Tag: CurrentEvents

Hillary Clinton: “There Needs To Be A Formal Deprogramming” Of The Trump Cult Members

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an interview on Thursday with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour called for a systemic deprogramming of Donald Trump’s MAGA “cult members.” Clinton acknowledged that the former president will likely be the Republican party’s presidential nominee.

Clinton said Trump’s “negative, nasty form of politics” resonates with his supporters because they may not like migrants, and are homophobic, racist, and misogynistic.

“It’s a classic tale of an authoritarian, populist who really has a grip on the emotional psychological needs and desires of a portion of the population,” Clinton said of the Trump saga. “And the base of the Republican party, for whatever combination of reasons — and it is emotional and psychological — sees in him someone who speaks for them. And they are determined that they will continue to vote for him, attend his rallies, wear his merchandise, because for whatever reason, he and his very negative, nasty form of politics resonates with them.”

“Maybe they don’t like migrants,” she suggested. “Maybe they don’t like gay people or black people or the woman who got the promotion at work they didn’t get. Whatever the reason. You know, Make America Great Again was a bid for nostalgia to return to a place where people couldn’t be in charge of their lives, feel empowered, say what they want, insult whoever came in their way. and that was really attractive to a significant portion of the Republican base. So it is like a cult. And somebody has to break that momentum. And that’s why I believe Joe Biden will defeat him. Hopefully, then that will be the end and the fever will break and Republicans can try to get back to fighting about issues and elect people who are at least responsible and accountable.”

“We’ve had very strong partisans in both parties in the past and we had very bitter battles over all kinds of things, gun control and climate change and the economy and taxes,” Clinton said. “But there wasn’t this little tail of extremism wagging the dog of the Republican party as it is today. Sadly, so many of those extremists, those MAGA extremists take their marching orders from Donald Trump, who has no credibility left by any measure. He’s only in it for himself. He’s now defending himself in civil actions, and criminal actions. And when do they break with him because at some point, maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members, but something needs to happen.”

Source : https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/10/05/hillary_clinton_there_needs_to_be_a_formal_deprogramming_of_the_trump_cult_members.html

Subwoofers, beanies and baggy pants: breakdancing debuts in Hangzhou

Asian Games – Hangzhou 2022 – Breaking – Gongshu Canal Sports Park Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China – October 6, 2023 Mongolia’s Dulguun Chuluunbaatar performs during the men’s pre-selection REUTERS/Ann Wang

The funky beats, fast feet and head spinning moves of breakdancing made their debut at the Asian Games in the Eastern city of Hangzhou on Friday less than a year before the sport enters the Olympic programme for the first time at Paris 2024.

Under bright lights and ear-splitting, subwoofer hungry mixes more akin to a nightclub or indoor hip-hop concert the “b-boy” and “b-girl” dancers performed their tricks in a circle on a stage in front of judges and several thousand spectators.

Sporting baggy pants and beanie hats and using stage names including “Think”, “K” and “Quake”, the dancers span and shimmied on their heads, shoulders and hands in performances familiar to tourists in city squares across the world.

This time the prize was not a wad of notes in a hat but a gold medal and exposure to millions.

“It’s very special,” said one of Taiwan’s female breakers, 25-year-old Yang Jia-li, who added that breaking had massively boosted her confidence.

“A lot of friends are asking when I will perform or asking about the Olympics. I am also very happy that people in different fields care about breaking.”

Along with esports’ debut as a medal event in Hangzhou, organisers hope “breaking” can help lure young viewers turned off by traditional Games sports.

A counter-cultural art-form born in the streets of New York City decades ago, breakdancing is judged against broad criteria in competition.

“Now it has become a sport, its culture is becoming less and less because after all we have to cooperate with some sports norms,” said Yang’s 24-year-old male team mate Sun Zhen.

JUDGING AN “ART”

DJs played clips for the breakers from a “mix cut” of around 200 songs prepared for the Games which the dancers did not know in advance, said technical operation director of the competition, Meng Changqing.

The contestants then had to react quickly to “feel” the music as they entered the circle to perform their moves.

Judges give contestants marks out of 20 in five categories: skill, musicality, diversity, completion and quality and personality, for a total score out of 100, Meng added

The dancers were widely very positive about the experience and its potential to encourage others to take up breaking.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/sports/subwoofers-beanies-baggy-pants-breakdancing-debuts-hangzhou-2023-10-06

Judge pauses litigation in classified docs case while mulling Trump’s request for extension

At issue is how to handle the classified materials at the center of the case.

The judge overseeing the probe into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents has paused any litigation involving the classified materials in question as she considers a request from Trump to extend deadlines in the case, according to a new order.

At issue is how the classified materials at the center of the case are to be handled by the defendants and their attorneys, based on national security requirements.

After Judge Aileen Cannon established several deadlines for ruling on those issues, Trump’s legal team last month filed a motion asking her for a three-month extension, saying that Trump and his co-defendants have still not had access “to significant portions of the materials that the Special Counsel’s Office has characterized as classified and conceded are discoverable — much less the additional classified materials to which President Trump is entitled following anticipated discovery litigation.”

Cannon’s order on Friday temporarily pauses the upcoming deadlines as she considers Trump’s motion.

Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom before the continuation of his civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Oct. 3, 2023, in New York.
Seth Wenig/AP, FILE

Special counsel Jack Smith’s ‘s office said in a recent filing that some documents are so sensitive that they cannot be stored in a secure facility in Florida with the other documents in the case. Smith’s team has told the court that the documents can be made available in a secure facility in Washington, D.C., for review.

Source : https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-pauses-litigation-classified-docs-case-mulling-trumps/story?id=103788426

Nobel Peace Prize awarded to jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for ‘fight against oppression of women’

The campaigner, 51, was awarded the prize “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”.

Narges Mohammadi. Pic: Mohammadi family archive photos/Reuters

Jailed Iranian women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi has won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2023.

The 51-year-old campaigner was given the award “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”.

The award also recognised the hundreds of thousands of people who have demonstrated against Iranian discrimination and oppression of women.

Anoosheh Ashoori, who spent five years in Iran’s notorious Evin prison – the same prison where Ms Mohammadi is serving multiple sentences – told Sky News he is worried about her even more now she has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr Ashoori said he met “many other innocent people” there, adding that some “are still there, just going through that hell right now”.

He said he saw broken glass and blood on the floor of a medical centre during his time there and was told Ms Mohammadi had been pushed and thrown into a glass door by the prison’s director, adding: “He was quite famous for his brutalities.”

Asked if he thought the award might have a negative impact on her treatment and time in the jail, he said: “I am worried about it because I know how these beasts behave. It can have repercussions and I’m really worried about her safety.”

Responding to the news of the award, Ms Mohammadi vowed to be “more resilient, determined, hopeful and enthusiastic”.

“I will never stop striving for the realisation of democracy, freedom and equality,” she said in a statement to the New York Times.

“Standing alongside the brave mothers of Iran, I will continue to fight against the relentless discrimination, tyranny and gender-based oppression by the oppressive religious government until the liberation of women,” she added.

Her family said in a statement that while the honour could “never compensate” them for the time she had spent imprisoned, it was a “source of solace for our indescribable suffering”.

Who is Narges Mohammadi?

Ms Mohammadi is one of Iran’s leading human rights activists, and has also campaigned against the country’s death penalty.

She has been in prison almost continually over the last 13 years, having been jailed for 11 years in 2011 for “acting against the national security”.

That sentence was for her work with the Iranian human rights group, Defenders of Human Rights Center, of which she is vice-president.

Source : https://news.sky.com/story/nobel-peace-prize-awarded-to-irans-narges-mohammadi-12978009

US tourist accused of smashing second-century Roman statues at museum in Israel

Museum photos show the marble head of the goddess Athena knocked off its pedestal onto the floor, and a statue of a pagan deity shattered into fragments.

Pic: AP

An American tourist has been arrested after allegedly smashing two second-century Roman statues at the Israel Museum – with his lawyer claiming he was experiencing a mental disorder called “Jerusalem syndrome”.

Israeli police have said initial questioning suggests the Jewish-American suspect destroyed the statues in Jerusalem because he considered them to be “idolatrous and contrary to the Torah”.

The Torah is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.

Museum photos show the marble head of the goddess Athena knocked off its pedestal onto the floor and a statue of a pagan deity shattered into fragments.

The damaged statues were being restored, museum staff said.

Nick Kaufam, the suspect’s lawyer, has denied the man acted out of religious fanaticism.

Instead, Mr Kaufman said the 40-year-old tourist was suffering from a mental disorder that psychiatrists have labelled “Jerusalem syndrome”.

The condition – a form of disorientation believed to be induced by the religious magnetism of the city, which is sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims – is said to cause foreign pilgrims to believe they are figures from the Bible.

Pic: AP

The defendant has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Officials did not release his name due to a gagging order.

The vandalism late on Thursday raised questions about the safety of Israel’s priceless collections and stirred concern about a rise in attacks on cultural heritage in Jerusalem.

Source : https://news.sky.com/story/us-tourist-accused-of-smashing-second-century-roman-statues-at-museum-in-israel-12978700

Femme A La Montre: Pablo Picasso masterpiece set to fetch £100m at auction

The painting depicts Marie-Therese Walter – his “golden muse” – who was the subject in many of the Spanish painter’s portraits.

Femme A La Montre

One of Pablo Picasso’s masterpieces is going on sale next month and is expected to fetch almost £100m.

The Spanish artist’s 1932 work, Femme A La Montre, depicts his “golden muse” Marie-Therese Walter.

She had an affair with the painter and was the subject of many Picasso portraits.

Pablo Picasso in 1959.

He met Marie-Therese, widely held to be one of the most significant women in the painter’s life, while he was in a relationship with Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova.

The oil on canvas work is owned by art patron and collector Emily Fisher Landau and is one of many pieces in her collection.

They will be exhibited at Sotheby’s in London from Saturday until Wednesday before going to Paris, Taipei and Los Angeles.

Ms Fisher Landau, who began collecting after receiving an insurance settlement for a jewellery robbery at her home, bought the Picasso painting in 1968 at the start of her collecting journey.

American painter and sculptor Jasper Johns, Dutch-American artist Willem de Kooning, American painter and printmaker Robert Rauschenberg and abstract painter Mark Rothko are among the other artists featured in The Emily Fisher Landau Collection: An Era Defined.

Works by Andy Warhol and Edward Ruscha, who were both associated with the pop art movement, are also included.

Rauschenberg’s 1962 silkscreen could go for as much as £6.5m to £10m.

Source : https://news.sky.com/story/femme-a-la-montre-pablo-picasso-masterpiece-set-to-fetch-163100m-at-auction-12978681

UK on course for biggest tax rise in 50 years after personal thresholds frozen, analysis suggests

The government’s policy is to keep income tax and national insurance thresholds frozen until 2028, meaning many will be pushed into higher tax bands as a result of inflation.

The UK is on course for the biggest tax rise in at least 50 years because of the freeze on personal thresholds and soaring inflation, according to new analysis.

The Resolution Foundation said taxpayers are set to hand over about £40bn a year by 2028 – up from a forecast of £30bn at the time of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget in March.

The government’s policy is to keep income tax and national insurance thresholds frozen until 2028, meaning many will be pushed into higher tax bands as a result of inflation.

“Chancellors of all political stripes like this kind of stealth tax, but the scale of increase in how much it will now raise is totally unprecedented,” said Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation.

“Forget about all the tax cuts being floated, they’ll pale into insignificance besides this tax rise.”

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the freeze will also compound challenges facing many workers whose earnings are not keeping up with inflation.

Source : https://news.sky.com/story/uk-on-course-for-biggest-tax-rise-in-50-years-after-personal-thresholds-frozen-analysis-suggests-12978535

Dengue will ‘take off’ in southern Europe, US, Africa this decade, WHO scientist says

Dengue fever will become a major threat in the southern United States, southern Europe and new parts of Africa this decade, the WHO’s chief scientist said, as warmer temperatures create the conditions for the mosquitoes carrying the infection to spread.

The illness has long been a scourge in much of Asia and Latin America, causing an estimated 20,000 deaths each year. Rates of the disease have already risen eight-fold globally since 2000, driven largely by climate change as well as the increased movement of people and urbanization.

Many cases go unrecorded, but in 2022 4.2 million cases were reported worldwide and public health officials have warned that near-record levels of transmission are expected this year. Bangladesh is currently experiencing its worst-ever outbreak, with more than 1,000 deaths.

“We need to talk much more proactively about dengue,” Jeremy Farrar, an infectious diseases specialist who joined the World Health Organization in May this year, told Reuters.

“We need to really prepare countries for how they will deal with the additional pressure that will come… in the future in many, many big cities.”

Farrar previously spent 18 years working in Vietnam on tropical diseases including dengue. He later headed up the Wellcome Trust global health charity and advised the UK government on its COVID-19 response before joining the WHO in May this year.

Farrar said the infection is likely to “take off” and become endemic in parts of the United States, Europe and Africa – all regions where there has already been some limited local transmission – as global warming makes new areas hospitable to the mosquitoes that spread it. That will put acute pressure on hospital systems in many countries, he warned.

“The clinical care is really intensive, it requires a high ratio of nurses to patients,” he said. “I really worry when this becomes a big issue in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Mosquitoes are seen on stagnant water on the roadside during countrywide dengue infection, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, August 24, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo

Most people who get dengue do not have symptoms, meaning case rates are thought to be far higher than the reported numbers. Those who do can experience fever, muscle spasms and joint pain so severe it is known as “break-bone fever.” In severe cases – less than 1% – it can be fatal.

There is no specific treatment for dengue, although there is a vaccine available. Earlier this week, the WHO recommended Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ (4502.T) Qdenga vaccine for children aged 6 to 16 in areas where the infection is a significant public health problem.

Qdenga is also approved by the EU regulator, but Takeda withdrew its application in the United States earlier this year, citing data collection issues. Takeda said it was still in talks with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the vaccine.

Preparing new regions of the world to deal with dengue means ensuring that any public health funds get spent in the right areas, Farrar said, including on the best way to control the mosquito.

Dengue is spread by infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which behave differently to the malaria-carrying kind. For example, they bite people indoors, and they bite all day rather than overnight. They also breed in very shallow water.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/dengue-will-take-off-southern-europe-us-africa-this-decade-who-scientist-says-2023-10-06

‘Half the village is gone’: Ukraine hamlet reels after missile strike

In a burial plot next to a field outside the remote Ukrainian hamlet of Hroza, residents removed undergrowth and cleared away litter to make space for more graves.

Working quietly, it was something to distract them from the horror of what happened the day before.

As dozens of people gathered in the local cafe for a meal to honour a soldier who died in the war against Russia, a missile struck, killing at least 52 people.

It was one of the most deadly attacks during 20 months of fighting, and one that has devastated the tiny, tight-knit community.

Shock is giving way to grief, as well as questions about how the Russians could have known about the gathering in what some Hroza residents say was a deliberate attack.

Among those killed was Olya, 36, who is survived by three children. Her husband died too.

Her father, Valeriy Kozyr, was at the cemetery preparing to bury her and his son-in-law.

“It would have been better if I had died,” he said quietly as he wept. “Oh God, you cannot punish me like this. To leave the father and take the children!”

Wiping tears from his face, the 61-year-old explained that he must now work out how to care for his three grand-children aged 10, 15 and 17. Kozyr wants to bury Olya and her husband side-by-side in a single grave.

He told Reuters he was not in the cafe on Thursday because he worked night shifts as a security guard, and so was spared.

Nearby, three brothers were readying a plot in which to bury their parents, both killed in what President Volodymr Zelenskiy has called a deliberate Russian assault on civilians.

Moscow denies targeting civilians in its full-scale invasion, a position it repeated on Friday in response to the Hroza strike. Thousands have been killed in a bombing campaign that has hit apartment blocks and restaurants as well as power stations, bridges and grain silos.

One brother began to dig while another picked up discarded plastic bottles.

“We lost 18 people on one street, where our parents lived,” said the third, 41-year-old Yevhen Pyrozhok. “On one side, the neighbours are gone, and on the other side a woman is gone.”

The men said they did not know when they would be able to have the funeral because their parents’ bodies were still being examined by investigators in Kharkiv, the closest big city in northeastern Ukraine.

Valeriy Kozyr, 61, cries as he sits next to graves after losing his daughter and other relatives in a Russian military strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at a cemetery outside the village of Hroza, Kharkiv region, Ukraine October 6, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Acquire Licensing Rights

Not all of the victims have been identified. Regional police investigator Serhiy Bolvinov told reporters late on Thursday that authorities would have to use DNA to identify some of the victims, because their remains were beyond recognition.

“Corpses lay there in that yard, and nobody could identify them,” said Valentyna Kozienko, 73, speaking near her home close to the site.

‘HALF THE VILLAGE GONE’

As darkness fell on Thursday, dazed emergency crews carried bodies placed in white bags on to the back of a pickup truck. A local man knelt down and wept as he lay his hand on the remains of a loved one before they too, were taken away.

Local resident Oleksandr Mukhovatyi said he lost his mother, brother and sister-in-law.

“Someone betrayed us. The attack was precise, it all landed in the coffee shop.”

On Friday, rescue workers continued to sift through the rubble of the flattened cafe and nearby shop, while diggers pushed away debris.

On a low table set up a few metres (yards) away, members of the emergency services and local community laid flowers and lit candles in small coloured jars to commemorate the dead.

At the cemetery, one grave stands out.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/half-village-is-gone-ukraine-hamlet-reels-after-missile-strike-2023-10-06

NJ Sen. Bob Menendez allegedly took Mercedes bribe after wife-to-be killed man in 2018 car crash: reports

Indicted New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez — accused of agreeing to meddle in a criminal probe in exchange for a new Mercedes-Benz — allegedly took the bribe after his soon-to-be wife killed a man during a traffic accident that left her car too banged up to drive.

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, 56, was the veteran Democrat’s on-again, off-again lover back when she slammed into Richard Koop, 49, as he crossed a road in Bogota, New Jersey at about 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2018, according to reports on Wednesday.

Local cops questioned Arslanian briefly, then cut her loose when they figured she was “not at fault,” reported The New York Times.

Menendez’s future wife told cops she didn’t see Koop — but she was driving her black Mercedes fast enough that the collision flung his mangled body to the curb, just steps from his own house.

Koop died almost instantly, the Times said. When his ex-wife went to identify his corpse, she could barely recognize him.

Arslanian’s luxury ride was trashed. She shattered her windshield, and the front end was badly damaged because she careened into a parked car after hitting the man, according to a Bogota police report.

Nadine Arslanian Menendez was Menendez’s on-again, off-again lover back in 2018, when she killed a pedestrian in a traffic accident.
Bogota Police Department
Cops said Arslanian wasn’t at fault for the accident, which left a Bogota man dead.
Bogota Police Department

In stepped her beau, the senior Democratic senator from the Garden State, with whom she was indicted last month for allegedly trading favors to help three New Jersey businessmen and the government of Egypt.

The feds allege that the 69-year-old Menendez — who married Arslanian in October 2020 — agreed to call a senior prosecutor at the New Jersey attorney general’s office and ask them to go easy on an associate of businessman Jose Uribe.

In return, Uribe, a former insurance agent from Menendez’s hometown of Union City, allegedly agreed to finance a brand new Benz, the indictment states.

“All is GREAT! I’m so excited to get a car next week. !!” Arslanian texted Wael Hana — an equally shady Egyptian-American businessman from North Jersey who was also close with Uribe — a few days after Menendez’s alleged call.

By April 2019, she was signing the papers on a brand-new, $60,000 Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible, according to Manhattan federal prosecutors.

Arslanian and Menendez — both of whom have been indicted — allegedly got a businessman friend to finance a new Mercedes in return for Menendez pressuring state prosecutors to go easy on a friend of the businessman’s.
Getty Images
Last month, federal prosecutors indicted the Democratic senator for accepting hundreds of thousands in bribes — including the new Mercedes.
AP

“Congratulations mon amour de la vie,” Arslanian texted Menendez, the indictment said. “We are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes.”

Both Uribe, 56, and Hana, 40, were indicted alongside Menendez and his wife last month, as was Fred Daibes, a well-known 66-year-old real estate developer and big-time fundraiser for the oft-embattled senator.

Federal prosecutors have said Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, the Mercedes and even exercise machines during a four-year period, starting in 2018.

Both Menendez and his wife have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Source: https://nypost.com/2023/10/04/nj-sen-bob-menendezs-wife-to-be-killed-man-in-2018-car-crash-reports/

55 Chinese sailors feared dead after submarine ‘caught in trap’

55 Chinese sailors are feared dead after nuclear submarine ‘gets caught in a trap intended to snare British and US vessels in the Yellow Sea’

• Twenty-two officers were among the 55 reported to have died in the Yellow Sea

• China denies it happened – and apparently refused international assistance

Fifty-five Chinese sailors are feared dead after their nuclear submarine apparently got caught in a trap intended to ensnare British sub-surface vessels in the Yellow Sea.

According to a secret UK report the seamen died following a catastrophic failure of the submarine’s oxygen systems which poisoned the crew.

The captain of the Chinese PLA Navy submarine ‘093-417’ is understood to be among the deceased, as were 21 other officers.

Officially, China has denied the incident took place. It also appears Beijing refused to request international assistance for its stricken submarine.

The UK report into the fatal mission reads: ‘Intelligence reports that on 21st of August there was an onboard accident whilst carrying out a mission in the Yellow Sea.

‘Incident happened at 08.12 local resulting in the death of 55 crew members: 22 officers, 7 officer cadets, 9 petty officers, 17 sailors. Dead include the captain Colonel Xue Yong-Peng.

‘Our understanding is death caused by hypoxia due to a system fault on the submarine. The submarine hit a chain and anchor obstacle used by the Chinese Navy to trap US and allied submarines.

‘This resulted in systems failures that took six hours to repair and surface the vessel. The onboard oxygen system poisoned the crew after a catastrophic failure.’

As yet there is no independent confirmation of the suspected loss of the Chinese submarine in the public domain.

Beijing has dismissed open source speculation about the incident as ‘completely false’ while Taiwan has also denied internet reports.

Mail Plus approached the Royal Navy to discuss the details contained in the UK report but official sources declined to comment or offer guidance.

The UK report, which is based on defence intelligence, is held at a high classification.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12589429/chinese-sailors-trap-yellow-sea.html

Swades actor Gayatri Joshi and husband Vikas Oberoi meet with car accident that leaves an elderly Swiss couple dead

Swades actor Gayatri Joshi and husband Vikas Oberoi’s car was part of a multiple-vehicle collision which left an elderly couple dead.

Gayatri Joshi and husband Vikas Oberoi were part of a car accident in Italy.

Gayatri Joshi of Swades fame is in Italy with husband Vikas Oberoi and the two reportedly were involved in a car accident which left a senior couple dead. Gayatri confirmed to Free Press Journal that she and her husband were doing “absolutely fine” after the tragic accident. It was reportedly a multiple-car collision in Sardinia and a Swiss couple travelling in a Ferrari died when the high-end vehicle caught fire.

What reportedly happened in Italy
The portal reported Gayatri as saying, “Vikas and I are in Italy. We met with an accident here.. With gods grace, we both are absolutely fine.”

The portal also reports that the collision took place when a Lamborghini and the couple’s Ferrari tried to overtake a camper van at the same time, resulting in the Ferrari catching fire and overturning of the van. The incident is said to have taken place during the Sardinia Supercar Tour as part of which luxury cars parade from Teulada to Olbia. The accident is believed to have been recorded in a video that surfaced online soon after.

More about Gayatri Joshi’s film debut
Gayatri won the Femina Miss India International in 2000 and made her acting debut with 2004 film Swades. She starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan as Geeta in the critically-acclaimed Ashutosh Gowariker film. Despite winning quite a few awards for her debut, she left the industry soon after. She tied the knot with businessman Vikas Oberoi in 2005 and the couple have two kids.

Gayatri is sometimes spotted in Mumbai. She and her husband were seen on a get-together with Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne Khan last year. In 2019, Gayatri had made headlines for losing 40000 in a credit card fraud. “Prima facie, it seems to be a case of card cloning. The complainant has claimed that someone stole her card details and duplicated it later to withdraw money,” a police officer had told Hindustan Times.

 

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/swades-actor-gayatri-joshi-and-husband-vikas-oberoi-meet-with-car-accident-in-italy-101696380520607.html

Bangkok police arrest 14-year-old suspected gunman after deadly shooting at Siam Paragon mall

Hundreds of people were seen fleeing the mall in Bangkok after gunshots were heard.

A suspected gunman is detained after shots were fired at the luxury Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand, Oct 3, 2023. (Photos: Reuters/Thai rescue workers association, CNA/Jack Board)

Thai police arrested a 14-year-old suspected gunman on Tuesday (Oct 3) after a deadly shooting at Bangkok’s Siam Paragon mall.

Two people were killed, both women from China and Myanmar, according to National Police Chief Torsak Sukvimol. Five people were injured, he told reporters.

The death toll was revised down from an earlier figure of three provided by Thai emergency services.

Torsak added that the teenager was in custody but was too confused to undergo questioning.

“He is a mental patient at Rajavithi Hospital and he has not been taking his medication,” Torsak said.

“He said it was like there was another him telling him who to shoot.”

Chaos erupted in the late afternoon after gunfire was reported at the upmarket mall, one of Bangkok’s top shopping destinations in the heart of the Thai capital.

“The attacker was arrested. In fact, he surrendered,” Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin earlier told reporters.

Srettha visited the scene of the shooting as well as calling on the wounded in hospital. He also offered condolences to the victims’ families and said he was monitoring the situation closely.

“What I care about most right now is the safety of all citizens,” he wrote on X. “I ask all workers to monitor the situation, and may everyone be safe.”

“From now on, the Thai government will implement the highest safety measures for the safety of all tourists.”

A private school called The Essence, just metres from Siam Paragon, confirmed the suspect was one of its students and offered condolences to the victims’ families.

“We will collaborate with the authorities and investigators for the benefit of those involved,” Wiwat Catithammanit, director of the US$4,000-a-term school said in a statement.

A police officer collects a gun at Siam Paragon shopping mall, in Bangkok, Thailand, Oct 3, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Thai rescue workers association)
Screenshots from a video of people running out of Siam Paragon in Bangkok, Thailand on Oct 3, 2023. (Images: Twitter/Dweii_ii)

Video footage showed a long-haired boy wearing a black shirt, glasses and a cap with a US flag motif being taken into custody by police.

Security camera footage shared on social media showed the suspect kneeling on the ground in an enclosed area in an apparent surrender.

Police officers then shattered a glass panel before moving in to detain him. A handgun was recovered from the scene.

“RUN, RUN, RUN”
Hundreds of people, including children, were earlier seen pouring out of the mall into torrential rain.

“It happened in just a few minutes. We saw all the people run, run, run, we didn’t understand what was happening,” said 26-year-old Shir Yahav from Israel, who was at a designer store at the time of the shooting.

Siam Paragon is Thailand’s most famous mall, hugely popular with locals and tourists alike with its high-end stores, aquarium, movie theatre and hugely popular food court dining.

In 2013, it was named the world’s most photographed place by Instagram.

Word of the incident first spread on social media, as users shared footage of the chaos with several people saying that they heard gunshots.

A video shared by X user @janejanejuta showed shoppers and mall employees crouching down and taking cover at what appeared to be a food court.

A man can be heard urging the group to sit down.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thailand-bangkok-siam-paragon-shooting-police-deaths-injuries-3817086

In Hospital Where 31 Died In 48 Hours, MP Makes Dean Clean Filthy Toilet

Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MP Hemant Patil is seen spraying water into the toilet as the dean cleans it with a wiper.

Mumbai: A dirty toilet in a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Nanded, where 31 people have died in 48 hours, was cleaned by no less than the dean after an MP from the ruling Shiv Sena instructed him to do so.
After the deaths made national headlines, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MP Hemant Patil visited the Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital on Tuesday and took stock of the situation there. On spotting a filthy toilet, Mr Patil caught hold of the hospital’s dean, Shyamrao Wakode, and asked him to clean it.

Videos show the MP standing and holding a pipe as the dean empties the toilet, putting a container, a bottle, and a toilet brush on a window. Mr Patil can then be seen spraying water into the toilet as Mr Wakode, armed with a wiper, directs streams of dirty water into the commode.

On Monday, the hospital had reported 24 deaths in 24 hours and the number rose to 31 in 48 hours on Tuesday. The condition of 71 patients is said to be critical.

Mr Wakode had, on Monday, rejected allegations of medical negligence and said there was no shortage of medicines or doctors. He had said the patients were given proper care, but did not respond to the treatment.

The opposition has trained its guns on the Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra, which is composed of the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), the BJP and the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

“The BJP government spends thousands of crores on publicity, but there is no money to buy medicines of children,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge posted in Hindi on Monday, “The news of the death of 24 patients, including 12 infants, in a civil hospital in Nanded, Maharashtra, is extremely painful, serious and worrying. It is being said that these patients died due to a lack of medicines and treatment. A similar incident took place in a government hospital in Thane in August 2023, in which 18 patients lost their lives.”

The Congress chief demanded a detailed investigation and strict punishment for the culprits.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nanded-hospital-deaths-maharashtra-hospital-in-hospital-where-31-died-in-48-hours-mp-makes-dean-clean-filthy-toilet-4445671

At least 20 killed as Italian bus falls off Venice bridge

“It’s an apocalyptic scene. I am speechless,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A gondola is pictured on Grand Canal in front of Rialto bridge in Venice, Italy, October 20, 2021
(photo credit: REUTERS/FABRIZIO BENSCH)

At least 20 people died on Tuesday after a coach crashed off an overpass near Venice in northern Italy, the city’s mayor was quoted as saying by the Italian newspaper la Repubblica.

The coach veered off the road and fell close to railway lines in the district of Mestre, which is connected to Venice by a bridge, Italian news agencies and television reported, but the cause of the accident was still unclear.

“It’s an apocalyptic scene. I am speechless,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-761566

Asian Games: Parul, Annu win gold in separate events as India expands medal tally

For Parul, it was a second medal at the continental championships after she had claimed a silver in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase on Monday.

Parul Chaudhary (L), Annu Rani (R) Credit: Reuters/ PTI

Parul Chaudhary pulled off a heist for a sensational women’s 5000m gold while Annu Rani conjured up her season-best performance to claim the top prize in women’s javelin throw as Indian athletes bagged six medals from track and field at the Asian Games, here on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old Parul was behind Japan’s Ririka Hironaka in the closing stage but stunned her rival with a stunning dash in the final 40 metres to claim the yellow metal with a timing of 15:14.75.

The stunning performance earned Parul her second medal in Hangzhou after claiming a silver in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase on Monday.

Kazakhtan’s Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui won the bronze clocking 15:23.12.

The 31-year-old Annu, who hails from Meerut, produced a season-best effort of 62.92m in her fourth attempt to win gold.

Sri Lankan Nadeesha Dilhan and China’s Huihui Lyu claimed the silver and bronze with efforts of 61.57 and 61.29 respectively.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/asian-games-parul-annu-win-gold-in-separate-events-as-india-expands-medal-tally-2710733 

Dutch scientist’s prediction of earthquake on Oct 3 turns out be accurate, but…

This is not the first time that Frank Hoogerbeets made bold earthquake prediction that turned out to be accurate Photograph:(Twitter)

Just days after a Dutch scientist predicted a massive quake in Pakistan, a temblor rocked South Asia, but well over a thousand of miles away in Nepal, and it was 6.2 on the Richter scale, making its tremors felt near Indian capital Delhi and adjoining areas in northern region.

Frank Hoogerbeets, a researcher of the Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGEOS) — an organisation based in The Netherlands — on September 29, claimed that Pakistan would face a catastrophic earthquake.

He claimed to have detected an unusual increase in electric charge fluctuations along the fault lines in Balochistan’s Chaman area.

He even predicted the date of the earthquake, anywhere between October 1 and 3, adding that this would be “critical” for Pakistan.

“Planetary geometry is difficult to interpret with four conjunctions spread out over the next 10 days. As far as I can tell, 1-3 October will be more critical,” he said on social media X on Sept 29.

Earthquake in Nepal and India

On Wednesday, that is October 3, this is exactly what happened. A major earthquake occurred in the afternoon, but not in Pakistan.

Rather the tremors were recorded well over a thousand miles away in neighbouring Nepal and in northern parts of India.

Nepal was jolted by four earthquakes that occurred in a span of one hour, leaving a trail of damage in western Bajhang district, and at least 12 injured.

So far, no reports of casualties have emerged either in India or Nepal.

Prediction came right yet again

Notably, this is not the first time that Hoogerbeets made a bold earthquake prediction which turned out to be accurate.

He earlier claimed that tremors would devastate Turkey and Syria, which in fact came true in February this year which killed more than 50,000 people.

He estimated ‘strong to major’ seismic activity of 7.1 magnitude on March 16 in the Kermadec Islands and a 6.8 magnitude earthquake near the coast of Ecuador on March 18. Both his predictions were accurate.

Paris Crawling With Bedbugs As French Capital Prepares To Host Olympics Next Year

Despite the concerns, Paris’ deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said that there is “no threat to the Olympic Games”.

Videos of bedbugs in Paris Metro have gone viral on social media.

France’s capital Paris is battling an invasion of bedbugs, just 10 months before the 2024 Summer Olympics. The tiny pests were first spotted in hotels and rental apartments across the city during the summer. Then, moviegoers were disgusted by these bugs in theatres and now, social media users have reported bedbugs crawling around on seats in high-speed trains and Paris Metro. Photos and videos of bedbugs in the Metro train are going viral on X (formerly) with passengers warning others to pay attention before sitting on a seat or dropping their bags.

France24 said in a report that country’s transport minister Clement Beaune has vowed to “protect” the public from the menace by holding a meeting of public transport operators.

Bedbugs had disappeared from daily life in France in 1950s, but their resurgence is mostly due to high population density and more mass transit.

Paris city hall has urged President Emmanuel Macron to take measures to check the infestation, including creating a dedicated task force, said the outlet.

But despite these voices, Paris’ deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said that there is “no threat to the Olympic Games”, and urged everyone to work together to solve the issue. “Bedbugs existed before and they will exist afterward,” he added.

Transport operators have said they will remain “extremely vigilant” and The Local France said there have been no more recent sightings since the one caught on camera by a passenger last week.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/paris-crawling-with-bedbugs-as-french-capital-prepares-to-host-olympics-next-year-4444777 

 

AAP MP Sanjay Singh’s Delhi home searched in liquor policy case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at the residence of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. Singh’s name was mentioned in an ED chargesheet in the case.

ED searches residence of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh (Credits: PTI)

A team of the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at the residence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case.

Earlier, the premises of several others close to the MP were searched in the case.

A video shared by news agency ANI showed a team of probe agency ED at Sanjay Singh’s residence in Delhi.

Sanjay Singh’s name was mentioned in the chargesheet filed in the liquor policy case.

Reacting to the searches, Sanjay Singh’s father said, “The department is doing its work, we will cooperate with them. I will wait for the time when he gets clearance.”

Meanwhile, the party alleged the probe agency was ‘targeting’ Singh for raising the Adani matter in Parliament.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi took to X and wrote, “The only dependent allies BJP has in NDA fold are ED, IT, CBI. What a fall for these agencies to reduce their credibility to become a tool for those in power. Condemn the raids being carried out at Sanjay Singh Jis home, it’s nothing but intimidation tactics.”

On ED raids, AAP spokesperson, Reena Gupta, said, “The ED raid is a result of Sanjay Singh being vocal about the Adani issue and the black money invested in his company. Neither they (ED) found anything earlier, nor will they find anything today. None of us is afraid.”

Nothing was found earlier, nothing will be found today. Raids were conducted yesterday at the residence of some journalists and today raids are conducted at the residence of Sanjay Singh…”

ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SANJAY SINGH AS PER ED
According to the ED chargesheet, Delhi-based businessman Dinesh Arora, who was named as an accused in the Delhi liquor policy scam case, had earlier met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at his residence, in the presence of Sanjay Singh.

In a statement, Arora told ED he had met Sanjay Singh during an event, following which he also came in touch with former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

Sources said the event was organised to raise funds before the Delhi elections.

According to the ED chargesheet, “He (Dinesh Arora) initially met Sanjay Singh through whom he came in contact with Manish Sisodia during a party at his own restaurant, namely Unplugged Courtyard. On request of Sanjay Singh, he spoke with many of the restaurant owners and arranged cheques amounting to Rs 32 lakh (handed over to Sisodia) for collection of party funds for upcoming elections in Delhi.”

The financial probe agency has also alleged that Sanjay Singh resolved one of Dinesh Arora’s long-pending issues with the liquor department.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/probe-agency-ed-searches-aap-mp-sanjay-singhs-residence-2444091-2023-10-04

‘Pro-China propaganda’: NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha among two arrested in UAPA case

NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha. Wikimedia Commons

The Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested two persons including NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha in connection with a probe in the portal’s foreign funding, officials said.

This comes after the Delhi Police searched 30 locations connected with the online news portal and its journalists in a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA following allegations that it received money for pro-China propaganda.

Officials said the proceedings are still underway.

They said 37 male suspects were questioned at the office of Delhi Police Special Cell, while nine female suspects were quizzed at their respective places of stay.

Digital devices, documents and other items have been seized for examination, they said.

So far, two accused — NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty — have been arrested, Delhi Police spokesperson Suman Nalwa said.

There was no immediate information on how Chakravarty is connected with the portal and the case.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/newsclick-founder-prabir-purkayastha-among-two-arrested-in-uapa-case-2711037

LAHDC Election in Ladakh Today, First Poll Since Split from J&K in 2019

Electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being used for the first time for the council elections. (File Photo: PTI)

The voting for the fifth Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Kargil is set to take place today. This is the first time polls are being held in Ladakh since Article 370 was revoked. The hill council election in Kargil is the first local poll in Ladakh since it was split from J&K in August 2019 and made a UT.

The counting of votes is scheduled for October 8 and the new council will be in place before October 11. The existing council, headed by National Conference’s Feroz Ahmad Khan, completed its five-year term on October 1.

A total of 95,388 voters, including 46,762 women, are eligible to exercise their franchise from 8am to 4pm.

A total of 85 candidates are contesting on 26 seats of the 30-member Hill Council.

The National Conference and Congress have announced a pre-poll alliance but have put up 17 and 22 candidates, respectively. The arrangement has been restricted to areas where there is a tough contest with the BJP.

BJP, which won one seat in the last election and later took its tally to three with the joining of two PDP councillors, has fielded 17 candidates this time.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is trying its luck from four seats while 25 independents are also in the fray, the officials said.

Source: https://www.news18.com/india/ladakh-polls-voting-lahdc-elections-kargil-today-evms-being-used-first-time-article-370-october-8-counting-8602178.html

Daily Voice | This research head sees smallcap as a good space to invest in

Ajay Modi, vice president, research, Piper Serica, sees value in textile exporters, wood-panel companies, small banks, NBFCs and hospitality

Ajay Modi, vice president, research, Piper Serica.

Ajay Modi, vice president-research, Piper Serica, thinks this is a good time to go big on smallcap stocks, as valuations of quality companies are below their five and 10-year averages.

With over 10 years of public and private market research experience across sectors, Modi sees value in pockets textile exporters, wood-panel companies, small banks, NBFCs and hospitality.

In an interview to Moneycontrol, Modi says earnings will continue to be driven by BFSI and also expects improved from pharma and IT names in the second half of this fiscal. Edited excerpts:

What is your take on quarterly corporate earnings? Any surprises?

Earnings for Q4FY23 have largely been in line with expectations. EPS estimates were broadly as per expectations. The technology exporters led by Infosys had sharp underperformance. This was made up by banks that saw credit growth with improving asset quality and auto companies that saw improved margins led by cooling commodity prices.

Do you expect earnings upgrade cycle to resume from the second half of FY24?

We do not expect any sharp upgrades or downgrades. Earnings will continue to be driven by BFSI while there should be an improvement in the performance of pharma and IT exporters in the second half of FY24. There is scope for upgrades in some IT companies.

Will the pharma sector be the dark horse this financial year?

Pharma exporters saw sharp growth in FY21 and FY22, which was largely attributed to covid-led order books. However, over the last couple of quarters, large pharma companies saw muted growth and margin compression led by a price reduction in the US.

While it is too early to say if we will see a marked improvement in the pharma pocket in FY24, the valuations of companies like Divis give comfort to long-term investors.

Do you see earnings upgrade cycle continuing in the banking space?

We believe that the next couple of years will see some consolidation in the banking space. Smaller banks have reported steady performance and improving asset quality. There will be upgrades in this pocket. Large banks continue to grow well. However, the valuation multiples leave very little room for large earnings upgrades.

Your take on FMCG space?

FMCG companies saw steady margin improvement, which was an outcome of falling input costs. However, the volume growth remains muted. Rural demand continues to remain sluggish. It is expected that monsoon this year will be good and if that happens, rural demand should stabilise.

As the country goes into the (Lok Sabha) election, there will be some splurge on rural India leading to further improvement in demand. However, a large part of this may only be visible three quarters from now.

Source: https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets/daily-voice-this-research-head-sees-smallcap-as-a-good-space-to-invest-in-10582941.html

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