Prime Minister leads tributes to former US president Jimmy CarterAutomotive Aluminum Wheels Market worth $37.01 Billion by 2032, Growing at 7.65% CAGR Globally: Allied Market Research
Osotspa Pcl, Thailand's leading beverage company, has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by securing higher scores in S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) in the beverage industry category. This year, the company scored 83 out of 100, a significant jump from the 65 it earned in 2023. This progress underscores the company's strong dedication to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles, focusing on ESG factors, highlighting its focus on sustainable business practices. "Our strategy is focused on transitioning to a low-carbon society and implementing energy-efficient production processes to cater to the needs of current and future consumers," said Wannnipa Bhakdibutr, chief executive of Osotspa. She added that the company's commitment to innovation is crucial in addressing consumer demands, reinforcing Osotspa's leadership in sustainability and contributing to a brighter future for all stakeholders. This success aligns with its "ACT framework", which refers to achievement, consumer focus and teamwork. This framework emphasises delivering on consumer needs and fostering a collaborative work environment while sustainably prioritising community, economic and environmental development. Earlier this year, Osotspa received a Sustainability Yearbook 2024 award and was the sole beverage company in Thailand recognised as an "Industry Mover" by S&P Global. This highlights Osotspa's commitment to achieving its carbon neutrality goal by 2050.Watch Live: Sharks retire Joe Thornton’s No. 19 on Sportsnet+
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Prime Minister leads tributes to former US president Jimmy Carter
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SWAMPSCOTT — Swampscott Recreation is partnering with the North East chapter of Robothink to teach students everything from robotics and engineering, to what it’s like to roam on Mars using high-tech rovers. According to its website, Robothink is a leading provider of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs to children across 23 countries. The program runs for six weeks, on Saturdays between Jan. 4 to Feb. 8 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Swampscott Highschool Cafeteria. Cost of entry is $250. “Swampscott recreation is thrilled to welcome back Robothink for another session of its STEM programming this winter,” the Facebook post said. This year’s theme of the winter session will be a “Mars expedition”. Students who participate will get a hands-on experience, learning about what it’s like to engineer and operate the state-of-the-art rovers NASA uses to explore the alien terrain of Mars. With an array of tools and hardware provided by Robothink, students will get to work with gears, motors, axles and everything in between. Students will also have the opportunity to craft their own spaceship.
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The recently retired Andy Murray is going to team up with longtime rival Novak Djokovic as his coach, they both announced Saturday, with plans to prepare for — and work together through — the Australian Open in January. It was a stunning bit of news as tennis moves toward its offseason , a pairing of two of the most successful and popular players in the sport, both of whom are sometimes referred to as members of a so-called Big Four that also included Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal . Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam champion who has spent more weeks at No. 1 than any other player in tennis history. Murray won three major trophies and two Olympic singles gold medals and finished 2016 atop the ATP rankings. He ended his playing career after the Paris Summer Games in August. Both men are 37 and were born a week apart in May 1987. They started facing each other as juniors and wound up meeting 36 times as professionals, with Djokovic holding a 25-11 advantage. “We played each other since we were boys — 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits. We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game-changers, risk-takers, history-makers,” Djokovic posted on social media over photos and videos from some of their matches. “I thought our story may be over. Turns out, it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome on board, Coach — Andy Murray.” Djokovic's 2024 season is over, and it was not up to his usual, high standards. He didn't win a Grand Slam trophy ; his only title, though, was meaningful to him: a gold medal for Serbia in singles at the Summer Games. Djokovic has been without a full-time coach since splitting in March from Goran Ivanisevic. “I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the offseason, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open," Murray said in a statement released by his management team. "I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals.” Their head-to-head series on tour includes an 11-8 lead for Djokovic in finals, and 8-2 at Grand Slam tournaments. Djokovic beat Murray four times in the Australian Open final alone — in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016. Two of the most important victories of Murray's career came with Djokovic on the other side of the net. One was in the 2012 U.S. Open final , when Murray claimed his first Grand Slam title. The other was in the 2013 Wimbledon final , when Murray became the first British man in 77 years to win the singles championship at the All England Club. Next year's Australian Open starts on Jan. 12. AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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When President Joe Biden stopped by former President Jimmy Carter’s home in Plains, Georgia, in April 2021, it was more than just a show of respect from one commander in chief to another. It was the first time in the 40 years since Carter left the White House that any of his seven successors had visited him in his hometown. Carter had a hot-and-cold relationship with the fellow members of the exclusive club of presidents — more cold than hot, in fact. From his reelection defeat in 1980 until his death Sunday, he was the odd man out, distant from the Republicans and Democrats who followed him and often getting on their nerves because of his outspokenness. He did not join his fellow presidents on the high-dollar speaking circuit, nor did he team up for many joint humanitarian missions. He was rarely consulted by incumbents except when he forced his way into some issue and made himself hard to ignore. When all of the living presidents gathered to welcome Barack Obama to the White House in 2009, Carter was the one standing slightly off to the side, removed from his chummy peers physically and metaphorically. Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100 To many of his successors, he was a thorn in their side, always doing his own thing even if it conflicted with official foreign policy. What he considered principled, they considered sanctimonious. While other former presidents generally held their tongues out of deference to the current occupant of the Oval Office, Carter rarely stood on ceremony. “I feel that my role as a former president is probably superior to that of other presidents,” he said in 2010. He parachuted into trouble spots as an election observer, traveled to North Korea as a freelance negotiator and spoke out on Middle East politics. Often to the consternation of whoever happened to be in the White House at the time, he would meet with ostracized autocrats such as Syria’s Hafez Assad and Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega. When Carter earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, the award committee openly characterized it as a rebuke of President George W. Bush for planning to invade Iraq. “Jimmy Carter’s not real keen on clubs,” Douglas Brinkley, author of “The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter’s Journey Beyond the White House,” said in an interview before the former president’s death. “The idea that he needs to be in photo ops with these other presidents is not his MO. His heroes in politics were Anwar Sadat and Mahatma Gandhi, not Bill Clinton or George W. Bush.” Carter understood that he irritated the other presidents, but he evinced little concern about ruffling their feathers. “As he has aged, he was not constrained by political considerations,” said Jack Watson, who served as Carter’s White House chief of staff. “Carter has spoken with a frankness that has not always endeared him to others. But he calls it as he sees it.” Photos: Former President Jimmy Carter through the years The pattern was set as soon as he left office in 1981 after being defeated by Ronald Reagan. The relationship between the two was “strained,” Carter later said. He considered Reagan dim and dangerous, and the Republican reciprocated, never inviting his predecessor to the White House during his eight years there. Carter wrote in one of his books that when he traveled during the Reagan administration, he learned that “the U.S. ambassadors had been instructed not to give me any assistance or even to acknowledge my presence.” When his official portrait was ready to be hung in the White House in 1983 during Reagan’s first term, Carter asked that there be no ceremony so as not to have to stand next to the man he did not respect. To Reagan, Carter was a useful foil he could regularly blame for the nation’s troubles, while Carter just as frequently assailed his successor’s policies as heartless, unwise or ill considered. Carter forged closer ties with President George H.W. Bush, and the two teamed up with Secretary of State James Baker to help end the long-running Contra war in Nicaragua. “I had a better relationship as a former president with Bush and Baker than any other president,” Carter said in a 2015 interview. But even then, there was tension. When Bush and Baker sought United Nations authorization to use force to counter Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Carter privately lobbied members of the Security Council to vote against the United States. Some top Bush officials, including Dick Cheney, then the defense secretary, considered that almost treason. Editorial: For Jimmy Carter, the presidency was prologue It was hardly better with his own party, though. Carter had a prickly relationship with Clinton even though both were moderate Democrats from the South — or perhaps because of it. They got off on the wrong foot when Carter as president sent 19,000 Cuban migrants to Fort Chaffee in Arkansas in 1980 over the objections of Clinton, then the state’s governor. A subsequent riot by the migrants politically damaged Clinton, who went down to defeat that November along with Carter, a loss the governor blamed on his fellow Democrat. Once Clinton reached the White House, relations hardly improved. Carter irritated Clinton by chiding the new president for sending his daughter, Chelsea, to a private school in Washington instead of to a public school as the older man had done with his own daughter, Amy. Clinton was so peeved that he snubbed Carter days later at the 1993 inaugural festivities. Clinton considered Carter a loose cannon but agreed to let him travel to North Korea in 1994 during a period of tension over the country’s nuclear program. The former president cut a deal, called the White House to let it know and then went on CNN without first talking with Clinton about it, boxing in the sitting president. Three months later, Clinton sent Carter to Haiti along with two other emissaries who together forced a military junta to surrender power and accept U.S. troops. But once again, when Carter returned to Washington, he went on CNN before meeting Clinton for breakfast and a planned joint news conference. Clinton was furious and shouted. Carter shouted back. Carter was critical of his fellow Democrat after revelations of Clinton’s extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky, which led to his impeachment in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice. But Clinton nonetheless swallowed any irritation and flew to Atlanta in 1999 to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. “To call Jimmy Carter the greatest former president in history, as many have, however, does not do justice either to him or to his work,” Clinton said. Carter was more critical of George W. Bush, particularly over the Iraq invasion in 2003. “I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history,” Carter declared in 2007. He softened somewhat when attending the opening of Bush’s presidential library in 2013, making no mention of their rift over Iraq and instead praising the Republican for helping end a war in Sudan and fighting poverty and the AIDS epidemic in Africa. “I’m filled with admiration for you and deep gratitude for you about the contributions you’ve made to the most needy people on Earth,” Carter told Bush. Jimmy Carter’s 1979 visit to Thornridge recalled as the former president turns 100 There was less overt tension between Carter and Obama, but little warmth, either. Carter was annoyed at being left off the program of live speakers at Obama’s nominating convention in 2008, but Carter supported the younger man’s efforts to expand health care for the indigent at home while criticizing the continued use of drone strikes to target terrorists overseas, even at the cost of civilian casualties. Oddly, Carter had more sympathy at first for President Donald Trump, telling Maureen Dowd of The New York Times in 2017 that “the media have been harder on Trump than any other president” and offering support for his efforts to make peace with North Korea while knocking both Clinton and Obama. But his feelings hardened by the second half of Trump’s term. After Carter sent Trump a letter about China policy, the sitting president called him on a Saturday night in April 2019 to discuss it, interrupting a dinner with friends in Georgia. Trump seemed delighted that the two agreed on China. But two months later, Carter publicly suggested that Trump had actually “lost the election and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.” Trump fired back, dismissing Carter as a “terrible president” and a “forgotten president.” The only president Carter forged a genuine friendship with was the one he beat in 1976, Gerald Ford. The two could hardly have been more different — the stoic Midwesterner and the Southern peanut farmer — but after both had left office, they found themselves together on a long Air Force flight to Cairo along with Richard Nixon in 1981 to represent the United States at the funeral of Sadat, the assassinated Egyptian leader. With Nixon breaking the ice, Carter and Ford surprised themselves by discovering more in common than they had anticipated — including a shared antipathy for Reagan, who had run against both of them. In years to come, Carter and Ford teamed up repeatedly to monitor foreign elections, promote health programs and write joint opinion pieces on various issues. Dr. Donald R. Hopkins: Jimmy Carter worked tirelessly to eradicate a deadly parasite in Africa Before he died in 2006, Ford asked Carter to give one of the eulogies. “Jerry and I frequently agreed that one of the greatest blessings that we had after we left the White House during the last quarter-century was the intense personal friendship that bound us together,” Carter said at the service in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Perhaps their relationship was better than the others because Ford came before Carter and, therefore, never had to contend with him as a predecessor making life difficult. For those who followed him, Carter remained a hassle. Biden, who was the first senator to support Carter’s original White House bid in 1976, was largely spared this test as the former president headed into his latter 90s. “It was no secret that Carter was not a member in good standing of the ex-presidents’ club, in part because he never accepted their code,” Jonathan Alter wrote in “His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life” (2000). Most of them recognized that Carter could be useful in the right circumstances, he added. “The challenge for them was managing their high-maintenance predecessor.” This article originally appeared in The New York Times.From Parathas to pancakes: The hidden cost of India’s cultural exodus
Mariam watches over her new born girl in the safety of her recently moved into rental home after a harrowing few years where she escaped an abusive ex-husband who beat her when she was previously pregnant and had a miscarriage. or signup to continue reading The 25-year-old Hazara Afghan woman grew up as a refugee in Pakistan and settled in Australia in 2016 as a teenager before getting married a few years later. But the relationship was marred by violence and turbulence. "When I was pregnant he started the violence again and he wanted me to have an abortion," she told AAP. She recounted how her ex-husband kicked her out of the house and she bounced around staying at her parents who were pressuring to get back with him, couch surfing with friends and even some nights sleeping in her car. "It was so hard, out of control, I didn't have any support, my relationship with my parents broke down. I was alone in this world." are a Shi'a minority in Afghanistan and have been long persecuted for their ethnicity and religion, which became even more extreme under the hardline Taliban who swept back into power in 2021 unseating the weak US-backed government after the 2001 invasion. Her ex-husband was also Hazara but he had threatened Mariam that he knew Taliban militants in Afghanistan who would kill her brother there if she did not abort the baby after she was 15 weeks pregnant. All the undue psychological pressure and physical beatings such as pushing her violently across the kitchen table took a toll on her body and she had a miscarriage in a Melbourne hospital, she said as she choked back tears. Mariam, who is providing a name she uses on social media in order not to be publicly identified for her safety, recently remarried with her husband visiting from Pakistan to be with her when she gave birth to a baby girl last month. With the help of the Melbourne-based charity Avalon Centre she was able to secure a two bedroom unit weeks ago in Dandenong, which has the highest number of homeless people of over 2300 in Victoria according to official figures. Deborah Holmes who heads the volunteer-run organisation says the grassroots provides stable furnished homes for vulnerable members of the community with ongoing casework support. "We've got a mission statement to help where we can, when we can, and in whatever way we can," she told AAP. "We're offering a hand up not a handout." The community organisation owns about 15 properties and relies entirely on donations from the public to pay off the loans. Ms Holmes said every dollar counts towards getting people off the streets and into new homes at a time when around the holidays. She and a team of volunteers worked around the clock to get the place ready for Mariam to move in with her baby earlier this month. "If that's just two cups of coffee a day and four friends then you can put a roof over somebody's head." RMIT Senior Lecturer Rojan Afrouz, who has conducted extensive research into , explains they contend with cultural barriers such as not being fluent in English as well as regressive community attitudes. "The main point that Afghan women raised was community pressure and shame and blame, and also that cultural and gender norms were stronger here (in Australia) than back in their own countries sometimes," she said. Dr Afrouz said even though domestic violence as a social phenomenon affects women of all backgrounds in Australia, it is doubly hard for refugees who carry multiple levels of trauma. "Afghan women face a lot of stigma and shame when they want to get a religious or civil divorce... sometimes it is more important than access to mainstream services. "This is because the main action that you need to do is making the decision whether you want to leave or not and the social consequences of that," the social work academic explained. She advocated for a woman-centred approach that is consultative in policymaking that ensures their agency is the prime objective. "We have to make sure that we put women's self determination experiences, not community self determination, at the forefront because sometimes minority women's voices are lost." This was Mariam's experience where she felt shunned from the tight-knit community by wanting to flee an abusive relationship. "My mental health was so bad... it was stressful and painful... everyone was blaming no matter what I said." She feels comfortable and safe in her new home with the ongoing support of her social worker and the Avalon Centre vowing to get back on her feet one day at a time. "Alhamdulillah (Thank God) everything is different now. I shut the door and feel safer than before," said Mariam. "My safety and my baby's safety is more important than anything... I don't want to lose everything again." 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Advertisement AdvertisementThe press has given Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra the nickname "Paetongphoey" -- a reference to her dependence on prepared scripts at important occasions -- as part of the year-end tradition among Government House reporters to come up with monikers for senior government officials. The nickname "Paetongphoey" is a mash-up between the first two syllables of the prime minister's name, and phoey -- the Thai word for "script". When asked to comment on the name, Ms Paetongtarn insisted it didn't upset her, before adding good-naturedly that "Paetongpad" would have been more accurate, as she reads the scripts off her iPad (as her critics have noted). Government House correspondents also dubbed Ms Paetongtarn's administration as "the dad-backed government", due to her father's -- former prime minister Thaksin -- prominent role in her government. Meanwhile, they also viewed her remarks about her husband's southern origin, brought up when the South was hit by severe floods last month, as quote of the year. In the wake of widespread public criticism for her decision to supervise flood clean-up operations in the North instead of visiting the South when the floods there were at their worst, the premier responded by saying her husband "is a Southerner," so would not let her ignore the area's plight anyway. She said she would have loved to inspect the flooded areas herself, but the widespread nature and timing of the disasters meant she had no option but to delegate tasks to various lawmakers and members of her cabinet. "I feel like I just have to take a step back from anything that makes me feel bad, because hating someone is tiresome," said Ms Paetongtarn at Government House on Monday. When asked about her goals for next year after receiving the feedback from the press, Ms Paetongtarn said she will put her focus on chronic social issues plaguing the country, before pledging to expedite the nation's economic recovery.ITV Wheel of Fortune viewers 'bored' as they spot same problem with Christmas specialTop 10 Archaeology Stories of 2024
Osotspa Pcl, Thailand's leading beverage company, has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by securing higher scores in S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) in the beverage industry category. This year, the company scored 83 out of 100, a significant jump from the 65 it earned in 2023. This progress underscores the company's strong dedication to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles, focusing on ESG factors, highlighting its focus on sustainable business practices. "Our strategy is focused on transitioning to a low-carbon society and implementing energy-efficient production processes to cater to the needs of current and future consumers," said Wannnipa Bhakdibutr, chief executive of Osotspa. She added that the company's commitment to innovation is crucial in addressing consumer demands, reinforcing Osotspa's leadership in sustainability and contributing to a brighter future for all stakeholders. This success aligns with its "ACT framework", which refers to achievement, consumer focus and teamwork. This framework emphasises delivering on consumer needs and fostering a collaborative work environment while sustainably prioritising community, economic and environmental development. Earlier this year, Osotspa received a Sustainability Yearbook 2024 award and was the sole beverage company in Thailand recognised as an "Industry Mover" by S&P Global. This highlights Osotspa's commitment to achieving its carbon neutrality goal by 2050.Vladimir Putin has vowed to launch more strikes using an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile as Ukraine decried the testing of the nuclear-capable weapon on its territory as an “international crime”. Speaking at a defence conference on Friday, Putin contested US claims that Russia possessed only a “handful” of the high-speed ballistic missiles, saying that the military had enough to continue to test them in “combat conditions”. “The tests [of the missile system] have passed successfully, and I congratulate you all on that,” Putin said, according to the Interfax news agency. “As has been said already, we’ll be continuing these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and nature of threats being posed to Russia’s security, especially considering that we have enough of such items, such systems ready for use in stock.” At the same conference, the Russian strategic missile forces commander Sergei Karakayev said that the missiles could strike targets throughout Europe . “Depending on the objectives and the range of this weapon, it can strike targets on the entire territory of Europe, which sets it apart from other types of long-range precision-guided weapons,” Karakayev said. Russia launched the experimental missile, which US officials described as a modified design based on Russia’s longer-range RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile, against a rocket factory in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Both Vladimir Putin and US officials have said the missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. US officials have decried Putin’s use of a nuclear-capable warhead but denied that it is a “gamechanger” in the war between Russia and Ukraine , adding that Russia possessed just a handful of the missiles, which its military has named Oreshnik, or Hazel. Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia’s use of an experimental ballistic missile in a strike on Ukraine an “international crime” as he appealed on Friday to countries around the world including the global south to condemn Russia’s latest escalation. In an address on social media, Zelenskyy said he had already directed his defence minister to hold consultations with allies to secure new air defence systems that could “protect lives from the new risks” of the intermediate-range missiles. “Using another country not just for terror but also to test new weapons for terror is clearly an international crime,” the Ukrainian president said. Nato and Ukraine will hold emergency talks on Tuesday to discuss the attack. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase”, the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said on Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions”. Ukraine’s parliament cancelled a session as security was tightened after Thursday’s Russian strike on the military facility in Dnipro. Aside from western partners, Zelenskyy called on China and members of the global south, to condemn the strike, saying that the leaders “call for restraint every time, and in response they invariably receive some new escalation from Moscow”. China and Brazil have proposed a joint “peace plan” that Ukraine has said only emboldens Russia by providing diplomatic cover for the continued assault on Ukraine.