The BRICS countries continue to create new tools to ensure economic growth and transform the structure of the world economy so that in the long term it will contribute to the progress of humanity and strengthen the position of the group's countries as the leader of the global movement forward. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during the "Results of the Year" on December 19, TV BRICS reported. Answering a question from a journalist from Tatarstan about BRICS, the Russian head of state emphasised that the association works for the interests of the member states, as per TV BRICS. "The association is developing rapidly. Many states [...] show interest in BRICS because this work is built solely on the basis of reciprocity and respect for each other and each other's interests. All issues are adopted by consensus, and this is very important. There are no small and big states, more developed and less developed; there is an association of interests, and there is only one interest - development," TV BRICS quoted Vladimir Putin as saying. The Russian leader also noted that the BRICS summit in Kazan attracted a significant number of world leaders. According to him, the capital of Tatarstan has made a significant leap in development in recent years and is now one of the best cities in Europe. In addition, Putin answered a question asked by a journalist from Xinhua News Agency, a partner of TV BRICS, about the prospects of relations between Russia and China. He emphasised that they have reached an unprecedented high level in the last decade, as they are based on mutual trust. Speaking about economic cooperation, the Russian President noted that the trade turnover between the countries, according to various estimates, ranges from USD 220 to USD 240 billion. In addition, the states are implementing more than 600 joint investment projects, TV BRICS reported. "Finally, a very important component, in my opinion, is the humanitarian part. We constantly hold cross years - the year of culture, the year of youth exchanges. This is all very important for people; it is a base for the development of economic ties and political interaction," Putin added. "Latin America is represented here, as always, because Cuba, Venezuela, and the rest of the region have always had good, friendly relations with Russia," Prensa Latina journalist Hansell Pavel Oro Oro noted in a conversation with the international media network. The programme "Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin" was held in the format of a direct line combined with a press conference. The head of state answered questions from citizens and representatives of Russian and foreign media on topics ranging from domestic policy and social agenda to international relations and foreign economic activity. The direct line received almost 2.5 million appeals, and 76 questions were asked during the event, as per TV BRICS. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 December,2024 10:37 AM IST | Moscow | ANIThe House rejected President-elect Donald Trump's new plan on Thursday to fund federal operations and suspend the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown, as Democrats refused to accommodate his sudden demands and the quick fix cobbled together by Republican leaders. In a hastily-convened evening vote punctuated by angry outbursts over the self-made crisis, the lawmakers failed to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for passage -- but House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared determined to try again before Friday's midnight deadline. "We are going to do the right thing here," Johnson said ahead of the vote. But he did not even get a majority, with the bill failing 174-235. The outcome proved a massive setback for Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, who rampaged against Johnson's bipartisan compromise, which Republicans and Democrats had reached earlier to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown. It provides a preview of the turbulence ahead when Trump returns to the White House with Republican control of the House and Senate. During his first term, Trump led Republicans into the longest government shutdown in history during the 2018 Christmas season and interrupted the holidays in 2020 by tanking a bipartisan COVID-relief bill and forcing a do-over. Hours earlier, Trump announced "SUCCESS in Washington!" in coming up with the new package which would keep government running for three more months, add USD 100.4 billion in disaster assistance including for hurricane-hit states, and allow more borrowing through January 30, 2027. "Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal," Trump posted. But Republicans, who had spent 24 hours largely negotiating with themselves to come up with the new plan, ran into a wall of resistance from Democrats, who were were in no hurry to appease demands from Trump -- or his billionaire ally Musk. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats were sticking with the original deal with Johnson and called the new one "laughable". "It is not a serious proposal," Jeffries said as he walked to Democrats' own closed-door caucus meeting. Inside, Democrats were chanting, "Hell, no!" All day, Johnson had been fighting to figure out how to meet Trump's sudden demands -- and keep his own job -- while federal offices are being told to prepare to shutter operations. The new proposal whittled the 1,500-page bill to 116 pages and dropped a number of add-ons -- notably, the first pay raise for lawmakers in more than a decade, which could have allowed as much as a 3.8-per cent bump. That drew particular scorn as Musk turned his social media army against the bill. Trump said early on Thursday that Johnson will "easily remain speaker" for the next Congress if he "acts decisively and tough" in coming up with a new plan to also raise the debt limit, a stunning request just before the Christmas holidays that has put the beleaguered speaker in a bind. And if not, the president-elect warned of trouble ahead for Johnson and Republicans in Congress. "Anybody that supports a bill that does not take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible," Trump told Fox News Digital. The tumultuous turn of events, coming as lawmakers were preparing to head home for the holidays, sparks a familiar reminder of what it is like in Trump-run Washington. For Johnson, who faces his own problems ahead of a January 3 House vote to remain speaker, Trump's demands left him severely weakened, forced to abandon his word with Democrats and work into the night to broker the new approach. Trump's allies even floated the far-fetched idea of giving Musk the speaker's gavel, since the speaker is not required to be a member of the Congress. Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted she was "open" to the idea. Democrats were beside themselves, seeing this as a fitting coda after one of the most unproductive congressional sessions in modern times. "Here we are once again in chaos," said House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, who detailed the harm a government shutdown would cause Americans. "And what for? Because Elon Musk, an unelected man, said, We're not doing this deal, and Donald Trump followed along.'" The debate in the House chamber grew heated as lawmakers blamed each other for the mess. At one point, Rep. Marc Molinaro, who was presiding over the debate, slammed the speaker's gavel with such force that it broke. The stakes could not be higher. Trump was publicly turning on those who opposed him. One hardline Republican, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, drew Trump's ire for refusing to go along with the plan and telling colleagues they had no self-respect for piling onto the nation's debt. "It is shameful!" Roy thundered, standing on the Democratic side of the aisle and pointing at his fellow Republicans. The slimmed-down package does include federal funds to rebuild Baltimore's collapsed Key Bridge, but dropped a separate land transfer that could have paved the way for a new Washington Commanders football stadium. But it abandons a long list of other bipartisan bills that had support as lawmakers in both parties try to wrap work for the year. It extends government funds through March 14. Adding an increase in the debt ceiling to what had been a bipartisan package is a show-stopper for Republicans who routinely vote against more borrowing, and Democrats who were not about to give into Trump's demands without a price.
20 December,2024 10:36 AM IST | Washington | APPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan warned Pakistan's federal government of launching a civil disobedience movement if his "legitimate demands" including the release of under-trial political prisoners and a judicial probe into May 9 events and November 26 crackdown on PTI protesters are not met by Sunday. The former Pakistani Prime Minister threatened that if the demands are unmet, the civil disobedience movement, "boycott of remittances", will be launched, Imran Khan said in a statement. He also termed November 26 as the "darkest day" in Pakistan's history, as several PTI workers were allegedly shot at with snipers. "November 26th is the darkest day in Pakistan's history. On this day, unarmed people were shot at by snipers; young people were injured and martyred, and several individuals have been missing for three weeks. It is the government's responsibility to find the missing people. The government must answer: where are these people? Our people have made sacrifices for democracy. I direct Barrister Gohar and my parliamentary party to raise their voices in the assembly for these individuals. It is unacceptable that while blood is being shed in the country, the Parliament continues to function as usual," he said. Imran Khan defended his party by saying that the federal government was wrongly accusing him of targeting the country. "Let them be reminded that it is not the country but the illegitimate Parliament: the (National) Assembly, and the Senate that emerged from electoral fraud, which are being targeted. This government did not come to power through people's votes but through a conspiracy," Imran Khan alleged. Earlier, Imran Khan on Wednesday threatened to call for halting remittances if his demands remain unmet, ARY News reported citing a statement by his sister, Aleema Khan. Imran Khan's sister spoke to the media outside Adiala Jail, stating that the founder reiterated his stance that a judicial commission comprising three Supreme Court judges must be formed, and innocent prisoners should be released. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 December,2024 10:33 AM IST | Islamabad | ANIAs night falls, a team of wildlife officers and veterinarians, in a carefully rehearsed routine, enter the lemur enclosure, nets in hand. One by one, the lemurs are captured, given quick health checks, and secured in travel crates. Nearby, tortoises are also readied for transport in long, narrow cases lined with grass and straw. Each tortoise is labelled before being placed inside. Later, at Suvarnabhumi Airport in the Thai capital, Bangkok, the officers refill water dispensers and peer through the crates’ ventilation holes, checking on the animals before departure. This routine was repeated three times over two weeks, preparing a total of 16 ring-tailed lemurs, 31 brown lemurs, 155 radiated tortoises, and 758 spider tortoises. It marked the culmination of the largest-ever wildlife repatriation for both Thailand and Madagascar. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 December,2024 07:40 AM IST | Chonburi | AgenciesFrench President Emmanuel Macron arrived on Thursday to the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte to survey the devastation that Cyclone Chido brought upon the French territory as thousands of people tried cope without the bare essentials such as water or electricity. “Mayotte is demolished,” an airport security agent told Macron as soon as he stepped off the plane. “Small children are without water and have nowhere to go because “everything is demolished”. Macron went on a helicopter for an aerial appraisal of the damage. He then headed to the hospital in Mamoudzou, Mayotte’s capital, to meet medical staff and patients, and later visited a destroyed area. Authorities said at least 31 people have died and more than 1,500 were injured, with over 200 being in critical condition. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 December,2024 07:40 AM IST | Mamoudzou | AgenciesTwo highway crashes in southeastern Afghanistan have killed a combined total of 50 people and injured 76, a government spokesman said Thursday. Women and children are among the casualties. One was a collision between a passenger bus and an oil tanker on the Kabul-Kandahar highway late Wednesday, said Hafiz Omar, a spokesman for the governor of Ghazni province. The other was in a different area of the same highway, which connects the Afghan capital with the south. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 December,2024 07:40 AM IST | Kabul | AgenciesThe US government has urged the Supreme Court to dismiss a petition filed by 26/11 Mumbai-attack convict Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, to avoid his extradition to India. India is seeking the extradition of Rana as he is wanted in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case. Having lost the legal battle against his extraditions in lower courts and several federal courts, including the US Court of Appeals for the North Circuit in San Francisco, Rana on November 13 filed a “petition for a writ of certiorari” before the US Supreme Court. In a long battle, this is Rana’s last legal chance to avoid extradition to India. Rana, currently lodged in a jail in Los Angeles. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 December,2024 07:39 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesRussian President Vladimir Putin boasted about the economy and hailed his troops’ gains in Ukraine during his annual news conference and call-in show on Thursday, an event he uses to reinforce his authority and demonstrate sweeping control of the country’s political scene. Speaking about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said the military was “advancing toward achieving our goals in the special military operation in Ukraine”. In response to a question about a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile that Russia used for the first time last month to strike Ukraine, Putin scoffed and challenged Ukraine’s Western allies to a “high-tech duel”, suggesting that Moscow could give advance notice of a strike on Kyiv with the Oreshnik missile “and see if the West could protect the city”. “Let’s see what happens,” he said with a smile. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 December,2024 07:39 AM IST | Moscow | AgenciesA series of intense Israeli airstrikes shook Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a port city early Thursday and killed at least nine people, officials said, shortly after a Houthi missile targeted central Israel. Thursday’s strikes risk further escalating conflict with the Iranian-backed Houthis, whose attacks on the Red Sea corridor have drastically impacted global shipping. The rebels have so far avoided the same level of intense military strikes that have targeted Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, fellow members of Tehran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance”. Israel’s military said that it conducted two waves of strikes in a preplanned operation that began early Thursday and involved 14 fighter jets. The military said the first wave of strikes targeted Houthi infrastructure at the ports of Hodeida, Salif and the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea. Then, in a second wave of strikes, the military said its fighter jets targeted Houthi energy infrastructure in Sanaa. The Houthi-controlled satellite channel al-Masirah said that some of the strikes targeted power stations in the capital, posting videos of flames engulfing one structure, as civil defense workers doused it in water, trying to extinguish the fire. The channel, citing its correspondent in the port city of Hodeida, said that at least seven people had been killed at Salif, while another two had been killed at the Ras Isa oil terminal. Others suffered wounds at the Hodeida port as well, it said. An Israeli military statement offered no damage assessment. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
20 December,2024 07:39 AM IST | Dubai | AgenciesA 48-year-old Indian-origin man who attacked his 76-year-old mother in their family home in Leicester, eastern England, has been found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Sindeep Singh was arrested after Leicestershire Police discovered the deceased, Bhajan Kaur, with significant injuries to her head and face on May 13. Following a 16-day trial at Leicester Crown Court, Singh was found guilty of murder and sentenced this week to life in prison with a minimum term of 31 years behind bars before being considered for parole. "This was a deeply disturbing case which uncovered the lengths Singh went to, to cover his tracks," said Detective Chief Inspector Mark Sinski from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit Murder Investigation Team. "After killing his mother, Singh went out and bought a sack barrow and spade to dig up the garden. He intended burying Mrs Kaur's body but was disturbed before he could do that. The house had been cleaned and there was a very strong smell of disinfectant. There was clear evidence showing the planning after her death," he said. The detective revealed that when Singh was approached by officers, he provided false details and initially claimed to have no knowledge of the incident. But during the police investigation, it was established that Singh acted following several arguments over the ownership of the family home, which he believed had been left to him by his late father. "This has been an extremely distressing and challenging time for Mrs Kaur's family, they have been left devastated at the loss of their dear mother. They have shown immense courage and dignity throughout the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings," he said. "It is unfortunate that this case ended with a trial and the family had to sit through the proceedings and listen to the details of Mrs Kaur's final moments. This is in no way easy for them " they've lost a loved one and will now have to live with the fact that Mrs Kaur's life was taken by one of their own," he added. The court heard how previously Kaur had reported Singh for his behaviour and he was even arrested on suspicion of controlling and coercive behaviour and released on bail while those enquiries were ongoing. The investigation revealed that Singh had been living in his car on the driveway of the home, and on the day of the murder, Kaur had let him into the house. CCTV evidence showed Singh leaving the property later on the same day and going to purchase a sack and spade from a nearby shop. He then returned to the house on Bolsover Street and when relatives were unable to get hold of Kaur, they went to her home where they discovered her body. When police officers arrived at the scene, they also found that ground in the rear garden had been dug up creating a large hole. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 December,2024 10:47 AM IST | London | APFlorida authorities announced Wednesday that they're pursuing a criminal case against a man accused of trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump for a car crash that occurred after law enforcement stopped traffic to catch him. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said she obtained an arrest warrant for Ryan Wesley Routh, who already is being held on federal charges in the assassination attempt. Moody said she is pursuing a charge of attempted felony murder for a crash that seriously injured a 6-year-old girl after officials shut down traffic on Interstate 95 as they tried to apprehend the suspect. The multivehicle crash happened about 30 minutes after Routh's arrest on I-95, according to the state's investigation, but Moody said it was a result of his actions. The girl, who was travelling with her family, had serious injuries, Moody said. "When you couple those terrible injuries, together with his other criminal conduct, which we believe rises to the level of domestic terrorism, it turns his actions into an attempted felony murder case," she told reporters. Routh's attorney declined to comment Wednesday through a representative. Routh is being held on federal charges of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and gun crimes. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf at his West Palm Beach country club on September 15. Before Trump came into view, Routh was spotted by a Secret Service agent. Routh allegedly aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot. Routh's arrest came two months after Trump was shot and wounded in the ear in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service acknowledged failings leading up to that shooting but has said security worked as it should have to thwart the potential Florida attack. Days after the Florida assassination attempt, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state would carry out its own investigation parallel to the federal probe, with prosecutors pursuing the most serious charges available under state law. It's not uncommon for state and federal law enforcement agencies to run simultaneous investigations into crimes, as states may be able to bring charges that are unavailable at the federal level " and vice versa. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 December,2024 10:46 AM IST | Tallahassee | APADVERTISEMENT
