Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) said on Sunday that four Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels were detected operating around Taiwan from 6 am (local time) on Saturday to 6 am (local time) on Sunday. According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND), two of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country's northern, central, southwestern, and eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). In a post on X, Taiwan MND stated, "4 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." 4 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly. pic.twitter.com/iDNFBQnatF — 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) October 6, 2024 After three days of no Chinese activity, Taiwan detected Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels around itself on Saturday, a statement by Taiwan's Ministry of Defence stated. The MND stated that 13 People's Liberation Army aircraft and 3 People's Liberation Army Navy vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 am (local time) on Saturday. The MND added that eight of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. In a post on X, the MND stated, "13 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 8 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." 13 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 8 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly. pic.twitter.com/BkcWQ1cwMo — 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) October 5, 2024 Earlier, from October 1-4, no PLA aircraft and PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected, the MND stated. No PLA aircraft and PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. Today's illustration of flight path is not provided due to no PLA aircraft operation around Taiwan were detected during this timeframe. pic.twitter.com/wjtbQjmAwu — 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) October 4, 2024 No PLA aircraft and PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. Today's illustration of flight path is not provided due to no PLA aircraft operation around Taiwan were detected during this timeframe. pic.twitter.com/B1hQ0ObUfr — 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) October 3, 2024 No PLA aircraft and PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. Today's illustration of flight path is not provided due to no PLA aircraft operation around Taiwan were detected during this timeframe. pic.twitter.com/tcDHmbj5sZ — 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) October 2, 2024 This latest Chinese military activity adds to a series of similar provocations by Beijing in recent months. China has increased its military activities near Taiwan, including regular air and naval incursions into Taiwan's ADIZ and military exercises near the island. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval vessels operating around Taiwan. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 October,2024 10:00 AM IST | Taipei | ANIThe death toll from Hurricane Helene inched up to 227 on Saturday as the grim task of recovering bodies continued more than a week after the monster storm ravaged the Southeast and killed people in six US states. Helene came ashore on September 26 as a Category-4 hurricane and carved a wide swath of destruction as it moved northward from Florida, washing away homes, destroying roads and knocking out electricity and cellphone service for millions. The number of deaths stood at 225 on Friday; two more were recorded in South Carolina the following day. It was still unclear how many people were unaccounted for or missing, and the toll could rise even higher. Helene is the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland US since Katrina in 2005. About half the victims were in North Carolina, while dozens more were killed in Georgia and South Carolina. The city of Asheville, in the western mountains of North Carolina, was particularly battered. A week later, workers used brooms and heavy machinery to clean mud and dirt outside of New Belgium Brewing Company, which lies next to the French Broad River and is among thousands of city businesses and households affected. So far, North Carolinians have received more than USD 27 million in individual assistance approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said MaryAnn Tierney, a regional administrator for the agency. More than 83,000 people have registered for individual assistance, according to the office of Governor Roy Cooper. In Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, FEMA-approved assistance has surpassed USD 12 million for survivors, Tierney said on Saturday during a news briefing. "This is critical assistance that will help people with their immediate needs, as well as displacement assistance that helps them if they cannot stay in their homes," she said. She encouraged residents impacted by the storm to register for disaster assistance. "It is the first step in the recovery process," she said. "We can provide immediate relief in terms of serious needs assistance to replace food, water, medicines, other life safety, critical items, as well as displacement assistance if you cannot stay in your home." Helene's raging floodwaters shocked mountain towns hundreds of miles inland and far from where the storm made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast, including in the Tennessee mountains that Dolly Parton calls home. The country music star has announced a USD 1 million donation to the Mountain Ways Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing immediate assistance to Hurricane Helene flood victims. In addition, her East Tennessee businesses as well as the Dollywood Foundation are combining efforts, pledging to match her donation to Mountain Ways with a USD 1 million contribution. Parton said she feels a close connection to the storm victims because so many of them "grew up in the mountains just like I did". "I cannot stand to see anyone hurting, so I wanted to do what I could to help after these terrible floods," she said. "I hope we can all be a little bit of light in the world for our friends, our neighbours -- even strangers -- during this dark time they are experiencing." Walmart US president and CEO John Furner said the company, including Sam's Club and the Walmart Foundation, would increase its commitment and donate a total of USD 10 million to hurricane relief efforts. In Newport, an eastern Tennessee town of about 7,000, residents continued cleaning up on Saturday from the destruction caused by Helene's floodwaters. Mud still clung to the basement walls of one Main Street funeral home. The ground-floor chapel of another nearby was being dried out, a painting of Jesus still hanging on the wall in an otherwise barren room. Newport City Hall and its police department also took on water from the swollen Pigeon River. Some of the modest, one-story homes along its banks were destroyed, their walls crumbled and rooms exposed. Farther east in unincorporated Del Rio, along a bend in the French Broad River, residents and volunteers toiled to clean up. The smell of wood hung in the air as people used chainsaws to cut through downed trees, and Bobcats beeped as they moved mangled sheet metal and other debris. Many homes sustained damage, including one that slid off its foundation. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 October,2024 09:47 AM IST | Frankfort | APPrayer chants and the sounding of traditional ram’s horns fill the air in the town of Uman, in central Ukraine, as thousands of pilgrims join an annual gathering to mark the Jewish New Year, despite the war against Russia. Uman, 200 km south of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, is transformed for the celebration of Rosh Hashana. The streets are plastered with signs in Hebrew for the pilgrims who come to pray at the tomb of Rabbi Nachman, the great-grandson of the founder of the Hasidic movement. Despite Ukrainian and Israeli diplomats warning of the security threat, officials told AP that 35,000 pilgrims made the journey to Uman this year, the same as in earlier years. Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman, a leading figure in Ukraine’s Jewish community, was one of those who urged international pilgrims not to visit Ukraine due to security concerns but acknowledged that many would still make the trip regardless of the potential risks involved. “Every year (since Russia’s full-scale invasion), I speak on Israeli television and radio, and I call on the (Jewish) pilgrims not to come to Ukraine. My primary concern is for the lives of people,” he said. This year’s pilgrimage comes at an increasingly volatile time in West Asia. Israel is now engaged in a multi-front war that includes the battles with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, attacks from Iran and strikes inside Syria, plus ongoing confrontations with armed rebels in the West Bank and occasional attacks launched by Iranian-backed militants in Iraq and by the Houthis in Yemen. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 October,2024 09:44 AM IST | Ukraine | AgenciesFormer President Donald Trump plans returned on Saturday to the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, setting aside what are now near-constant worries for his physical safety in order to fulfil a promise — “really an obligation,” he said recently — to the people of Butler, Pennsylvania. “I’ll probably start off by saying, ‘As I was saying ...’” the Republican presidential nominee has joked, in a bit of dark humour about a speech cut short when a bullet struck Trump’s ear and he was whisked off stage—fist aloft—with blood dripping across his face. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, also will be on hand at the Butler Farm Show grounds, as will billionaire Elon Musk, as the campaign elevates the headline-generating potential of his return with just 30 days to go in their tight campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The campaign is predicting tens of thousands of people will attend in what is being pitched as a “tribute to the American spirit”. Local hotels, motels and inns are reportedly full and some eager rally-goers were already arriving Friday, according to a local Facebook page. Hundreds of people were lined up as the sun rose on Saturday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 October,2024 09:43 AM IST | Butler | AgenciesIsrael expanded its bombardment in Lebanon on Saturday, hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs with 12 airstrikes and striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in northern Lebanon for the first time. The attack on the Beddawi refugee camp near the northern city of Tripoli killed an official with Hamas’s military wing, along with his wife and two young daughters, the Palestinian militant group said in a statement. Tripoli is much farther north than the majority of Israel’s strikes, which have been concentrated in southern Lebanon and Beirut. Israel has killed several Hamas officials in Lebanon since the Israel-Hamas war began in October last year, in addition to most of the top leadership of Hezbollah. At least six people were killed in more than a dozen Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday, according to National News Agency, Lebanon’s official news agency. The Israeli military said special forces were carrying out targeted ground raids against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, destroying missiles, launchpads, watchtowers and weapons storage facilities. The military said troops also dismantled tunnel shafts that Hezbollah used to approach the Israeli border. Some 1,400 Lebanese, including Hezbollah fighters and civilians, have been killed and some 1.2 million driven from their homes since Israel escalated its strikes in late September aiming to cripple Hezbollah and push it away from the countries’ shared border. On Tuesday, Israel launched what it called a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon. Nine Israeli troops have been killed in close fighting in the area in the past few days, the military said. UK confirms final flight out of Lebanon The UK government on Saturday confirmed its final charter plane to fly British nationals out of Lebanon as the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel intensifies and tensions in the region escalate. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer once again urged British nationals still in the country to come forward to be evacuated. “To everybody listening who may be in that position: now is the time to leave, we have got the plans in place. So please come forward and we can make sure that they are evacuated,” Starmer told reporters during a visit to Cheshire on Friday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 October,2024 09:41 AM IST | Tel Aviv | AgenciesFormer Pakistan PM Imran Khan's party, Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has blamed Pakistan's Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) of ordering tear gas shelling at D Chowk in Islamabad on Saturday, ANI reported. The video shared by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on X shows security personnel using tear gas against protesters. PTI has been arranging protests against the government in Islamabad and Lahore. While sharing the video on X, Imran Khan's party states, "Mohsin Naqvi and PMLN have ordered massive tear gas shelling at D-Chowk. Attacking your own peaceful protestors won't stop them!" Mohsin Naqvi and PMLN have ordered massive tear gas shelling at D-Chowk.Attacking your own peaceful protestors won’t stop them! pic.twitter.com/YMGNx2TgjX — PTI (@PTIofficial) October 5, 2024 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Ali Amin Gandapur, along with his convoy, reached Islamabad, as announced by PTI on Saturday, ANI reported. وزیراعلیٰ خیبرپختونخوا علی امین گنڈا پور اسلام آباد میں قافلے کےہمراہ پہنچ گئے۔pic.twitter.com/qxf7twlCFo — PTI (@PTIofficial) October 5, 2024 In a statement posted on X, Former Pakistani PM Imran Khan urged people to continue traveling to D Chowk and join Ali Amin's convoy. He commended the citizens of North Punjab, Islamabad, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Additionally, he urged Punjabis to travel to Minar i Pakistan in Lahore. Imran Khan's statement shared by PTI reads, "I am so proud of all our people. Thank you for keeping the faith. You showed unfaltering resilience and courage as you came out yesterday & overcame unbelievable obstacles to keep marching forward towards D Chowk. You fought through the fascist govt's endless shelling and firing, you overcame the containers, the dug up motorway and the iron nails placed there to keep moving forward - the women and elderly men along with the youth all showing relentless strength & fortitude." "I am calling on everyone to keep heading to D chowk and join Ali Amin's convoy. I especially want to commend our people from KP, North Punjab and Islamabad. You have defeated insurmountable obstacles, including shelling, chemicals fired from helicopters, trenches & nails on the motorway, with your determination and commitment. I am also asking our people from Punjab to move towards Minar i Pakistan in Lahore," he added. Imran Khan referred to the demonstrations as a "fight for Haqeeqi Azadi," the nation where residents can actually live as free citizens under the constitution and the rule of law, as envisioned by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's first governor general. Khan's statement reads, "If they cannot make it there they must join the protests in their cities. This is a fight for Haqeeqi Azadi so we can truly live as free citizens in our country within the Constitution & Rule of Law as envisaged by our Founder Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah." I am so proud of all our people. Thank you for keeping the faith. You showed unfaltering resilience and courage as you came out yesterday & overcame unbelievable obstacles to keep marching forward towards D Chowk.You fought through the fascist govt’s endless shelling and… — Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 5, 2024 Khan, who served as Pakistan's Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, has been detained in Adiala Jail since August 2023 on several allegations, including the Toshakhana case, and un-Islamic marriage case. On Friday, PTI said that police arrested the sisters of former Pakistan PM Imran Khan - Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, from D Chowk in Islamabad "for exercising her right of peaceful protest." Imran Khan's party referred to the government as "fake and victim of panic," claiming that by denying people their fundamental rights in order to uphold their "illegitimate power," the government is going beyond the bounds of fascism. In a post on X, PTI stated, "Former PM Imran Khan's sister Aleema Khan has been arrested by the police at D Chowk for exercising her right of Peaceful Protest. Such is the state of affairs in Pakistan under a fascist regime where citizens have been completely ripped of their fundamental rights." The party also mentioned Uzma Khan's arrest on X, stating, "Imran Khan that sister Uzmi Khan was also illegally arrested from D Chowk, the fake government is a victim of panic. " Police arrested Aleema and Uzma Khan when they arrived at D-Chowk to join PTI workers in the planned protest. Police have taken them to the secretariat police station, ANI reported. According to ANI, the Punjab government banned political gatherings, marches, and rallies using Section 144, and on Friday it stationed Rangers forces in four locations within the state. Furthermore, the cities of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Attock, and Sargodha have implemented Section 144.As per ANI, rangers have also been brought in to help with upholding law and order. In the meantime, the Punjab government has asked three Lahore-based Rangers businesses to provide their services, specifically for October 5. In Rawalpindi, Attock, and Sargodha, Section 144 will be in force for three days, from October 4 to October 6, ANI reported. (With inputs from ANI)
05 October,2024 05:48 PM IST | Islamabad | mid-day online correspondentAfter 1,080 days as president, Joe Biden on Friday decided to pop in and take questions in the White House briefing room for the first time, striding in with a grin after a strong monthly jobs report and the temporary settlement of a strike by ports workers. The president has been less available than his recent predecessors to questions from White House press corps, making his surprise appearance welcome to the gathered reporters who waited as his press secretary's daily briefing was moved up 15 minutes, then delayed for nearly one hour. The president stepped through the press room's blue door in a dark gray suit and red tie and proceeded to make news in response to questions about comments on the 2024 presidential election, the latest jobs numbers and the escalating conflict in the Middle East. The 81-year old stepped aside from the Democratic nomination this summer, backing Vice President Kamala Harris instead. He acknowledged doubts about whether the November election would be peaceful, given comments by former President Donald Trump that the results could be rigged. "I am confident it will be free and fair. I do not know whether it will be peaceful," Biden said. "The things that Trump has said, and the the things that he said last time when he did not like the outcome of the election, were very dangerous." Biden has tried to rebut a political movement that has at times openly trafficked in conspiracy theories, with the latest revolving around the government reporting on Friday that employers added 254,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 per cent. "Another fake jobs report out from Biden-Harris government today," Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., posted on social media. "But all the fake numbers in the world aren't going to fool people dealing with the Biden-Harris economic disaster every day." The jobs reports are legitimate and have capped a solid run for the US economy. Growth has stayed solid even as the inflation rate has dropped from a four-decade high in 2022 to an annual rate of 2.5 per cent. Consumer confidence has been weak relative to overall economic growth, a sign that many people still do not feel the strength seen in the latest jobs and inflation numbers. But Biden stressed that he was operating on valid data despite unfounded claims of falsification by supporters of Trump's Make America Great Again movement. "If you notice, anything the MAGA Republicans do not like they call fake," Biden said. "The job numbers are what the job numbers are. They are real. They are sincere." The president also highlighted the deal reached on Thursday to suspend a strike by 45,000 dockworkers on East and Gulf coast ports until January 15, creating time to try to hash out a new contract. Still, challenges remain for Biden as his final months as president involve the risk of a wider war in the Middle East. Since Hamas attacked Israel nearly a year ago, Israel has retaliated by bombarding the Gaza region in ways that have raised human rights concerns, as well as killing Hezbollah leaders and launching airstrikes in Lebanon. On Tuesday, Iran fired at least 180 missiles into Israel and there are concerns about additional retaliation that could cause the conflict to deepen. When asked, Biden clarified his comments from a day earlier about Israel possibly striking Iranian oil facilities, which caused the price of the commodity to jump on the prospect of supplies being squeezed. "Look, the Israelis have not concluded what they are going to do in terms of a strike," Biden said on Friday. "That is under discussion. I think if I were in their shoes, I would be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields." The president emphasised that he and Harris are "singing from the same song sheet" on foreign and domestic policy, calling her a "major player in everything we have done". As Biden began to leave the room, he was asked if he would reconsider his decision to exit the race. Biden cocked his head and smiled. "I am back in," he joked. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 01:15 PM IST | Washington | AP | PTIThe New Zealand city of Dunedin was cut off by road due to flooding Friday after recording its wettest day in more than a century. Local authorities in the South Island city said more than 80 people who lived in low-lying areas spent the night in emergency shelters after the rain began Thursday. There have been no deaths and no one is unaccounted for. But the city of 1,35,000 people was effectively cut off when the main highways leading into and out of Dunedin were closed due to flooding. They were expected to remain closed until Saturday, the City Council said. Other roads were closed due to landslides. Conditions were unpredictable said local government spokesperson Chris Henderson, who urged residents not to drive unless it was “extremely essential”. A local state of emergency remains in place for the city, which is due to be battered by rain until late Friday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 08:32 AM IST | Wellington | AgenciesIsrael carried out a series of massive airstrikes overnight in southern suburbs of Beirut and another that cut off the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria.The new wave of strikes came after Israel warned people to evacuate communities in southern Lebanon that are outside a United Nations-declared buffer zone, as the yearlong conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates. Israel launched a ground incursion into Lebanon on Tuesday and its forces have been clashing with Hezbollah militants in a narrow strip along the border. A series of attacks before the incursion killed some of the group’s key members, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. The blasts overnight rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs, sending huge plumes of smoke and flames into the night sky and shaking buildings kilometres away in the Lebanese capital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on what the intended target was, and there was no information immediately available on casualties. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that there were more than 10 consecutive airstrikes in the area late Thursday. The agency also reported that an Israeli airstrike led to the closure of the road near the busy Masnaa Border Crossing, from which tens of thousands of people fleeing war in Lebanon have crossed into Syria. Israel eliminates Hezb terrorist The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that they had killed Mahmoud Yusef Anisi, a senior terrorist involved in Hezbollah’s precision-guided missile manufacturing chain in Lebanon. The IDF said Anisi was a significant source of knowledge and had considerable technological expertise. “Anisi joined Hezbollah over 15 years ago and was one of the leaders of the Hezbollah PGM campaign in Lebanon. He had vast technological abilities in weapons manufacturing,” the IDF said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 October,2024 08:30 AM IST | Beirut | AgenciesA beluga whale that lived off Norway's coast, who raised speculation that it was a Russian spy due to its harness, was not shot dead as claimed by animal rights groups but instead died of a bacterial infection, said Norwegian police on Friday, AP reported. Norway's Veterinary Institute's final autopsy "concludes that the probable cause of death was bacterial infection -- possibly as a result of a wound in the mouth from a stuck stick," according to Amund Preede Revheim, head of the North Sea and Environment section of the police in south-western Norway, AP reported. "There have been no findings from the autopsy that indicate that the whale has been shot," he said, adding that the autopsy had been "made difficult by the fact that many of the whale's organs were very rotten." As there were no signs of foul play, there was no reason to start a criminal investigation into its death, Preede Revheim said to AP. According to AP, the tame beluga, first spotted not far from Russian water in 2019, had a harness reading "Equipment St. Petersburg" and had been nicknamed "Hvaldimir", by combining the Norwegian word for whale "hval" and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was found swimming in a southern Norway bay on August 31. In September, animal advocate groups One Whale and NOAH filed a police report saying that the animal's wounds suggested it was intentionally killed, AP reported. They pointed at multiple wounds found on the animal's skin, including what was thought as a bullet hole. "Assessments made by the Veterinary Institute and the police's forensic technicians are that these are not gunshot wounds. X-rays of the chest and head were carried out without any projectiles or other metal fragments being detected," police said in a statement, AP reported. Earlier, police had mentioned that a stick measuring around 35 centimetres long and 3 centimetres wide was found wedged in the animal's mouth, its stomach was empty and its organs had broken down, police said to AP. No details were given further. The 14-foot-long whale, weighing 1,225 kilograms was first spotted by fisherman not far from the Arctic town of Hammerfest, AP reported. Its harness, along with a suspected mount for a small camera, led to media speculations that it was a supposed "spy whale". According to experts, the Russian navy is also known to have trained whales for military purposes. Media reports also wondered if the whale might have been trained as a therapy animal. There was no immediate response from OneWhale or NOAH, AP reported. (With inputs from AP)
04 October,2024 04:31 PM IST | Oslo | mid-day online correspondentOn Thursday, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo held the sixth ministerial-level Commercial Dialogue, where they discussed progress in semiconductor supply chains, innovation partnerships, energy networks, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, reported PTI. According to the report, a day earlier, the two ministers signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop and diversify essential minerals supply chains. This agreement aims to harness both countries' strengths to improve resilience in the essential minerals sector. Key priority areas include defining the equipment, services, policies, and best practices required to support the economic development of essential minerals exploration, extraction, processing, and recycling between the United States and India, the report added. During the discussion, Goyal and Raimondo praised continued efforts to create resilient, secure, and sustainable semiconductor supply chains. Following the formation of a semiconductor supply chain and innovation collaboration, the US Semiconductor Industry Association and the India Electronics Semiconductor Association undertook a private sector "readiness assessment." This project identifies short-term opportunities while encouraging the long-term development of adjacent semiconductor ecosystems, reported PTI. The news agency report further stated that the leaders vowed to continue supporting engagement between US and Indian enterprises, encouraging investments, joint ventures, and technological alliances, as well as boosting workforce development that benefits both countries. They also welcomed the successful roundtables hosted in San Francisco in November 2023 and New Delhi in March 2024, which intended to align both countries' startup ecosystems and strengthen innovative ties, the PTI report stated. Goyal and Raimondo highlighted the progress made during the EIN Roundtable, which took place in March as part of the renewable EDGE and Environmental Technologies Business Development Mission, which brought 12 US businesses to India to boost renewable energy markets. The discussions at this roundtable influenced the US-India Strategic Renewable Energy Partnership (SCEP) ministerial conference on September 16, further shaping joint efforts in renewable energy. Both leaders highlighted significant advancements announced at the virtual IPEF ministerial meeting last month, particularly in improving supply chain resilience through the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement. They expressed commitment to collaborating in critical areas, including semiconductors, chemicals, and critical minerals, with a focus on batteries and potentially healthcare products, as agreed by the IPEF Supply Chain Council. Goyal and Raimondo also reviewed joint efforts under the India-US Strategic Trade Dialogue and the Standards and Conformance Cooperation Program (SCCP), discussing future collaboration priorities, particularly in critical minerals. Looking ahead, they anticipated the US Department of Commerce-led Global Diversity Export Initiative Trade Mission to India in early March 2025, aimed at expanding opportunities for US SMEs owned or led by members of underserved communities. The two leaders applauded plans to increase the US Department of Commerce's presence in India to around 70 Foreign Commercial Service staff across seven cities. In Bengaluru, where a new US consulate is set to open, a new position will serve as a resource for US and Indian startups and SMEs, advancing plans for an SME Presidents' Forum focused on various business initiatives, including support for women entrepreneurs and integration into global value chains.
04 October,2024 02:33 PM IST | Washington | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
