Pussy Riot Member, Others Labelled 'Foreign Agents' By Russia

 

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, speaks during a news conference at Niceto in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Reuters)

Russian authorities on Thursday designated a member of the Pussy Riot punk group, a satirist and an art collector as foreign agents, part of efforts to stifle dissent.

The Justice Ministry applied the label to Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a Pussy Riot member who became widely known for taking part in a 2012 protest inside Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral, after which she spent nearly two years in prison.

Journalist and satirist Viktor Shenderovich and art collector Marat Gelman were also handed the label, along with several other people. 

The foreign agent label implies additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative connotations that can discredit recipients. Russian authorities have applied the designation to scores of media outlets, civil society groups and individuals, ratcheting up pressure on those who are critical of the Kremlin. 

Those designated as foreign agents are required to add a lengthy statement to news reports, social media posts and other materials specifying that the content was created by a foreign agent. Earlier this week, Russia's court on Tuesday shut the country's oldest and most prominent human rights group, Memorial, citing its failure to identify itself as a foreign agent. 

Tolokonnikova tweeted that she wouldn't abide by the requirement to mark her posts with the foreign agent designation. She said she would challenge the authorities' decision in court, concluding: Russia will be free. (PTI)

Ghislaine Maxwell Convicted In Epstein Sex Abuse Case

 

Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell during a news conference in New York (AP)

The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted on Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

The verdict capped a month-long trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein's palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico.

Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. With the maximum prison terms for each charge ranging from five to 40 years in prison, Maxwell faces the likelihood of years behind bars -- an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein's teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse.

As the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask. Afterward, she could be seen pouring herself water as one of her attorneys patted her back. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings -- faithfully in attendance each day of the trial -- as she herself was led from the courtroom. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another. 

One of her victims, Annie Farmer, said she was grateful the jury recognized Maxwell's pattern of predatory behaviour.

"She has caused hurt to many more women than the few of us who had the chance to testify in the courtroom," she said in a prepared statement. "I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law. Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young."

US Attorney Damian Williams praised the victims who testified against Maxwell after experiencing what he called one of the worst crimes imaginable.

"I want to commend the bravery of the girls -- now grown women -- who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today's result, possible," he said in a statement.

No sentencing date was set.

The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019.

Her brother, Kevin Maxwell, said the family believes she will be vindicated on appeal. "We firmly believe in our sister's innocence," he said in a written statement. 

During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epstein's homes -- a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case.

A housekeeper testified he was expected to be blind, deaf and dumb about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul.

Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries -- Britain's Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump -- who flew on Epstein's private jets.

Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a black book that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading "massages".

There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion -- onetime girlfriend, later employee.

But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages.

Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Farmer, who chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years.

They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwell's behaviour: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams.

They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal. After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if she'd had fun and told her: "You are such a good girl."

Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epstein's Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as a pyramid of abuse. Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time.

Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at the Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her.

Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane. 

"I was frozen in fear," she told the jury, adding that the assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse.

Maxwell's lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward.

"I was scared," she said, choking back tears. "I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didn't want anybody to know any of this about me."

The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epstein's New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her.

Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers.

Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: "The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt, so there is no reason for me to testify."

The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did, one of Maxwell's lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasised to the jury. But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell's legal team questioned whether the accusers' memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epstein's estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Maxwell's family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where she's been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense.

Before Maxwell was taken from the courtroom, Sternheim asked that arrangements be made to give her a coronavirus booster shot, saying infection rates were rising dramatically at the lockup. The recent surge threatened to derail the trial itself as US District Court Judge Alison J. Nathan prodded jurors to work quickly to avoid the potential of a mistrial caused by sickened jurors. 

The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over.

Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury.

Lawsuits loom, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months.

Following the Maxwell verdict, Giuffre released a statement through her lawyers, saying, "I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served." (PTI)

 

8 Vaccines, 4 Treatments In India's Covid-19 Arsenal

 

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has granted restricted emergency use authorisation to two new vaccines and a drug for Covid-19, taking to 12 the number of preventives and treatments available in India. Here is the list:

1. Covishield: Co-developed by the University of Oxford and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, the vaccine is manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) as Covishield in India. The two-dose vaccine uses adenoviruses that infect chimpanzees to carry the gene responsible for the spike protein of the novel coronavirus. The virus uses the spike protein to enter and infect the human cells.

Adenoviruses are common viruses that typically cause mild cold- or flu-like illness.

2. Covaxin: The indigenous two-dose vaccine, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology, uses an inactivated virus developed by chemically treating novel coronavirus samples to make them incapable of reproduction.

3. Sputnik V: Developed by Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute, the two-dose Sputnik V is a vector vaccine produced using a combination of two adenoviruses called Ad5 and Ad26.

4. ZyCoV-D: The DNA vaccine produced by Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila is a three-dose vaccine. Instead of using regular syringes, the vaccine will be administered by a needle-free applicator. The DNA-based vaccinations operate by transferring a genetically modified blueprint of viral genes into small molecules of DNA or genetic material for injection into persons being vaccinated.

5. Moderna: Developed by US-based company Moderna, the two-dose vaccine uses the genetic code of messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce the viral protein to train the immune system for a future encounter with the infectious coronavirus. RNA acts as a genetic material in many viruses and mRNA is used in making proteins in a cell.

6. Johnson and Johnson: The single-dose adenovirus vector vaccine is developed by the American company Johnson and Johnson. It contains a piece of a modified virus that is not the virus that causes Covid-19. This modified virus is called the vector virus. The vector virus cannot reproduce itself, so it is harmless. This vector virus gives instructions to cells in the body to create an immune response.

7. Corbevax: Made by Hyderabad-based firm Biological-E, the vaccine consists of a version of the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which the virus uses to enter and infect the cells.  It will be administered intramuscularly in two doses. It has been designed using a similar technology used for developing Hepatitis B vaccines.

8. Covovax: Developed by American biotechnology company Novavax and manufactured under license by SII, Covovax is a two-dose subunit vaccine that contains purified parts of the virus necessary to elicit a protective immune response.

TREATMENTS:

9. American company Merck's Molnupiravir is an antiviral medication that inhibits the reproduction of certain viruses. The drug will be manufactured in India by 13 companies. It has been approved under emergency use authorisation for treating adults with Covid-19 who have high risk of progression to disease.                              

10. Tocilizumab: Developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, tocilizumab is an immunosuppressant primarily used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and has been repurposed to fight lung infection in Covid-19 patients. It is imported and distributed by Cipla in India, and may be considered for use in the presence of severe disease.

11. 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG): Developed by Dr Reddy's Laboratories, in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), 2-DG is an oral drug administered in India only on prescription. The virus depends upon glycolysis or breakdown of glucose for energy. The drug hinders the process of glycolysis and prevents the growth of the virus.

12. REGEN-COV2 antibody cocktail: Developed by Roche, it is a combination of monoclonal antibodies Casirivimab and Imdevimab, that are administered together for treating mild to moderate Covid-19 patients. Monoclonal antibodies are artificial antibodies created in the lab, that mimic the activity of our immune system. Casirivimab and Imdevimab are specifically directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, and are designed to block the virus' attachment and entry into human cells.

Four New Year’s Resolutions For A Healthier Environment In 2022

 

When people think of New Year’s resolutions, they brainstorm ways to improve themselves for the year ahead. What if we expanded those aspirations to include resolutions that benefit our communities, society and the planet, too?

It might not be a typical approach, but it can broaden your horizons to show ways you can also be of service to others.

Here are four popular New Year’s resolutions with a twist for improving your relationship with nature in 2022 and beyond.

Exercise more consideration for how your actions impact the environment

We each have an environmental ethic reflecting how we value, manage and ultimately relate to nature. Balancing the scales of reciprocity between us and nature — how much we give and take — can improve this relationship in many ways. Whether it’s our addiction to one-use plastics that pile up in landfills or fossil fuels that warm the planet, a mishandled relationship with nature is not doing us or the Earth any favors.

In 2022, we can all take more responsibility for how our actions exacerbate environmental problems. We can also encourage governments and businesses to make it easier for people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds to protect the environment. This includes making recycled goods affordable and reliable public transportation widely accessible.

Check out the US Environmental Protection Agency’s resources describing some very simple ways to reduce waste at home, work, in our communities and during the holidays. Tips from the website include turning off or unplugging lights during the day, reusing packaging materials and using online billing services instead of paper mail.

Lose the weight of social injustice — it harms nature, too

The perils of social injustice stress multiple aspects of society. Racism and inequality can lead to health disparities, and they also have consequences for the natural environment.

A recent study described how practices such as redlining and residential segregation led to unequal access to nature, excess pollution and biodiversity loss. These practices brought in highways and industries that harm environmental quality in marginalised communities. They also left neighborhoods with fewer parks and trees that provide cooling in summer and benefit the planet.

Perpetuating social ills like systemic racism and inequitable resource allocation is detrimental to the environment, marginalized people and society as a whole.

To help turn this around, you can speak out in your community. Join groups that are trying to promote environmental protection and social justice and are bringing nature back to communities. Call your city, state and national leaders to urge them to take action. Also, refer to the Green 2.0 report’s section on making diversity initiatives successful for concrete ways that you can actualize this in your place of work.

Learn something new about nature and how to reduce harm to the environment and yourself

Clean air, water and soil are fundamental for our survival, but research shows many people lack basic environmental and health literacy to know how to protect themselves.

In 2022, get to know your own impact on the environment. Read more and start exploring ways to preserve the integrity of your area’s natural resources. For example, find out where you can stay abreast of local land-use decisions that impact the environment and your overall community.

You can also support local educators and encourage them to bring the environment into lessons. Environmental issues overlap many other subjects, from history to health. This website includes a framework and materials for educators to help students expand their environmental literacy.

Staying plugged in with media that discuss the latest research can enhance awareness. You can also try tying environmental facts and knowledge into your game night and team-building activities.

Spend more time with family and friends in nature

Studies show that spending time in nature, including urban green spaces, can improve your relationship with nature and with others.

Time in nature can increase social cohesion. Throughout the pandemic, many people discovered the outdoors as a place to decompress and reduce stress. Spending more time outdoors can encourage social interactions that benefit health, buffer emotional distress and encourage use of these spaces, which can help protect them for the future.

Collectively, thinking about our relationship with nature and finding ways to protect the environment can help us be better stewards of the planet.

(The Conversation: By Viniece Jennings, Agnes Scott College

Permafrost Preserves Treasures For 2,700 Years In Kazakhstan

 

Curator Saltanat Amirova holds a gold argali (wild mountain sheep) from the ‘Gold of the Great Steppe’ exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The exhibition contains thousands of gold artefacts from the burial mounds of the Saka people of eastern Kazakhstan (Image: PA Images/Alamy)

Summer 2020 was an unlikely time for one of the most exciting archaeological discoveries of recent years. The Covid-19 pandemic had restricted the ability of researchers to travel to the field and work in close proximity. Despite these practical difficulties, in eastern Kazakhstan a small team of archaeologists were preparing to excavate a burial mound, or kurgan.

This particular kurgan in Eleke Sazy, a valley bounded by mountains, may not have seemed the most promising. While part of a complex of 300 burial mounds where some remarkable discoveries had been made in recent years, the central grave pit of the ancient burial site had been looted in antiquity.

Yet as the archaeologists excavated the foot of the burial mound, they found something astonishing. Beneath a protective ‘shell’ of stones, they unearthed treasure after treasure. Intricate and glimmering, the artefacts were made of bronze, overlaid with gold foil. The hoard contained a total of 830 golden objects, which had once been used as ceremonial decoration for horse harnesses.

The horses would have been buried wearing these lavish items, as a memorial gift and tribute to the unknown high-ranking ruler the grave was created for. Last summer was the first time they had been seen in 2,500 years.

The items were remarkable in and of themselves. They were thicker and sturdier than horse harness decorations found in other tombs, and remnants of leather were attached to them. The Kazakh researchers concluded that they were ceremonial decorations to be worn by living horses – unlike the majority of harness decorations found in other sites, which were delicate props, only to be used in burials.

This is just the most recent of a series of sensational discoveries. Five years ago, the government of the East Kazakhstan region launched a large-scale programme to identify and excavate new archaeological sites. Many of the findings are now on display for the time at ‘Gold of the Great Steppe’, an exhibition in Cambridge, UK.

Who Were The Saka?

The contents of the kurgans are hugely significant to scholars’ understanding of the Saka people and their culture. The Saka were nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists who dominated the eastern Eurasian Steppe (also known as the Great Steppe) for about 700 years, between 900 BC and 200 BC.

They spent their winters in the lowlands and moved their herds of sheep, goats, cattle and horses to upland pastures in the spring. Because of their nomadic way of life, and because they left no written records, relatively little is known about the Saka. What scholars do know is from the writings of other cultures: the ancient Greeks and Persians described them as ‘barbarians’. Under the Russian Empire and the USSR, Kazakhstanis were told they had no connection with the Saka. The burial chambers of their elite are their only permanent record – and are important in setting the record straight on the Saka’s skills, beliefs and aesthetics, as well as being an important strand of Kazakh heritage.

Before the current archaeological project, only one intact burial chamber had ever been excavated in Kazakhstan. In 2018, a second undisturbed grave was discovered. It belonged to a teenage archer. He had been buried in a kurgan with a young girl, thought to have been his sister. While her grave was plundered, his survived intact; part of the structure had collapsed, protecting its contents from looters.

In around 200 BC, the Sakas were driven from the steppe by the Yuezhi, another ancient nomadic pastoralist people originally from what is now Gansu province in modern China (the Yuezhi were in turn displaced by another tribe later on). Large numbers of the Saka moved south to the Ferghana Valley region, and then into parts of South Asia. Many settled in areas of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, others in northwest and southwest China.

Saka Art: ‘Animal Style’

Kazakh archaeologists found millimetre-wide gold beads in their thousands, delicate broaches and glimmering plaques. The exhibition in Cambridge displays these tiny, intricate objects against pictures of the vast, rugged grasslands of the steppe, with the Altai mountains in the distance.

The mountains and rivers of the Altai region are rich in deposits of gold and other metals, which the Saka were among the first to mine. Metallurgy continues to be an important activity in the region, although on a scale that would be inconceivable to the artisanal Saka miners and goldsmiths.

Scholars believe that the Saka had a deep respect for the animals around them, and this was central to their art and belief systems. Among the excavated treasures, the animals of the steppe and the mountains are everywhere. Slender abstract shapes moulded from gold are identifiable as saiga antelope because of their characteristic short, curved snout. A tiny hole allowed them to be sewn onto clothing, where they created the effect of a herd of saiga running across the steppe. And where there are prey animals there are predators, with snow leopards and eagles unearthed alongside deer.

Melting Permafrost A Risk To Treasures Of Saka Graves

Although not as obviously glamorous as golden jewellery and snow leopards, some of the most exciting of the recent discoveries are organic materials. Strands of hair, nail cuttings and lost teeth, collected throughout the dead person’s life, were buried with them. Fragments of material woven from wool reveal the Saka made fine cloth. A figure of a deer carved from wood and adorned with gold leaf reveals a multitude of skills beyond metalwork. Residues on grindstones show that the Saka cultivated and grew barley, wheat and millet.

These remains were preserved for over two millennia within the kurgans because of the specific climatic conditions in eastern Kazakhstan. Consistent below-freezing temperatures inside the burial chambers preserved the fur, wood, plant fibres and textiles within.

But according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Central Asia is warming faster than the global average. Since 2006, there has been concern among the international archaeological community about the preservation of the frozen kurgans of the Altai mountains.

Dr Rebecca Roberts, an archaeologist at the Fitzwilliam Museum and curator of the exhibition, said: “It is the permafrost that ensures so much material of great archaeological value remains preserved – materials such as wood, skin and leather can give us incredibly detailed information about the people and horses who were buried.

“With melting permafrost comes water and warmth: the two things that enable microbial activity to resume and break down these materials very quickly.”

In some cases, the warming climate can expose lost artefacts. New technology is being used in the Mongolian Altai to reveal objects in the melting ice. In addition, Dr Roberts said, ‘melted’ kurgans are much easier to excavate than frozen ones – “but at the cost of them being exposed to decay if not recovered quickly”.

She added that there are “many hundreds” of kurgans that have not yet been excavated by archaeologists – although the “vast majority” in Kazakhstan have been looted. “Rising temperatures are not the only threat to this precious heritage,” she said, pointing out that “thawed kurgans make much easier targets”. (TheThirdPole)

 

 

 

 

 

Owaisi's Remarks Against UP Cops Trigger Controversy; BJP Compares Him To Jinnah

 

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi (Official Twitter handle)

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi's remarks at a poll rally, cautioning the Uttar Pradesh Police, triggered a controversy on Friday, with the BJP comparing him to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, even as he clarified that the context of his remarks was deliberately edited out to misrepresent it.

In a series of tweets, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Owaisi shared a video clip which has been widely circulated on social media and said the remarks made by him were in the context of atrocities against Muslims by the state police, which has been edited out of the clip.

In the video clip shared by him, Owaisi is heard saying that Yogi Adityanath will not always be the chief minister and Narendra Modi the prime minister. "We will not forget the injustice. We will remember this injustice. Allah will destroy you through his strength. Things will change. Who will come to save you then? When Yogi will return to his mutt and Modi will retreat to the mountains, then who will come?" he said.

Owaisi said the edited one-minute clip of his 45-minute speech was being circulated to divert the attention from the alleged hate speeches made at a Dharma Sansad in Haridwar which he alleged was a "genocidal meet".

"I did not incite violence or give threats. I talked about police atrocities.... I said we will remember these police atrocities. Is this objectionable? Why is it offensive to remember how police have treated Muslims in UP? I asked cops: who will come to save them when Modi-Yogi retire? Indeed, who will? Do they think they've lifetime immunity?" Owaisi tweeted while clarifying his position.

Taking on Owaisi over his remarks, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi compared him to Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and said AIMIM leaders are used to making such mischievous remarks.

"...soul of Jinnah resides in Owaisi," Trivedi said, adding that the Hyderabad MP's remarks are similar to that of Jinnah made in 1946, a year before partition, while talking about direct action.

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya tweeted, "Owaisi, like (Mughal emperor) Aurangzeb and Jinnah, is the face of civilisational battle that Sanatan Dharma has faced for millennia. Balance of power is the need of the hour."

Omicron Likely To Be Dominant Strain Globally In 2022: Experts

 

Omicron will likely be the cause of a “significant wave” of COVID-19, according to an expert

The new and highly transmissible Omicron variant of the deadly coronavirus has increased immune escape compared with the Delta variant and appears likely to become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 strain globally in 2022, according to Singapore-based experts.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for the world to pull together to end the COVID-19 pandemic next year.

"2022 must be the year we end the pandemic," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva on Monday.

But Singapore-based experts said much depends on how potent the Omicron variant is and asserted that it was “futile” to try and predict when the pandemic will end.

“It appears likely that Omicron will become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 strain globally in 2022,” Public Health Expert Associate Professor Natasha Howard said, adding that the Omicron variant is more transmissible and has “increased immune escape” compared with the Delta strain.

The rise of the more transmissible variant, increased case numbers and hospitalisations are likely, said Howard, the interdisciplinary health policy and systems researcher from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health in Singapore.

“The implications of this are still unclear, but it shows that the pandemic is not controlled yet and until initial and booster COVID-19 vaccine doses are accessible to everyone eligible globally, we can expect new variants to emerge,” she warned.

For the Singapore population, it is clear that two COVID-19 vaccine doses are not enough to provide reasonable protection against Omicron and people should get booster shots as soon as they are eligible, she said.

Citing Imperial College modelling data, she said that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is more than five times higher and it does not appear milder than the Delta variant.

Omicron will likely be the cause of a “significant wave” of COVID-19, said Associate Professor Ashley St John from the Duke-NUS Medical School’s Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme. "But while the Omicron variant is more transmissible than most we have seen, it is still SARS-CoV-2," she said.

“The genetic backbone of Omicron is very, very different … However, we don’t yet have consistent data whether those genetic differences result in increased severity,” the professor explained.

Public health experts are thus monitoring the data on severity for Omicron and are waiting for more concrete numbers to bolster the initial assessment that vaccines are efficacious against it, she said.

Dr Lim Wee Kiat, associate director at the Singapore Management University’s Centre for Management Practice, said it was “futile” to try and predict when the pandemic will end.

After all, the 1918 flu pandemic never really ended, according to the US CDC (Centre of Disease Control and Prevention); descendants of the influenza virus from more than a century ago still circulate today, Lim Wee said.

“The path to normalcy is going to be punctuated by twists and dead ends, even reversals, as we have seen here in Singapore and elsewhere,” the Channel quoted Dr Lim, a disaster sociologist by training, as saying.

And while Omicron may further delay the roll-out of the Singapore government’s COVID-19 endemic roadmap, the city state’s experience in managing the pandemic over the past two years is a plus.

“Our experience in managing the pandemic over the past two years means that we are unlikely to revert to a ‘circuit-breaker’ type situation, which will only serve as a last resort given Singapore’s endemic goal, especially since most of the population has been vaccinated,” said Nydia Ngiow, Singapore managing director of strategic advisory firm Bowyer Group Asia.

Meanwhile, Singapore reported 322 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, of which 89 are imported or those who arrived here. There are also two fatalities, taking the country's death toll from coronavirus complications to 820 deaths.

As of Thursday, Singapore has recorded 277,042 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. 

BJP, SP Giving Communal Colour To UP Polls: Mayawati

FILE PHOTO: BSP chief Mayawati at a public gathering

 

BSP chief Mayawati, on Thursday, accused rival political parties of giving a communal colour to the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh and stressed on the necessity to warn people against such designs. 

She also urged the Supreme Court to take notice of the alleged illegal land deals near the upcoming Ram Temple in Ayodhya. 

"The rival parties, including the BJP, Samajwadi Party and others, are busy (giving) a Hindu-Muslim colour to the elections to hide their shortcomings. The BSP people will have to go to every village and every house to warn the people. This task must begin now," Mayawati, who has convened a meeting of in-charges of all the 18 divisions and all 75 district presidents of UP to review poll preparations, told reporters. 

Taking a dig at the BJP's claims of winning more than 300 seats, the former chief minister asked why in that case were the saffron party's senior leaders, ministers and the chief minister going all out making announcements, laying foundation stones and launching "half-baked" projects in the state, just before the elections. 

Mayawati said the SP, too, had been following a similar pattern and that the public was smart enough to understand this. 

To a question on newspaper reports about relatives of BJP leaders and government officials allegedly purchasing land illegally near the Ram Temple project in Ayodhya, the BSP chief said the Supreme Court needs to take note of this and order a high-level inquiry into it. 

"It is a very serious matter. My party would want the Supreme Court to take notice and if the allegations are true, the state government needs to get the deals cancelled." 

The Uttar Pradesh government has, on Wednesday, ordered a probe by the revenue department into the case. 

On the passage of the bill to link Aadhaar with the voter ID in Parliament, Mayawati said it was the Centre's responsibility to conduct an open debate in both Houses prior to passing it. 

"Our party does not agree to this." 

Mayawati said the people had seen all prominent parties in power in the state and expressed confidence that they will choose the BSP in the upcoming elections, as her party had "delivered the best" at all levels of administration.

Pakistan Joined America's 'War On Terror' For Dollars: PM Imran Khan

 

Calling the 'war on terror' a "self-inflicted wound" for Pakistan, Imran Khan said, "We cannot blame anyone else for this outcome (of the war)"

 

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has regretted his country's decision to join America's 20-year-long 'war on terror' in Afghanistan by calling it a "self-inflicted wound" and a decision made for money and not in the interest of the public.

Imran Khan, who had long been critical of Pakistan's participation in the about two-decades-long war, claimed that he was close to the decision-makers in 2001 when the then military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, decided to become part of the 'war on terror'.

"And so, I am well aware of what considerations went behind the decision. Unfortunately, the people of Pakistan were not a consideration," Mr Khan said while addressing officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

"The considerations, instead, were the same as in the 1980s, when we participated in the Afghan jihad," he said, referring to the Soviet-Afghan war, which was then dubbed as the "holy war".

"We ourselves are responsible... as we let [others] use us, sacrificed the reputation of our country for aid and made a foreign policy that went against the public interest [and was devised] for money."

Calling the 'war on terror' a "self-inflicted wound" for Pakistan, Imran Khan said, "We cannot blame anyone else for this outcome (of the war)."

Mr Khan in the past had often cited that Pakistan suffered over 80,000 deaths and economic losses of over $100 billion as a result of the 20 years of war.

Talking about the current situation in Afghanistan, Mr Khan said that it is a "big atrocity" that a man-made crisis is being created "when it is known that unfreezing Afghanistan's accounts and liquidity will avert the crisis". He said that addressing the situation in Afghanistan is important for Pakistan as its neighbour because the country could be hit badly due to the Afghan crisis.

Pakistan will continue to provide assistance to Afghanistan in these difficult times, he said, adding that irrespective of liking or disliking the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the world should focus on the difficulties being faced by its 40 million people.

Pankaj Advani Wins His 11th National Billiards Title

 

Pankaj Advani holds the National Billiards trophy after the final (Instagram)

Ace cueist Pankaj Advani defended his national billiards title — his 11th — after he defeated his PSPB teammate Dhruv Sitwala 5-2 in a best-of-nine final in Bhopal.

Advani responded with breaks of 56 and 46 to restore parity at 1-1 after Sitwala's breaks of 64 and 42 late on Monday evening.

Sitwala, displaying excellent in-offs, pots and cannons, surged ahead by pocketing the third game with a sizeable break of 84.

He was on course to even wrest the fourth game after he compiled a wonderful effort of 101, but a costly lapse by him gave a window of opportunity to Advani.

Composing himself, in a superb rally the maestro chalked up a classy break of 127 to snatch the game and draw level once again at 2-2.

Then Advani struck a purple patch, cajoling and nursing the balls at the top of the table to craft identical unfinished breaks of 150 in the fifth and sixth games to run up a crucial 4-2 games lead.

Not giving up, Sitwala put up a tremendous show of skill, patience and temperament to strike a break of 134, but sadly, when in a good position, he could not hold the balls together to give another chance to Advani after a sequence of safety exchanges.

Advani never looked back after that, compiling an unfinished 148 break to take the game, match and title.

"Dhruv is a very close friend of mine, we share all the sneak peaks of our lives. To be honest, it is never easy to play against your best friend in the finals of a major event like this. But, after the snooker failures, this victory gives me a sense of redemption," Advani was quoted as saying in a media statement issued on Tuesday.

"The National Billiards Championship is surely a tough tournament to crack. I'm thrilled and grateful to lift my 11th Senior Billiards title, it is also my 35th title overall. So, I am more than happy and feeling deeply satisfied," Pankaj signed off.

Paris Bar Marks 100 Years Of The Bloody Mary

Harry's Bar in Paris is celebrating the 100th birthday of the bloody mary, the vodka-tomato juice cocktail believed to have been invented at the iconic watering hole in 1921

 

Bartender Fernand Petiot is believed to have created the Bloody Mary at Harry's Bar, whose patrons over the past century have included writers Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Harry's Bar in Paris is celebrating the 100th birthday of the bloody mary, the vodka-tomato juice cocktail believed to have been invented at the iconic watering hole in 1921.

The centenary events this week bring a welcome respite from winter gloom and worries about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The bar is carefully checking COVID-19 health passes as foreign visitors gather to sample the drink closely associated with Harry's Bar, whose patrons over the past century have included writers Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

According to the history of Harry's, bartender Fernand Petiot invented the cocktail, and the recipe was first published in a book called "Harry's ABC of Cocktails" in 1921.

The bar serves an estimated 12,000 bloody marys a year.

"It's a classic drink," bartender Dante Agnelli said while demonstrating the mixology behind the drink, ingredient by ingredient: salt and pepper, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, vodka and tomato juice.

"You make it directly in the glass," Agnelli said as he stood at the counter where Petiot first performed the now well-established ritual 100 years ago, at the dawn of what became known as the roaring 1920s.

In recent days, the French government expanded the places where passes are required, including all restaurants and a growing number of events and venues. To get one, people must show proof of full vaccination, a negative virus test less than 24 hours old, or recent recovery from COVID-19.

The French government closed nightclubs and tightened social distancing measures but is trying to avoid a new lockdown.

The health protocol is the only visible change inside the bar that used to be located on New York's 7th Avenue before it was dismantled, shipped to Europe and rebuilt in central Paris in 1911.

For Harry's patrons, the timeless décor is a reassuring fixture, particularly at a time of uncertainty due to the pandemic.

"Once you walk in, you leave all your worries aside," said Ihab Hassan, 61, a retired businessman from Egypt and a regular at the bar since the 1970s. The coronavirus pandemic was not enough to get in the way of his favorite Paris pastime, Hassan said with a bloody mary on the counter in front of him.

Sitting next to Hassan were an American, Jay Sing, and an Australian, Renée DiGeorgio. They shared their thoughts on the famous cocktail with an Associated Press reporter, acknowledging they had already consumed a few.

"Sometimes, with breakfast, for my hangover, we drink bloody marys," said DiGeorgio, 42, who works in the mining industry and is based in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"This is a really nice bloody mary," he said. "It's actually the first time I've ever drunk a bloody mary when the sun's down!"

All three men said they took the necessary health precautions to be safe and in compliance with government anti-virus regulations.

"I have four vaccines in me," said Sing, 28, a tech industry worker from New York. "I'm like the Iron Man. Nothing is touching me!"

Franz-Arthur MacElhone, a great-grandson of bar founder Harry MacElhone, recounted different legends surrounding how the bloody mary got its name. "Petiot said it was for a dancer that he was very fond of called Mary," MacElhone explained. "She used to work in a place in Chicago called the Bucket of Blood," MacElhone said. But that's only one explanation for the name of the famous drink.

There are others, MacElhone said.

"There's a Hemingway story," he said. "It was just before he got married, and he had been dating somebody called Mary." As that story goes, Hemingway allegedly did not want to have alcohol on his breath and asked for a drink mixed with juice. Tomato juice was added, and "while he was drinking it, he was saying 'bloody Mary'", MacElhone said.

 

 

British Surge Seen As Warning On Omicron But Responses Vary

 

FILE PHOTO: A public health information message is displayed amid the spread of the coronavirus disease, as new restrictions come into force, in London, Britain on December 20, 2020

Spiralling infections in Britain, driven in part by the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, have sent shockwaves into the rest of Europe, fuelling a familiar dread that tighter restrictions will scuttle holiday plans again this year.

Much remains unknown about Omicron, but increasingly officials are warning that at the very least it appears more transmissible than the Delta variant, which was already putting pressure on hospitals from the United States to the Netherlands. With so many questions outstanding, uncertainty reigned over how quickly and how severely to crack down on everything from travel to Christmas parties.

After the UK recorded the highest number of confirmed new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday since the pandemic began, France tightened entry rules for those coming from Britain.

In England, the chief medical officer urged people to limit who they see in the festive period, though there has been much debate about how much should be canceled. In the US, meanwhile, the White House insisted there was no need for a lockdown, despite signs that Omicron was gaining ground there.

Globally, more than 75 countries have reported confirmed cases of the new variant. In Britain, where Omicron cases are doubling every two to three days, the variant is expected to soon replace Delta as the dominant strain in the country. Authorities in the 27-nation European Union expect Omicron to be the dominant variant in the bloc by mid-January.

In addition to hints that it's more contagious, early data suggest Omicron may be milder but better at evading vaccines. Experts have urged caution, in particular on drawing conclusions about how mild it is because hospitalisations lag behind infections and so many variables contribute to how sick people get.

Also, even if Omicron proves milder on the whole than Delta, it may disarm some of the lifesaving tools available and put immune-compromised and elderly people at particular risk. And if it's more transmissible, more infections overall raise the risk of more serious ones.

EU leaders gathering in Brussels for a summit on Thursday sought to balance tackling the surge of infections across the continent while keeping borders open.

But ahead of the meeting, European nations already were acting to rein in the spread of the virus.

France said it will slap restrictions on travellers arriving from the UK, which is no longer part of the EU, putting limits on reasons for travelling and requiring 48-hour isolation upon arrival. The new measures will take effect first thing on Saturday.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex said the measures are being imposed in the face of the extremely rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the UK. The abrupt move comes after weeks of political tensions between France and Britain over fishing rights and how to deal with migration in dangerous small boats across the English Channel.

It also comes as France's government is desperately trying to avoid a new lockdown or stricter measures that would hurt the economy and cloud President Emmanuel Macron's expected campaign for April presidential elections.

Greece announced on Wednesday that all travellers to the country will have to show a PCR test with a negative result starting on Sunday. Italy this week also required negative tests from vaccinated visitors, raising concerns that similar moves elsewhere will limit the ability of EU citizens to travel to see friends and relatives over the holidays.

Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa said he intends to keep tighter COVID-19 border controls in place beyond their planned end on Jan. 9 due to the threat from the highly infectious new Omicron variant. In Greece, England's chief medical officer warned the situation there is only likely to get worse during the holidays.

Professor Chris Whitty described the current situation as two epidemics in one with Omicron infections rising rapidly even as the country continues to grapple with the older Delta variant, which is still causing a large number of infections.

Whitty advised people to limit their social contacts, putting a priority on those that are the most important.

Fearing a raft of cancelled parties and a general drop in business at the height of the crucial and lucrative Christmas season, British restaurants and pubs demanded government help on Thursday. They said concerns about the new variant have already wiped out 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) in sales over the last 10 days.

Jonathan Neame, chief executive of pub and brewery Shepherd Neame, said the grim warnings will plunge his business back to the start of the pandemic. "We've seen a significant number of cancellations and that's accelerating every day, and will accelerate even further after the news last night, which seems to have thrown us back into that sort of zombie world of the first week of March, of the pandemic last year," he told Times Radio.

The Music Venue Trust said that a catastrophic drop in attendance and advance ticket sales have hit the industry since the government announced tougher restrictions last Wednesday, placing the entire sector back on red alert for the risk of permanent closures.

Collegium Refuses Confirmation To Pushpa Ganediwala

 

Ganediwala had faced widespread criticism after she granted bail to a man accused of groping a minor, saying that there was no “skin-to-skin contact and hence, it cannot be termed as sexual assault” under the POCSO Act

The Supreme Court Collegium is learnt to have declined to recommend the name of Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, additional judge of the Bombay High Court, for appointment as a permanent justice, in the backdrop of her controversial 'skin-to-skin' judgment.

The apex court on November 18 had set aside two judgments of Justice Ganediwala passed in January this year, interpreting sexual assault provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Ganediwala, who had been serving at the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, had faced widespread criticism after she granted bail to a man accused of groping a minor, saying that there was no “skin-to-skin contact and hence, it cannot be termed as sexual assault” under the POCSO Act.

The collegium, headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, also has Justices U.U. Lalit and A.M. Khanwilkar. It met on December 14, sources said.

As per the sources, the decision to not recommend the name of Justice Ganediwala for appointment as a permanent judge was taken in the meeting.

The collegium, however, approved the proposal for the appointment of three other additional justices of the Bombay High Court as permanent judges.

The three additional judges of the Bombay High Court whose names have been approved are justices Madhav Jayajirao Jamdar, Amit Bhalchandra Borkar and Shrikant Dattatray Kulkarni.

The collegium also resolved to recommend that Justice Abhay Ahuja be appointed as additional judge of the Bombay High Court for a fresh term of one year with effect from March 4.

In another decision, the collegium, on December 14, has approved the proposal for the appointment of additional justice Aniruddha Roy of the Calcutta High Court as a permanent judge of that court.

 

Wuhan Lab Leak More Likely Origin Of COVID-19, UK Parliament Panel Told

 

Dr Alina Chan said a lab origin is more likely than natural origin at this point

A Canadian molecular biologist, on Wednesday, told cross-party members of Parliament (MPs) on the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee that a leak from a laboratory in Wuhan region of China is now the more likely origin of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Dr Alina Chan, specialising in gene therapy and cell engineering and co-author of 'Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19', told the Parliament panel's evidence session on scientific research that the pandemic was being caused by the unique feature of the coronavirus called furin cleavage site, which has been linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Asked by the panel about the probability of a lab leak as the origin of the pandemic, Chan said a lab origin is more likely than natural origin at this point.

"We all agree that there was a critical event at the Huanan Seafood Market, that was a superspreader event caused by humans. There is no evidence pointing to a natural animal origin of the virus at that market," she noted.

On the question of her level of confidence that the world would eventually be able to establish the true origins of COVID-19, Chan said it was simply a matter of time.

“Right now it is not safe for people who know about the origin of this pandemic to come forward. It might be five years from now, it might be 50 years from now, but we live in an era where there's so much data being collected and stored...we just need a credible, systematic investigation,” she said.

On whether the virus was modified in the lab before a leak, Chan said, “We have heard from many top virologists that a genetically engineered origin of this virus is reasonable...and this includes virologists who themselves have made modifications to the first SARS virus.”

“We know now that this virus has a very unique feature, called the furin cleavage site, that makes it the pandemic pathogen it is. So, without this feature, there is no way this would be causing this pandemic.”

"Only recently in September did a proposal get leaked showing that scientists from the EcoHealth Alliance were in collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology developing this pipeline for inserting novel furin cleavage sites, these genetic modifications, into SARS-like viruses in the lab.”

Chan stressed that the burden was on the scientists in question to show that their work did not result in the creation of SARS-COV2, the virus behind COVID-19, and that an investigation of documents being made available by US-based EcoHealth Alliance could hold the key.

Her co-author, Lord Matt Ridley, was also asked similar questions about the lab leak theory and he concurred with Chan's assertion that it was more likely than not the cause behind the pandemic.

"We have to face the fact that after two months we knew the origins of SARS through markets, and after a couple of months we knew the origin of MERS through camels. In this case, after two years we still haven't found a single infected animal that could be the progenitor of this pandemic; that's extremely surprising," he said.

Ridley, along with Chan, agreed that any leak was most likely an accident as he traced the journey of scientists a few years ago to bring SARS-like viruses back to Wuhan for experiments.

"It does have to be taken seriously. It is regrettable that in 2020 there was a pretty systematic attempt to shut down this topic," he noted.

Ridley said, “We need to find out so we can prevent the next pandemic. We need to know whether we should be tightening up work in laboratories or whether we should be tightening up regulations relating to wildlife sales in markets. At the moment, we are really not doing either.”

“We also need to know to deter bad actors who are watching this episode and thinking that unleashing a pandemic is something they could get away with.”

Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet medical journal, also agreed that the lab leak theory behind COVID-19 is a hypothesis that needs to be taken seriously and needs to be investigated further, as referenced by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The evidence session forms part of the UK Parliament's Science and Technology Committee inquiry into "reproducibility and research integrity", which is expected to produce its findings in 2022.

Lone Survivor Of Chopper Crash, Group Capt Varun Singh, Dies

 

Late Group Captain Varun Singh

Decorated air warrior Group Captain Varun Singh died at a military hospital in Bengaluru on Wednesday, a week after he was seriously injured in the chopper crash near Coonoor that killed Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 armed forces personnel.

The Indian Air Force said the 'braveheart' Group Captain succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday morning.

"IAF is deeply saddened to inform the passing away of braveheart Group Captain Varun Singh, who succumbed this morning to the injuries sustained in the helicopter accident on 08 Dec 21. IAF offers sincere condolences and stands firmly with the bereaved family," it said on Twitter.

In August, Group Captain Singh was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra, India's third highest peacetime gallantry award after the Ashok Chakra and Kirti Chakra, for displaying exemplary composure and skill when his Tejas aircraft developed a technical snag during a sortie in October last year.

The 39-year-old Group Captain, who was known to be an excellent test pilot, is survived by an 11-year-old son, an eight-year-old daughter, and his wife. His father, Colonel (retd) KP Singh, had served in the Army Air Defence.

The Group Captain's family originally hails from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh and now lives in Bhopal.

He was admitted to a hospital in Wellington in Tamil Nadu with severe burn injuries on last Wednesday following the Mi-17V5 helicopter crash. A day later, he was shifted to the Command Hospital in Bengaluru from Wellington.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the passing away of Group Captain Singh, and said his rich service to the nation will never be forgotten.

"Group Captain Varun Singh served the nation with pride, valour and utmost professionalism. I am extremely anguished by his passing away. His rich service to the nation will never be forgotten. Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti," Modi tweeted.

Describing the Group Captain as a "true fighter", Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he fought till his last breath.

"Pained beyond words to learn of the demise of IAF pilot, Group Captain Varun Singh. He was a true fighter who fought till his last breath. My thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family and friends. We stand firmly with the family in this hour of grief," he said.

Group Captain Singh was on board the ill-fated Russian-made chopper as the liaison officer for the visit of Gen Rawat, India's senior-most military officer, to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington.

He was serving as an instructor at the prestigious institute for the last six months after a stint in the Tejas squadron.

Group Captain Singh received Gen Rawat at the Sulur airbase, from where the entourage was heading towards Wellington in the chopper that crashed.

His Shaurya Chakra award citation said despite being in extreme physical and mental stress in a life-threatening situation, he maintained exemplary composure and recovered the aircraft, exhibiting exceptional flying skill.

"Faced with a potential hazard to his own life, he displayed extraordinary courage and skill to control and safely land the fighter aircraft saving hundreds of crores," it said.

"The pilot went beyond the call of duty and landed the aircraft taking calculated risks. This allowed an accurate analysis of fault on the indigenously designed fighter and further institution of preventive measures against recurrence," it said.

Asked about his last rites, officials said the details will be finalised as per the wishes of his family. (PTI)

Taliban Seek Ties With US, Other Ex-Foes

 

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi acknowledged the world's outrage at the Taliban-imposed limitations on girls' education and on women in the workforce

Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers are committed in principle to education and jobs for girls and women, a marked departure from their previous time in power, and they seek the world's mercy and compassion to help millions of Afghans in desperate need, a top Taliban leader said in a rare interview.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also told The Associated Press that the Taliban government wants good relations with all countries and has no issue with the United States. 

He urged Washington and other nations to release upward of $10 billion in funds that were frozen when the Taliban took power on August 15, following a rapid military sweep across Afghanistan and the sudden, secret flight of US-backed President Ashraf Ghani.

"Sanctions against Afghanistan would ... not have any benefit," Muttaqi said on Sunday, speaking in his native Pashto during the interview in the sprawling pale brick Foreign Ministry building in the heart of the capital Kabul.

"Making Afghanistan unstable or having a weak Afghan government is not in the interest of anyone," said Muttaqi, whose aides include employees of the previous government as well as those recruited from the ranks of the Taliban. 

At a White House briefing on Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki said the reserves remain inaccessible to the Taliban. 

She did not foresee an early change, saying the US money is now linked to those claims by victims of the 9/11 attacks in the United States, which were carried out by al-Qaida while it was harbored in Afghanistan by the Taliban.

"These legal proceedings cannot be disregarded and have led to the temporary suspension of any movement of the funds through at least the end of the year and quite possibly longer," she said. 

"Even if money could be released, Washington would want to be certain it does not benefit the Taliban," she said. 

The UN and other organisations have said the money was going through charities and not the Taliban. 

Psaki also noted that the Taliban remain a globally designated terrorist group. Washington did, however, negotiate for more than two years with the insurgent movement and signed a deal in February 2020 with the Taliban for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Muttaqi acknowledged the world's outrage at the Taliban-imposed limitations on girls' education and on women in the workforce. 

In many parts of Afghanistan, female students between grades 7 and 12 have not been allowed to go to school since the Taliban took over, and many female civil servants have been told to stay home. 

Taliban officials have said they need time to create gender-segregated arrangements in schools and the workplace to meet their severe interpretation of Islam.

When they first ruled from 1996-2001, the Taliban shocked the world by barring girls and women from schools and jobs, banning most entertainment and sports, and occasionally carrying out executions in front of large crowds in sports stadiums.

But Muttaqi said the Taliban have changed since they last ruled. 

"We have made progress in administration and in politics ... in interaction with the nation and the world. With each passing day, we will gain more experience and make more progress," he said.

Muttaqi said that under the new Taliban government, girls are going to school through grade 12 in 10 of the country's 34 provinces, private schools and universities are operating unhindered, and 100 per cent of women who had previously worked in the health sector are back on the job.

"This shows that we are committed in principle to women's participation," he said.

He claimed the Taliban have not targeted their opponents, instead announcing a general amnesty and providing some protection. Leaders of the previous government live without threat in Kabul, he said, although most of them have fled.

Last month, the international group Human Rights Watch published a report that said the Taliban summarily killed or forcibly 'disappeared ' more than 100 former police and intelligence officials in four provinces. However, there have been no reports of large-scale retribution.

Muttaqi alleged the government that took power after the US-led coalition ousted the Taliban regime in 2001 carried out widespread revenge attacks against the Taliban. Hundreds disappeared or were killed, with thousands fleeing to the mountains, he said. The Taliban were ousted for harbouring al Qaida and Osama bin Laden for masterminding the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.

Muttaqi insisted poverty and the dream of a better life, not fear, made thousands of Afghans rush to Kabul's airport in mid-August in hopes of getting to America. 

The crush of people had generated searing images of men clinging to a departing American C-17 aircraft, while others fell to the ground as the landing gear retracted.

He said the Taliban have made mistakes in their first months in power and that "we will work for more reforms which can benefit the nation." 

He did not elaborate on the mistakes or possible reforms.

Muttaqi pushed back against comments by US Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie who told the AP last week that al-Qaida has grown slightly in Afghanistan since US forces left. McKenzie is Washington's top military commander in the Middle East.

In a February 2020 deal that spelled out the terms of the US troop withdrawal, the Taliban had promised to fight terrorism and deny terrorist groups a safe haven. 

Muttaqi said on Sunday that the Taliban have kept that promise, along with a pledge not to attack US and NATO forces in the final phase of the withdrawal, which ended in late August.

"Unfortunately, there are (always) allegations against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, but there is no proof," Muttaqi said. 

"If McKenzie has any proof, he should provide it. With confidence, I can say that this is a baseless allegation."

Meanwhile, militants from the Islamic State group have stepped up attacks on Taliban patrols and religious minorities in the past four months. 

The IS affiliate in Afghanistan has targeted Shiite mosques in the provincial capitals of Kunduz and Kandahar, carrying out frequent attacks on Taliban vehicles.

Muttaqi, however, said the Taliban have gained the upper hand in recent weeks, saying there had not been a major attack in the last month. Washington's ability to track IS activities in Afghanistan has been handicapped since the US withdrawal.

Muttaqi said he does not envision cooperating with the US in the battle against the Islamic State group.

However, he did express hope that with time, America will slowly change its policy toward Afghanistan as it sees that a Taliban-ruled country standing on its own is a benefit to the US.

"My last point is to America, to the American nation: You are a great and big nation, and you must have enough patience and have a big heart to dare to make policies on Afghanistan based on international rules and relegation, and to end the differences and make the distance between us shorter and choose good relations with Afghanistan," he said.

 

Are You Ashamed Of PM Modi, Kerala HC Asks Petitioner

 

PM Narendra Modi

Examining the maintainability of a plea seeking removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photograph from the COVID-19 vaccination certificate, the Kerala High Court on Monday asked the petitioner whether he was ashamed of the PM.

Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan said the Prime Minister was elected to power by the people of the country and therefore, there was nothing wrong with having his photograph on the vaccination certificate.

When the petitioner's counsel told the court that in other countries there was no such practice, the judge remarked, "They may not be proud of their PMs, we are proud of our PM."

"Why are you (petitioner) ashamed of the prime minister? He came to power through the mandate of the people.... We may have different political views, but he is still our PM," the court further said.

The counsel for the petitioner, Peter Myaliparampil, said the certificate was a "private space" with personal details on record and therefore, it was inappropriate to intrude into the privacy of an individual.

He contended that adding the PM's photo to the certificate was an intrusion into an individual's private space.

To this, the court said more than 100 crore people of the country do not appear to have a problem with having the PM's photo on the vaccine certificate, "why do you?"

The court said it will examine whether the plea has any merits and if not, it will dispose of the matter.

During the more than an hour long hearing, advocate Ajit Joy, appearing for the petitioner, said whether to be proud of one's PM was a personal choice.

Joy also told the court that it was not a matter of political differences, as the Supreme Court has laid down guidelines for advertisements and campaigns using public money.

He said having the photo on the certificates would also influence the minds of voters and this issue was raised during the recent state assembly elections.

The central government opposed the plea saying it was a 'publicity interest litigation'.

The petitioner, a senior citizen, has contended in his plea that the PM's photo on his vaccination certificate was a violation of fundamental rights.

Celebrations Break Out As Farmers Head Home After 'Victory'

 

Farm leaders and farmers stage a protest in Patiala on Sunday over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence (PTI)

Farmers from Punjab and Haryana are being accorded a rousing welcome with sweets and garlands at several points on their return home on Saturday for "victory" in their protest after the suspension of the agitation against the repealed farm laws.

Families of farmers, along with fellow villagers, at many places on the Delhi-Karnal-Ambala and Delhi-Hisar national highways, along with other state highways enroute, were welcoming and honouring the peasants coming in tractor trolleys with garlands, 'laddoos', 'barfi' and other sweets.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 40 farmers' unions, on Thursday had decided to suspend the over a year-long farmers' movement against the three contentious farm laws and announced that farmers would go back home on December 11 from the protest sites on Delhi's borders.

Villagers and others who supported the farmers' agitation carrying farmer bodies' flags, showered petals on peasants as they assembled on the roadside of the highways to welcome them.

A family came all the way from Chandigarh to welcome farmers near Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border. "We are here to welcome them. We will go back with them. We are elated and our happiness cannot be described in words. It (the victory) was the result of 'tapasya' (penance) of farmers who faced all sorts of hardships, including harsh weather conditions," said a Chandigarh resident, who actively supported the farmers' stir.

Because of the large convoy of tractor trolleys and other vehicles, traffic jams could be witnessed at many places on the Delhi-Haryana national highway.

Some elated farmers, especially youth and women, performed Punjab's folk dance 'bhangra' to the beats of 'dhol' as they were on their way back to their homes in Punjab and Haryana.

At Khanauri near Punjab, villagers assembled in large numbers to welcome the agitators and also burst firecrackers amid a celebratory mood.

"We are returning victorious," said a farmer from Ludhiana.

Preparations to welcome farmers have been made at different toll plazas and other places along the national highways.

A large convoy of tractor trolleys started returning to Punjab and Haryana in the morning after performing 'ardas' (prayer) at the Singhu border. Farmers headed homes after the suspension of the one-year-long agitation against the Centre's three farm laws.

Tractors, decorated with flowers and colourful lights and sporting the national flag and farmer bodies' flags, were playing Punjabi songs of victory while the frequent chants of 'Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal' rent the air.

Tractor trolleys were carrying cots, mattresses, utensils and other belongings that the farmers had carried with them during the agitation.

Near Bastara toll plaza in Karnal and at Shambhu border near Ambala, an arrangement of 'langar' was made for farmers returning to their homes. Some farmers, including women, were dancing and doing 'bhangra' at the Shambhu border to welcome the cultivators.

Notably, Shambhu inter-state border on the national highway was the place where the Haryana police had, last year on November 26, used water cannons and tear gas to prevent farmers from heading towards the national capital.

The Haryana Police has made elaborate arrangements to ensure hassle-free movement of traffic on national highways in the state. A Haryana Police spokesperson on Friday had said the district Superintendents of Police have been instructed to ensure appropriate traffic, security, and law and order arrangements to make sure that there is smooth flow of traffic in all districts between Delhi and Ambala, and Bahadurgarh and Hisar/Jind.

Farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, started protesting at Delhi border points on November 26 last year against the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The laws were recently repealed.  

Nagaland Firing: BJP Ally NPP Claims Amit Shah Twisted Facts

 

Home Minister Amit Shah reads out his statement on the Nagaland firing incident (ANI)

The Nationalist People's Party (NPP), the BJP's ally in Meghalaya, on Thursday alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah twisted facts when he said army para-commandos fired and killed six civilians in Nagaland after the vehicle carrying them tried to flee.

There was no security checkpoint where the incident occurred near Oting in Mon district and the road is so bad there, it is impossible for a vehicle to get away, said Tohovi Achumi, general secretary of the media cell of the Nagaland NPP.

Talking at the end of a party delegation visit to Oting, Achumi said, "We strongly condemn Amit Shah's statement. He has deviated from facts and twisted them. There were no security check-points at Oting nor were the victims trying to flee, as claimed by Shah."

On Monday, the Union Home Minister had expressed regret over the death of 14 civilians in Nagaland's Mon district in three consecutive episodes of firing by security forces, the first of which was a case of mistaken identity.

Narrating the sequence of events, Shah had told the Lok Sabha the Army had received information on the movement of insurgents in Mon and the '21 Para Commando' unit had laid an ambush.

A vehicle was signalled to stop but it tried to speed away. Suspecting the presence of insurgents in the vehicle, the security personnel opened fire, leading to the death of six of its eight occupants.

Eight others, including an army man, were killed in subsequent clashes between the force and villagers.

"We have visited the ambush site. There is no question of any vehicle going by more than 10 kilometres per hour speed; the road is so bad. No vehicle can flee from there. Also, there are bullet holes in the windshield of the vehicle. How can someone be shot from the front if he was fleeing?" the NPP leader asked.

Achumi wondered why personnel of the state police and para-military force Assam Rifles were not present at the ambush site along with the army team.

"It requires under AFSPA that local police and any other security agency operating in an area be informed before undertaking any operation by the army. That provision was clearly violated," he said. He demanded repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from the entire north-eastern region. The AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior warrant.

NPP president and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, in a recent tweet, also demanded repeal of the AFSPA.

The party also pasted posters against the firing incident and the AFSPA at the border checkpoint between Assam's Charaideo and Nagaland's Mon districts.  

Indian-Origin USAF Doctor Among 10 Chosen By NASA For Future Missions

Anil Menon (AFP)

 

Indian-origin physician Anil Menon, a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, has been selected by NASA along with nine others to be astronauts for future missions, the American space agency has announced.

Menon, 45, was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants.

He was SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, helping to launch the company’s first humans into space during NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission and building a medical organisation to support the human system during future missions.

In a statement, NASA announced that it has chosen 10 new astronaut candidates from a field of more than 12,000 applicants to represent the US and work for humanity’s benefit in space.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson introduced the members of the 2021 astronaut class, the first new class in four years, during a Monday, December 6 event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Today we welcome 10 new explorers, 10 members of the Artemis generation, NASA’s 2021 astronaut candidate class,” Nelson said. “Alone, each candidate has the right stuff, but together they represent the creed of our country: E pluribus unum — out of many, one,” he said.

The astronaut candidates will report for duty at Johnson in January 2022 to begin two years of training.

Astronaut candidate training falls into five major categories: operating and maintaining the International Space Station’s complex systems, training for spacewalks, developing complex robotics skills, safely operating a T-38 training jet, and Russian language skills.

Upon completion, they could be assigned to missions that involve performing research aboard the space station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, as well as deep space missions to destinations including the Moon on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.

“Each of you has amazing backgrounds,” Pam Melroy, former NASA astronaut and NASA’s deputy administrator, told the candidates. “You bring diversity in so many forms to our astronaut corps and you stepped up to one of the highest and most exciting forms of public service.”

Applicants included U.S. citizens from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands.

For the first time ever, NASA required candidates to hold a master’s degree in a STEM field and used an online assessment tool. The women and men selected for the new astronaut class represent the diversity of America and the career paths that can lead to a place in America’s astronaut corps.

Menon previously served NASA as the crew flight surgeon for various expeditions, taking astronauts to the International Space Station.

He is an actively practicing emergency medicine physician with fellowship training in wilderness and aerospace medicine.

As a physician, he was a first responder during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, 2015 earthquake in Nepal, and the 2011 Reno Air Show accident.

In the Air Force, Menon supported the 45th Space Wing as a flight surgeon and the 173rd Fighter Wing, where he logged over 100 sorties in the F-15 fighter jet and transported over 100 patients as part of the critical care air transport team.

Aeronautical engineer Sirisha Bandla in July became the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.

Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma is the only Indian citizen to travel in space. The former Indian Air Force pilot flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on April 3, 1984, as part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme.