World – Page 23 – News Update Times

Indian police probe Twitter over Kashmir map

Posted on June 29, 2021 by admin

NEW DELHI: -Indian police have filed preliminary charges against senior Twitter officials over an inaccurate map of the country, an official said Tuesday, in the latest escalation between the US firm and New Delhi. Uttar Pradesh state police said the criminal case was filed against two Twitter India officials late Monday following a complaint from the local head of a Hindu nationalist group that the US firm´s website showed the disputed Kashmir region as an independent country. The map was already taken down from Twitter´s “Tweep Life” career section after an uproar by social media users on Monday against the micro-blogging site. A police official told media that Twitter´s India head Manish Maheshwari and another senior employee were being investigated for breaching India´s IT laws and causing public mischief. “This act has hurt the sentiments of Indians, including me,” Praveen Bhati from Bajrang Dal, a militant Hindu group, said in his complaint.

Indian police probe Twitter over Kashmir map

Lapid, first Israeli diploma, arrives in UAE

Posted on June 29, 2021June 29, 2021 by admin

ABU DHABI: Israel´s top diplomat Yair Lapid arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday on the first ever official visit by an Israeli minister, after the two nations normalised ties in September. Lapid landed at Abu Dhabi airport shortly after tweeting a picture of himself in a plane, with the caption: “Taking off for a historic visit to the UAE.” Israeli ministers have previously visited the United Arab Emirates, but newly appointed Lapid is the most senior Israeli to make the trip, and the first to travel on an official mission. The head of mission at the Jewish state´s embassy to the UAE tweeted “30 years as a diplomat, but to see the blue and white (Israeli colours) here at the Abu Dhabi airport, whilst waiting for the minister of foreign affairs to land — is exciting!” Since their US-brokered normalisation agreement was announced in August last year, Israel and the UAE have signed a raft of deals ranging from tourism to aviation and financial services. During his visit, Lapid will inaugurate the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi as well as a consulate in Dubai. “The Israeli delegation will land late morning at Abu Dhabi, and will be received by the minister of economic affairs at the foreign ministry,” Israel´s foreign ministry said in a statement. Lapid´s trip comes nearly a year after the nations moved to normalise ties, and follows a string of visits by Israeli officials that were planned then cancelled over issues including the Covid pandemic and diplomatic scuffles. In March, a planned official visit by Israel´s then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was cancelled due to a “dispute” with Jordan over the use of its airspace, according to Israeli officials.

lapid, first israeli diploma, arrives in uae — Lapid, first Israeli diploma, arrives in UAE

India´s holy Ganges River casts out corona dead

Posted on June 29, 2021June 29, 2021 by admin

ALLAHABAD, India: Partly hidden between long reeds of grass, bodies shrouded in saffron cloth float silently down the holy Ganges river, a reminder of how India´s ferocious coronavirus wave overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums. Families in India´s north and east gave up the bodies of their loved ones to the river or buried them in shallow graves on its banks, unable to afford the cost of funeral pyres at the height of the outbreak in April and May. But the start of seasonal monsoon flooding has caused strong currents to surge through the 2,500-kilometre (1,550-mile) long waterway, dislodging some of the bodies buried on its banks. Officials in Allahabad — one of Hinduism´s holiest cities, where millions visit to perform funeral rites — say almost 150 bodies that floated up in the past three weeks have been cremated. Funeral pyres line riverside embankments beside piles of wood waiting for new bodies to be retrieved. When media visited the surrounding areas, there were dozens of partially submerged corpses in the river. Officials estimate that up to 600 bodies were buried along the Ganges in the city during the virus surge. But locals believe that is a fraction of the real number and fear that more could be dislodged from the sandy banks by rapid waters in the coming weeks. Sonu Chandel, a boatman who works with a riverside crematorium, was shaken by the sight of families burying their dead two months ago. He said a sense of uneasiness returned to him as the waters rose to cover the banks. “It was really sad to see poor people burying their loved ones in an undignified manner, but the rising water level has made it worse,” Chandel told media. “There is always the fear of (a body) hitting the oar or (my boat) running over a dead body as the water level goes up.”

India´s holy Ganges River casts out corona dead

US transgender student wins war against boys bathroom

Posted on June 29, 2021June 29, 2021 by admin

WASHINGTON, United States: The United States Supreme Court granted a final win to a transgender high school student, Monday, who had fought for years to use the boys’ bathroom.

The Supreme Court of the United States has declined to hear an appeal filed by Virginia school administrators who oppose allowing transgender teens to use bathrooms that fit their gender identity.

The court did not disclose reasons for its decision, as is typical, although two of the court’s nine judges, both conservatives, suggested they would have allowed the appeal.

The decision upholds a federal appeals court decision from last summer in favor of Gavin Grimm, a transgender man who was born female but identifies as male.

His high school had broken anti-discrimination legislation by refusing to let him use the boys’ bathroom, according to the court.

“I am glad that my years-long fight to have my school see me for who I am is over,” said the 22-year-old, who started his legal battle at the age of 15.

“Trans youth deserve to use the bathroom in peace without being humiliated and stigmatized by their own school boards and elected officials,” he added in a statement.

In the United States, transgender rights are the topic of bitter political struggles between progressives and conservatives, with the “toilet wars” being one of the most recent examples.

US transgender student wins war against boys bathroom

Bring back Kohinoor to Pakistan: LHC to hear petitioner tomorrow

Posted on June 29, 2021 by admin

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has fixed for hearing on July 01 a petition praying the court to order government for bringing back Kohinoor diamond to Pakistan from UK. A single bench of LHC led by Justice Shahid Wahid will take up for hearing a petition filed by Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffri on Monday. The petitioner while making federal government and others respondents took the plea British government had snatched this diamond from Dalip Singh the grand son of Mahraja Ranjeet Singh and it was taken to UK. Queen Elizabeth 11 was enthroned in 1953 at UK and this diamond was then part of her crown. Queen Elizabeth has no right on Kohinoor diamond. This diamond weighs 105 karat and it costs billion of rupees. Kohinoor is cultural heritage of Punjab and citizens of Punjab are its real owners. The petitioner prayed the court to order federal government to bring back this diamond from British government to Pakistan.

Bring back Kohinoor to Pakistan: LHC to hear petitioner tomorrow

World s second largest hydropower dam goes online in China

Posted on June 28, 2021 by admin

Beijing: China began operating the world”s second-largest hydropower station on Monday in what officials hailed as a milestone towards Beijing”s carbon neutrality goals, despite warnings of environmental damage. The 289-metre (948 feet) high Baihetan Hydropower Station in southwest China, second in the world only to the country”s Three Gorges Dam in terms of power generation, began partial operation Monday morning, state media reported. Baihetan was built with a total installed capacity of 16,000 megawatts, which means it will eventually be able to generate enough electricity each day once to meet the power needs of 500,000 people for an entire year, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The country has been on a hydropower building spree in recent years as it races to meet the ever-growing energy needs of the world”s largest population. The dam spans a deep, narrow gorge on the upper section of the Yangtze, China”s longest river, on the earthquake-prone border between Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. Chinese President Xi Jinping said he hoped the plant would be able to “make greater contributions toward achieving the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality,” in a congratulatory message published by the government. The Baihetan dam”s trial run on Monday coincides with celebrations of the Communist Party”s centenary this week. Xi”s pledge last year to reach carbon neutrality by 2060 has added urgency to the construction. But environmental groups have warned for years that dam-building disrupts the habitats of rare plants and animals, including the critically endangered Yangtze Finless Porpoise.

World's second largest hydropower dam goes online in China — World’s second largest hydropower dam goes online in China

Another Muslim assaulted in Canada’s Saskatoon city

Posted on June 27, 2021 by admin

SASKATOON, Canada: A Muslim man was assaulted in what appears to be another hate crime, in Canada’s Saskatoon city. According to CBC, the man was “stabbed, beaten and had his beard cut” in an attack which took place early Friday morning. The victim, identified as Muhammad Kashif, said that he was near his parked car in an alley when another car drove up behind him. “They attacked […] on my back with a knife or something,” Kashif said, adding that the attackers constantly verbally abused him during the assault. “Using F-word and saying ‘Why you are here? We don’t like you are Muslim, why are you wearing this dress?’ “And then one guy held my hands and the other guy cut my beard,” CBC quoted Kashif as saying. According to Kashif, the men stabbed him in the arm before hitting him on the head with a cane that he uses while walking.

Kashif said he lost unconsciousness and when he woke up his keys and phone were gone.

Owing to the early morning hours, he was unable to get help from a neighbour as they were asleep. Eventually, he was able to motion for a car to stop for help.

“He asked me what happened, I told him, ‘I have a stab’ and then he called 911.”

Kashif had to get 14 stitches at the hospital to close the gash on his arm. Police took a statement from him there.

According to CBC, the Saskatoon police said a probe is underway by the serious assault unit with support from the equity and cultural engagement unit.

Police has asked anyone with information on the attack to come forward.

Another Muslim assaulted in Canada’s Saskatoon city

Prince William called Meghan a ‘merciless woman’

Posted on June 27, 2021June 27, 2021 by admin

LONDON: Prince William and Prince Harry’s rift appears to have worsened far beyond repair, in spite of the calm image they put up for the world.

As per the Daily Mail, even though the two warring brothers were seen walking side by side and chatting after the funeral of Prince Philip in April, things behind the Palace walls weren’t too cordial.

The outlet claims that the Duke of Cambridge had referred to Harry’s wife Meghan Markle as “that bloody woman”.

“But look at the way that bloody woman treated my staff — merciless,” said the royal source quoted by the tabloid.

harry and meghan daily mail — Prince William called Meghan a ‘merciless woman’

“There they were, at each other’s throats as fiercely as ever. The rage and anger between those two has grown so incredibly deep. Too many harsh and wounding things have been said,” a friend said, per Daily Mail.

Biden, Ghani discuss US troops pullout

Posted on June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 by admin

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani discussed winding down of the Resolute Support Mission and with that the transition to a new relationship with Afghanistan and with the Afghan forces.

Both sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring that Afghanistan never again serves as a safe haven for terrorists.

On Friday, a seemingly confident Mr Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of Afghanistan‘s High Council for National Reconciliation met with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon.

He smiled when asked about reported U.S. intelligence estimates that the radical Islamist Taliban insurgency may be back in charge in Kabul within six months after US and foreign troops leave in September.

There have been many such predictions and they have all turned out false,” Mr. Ghani said as reporters were hustled out of the conference room. The United States remains committed to continuing to provide critical security assistance to the Afghan national defense and security forces,” Mr Austin said. “I am confident that as [Operation] Resolute Support begins to wind down, we will make the transition to a new relationship with Afghanistan and the Afghan forces.”

Scientists say new human species ‘Homo longi’ the closest ancestor

Posted on June 26, 2021June 26, 2021 by admin

WASHINGTON: Scientists announced Friday that a skull discovered in northeast China represents a newly discovered human species they have named Homo longi, or “Dragon Man” — and they say the lineage should replace Neanderthals as our closest relatives. The Harbin cranium was discovered in the 1930s in the city of the same name in Heilongjiang province, but was reportedly hidden in a well for 85 years to protect it from the Japanese army. It was later dug up and handed to Ji Qiang, a professor at Hebei GEO University, in 2018. “On our analyses, the Harbin group is more closely linked to H. sapiens than the Neanderthals are — that is, Harbin shared a more recent common ancestor with us than the Neanderthals did,” co-author Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum, London told media. “If these are regarded as distinct species, then this is our sister (most closely related) species.” The findings were published in three papers in the journal The Innovation. The skull dates back at least 146,000 years, placing it in the Middle Pleistocene. It could hold a brain comparable in size to that of modern humans but with larger eye sockets, thick brow ridges, a wide mouth and oversized teeth. “While it shows typical archaic human features, the Harbin cranium presents a mosaic combination of primitive and derived characters setting itself apart from all the other previously named Homo species,” said Ji, a co-author of the study. The name is derived from Long Jiang, which literally means “Dragon River.” The team believe the cranium belonged to a male, around 50 years old, living in a forested floodplain. “This population would have been hunter-gatherers, living off the land,” said Stringer. “From the winter temperatures in Harbin today, it looks like they were coping with even harsher cold than the Neanderthals.” Given the location where the skull was found as well as the large-sized man it implies, the team believe H. longi may have been well adapted for harsh environments and would have been able to disperse throughout Asia.

FAMILY TREE:

Researchers first studied the external morphology of the cranium using over 600 traits, and then ran millions of simulations using a computer model to build trees of relatedness to other fossils. “These suggest that Harbin and some other fossils from China form a third lineage of later humans alongside the Neanderthals and H. sapiens,” explained Stringer. If Homo sapiens had reached East Asia at the time Homo longi was present, they might have interbred, though this is not clear. There are also many answered questions about their culture and technology level, because of a lack of archaeological material. But the finding could still reshape our understanding of human evolution. “It establishes a third human lineage in East Asia with its own evolutionary history and shows how important the region was for human evolution,” said Stringer.