. However, as they made their way to Democracy Square on Tuesday, they were pushed back by police firing tear gas. 

Also Read | US Embassy In Pakistan Issues Security Alert For Peshawar

On Wednesday, PTI said that the protests had been "temporarily suspended" due to the "government's brutality". It said Pakistan government forces had "launched a violent assault" on peaceful protesters "firing live rounds with the intent to kill as many people as possible". The party also claimed, without providing evidence, that several of their party workers were killed during the crackdown and appealed for an investigation. 

Law enforcement defended its actions, arguing that the protests had devolved into "terrorism" after security personnel were targeted and public property was damaged.

Notably, Imran Khan was arrested in 2023 over allegations that he and his wife Bushra Bibi accepted land as a bribe through a trust. Mr Khan also faces anti-terrorism charges tied to clashes that followed his arrest. Other allegations include unlawfully disclosing state secrets in 2022, for which he was acquitted, and an unlawful marriage in 2018, also resulting in acquittal.

The Ministry of External Affairs, in its weekly press briefing, told reporters that India has been in touch with the interim government in Bangladesh on a routine and consistent basis regarding the rising cases of communal incidents targeting the Hindu minority.

"India has consistently and strongly raised with the Bangladesh government the threats and targeted attacks on Hindus and other minorities. Our position on the matter is clear - the interim government must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities," the foreign ministry said.

"We are concerned at the surge of extremist rhetoric, increasing incidents of violence and provocation. These developments cannot be dismissed only as media exaggeration," it added.

On the Bangladesh government calling renowned international religious group ISKCON a "fundamental organisation", the Ministry of External Affairs responded by saying, "ISKCON is a globally well-regarded organisation with a strong record of social service. We once again call upon Bangladesh to take all steps for the protection of minorities."

The reference to ISKCON as a "religious fundamentalist" organisation was part of the Bangladesh Attorney General's response to a question about the origin of the group in Bangladesh.

Regarding a popular Hindu priest - Chinmoy Krishna Das - being arrested in Bangladesh, the foreign ministry said "As far as cases against individuals are concerned, we have noted that legal processes are underway.  We expect that these processes will deal with the case in a just, fair and transparent manner, ensuring full respect for the legal rights of all concerned."

Chandan Kumar Dhar Prokash alias Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari is a spokesperson of the Sanatan Jagaran Mancha. He was the former head of ISKCON-operated religious site named Pundarik Dham in Chittagong.

On Thursday, Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina spoke out about the arrest of a Hindu priest in her country. She said "A top leader of Sanatan religious community has been unjustly arrested, he must be released immediately. A temple has been burnt in Chittagong. Previously, mosques, shrines, churches, monasteries and homes of the Ahmadiyya community were attacked, vandalized and looted and set on fire. Religious freedom and security of life and property of people of all communities should be ensured."

Since Sheikh Hasina was forced to step down as prime minister, the new military-backed interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Mohammed Yunus, has faced criticism for failing to control violence against minorities. This includes instances of vandalism and desecration at temples, damage of Hindu businesses and properties, and homes of Hindus being attacked.
 

Although there were 44 vacant positions, the by-polls are being conducted only for 41 local-level positions. Among the positions up for grabs are two chairs of rural municipalities, four vice-chairpersons, one municipal chief, one deputy chief and 32 ward chairpersons, news agency PTI reported.

Earlier, the two chiefs of district coordination committees and one ward chairperson were elected unopposed. A total of 376 candidates, including independents, are in the fray for by-election.

Who are the transgender candidates?

With hope for political representation among the sexual and gender minorities in Nepal, Honey Maharjan and Mouni Maharjan have filed their nomination for different positions in the by-elections.

Honey, 44, is running for the post of mayor of Kirtipur, located on the outskirts of Nepal's capital city Kathmandu, AFP reported.

Currently working as a tour guide, Honey was brought up in a poor family. Struggling to make ends meet, she earlier used to wash dishes at a restaurant and even worked at a garment factory.

Mouni Maharjan, on the other hand, is eying a victory from the ward chair position in the same municipality. Mouni, 29, and Honey are representing Nepal's People's Socialist Party.

LGBTQ rights in Nepal

While Nepal has progressive laws on LGBTQ rights, nobody from the community has ever held public office since 2008, when a gay person emerged as a lawmaker in the Parliament of Nepal after getting nominated under the proportional representation system.

Honey hopes that her candidature will "inspire others in the queer community to participate openly in future elections".

Even after progressive laws, people from the community face discrimination in various sectors such as employment, healthcare and education in Nepal.

"Until now, not one of our community members exercised the right to run for mayoral elections in Nepal," said Honey. Recalling her "nightmare" past, she added that she faced a lot of discrimination and abuse and hoped to bring change.

Meanwhile, Mouni said her priorities included not just improvement in infrastructure and sanitation but also fighting the stigma against LGBTQ people.

Mouni will work to add a "curriculum in school courses regarding the community", she said. This will allow the new generation to "easily accept our presence" and treat them better.
 

While it may seem that whale sharks and orcas battling it out would be one titanic battle, the reality is not as grand. According to the study published in the journal, Frontiers in Marine Science, the orcas gather at feeding sites in the Gulf of California where whale sharks are not fully grown. The young whale sharks measure three to seven metres which allows the killer whales to dominate them.

Additionally, whale sharks have tiny teeth that they do not use for any defence mechanism. Their only defence is flailing or diving down, deep into the waters, nearly 2,000 metres.

"The animals have shown us over and over again that they are extremely good at developing highly specialized strategies to target specific prey," Volker Deecke, a professor of wildlife conservation at the University of Cumbria in the UK.

Also Read | Killer Whales Sink $128,000 Yacht In Mediterranean Sea In Harrowing 2-Hour Attack

How do orcas hunt whale sharks?

After collating and analysing media footage collected between 2018 and 2024, orcas displayed a collaborative hunting technique to kill whale sharks. They focused on attacking the pelvic area and bleeding out the whale sharks by hitting them at high speed.

The orcas then flip the victim so it is floating up and unable to dive down to escape. After the whale sharks have bled out, killer whales rip their internal organs out and consume the lipid-rich liver.

An individual adult male, nicknamed “Moctezuma” was involved in three of the four hunting events while a female orca was observed and seen participating in one event.

Ocras and their feeding habits

Contrary to popular knowledge, orcas are the largest of the dolphins, immediately recognisable by their unique black-and-white complexion. They sit atop the food chain and have a diverse diet - often consisting of fish, penguins and sea lions.

Their behaviour resembles that of a wolf pack as a deadly pod can contain up to 40 individuals. They all use effective, cooperative hunting techniques which makes them one of the deadliest creatures in the water kingdom.

Eight days ahead of the December 7 reopening of the cathedral, President Emmanuel Macron will conduct an inspection, broadcast live on television, which will provide the first official insight into how the 850-year-old edifice now looks inside.

Nous y sommes. pic.twitter.com/oBjrTpuvFZ

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) November 29, 2024

Notre Dame will welcome back visitors and worshippers over the December 7-8 weekend after a sometimes challenging restoration to return to its former glory the great Paris cathedral badly damaged by the April 19, 2019 fire.

Macron at the time set the ambitious goal to rebuild Notre Dame within five years and make it "even more beautiful" than before, a target that the French authorities say has been met.

Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for a restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros in what was dubbed the "building site of the century".

All 2,000 people who contributed to the work have been invited to Friday's event, of whom at least 1,300 are expected to attend.

"This final site visit is an opportunity to thank them in particular -- from wood craftsmen to those of metal and stone, from scaffolders to roofers, from bell makers to art restorers, from gilders to masons and sculptors, from carpenters to organ builders, from architects, archaeologists, engineers and planners to logistical or administrative functions," stated Macron ahead of the visit.

Accompanied by his wife Brigitte, Macron is expected from 0930 GMT to inspect the key areas of the cathedral including the nave, choir and chapel and discuss the restoration in person with the workers.

The restoration cost a total of nearly 700 million euros (more than $750 million at today's rate).

It was financed from the 846 million euros in donations that poured in from 150 countries in an unprecedented surge of solidarity.

Major reopening expected

The 19th-century gothic spire has now been resurrected with an exact copy of the original, the stained windows have regained their colour, the walls shining after fire stains cleaned and a restored organ ready to thunder out again.

Unseen to visitors is a new mechanism to protect against any future fires, a discreet system of pipes ready to release millions of water droplets in case of a new disaster.

Notre Dame, which welcomed 12 million visitors in 2017, expects to receive an even higher figure of "14 to 15 million" after the reopening, according to the church authorities.

French ministers have also floated the idea of charging tourists an entrance fee to the site but the Paris diocese has said free admission was an important principle to maintain. 

Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich told AFP last month that Macron will on Saturday, December 7 give an address inside Notre Dame to mark the reopening.

It is extremely unusual for a political leader to be allowed to address the faithful inside a Catholic religious building. France is by its constitution a secular country with a strict division between church and state.

World leaders are expected to join but the guest list has yet to be unveiled.

The next day, Sunday December 8, will see the first mass and consecration of the new altar, he added. 

Macron in December said he had invited Pope Francis to the reopening of the cathedral but the head of the Catholic church announced in September, to the surprise of some observers, that he would not be coming.

Instead, the pontiff is on the subsequent weekend making a landmark visit to the French island of Corsica.

The French Catholic church has in recent years been rocked by a succession of sexual abuse allegations against clerics, including most recently the monk known as Abbe Pierre who became a household name for his aid to the destitute.

Over five years on, the investigation into what caused the fire is ongoing, with initial findings backing an accidental cause such as a short circuit, a welder's torch or a cigarette.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In a show of resolve in defending Ukraine against Russian aggression and to ensure Moscow's deployment of North Korean troops in Kursk did not go unchallenged, the US, along with the UK and France, granted Kyiv permission earlier this month to use long-range weapons to strike Russia. Within 24 hours, Ukraine fired 6 ATACMS missiles into Bryansk and launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Kursk the following day. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved changes to the nuclear doctrine, which had been proposed in September this year.

The revised doctrine lowered the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. Russia further retaliated with the test-launch of a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile, Oreshnik, hitting a defence industry production facility in Dnipro. This marked the first time Russia had used medium-range ballistic missiles in combat, opening a new chapter in the conflict and bringing it closer to the brink of nuclear escalation.

Ukraine's request to use American ATACMS and Anglo-French Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles was initially considered by US President Biden in September. However, the request went unanswered after Russia's Security Council proposed updating its nuclear doctrine. With aggressive posturing from Moscow, Kyiv's request to use these weapons was ultimately denied. Following Donald J. Trump's victory in November, a potential end to the conflict seemed imminent, as Trump expressed his desire to bring the war to a close and secure a ceasefire in Ukraine. However, Biden remains committed to keeping Washington involved, potentially dragging the next administration into defending Ukraine.

The Shift In Tempo

Following Russia's strike on Dnipro, Kyiv targeted an advanced air defence system in Kursk. On November 25th, a salvo of ATACMS struck Khalino in the Kursk region. Ukraine now has the capability to strike up to 300 km into the Russian territory, with areas such as Smolensk, Kaluga, Tula, Kursk, Bryansk, Oryol, Voronezh, and Rostov-on-Don within range. These regions host military bases, airfields, and large concentrations of troops.

Moscow views these attacks as a direct indication of US and European involvement in the war, as Ukrainian forces would need to coordinate with Western troops to operate these advanced weapons systems. Furthermore, Biden's approval of anti-personnel mine transfers to Ukraine violates the 1997 Ottawa Convention, which was ratified by Kyiv. In response to these developments, Moscow has escalated its strikes on Ukraine. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, since Kyiv's first long-range strike, Moscow has launched over 800 KAB bombs, 460 drones, and 20 missiles at Ukrainian targets.

Ukraine is manoeuvring on fragile ground, as Russian forces continue to advance in Donbass, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, while inching closer to the Kharkiv region. Kyiv is losing territory in Kursk, with over 40% of the land it claimed in Russia having been recaptured by Russian forces, bolstered by the presence of thousands of North Korean troops. It is likely that Washington's approval was a last-ditch symbolic effort to slow Russia's advance and prevent Ukraine from losing further territory.

Nuclear Sabre-Rattling

Along with increasing attacks and strikes, Russia's new nuclear doctrine aims to reinforce its red lines to the West. Among the new ground rules is the potential use of nuclear weapons by Moscow in the event of a conventional attack. This marks a departure from the 2020 doctrine, which stipulated that nuclear weapons would only be used if Russia was struck by nuclear weapons or if the state's existence was threatened by a conventional attack. Russia's nuclear sabre-rattling has continued since the conflict began in 2022. According to some estimates, Kremlin has made over 230 references to its nuclear capabilities, signalling its readiness to escalate further.

All Eyes On Trump

The arrival of Trump in the White House is eagerly anticipated by Putin, as Trump's peace plan suggests a potential shift in Washington's policy and a possible endgame to the war. As a result, further escalation from Moscow appears unlikely. In light of recent developments, Trump's pick for national security advisor, Michael Waltz, has called on both parties to exercise restraint and bring the current escalation to a "responsible end," while restoring the importance of deterrence and peace. Yet, despite Trump's campaign promise to end the war in Ukraine, the evolving situation on the ground may compel him to pursue a policy similar to that of his predecessor, sustaining American support for Ukraine. All the stakeholders in this conflict, including the Biden administration are aiming to shape the choices of the incoming Presidency of Trump.

(Harsh V Pant is Vice President for Studies at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.  Rajoli Siddharth Jayaprakash is a Research Assistant at ORF)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
 

Why is UAE National Day celebrated?

According to local outlets, Eid Al Etihad commemorates the historic moment when in 1971 when the seven emirates came together to form a unified nation under the leadership of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

'Spirit of the Union' is the official theme of the UAE's National Day celebrations. Several events are organised for the residents to celebrate the occasion.

Guidelines for UAE residents on National Day

Khaleej Times said that the UAE government has banned random marches or gatherings. It also carried a detailed list of guidelines to be followed:

• Adhere to all traffic regulations and follow instructions issued by police officers
• Refrain from using party sprays by drivers, passengers or pedestrians
• Ensure the vehicle's front and rear license plates remain visible; do not alter the vehicle's colour or darken/tint the front windows
• Do not place stickers, signs or logos of any kind on the vehicle unless they are specifically for Eid Al Etihad and comply with official guidelines and conditions
• Do not exceed the permitted number of passengers in a vehicle, and do not let anyone out through the windows or the sunroof of your car
• Avoid making unauthorised modifications to the vehicle or adding unlicensed features that cause noise or obstruct vision
• Do not obstruct traffic, block roads for emergency vehicles (ambulance, civil defence, police patrols), or perform stunts on internal or external roads
• Do not cover the vehicle's side, front, or rear windows with stickers, and avoid using sunshades that block visibility

Things to do during UAE National Day celebrations

Celebrations in Dubai will be held for six days - from November 28 to December 3 - with shopping deals, acts by acrobats, musical performances, fireworks, and a range of culinary experiences.

The city of Sharjah has made entry to all public museums free on December 1 and 2.

The official celebrations will be held in Al Ain and attended by the country's rulers and leaders.

Wallace's lawyers have denied all the allegations but MasterChef's production company has launched an investigation and said the presenter is cooperating.

Ms Wark said her overall experience while filming the show was "joyous" but added, "The fly in the ointment, on occasion, was Gregg Wallace."

"I was actually more angry than anything else, because I thought it was so inappropriate. And in a sense what I thought was it was about power more than anything else, that he felt he could," said Ms Wark.

BBC said during the investigation, they found Wallace openly talked about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female co-worker and telling a junior female colleague he wasn't wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans.

Rod Stewart, whose wife, Penny Lancaster, appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021, reacted to Wallace's break from the show, calling him a "tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully".

"So Greg Wallace gets fired from Master Chef. Good riddance Wallace... You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn't you? You're a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya. Sir Rod Stewart," Stewart said in the post.

Wallace, meanwhile, posted a video on Instagram on Thursday thanking people for supporting him.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gregg Wallace MBE (@greggawallace)

"I would like to thank all the people getting in touch, reaching out and showing their support. It's good of you - thank you very much," he said.

Claim: Video of a cloud sinking/ falling from the sky in Indonesia.

Fact: The white substance seen in the video is not an actual cloud falling from the sky. The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Director confirmed that it is most likely a condensation of water vapour or gas created due to human activity and not a natural cloud. Hence, the claim made in the post is False. 

To check the veracity of the viral claim, we searched the internet using relevant keywords to see if the media had reported this incident. This search led us to a news report published by The Times of India about this incident.

According to this report, this incident did indeed happen in an industrial area in Indonesia. It also mentioned that the local authorities have concluded that the foam-like substance seen in the video “was most likely created due to the condensation of pollutants in the surrounding industrial and mining areas.”

To learn more about this incident, we ran a keyword search on the internet in Indonesian, which led us to multiple local news reports (here, here, and here) on this incident. 

As per these reports, this incident happened in the Morong Raya area in the Kalimantan province of Indonesia, and the video went viral on social media. CNN Indonesia and VOI reported that the white mass seen falling from the sky was not a cloud. 

This was confirmed by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) of Indonesia. Per the reports, the Director of BMKG said that the white mass seen in the video is not a natural cloud but a condensation of water vapour or gas due to human activity that occurs in the mining area.' 

“Andri explained that the clouds cannot fall to the surface as dense clumps because the particles are very light and scattered with low density. This is because clouds are a collection of very small and light water droplets or ice crystals, so they continue to float in the atmosphere with the help of air currents.” VOI reported. He further said that cloud particles generally evaporate before reaching the ground.

According to National Geographic, clouds are a visual accumulation of water droplets in the Earth's atmosphere, and they are found at heights of 2000-12000 meters above the Earth's surface. You can find more information about clouds here, here, and here. 

To sum up, a video of a white mass occurring due to condensation of water vapour or gas is falsely shared as visuals of a cloud falling from the sky.

(This story was originally published by Factly, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

According to the South China Morning Post, a group of matchmaking companies in southwestern China has come under police scrutiny for defrauding desperate single men out of significant sums of money, while some women posed as potential brides in the scam. Some of these women earned as much as 300,000 yuan (Rs 35 lakh) within months.

According to a statement from a court in Guiyang, Guizhou province, released in September, a police station in the Huaguoyuan area has received 180 reports of matchmaking fraud since March last year.

What Are 'Flash' Marriages And Divorces?

As per SCMP, just days after male clients met the women arranged by the agency, they agreed to marry. They were instructed to sign contracts with the agency and pay hundreds of thousands of yuan as a bride price.

These marriages are referred to as "flash weddings" because the brides would often flee, vanish, or pressure the men into divorce through various means, including frequent conflicts after a brief period together.

A person who had already worked as former customer service representative at one of the agencies before the police raid said that there was no shortage of male customers.

"We do not worry about the source of male customers at all. There are many across the country," the worker was quoted as saying. "We can select a male customer for blind dates from 40 to 50 candidates every day."

He noted that following the intensified crackdown by Guiyang authorities, some of these agencies had relocated their operations to nearby Yunnan province.

Adolf Eichmann, one of the main architects of the "Final Solution" aimed at wiping out Europe's Jews, was tried by an Israeli court in April 1961 after being abducted from Argentina.

He was hanged on May 31, 1962 at Ramleh prison near Tel Aviv, the only person ever to be executed in Israel.

Nagar was a prison service employee at the time and chosen to hang Eichmann.

Eichmann, 55 at the time of his trial, had organised the logistics of the Final Solution that sent some six million Jews to their deaths during World War II.

Born in Yemen, Nagar moved to Israel in 1948 and became religious after leaving the prison service.

A documentary film was made about Nagar in 2011.

"For a year, I had nightmares because of him," he said in the film of Eichmann.

He lived in the Kiryat Arba settlement in the occupied West Bank, according to media reports.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

On average, 130,000 visitors come to Greenland every year on cruise ships or planes. The number is expected to increase with the country's tourism sector opening up. But officials hope it doesn't become too unwieldy.

Greenland's tourism sector and economy are expected to grow with the inauguration of the new airport.

Jens Lauridsen, chief executive of Greenland Airports, estimated that each flight will add $200,000 to the nation's economy. Those arriving in Greenland should know they are not in for a standard tourism experience, he said.

“We're located in the Arctic,” Lauridsen said, adding that visitors will be in for an "adventure".

Starting in June, United Airlines will offer nonstop seasonal flights to the region from major cities such as  Newark and New Jersey, and the journey will take a little over four hours only.

Before the new airport, people who wished to travel to Greenland by air had to fly into smaller cities like Kangerlussuaq to the north or Narsarsuaq. 

The US military bases, built there during the Second World War, are capable of accommodating larger planes.

The new airport will now serve as the base for Air Greenland, which will operate Airbus A330neo planes to Copenhagen, Denmark. This will allow the airline to handle 800 passengers an hour. There will also be flights linking Nuuk to Reykjavik, Iceland.

By 2026 end, two more airports are scheduled to be inaugurated in Greenland. These will connect Ilulissat in the north and Qaqortoq in the south. 

With only around 56 miles (90 kilometres) of paved roads, locals and tourists in Greenland will still be required to fly or take boats to reach their desired destinations, while these airports will significantly open up travel.
 

"I definitely have interviewed thousands and thousands of people throughout my 15-year career," she says. She shared that each interview process starts with a resume, and she needs to be convinced why she should move forward with that candidate. 

"If the resume is not presentable," she says, that can prevent her from passing it along. Here are two of her biggest red flags.

Typos raise eyebrows. "I've seen somebody spell their name wrong," says Levine. "I've seen somebody spell the name of their university incorrectly, or the company that they worked for." Ms Levine says the typos show a lack of attention to detail that reflects poorly on the candidate.

She shared that a single spelling error on a resume can be ignored, but more than that "doesn't look good," adding "it would discourage a company from meeting with a candidate."

Ms Levine revealed that she sometimes helps candidates and gives her feedback on the typos. She recommends every job-seeker "go back and double check all the information to make sure it's accurate" before submitting anything.  

Second, a resume needs to be accurate.

"Don't try to fudge the dates [to] make a gap seem shorter" between jobs, says Ms Levine.

Don't lie on your resume. Citing an example, Ms Levine shared don't say you have a degree if you left school a few credits shy of graduating, or if you never attended at all. Some people are "embarrassed to say they don't have" a degree, she says, so they lie and say they do.

She emphasised that the truth will come out in a background check, she says, and it'll make it very hard for that prospective employer to trust you going forward.

"I've seen countless offers being pulled from candidates" who lie, she says.

According to Hansons Auctioneers, the book is one of 500 hardback copies printed during the first-ever print run in 1997. It was estimated to be worth between 30,000 pounds and 50,000 pounds.

Adam McCulloch, from Tansley, Derbyshire, said the copy had been stashed in a cupboard beneath the stairs of his family's old Chesterfield home. The family only became aware of its possible worth during the 2020 lockdown after reading about the sales of first editions.

"Once we got it verified it was a bit of a pinch yourself moment," he said.

Talking about her 1997 purchase, Christine McCulloch said, “We went in [the bookshop], bought it for 10 pounds. Adam really loved the book and it started this sort of fascination, as with so many children all over the world now.”

Adam believed it was the right time to sell the book so others could appreciate it.

"In some ways, I think having that bit of a story around it, some tea stains there and a folded over corner here where someone's enjoyed reading it - I think that adds to the magic," he said.

The Harry Potter book series, written by British author JK Rowling, consists of seven books written over 10 years. The series chronicles the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, who study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Although cotton from Xinjiang is considered among the best fabrics around the world, it fell out of favour after it came to light that the Muslim Uyghur minority was pushed into forced labour to produce it, BBC reported.

China stands as a crucial market for Uniqlo from both customers' points of view and as a major manufacturing hub.

Earlier, tough regulations from the US came into effect on the import of goods from China's Xinjiang region.

In recent times, several global companies have removed products made using cotton from Xinjiang from their shelves. This ultimately led to a fierce backlash in China where big names such as Nike, Adidas, H&M, Nike, Burberry and Esprit were boycotted.

H&M witnessed its clothes removed from major e-commerce stores in China.

Addressing the issue then, Yanai, who is the richest man in Japan, refused to deny or confirm whether Uniqlo was using cotton from Xinjiang. He simply said he wanted to be "neutral between the US and China".

As a result, his decision helped the Japanese brand to remain quite popular in the retail market of China.

While Uniqlo expands its business in Europe and the US, Yanai said, "We are not a known brand globally," adding that Asia remains its biggest market.

As far as the company's presence in China is concerned, it has more stores in the country than Japan, its home country. And Yanai said he was not planning to change that strategy despite the challenges in the second-biggest economy in the world.

He said that while there are 1.4 billion people in China, they only have 900 to 1,000 stores there. "I think we can increase that to 3,000," he added.

Apart from China, the company also makes clothes in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The research, published in the Pacific Conservation Biology on Thursday, found that Carnaby's cockatoos can live for up to 35 years in the wild, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Carnaby's cockatoo is a large black cockatoo endemic to the southwest of Australia's state of Western Australia (WA). It has been officially recognised as an endangered species since 1999.

The research team from the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions looked at eight live wild birds, five females and three males, and found their ages ranged from 21 to 35 years.

It puts the species in the top 2 per cent of all wild birds globally in terms of longevity.

The oldest bird, a male, was photographed by the researchers in 2021 and identified by a leg band it was fitted in November 1986.

"This sighting was the first time the cockatoo had been observed since the breeding season in 1986 when it fledged from a nest hollow 5.7 kilometres from where it was photographed," the study said.

"Its estimated hatching date was September 24, 1986, and it was 35 years old when photographed. This is the oldest living Carnaby's cockatoo recorded in the wild."

All eight of the studied birds were still breeding at the time when they were photographed by the researchers.

The 35-year-old had strayed the furthest from its natal site, with the remaining seven all remaining within 2.5 kilometres.

The researchers said that the findings show that conservation efforts for the species should focus on older adults as well as juveniles.

They said it is important for the species' sustainable survival that adults live out their long lifespans and continue breeding.

Carnaby's cockatoos have a low rate of reproduction, with females typically laying only two eggs every year and fledging one hatchling. Juveniles also have low survival rates in the wild -- all characteristics the researchers said are shared by fellow long-living birds such as albatrosses and petrels.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Thanksgiving is observed every year in the US on the fourth Thursday of November to honour the blessings and harvest of the year.

“Our Crew up here just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family who are down on Earth and everyone who is supporting us,” Williams said in a video message, shared by NASA on Wednesday.

The astronauts shared that NASA has provided them with food items like butternut squash, apples, sardines, and smoked turkey for the occasion.

In a recent interview with NBC News, Williams shared her plans of celebrating the day, along with other astronauts -- Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov -- aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The plans include watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and a lavish feast with “some smoked turkey, some cranberry, apple cobbler, green beans and mushrooms and mashed potatoes.”

In June Williams and Butch Willmore became the first to ride the much-delayed Starliner, developed by Boeing.

What began as an eight-day sojourn on the International Space Station (ISS) has now extended to eight months in space for Williams and Willmore as the faulty Starliner was declared unfit for human travel by NASA.

While Starliner is back on Earth unharmed, Williams is expected to return to Earth onboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February 2025.

Amid concerns for their prolonged stay in space, NASA recently said that both Williams and Willmore “are safe aboard the space station”. Williams also said that she is “feeling good, working out, and eating right,” amid claims of her weight loss in space.

The Indian-Origin astronaut also celebrated Diwali "from 260 miles above the earth on the ISS".

According to NASA, "Sunita has spent a cumulative total of 322 days in space”, and she is the second woman astronaut with the highest number of spacewalks.

--IANS

rvt/

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The 40-year-old chief executive of Meta -- which owns Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp -- has been carefully trying to mend ties with Trump.

Both men have had a strained relationship over the years, with Facebook being among social media networks that banned Trump after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

But on Wednesday, a Meta spokesperson said: "Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming Administration."

In a statement, the spokesperson added that it was an important time for the future of American innovation.

It was not immediately clear if billionaire Elon Musk, a close Trump ally who previously challenged Zuckerberg to a cage match fight, also attended the dinner, though he has frequently been present at Mar-a-Lago since the election.

Stephen Miller, Trump's incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, told Fox News on Wednesday that Zuckerberg "has been very clear about his desire to be a supporter of, and a participant in, this change that we're seeing all around America."

"He's made clear that he wants to support the national renewal of America under President Trump's leadership," Miller said in a televised interview.

While treading cautiously in Trump's first term, tech titans were quick to laud the Republican's election victory this time -- with Zuckerberg among those who offered his congratulations.

Before the election, Zuckerberg stopped election-related philanthropy and Meta modified its algorithms to reduce political content.

Zuckerberg had previously contributed large sums to fund nonprofits working to support US electoral infrastructure during the Covid pandemic.

The donations had been seized upon by Trump after his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, falsely alleging that they were part of a plot to swing the election.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In the message, Wojcicki reflected on her battle with the disease and highlighted the critical need for improved treatments. She also underscored the fact that lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women.

"At the end of 2022, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I had almost no symptoms and was running a few miles a day at the time. I had never smoked so I was totally shocked with this diagnosis. My life changed dramatically after that day. I decided to resign from my role as CEO of YouTube, to focus on my health and my family. I was able to live an almost normal life, thanks to modern medicine," she wrote.

After stepping down from her role as YouTube's CEO following her diagnosis, Susan Wojcicki remained active, serving on the boards of companies such as Salesforce, Planet Labs, and Waymo. In her letter, she shared how her illness profoundly altered her perspective on life.

"Having cancer hasn't been easy. As a person, I have changed a lot, and probably the most important lesson I have learned is just to focus and enjoy the present! Life is unpredictable for everyone, with many unknowns, but there is a lot of beauty in everyday life. My goals going forward are to enjoy the present as much as possible and fight for better understanding and cures for this disease," she added.

Wojcicki died on August 10 after a two-year battle with lung cancer. Her legacy now encompasses a dedication to raising awareness and advocating for progress in cancer treatments.

The president-elect on Monday placed both allies and rivals on notice, vowing to quickly slap an across-the-board tariff of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico, and add a 10 percent tariff on China.

Following through on that threat -- or his campaign promise of a 10 percent levy on all US imports -- will spark retaliation and have ripple effects across the global economy, analysts say.

"Our assumption is that all these other countries, all these other advanced economies, especially in Asia, they will retaliate in kind," economist Bernard Yaros of Oxford Economics told AFP.

US tariffs and retaliation including from Europe and Asia would "depress growth" and trade flows, he said, estimating a cut to global growth of 0.1 to 0.9 percentage points in 2026.

Even before tariffs take effect, threats weigh on sentiment and could delay investments and hiring, ING economists Ruben Dewitte and Inga Fechner warned in a note.

Trump has long viewed tariffs as a negotiating tool -- or an "all-purpose bludgeon" as a recent Wall Street Journal editorial put it.

On Monday, Trump said that the tariffs on Mexico and Canada would only be removed when illegal immigration and drug trafficking to the United States are stopped.

While seeking to build US leverage, he also risks longer term impacts, with some suggesting he would push countries toward China, Columbia Law School professor Petros Mavroidis said.

"What he definitely does is alienate all his allies," he told AFP.

Erin Murphy, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in Trump's threats "there is no differentiation" regarding countries' economic development status or affinity with Washington.

Europe pushback

Europe could be particularly impacted, Dewitte and Fechner said, warning that "a looming new trade war could push the eurozone economy from sluggish growth into recession."

EU tariffs on car imports were a particular target of Trump during his campaign.

But US reliance on the bloc for strategically important products, mainly in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, could give the EU some leverage in talks, ING said.

"European countries will be less likely to strike any kind of bargain with Trump than Canada or Mexico," said Peterson Institute for International Economics nonresident senior fellow Gary Hufbauer.

He expects the EU could offer to reduce auto tariffs and buy more US agricultural products like soybeans, but it may not be enough for an administration seeking greater market access or rules exemptions.

Should the US impose tariffs, the EU will probably retaliate on iconic US goods like iPhones or whiskey, he said.

European countries could turn to the World Trade Organization (WTO), though even favorable rulings from the international body may not significantly change US practices.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has said she will work towards "constructive cooperation" with US authorities.

Jovita Neliupsiene, the EU ambassador to the United States, meanwhile said the bloc is ready to respond to new trade frictions.

Avoiding escalation

In Asia, economies like Japan and South Korea could be targeted over metals and auto exports, while Vietnam may also draw US scrutiny over solar panels, Yaros said.

The US trade deficit with Vietnam has widened in recent years on a surge in goods imports.

Yaros said that countries targeted by Trump's tariffs, in seeking to avoid escalation, will "retaliate in a way that's commensurate to the action done by the US, but no greater."

China, based on precedent, might eschew equal retaliation for tools like export controls, he added.

Daniel Russel of the Asia Society Policy Institute said both Tokyo and Seoul are very focused on preparing for potential tariffs.

He expects partners like South Korea could seek exemptions from blanket US tariffs, for example, by citing its high-tech investments in America.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

It comes in the wake of a BBC documentary, aired in September, that detailed several claims of rape and sexual assault against the billionaire Egyptian businessman, who died in August last year aged 94.

More than 400 women and witnesses have since come forward alleging sexual misconduct against him, sparking scrutiny of how the London police force handled complaints stretching back decades.

The Met said "numerous victims, some reporting multiple offences" had come forward following a renewed public appeal. A dedicated unit would "review all reports and pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry", it added.

The force has previously said it had identified 60 potential victims.

Detectives are now probing "a number of individuals associated with" Al-Fayed and "working to establish what roles those individuals may have played in assisting and facilitating" any offences, it added.

Detectives are also reviewing all previous investigations to identify any "missed opportunities", the Met said, noting that investigative techniques and practices had "progressed significantly over the last 20 years".

They have already reviewed more than 50,000 pages of evidence, including victim and impact statements, according to the force.

"This investigation is about giving survivors a voice, despite the fact that Mohamed Al-Fayed is no longer alive to face prosecution," said Commander Stephen Clayman of the Met's Specialist Crime Command.

"However, we are now pursuing any individuals suspected to have been complicit in his offending, and we are committed to seeking justice."

Clayman acknowledged that "past events may have impacted the public's trust and confidence in our approach".

But he said the force was "determined to rebuild that trust by addressing these allegations with integrity and thoroughness".

Earlier this month, the Met referred itself to the UK police watchdog following complaints from two women about its handling of investigations into Al-Fayed's alleged sexual abuse.

Accusations have also emerged in recent weeks against his late brother Salah Fayed -- who died in 2010 -- during the period when he jointly owned Harrods.

Meanwhile, The New York Times this month published the claims of a victim accusing another brother, Ali, aged 80, of knowing about the "trafficking" of women.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

1.  Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, known within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) community as Sri Chinmay Krishna Prabhu, is an influential religious leader in Bangladesh. As President of Pundarik Dham, an ISKCON centre in Bangladesh, he has long been a voice for those seeking religious freedom and minority protection. He previously held the position of divisional organising secretary for ISKCON in Chattogram.
2. He was born in May 1985 in Karianagar village, located in the Satkania Upazila of Chattogram. Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari gained recognition for his skills as a child orator within religious circles. His spiritual journey began at a young age, and by 1997, at just 12 years old, he took diksha (initiation) and joined ISKCON as a brahmachari.
3. Brahmachari's arrest came after a high-profile rally in Chittagong on October 25, 2024. The precise motive behind the charges against Brahmachari remains unclear, but reports indicate that he faces accusations of disrespecting the Bangladeshi flag during a protest rally. Das, along with 18 others, has been charged with sedition. Just days before his arrest, on November 22, he spoke at a rally in Rangpur, denouncing the acts of violence on the Hindu community. On November 26, a Bangladesh court denied Das's bail petition and ordered his detention.
4. A few months ago, Brahmachari was relatively unknown. His rise to prominence began when violence erupted against the Hindu community in Bangladesh and their temples following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August. This turmoil brought the 39-year-old monk into the public eye as he emerged as a key figure advocating for the rights and safety of Hindus in the country. In just a few months, Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari has become one of the most prominent leaders of the Hindu community in Bangladesh.
5. In response to Brahmachari's arrest, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India expressed “deep concern” over the court's decision to deny him bail. An MEA statement emphasised that the arrest occurred against the backdrop of widespread violence against Hindus and other minority communities in Bangladesh. The MEA pointed out that these attacks, including arson, looting of minority-owned properties, theft, vandalism, and desecration of temples and deities, have continued unchecked. It was noted that despite these attacks, religious leaders like Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, who advocate for peaceful change, are facing charges, while the perpetrators of violence remain unpunished.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government should consider lowering the recruitment age to 18 from 25 to create a much-needed pipeline of new troops to rotate into the front lines, a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday. 

The message is the clearest signal yet of impatience from the US and its allies over Zelenskiy's reluctance to recruit younger soldiers. The Ukrainian leader has said that there's no need to lower the draft age, an idea which had been pushed by allies in response to his request for security and economic guarantees he deemed the country's "victory plan."

Zelenskiy's office didn't respond to a request for comment sent outside normal business hours in Kyiv.

With less than two months in office, the Biden administration has also sought to strengthen Ukraine's military capabilities before President-elect Donald Trump takes over. 

Trump has pledged to wind down the war quickly, and even Zelenskiy has said the conflict needs to end next year. It's still unclear, however, how that will play out as Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces steadily push further into Ukraine. 

The official said discussions have begun with the incoming Trump team but couldn't comment on what the new administration is planning. 

White House spokesman John Kirby, in a statement on Wednesday, offered reassurances that the Biden administration's commitment remained intact. "We're absolutely going to keep sending Ukraine weapons and equipment. We know that's vital," he said. "But so, too, is manpower at this point. In fact, we believe manpower is the most vital need they have. So, we're also ready to ramp up our training capacity if they take appropriate steps."   

Earlier: Trump Picks Keith Kellogg as Envoy for Ukraine and Russia

The Biden official said the administration in its final days intends to provide thousands of artillery rounds and rockets, as well as hundreds of missile interceptors, vehicles and other weapons systems using funds already appropriated by Congress. 

Ukraine has maintained that it still requires weapons and equipment for its current soldiers. Zelenskiy said in a Nov. 19 speech that the defense ministry must create incentives for citizens under 25 to join the war effort, but repeated there are no plans to change the draft age. 

"Let there be no speculation," he said, "our state is not preparing to lower the mobilization age."

The threats were made Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, and law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those targeted, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. While bomb threats are a common occurrence, "swatting" is a less known phenomenon.

An FBI spokesperson said the bureau is aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees and is working with its law enforcement partners.

What is Swatting?

Swatting is the filing of false reports to police to induce a potentially heavy, armed response by officers at someone's home. Law enforcement experts see it as a form of intimidation or harassment that is increasingly being used to target prominent figures.

This is often creating a situation where a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team arrives ready for a possible violent encounter.

"The individuals who engage in this activity use technology to make it appear that the emergency call is coming from the victim's phone," said one FBI public announcement in 2013, titled, "The Crime of 'Swatting': Fake 9-1-1 Calls Have Real Consequences - FBI.

"Sometimes swatting is done for revenge, sometimes as a prank. Either way, it is a serious crime, and one that has potentially dangerous consequences."

Most who engage in swatting are serial offenders also involved in other cyber crimes such as identity theft and credit card fraud, Kolbye said. They either want to brag about their swatting exploits or exact revenge on someone who angered them online.

Kevin Kolbye, an assistant special agent in charge in our Dallas Division suggests making a police report about any swatting threats you receive online. Such threats typically come from the online gaming community, where competitors can play and interact anonymously. With a report on file, if a 9-1-1 incident does occur at your home, the police will be aware that it could be a hoax.

"The FBI takes swatting very seriously," Kolbye said. "Working closely with industry and law enforcement partners, we continue to refine our technological capabilities and our investigative techniques to stop the thoughtless individuals who commit these crimes. The bottom line," he added, "is that swatting puts innocent people at risk."

(With inputs from Reuters)

After more than a year of conducting informal interviews with competitors and business partners, antitrust enforcers have crafted a detailed request to force Microsoft to turn over information, according to people familiar with the matter. The demand, which is hundreds of pages long, has been sent to the company after FTC Chair Lina Khan signed off, said one of the people.

FTC antitrust lawyers are set to meet with Microsoft competitors next week to gather more information about the Redmond, Washington-based company's business practices, according to two other people familiar with the plans who like the others asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter. 

Microsoft and the FTC declined to comment.

The FTC's scrutiny of Microsoft's cloud computing business gained steam after a string of cybersecurity incidents that involved the company's products. The company is a top government contractor, providing billions of dollars in software and cloud services to US agencies including the Defense Department.

The Microsoft information demand is one of Khan's parting shots as she steps down after helming one of the most aggressive pushes against consolidated corporate power the agency has delivered in decades. While business leaders are hoping that President-elect Donald Trump will usher in an era of lighter regulation, it will fall to his new FTC chair — still unnamed — to decide how to proceed with the case.

The FTC inquiry renews scrutiny of Microsoft for its business practices more than 25 years after the government sued the company over similar conduct involving bundling its Windows operating system and browser and unsuccessfully tried to break it up.

A key focus of the current probe is Microsoft's bundling of both its popular office productivity and security software with its cloud offerings, according to the people familiar with the information request.  

Microsoft's cybersecurity failings, combined with its heft as a government contractor, are seen by the FTC as an example of the company's problematic power over the market, those people said.

In a November 2023 report, the FTC highlighted concerns that the concentrated nature of the cloud market means that “outages, or other issues that degrade the service of a cloud provider, could have a cascading impact on the economy or specific sectors.”

The CrowdStrike crash that affected millions of devices operating on Microsoft Windows systems earlier this year was itself a testament to the widespread use of the company's products and how it directly affects the global economy.

A portion of the probe is focused on the company's practices related to security software called Microsoft Entra ID — formerly known as Azure Active Directory — which helps authenticate users logging in to cloud-based software, some of the people said.

Competitors have complained that Microsoft's licensing terms and bundling of software with cloud services makes it harder for rival authentication and cybersecurity companies to compete. 

Companies such as Salesforce Inc.'s Slack and Zoom Communications Inc. have said that Microsoft's practice of giving away its Teams video-conferencing software for free in a bundle with popular software products like Word and Excel is anticompetitive and makes it harder for them to compete.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Imran Khan, the former cricket star turned politician, has been in jail since August 2023 on corruption charges. His detention followed a turbulent year in which his government was ousted via a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022. 

Since then, Mr Khan has faced over 150 legal cases ranging from corruption to sedition. His popularity, however, remains undiminished among his supporters, who view him as a victim of political vendettas by the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. 

Photo Credit: AFP

On Sunday, Imran Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), launched a march toward Islamabad, demanding the release of its jailed leader. Thousands of PTI supporters, led by Mr Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, and other senior party leaders, descended upon the capital.

Mr Khan was arrested in May 2023 arrest over allegations that he and Bushra Bibi, accepted land as a bribe through a trust. Mr Khan also faces anti-terrorism charges tied to clashes that followed his arrest. Other allegations include unlawfully disclosing state secrets in 2022, for which he was acquitted, and an unlawful marriage in 2018, also resulting in acquittal.

In August 2023, Mr Khan was arrested for allegedly selling state gifts, a case in which Bushra Bibi, now leading protests, was also implicated but granted bail in October. Though Mr Khan secured bail in November, he remains imprisoned on other charges.

Rally Turns Violent

What began as a support rally for Mr Khan quickly turned violent. By Tuesday night, the situation had escalated into full-scale clashes between protesters and law enforcement. Pakistani security forces, equipped with riot gear and backed by paramilitary personnel, deployed tear gas and barricades to contain the crowds. Protesters broke through multiple security checkpoints, reaching the edge of Islamabad's highly secured red zone, home to key government buildings and embassies.

Photo Credit: AFP

Amid a blackout in central Islamabad, the Pakistani government launched an operation involving tear gas and mass detentions. The crackdown resulted in over 1,000 arrests, including many senior PTI leaders. At least four paramilitary personnel and six protesters were killed in the clashes, and dozens more were injured, according to news agency Reuters who cited local news reports.  

In the aftermath of the raid, PTI announced a temporary suspension of its protest. Citing "state brutality," the party stated that it would regroup and strategise for future action. 

Bushra Bibi and Ali Amin Gandapur, a senior PTI leader and chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, retreated to the party's northern stronghold. Mr Gandapur later assured supporters that the protests were not over.

Party Under Siege

The PTI described the midnight crackdown as a "massacre" orchestrated by a "fascist military regime." Party officials alleged that live ammunition was used against demonstrators, accusations vehemently denied by the government. Videos circulated on social media allegedly showed excessive use of force by law enforcement.

PTI also claimed that its workers were killed in the operation, with reports suggesting as many as 40 deaths. However, these numbers remain unverified, and government officials have dismissed the allegations as "propaganda."

Photo Credit: AFP

According to Islamabad Police, 954 protesters were detained between Sunday and Tuesday, with more than 600 arrests occurring on Tuesday alone. Law enforcement defended its actions, arguing that the protests had devolved into "terrorism" after security personnel were targeted and public property was damaged.

Government's Response

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's coalition government has deployed massive security forces, shut down mobile internet services, and banned public gatherings in Islamabad.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi dismissed PTI's allegations of excessive force, accusing the party of spreading misinformation to justify its actions.

1: The Greatest Generation (1901-1927)

They lived through the Great Depression and served in World War II. This group is known as the "GI Generation." Popularized by Tom Brokaw's book The Greatest Generation, their values revolved around resilience, hard work, and patriotism. Events such as the Roaring Twenties and the Stock Market Crash shaped their ethos.

2: The Silent Generation (1928-1945)

This group, which was notorious for conforming during the McCarthy era, saw the end of World War II, the start of the Cold War, and the emergence of television. Their practical philosophy placed a strong focus on stability and discipline in both life and parenting.

3: Baby Boomers (1946-1964)

Born during the post-war population boom, Boomers were shaped by the Vietnam War, civil rights movements, and countercultural revolutions. They pushed for higher education and upward mobility, redefining societal norms.

4: Generation X (1965-1980)

This generation grew up amid the rise of personal computers, video games, and the AIDS crisis. Known for valuing independence and work-life balance, their parenting emphasized choice and individuality.

5: The Millennial Generation (1981-1996)

Millennials, who were the first to live in both the pre- and post-internet periods, witnessed both the digital boom and 9/11. Their emphasis on social justice, technology, and environmental awareness is a reflection of their upbringing in a time of fast change.

6: Generation Z (1997-2012)

The Covid-19 epidemic and the social media revolutions influenced Gen Z, the first generation to be entirely digital. Socially conscious and tech-savvy, they use internet platforms to innovate and engage in action.

7: Generation Alpha (2013-2022)

Coined by social researcher and futurist Mark McCrindle, Generation Alpha represents the first group born entirely in the 21st century. Growing up in an AI-driven world, their future will be defined by unparalleled digital connectivity and technological fluency.

This "once-in-a-lifetime" find is believed to be the first message in a bottle ever discovered inside a Scottish lighthouse. Written in quill and ink, the note, dated September 4, 1892, lists the names of three engineers who installed a new type of light in the 100-foot (30-meter) tower, along with the names of the lighthouse's three keepers.

Ross Russell, a mechanical engineer with the Northern Lighthouse Board, found the 8-inch (20 cm) bottle while inspecting the lighthouse. It was wedged behind panels in a cupboard and out of reach. The team used a makeshift tool- a rope attached to a broom handle- to retrieve it. They waited for Barry Miller, the retained lighthouse keeper, to arrive before opening the bottle. 

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A post shared by Northern Lighthouse Board (@nlb_uk)

"My goodness, am I grateful for them doing that," Miller said.

The bottle, made of coarse glass filled with tiny air bubbles, features a distinctive convex base that prevents it from standing upright. It is thought to have once contained oil. The cork stopper had expanded over time, adhering to the glass, while the securing wire had rusted away. To access the message, the team carefully cut and drilled through the cork.

Extracting the note proved challenging as it initially appeared too large to fit through the bottle's narrow neck. Using a custom tool crafted from two pieces of cable, the team gently twisted the message free. 

Dr. Miller, 77, recounted the moment he opened the bottle to BBC Scotland News, admitting his hands were trembling with excitement.

Corsewall Light & Fog Signal Station, Sept 4th 1892.

This lantern was erected by James Wells Engineer, John Westwood Millwright, James Brodie Engineer, David Scott Labourer, of the firm of James Milne & Son Engineers, Milton House Works, Edinburgh, during the months from May to September and relighted on Thursday night 15th Sept 1892.

The following are keepers at the station at this time, John Wilson Principal, John B Henderson 1st assistant, John Lockhart 2nd assistant.

The lens and machine were supplied by James Dove &Co Engineers Greenside Edinburgh and erected by William Burness, John Harrower, and James Dods. Engineers with the above firm.

The bottle was found by Ross Russell, Morgan Dennison and Neil Armstrong. 

"The note was just sensational, I was just in utter amazement," Ross said.

"Being the first person to touch the bottle after 132 years was just mind blowing.

"It's a once in a lifetime find."

"While taxiing for takeoff at Dallas Love Field Airport, Southwest Airlines Flight 2494 was reportedly struck by gunfire near the cockpit," a statement on the FAA's website said. 

"The Boeing 737-800 returned to the gate, where passengers deplaned."

The incident happened at around 8:30 pm Friday (0230 GMT Saturday), with the flight headed from Dallas, Texas, to Indianapolis, Indiana.

There were no reported injuries, according to a statement from Dallas Love Field Airport on social media platform X.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

"It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens," Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne.

"The war will end, but we don't know the exact date," he added.

Zelensky said he had a "constructive exchange" with Trump during their telephone conversation after his victory in the US presidential election.

"I didn't hear anything that goes against our position," he added.

Throughout the election campaign, Trump criticised the tens of billions of dollars in aid provided for Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, and he promised he would resolve the conflict "in 24 hours", without ever explaining how.

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida on Friday, Trump said "we're going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine. It's got to stop."

Ukraine fears US support will flag just as its troops are struggling on the front, or that it will be forced to make territorial concessions to Russia.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The sticker is a comical reference to the well-known "banana for scale" meme on the internet, which has been widely used to show the true-to-life size of another object by comparing it to a banana.

Starship moved to the pad at Starbase in advance of our sixth flight test pic.twitter.com/u6Mbc35ARr

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 12, 2024

The meme is based on the notion that, in situations where measuring instruments are not available, a banana can serve as an approximate sense of scale because it is a widely recognised and reasonably standard-sized object. 

For instance, the rocket consists of the upper stage, known as Starship, and a huge first-stage booster called Super Heavy. With the two elements stacked, the rocket stands nearly 400 feet (122 m) tall. Considering its size, it is understandable why SpaceX chose to use the banana sticker to parody this scale challenge.

Even though the banana meme might get some attention, Starship's sixth test flight has more important goals in mind.

SpaceX intends to launch Starship on November 19 within a 30-minute window starting at 3.30 am IST. 

The mission will test a number of important elements, such as a novel method for using a tower to collect the Super Heavy booster and sophisticated heatshield studies intended to enhance the rocket's reentry capabilities. 

Furthermore, Starship will attempt several maneuvers during its atmospheric reentry over the Indian Ocean.

Modi made the comments in a statement ahead of his five day visit to Nigeria, Brazil and Guyana.

The prime minister's first destination will be Nigeria from where he will travel to Brazil.

"In Brazil, I will attend the 19th G-20 Summit as a troika member. Last year, India's successful presidency elevated the G-20 to people's G-20 and mainstreamed the priorities of the Global South into its agenda," the prime minister said.

Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden will be among the leaders to attend the summit in Rio de Janeiro on November 18 and 19.

India is part of the G20 troika along with Brazil and South Africa.

"This year, Brazil has built upon India's legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions in keeping with our vision of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'. I will also use the opportunity to exchange views on furthering bilateral cooperation with several other leaders," the prime minister said.

Induction of the 55-nation African Union as a permanent member of the G20 and managing to produce a leaders' declaration overcoming deep divisions over the Ukraine conflict were seen as major milestones of India's presidency of the G20 last year.

On his trip to Nigeria, Modi said it will be an opportunity to "build upon our strategic partnership that is based on shared belief in democracy and pluralism".

The prime minister is travelling to the country on a two-day visit from November 16-17 at the invitation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

This will be my first visit to Nigeria, which is our close partner in the West African region, Modi said.

"I am also eagerly looking forward to meeting the Indian community and friends from Nigeria who have sent me warm welcome messages in Hindi," he said.

In the third and final leg of his trip, Modi will visit Guyana from November 19 to 21 at the invitation of President Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

It will be the first ever visit of an Indian prime minister to Guyana in over 50 years.

"We will exchange views on giving strategic direction to our unique relationship, which is based on shared heritage, culture and values," Modi said.

"I will also pay my respects to one of the oldest Indian diaspora, who migrated more than 185 years ago, and engage a fellow democracy, as I address their Parliament," he added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The long-lost worm is Haplosyllis anthogorgicola, a type of polychaete or bristle worm. It burrows inside branching gorgonian corals at a density of up to 15 worms per cubic centimetre, and its usual size is no more than 0.24 inches (6 millimetres). However, scientists noted in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences that the animal hasn't been seen in the wild since 1956, when Huzio Utinomo, a marine biologist from Kyoto University, first identified it.

Chloé Fourreau, lead study author and a doctoral student in the Molecular Invertebrate Systematics and Ecology, or MISE, Laboratory at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan stated that finding these worms is very difficult because of their small size and near transparency, which make them nearly invisible underwater.

When the coral was collected and sent to the lab, the researchers discovered the coral was full of microscopic worms, each less than 0.2 inches long. 

Once upon a time my friend and labmate Ai, who studies pygmy seahorses, brought me a worm she found on the coral host of the seahorse…???????? pic.twitter.com/VBf69UPirh

— Chloé Fourreau (@ChaoticChloeia) November 14, 2024

The images were originally taken to study the pygmy seahorses that also live among the coral.

In her resignation statement on Bluesky, a platform rivalling X, Ms Helmuth said she had decided to leave after "an exciting 4.5 years as editor in chief," without addressing the controversy directly. Her now-deleted comments, made on election night, drew intense criticism, particularly from supporters, with many accusing her of compromising her role as a neutral journalist. Some demanded her resignation.

Ms Helmuth later apologised, calling her posts "offensive and inappropriate" and explaining that they were a "mistaken expression of shock and confusion about the election results." She clarified that the views expressed did not reflect her personal beliefs or the position of Scientific American, stressing that she "respects and values people across the political spectrum."

During Ms Helmuth's tenure, the magazine made headlines for its rare endorsements, including a significant 2024 endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. Scientific American also has a long history of engaging with political matters, particularly when they intersect with science. Under Ms Helmuth's leadership, the magazine took a strong stance against Mr Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, issuing its first-ever presidential endorsement in 2020 to support Joe Biden.

In her resignation announcement, Ms Helmuth shared that she planned to "take some time to think about what comes next" and "go bird-watching."

Kimberly Lau, president of Scientific American, confirmed in a statement that Ms Helmuth had "decided to move on from her position," as per the NYT, and expressed gratitude for her leadership during her tenure. "We thank Laura for her four years leading Scientific American, during which time the magazine won major science communications awards and saw the establishment of a reimagined digital newsroom," Ms Lau said as per CNN.

A search for Laura Helmuth's replacement is currently underway.

China has no plan to surpass or replace the United States, Xie Feng said in a speech in Hong Kong on Friday, addressing Chinese officials and the U.S. ambassador to China.

The Sino-US partnership is never a zero-sum game, Xie said, adding that the two nations have great potential to work together on areas including trade, agriculture, energy, artificial intelligence, and public health.

"China and the United States have concerns for each side," Xie said. "It is entirely possible to bring issues to the table to communicate frankly, seek solutions on an equal footing."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The lawsuit, filed on Friday in Manhattan federal court, alleges that these agencies not only knew of the plot but also failed to intervene and prevent the killing, Fox News reported.

Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, was assassinated on February 21, 1965, while speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in Upper Manhattan.

He was shot 21 times in front of his wife, Betty Shabazz, and their daughters, who were in the audience. While three men were initially convicted of the crime, two were exonerated in 2021 after new evidence surfaced, suggesting that key details had been overlooked or concealed by authorities.

Testimony from Mustafa Hassan, who was part of Malcolm X's security detail at the time, further complicated the case. Mr Hassan claimed that he tried to stop one of the shooters, Thomas Hagan (also known as Talmadge X Hayer), from fleeing the scene. However, police officers allegedly intervened to protect Hayer, with some officers reportedly asking each other, "Is he with us?"

Now, Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the daughters and the Malcolm X estate, said that the lawsuit is an effort to expose the “corrupt, unlawful, and unconstitutional” actions taken by law enforcement and other government agencies leading up to Malcolm X's death. The complaint accuses the government of enabling a network of “ruthless killers,” who operated with impunity, concealing their actions for years.

"The government's fingerprints are all over the assassination of Malcolm X," Mr Crump claimed at a press conference. "We believe we have the evidence to prove it." He added that the Shabazz family has endured decades of uncertainty, without knowing who was truly responsible for the murder or the extent of the government's involvement. "The damage caused to the Shabazz family is unimaginable, immense, and irreparable," the lawsuit says.

Malcolm X's daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, at a press conference held at the site of his death, spoke about her family's fight for justice. "We fought primarily for our mother, who was here," Ms Ilyasah said, as per ABC News. “My mother was pregnant when she came here to see her husband speak; someone who she just admired totally and to witness this horrific assassination of her husband.”

Malcolm X's rise to prominence was marked by his role as a spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, where he advocated for Black empowerment and civil rights “by any means necessary.” His eventual split from the organisation led to death threats from former allies, many of whom considered him a traitor.

The case also references the assassination of other Black leaders, such as Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, who was killed in 1969 by Chicago police officers. It draws a connection between these killings and COINTELPRO, a covert FBI program designed to disrupt and discredit Black political groups.

Encouraged by the recent statement of President-elect Donald Trump on Bangladesh, Dr Bharat Barai, an Indian American physician, exuded confidence that Trump would act against the South Asian nation over the persecution of the Hindu minority after he is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.

He (Trump) has made a bold statement about the persecution of Bangladeshi Hindus and the desecration of Hindu temples," Barai told PTI in an interview. "He's a bold person who might consider economic sanctions if the situation doesn't improve," he added.

In Washington to attend the annual Diwali celebrations at the US Capitol, which was attended by over two dozen US lawmakers and Indian Americans from across the country, Barai said community members are actively working to engage the new administration and Congress to take action against the Bangladeshi regime, including potential economic sanctions.

"If their garment exports, which account for 80 percent of their business, are cut off, what will the people of Bangladesh eat?" he asked, alleging that Bangladesh's caretaker government, led by Muhammad Yunus, is merely a puppet controlled by the military. "It is really the army that is in control of the country," he added.

Barai expressed hope that such pressure would lead to a realisation in Bangladesh to stop the persecution of Hindus and other minorities. "We, as Hindu Americans, will also plead with the Congress to act if Bangladesh does not straighten out," he said.

He also urged the Indian government to take up the issue with Bangladesh and consider imposing sanctions if the persecution continues. "If they keep harassing Hindus and minorities, India should also impose sanctions on them," he said.

In a statement days before the November 5 general elections, Trump condemned the attack on Hindus in violence-hit Bangladesh.

"I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos," Trump said.

"It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the world and in America. They have been a disaster from Israel to Ukraine to our own Southern Border, but we will Make America Strong Again and bring back Peace through Strength," then said.

"We will also protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religion agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration," he said.

Barai said a lot of people are talking about external interference in the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Bangladesh. "Even among the Muslims now, there is a split. Some think that the Democrats engineered this coup in their countries, both Pakistan as well as Bangladesh," he said.

He pointed to figures such as George Soros and Peter Omidyar, suggesting they were part of a broader agenda to undermine Narendra Modi's leadership and promote Rahul Gandhi.

"If you remember that when President Trump visited India about three and a half years ago, riots were engineered, especially in Delhi, to coincide with his visit," he said.

He also expressed frustration with the influence of the "ultra-leftist woke lobby", saying he hoped they would either come to their senses or be sidelined or "put in their proper place".

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The message, sent in October through an intermediary, was intended to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran. It followed a stern warning from the US, which had expressed grave concerns over potential Iranian retaliation for the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani in 2020, a move ordered by then-President Donald Trump.

Since Donald Trump's election victory on November 5, various Iranian officials, analysts, and media outlets have advocated for a more conciliatory approach with the president-elect, despite ongoing pressure from his allies to renew a hardline stance against Iran.

US officials have suggested that Iran may have sought revenge for Suleimani's death by targeting Mr Trump, citing two indictments related to Iranian plots against the President-elect. Further accusations have surfaced regarding other figures from the Trump administration. 

According to the US officials, the Iranian message focused on Tehran's position that the killing of General Suleimani was a criminal act. However, the communication also clarified that Iran had no intention of killing Trump. This message was confirmed by an Iranian official and analyst who engages with both sides. Iran, they said, expressed its desire to pursue justice for Suleimani's death through international legal channels rather than through violent means.

While the US officials noted that the message was not from any specific Iranian official, the Iranian official and analyst revealed that it was, in fact, from Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran's mission to the United Nations declined to comment but issued a statement reaffirming Tehran's commitment to addressing Suleimani's killing "through legal and judicial avenues."

Earlier, during the presidential campaign, American officials had warned of a potential Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan recently confirmed that discussions among Iranian plotters had included plans to target the former president. However, Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected these claims as unfounded.

Elon Musk, a close ally of Mr Trump, met with Iran's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday at Mr Musk's request. The Iranians described the meeting with Ambassador Amir Saied Iravani, held in New York City at a secret location, as part of an effort to reduce tensions between the US and Iran under the Donald Trump administration. 

The US and Iran have not had official diplomatic relations since the 1979 revolution, during which 52 Americans were taken hostage at the US embassy in Tehran. The Swiss embassy in Tehran serves as the official diplomatic liaison between the two countries, though direct and indirect talks have taken place in recent years on various issues, including Iran's nuclear program and the swapping of detainees.

The messages exchanged between the US and Iran were sent through the Swiss, according to the Iranian official and analyst.

With the situation reaching a fever pitch, cosmonauts are scrambling to work on the problem areas, while officials from NASA and Roscosmos continue to disagree over the severity of the problem, CNN reported.

The space station having a size equal to a football field must remain pressurised and filled with breathable gases at all times so that the rotating crew of astronauts can continue to survive. It has separate but connected Russian and US sections.

In 2019, the problematic leaks were identified for the first time in a tunnel connecting Zvezda, a Russian module, to the docking port which welcomes spacecraft that carry cargo and supplies. However, this year the rate at which it is bleeding air has hit a new high.

As per the latest report by NASA's Office of Inspector General, oversight officials in the country consider this issue as the most pressing problem that the space station faces, threatening the crew's safety.

During a meeting on the issue on Wednesday, former NASA astronaut Bob Cabana, chair of the US space agency's ISS Advisory Committee, noted that it has "expressed concerns about the structural integrity of the (leaking module) and the possibility of a catastrophic failure”.

Although Roscosmos has asked cosmonauts to address the problematic areas, their team “does not believe catastrophic disintegration... is realistic,” Cabana noted.

Cabana stated that the Russians believe that continued operations are safe, however, they are unable to "prove that to our satisfaction".

"And the US believes that it's not safe, but we can't prove that to the Russian satisfaction," he added.

These disagreements persist even after a meeting that took place in Russia in September this year. The US, meanwhile, is pushing for independent experts from the two sides to evaluate this issue to help them reach a consensus on the root cause.

Cabana claimed that Russia is yet to comply with the recommendation, while the US already has taken steps to create its team of experts.

At the space station, both astronauts and cosmonauts have been asked to adopt precautionary measures like keeping the leaking segment sealed off at all times, except for times when it can open to unpacking cargo from spacecraft arriving at a nearby docking port. But they have to close the hatch that separates the US and Russian portions during this time, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt said on November 8.

In a statement, NASA informed that the cracks are “very small, not visible with the naked eye and have brackets and pipelines near them, making it difficult to get diagnostic tools into these areas”. The leak rate ranges between "2 to 2.5 pounds (of air) per day above space station baseline”.

“It's something that triggers a lot of stress and anxiety, the collection of emails, pictures, open tabs — an overwhelming number of digital items that trigger overload,” said Dr Susan Albers, a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio to CNN.

She added, “What's interesting about it is that this isn't the type of problem that our ancestors have had to face, but when we fast-forward to today, our daily life is really plagued with a lot of digital clutter.”

It's possible that everyone who uses a digital gadget will eventually encounter this kind of clutter. However, occasionally, the typical practice can degenerate into a disorder—digital hoarding—that more academics are attempting to comprehend.

According to Dr. Emanuel Maidenberg, a clinical professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, the urge to hoard may stem from one's wish to preserve memories with photographs or keep unnecessary records and files from previous employment or college courses as a precaution. All of this can be considered digital hoarding.

He said, “It becomes a habit that is motivated by anxiety, and that's when it becomes challenging and difficult. It has to do with the fear of needing this information at some point in the future and yet not having access to it and not knowing where to find it.”

According to a 2019 study that polled hundreds of adults in the UK, hoarding is a prevalent workplace practice and is thought to be linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder. There are four different sorts of digital hoarding, according to a 2020 follow-up study: organized people, disorganized people, people who hold digital information for their companies, and people who keep it away from people they care about and are frequently afraid of losing it.

Storing digital clutter that crosses over into a disorder depends on the individual, but a key factor is when it causes significant distress or impairment in everyday functioning, said Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, psychiatrist and director of clinical and research affairs at the Boston-based International OCD Foundation.

Dr. Susan Albers believes decluttering is the magic wand for your mental well-being. She suggests setting aside a short period of time every morning to perform a digital audit, eliminating unnecessary emails and other notifications. The remainder of your day will be far more productive if you take a few minutes to tidy up before you begin working.

Based on UK Home Office data on confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) by UK providers from 2022-23 to 2023-24, an Office for Students (OfS) analysis released on Friday shows a 20.4 per cent drop in Indian student numbers - down from 139,914 to 111,329.

Indian student groups in the UK said the fall was to be expected amid limited job prospects and also safety concerns following recent anti-immigration riots in some cities.

"There has been a considerable decline in student visa applications from prospective non-UK students in some major source countries," notes the report by OfS, a non-departmental public body of the government's Department for Education.

"This data shows an 11.8 per cent decline in the total number of sponsor acceptances issued to international students, as well as considerable variation for students with different nationalities, with the largest declines reported in the number of CAS issued to Indian and Nigerian students, down 28,585 (20.4 per cent) and 25,897 (44.6 per cent) respectively," it said.

It warns that universities with financial models that depend heavily on students from countries such as India, Nigeria and Bangladesh are likely to be significantly affected due to this downward trend.

"The number of international students from certain countries that send significant numbers to study in the UK has decreased significantly," OfS cautions.

"By 2025-26, based on current trends and not taking into account significant mitigating action, we estimate a net income reduction for the sector of GBP 3,445 million, and, without significant mitigating actions, a sector-level deficit of minus GBP 1,636 million, with up to 72 per cent of providers being in deficit, and 40 per cent having low liquidity," it adds.

The Indian National Students' Association (INSA) UK said it was not surprised with the significant decrease in students from India given the government's clampdown on foreign students being allowed to bring along their dependent partners and spouses.

"Students are not allowed to bring their partners to the UK under the new policy and given the economic conditions here and recent rioting stories, unless the government addresses this issue the outlook for UK universities is bleak as they rely heavily on Indian students," said INSA UK President Amit Tiwari.

Indians overtook the Chinese in recent years as the leading nationality granted study visas to the UK and are the largest cohort to access the Graduate Route post-study work visa, which was thrown into disarray due to a review which has since concluded it is here to stay.

"Many reasons contribute to the decline in numbers, including the Conservative ban on dependents, confusion around post-study work visa, increase in skilled worker salary thresholds and an apparent lack of jobs in the UK," said Sanam Arora, chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK.

"We discovered the scale of misinformation that continues to persist; for the first time, safety is also being raised as a concern... Universities need to ensure that they are communicating the UK offer adequately and at scale in India to address the confusions that persist," she said.

"Universities also need to invest significantly in their employability support in order to stay competitive and provide a wholesome, outcome-oriented offer for students," she added. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Major Benjamin “Irish” Coffey, an F-15 fighter pilot, has recalled how he was not expecting to run out of missiles while taking on the Iranian attack.

While they were instructed to use every weapon at their disposal to help Israel, Major Coffey and his crew-mate, weapons systems officer Captain Lacie “Sonic” Hester soon came up with a plan when they ran out of air-to-air missiles.

They recalled how they flew as close as they could to an Iranian drone — way below the minimum safe altitude for the F-15 Strike Eagle — and used a gun against a target that was barely visible. This was an extremely dangerous maneuver for the pilots in total darkness. However, they still ended up missing the target.

“You feel the terrain rush, you feel yourself getting closer and closer to the ground. The risk was just too high to try again," Major Coffey told CNN.

In the end, the US forces, both in the air as well as at sea, were able to intercept 70 drones and three ballistic missiles during the attack, which was largely thwarted.

This was the US Air Force's maiden “real test” against a prolonged and large-scale drone attack as the fighters spent multiple hours in the air that night.

The situation was equally chaotic at the undisclosed US military base in the Middle East as the air defenses there had shot down Iranian missiles and drones overhead, while troops were rushed to bunkers.

The attack by Iran was in retaliation for Israel's attack on the Iranian consulate building in Syria, leaving several members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dead.

Captain Hester said that when they were getting briefed that night, they "had no idea” about what could have happened.

Sharing his thoughts, F-15 pilot Lieutenant Colonel Timothy “Diesel” Causey added that they did not have much time before then to practice. He went on to call the attack drones a "low cost, low risk for the enemy to employ."

The weapons of the fighter jets were depleted quickly as the F-15E Strike Eagle is able to carry only eight air-to-air missiles at a time. “We ran out of missiles pretty quickly…20 minutes maybe," said F-15 pilot Lieutenant Colonel Curtis “Voodoo” Culver.

Now, Trump is reportedly looking into a clause in the US Constitution that allows a president to make unilateral appointments if the Senate is not in session, as per The BBC.

How does Senate vetting work?

More than 1,000 positions, including the Cabinet, ambassadors, and some lower-level roles, require Senate approval. However, many of Donald Trump's team members, such as those in the White House or as national security advisers, do not need Senate approval but still go through a vetting process, which may involve FBI background checks.

On Thursday, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Fox News, "None of this is gonna be easy." The FBI checks nominees for Senate-confirmed roles and other national security positions but does not provide an opinion on the results, leaving that to the president-elect or White House Counsel. Donald Trump's transition team has reportedly bypassed FBI checks for some cabinet picks and is considering private vetting companies. 

The Senate approval process involves submitting financial disclosure forms, completing role-specific questionnaires, and testifying before a Senate committee. The committee votes on the nomination, and the full Senate then votes. Cabinet appointments are usually approved quickly, but political conflicts can lead to intense battles and even rejections. With Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress, some disputes may be less intense, although concerns about nominees like Matt Gaetz for Attorney General have already surfaced.

What are recess appointments?

A recess appointment allows the president to make temporary appointments when Congress is not in session. These appointments are usually temporary, expiring at the end of a congressional session. Donald Trump has expressed interest in using this power to bypass Senate approval, but it is not guaranteed, as Congress would need to agree to a recess.

The recess process was originally intended for emergencies when Congress did not meet as frequently as it does now. The goal was to ensure that presidents could fill important roles without delay.

Donald Trump's plan to use recess appointments and bypass Senate vetting has historical precedent. Former presidents, including George W. Bush (171 recess appointments), Bill Clinton (139), and Barack Obama (32), have employed this method, often to bypass political gridlock.

However, the use of recess appointments was curbed after the Supreme Court struck down several of Obama's appointments in 2014, calling them unconstitutional.

When can Trump make recess appointments?

The President-elect can make recess appointments in two ways. First, if the Senate agrees to a recess of 10 days or more by majority vote. Second, if the House votes for a longer recess, Trump could use a rare constitutional power to adjourn both chambers of Congress.

However, Trump cannot make these appointments until after his inauguration on January 20. This power has never been used before, and it's unclear how it would play out. Trump would need unanimous consent from all 100 senators to force a recess longer than 10 days, which is challenging given that Democrats hold 47 seats. To override opposition, Republicans would need at least seven Democratic votes or a change to the filibuster, which Senate Majority Leader John Thune has opposed.

Donald Trump's Cabinet picks so far

• Secretary of State: Marco Rubio

• Attorney General: Matt Gaetz

• Director of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard

• Secretary of Defense: Pete Hegseth

• Secretary of Homeland Security: Kristi Noem

• CIA Director: John Ratcliffe

• Secretary of Health and Human Services: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

• Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Doug Collins

• EPA Administrator: Lee Zeldin

White House staff

• Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles

• Border Czar: Tom Homan

• Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy: Stephen Miller

• Deputy Chief of Staff: Dan Scavino

• Deputy Chief of Staff: James Blair

• Deputy Chief of Staff: Taylor Budowich

• White House Counsel: William McGinley

• Special Envoy to the Middle East: Steven Witkoff

• Ambassador to Israel: Mike Huckabee

• Ambassador to the United Nations: Elise Stefanik

• Press Secretary: Karoline Leavitt

"Elon Musk and I are in a position to start the mass deportations of millions of unelected federal bureaucrats out of the DC bureaucracy. That, too, is how we're going to save this country," Ramaswamy, an Indian American, said at an event in Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Thursday.

"I don't know if you've got to know Elon yet, but he doesn't bring a chisel. He brings a chainsaw. We are going to be taking it to that bureaucracy. It's going to be a lot of fun," he said.

"We've been taught to believe over the last four years that we have become a nation in decline, that we're at the end of the ancient Roman Empire. All we have is to fight over the scraps of some shrinking pie. I don't think we have to stay as that nation in decline. I think with what happened last week, we're back to being a nation in our ascent. A nation whose best days are actually still ahead of us," Ramaswamy said.

"It is going to be morning in America, the start of a new dawn, the start of a country where our kids are going to grow up and we're going to tell them and mean it, that you get ahead in the United States again with your own hard work and commitment and dedication, that you're free to speak your mind at every step of the way, that the best person gets the job regardless of their colour," he said.

Meanwhile, Musk and Ramaswamy announced that they will livestream every week to update the American public on the progress of the works by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

"Our goal is to shave the size of government and to be as transparent as possible with the public. Weekly 'Dogecasts' will start soon," Ramaswamy said.

"DOGE's job is to create a government of a size and scope that our Founders would be proud of. Elon Musk and I look forward to fulfilling the mandate given to us by President Trump," he said.

Ramaswamy, however, argued that too much bureaucracy means less innovation and higher costs. "That's a real problem with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and countless other 3-letter agencies," he said, adding, "They are utterly agnostic to how their daily decisions stifle new inventions and impose costs that deter growth." "We are assembling the brightest minds in the country. This is the equivalent of a modern Manhattan Project. I think the major problem holding our country back is a federal bureaucracy. Target that cost, save the money, restore self-governance," Ramaswamy said. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

As per the lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Mr Miller had requested hot tea during cabin service when the 'scalding' hot water, filled to the brim, was handed to him in a "negligent fashion". The liquid was at an "unsafely and unreasonably high temperature" and "without any form of a lid", the suit added.

As per Adam S. Barrist, Mr Miller's attorney, his client has suffered discolouration on his penis, scrotum along with "significantly decreased sensation in his penis," "post-traumatic stress disorder," and "lack of self-esteem," plus at least one herniated disc.

"Due to the tightly-situated plane seat configuration, Mr Miller was unable to get up from his seat after the spill and, instead, was trapped in agonizing pain while his body was being burnt," Mr Barrist told the publication.

Mr Miller was reportedly forced to take off time from work after the incident and incurred "substantial" medical expenses, which added to his mental trauma, added Mr Barrist.

Also read | US Girl Awarded $800,000 After She Was Severely Burned By McDonald's Chicken Nugget

Woman sues EgyptAir

This is not the first instance when a US citizen has sued an airline for spilling a hot beverage. Last week, 35-year-old Esraa Hezain sued EgyptAir for $5 million in damages as she suffered "second-degree burns" from a hot liquid splashed on her.

As per the Brooklyn federal court documents, the incident took place in February earlier this year as the beverage, kept in a "lidless cup" of tea flew off a "defective" seat tray and splashed over her. Hezain's attorney, Abram Bohrer said his client had suffered second-degree burns to her lower abdomen, her right inner thigh and buttocks. "For the price of a lid this didn't have to happen," he said.

Currently, the social media platform has 16.7 million users, though this figure is rapidly climbing. But what exactly is Bluesky, and why is it becoming a refuge for those leaving X?

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky describes itself as "social media as it should be." The platform offers familiar features like search, notifications, and reposting but stands apart with its decentralised design.

This setup allows users to host their data on servers outside the company's control. While most users opt for the standard ".bsky.social" username, the platform also offers the option to create custom domains, adding a layer of personalization.

In functionality, Bluesky mirrors the original Twitter (now X) experience.

Why X users are switching?

Bluesky's sudden surge in popularity can be traced back to when Republican Donald Trump's election victory spurred political division. Elon Musk's support for the president-elect and his anticipated involvement in his administration have driven many users to seek alternatives.

it's official — 1,000,000 people have joined Bluesky in just the last day!!!

welcome ?https://t.co/x6v5YW0WFTpic.twitter.com/ifpjZFpYsf

— bluesky (@bluesky) November 15, 2024

Organisations like The Guardian have also cited separate reasons for leaving X, calling it "a toxic media platform."

Celebrities have further fuelled Bluesky's momentum. Popular figures such as Lizzo, Ben Stiller, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Patton Oswalt have joined the platform, some reducing or ending their presence on X entirely.

Who owns Bluesky?

Jack Dorsey, the former head of Twitter, founded Bluesky with the vision of creating a decentralised Twitter-like platform. But Mr Dorsey stepped down from the Bluesky board in May 2024 and deleted his account in September.

Today, Bluesky is led by CEO Jay Graber and operates as a US public benefit corporation, as per The BBC.

Bluesky marketing

Unlike X, Bluesky has avoided traditional advertising. The platform initially raised funds through investors and venture capital and is now exploring paid services like custom domain names for usernames.

Bluesky is rapidly growing but still has a long way to go before challenging X, which Elon Musk claims has 250 million daily active users.

People close to the transition planning told CNN that Donald Trump and his allies feel that the system of the law enforcement agency is "slow," besides being plagued with issues which might prevent him from immediately starting the work of implementing his agenda.

However, critics have said that the intrusive background checks at times bring to the fore embarrassing information that can be used to inflict political damage.

This comes after the President-elect has floated some controversial choices for the high-level positions in the new US government, including Tulsi Gabbard as the new Director of National Intelligence and Matt Gaetz for Attorney General.

In the US, the president, ultimately, has the final authority on whom he/she wants to nominate to share intelligence with, regardless of the established protocol that was set in the wake of the Second World War to ensure the ones selected do not have any unknown foreign ties as well as other issues which may raise national security concerns.

According to CNN, bypassing the background checks could be bucking a long-established norm in Washington as it reflects the deep mistrust Trump has of the national security establishment that he derides as the 'Deep State'.

Sources have said Mr Trump has privately questioned the requirement for law enforcement background checks.

The incoming Trump administration “doesn't want harmony,” said Dan Meyer, a national security attorney in Washington, DC, adding that they “don't want the FBI to coordinate a norm; they want to hammer the norm”.

Before the November 5 presidential election, some advisers of Donald Trump circulated a memo urging him to bypass the traditional background check process for a few appointees, a person briefed on the memo noted.

The memo proposed hiring private researchers rather than taking help of the law enforcement as they could move more quickly to perform the task. However, Trump can always decide to eventually submit these names to the FBI.

A few names announced by Mr Trump for various roles in his administration might get into trouble during the background check, which could pose a potential hurdle during the confirmation process.

For multiple years, Matt Gaetz has been mired in the US Justice Department as well as House ethics investigations in connection with sex trafficking. On his behalf, he has denied any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Tulsi Gabbard has often appeared to take position that favour foreign leaders like presidents of Syria and Russia, raising questions from critics.

In 2017, she met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and even said that he was “not an enemy" of the US.

Biden made the comments while discussing space exploration with Peru President Dina Boluarte Zegarra at a bilateral meeting.

Stating that the US and Peru are cooperating on space exploration, Biden laughingly said, "Now, that fellow right there...the former senator from Florida (pointing to NASA administrator Bill Nelson) - a very close friend of mine - every time my wife thinks I'm getting out of hand, she says that she is going to call him and have him send me to space."

"And I'm a little concerned he may want to send me to space because we got to get some folks back home," the 81-year-old President said as he laughed.

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her NASA counterpart Barry Willmore have been at the ISS for nearly five months. They were launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight and landed at the space station on June 6. It was supposed to be an eight-day mission but now has been stretched into months as they faced space debris threats, helium leaks, and technical glitches on the Starliner spacecraft.

According to NASA, it's too risky to bring the duo back to Earth currently on the malfunctioned capsule.

They will now return home in February next year.

Amid this, reports of Williams' health deteriorating have been doing rounds after images of her "gaunt" appearance in space went viral. However, earlier this week, she put the rumors to rest in a video interview shared by NASA.

Williams asserted that her weight is the same as when she arrived at the ISS.

"I think my body has changed a little bit but I weigh the same. There are a lot of changes that go on here...It's funny, I think there are some rumours around that I am losing weight and stuff...No, I am actually right at the same amount. We go weigh ourselves, we have a spring mass...Butch and I weigh ourselves the same way that I was when I got up here," she said.

"The court has... ordered the arrest of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and to produce her in court on November 18," Mohammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal, told reporters on Thursday.

Hasina's 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.

"Sheikh Hasina was at the helm of those who committed massacres, killings and crimes against humanity from July to August", Islam said, calling it a "remarkable day".

Hasina, 77, has not been seen in public since fleeing Bangladesh, and her last official whereabouts are at a military airbase near India's capital New Delhi.

Her presence in India has infuriated Bangladesh.

Dhaka has revoked her diplomatic passport, and the countries have a bilateral extradition treaty which would permit her to return to face criminal trial.

A clause in the treaty, however, says extradition might be refused if the offence is of a "political character".

Hasina's government created the deeply contentious ICT in 2010 to probe atrocities during the 1971 independence war from Pakistan.

The United Nations and rights groups criticised its procedural shortcomings, and it became widely seen as a means for Hasina to eliminate political opponents.

Several cases accusing Hasina of orchestrating the "mass murder" of protesters are being probed by the court.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Trump in recent weeks has amplified a false claim that has gone viral that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing residents' pets or taking wildlife from parks for food.

There have been no credible reports of Haitians eating pets, and officials in Ohio - including Republicans - have repeatedly said the story is untrue.

At a town hall hosted by Univision, an undecided Latino Republican voter from Arizona, a battleground state, asked Trump whether he truly believed that immigrants were eating pets.

"I was just saying what was reported. All I do is report," Trump replied during the event held in Miami. "I was there, I'm going to be there and we're going to take a look."

Trump added that "newspapers" had also reported on the claim, without naming any or providing any details.

Trump, who has not yet travelled to Springfield, has previously said he would conduct mass deportations of Haitian immigrants from the Ohio city, even though the majority of them are in the US legally.

The city has faced bomb threats since Trump began repeating the false accusations about Haitians.

In the final weeks before the Nov. 5 election, Trump is increasingly resorting to darker and more violent language about illegal immigration, an issue that opinion polls show resonates with many voters, especially Republicans.

He is competing against Democrat Kamala Harris for key votes from the growing Latino population. Latino voters have typically backed Democrats, but the Trump campaign is hoping to win over more Latino voters, especially men, on the back of economic discontent.

Harris led Trump by eight percentage points - 47% to 39% - among Hispanic voters in Reuters/Ipsos polling conducted between Sept. 11 and Oct. 7.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Robert Roberson, 57, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville on Thursday for the February 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles took up Roberson's case on Wednesday and declined by a 6-0 vote to recommend that Texas Governor Greg Abbott grant clemency.

Abbott is unable to grant clemency without a recommendation from the board, but he can grant a 30-day reprieve of Roberson's death sentence.

Gretchen Sween, one of Roberson's attorneys, urged the governor to grant the reprieve "so we can continue to pursue Mr Roberson's innocence claim."

"We pray that Governor Abbott does everything in his power to prevent the tragic, irreversible mistake of executing an innocent man," Sween said.

Roberson's case has drawn the attention of the Innocence Project, which works to reverse wrongful convictions, as well as best-selling American novelist John Grisham, Texas lawmakers and medical experts.

Also among those seeking to halt his execution is the man who put him behind bars -- Brian Wharton, the former chief detective in the town of Palestine.

"Knowing everything that I know now, I am firmly convinced that Robert is an innocent man," Wharton said at a recent press conference organized by Roberson's supporters. "The system failed Robert."

Grisham, author of the legal thrillers "The Firm" and "A Time to Kill," also appeared at the event and said: "What's amazing about Robert's case is that there was no crime."

Roberson's lawyers say the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, made at the hospital where his chronically ill daughter died, was erroneous and the cause of death was in fact pneumonia, which was aggravated when doctors prescribed improper medication.

Sween, Roberson's attorney, said there is "overwhelming new medical and scientific evidence" that shows that the little girl died of "natural and accidental causes, not abuse."

According to his lawyers, Roberson would be the first person executed in the United States based on a conviction of shaken baby syndrome.

'Unscientific' 

According to Kate Judson of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, more than 30 parents and caregivers in 18 US states have been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted using "unscientific" shaken baby testimony.

Sween said Roberson's autism spectrum disorder, which was not diagnosed until 2018, contributed to his arrest and conviction.

"It is quite possible that Mr Roberson would not be on death row today, but for his autism," she said.

Sween said staff at the hospital where his daughter was admitted did not know he had autism and "judged his flat affect as a sign of guilt."

A bipartisan group of 86 Texas state lawmakers has also urged clemency for Roberson, citing the "voluminous new scientific evidence" that casts doubt on his guilt.

There have been 19 executions in the United States this year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The paper published with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) highlighted that poverty rates were three times higher in countries at war, as 2023 saw the most conflicts around the world since the Second World War.

The UNDP and the OPHI have published their Multidimensional Poverty Index annually since 2010, harvesting data from 112 countries with a combined population of 6.3 billion people.

It uses indicators such as a lack of adequate housing, sanitation, electricity, cooking fuel, nutrition and school attendance.

"The 2024 MPI paints a sobering picture: 1.1 billion people endure multidimensional poverty, of which 455 million live in the shadow of conflict," said Yanchun Zhang, chief statistician at the UNDP.

"For the poor in conflict-affected countries, the struggle for basic needs is a far harsher and more desperate battle," Zhang told AFP.

The report echoed last year's findings that 1.1 billion out of 6.1 billion people across 110 countries were facing extreme multidimensional poverty.

Thursday's paper showed that some 584 million people under 18 were experiencing extreme poverty, accounting for 27.9 percent of children worldwide, compared with 13.5 percent of adults.

It also showed that 83.2 percent of the world's poorest people live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Sabina Alkire, director of the OPHI, told AFP that conflicts were hindering efforts for poverty reduction. 

"At some level, these findings are intuitive. But what shocked us was the sheer magnitude of people who are struggling to live a decent life and at the same time fearing for their safety –- 455 million," she said.

"This points to a stark but unavoidable challenge to the international community to both zero in on poverty reduction and foster peace, so that any ensuing peace actually endures," Alkire added.

India was the country with the largest number of people in extreme poverty, which impacts 234 million of its 1.4 billion population.

It was followed by Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The five countries accounted for nearly half of the 1.1 billion poor people.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The US Department of Defense confirmed that five Houthi weapons storage sites, deeply buried underground, were struck in the mission. According to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, these facilities housed advanced conventional weapons used by the Houthis to threaten civilian and military vessels operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Deployment Of B-2 Bombers

The B-2 Spirit bomber, known for its stealth capabilities and heavy payload, is capable of delivering a far greater volume of ordnance compared to fighter jets. The B-2 offers the US military an unparalleled ability to strike high-value targets that are either deeply fortified or well-concealed. 

Mr Austin explained that the strikes were authorised at the direction of President Joe Biden. "This was a unique demonstration of the United States' ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried or fortified," Mr Austin stated.

Growing Regional Tensions

The timing of the strikes comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, with US allies, particularly Israel, facing ongoing threats from Iran and its various regional proxies. The Houthis, operating from Yemen, have consistently launched attacks on commercial shipping and military vessels, disrupting one of the world's most critical maritime trade routes. In recent months, these attacks have escalated, with the group claiming responsibility for launching ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones against US Navy ships and international vessels.

The Houthis' activities in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, targeting vessels with weaponry that originated from these underground storage sites, have raised alarms about the security of global trade routes and the potential for environmental catastrophes. In August, a Greek-flagged vessel came under attack, leading to an oil spill and serious environmental concerns.

In September, the Houthis escalated their campaign, launching approximately two dozen ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, aimed at three US Navy destroyers. Although none of these missiles struck their targets, the attacks prompted increased military activity from US forces in the region. 

Houthi Attacks Tied To Regional Conflicts

The Iran-backed Houthis have framed their actions as part of a broader alignment with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, who are actively engaged in ongoing conflicts with Israel. Following an attempted missile strike deep inside Israel in September, the Houthis have openly declared their support for these groups. While the missile ultimately fragmented in mid-air and caused no injuries, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Houthis would "pay a heavy price" for their actions. In retaliation, Israeli airstrikes targeted Houthi positions in Yemen shortly after the incident.

READ | How Yemen's Houthi Rebels Got Hold Of Ballistic Missiles To Attack Israel

In the following weeks, the Houthis have continued launching missiles and drones toward Israel, further complicating the regional security landscape. These actions, combined with continued Houthi assaults on international shipping, have drawn significant military responses from the United States and its allies.

Wednesday's strike on Houthi facilities adds to a series of US military actions aimed at curbing the Houthis' growing arsenal and degrading their operational capabilities. US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that there were no immediate civilian casualties from the latest strikes. Over the past year, the US has increased its military presence in the region, including the deployment of advanced naval assets such as carrier strike groups, amphibious ready groups, and guided missile destroyers, along with air support in the form of fighter jets and attack aircraft.

Amid the chaos, WHO and its partners launched the second round of a polio vaccination campaign on Monday, aiming to immunise over half a million children, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The total number of children who received a second dose of polio vaccine in Gaza after two days of vaccination is 156,943," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X on Wednesday.

Escalating violence in the north of #Gaza has blocked humanitarian missions from reaching people with food and medical supplies. Meanwhile, health care continues to be attacked.

We ask Israel to give @WHO and our partners access to the north so we can reach those who desperately… pic.twitter.com/DVwvn7J2vM

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) October 16, 2024

However, ongoing violence threatens the campaign's goal of vaccinating at least 90 per cent of the children, a critical target to halt the virus's spread. In addition to polio vaccines, children are receiving vitamin A supplements to strengthen their immunity.

WHO highlighted the severity of the situation, reporting that out of 54 scheduled United Nations missions to Gaza in October, only one has been completed, with the rest either cancelled or obstructed due to the conflict.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The Boeing 787 aircraft was immediately taken to the isolation bay for mandatory security checks, according to the source.

The flight landed safely at 7.45 am.

There were 134 passengers and 13 crew on board the aircraft, as per sources.

"Vistara Frankfurt flight, which had departed for Mumbai from Frankfurt on Tuesday at 8.20 pm (local time) made an emergency landing here at around 7.45 am on Wednesday," a source said.

Vistara, in a statement, said that its Frankfurt-Mumbai flight received a security alert but landed safely here.

"The Vistara flight UK 028 operating from Frankfurt to Mumbai on October 16, 2024 was subject to a security threat received on social media," the airline said.

As per the protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed, it said, adding the aircraft safely landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai.

"It was taken to the isolation bay where all customers were disembarked. We are fully cooperating with the security agencies to complete the mandatory security checks," Vistara said in the statement.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

"We're not so different, you and I. We've both spent our lives looking for the weakness in one another's systems. Don't you think it's time to recognize there is as little worth on your side as there is on mine?"

Those who've been rooting for Gary Oldman playing Jackson Lamb, the instantly unlikeable boss of the good-for-nothings of MI5, the British intelligence agency, in Apple's Slow Horses, may not even remember this line the actor delivered playing another spy boss in another spy thriller: as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, a 2011 film based on John la Carre's book. 

Addressed to Smiley's Russian counterpart, Karla, this line, emblematic of the film's politics, was celebrated and decried in equal measure for creating an equivalence between the US and the USSR during the Cold War. Going by the recent media stories and diplomatic activity, George Smiley could have very well said it about India and Canada today.

Blow Hot, Blow Cold

New Delhi and Ottawa have expelled each other's top diplomats, following the Canadian Prime Minister's latest accusation of the Indian establishment being directly involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil. India, on the other hand, has not only denied it but also mounted a counterattack on Canada for nurturing anti-India groups within its territory. 

Fall is not fair weather for India-Canada relations. Exactly one year ago, the two countries were engaged in similar diplomatic acrimony over the same assassination. Khalistan, after nuclear proliferation, has been their proverbial bee in the bonnet for several decades. With the exception of the lull during the turn of the millennium, the issue has stayed alive and volatile. It is not going anywhere in a hurry.

Canada's soft approach towards anti-India outfits was once attributed solely to its domestic politics: the country is home to the largest Sikh diaspora, with around 7,70,000 of them living there. The current strain in the relationship, however, may not just be about Canada's vote bank politics or India's internal affairs involving resistance from a sect of Sikhs. There is, quite clearly, an emergence of bilateral antagonism now. Are the rapprochement personnel doing their job well? Or, more provocatively, are the spies doing theirs?

Flashbacks From 1975

Realistically speaking, assassinations on foreign soil are not a no-go zone, even with declared enemies, if the assassins are smart. The morality and legality of such actions is another story. What, then, has compelled Canada, a limited ally, to make public its investigations in the Nijjar assassination case and hold India responsible? Has there been a slight or a breach of trust, intended or otherwise, behind the scenes that a public show is to be put up? Are there bad-faith actors at work on either side, or is it sheer incompetence? It could be either or both, but as venerable Canadian writer Margaret Atwood reminds us, "Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results". Therefore, it's the breakdown of bilateral ties that matters, much more than the nitty-gritty of what caused it. 

This escalation of diplomatic tensions between India and Canada is beginning to loosely resemble another controversial diplomatic event that occurred half a century ago: the breakdown of the then newly forged Australia-North Korea relations. On October 30, 1975, Pyongyang recalled its diplomats from Canberra, citing the host country's 'unfriendly attitude' and 'intolerable provocative acts' in a communication sent via commercial mail. Less than ten days later, Australian diplomats were ousted from Pyongyang on November 8 on account of 'unfriendly behaviour' and 'abuse of diplomatic immunity'.

The actors and the times are different, but the problem is the same. This inability to smoothen out the rough edges time and again reflects poorly on the political and diplomatic leaders of India and Canada. What are long bilateral ties worth if they cannot withstand such events? Both Ottawa and New Delhi have engaged in the game of provocation and reconciliation. The classic blow-hot, blow-cold approach. To what end, though? 

A Lesson From Bridge Of Spies

Coming back to George Smiley's wisdom, looking for weaknesses in the other is a zero-sum game. This isn't the Cold War yet, but as India grows in stature, the chances of this game intensifying will increase correspondingly. India and Canada are not directly engaged in any military-territorial jostling, so these flare-ups have an even more limited scope. Both are citing long-term national security concerns, and other countries like the UK and the US are trying to broker 'peace' by urging India to cooperate in the investigation.

Diplomacy is an exercise in sifting fact from fiction but addressing both because both matter, even if unequally. Another popular culture reference to demonstrate it comes from Bridge of Spies, a 2014 film about the famous spy exchange between the US and USSR. James Donovan (Tom Hanks), a lawyer representing a Russian spy called Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), tells him, "The case against you matters. Making them prove it matters. The fiction is: whether you did it or not doesn't matter. The state has to prove it, that you're a spy".

Before anyone condescends about taking lessons from fiction, remember, apart from John la Carre, celebrated writers like Ian Fleming and Graham Greene once served in MI6. 

(Nishtha Gautam is a Delhi-based author and academic.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

The grisly shotgun slayings of wealthy music mogul Jose Menendez and his wife Kitty in their Beverly Hills home -- and their sons' subsequent, televised murder trials -- became the subject of a media frenzy. A hit Netflix series has recently sparked fresh interest in the case.

The brothers, aged 21 and 18 at the time of the murders, tearfully testified they killed their parents for fear of their own lives after years of sexual abuse by their father. 

They were convicted of first-degree murder and have been serving life sentences in prison without possibility of parole since their sentencing in 1996.

"As details of Lyle and Eric's abuse came to light, it became clear that their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruel(ty) of their father," their 92-year-old aunt Joan VanderMolen said Wednesday.

"Lyle and Erik have already paid a heavy price, discarded by a system that failed to recognize their pain," she told a news conference attended by some 30 relatives.

Their initial trial, starting in 1993, was one of the first televised murder cases to make daily headlines around the world. It ended in a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury, but they were found guilty in a second trial.

Prosecutors argued they conspired to murder their parents in order to inherit their $14 million fortune.

Last year, the brothers' attorneys filed a court petition setting out new evidence which they said demonstrates Jose Menendez's history of sexual abuse.

Among the new evidence is a letter Erik wrote to a cousin months before the murders, saying "I've been trying to avoid dad. It's still happening... Every night I stay up thinking he might come in."

Former Latino boy band member Roy Rossello said in a documentary series released last year that he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez in the 1980s.

The brothers' attorneys have called for a resentencing, which could see their clients released from prison given the lengthy time already spent behind bars.

Prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday that Los Angeles's criminal justice system "has developed a more modern understanding of sexual violence since the Menendez brothers first faced prosecution." 

"Today, our office acknowledges that sexual violence is a pervasive issue affecting countless individuals -- of all gender identities," they wrote, confirming the case is being reviewed on multiple fronts.

Earlier this month, Los Angeles district attorney George Gascon told reporters he had "a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us."

His comments came two weeks after the release on Netflix of the crime drama "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story." The streaming giant also put out a documentary film, "The Menendez Brothers," last week.

Gascon, who is running for re-election on a criminal reform platform, acknowledged the initial Netflix show resulted in a large number of calls to his office about the case.

A hearing is scheduled for November 26.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Speaking during a public inquiry into alleged foreign interference in Canada's federal electoral processes and democratic institutions, Mr Trudeau revealed that his claims about India's involvement were based on intelligence rather than conclusive evidence. 

"I was briefed on the fact that there was intelligence from Canada, and possibly from Five Eyes allies that made it fairly clear, incredibly clear, that India was involved in this... Agents of the government of India were involved in the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil," he said.

READ | India-Canada Ties Hit New Low: Timeline Of How Relations Soured

The Five Eyes network, comprising Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, focuses on surveillance and signals intelligence (SIGINT). According to Mr Trudeau, the information presented was alarming enough for the Canadian government to take seriously.

Mr Trudeau alleged that Indian diplomats were engaged in gathering information on Canadians who were critical of the Modi government, with this data reportedly being passed to senior Indian officials and criminal organizations, including the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The Bishnoi gang, notorious for its involvement in organised crime, has been linked by Canadian authorities to violence targeting the South Asian community, specifically pro-Khalistani activists in Canada.

READ | Lawrence Bishnoi Has 700 Shooters On Call. How He Operates From Jail

Nijjar, a designated terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) later stated that six Indian diplomats were allegedly part of a plot to murder Nijjar. The Canadian Police also suggested that the Bishnoi gang was connected to Indian government agents.

Mr Trudeau explained that Canada had the option to go public with the allegations during the G20 summit held in New Delhi in September 2023 but chose not to.

"Our response was, well, it's within your security agencies," Mr Trudeau said, recounting Canada's exchanges with India. "At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof. So we said, let's work together and look into your security services."

Mr Trudeau added that he confronted Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit, claiming that Canada was aware of India's alleged involvement. According to Mr Trudeau, PM Modi's response was to express concern about individuals in Canada critical of the Indian government, requesting that they be arrested. 

Canada's Response, India's Retaliation

The diplomatic fallout between the two countries worsened when India expelled six Canadian diplomats following Mr Trudeau's allegations. India also recalled its High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, as part of the escalating diplomatic row. Mr Trudeau accused India of not cooperating with Canada's investigation, while India dismissed the claims as unfounded.

India responded with rejection of the accusations, stating that the Canadian government had failed to provide any evidence. 

READ | "Preposterous Imputations": Trudeau's Escalation, India's Strong Rebuttal

"What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along - Canada has presented us (India) no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats," the MEA said in a statement. "The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone."

Our response to media queries regarding PM of Canada's deposition at the Commission of Inquiry: https://t.co/JI4qE3YK39 pic.twitter.com/1W8mel5DJe

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 16, 2024

This follows India's sharp rebuttal to Canada on Monday, rejecting allegations Mr Verma being a 'person of interest' in a murder investigation, describing them as "preposterous imputations." 

Canada reportedly named  High Commissioner Verma as a 'person of interest' in its investigation into Nijjar's death. India swiftly hit back, accusing Canada of maligning its officials without evidence and using "preposterous" claims to justify its failure to curb Khalistani extremism on its soil.

Opinion | Nijjar Row: How US Backing Has Emboldened A Beleaguered Trudeau

In a strongly worded statement, New Delhi condemned Canada's diplomatic communication suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other Indian diplomats were implicated in a sensitive investigation. An MEA response stated, "The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Mr Trudeau Government that is centred around vote bank politics."

The Indian government has consistently argued that Canada provides a safe haven for pro-Khalistani extremists and separatists who pose a threat to India's security. New Delhi also highlighted that it had requested action against these elements, which Canada had failed to take seriously.

'Major Win' For India 

Canadian journalist Daniel Bordman has described Mr Trudeau's admission as a "major win for the Indian narrative." Speaking with news agency ANI, Mr Bordman noted that Canada's initially aggressive stance, including the expulsion of Indian diplomats and accusations targeting India, has now been tempered by Mr Trudeau's clarification. 

"This is a pretty big win for the Indian narrative... We had gone pretty hard. We had kicked out a diplomat and named the Indian High Commission," Mr Bordman said.

The heart of the diplomatic row remains unresolved, according to Mr Bordman, centring around perspectives on Nijjar's identity - whether he was a Khalistani terrorist, as India claims, or a community activist, as many in Canada believe.

"On the geopolitical technicality aspect, India wins here because you never said you had evidence. But what does it change from the grand structures of things? Ultimately, the diplomatic spat is really about the unanswered question, was Hardeep Singh Nijjar a Khalistani terrorist or a community activist? And that general disagreement has not moved," Bordman added.

Mr Bordman also criticised Mr Trudeau's claim that Canada supports India's territorial integrity. "Trudeau says things and then does things that don't align with what he says... He might claim to be against Khalistani separatism, but his actions tell a different story," Mr Bordman remarked.

There is no red-white-and-blue bunting around Sydney Harbour, no posters on the city's streets and aside from cries from ardent monarchists and republicans, little chatter about the first visit of a sitting Australian monarch in 13 years.

"I'd forgotten they were even coming," said 73-year-old Sydneysider Trevor Reeves summing up the mood in Australia's largest city.

This six-day royal visit to Sydney and Canberra will undoubtedly bring pomp, ceremony and plenty of media coverage.

Even with the schedule skimmed back because of Charles' cancer diagnosis, there will be extravagant mass gatherings, including an event in front of the Opera House and a sprawling community barbecue.

But few expect Charles and Camilla's visit to match the buzz of nation-stopping royal visits past -- including Charles and his first wife Diana's trip in 1983.

Today Aussies appear more preoccupied with war in the Middle East, the US election, or another group of British visitors -- rock group Oasis -- who will tour next year.

"I'm not excited, but I don't begrudge them coming out," said 72-year-old Susanne Lowire. "They don't have much impact over here."

"Some people just love it as they love movie stars," said Lowire, likening the royals to musical brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher.

"Are they going to fight again? Do they sound terrible? It's the same with the king and the queen coming over," she said.

University of Sydney historian Cindy McCreery believes the lack of attention being paid to the royal visit is understandable amid worries about war, climate change and the cost of living.

"We live in a complex moment with all the global issues," she said. It is "natural to expect a more varied response to the monarchy". 

However, decades-long demographic trends are also shaping perceptions.

A changing nation 

About 36 per cent of Australians still identify as "English", the country's largest ancestry, according to a 2021 census.

That figure was 10 points higher when the census first asked that question in 1986.

About a third of Australians today were born overseas, and the population is steadily becoming more Italian, Greek, Lebanese, Indian or Chinese.

"That impacts how Australians connect or do not connect," McCreery said.

"In previous royal visits, people may have had a stronger connection to Britain, but a growing number of people may not necessarily have that immediate connection."

Polls show about a third of Australians would like to ditch the monarchy, a third would keep it, and a third are ambivalent.

So no sweeping constitutional change is on the cards, and the issue is a political dead rubber.

While Australia voted against becoming a republic in 1999, the movement remains active, but in political purgatory.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is a lifelong Republican and even created a minister for the republic when he came to office.

The post was quietly scrapped earlier this year and Albanese, having heavily lost a referendum on Indigenous rights, has ruled out going back to the voters about the royals.

Royal collectors 

The royals are not without Australian fans.

Still, even Jan Hugo, one of the largest royal memorabilia collectors in the Southern Hemisphere, will not travel two hours to Sydney to see the king and queen, when they visit.

Her home in rural New South Wales could be mistaken for a museum. Every corner is bursting with more than 10,000 pieces of royal memorabilia. 

Jan Hugo is one of the largest royal memorabilia collectors in Australia. 
Photo Credit: AFP

Hugo admits she has given up counting how many items she has.

"It's probably worth a fortune to me and nothing to somebody else," she said.

It all started 40 years ago when she was given a commemorative coin for the engagement of Charles and Diana.

Now, most of Hugo's home is dedicated to the royal family, with unusual trinkets lining the walls.

A large statue of Queen Elizabeth II sits on a throne surrounded by her beloved corgis.

Hugo said the republic debate rears its head every time the royals visit, but whatever Australia decides she just hopes to get her hands on some memorabilia.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

For days, thousands of black spheres -- ranging from the size of peas to tennis balls -- have appeared on the sand, puzzling locals and tourists alike. 

Chemical testing has identified them as hydrocarbon-based tar balls, local officials said. 

Tar balls can form when slicks of spilled oil are battered by wind and waves, mixing to form a sticky seawater emulsion that eventually breaks into smaller pieces or "balls".  

The source is still unknown. 

"As a precaution, all Waverley Beaches will be closed until further investigation has been carried out," a local council that includes Bondi said. 

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A post shared by Randwick City Council (@randwickcouncil)

The mayor of another beachside council, Dylan Parker, said three other beaches were also closed. 

"Our beaches will remain closed and we are investigating," he said. "We are still waiting for the tides to come in." 

While formally closed, access to the beaches has not been forcibly restricted, so some brave surfers and swimmers could still be seen in the water. 

It is common for authorities to declare beaches closed during large swells.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The massive fire that killed the old man and injured two others broke out inside the second-floor apartment on Brighton 3rd Street near Brightwater Court in Brighton Beach. The flames and the heat created by it were so intense that it blocked the exit from the house, resulting in the death of the 69-year-old, as per the news report.

A 32-year-old woman and 35-year-old man who were also home at the time were hospitalised after they tried to douse the flames-aa risky move when dealing with a battery fire, according to Flynn and police.

"So they attempted to extinguish the fire [and] they were able to escape with minor injuries," FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn said. "There were two children as well that self-evacuated and did not sustain injuries.

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A post shared by FDNY (@fdny)

"I strongly recommend you do not attempt to extinguish these on your own," the FDNY official added. "Your conventional fire extinguishers will really not be as effective as they would be in other fires."

A dozen FDNY units, including 60 firefighters and EMS workers, responded to the scene.

"When lithium-ion batteries ignite, it's a much more serious, much more involved fire," FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said. "Thankfully, our firefighters were quickly able to stretch hose lines and extinguish the fire before it spread to additional apartments and throughout."

Tiny plastic pieces have spread all over the planet – on land, in the air and even in clouds. An estimated 170 trillion bits of microplastic are estimated to be in the oceans alone. Across the globe, research has found people and wildlife are exposed to microplastics mainly through eating and drinking, but also through breathing.

Our study found the microplastic particles exhaled by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are similar in chemical composition to those identified in human lungs. Whether dolphins are exposed to more of these pollutants than people are is not yet known.

Why it matters

In humans, inhaled microplastics can cause lung inflammation, which can lead to problems including tissue damage, excess mucus, pneumonia, bronchitis, scarring and possibly cancer. Since dolphins and humans inhale similar plastic particles, dolphins may be at risk for the same lung problems.

Research also shows plastics contain chemicals that, in humans, can affect reproduction, cardiovascular health and neurological function. Since dolphins are mammals, microplastics may well pose these health risks for them, too.

As top predators with decades-long life spans, bottlenose dolphins help scientists understand the impacts of pollutants on marine ecosystems – and the related health risks for people living near coasts. This research is important because more than 41% of the world's human population lives within 62 miles (100 km) of a coast.

What still isn't known

Scientists estimate the oceans contain many trillions of plastic particles, which get there through runoff, wastewater or settling from the air. Ocean waves can release these particles into the air.

In fact, bubble bursts caused by wave energy can release 100,000 metric tons of microplastics into the atmosphere each year. Since dolphins and other marine mammals breathe at the water's surface, they may be especially vulnerable to exposure.

Where there are more people, there is usually more plastic. But for the tiny plastic particles floating in the air, this connection isn't always true. Airborne microplastics are not limited to heavily populated areas; they pollute undeveloped regions, too.

Our research found microplastics in the breath of dolphins living in both urban and rural estuaries, but we don't yet know whether there are major differences in amounts or types of plastic particles between the two habitats.

How we do our work

Breath samples for our study were collected from wild bottlenose dolphins during catch-and-release health assessments conducted in partnership with the Brookfield Zoo Chicago, Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, National Marine Mammal Foundation and Fundación Oceanogràfic.

During these brief permitted health assessments, we held a petri dish or a customized spirometer – a device that measures lung function – above the dolphin's blowhole to collect samples of the animals' exhaled breath. Using a microscope in our colleague's lab, we checked for tiny particles that looked like plastic, such as pieces with smooth surfaces, bright colors or a fibrous shape.

Since plastic melts when heated, we used a soldering needle to test whether these suspected pieces were plastic. To confirm they were indeed plastic, our colleague used a specialized method called Raman spectroscopy, which uses a laser to create a structural fingerprint that can be matched to a specific chemical.

Our study highlights how extensive plastic pollution is – and how other living things, including dolphins, are exposed. While the impacts of plastic inhalation on dolphins' lungs are not yet known, people can help address the microplastic pollution problem by reducing plastic use and working to prevent more plastic from polluting the oceans.

Of that amount, between $600 million and $1 billion was stolen just last year, based on Microsoft's ‘Digital Defence Report for 2024'.

The report highlights that these stolen funds have financed over half of Pyongyang's nuclear development efforts, reports Yonhap news agency.

Since last year, Microsoft has identified several new North Korean hacking groups -- Moonstone Sleet, Jade Sleet, Sapphire Sleet and Citrine Sleet, which have been targeting cryptocurrency organisations.

In particular, Moonstone Sleet has developed a custom ransomware variant and deployed it against unidentified entities in the aerospace and defence sectors for both intelligence gathering and financial gain.

Microsoft analysts said the emergence of new hacking groups suggests that the North Korean regime is expanding its involvement in ransomware activities, increasing the use of cybercriminal tools to bolster the regime's financial resources and advance its strategic interests.

"Nation-states are becoming more aggressive in the cyber domain, with ever-growing levels of technical sophistication that reflect increased investment in resources and training," said Tom Burt, Microsoft's vice president of customer security and trust.

Microsoft also warned of rising cyber threats by state-backed actors, especially those related to Russia, China and Iran, ahead of the U.S. presidential election and amid persistent geopolitical conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, South Korea, the US and Japan recently agreed to bolster joint efforts to combat North Korea's illegal cyber activities, which are increasingly targeting the virtual currency industry.

The three sides stressed the importance of strengthening partnerships with the private sector, particularly with cryptocurrency service providers, to raise awareness of Pyongyang's cyber threats.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

What produces the 1:1 sex ratio? Early scientists credited divine providence with ensuring that “every male should have its female”.

Of course, we now know that sex chromosomes are the real determiners of sex. Females have two X chromosomes; males have a single X and a male-specific Y.

The Y carries a male-determining gene called SRY, which kickstarts the differentiation of a ridge of cells into a testis. The embryonic testis makes male hormones which direct the embryo to develop as a boy. Without SRY, an alternative pathway is activated that makes an ovary, and the embryo develops as a girl.

The 1:1 ratio results from the way the X and Y chromosomes are doled out in sperm and eggs. Our cells all have two sets of chromosomes that constitute our genome, one set from each parent. A special type of cell division makes sperm and eggs with just a single set of chromosomes, so that a fertilised egg once again has two sets (one set from the sperm and the other from the egg).

So sperm all get a single copy of each chromosome – and just one sex chromosome, either an X or a Y. XX females make eggs with a single chromosome set, all of which carry an X.

When a sperm fertilises an egg, the sex chromosome the sperm carries determines the sex of the baby. Embryos that receive one X from the mother and another X from the father are destined to be XX girls, and embryos that receive a Y-bearing sperm will develop as XY boys.

So the 1:1 XY ratio in sperm should produce a 1:1 ratio of XX girls and XY boys.

Sex ratio variation But there are lots of exceptions to a 1:1 ratio in the animal kingdom. There are genetic mutations that subvert the orderly segregation of the X and Y, or that preferentially kill male or female embryos.

Why should the sex ratio be stuck at 1:1 anyway?

After all, a few males can fertilise the eggs of many females.

Indeed, for many animals, unequal sex ratios are the norm. For instance, the mouse-sized marsupial Antechinus stuartii produces only 32% males, even when assessed at birth (so it's not that male babies die more often).

Many birds have sex ratios far from 1:1, and some show very specific adaptations that make ecological sense. For instance, the second kookaburra chick to hatch, facing a lower chance of survival, is usually a female, the sex most likely to survive.

And there are systems of non-standard sex chromosomes. Polar mammals and strange rodents, for instance, are famous for systems in which a mutant X chromosome quashes SRY to form fertile XY females, or a mutated version of SRY doesn't work. In these species, females predominate, which makes sense for mammals that have to get all their breeding done in a short summer.

Insects take the cake. An extreme case is a kind of mite that produces a ratio of 15 females to 1 male. In many fruit fly species, 95% of sperm carry the X chromosome, so the progeny are largely female.

Why a 1:1 sex ratio in humans?

Fisher's principle So if sex ratio is so malleable, why have humans (and most mammals) gone for a 1:1 ratio? The great British statistician Ronald Fisher proposed that the ratio is self-correcting and will tend to 1:1 unless there are evolutionary forces that select for distortions.

The argument is simple. Given every baby must have a mother and a father, if there is a deficiency in one sex, the parents of the rarer sex will have more grandchildren than parents of the more common sex.

For instance, if males are the rarer sex, parents who by chance produce more sons than daughters will leave more grandchildren than those that produce more daughters than sons. As a result, son-producing genes will get a boost until parity is reached.

So do we see measurable and heritable departures from 1:1 in the family sex ratio of human sons to daughters? What about Fisher's principle – is there any evidence that strong evolutionary effects are constraining the human population sex ratio to be 1:1? In the new research published this week, researchers Siliang Song and Jianzhi Zhang from the University of Michigan conducted an exhaustive examination of huge human data sets from the United Kingdom and found the answer is an emphatic no. They did identify two genetic variants that affected sex ratio, but these seemed not to be passed on through families.

So why do humans obey the 1:1 rule? Is it just statistical artefact, because any one family has relatively so few children that even large departures from a 1:1 ratio get evened out across many families? Some families have the gene variants to produce more sons than daughters, but other families produce more daughters than sons. Song and Zhang's analysis suggests this high variability is part of the problem for demonstrating any systematic bias.

Another possibility is that humans face special evolutionary constraints. Perhaps the human tendency for monogamy places additional evolutionary pressure on humans to adhere to Fisher's principle in a way that does not apply to other animal species.

Whatever the answer, this paper by Song and Zhang raises many intriguing questions, and will be a stimulus to further research on the longstanding and fascinating question of parity in the human sex ratio.

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Vasundhara Oswal was seized by around 20 armed men, who did not produce an identification or warrant, from Oswal's extra-neutral alcohol (ENA) plant in Uganda. While she was detained on October 1, purportedly in a missing man's case, an urgent appeal to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) was filed earlier this week.

A post on Vasundhara's Instagram handle detailed her "unlawful detainment and arrest", showing a toilet with blood and faeces on the floor. The post claimed that she forced to sit in a room full of shoes for over 90 hours, and not allowed to bathe or change her clothes for nearly five days.  The woman was denied basic necessities, like clean water and proper food, given a small bench to sleep on, and made to participate in a suspect parade.

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A post shared by Vasundhara Oswal (@vasundharaoswal)

The EU Reporter said Vasundhara was denied vegetarian food and denying access to her family and lawyers.

Another post on her Instagram handle quoted her brother as describing Vasundhara as a "workaholic", who developed the $110 million ENA plant in Uganda's Luwero from "a small tent on a bare land in 2021". He said her detention was a result of corporate jealousy of an unnamed 68-year-old man, whom he charged with an attempt to extort the Oswal money and drown her reputation. 

Vasundhara's brother further claimed that the authorities did not release her despite a court order, and instead took her to a look court where she was charged with murder.

The WGAD is an expert body of international human rights specialists appointed by the Human Rights Council to investigate the misuse of the police powers, to shine a light on abuse and to intervene with the governments responsible.

Meanwhile, Vasundhara's mother Radhika Oswal, in an appeal to the Ugandan government, said, "My young daughter has been thrown into a foreign jail. She has been stripped of her basic human rights and her dignity. Vasundhara is an innocent bystander. All I want is her safety.”

The Monitor, on the other hand, claimed that Vasundhara, also the executive director of PRO Industries, and the company's lawyer were remanded to prison on charges of kidnapping with intent to kill chef Mukesh Kumar Menaria, who has worked for the family for seven years.

A Meta spokesperson told Reuters in a statement that a few of its teams were making changes to align with their long-term strategic goals and location strategy.

"This includes moving some teams to different locations and moving some employees to different roles. In situations like these when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other opportunities for impacted employees," the spokesperson said.

The Verge report did not specify the exact number of job cuts but mentioned that they were small. Meta also did not comment on the numbers.

Separately, the Financial Times reported that Meta fired another two dozen staff in Los Angeles for allegedly using their daily $25 meal credits to instead buy household items including acne pads, wine glasses and laundry detergent.

These terminations are separate from the team restructurings and took place last week, the FT report said.

Meta declined to comment on the FT report.

Meta has slashed around 21,000 jobs since November 2022 to keep costs low with CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling 2023 the "Year of Efficiency".

Meta shares have jumped more than 60% this year.

In its most recent second-quarter results, Meta beat market expectations for revenue and issued a rosy sales forecast for the third quarter, signalling that robust digital-ad spending on its social media platforms can cover the cost of its artificial intelligence investments.

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"Stray dogs who are hungry are eating these bodies in the street... It makes it difficult for us to identify the bodies," he said.

He said that the Israeli forces are "destroying everything that represents life or signs of life", referring to the air and ground assaults in northern Gaza and the Jabalia area, where Israel claims that Hamas members have been regrouping.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israeli towns on October 7 last year, resulting in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians.

Israel's assault has since then killed 42,409 people, the majority civilians, and injured 99,153 others in the Gaza Strip.

In its daily update on Wednesday, the Gaza health ministry said Israeli military strikes had killed 65 Palestinians across the enclave in the past 24 hours.

ALSO READ | Israel Used Dogs, Waterboarding On Palestinian Detainees: UN Flags "Torture"

Mr Afana said that on Monday Israeli troops had fired on hungry residents searching for food at a warehouse aid center run by the UN's agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA).

"The situation is getting worse," he said, adding that they "can't do their jobs normally".

"What is happening in northern Gaza is a real genocide," he said.

UNRWA Warns Of 'Real Risk' Of Gaza Famine

The UNRWA warned Wednesday of the risk of famine in Gaza as Israel intensified its operations in the north of the besieged Palestinian territory.

At a press conference, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said that "there is a real risk today... that we enter a situation where famine or acute malnutrition is unfortunately again a likelihood," pointing to the upcoming winter and the weakened immune systems of Gaza's population.

ALSO READ | US Warns Israel Of Potential Aid Cuts Over Gaza Assistance Delays

Speaking on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, he said it had "become a kind of wasteland, which I would say is almost unliveable".

Mr Lazzarini said that with appropriate action, a hunger crisis in Gaza "can be avoided" if convoys and food are allowed to enter.

Many have declared drugs like Ozempic could “end obesity” by reducing the appetite and waistlines of millions of people around the world.

When we look past the hype, this isn't just untrue – it can also be harmful. The focus on weight, as opposed to health, is a feature of diet culture. This frames the pursuit of thinness as more important than other aspects of physical and cultural wellbeing.

The Ozempic buzz isn't just rooted in health and medicine but plays into ideas of fat stigma and fat phobia. This can perpetuate fears of fatness and fat people, and the behaviours that harm people who live in larger bodies.

Not the first ‘miracle' weight-loss drug

This isn't the first time we have heard that weight-loss drugs will change the world. Ozempic and its family of GLP-1-mimicking drugs are the latest in a long line of weight loss drugs. Each looked promising at the time. But none have lived up to the hype in the long term. Some have even been withdrawn from sale due to severe side effects.

Science does improve incrementally, but diet culture also keeps us on a cycle of hope for the next miracle cure. So drugs like Ozempic might not deliver the results individuals expect, continuing the cycle of hope and shame.

Ozempic doesn't work the same for everyone

When we talk about the results of studies using Ozempic, we often focus on the average (also known as the mean) results or the maximum (or peak) results. So, studies might show those using the drug lost an average of 10.9% of their body weight, but some lost more than 20% and others less than 5%

What we don't talk about as much is that responses are variable. Some people are “non-responders”. This means not everyone loses as much weight as the average, and some don't lose weight at all. For some people, the side-effects will outweigh the benefits.

When people are on drugs like Ozempic, their blood sugar is better controlled by enhancing the release of insulin and reducing the levels of another hormone called glucagon.

But there is greater variability in the amount of weight lost than the variability in blood sugar control. It isn't clear why, but is likely due to differences in genetics and lifestyles, and weight being more complex to regulate.

Treatment needs to be ongoing. What will this mean?

When weight-loss drugs do work, they are only effective while they're being taken. This means that to keep the weight off people need to keep taking them long term. One study found an average weight loss of more than 17% after a year on Ozempic became an average net weight loss of 5.6% more than two years after stopping treatment.

Short-term side effects of drugs like Ozempic include dizziness, nausea, vomiting and other gastrointestinal upsets. But because these are new drugs, we simply don't have data to tell us if side effects will increase as people take them for longer periods.

Nor do we know if effectiveness will be reduced in the long term. This is called drug tolerance and is documented for other long-term treatments such as antidepressants and chemotherapies.

Biology is only part of the story

For some people, using GLP-1-mimicking drugs like Ozempic will be validating and empowering. They will feel like their biology has been “normalised” in the same way that blood pressure or cholesterol medication can return people to the “normal” range of measures.

But biologically, obesity isn't solely about GLP-1 activity with many other hormones, physical activity, and even our gut microbes involved.

Overall, obesity is complex and multifaceted. Obesity isn't just driven by personal biology and choice; it has social, cultural, political, environmental and economic determinants.

A weight-centred approach misses the rest of the story

The weight-centred approach suggests that leading with thinness means health will follow. But changing appetite is only part of the story when it comes to health.

Obesity often co-exists with malnutrition. We try to separate the effects in research using statistics, but focusing on the benefits of weight-loss drugs without addressing the underlying malnutrition means we aren't likely to see the improved health outcomes in everyone who loses weight.

Obesity isn't an issue detached from people

Even when it is well-intentioned, the rhetoric around the joy of “ending the obesity epidemic” can harm people. Obesity doesn't occur in isolation. It is people who are obese. And the celebration and hype of these weight-loss drugs can reinforce harmful fat stigma.

The framing of these drugs as a “cure” exacerbates the binary view of thin versus fat, and healthy versus unhealthy. These are not binary outcomes that are good or bad. Weight and health exist on a spectrum.

Ironically, while fat people are told they need to lose weight for their health, they are also shamed for “cheating” or taking shortcuts by using medication.

Drugs are tools, not silver bullets

The creation of these drugs is a start, but they remain expensive, and the hype has been followed by shortages. Ultimately, complex challenges aren't addressed with simple solutions. This is particularly true when people are involved, and even more so when there isn't even an agreement on what the challenge is.

Many organisations and individuals see obesity is a disease and believe this framing helps people to seek treatment.

Others think it's unnecessary to attach medical labels to body types and argue it confuses risk factors (things that are linked to increased risk of illness) with illness itself.

Regardless, two things will always remain true. Drugs can only ever be tools, and those tools need to be applied in a context. To use these tools ethically, we need to remain mindful of who this application harms along the way.

Read the other articles in The Conversation's Ozempic series here.

(Author: Emma Beckett, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Nutrition, Dietetics & Food Innovation - School of Health Sciences, UNSW Sydney)

(Disclosure Statement: Emma Beckett has received funding for research or consulting from Mars Foods, Nutrition Research Australia, NHMRC, ARC, AMP Foundation, Kellogg, and the University of Newcastle. She works for FOODiQ Global and is a fat woman. She is a member of committees/working groups related to nutrition or the Australian Academy of Science, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Nutrition Society of Australia)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
 

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Police gave no indication that the event itself, a party marking Eid al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of the Muslim holy month, was targeted.

"We are very, very fortunate today that we did not have more individuals shot and anyone killed," Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told reporters.

In mid-afternoon as around 1,000 people were in the park celebrating the end to their month of fasting, around 30 gunshots rang out, Bethel said.

"What we do know is there appear to be two factions within the park, who are now exchanging gunfire," Bethel said.

Three people were wounded, including an armed 15-year-old who was shot by police. He was hit in the arm and leg.

Five people were arrested including the teen, and five guns were recovered, police said.

"Eid should always be a time of joy for our Muslim neighbors. And I grieve for every member of the Philadelphia Muslim community whose celebration was shattered by gun violence today," Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

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The Democratic Party (DP) was projected to take more than 170 of the 300 seats in the new legislature, data by the National Election Commission and network broadcasters showed with more than 99% of the votes counted as of 5:55 a.m. on Thursday (2055 GMT Wednesday).

A splinter liberal party considered allied with the DP was expected to take at least 10 seats, projections showed.

The bitterly fought race was seen by some analysts as a referendum on Yoon, whose popularity has suffered amid a cost-of-living crisis and a spate of political scandals.

His People Power Party (PPP) was projected to win just over 100 seats, meaning Yoon would avoid the super-majority of a two-third opposition control that could break presidential vetoes and pass constitutional amendments.

But nearing the end of the first two years of his five-year single term allowed by the constitution, Yoon was likely to slip into a lame duck status, some analysts said.

The National Election Commission (NEC) was expected to announce the official results later on Thursday. Nearly 29.7 million people, or 67% of eligible voters, cast their ballots, according to the NEC, including 14 million who had cast their ballots in early voting last week.

It marked the highest ever turnout for a parliamentary election, though the numbers were down from the 2022 presidential vote that narrowly brought Yoon to power.

Yoon, who took office in May 2022, was not up for election this time but his ability to pass legislation is likely to be badly damaged by the poor showing by his PPP.

He has suffered low ratings for months, hamstrung in implementing his pledges to cut taxes, ease business regulations and expand family support in the world's fastest ageing society.

Mason Richey, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said Yoon might focus more on his overseas agenda now, though those plans could also be at risk if the opposition seeks to cut budgets with its majority.

"Given his likely lame duck status, the temptation for Yoon will be to focus on foreign policy where he will still have statutory power," Richey said.

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Kim gave field guidance on Wednesday at Kim Jong Il University of Military and Politics, named after his father who died in 2011, which KCNA said is the "highest seat of military education" in the country.

North Korea has stepped up weapons development in recent years under Kim and has forged closer military and political ties with Russia, allegedly aiding Moscow in its war with Ukraine in return for help with strategic military projects.

Affirming that if the enemy opts for military confrontation with the DPRK, the DPRK will deal a death-blow to the enemy without hesitation by mobilizing all means in its possession," KCNA quoted Kim as telling the university staff and students.

DPRK is short for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

"Outlining the complicated international situation ... and the uncertain and unstable military and political situation around the DPRK, he said that now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before," KCNA said.

Earlier this month, Kim supervised the test launch of a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile using solid fuel, which analysts said would bolster the North's ability to deploy missiles more effectively than liquid-fuel variants.

North Korea has accused the United States and South Korea of provoking military tensions by conducting what it called "war maneuvers" as the allies have conducted military drills with greater intensity and scale in recent months.

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Australia's parliament passed a motion in February with the prime minister's support calling for an end to the legal saga surrounding Assange, who has been held in Britain since 2019 while fighting extradition to the United States.

"We're considering it," Biden replied at the White House when asked by a reporter if he had a response to Australia's request.

Biden, who took the question while walking with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to a meeting in the Oval Office, did not elaborate.

Australian citizen Assange, 52, has been indicted by the US government over his role in the 2010 leaking of a huge trove of classified documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If convicted, he faces jail terms of up to 175 years.

In response to Biden's comments, Assange's wife Stella said on social platform X: "Do the right thing. Drop the charges."

She has previously said Assange's physical and mental health are in decline in jail and that her husband "will die" if sent to the United States.

Assange and his supporters say he exposed US military wrongdoing and see his case as a fight for media freedom. Washington says his leaks put lives at risk by publishing documents that included the names of intelligence sources.

- 'So brutal' -

Assange is currently waiting to learn if he can make a last-ditch appeal against extradition, after a British court last month delayed a decision on his case. It is now expected May 20.

In late March, the High Court in London gave the United States three weeks to provide further "assurances" on his treatment if he is sent there to face charges.

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson on Wednesday called for "a political solution" to Assange's plight, as supporters rallied in central London on the eve of the fifth anniversary of his arrest.

"This is a case that just should never have been started in the first place," Hrafnsson told AFP at the rally.

He said Assange's time in the high-security Belmarsh Prison in southeast London was "so excessive and so brutal."

Hrafnsson said Canberra should link the case to its landmark AUKUS security pact with Washington and London to secure Assange's release.

"They should be bold and say we have nothing to discuss unless you drop the charges against Julian Assange so he can walk free and come back to Australia," he said.

Before going to prison, Assange spent seven years in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced accusations of sexual assault which were later dropped.

Other protests supporting Assange are expected around the world Thursday.

Campaign groups including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have called for his release and denounced the prosecution under the 1917 US Espionage Act, which has never been used over the publishing of classified information.

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Carrying the pilgrims to a shrine, the truck was speeding and fell into a deep roadside ditch in Hub City in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, police said.

Casualties were expected to rise, police said.

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Hamas said in a statement that three of Haniyeh's sons and four of his grandchildren were killed in the air strike.

Israel confirmed the killings, saying the sons were "Hamas operatives" who were "on their way to carry out terrorist activities".

The strike came as talks in Cairo aimed at a ceasefire and a hostage release deal dragged on without signs of a breakthrough.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, suggested the strike was an attempt to shift Hamas's negotiating stance, but insisted it would not work.

US President Joe Biden meanwhile said Hamas "needs to move" on the latest truce proposal, which the militant group has said it was considering.

The United States has also been ramping up pressure on Israel to agree to a truce, increase the amount of aid it allows into the besieged Gaza Strip and abandon plans to invade the southern city of Rafah.

Biden labelled Israel's conduct of the war a "mistake" in an interview broadcast on Tuesday, before warning on Wednesday that it was not allowing enough aid into the territory.

As Israeli forces kept up combat operations and air strikes across the Gaza Strip, Muslims gathered to pray amid the devastation of the six-month war, to mark the first day of Eid al-Fitr which ends the fasting month of Ramadan.

The war broke out with Hamas's October 7 attack against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Palestinian militants also took about 250 hostages, 129 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli army says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,482 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

- 'Disproportionate response' -

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said that militarily "Hamas is defeated" but insisted that Israeli troops would nevertheless enter Rafah and return to Khan Yunis, from which they withdrew several days ago.

The army would have to fight for years to come, "in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank and in the Lebanon front", he added.

More than 1.5 million civilians are sheltering from the war in Rafah, the last Gazan city yet to face an Israeli ground invasion.

Israel's close ally the United States has repeatedly warned against an invasion.

Biden, voicing his growing frustration with the hawkish Netanyahu, issued some of his sternest criticism yet of the war.

"I think what he's doing is a mistake," Biden told the US network Univision in an interview that aired on Tuesday night having been recorded last week.

He urged Netanyahu to "just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into" Gaza.

Talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have been ongoing since Sunday, with Hamas still considering the latest proposal.

Hamas spokesman in Doha Hossam Badran told AFP: "Hamas is studying the offer presented... It has not responded yet."

A framework being circulated would halt fighting for six weeks and see the exchange of about 40 hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Biden, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, said "It's now up to Hamas, they need to move on the proposal that's been made".

Reacting to the strike that killed his sons and grandchildren, Haniyeh told Al Jazeera, "if they (Israel) think that targeting my children... at the peak of these talks and before the movement's response, if they think that this will force Hamas to change its positions, they are delusional".

Beyond Washington, there has been a growing chorus of international criticism aimed at Israel's conduct of the war and the paucity of aid entering the territory.

On Wednesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that what he called Israel's "disproportionate response" in Gaza risked "destabilising the Middle East, and as a consequence, the entire world".

Spain is among several Western nations, including Ireland and Australia, to have suggested they would recognise a Palestinian state in the near future as a starting point for wider peace talks.

- 'Sea change' in aid supply -

In central Gaza -- the only area where Israeli ground troops are actively deployed -- a strike on a home in the Nuseirat camp killed 14 people, the health ministry said.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that "Israeli troops are continuing to operate in the central Gaza Strip and killed a number of terrorists over the past day".

The military added that aircraft had "struck dozens of terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including military sites, launchers, tunnel shafts and infrastructure".

Washington's tougher line on aid has brought some results, the US Agency for International Development said.

Recent days had seen a "sea change" in aid deliveries, said USAID administrator Samantha Power, although she insisted Israel needed to do more.

On Wednesday Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would "flood Gaza with aid", using a new crossing point on its northern border, streamlined checks and two new routes organised with Jordan.

He said they expected to hit 500 aid trucks entering Gaza a day, which would match the average level of aid and commercial trucks reaching the territory before the war.

Regional tensions have surged amid the conflict.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel that it "must be punished and will be punished" for a strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus last week that Tehran has blamed on Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz replied with a Persian-language post saying "if Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran".

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Weisselberg, 76, was the chief financial officer of Trump's real estate and entertainment group from 2005 to 2021.

The jailing of Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury related to his 2020 questioning during the fraud probe, comes less than a week before Trump is due to go on trial for covering up hush money payments to hide a sex scandal.

In return for admitting that he lied when discussing Trump's valuation of the mogul's New York penthouse apartment, Weisselberg agreed with prosecutors to be sentenced to a lesser term of five months imprisonment.

The offenses for which he was charged carried prison terms of up to seven years, according to the plea document.

Prosecutors also agreed not to seek further charges against Weisselberg linked to his time at the Trump Organization.

On February 16, Trump was hit with a $355 million penalty -- significantly more including interest -- after being found liable for fraudulently manipulating the value of his properties to obtain favorable conditions on loans and insurance.

Trump, a prominent property developer and businessman in New York before entering politics, could have to sell or mortgage properties to post collateral to cover the shattering penalty if his ongoing appeal against the ruling fails.

- Next, Trump trial -

Weisselberg has previously served time in New York's notorious Rikers Island prison for his role in corporate tax fraud for which the Trump company was fined $1.6 million.

It is there that he will serve this latest sentence.

He was personally fined $2 million after pleading guilty and agreeing to testify in the trial of Trump's company.

Weisselberg's testimony helped prosecutors gain the conviction of the Trump Organization and sister firm Trump Payroll Corp on 17 similar fraud and tax evasion charges that involved falsifying business records.

Although he testified against the company, Weisselberg did not implicate the former president, who is again running for the White House in 2024, in any crime.

"Allen Weisselberg looks forward to putting this situation behind him," his lawyer Seth Rosenberg said in a statement to AFP previously.

Jury selection starts Monday in Trump's criminal trial for allegedly falsifying business records for payments made by his lawyer Michael Cohen on the eve of the 2016 presidential election to porn star Stormy Daniels.

The payments were to make sure she did not publicize a sexual encounter.

Trump now has four criminal indictments to his name and faces 88 felony counts for a wide variety of alleged criminality.

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"Our alliance we have with Japan is purely defensive in nature. It's a defensive alliance. And the things we discussed today improve our cooperation and are purely about defense and readiness," Joe Biden told a joint news conference during a state visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

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"Delays in delivery of air defences will allow Russian missiles to hit more targets and delays in delivery of ammunition will allow Russia to press along the front line," Stoltenberg said.

"Ukraine simply cannot wait. It needs air defences, ammunition and aid now."

NATO countries last week promised they would look into their inventories after Kyiv begged for more Patriot air defence systems capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles.

Moscow has ramped up its aerial bombardments on Ukraine's infrastructure in recent weeks, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the Kremlin was aiming to drive people from second city Kharkiv.

Kyiv's desperate appeals for new support come as its outgunned forces are struggling to hold back Russia's military along the front line.

More than two years into Russia's war, support from Ukraine's Western allies has faltered.

Europe is struggling to generate enough weaponry and US aid is blocked by political wrangling in Congress.

Washington said Tuesday it has agreed to sell $138 million worth of urgently needed military equipment to Ukraine to repair and upgrade its HAWK missile systems while a larger $60 billion aid package remains stalled.

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"This is a major breakthrough and a very important step towards a common, and therefore more effective, management of the migration challenges of our time," Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Greece is under renewed migration pressure this year with over 7,000 arrivals in January and February, an increase of 184 percent compared to 2023 according to official data.

The country of 10.4 million has received over 460,000 asylum requests since 2013, including over 12,500 this year, the ministry said.

The islands in the northeastern Aegean Sea are one of the gateways for migrants seeking to reach the European Union.

Earlier Wednesday, three young girls were found dead off the rocky northwestern coast of the Greek island of Chios after their migrant vessel capsized, coastguard officials said, with a search and rescue operation still underway.

In June 2023, 82 people drowned and hundreds went missing when a migrant trawler sank off the coast of Pylos.

Several inquiries into the tragedy are still underway, with some NGOs accusing the Greek coastguard of delaying their response in coming to the migrants' aid.

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"Vietnam demands Netflix comply with the Vietnamese regulations on game online services," the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI) said in a statement on its website.

"We order Netflix to stop advertising and publishing Netflix's video games on the Netflix application and on Appstore Vietnam and Google Play store Vietnam before April 25," the statement added.

The streaming platform, which has been ordered by the government several times to block domestic access to various content, is seeking to open an office in Vietnam, Reuters has reported.

Netflix began its push into gaming by launching Netflix games on mobile phones in November 2021.

The company did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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Floods gripped cities and towns across Russia and Kazakhstan on Wednesday after Europe's third-longest river burst its banks, forcing over 110,000 people to evacuate and swamping parts of the Russian city of Orenburg.

What is happening, where and why?

WHICH AREAS ARE AFFECTED?

The worst hit areas in Russia are just to the south of the Ural Mountains, about 1,200 km (750 miles) east of Moscow. Emergencies have been declared in the Orenburg and Kurgan regions of the Urals and in the Tyumen region of Siberia.

In Kazakhstan, the worst hit areas are Atyrau, Aktobe, Akmola, Kostanai, Eastern Kazakhstan, Northern Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions, most of which border Russia and are crossed by rivers originating in Russia or flowing from Kazakhstan to Russia.

Major rivers such as the Ural, which rises in the Ural mountains and flows through Kazakhstan into the Caspian Sea, are particular concerns. The Ural burst through embankment dams in the Urals city of Orsk on April 5 and the river has flooded parts of the city of Orenburg.

In Kazakhstan, the Ural flows through the major oil industry hub of Atyrau, where authorities have closed schools and mobilised thousands of people to reinforce river banks and build dams.

There are also concerns about the Tobol and Ishim, tributaries of the Irtysh, which along with its parent, the Ob, forms the world's seventh-longest river system.

Some regions around the Volga, Europe's longest river, have experienced flooding as has the Altai region of Siberia.

WHAT IS THE HUMAN COST?

- More than 96,000 people evacuated in Kazakhstan

- At least 12,000 people evacuated in Russia

- Around 10,500 homes recorded as flooded so far in Russia

- In Kazakhstan, 3,444 homes reported to remain flooded

- Russia has stepped up bottled water supplies. Hepatitis A vaccinations were being conducted in flooded areas

WHAT ARE THE ECONOMIC RISKS?

- Billions of dollars worth of property has been destroyed

- Some of the areas experiencing floods are also key wheat producing areas. Russia is the world's biggest wheat exporter.

- Western Siberia is the largest hydrocarbon basin in the world. Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter.

- Russia's Orsk oil refinery declared force majeure on fuel supply from April 8, according to a document issued by plant owner Forteinvest and seen by Reuters.

It said the plant had been shut to avoid ecological risks and ensure labour safety. Last year the refinery processed 4.5 million metric tons (90,000 barrels per day) of oil.

- Over 8,000 farm animals have been killed by floods in Kazakhstan, and a special squad has been deployed by the agriculture ministry to dispose of the bodies and prevent the spread of diseases.

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE FLOODS?

Spring flooding is a usual part of life across Russia as the harsh winter snows melt, swelling some of mighty rivers of Russia and Central Asia. This year, though, a combination of factors triggered unusually severe flooding.

Russian emergency officials said the soil was waterlogged before winter and then was frozen under very high snow falls which then melted very fast in swiftly rising spring temperatures and heavy rains.

One Russian official, the Presidential Plenipotentiary in the Urals Region, Vladimir Yakushev, was quoted by Russian media as suggesting that Kazakhstan was to blame for not coordinating the discharge of water more effectively.

CLIMATE CHANGE?

It is not immediately clear if climate change could be affecting the situation.

Russia is by far the world's biggest country by land area - about the size of the United States and Australia together - and Russia's boreal forests, or taiga, are the largest forested areas on earth and play a crucial role in the world's climate.

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The high-level conference is to be held in Switzerland on June 15-16 and Swiss media have said US President Joe Biden is expected to attend.

"American Democrats, who need photos and videos of events that supposedly indicate their project 'Ukraine' is still afloat, are behind this," the state-run TASS news agency quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

She accused Washington of being primarily motivated by its election process.

"The elections are everything. Ukraine is nothing," she said.

The Swiss government said Wednesday the peace conference will take place at the luxury Burgenstock resort near the central city of Luzern on June 15-16 and will be hosted by President Viola Amherd.

Russia has accused Switzerland of abandoning its traditional neutrality in the Ukraine conflict -- as well as the issue of what to do with Russian assets in the banking country.

Moscow last month summoned the Swiss ambassador over work to pave the way to seize Russian assets in the country.

Moscow has vowed to press on with its more than two-year-long offensive in Ukraine.

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Moscow also targeted Ukrainian energy facilities in the south of the country in an overnight drone and missile attack.

"The occupiers are hitting the Kharkiv region. A child and two women died, and four more people were wounded," Ukraine's Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said in a post on Telegram.

The strike was on the village of Lyptsi, around 10 kilometers (six miles) from the Russian border.

Klymenko said a pharmacy and shops were damaged in the attack.

Ukraine's energy ministry said earlier on Wednesday that Russia had hit two energy sites in overnight aerial strikes on southern Ukraine.

"The enemy attacked energy facilities in the south of the country," Ukraine's energy ministry said in a statement.

It said a substation in Mykolaiv was targeted as well as generation and production facilities in the Odesa region.

The attack caused two power lines to be cut off, resulting in temporary outages for some energy users in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.

Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 17 drones and three missiles at its territory overnight.

Moscow has heavily targeted Ukraine's energy facilities over recent months, launching some of its biggest aerial strikes of the two-year war.

It has called them "retaliation" for Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian border regions and oil refineries.

Kyiv says its strikes are legitimate, seeking to disrupt the supply of fuel used by Russia's military.

Ukraine's interior ministry on Wednesday also said that the death count from a strike on Kostyantynivka in the eastern Donetsk region a day earlier had risen to three after the bodies of a woman and a child were pulled from the rubble.

President Volodymyr Zelensky repeated his almost daily call for Western arms in a speech to a Greek economic forum on Wednesday, urging Kyiv's backers to provide air defense systems and artillery.

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Biden was rolling out the red carpet for Kishida with a luxurious dinner, plus music by legendary US singer Paul Simon, as he sought to underscore the importance of Japan as a crucial ally in the Asia-Pacific region.

Welcoming the Japanese leader in a pomp-filled ceremony in spring sunshine on the South Lawn of the White House, Biden said "the partnership between us is unbreakable."

"The alliance between Japan and the United States is a cornerstone of peace, security, prosperity, in the Indo-Pacific and around the world. Ours is truly a global partnership," he added.

Speaking in front of lines of US service members in ceremonial dress, Biden also hailed Japan's growing global role including support for Ukraine against Russia's "vicious" invasion.

Kishida replied by referencing the thousands of cherry blossom trees that Japan gave to the United States more than a century ago, and now bloom every springtime in Washington.

"I am confident that the cherry blossom-like bond of the Japan-US alliance will continue to grow even bigger and stronger," the Japanese premier said.

'Flip the script' 

Behind all the ceremony is serious business with the two leaders set to unveil plans to restructure the US military command in Japan -- the biggest boost to defense cooperation since the 1960s, with a wary eye on China.

Biden and Kishida met in the Oval Office after the formal welcome to discuss what officials said were up to 70 agreements on cooperation in defense, space and technology.

The US president will then give a rare press conference with Kishida in the White House Rose Garden.

The visit reinforced the importance that Biden places on building alliances against China but also Beijing's allies Russia, North Korea and Iran, in an increasingly uncertain world rocked by wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

On Thursday, Biden will also host the first trilateral summit between Japan, the Philippines and the United States, aiming to deepen their alliances in the face of escalating maritime tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea.

Senior US officials said they wanted to "flip the script" on Beijing, by isolating it when it tried to flex its muscles in the region.

A key part of the talks would also be to reassure Japan of long-term support even if Donald Trump wins November's US elections, amid "anxiety in capitals" around the world at the prospect, they added.

Hanging over the talks will also be the thorny topic of a Japanese takeover of US Steel, a deal opposed by Biden, but officials said they did not expect the leaders to discuss it.

'Democracy over autocracy' 

The rest of Wednesday will be dedicated to the extravagant hosting of 66-year-old Kishida and his wife Yuko.

The state dinner will be held in the grand East Room of the White House, decorated by fans and cherry blossom branches.

White House chefs will serve a meal featuring Japanese flavors, starting with house-cured salmon, followed by dry-aged rib eye with wasabi sauce, and salted caramel pistachio cake with cherry ice cream.

After dinner, Paul Simon "will perform a selection of his iconic songs," White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo told reporters.

First Lady Jill Biden said during a preview of the dinner that it would celebrate the "flourishing" US-Japan friendship.

"Our nations are partners in a world where we choose creation over destruction, peace over bloodshed, and democracy over autocracy," she said.

Kishida is the first Japanese leader to get a US state visit since Shinzo Abe in 2015, and only the fifth world leader to receive one since Biden took office in 2021.

Staunchly pacifist for decades, Japan has in recent years made "some of the most significant, momentous changes" since World War II, US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said ahead of the visit.

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The three sons - Hazem, Amir and Mohammad - were killed after the car they were driving in was bombed in Gaza's Al-Shati camp, Hamas said. Two of Haniyeh's grandchildren were also killed in the attack and a third was wounded, Hamas media said.

"Our demands are clear and specific and we will not make concessions on them. The enemy will be delusional if it thinks that targeting my sons, at the climax of the negotiations and before the movement sends its response, will push Hamas to change its position," Haniyeh told pan-Arab Al Jazeera TV.

"The blood of my sons is not dearer than the blood of our people," said Haniyeh, who is based abroad in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar.

Haniyeh has been the tough-talking face of Hamas' international diplomacy as war with Israel has raged back in the Gaza Strip, where his family home was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike back in November.

Hamas said on Tuesday it was studying an Israeli ceasefire proposal but that it was "intransigent" and did not meet any of the Palestinian demands.

In the seventh month of a war in which Israel's air and ground offensive has devastated Gaza, Hamas wants an end to Israeli military operations and a withdrawal from the enclave, and permission for displaced Palestinians to return home.

Haniyeh's eldest son confirmed in a Facebook post that his three brothers were killed. "Thanks to God who honoured us by the martyrdom of my brothers, Hazem, Amir and Mohammad and their children," wrote Abdel-Salam Haniyeh.

Appointed to the group's top job in 2017, Haniyeh has moved between Turkey and Qatar's capital Doha, avoiding Israeli-imposed travel restrictions in blockaded Gaza and enabling him to act as a negotiator in the latest ceasefire negotiations, or communicate with Hamas' main ally Iran.

Israel regards the entire Hamas leadership as terrorists, accusing Haniyeh and other leaders of continuing to "pull the strings of the Hamas terror organisation".

But how much Haniyeh knew about the Oct. 7 cross-border attack on Israel by Gaza-based operatives beforehand is not clear. The attack plan, drawn up by the Hamas military council in Gaza, was such a closely guarded secret that some Hamas officials abroad seemed shocked by its timing and scale.

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Ms Monk's ordeal began with stomach pains. A scan revealed a mass on her spleen, leading to a battery of tests. Doctors delivered the life-altering diagnosis of angiosarcoma. Facing a limited future, Ms. Monk wrote letters to her loved ones, preparing for a future she feared she wouldn't see, as per the news report.

"When the doctor told me it was cancer, I went into shock. The diagnosis was horrible, and [they] told me it was terminal," recalls Lisa, a higher education worker.

"I had to go home and tell my two kids. I didn't tell them at this point that it was terminal or that I only had 15 months; I just told them it was bad, but I was going to try to fight it."

Referred to a cancer hospital, Ms Monk started chemotherapy in March. The treatment took a heavy toll, causing hair loss, severe nausea, and weakness. But her world turned upside down just weeks into the second round. A review of her pathology report revealed a critical error: Ms. Monk did not have cancer.

The experience has left Ms Monk shaken but relieved. The cause of the misdiagnosis and the next steps for Ms Monk remain unclear.

"I saw the nurse practitioner first, and she just asked me about my symptoms, and she was scrolling on the computer while she was talking to me. All of sudden she just stops talking and has this look on her face."

"She turned to me and looked completely horrified and told me she needed to get the doctor and then ran out of the room," Lisa said.

"She left me alone for about 15 minutes, and the doctor came back in. He said a lot of medical lingo to me and then told me I didn't have cancer."

"I was confused, as they were acting like it was a bad thing. I just thought [if I didn't have cancer] it meant the chemotherapy was working."

Prime Minister Modi conveyed that "as we celebrate Eid al-Fitr with traditional fervour, people across the world are reminded of the values of compassion, brotherhood and togetherness, which are essential in building a peaceful and inclusive world that we all aspire for." 

Hon'ble Prime Minister of India @NarendraModi extended warm greetings to His Excellency President of Maldives Dr. @MMuizzu, the Government & the people of the Republic of Maldives," the Indian High Commission said in a post on X.

On the auspicious occasion of Eid-Al-Fitr, Hon'ble Prime Minister of India ?? @NarendraModi extended warm greetings to His Excellency President of Maldives Dr. @MMuizzu, the Government & the people of the Republic of Maldives ??.

The full PR is here: ?@IndianDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/6TGwGKDalc

— India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) April 10, 2024

In his message, Prime Minister Modi also highlighted the cultural and civilisational linkages shared by India and Maldives that go back in time. The India-Maldives ties have come under stress as Mohamed Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, maintained after assuming charge as the president in November that he will keep his election promise of evicting Indian military personnel from his country.

There were 88 Indian military personnel manning three aviation platforms in the Maldives. The first batch of 26 Indian military personnel have been replaced by civilian personnel.

The Maldives is India's key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and occupies a special place in its initiatives like 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the 'Neighbourhood First Policy' of the Modi government.

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"This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Russia," Xi Jinping said, adding, "China and Russia have jointly embarked on a new path of harmonious coexistence and win-win cooperation between major countries and neighbours."

The meeting comes at a time when the US hosted its defence treaty partners - Japan and the Philippines - and tensions in the South China Sea escalated amid China's provocative gestures. The US, treaty-bound to protect the territorial integrity of Japan and the Philippines, is keeping a close watch on China's aggressive tactics.

For China, its growing proximity to Russia ensures greater energy security and leverage against the US. It is also hopeful that the deepening Russia ties will have a bearing on India's historic and strategic engagement with the latter.

India buys defence equipment and oil from Russia.

Experts said, New Delhi, which has risen as a counter to China's economic and geopolitical clout in Asia, is unlikely to be impacted by the growing closeness between the two.

Jinping assured coordination with Russia on bilateral relations in international and regional affairs to 'ensure that China-Russia relations always advance smoothly and steadily', while Lavrov stressed that Putin's re-election marked the continuity of the development of bilateral relations between the two.

"We are glad to witness the achievements, especially those made over the past decade under your leadership. I hope we can take the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to work with China and fully implement the new strategic missions proposed by the two heads of state," Lavrov said.

Earlier in the day, Lavrov met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and the two expressed hope for strengthening practical cooperation in various fields per the consensus reached by the two heads of state. 

Wang said that China-Russia relations have been of irreplaceable value and that maintaining and developing sound relations is a natural choice and serves the fundamental interests of the two. Lavrov noted that relations between the two rely on mutual respect, equal cooperation, and trustworthy dialogue.

In a joint press briefing following the talk, Wang said that to consolidate China-Russia ties further, the two should follow five principles - follow the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, adhere to the principle of no-alliance, no-confrontation, and no-targeting with any third parties, maintain the right course on major matters of principles, cooperate for 'win-win' results, and advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world.

Tuesday's session laid the groundwork for an expected visit by Putin, just days after US Treasury Secretary Janet L Yellen warned facing 'significant consequences' if Chinese companies provided material support to Russia amid its war on Ukraine.

Reports said that Putin could be visiting China as soon as next month. But, there has been no confirmation from either side.

NASA has shared the captivating live stream on its official broadcast channel on YouTube to witness the solar eclipse. For the first time in nearly a century, the western and northern regions of New York State saw a total eclipse.

The Mexican beachside resort town of Mazatlan was the first major viewing spot in North America. The partial eclipse began in southern Texas near Eagle Pass on the southern border with Mexico, marking the start of the eclipse in the United States.

The total solar eclipse of 2024 was the historic celestial event because it won't be visible across the contiguous US again until August 2044 and an annular eclipse -- which happens when the moon can't completely block the sun-- won't appear across this part of the world again until 2046.

Earlier, CNN reported, Mexico's Pacific coast is the first point of totality on the path, expected at 11:07 am local time (2:07 pm ET), and the eclipse is expected to end on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland at 5:16 pm local time (3:46 pm ET).

Emphasising safety while watching the total solar eclipse, earlier NASA shared a post on X, stating, "We want you to watch the total solar #eclipse. We just don't want it to be the last thing you see."
NASA stressed that it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing.

"Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun's bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing," it said.

It further stated that viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.

"When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes, which happens before and after totality, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses ("eclipse glasses") or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. Eclipse glasses are NOT regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not safe for viewing the Sun," it added.

NASA emphasised that the concentrated solar rays will burn through the filter and cause serious eye injury, adding, "Do NOT look at the Sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer."

Moreover, one of the amazing side-effects of the eclipse is its ability to change the weather -- but it has its limits, reported CNN.
Changes to temperature, wind speed and humidity occur as the moon crosses in front of the Sun and casts a shadow on Earth's surface during a solar eclipse.

In the path of totality, temperatures drop by around 10 degrees, additionally, it also start to feel more humid and winds and cloud coverage could drop.

Scientists understand the concept of how solar material flows from the sun in a better way by observing the sun during eclipses, according to CNN.

Charged particles known as plasma create space weather that interacts with an upper layer of Earth's atmosphere, called the ionosphere.

Many low-Earth orbit satellites and radio waves operate in the ionosphere, which means dynamic space weather has an impact on GPS and long-distance radio communications.

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Moran's words reflect the profound bond shared between the two nations in times of adversity.

"I see the Indian support that started much before, years before October 7 and after October 7," Moran expressed, highlighting the enduring nature of India's solidarity, adding, "Thanks to Prime Minister Modi, all over the media. And we know that India is a true friend of Israel."

Moran's gratitude extended beyond governmental assistance, acknowledging the compassion and friendship displayed by the Indian populace. "I think it's not just the Indian government. Thanks to the Indian people, who have always been and continue to be a good friend of ours," Moran added, emphasising the collective support from India.

Acknowledging India's role in amplifying Israel's voice globally, Moran added, "Our voice cannot be everywhere. Everywhere. And we know that the Indian people are taking care of everything we need."

"Thank you very much to the government, but for the people as well," Moran expressed, encapsulating the depth of gratitude towards India's unwavering support.

Israel's Ambassador to India Naor Gilon too has said India has been very strong against terrorism from the first moment. He said that Israel is appreciative of the Indian government's support since Hamas launched the attack on October 7.

In an interview with ANI on January 30, Mr Gilon said that Israel has received "incredible support" from the Indian people amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Speaking about India's stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Mr Gilon said, "India was very strong against terrorism from the first moment. Prime Minister Modi, on the afternoon of October 7, already came out with a very strong condemnation. We are much appreciative of the Indian government for its support from that time on."

The war in Gaza continues after Israel launched a counter-offensive in response to the Hamas attack on October 7.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first global leaders to condemn the horrific terror attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7.

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Israel is under growing international pressure to agree to a ceasefire, including from its top ally and arms supplier the United States.  

Late Monday a Hamas source close to the negotiations said the group was reviewing the proposal that would see a six-week truce and Israeli women and child hostages freed in exchange for up to 900 Palestinian prisoners.

The source, asking for anonymity, said the first phase would also involve the return of displaced Palestinian civilians to northern Gaza, and the delivery of 400 to 500 trucks of food aid daily to the territory, where the United Nations has warned of imminent famine.

But while negotiations continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a date had been set for sending troops into Gaza's far-southern Rafah city.

"It will happen -- there is a date," Netanyahu said in a video statement which did not specify the timing. He insists "victory" over Hamas militants in Gaza requires troops to go into Rafah, where around 1.5 million people have sought shelter.

The prospect of a Rafah invasion has alarmed world leaders and humanitarians. After Netanyahu's comment, the US State Department reiterated that an invasion would have "an enormously harmful effect" on civilians, and ultimately Israeli security.

- 'Shocked' -

A day earlier, the army announced the withdrawal of its forces from Khan Yunis city, to Rafah's north, prompting thousands of displaced Palestinians to trudge back through an apocalyptic landscape of dust and destruction.

"I am shocked at what I saw," said Umm Ahmad al-Fagawi, in a voice that seemed choked with emotion. "All the houses are destroyed, not only mine but also those of all the neighbours around us," she said surrounded by a grey landscape of rubble.

The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said at least 38 more people were killed over the previous day.

Witnesses told AFP that more Israeli air strikes and artillery fire hit north and central Gaza, as well as in Rafah where Israel has regularly bombed targets even ahead of any invasion there.

The war began with the October 7 attack against Israel by Hamas militants that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.

Palestinian militants also took more than 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, 129 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the army says are dead.

- Intense pressure -

Netanyahu is under intense pressure at home from families and supporters of hostages, and from a resurgent anti-government protest movement.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that has killed at least 33,207 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday said troops left Khan Yunis after months of fighting to "prepare for future missions, including... in Rafah" on the Egyptian border.

Amid the threats and ongoing fighting, Netanyahu has sent negotiators to fresh truce talks that started in Cairo on Sunday, joined by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

US President Joe Biden dispatched CIA chief Bill Burns to the talks, three days after a tense phone call with Netanyahu in which Biden demanded a halt to the fighting and greater steps to help and protect Gaza civilians.

His demands followed an April 1 Israeli drone strike which killed seven aid workers for the US-based charity World Central Kitchen, increasing global outrage against Israel.

United States National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said negotiators had presented Hamas with a proposal for a ceasefire deal and "it's going to be up to Hamas to come through."

Egypt's state-linked news outlet Al-Qahera reported "significant progress being made on several contentious points of agreement", citing an unnamed high-ranking Egyptian source.

The Qatari and Hamas delegations had left Cairo and were expected to return "within two days to finalise the terms of the agreement", it said, while the US and Israeli teams were also planning consultations.

Gallant on Monday told Israeli army recruits that, "I think we are at an appropriate moment" to do a deal with the Islamist militants.

"The relentless pressure on Hamas and the position of strength from which we come into this campaign, allow us flexibility and freedom of action," he added, according to a statement from his office.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, on a visit to Washington, said a hostage deal would be "difficult" but "it's doable and therefore needs to be made."

- Body parts -

Majed al-Ansari, spokesman for Qatar's foreign ministry, told the BBC he was "more optimistic today than I was a couple of days ago" but added: "We are by no means at the last stretch of the talks."

A siege has deprived Gazans of most water, food and other basic supplies -- the dire shortages only minimally eased by aid trucks and, in recent weeks, airdropped relief supplies.

Charities have accused Israel of blocking aid, but Israel has blamed shortages on aid organisations' inability to distribute assistance once it gets in.

After the phone call with Biden, Netanyahu's office said Israel would allow "temporary" aid deliveries via Ashdod port and Erez checkpoint into northern Gaza.

Israeli government spokesman Avi Hyman said 322 trucks entered Gaza over the previous 24 hours, "the highest in a single day since the start of the war."

White-clad forensic technicians gathered in the sandy courtyard of the blasted-out and burnt remains of what was Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa.

Khalil Hamada, the hospital's forensic chief, said they were trying to identify decomposing body parts "which were buried in a barbaric way".

The hospital was the scene of a fierce two-week battle.

Calls to halt arms shipments to Israel have increased. Nicaragua argued before the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday that Germany is in breach of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention by furnishing Israel with weapons.

Germany's top lawyer called the case "grossly biased."

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Millions of skywatchers gathered to witness the celestial event at least partially visible across most of the continent.

A solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon where the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and blocks the Sun's light either entirely or partially.

Stargazers and scientists gathered to catch the celestial event as the Sun moved along a narrow corridor across North America.

The Mexican beachside resort town of Mazatlan was the first major viewing spot in North America. Thousands gathered along the coastal promenade, setting themselves up in deck chairs with eclipse glasses to witness the celestial spectacle.

Taking To X, formerly Twitter, space agency NASA posted a video of the celestial event and wrote, "Take it all in. We're getting our first views of the 2024 total solar #eclipse as its shadow makes landfall in Mazatlán, Mexico."

Experts have urged the use of protective solar glasses to prevent eye damage from looking at the sun with the naked eye.

Skygazers across the world have been advised to wear protective eyewear, such as licensed eclipse glasses, during its partial phases.

Failure to do so can burn your eye's retinas and cause permanent damage or even blindness.

The next total solar eclipse that can be seen from a large part of North America won't come around until 2044.

(With inputs from agencies)

In a wide ranging interview on X spaces that had multiple technology glitches, Musk, whose companies include AI startup XAI, also told Norway wealth fund CEO Nicolai Tangen that artificial intelligence was constrained by the availability of electricity.

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The Moon's shadow plunged the Pacific coast of Mexico into total darkness at 11:07 am local time (1807 GMT) and swept across the United States at supersonic speed, before it returns to the ocean over Canada's Atlantic coast just under an hour-and-a-half after landfall.

Festivals, viewing parties, and even mass weddings were planned along the eclipse's "path of totality," where the Moon could be seen completely obscuring the Sun for up to a few minutes -- weather permitting. Cloud cover played spoilsport over parts of Texas.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador visited Sinaloa to witness firsthand the eclipse from the resort of Mazatlan, describing the event as a "very beautiful, unforgettable day."

Thousands gathered in Mexico City, just outside the path of totality. "These are opportunities given by Earth and nature that we must seize," 29-year-old artist Mariana Juarez told AFP.

This year's path of totality is 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide and home to nearly 32 million Americans, with an additional 150 million living less than 200 miles from the strip.

The next total solar eclipse that can be seen from a large part of North America won't come around until 2044.

- 'Freaking nuts' -

Businesses capitalized on the excitement with special events, while hotels and short-term rentals in prime viewing locations were booked solid for months in advance.

At the Stonehenge II park in Ingram, Texas -- a replica of the prehistoric arrangement of stones in England -- eclipse watchers gathered from across the world, screaming and cheering at the moment of totality.

Jeni Lyn Hunter, 57, and her husband Charles Guillory, 60, had traveled from Floresville, Texas. The couple identified as "pagans"  and wore Merlin hats.

"It means a lot to me because I have stage four cancer but I'm not giving up, this is a rebirth of the Sun of life," Hunter told AFP.

And in Russellville, Arkansas, more than 300 couples were reportedly set to exchange vows at "A Total Eclipse of the Heart" mass wedding ceremony.

Delta airlines has planned two special flights along the path, while many schools in the zone shut for the day.

- Scientific windfall -

Then there's the science. NASA planned to launch a trio of sounding rockets before, during and just after the eclipse to measure changes caused by the sudden darkness to the ionosphere, an upper layer of the atmosphere important for long-distance radio communication.

The eclipse also offered a golden opportunity to study the Sun's corona, the outer layer of its atmosphere which is normally hidden by the blinding light of the surface, but has an outsized impact on everything from satellites to power grids.

"There's a few high clouds but the beauty of the corona is clearly visible," said NASA heliophysicist Michael Kirk as the eclipse passed through Dallas. "You can see that spiky structure just poking out -- It is heart-stopping beautiful."

He was thrilled that the Sun was near the peak of its 11-year cycle, resulting in an asymmetrical corona. As the eclipse unfolded, the rugged lunar topography revealed itself in a stunning 'diamond ring' effect, while planets like Venus and Jupiter briefly appeared in the sky.

Startling animal behavior has been noted during past eclipses -- roosters can crow as the darkness ends believing it is dawn.

In humans, eclipses trigger feelings of awe as we confront our place within the vast cosmic order. Individuals exhibit more "prosocial" feelings towards each other in the aftermath of the shared experience.

- Safety first -

Former president Donald Trump, who notoriously gazed directly at the Sun during the 2017 eclipse, attempted to capitalize on the phenomenon by releasing a new campaign ad featuring his larger-than-life head blocking out our star.

Health professionals have stressed not to follow his example, urging people to use certified eclipse glasses to prevent permanent retinal injury. President Joe Biden made fun of Trump with a social media post saying "Don't be silly, folks."

Only those within the path of totality can safely remove eye protection and admire the corona peeking out from behind the silhouette of the Moon for a few precious moments.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The total eclipse will be viewable along a path starting in western Mexico and then crossing through the United States and into Canada, and will last more than four minutes in some places.

The Mexican beachside resort town of Mazatlan was the first major viewing spot in North America. Thousands of people gathered along the coastal promenade, setting themselves up in deck chairs with eclipse glasses as an orchestra played the "Star Wars" theme.

Lourdes Corro, 43, traveled 10 hours by car to get there.

"The last one I saw was when I was 9 years old," Corro said. "There are a few clouds but we can still see the sun."

Eclipse fans are gathering in numerous places along the "path of totality".

In upstate New York, for instance, the total eclipse will occur shortly after 3 p.m. (1900 GMT). At the Frontier Town campground in North Hudson, New York, children ran around wearing eclipse T-shirts, while parents set up tables, chairs and beer coolers.

Connecticut residents Bob and Teresa Love were stretched out in the cargo bed of their pickup truck, eating pastries and hoping the forecasted clouds hold off long enough to not obscure the spectacle.

"I'm trying not to get too excited because of weather, just trying to keep expectations real," said Teresa, 49. "Some people say it's life-changing. I don't know if it's going to be life-changing, but I think it's going to be cool to see."

At up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds, this one will last longer than the total eclipse that streaked across parts of the United States in 2017, which clocked in at up to 2 minutes and 42 seconds. According to NASA, total eclipses can last anywhere from 10 seconds to about 7-1/2 minutes.

Some other cities along the path of totality include: San Antonio, Austin and Dallas, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Cleveland, Ohio; Erie, Pennsylvania; both Niagara Falls, New York, and Niagara Falls, Ontario, site of the famed waterfall, and Montreal, Quebec.

A partial eclipse will be visible in North America outside the path of totality.

About 32 million people in the United States live within the path of totality, with federal officials predicting another 5 million people will travel to be there. Countless eclipse-watching events were being convened at bars, stadiums, fairgrounds and parks along the path of totality.

Small rural towns bustled, such as Advance, Missouri, home to just over 1,300 people, where Tim and Gwen Wurst had driven from their Kansas City home after checking weather forecasts. They had thrilled to witness a partial eclipse in 2017 and were excited for totality.

"It's been on the calendar for years," said Tim Wurst, 62. "It was very dusky and dim the last eclipse, but this one should be just all-out dark."

Experts have urged the use of protective solar glasses to prevent eye damage from looking at the sun with the naked eye. Only during the few minutes of totality can the sun can be safely viewed without such glasses, they said.

Overcast skies are among an eclipse-chaser's worst fears. The U.S. National Weather Services forecast as of Monday morning was for "a rapid untimely increase of clouds" in Southern Texas; less worrying "high thin clouds" for a swathe from Arkansas to the Midwest; and the clearest skies in northern New England.

It will take about 80 minutes from the moment the moon first begins to cover the sun to the moment of totality, then another 80 minutes to complete the process in reverse.

Eclipse veterans have described the 15 minutes before totality as foreboding, with shadows becoming oddly crisp and sunshine assuming an eerie quality. In the seconds before totality, a phenomenon called "shadow bands" may appear - shimmering shadows on the ground, like those seen on the bottom of a swimming pool.

The last remaining bit of brilliant sunlight before totality creates a "diamond ring effect" in which a single bright spot appears along the lunar edge even as the sun's atmosphere leaves a ring of light around the moon.

This will be the ninth total eclipse for Anthony Aveni, author of the book "In the Shadow of the Moon: The Science, Magic and Mystery of Solar Eclipses," and each one has inspired deep awe in everyone around him who saw it. He said people frequently burst into tears and hug complete strangers.

"No matter who you are or when you lived, the sight of an eclipse begins with fear," Aveni said. "The imagery shocks you. That fear is gradually transformed into awe and then into a sublime state."

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Israel's military assault in retaliation for Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack has pushed Gaza to the brink of famine, aid agencies say, though some more aid is starting to flow in.

Palestinians in Gaza said the extra supplies were still nowhere near enough to ease harsh conditions with nearly all the tiny, crowded territory's inhabitants displaced from their homes.

Eid al-Fitr, the feast that ends Islam's fasting lunar month of Ramadan, is expected in Gaza on Wednesday, depending on a clear sighting of the moon, but there is little to cheer for Palestinians this year.

The boy struggling under the cardboard box had received it from a U.N. distribution centre in the central town of Deir al-Balah where long lines of people stood to present identity papers in return for boxes containing tinned food.

"There isn't enough food. I hadn't received a box in two months. Yesterday we got a box that won't be enough for me or my kids and the other 18 people with us. If one person got a box every day it wouldn't be enough," said Fayez Abdelhadi in the camp.

He said the aid delivery also lacked any basic hygiene supplies such as soap and detergent, though the massive destruction has helped trigger a public health crisis with little clean water and rampant disease.

Umm Mohammed Hamad, a woman in the camp who had been displaced from her home in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, said she had been living at a U.N. shelter there for nearly two months.

"We didn't receive any boxes, no help. Only today have they started distributing boxes," she said.

Hospitals

Some hospitals have reported children dying of malnutrition and starvation since last month and have warned of other preventable deaths because medical supplies are lacking.

At Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, media head Wissam al-Sekni said a shipment that arrived on Sunday was not enough to meet the needs of patients, particularly antibiotics to treat injuries commonplace in the war zone.

But he said the lack of varied, nutritious food was the biggest problem.

"Most of the children (in the hospital) come with malnutrition, especially premature babies due to the malnutrition of the mother," Sekni said.

In a neonatal ward, four-month-old baby Assem al-Najjar has put on no weight since birth, said his mother, and required surgery for a hole in the heart that is impossible to perform in Gaza now.

Israel's campaign in Gaza began when Hamas stormed across the border, killing around 1,200 people and dragging another 253 into captivity as hostages according to Israeli tallies.

The offensive in the enclave has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.

International pressure on Israel to let more aid into Gaza increased last week after airstrikes targeted a relief convoy and killed seven aid workers.

In response to the pressure, Israel said it had approved the reopening of the Erez crossing into northern Gaza and the temporary use of Ashdod port in southern Israel to bring in supplies.

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He did not say when the invasion would occur but reiterated that victory over Hamas "requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen -- there is a date," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

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Puberty-suppressing hormones, commonly referred to as puberty blockers, limit the production of hormones that trigger puberty. They are frequently provided to children who are unsure of their gender to prevent bodily changes like the growth of breasts or facial hair.

Dr Hilary Cass's interim review report, which was released in 2022, had earlier concluded that there were "gaps in evidence" about the medications and advocated for a change in the care strategy for children experiencing gender-related distress, as per the BBC. But it isn't anticipated to close a loophole that permits physicians to get special dispensations in order to prescribe the medications under exceptional circumstances

Amid fears that the children are not being safeguarded, former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss is leading the demand to close this loophole. She told The Telegraph, "In schools, hospitals and the courts, extremist activists have exploited loopholes in the law time and time again. Without primary legislation, the practice of prescribing puberty blockers to children will continue despite the evidence of harmful consequences."

She added, "Non-statutory guidance and reviews are not enough. A change in the law is needed to protect children. I urge the Government to back my Bill which will stop puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones being supplied to under18s, both in the private sector and the NHS."

Moreover, Dr Louise Irvine, co-chair of the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender, stated that since "the whole rationale for stopping the prescription of puberty blockers is that there is no evidence of benefit," it should be "impossible" for medical professionals to defend the exceptional circumstances.

Dr Caroline Johnson MP, a paediatrician and Conservative member of the health select committee said, "There is a risk of irreversible harm and irreversible changes with these drugs. If the NHS plans to allow them for children by individual applications - the question is how high is the threshold of benefit which must be met? How well must risk be understood? What is the burden of proof?"

Further, a Tory MP Nick Fletcher, said that the loophole is "abhorrent". "We shouldn't be providing any puberty blockers to children. I've called it out so many times but unfortunately, so many of our organisations have been captured by this. We're setting young people up for a lifetime of misery," he said.

With warnings that children suffer serious psychological repercussions if they are permitted to change gender at school, Dr Cass's final report, scheduled for release on Wednesday, is anticipated to examine cross-sex hormones and social transitioning among children in greater detail, according to The Telegraph. Advocates are urging Dr Cass to issue recommendations that would shield 17-year-olds from being referred to adult gender clinics where they might be prescribed cross-sex hormones.

The 87-year-old pontiff had previously met a group of relatives of hostages at the Vatican in November, the same day as meeting Palestinians who have family in Gaza.

Members of five Israeli families had a private audience with Francis on Monday, showing him posters of loved ones who were taken, including Ariel and Kfir Bibas, aged four and one respectively.

There were also relatives of hostages Tamir Nimrodi, 19, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 22, Agam Berger, 19, and Omri Miran, 46.

Berger's cousin, Ashley Waxman, said afterwards that the meeting had been "very emotional" and "very powerful".

The pope "called Hamas evil, which they are... And, he was very clear that the hostages need to come home", she told a press conference.

Gilboa-Dalal's mother, Meirav, said that since he was taken hostage at a music festival on October 7, "for me, there is no day and no night". 

"My heart is broken. I can barely breathe. And I am paralysed with fear. Where is my Guy? Where? When will my Guy come home?"

The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,170 Israelis and foreigners, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups also took more than 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, 129 of whom remain in Gaza. The Israeli army says that 34 of those still missing are dead.

In the six months since the attacks, Israel's retaliatory bombing and ground offensive have killed at least 33,175 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Speaking after his weekly Sunday prayer at the Vatican, the pope repeated his call for peace.

"Let us always pray for peace, a just, lasting peace, in particular for martyred Ukraine and for Palestine and Israel," he said. 

The Israelis were in Italy as part of a delegation that included Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz. 

Katz met his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, on Sunday, the six-month anniversary of Hamas attack in southern Israel.

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"Supreme Court declares tomorrow the last day of #Ramadan and Wednesday the first day of #Eid Al-Fitr," the official Saudi Press Agency said on its X account.

The timing of Eid al-Fitr is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.

Saudi media outlets reported that the crescent moon was not visible on Monday.

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced that Eid al-Fitr, a holiday normally celebrated with family gatherings, would begin on Wednesday.

The daytime fasting month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.

Ramadan is also a time for prayer, with the faithful converging in large numbers on mosques, especially at night.

Fasting is widely practised in Saudi Arabia, home of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.

Saudis are expected to observe a four-day holiday for Eid al-Fitr.

Across the Muslim world, Ramadan festivities this year were overshadowed by the war in Gaza, where Israel's military campaign to eradicate Hamas has killed at least 33,207 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The war was sparked by the October 7 attack against Israel by Hamas militants that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.

Palestinian group also took more than 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, 129 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the army says are dead.

Mediators pushed in vain for a ceasefire to take effect before the start of Ramadan.

Talks on a ceasefire have resumed in Cairo, but no breakthrough has yet been announced.

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Altman, who became the face of the global AI frenzy when his company released ChatGPT in 2022, cracked the magazine's list of billionaires in the 2,692nd position.

The financial news outlet said that Altman's wealth came mainly from his investments in startups, such as Reddit, which was recently floated on the New York stock exchange, and payments company Stripe, which is currently estimated to be worth $65 billion.

The 38-year-old has also invested in more recent ventures, such as nuclear energy company Helion and longevity startup Retro Biosciences. 

His fortune, which includes prime real estate in California and Hawaii, was estimated using public filings and investigative reporting, Forbes said.

Altman has insisted that he does not own equity in OpenAI, a company that has made him almost a household name and is estimated to be worth about $80 billion.

Last week, Taylor Swift was also officially named a member of the Forbes billionaires list, with an estimated $1.1 billion fortune. 

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The Democrat's proposals come after his initial, bigger ambitions to cancel several hundred billion dollars of debt were struck down by the conservative-dominated US Supreme Court in June.

"The plans, if implemented, would provide debt relief to over 30 million Americans," the White House said in a statement ahead of a speech by Biden in Madison, Wisconsin.

The plans would wipe out accrued interest for 23 million borrowers, cancel all student debt for four million others, and give at least $5,000 in debt relief to over 10 million borrowers, it said.

"It means breathing room, it means freedom from feeling like your student loan bills compete with basic needs, like grocery or health care," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told reporters.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added that Biden would "use every tool available" to cancel student debt "no matter how many times Republican elected officials tried to stand in his way."

The new plans were "entirely consistent" with the court decision last year, which the White House had studied "carefully," a senior administration official said.

Younger voters helped Biden beat Republican then-president Donald Trump in the 2020 election, and he will need the key demographic on side to come from behind in the polls this year.

Biden's student loan policy has been a key part of that, but it was derailed when his plan to cancel more than $400 billion of debt was struck down.

The Supreme Court features three judges appointed by Trump while in office and has moved sharply to the right in recent years, notably with last year's landmark overturning of the federal right to abortion.

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Fast-melting ice and torrential rain have caused major rivers -- the Ural and Tobol -- near the Russian border with Kazakhstan to overflow, with officials warning the flood waters are set to rise dangerously high over the next 48 hours.

Dozens of protestors in the city of Orsk, which was submerged in metres of flood water over the weekend after a dam burst, on Monday protested against the government's weak response in a rare show of dissent in Russia.

Videos posted by local social media channels showed the crowds shouting, "Shame! Shame! Shame!" and "Putin, help!"

The Kremlin earlier on Monday said that the Russian president had no plans to visit the flooded areas.

Public demonstrations against the government are illegal in Russia under strict anti-protest laws.

The Orenburg regional prosecutor's office, which covers Orsk, explicitly on Monday warned residents that they faced arrest if they participated in "unauthorised" rallies.

The protestors were demanding more financial help and were angry that a dam designed to protect the city had burst.

In a compensation scheme published over the weekend, the regional government said it would pay up to 100,000 roubles ($1,100) per person for household items "completely destroyed" in the floods.

The Orenburg governor on Monday said that it would fully reimburse the cost of damage to housing, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

'Do not wait'

In Orsk, the worst affected city so far, 99 people were treated for injuries with nine people admitted to hospital, state media cited health officials as saying.

More cities, including the regional hub of Orenburg with a population of 550,000, were bracing for a surge in water levels over the coming days.

Governors in the neighbouring regions of Kurgan and Tyumen each introduced a state of emergency. 

"The flood forecast is rapidly deteriorating, much more water is arriving, and faster," Vadim Shumkov, the governor of the Kurgan region said in a post on Telegram.

He called on people to evacuate while they still could.

"Everyone who lives in settlements along the floodplain of the Tobol River: evacuate. Do not wait for the water to come. It will come at night and unexpectedly, quickly arriving in the form of a large wave," Shumkov said in a post on Telegram.

The regional capital, also called Kurgan, is home to 300,000 people and sits on the river.

Water levels were receding in Orsk on Monday but had risen close to dangerous levels in the city of Orenburg.  

The Kremlin called the situation "critical" and said it would likely "worsen".

"Nature has caused a lot of inconvenience. But the local residents are handling it stoically, as are the local authorities," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, hours before the protests in Orsk.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from flooded areas.

The Emergency Situations ministry on Monday said that more than 10,000 residential buildings had been flooded, mostly in the Urals, Volga area and western Siberia. 

'Unprecedented'

Orenburg Mayor Sergei Salmin told Russian television that the city "has not seen so much water" in decades. 

"The highest (water) mark was in 1942. That was 946 centimetres," Salmin said. 

"Since then there have been no floods. This is unprecedented." 

Russia's weather monitor Rosgidromet said it did not expect the flood in Orenburg to peak until Wednesday.

The Ural river flows through Orenburg and into Kazakhstan, where President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the floods were one of the worst natural disasters to affect his country in decades. 

Emergency authorities also warned that the Irtysh river was "very likely" to flood parts of Tobolsk, one of Russia's oldest Siberian cities. 

Putin, who has been a vocal climate sceptic for much of his rule, has in recent years ordered his government to do more to prepare Russia for extreme weather events.

The country has seen severe floods and fires in recent springs and summers. 

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Tehran, a key Damascus ally, has vowed to avenge last Monday's air strike on the Iranian embassy's consular section that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members, including two generals.

The strike came against the backdrop of Israel and Hamas's ongoing war, which began with the Iran-backed Palestinian group's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.

Damascus and Tehran blame Israel for last Monday's raid, but it has not commented.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian inaugurated the new consular section in a Damascus building in the presence of his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad, whom he also met earlier Monday, state news agency SANA said.

An AFP correspondent at the inauguration said the new consulate was not far from the premises destroyed by the strike in the upscale Mazzeh area, which also houses other foreign embassies and UN offices.

Amir-Abdollahian was also set to meet President Bashar al-Assad, and Syria's pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said his talks in Damascus would be "mainly focused" on repercussions of last week's strike.

Iran's foreign minister began a regional tour Sunday in Oman, long a mediator between Tehran and the West, where Muscat's foreign minister called for de-escalation.

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader warned on Sunday that Israeli embassies were "no longer safe" after the Damascus attack.

Analysts saw the raid as an escalation of Israel's campaign against Iran and its regional proxies that runs the risk of triggering a wider war beyond the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said 16 people were killed in the consulate strike: eight Iranians, five Syrians, one member of Lebanon's Hezbollah group and two civilians.

Among the dead were generals Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, both senior commanders in the Quds Force, the IRGC's foreign operations arm.

Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes in Syria since civil war broke out 13 years ago, targeting Iran-backed forces including Hezbollah as well as Syrian army positions and weapons depots.

It rarely comments on individual strikes, but Israel's raids have increased since the Gaza war began.

Tehran backs Palestinian group Hamas but has denied any direct involvement in the group's October 7 attack, which sparked massive Israeli retaliation in Gaza.

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The April 1 air strike levelled the Iranian embassy's consular annex in Damascus, killing seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members, including two generals.

One of them was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the Quds Force, the Guards' foreign operations arm.

Zahedi was the only non-Lebanese on Hezbollah's eight-member Shura Council, the equivalent of the powerful Shiite Muslim movement's political bureau, led by secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, the source said, requesting anonymity because the matter is sensitive.

Nasrallah was set to speak on Monday to pay homage to Zahedi and his colleagues killed in the strike, which Tehran and Damascus have blamed on Israel.

In a previous speech, Nasrallah said his group "owed a lot" to the senior Iranian official.

Zahedi "lived with us for long years, away from the spotlight, and provided important services to the resistance in Lebanon and the whole region," Nasrallah said Friday during a televised address.

Zahedi, 63, had held a succession of commands in a Guards career spanning more than 40 years, and was the most important Iranian military official killed since a United States missile strike at Baghdad airport in 2020 killed General Qasem Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force.

Tehran has promised to respond to the strike, which killed 16 people including two civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitor of Syria's years-long civil war.

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Thousands of displaced Gazans have been trudging back through the apocalyptic landscape of the devastated city after the Israeli army pulled out on Sunday following months of fierce fighting with Hamas group.

But as often as not it is to find their home is no longer there.

"We hoped we would find the house or the remnants of it or take something from it to cover us," Qandil, 46, told AFP.

"We did not find the house," she said.

That is not, however, the worst of her loss. Her son and his pregnant wife were killed by the Israeli army, she said.

"My tragedy is great," she said, adding that the army also killed her daughter-in-law's "father, brother, sister, aunt and the rest of her family in a very heinous crime."

"It is unnatural and indescribable," she said. 

"In every house there is a martyr (someone dead), a wounded person, words cannot describe the magnitude of the devastation and the suffering we experienced.

"We cried hysterically at the sight of the blood."

'Nothing intact'

Such is the destruction of the city that many residents returning from neighbouring Rafah, where more than 1.5 million Gazans have been sheltering, have struggled to find their way around. 

"We don't recognise places, because nothing looks the same," said Salim Sharab. 

Others told AFP that the smell of death hangs in the air, with people digging bodies of the rubble.

The city's civil defence appealed to the United Nations on Monday for hydraulic equipment to get to the bodies, most of which they say are badly decomposed. 

Sharab was still holding onto the hope that his home had survived the fighting and bombardment that levelled whole swathes of a city that was once home to nearly 400,000 people.

Such was the 37-year-old's longing to return, "even if my house is destroyed, I will set up my tent on top of it," he said.

Aisha Al-Hoor's hopes have already been dashed. "My house was completely destroyed and is rubble. My heart was consumed with pain, in every corner of my house there were memories... the scale of the devastation is indescribable.

"The army left nothing intact for the people," she said. "The anger and pain in our hearts will never be forgotten."

Mohammed Dahalan was one of the lucky ones. His apartment was intact even though his neighbours had lost their walls and windows.

However, the Israeli army left "explosive materials inside... we do not know how to handle them."

Muhammad Abu Diab said he was in shock. "There is nothing left. I cannot bear the sight. I'm going to my house and I know it's destroyed," said the 29-year-old.

"I'm going to look in the rubble until I find clothes to wear. I'll go back and live next to the rubble of my house even if it's in a tent. We are exhausted."

The Gaza war was sparked by the October 7 attack against Israel by Hamas that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,207 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

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During normal days, Palestinians used to be able to stand on their buildings' balconies and take in a view of the Mediterranean Sea.

Those structures have vanished, footage from Reuters and other sources shows, crushed into piles of cement and debris.

Residents have been forced to wander Gaza seeking shelter from an Israeli offensive designed to destroy its arch enemy Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the campaign will not stop until Hamas is eliminated, so the bombardment and destruction is expected to continue.

Footage showed how Palestinians lived in calmer days in the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas on earth.

Palestinians drove their cars along a calm street with tall trees separating traffic as far as the eye could see. Footage taken later shows a nearby street with one demolished building after another. One person could be seen walking in the smashed cement of a ghost town.

The conflict began when Hamas, which runs Gaza, burst into Israel on October 7, killed 1,200 people and dragged more than 200 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with a relentless bombardment of the enclave that has killed more than 33,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.

As Palestinians endure the bombing and try to cope with a humanitarian crisis, they think back to some of the places in the Reuters drone footage, like a peaceful alleyway where a teenager speeds along on his bicycle.

The footage also showed a white mosque with a green courtyard overlooking the sea. Fast forward six months and footage will show many destroyed mosques in Gaza.

In another part of Gaza, cars work their way through a roundabout in pre-war footage. Barely traces of it can be seen now.

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The US has been overstretching the concept of national security and without any valid evidence, arbitrarily cancelled Chinese students' visas, banned them from entering the US and forcibly deported them, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here.

Asked about reports that Chinese students and scholars were interrogated and forcibly deported when entering the US border at the Washington Dulles Airport and the Dallas Airport, Mao said, the US moves inflicted enormous damage on the persons concerned and obstructed people-to-people exchanges between China and the US.

"The recent cases show that the US law enforcement personnel are bent on making excuses for deporting Chinese personnel. These are typical cases of selective, discriminatory and politically motivated law enforcement," Mao said.

"China will take resolute measures to safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens. The US needs to immediately stop unjustifiably harassing," she said.

China's state-run Global Times quoted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng alleging that dozens of Chinese arriving in the US, including students, were being denied entry every month over the past few months.

They held valid visas, had no criminal records, and were returning to school after travelling elsewhere or reuniting with their family in China, he said.

But when they landed at the airport, what awaited them was an 8-hour-long interrogation by officers, who prohibited them from contacting their parents, made groundless accusations against them, and even forcibly deported them and banned their entry, Xie alleged.

According to the US Department of Homeland Security reports, last year Indian students overtook the Chinese in American educational institutions.

The number of students going to the US climbed to 3.20 lakh last year against 2.54 lakhs attributed by Chinese officials to the increasingly negative environment in the United States over concerns about the flight of scientific knowledge.

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