Conor McGregor sees social media following drop following Civil Court outcomePunjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday slammed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government for meting out ‘step-motherly treatment to the farmers by not giving them an opportunity to air their genuine demands.’ In a post on X, Mann said the central government should give up its ‘stubbornness’ and open the way for talks with the farmer organisations. “If Modi ji can stop the war between Russia and Ukraine, then can’t he talk to the farmers sitting 200 kilometres away (from Delhi)? What time are you waiting for?” Mann said in a post. Later in a statement, Mann added that the Union government has been ‘blatantly’ ignoring the genuine demands of the farmers of the country which is highly deplorable. Farmers led by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces. Veteran farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been on a hunger strike at the Khanauri border since November 26 and his condition is said to be ‘critical’. The chief minister reminded the PM that when the country was facing a serious crisis of food production the hardworking and resilient farmers of the state had made the country self-reliant in grains. “It is unfortunate that the prime minister is more worried about emerging as ‘global leader’ by intervening in international affairs rather than resolving the issues faced by the countrymen,” the AAP leader said. He said that the Centre should not wait for any special moment to talk to the farmers, “rather it should embrace the farmers and redress their grievances”. “It is strange that the Union government is not ready to talk to farmers sitting 200 kilometres away from the national capital,” he further said in the statement. Mann said it is the need of the hour that the issues of the farmers are addressed at the earliest in the larger public interest. On December 19 too, Mann urged the Centre to hold talks with the protesting farmers. He had said any issue could be resolved through dialogue.
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KYIV (AP): NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.” Ukraine’s parliament canceled a session as security was tightened following Thursday’s Russian strike on a military facility in the city of Dnipro. In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech that the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was in retaliation for Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory. Putin said Western air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile. Ukrainian military officials said the missile that hit Dnipro had reached a speed of Mach 11 and carried six nonnuclear warheads each releasing six submunitions. Speaking Friday to military and weapons industries officials, Putin said Russia is launching production of the Oreshnik. “No one in the world has such weapons,” he said with a thin smile. “Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development.” But he added, “we have this system now. And this is important.” Testing the missile will continue, “including in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia,” Putin said, noting there is ”a stockpile of such systems ready for use.” Putin said that while it isn’t an intercontinental missile, it’s so powerful that the use of several of them fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with strategic — or nuclear — weapons. Gen. Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, echoing Putin’s claim that even with conventional warheads, “the massive use of the weapon would be comparable in effect to the use of nuclear weapons.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept up Russia’s bellicose tone on Friday, blaming “the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries” in supplying weapons to Ukraine to strike Russia. “The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined,” he said. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Moscow’s talking points, suggesting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement. “These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world’s most advanced technology and satellite communications capability,” Orbán said on state radio. “There is a strong assumption ... that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel.” Orbán cautioned against underestimating Russia’s responses, emphasizing that the country’s recent modifications to its nuclear deployment doctrine should not be dismissed as a “bluff.” “It’s not a trick... there will be consequences,” he said. Separately in Kyiv, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called Thursday’s missile strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe.” At a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Lipavský also expressed his full support for delivering the necessary additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks.” He underlined that the Czech Republic will impose no limits on the use of its weapons and equipment given to Ukraine. Three lawmakers from Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, confirmed that Friday’s previously scheduled session was called off due to the ongoing threat of Russian missiles targeting government buildings in central Kyiv. In addition, there also was a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and nongovernmental organizations “in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who added this is not the first time such a threat has been received. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office continued to work in compliance with standard security measures, a spokesperson said. Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said the Oreshnik missile, whose name in Russian means “hazelnut tree,” was fired from the Kapustin Yar 4th Missile Test Range in Russia’s Astrakhan region, and flew 15 minutes before striking Dnipro. Test launches of a similar missile were conducted in October 2023 and June 2024, the directorate said. The Pentagon confirmed the missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile. Thursday’s attack struck the Pivdenmash plant that built ICBMs when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The military facility is located about 4 miles (6 1/2 kilometers) southwest of the center of Dnipro, a city of about 1 million that is Ukraine’s fourth-largest and a key hub for military supplies and humanitarian aid, and is home to one of the country’s largest hospitals for treating wounded soldiers from the front before their transfer to Kyiv or abroad. The stricken area was cordoned off and out of public view. With no fatalities reported from the attack, Dnipro residents resorted to dark humor on social media, mostly focused on the missile’s name, Oreshnik. Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia struck a residential district of Sumy overnight with Iranian-designed Shahed drones, killing two people and injuring 13, the regional administration said.. Ukraine’s Suspilne media, quoting Sumy regional head Volodymyr Artiukh, said the drones were stuffed with shrapnel elements. “These weapons are used to destroy people, not to destroy objects,” said Artiukh, according to Suspilne.Republicans demand trans athletes are banned from women's sports in conference hit by volleyball scandal READ MORE: High school forfeits girls volleyball game against trans player By ALEX RASKIN and ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 16:03 EST, 21 November 2024 | Updated: 16:27 EST, 21 November 2024 e-mail 37 View comments Thirteen Republican congressmembers have written the Mountain West Conference to urge commissioner Gloria Nevarez to ban transgender athletes from playing sports against cisgender women. The letter comes amid ongoing controversy over one of the conference's leading volleyball players, Blaire Fleming, who is reportedly transgender. The redshirt senior and transfer from Coastal Carolina currently ranks third in the Mountain West in points and fourth in kills. The Spartans have won seven matches by forfeit this season as a string of rivals have refused to play against Fleming. 'We write with serious concerns about the safety and fair competition standards for female athletes participating in the Mountain West Conference,' read the open letter signed by members of the House and Senate . 'We urge you to update your student athlete guidelines to prohibit biological males from competing against biological female students in women's sports.' The signees include Wyoming senator Cynthia Lummis, Idaho senator Mike Crapo, and Burgess Owens, the Tennessee congressman who previously won a Super Bowl as a defensive back for the Oakland Raiders at the end of the 1980 season. Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during a recent match Thirteen Republican congressmembers have written the Mountain West Conference to urge commissioner Gloria Nevarez to ban transgender athletes from women's sports Read More San Jose State demands money from colleges forfeiting volleyball games because of their trans player The 13 legislators argue that the presence of a trans athlete on a women's team undermines Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or educational institution that receives federal funding. 'Recently, members of your conference have forfeited games, risking their competitive standings to ensure the safety of their female athletes,' the letter continued. 'The Mountain West Conference's failure to prohibit biological males from competing in women's sports is unfair to the women and girls who have worked tirelessly to compete at the collegiate level. 'We applaud the bravery of these female athletes and the universities in our home states for taking a stand to preserve Title IX when the Mountain West Conference would not.' In arguing that the conference is failing to create an 'environment that allows women to compete without fearing for their safety,' the legislators pointed to NCAA rival, the NAIA. 'In April, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) voted unanimously to allow only students 'whose biological sex is female to compete in women's sports,' the letter continued. 'The NAIA decision is a significant step toward protecting the rights and opportunities of female athletes.' Mountain West Conference commissioner Gloria Nevarez was addressed in the letter Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, speaks with reporters after a vote in the Capitol on September 11 Burgess Owens, a Tennessee congressman and former Super Bowl winner, signed the letter Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the forfeitures, citing a need for fairness in women's sports. President-elect Donald Trump recently referenced a volleyball match when he was asked during a Fox News town hall about transgender athletes in women's sports. 'I saw the slam, it was a slam,' he said, presumably referring to a recent viral clip showing Fleming spiking the ball off an opponent, who was admittedly 'fine.' 'I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the girl in the head,' Trump added. After Trump's comment, San Diego State issued a statement that said 'it has been incorrectly reported that an San Diego State University student-athlete was hit in the face with a volleyball during match play with San Jose State University. The ball bounced off the shoulder of the student-athlete, and the athlete was uninjured and did not miss a play.' San Jose State has not made any direct comments about the politicians' 'fairness' references, and Nevarez did not go into details when addressing the controversy last month. 'I'm learning a lot about the issue,' Nevarez said. 'I don't know a lot of the language yet or the science or the understanding nationally of how this issue plays out. The external influences are so far on either side. We have an election year. It's political, so, yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.' San Jose State's Blaire Fleming previously played at Coastal Carolina before transferring Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, speaks during a news conference The cancellations could mean some teams will not qualify for the conference tournament November 27-30 in Las Vegas, where the top six schools are slated to compete for the league championship. 'The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team does not play them, it's a forfeit, meaning they take a loss,' Nevarez said. San Jose State coach Todd Kress said playing was his team's 'safe haven' and noted that security and police escorts are now involved when his team takes the court. He has not discussed specific players publicly since the forfeits began. 'I know that it's definitely taken a toll on many of them. They're receiving messages of hate, which is completely ridiculous to me,' he said in Albuquerque. 'Some of those people are the underbelly of society that you attack an 18, 19, 20-year-old female. And even more so if you're a parent and you're attacking 18, 19 or 20-year-olds. 'Would you want your student-athlete, your daughter, to face the same kind of hate that you're dishing out?' Wyoming Idaho Republicans Share or comment on this article: Republicans demand trans athletes are banned from women's sports in conference hit by volleyball scandal e-mail Add comment
Conversational artificial intelligence tools may soon "covertly influence" users' decision making in a new commercial frontier called the "intention economy", University of Cambridge researchers warned in a paper published Monday. The research argues the potentially "lucrative yet troubling" marketplace emerging for "digital signals of intent" could, in the near future, influence everything from buying movie tickets to voting for political candidates. Our increasing familiarity with chatbots, digital tutors and other so-called "anthropomorphic" AI agents is helping enable this new array of "persuasive technologies", it added. It will see AI combine knowledge of our online habits with a growing ability to know the user and anticipate his or her desires and build "new levels of trust and understanding", the paper's two co-authors noted. Left unchecked, that could allow for "social manipulation on an industrial scale", the pair, from Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence , argued in the paper published in the Harvard Data Science Review. It characterises how this emergent sector dubbed the "intention economy" will profile users' attention and communicative styles and connect them to patterns of behaviour and choices they make. "AI tools are already being developed to elicit, infer, collect, record, understand, forecast, and ultimately manipulate and commodify human plans and purposes," co-author Yaqub Chaudhary said. The new AI will rely on so-called Large Language Models or LLMs to target a user's cadence, politics, vocabulary, age, gender, online history, and even preferences for flattery and ingratiation, according to the research. That would be linked with other emerging AI tech that bids to achieve a given aim, such as selling a cinema trip, or steer conversations towards particular platforms, advertisers, businesses and even political organisations. Co-author Jonnie Penn warned: "Unless regulated, the intention economy will treat your motivations as the new currency." "It will be a gold rush for those who target, steer, and sell human intentions," he added. "We should start to consider the likely impact such a marketplace would have on human aspirations, including free and fair elections, a free press, and fair market competition, before we become victims of its unintended consequences." Penn noted that public awareness of the issue is "the key to ensuring we don't go down the wrong path". jj/gil Nvidia Meta Apple This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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