A fugitive wanted in the US for a pair of bombings is arrested in the UK after 20 years on the run
NYT ‘Connections’ Hints And Answers For Wednesday, December 25Jammu: J&K Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha said on Sunday that the unity of hearts and unity of minds is essential for peace, progress, and prosperity. Attending the 'Satsang Samagam', organised by the All J&K Sadguru Kabir Sabha at the Kabir Bhawan in the Bishnah area of Jammu district, the Lt Governor paid homage to Sant Kabir and spoke on his rich contribution to the society. He said the vision and ideals of Sant Kabir represent the universal values enshrined in our culture. “Unity of hearts & unity of minds are essential for peace, progress and prosperity. Let us come together and work towards building an inclusive society. Sant Kabir's divine verse also reflects on various social issues and challenges and advocated women empowerment and upliftment of weavers, farmers and other disadvantaged sections of society," Sinha said. Noting that the saint's emphasis on inner search and social reform will continue to inspire every Indian and their future generations too, the Lt Governor called upon the people to imbibe the timeless teachings and philosophy of Sant Kabir and spread the message of oneness, peace, and social justice. Responding to the issues and demands put forth by the representatives of the All J&K Sadguru Kabir Sabha, the Lt Governor assured that appropriate action will be taken to address the genuine issues projected by the community. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given top priority to the overall welfare of the deprived sections. Now the time has come for the communities, victims of discrimination for decades, to come forward and become partners in the developmental journey and enjoy the fruits of growth," he said. Sinha also reiterated his commitment towards the empowerment of the community and assured every support from the government. People from all walks of life were present on the occasion.
Pakistan must seek to double trade with US: FPCCI KARACHI: President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Atif Ikram Sheikh said on Tuesday that the US is one of the few countries with which Pakistan enjoys a bilateral trade surplus. The Pakistan-US trade volume surpassed $7 billion in 2023 and continues to grow, reaching $6.3 billion in the first 10 months of 2024 (January-October). Sheikh highlighted that, from the perspective of Pakistan’s business, industry and trade communities, there is significant potential to double this trade volume within a few years. This optimism stems from the rising demand for Pakistani products in the US, surging information technology exports and the anticipated diversification of Pakistan’s export portfolio. Sheikh also informed that Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh has initiated a consultative process with the FPCCI to explore avenues for exponential growth in exports to the US. Minister for Trade and Investment at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, DC Hanif Channa provided a detailed briefing on outreach initiatives aimed at engaging with the US Congress, Senate, federal administration and various states to promote trade. The FPCCI president underscored the importance of the US Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme, urging its renewal and expansion. He advised Pakistani exporters to remain proactive and committed to capitalising on the vast opportunities presented by the US market. Notably, textiles currently account for 55 per cent of Pakistan’s exports to the US, but other sectors, particularly IT, are gaining ground, with IT exports surpassing the $1 billion milestone. Senior Vice President of the FPCCI Saquib Fayyaz Magoon said that Pakistan must diversify its export focus beyond textiles to include IT, pharmaceuticals, jewellery and human resource exports, much like neighbouring India has done on a large scale. He also stressed the need for Pakistani exporters to uphold quality, standards and compliance, while urging the government to ensure regionally competitive costs of doing business, particularly in access to finance and electricity tariffs. Saeed Sheikh talked about the significance of economic relations with the US, noting that the economies of California and Texas alone rank as the fourth and sixth largest in the world, respectively. “This underscores the immense potential for economic, trade, industrial, investment and B2B relations with the US,” he said. He concluded by adding that while political diplomacy may face challenges, economic diplomacy offers opportunities to achieve breakthroughs in strengthening bilateral relations. The ambassador further highlighted Pakistan’s strong diaspora in the U.S., comprising over 1 million Pakistani-Americans, as a critical asset in strengthening bilateral ties. He also pointed out that Pakistan is the largest importer of American cotton, with 40,000 Pakistani doctors currently practicing in the US, and plans underway to export 5,000 nursing staff and more pharmacists to the US.Investigation launched into Netanyahu's wife over harassment claims
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder. Recommended Videos “Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!” Presidents historically have no involvement in dictating or recommending the punishments that federal prosecutors seek for defendants in criminal cases, though Trump has long sought more direct control over the Justice Department's operations. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was vague on what specific actions he may take and said they would be in cases of “violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.” He highlighted the cases of two men who were on federal death row for slaying a woman and a girl, had admitted to killing more and had their sentences commuted by Biden. Is it a plan in motion or more rhetoric? On the campaign trail, Trump often called for expanding the federal death penalty — including for those who kill police officers, those convicted of drug and human trafficking, and migrants who kill U.S. citizens. “Trump has been fairly consistent in wanting to sort of say that he thinks the death penalty is an important tool and he wants to use it,” said Douglas Berman, an expert on sentencing at Ohio State University’s law school. “But whether practically any of that can happen, either under existing law or other laws, is a heavy lift.” Berman said Trump’s statement at this point seems to be just a response to Biden’s commutation. “I’m inclined to think it’s still in sort of more the rhetoric phase. Just, ‘don’t worry. The new sheriff is coming. I like the death penalty,’” he said. Most Americans have historically supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to decades of annual polling by Gallup, but support has declined over the past few decades. About half of Americans were in favor in an October poll, while roughly 7 in 10 Americans backed capital punishment for murderers in 2007. Death row inmates are mostly sentenced by states Before Biden's commutation, there were 40 federal death row inmates compared with more than 2,000 who have been sentenced to death by states. “The reality is all of these crimes are typically handled by the states,” Berman said. A question is whether the Trump administration would try to take over some state murder cases, such as those related to drug trafficking or smuggling. He could also attempt to take cases from states that have abolished the death penalty. Could rape now be punishable by death? Berman said Trump's statement, along with some recent actions by states, may present an effort to get the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that considers the death penalty disproportionate punishment for rape. “That would literally take decades to unfold. It’s not something that is going to happen overnight,” Berman said. Before one of Trump's rallies on Aug. 20, his prepared remarks released to the media said he would announce he would ask for the death penalty for child rapists and child traffickers. But Trump never delivered the line. What were the cases highlighted by Trump? One of the men Trump highlighted on Tuesday was ex-Marine Jorge Avila Torrez, who was sentenced to death for killing a sailor in Virginia and later pleaded guilty to the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old girl in a suburban Chicago park several years before. The other man, Thomas Steven Sanders, was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and slaying of a 12-year-old girl in Louisiana, days after shooting the girl's mother in a wildlife park in Arizona. Court records show he admitted to both killings. Some families of victims expressed anger with Biden's decision, but the president had faced pressure from advocacy groups urging him to make it more difficult for Trump to increase the use of capital punishment for federal inmates. The ACLU and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were some of the groups that applauded the decision. Biden left three federal inmates to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018 , the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. _______ Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Michelle L. Price and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
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Constitution Review Consultative Committee report submitted to Akufo-Addo – Full presentation(Bloomberg) -- Daniel Chapo, Mozambique’s incoming president, plans national-reconciliation talks to resolve an escalating political crisis that has resulted in the deaths of dozens of people and stalled growth in the gas-rich nation. The Constitutional Council on Monday proclaimed Chapo the winner of the Oct. 9 election with 65% of the vote, triggering renewed unrest in parts of the southeast African nation. The 47-year-old lawyer and former provincial governor expects to be inaugurated on Jan. 15. “I am launching a national-reconciliation and dialogue initiative,” Chapo said in an interview hours after the top electoral court confirmed his landslide win. “That will bring together political leaders, civil society and communities to address grievances, foster understanding and build trust.” The intensifying turmoil has curtailed mining operations and threatens to further delay a $20 billion natural gas export plan that TotalEnergies SE is leading. It has disrupted flights, with tourists deterred by rioting that’s now spread to the port cities of Beira and Nacala. “There is significant ongoing unrest across Mozambique following the October elections and the confirmation of the results,” the UK government said in an advisory to travelers. Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s local unit expects an economic contraction this quarter and next, which would add pressure to already-strained state finances. Local broadcasters showed mobs attacking at least three bank branches near the capital, Maputo, and torching the ruling party’s office in a town north of the city. Neighboring South Africa called on all parties in Mozambique to commit to an “urgent dialogue” and stands ready to facilitate talks, the government in Pretoria said in a statement. Protesters overnight set fire to the offices of the governing Mozambique Liberation Front, known as Frelimo, in the town of Macia, about 110 kilometers (68 miles) north of Maputo. Demonstrators blocked various roads with burning tires, while footage shared on social media showed buildings — including government institutions and a bank branch — in flames. More Fatalities Local observer group Decide Platform said 16 had died since Monday evening. It earlier counted at least 130 fatalities since the protests began in late October, with most caused by police firing on the crowds. The most obvious route to restoring peace would be negotiating a truce with the fiery opposition presidential candidate, who has orchestrated the protests via live stream since fleeing the country of almost 35 million on Oct. 21. Venâncio Mondlane, who the top electoral court said got 24% of the vote, called the elections fraudulent and on Tuesday said the demonstrations wouldn’t stop. He is open to international mediation, he said in his latest update. Sign up for the twice-weekly Next Africa newsletter for the latest business and economic news from the continent. Chapo is not yet in power and will only initiate talks with other political leaders including Mondlane after the inauguration, the president-elect said. He hasn’t considered including the opposition in a unity government and would have to consult his party first, he added. Frelimo has been in power since independence 49 years ago. Mondlane said in a previous interview he would consider forming a national unity government, but wouldn’t accept any position himself under Frelimo’s rule. Local and international election observers raised concerns over vote rigging, including signs of ballot-box stuffing. While the Constitutional Council acknowledged irregularities, it said they woould not have changed the outcome. The US State Department called the process “flawed.” “We don’t have any elections without irregularities in the world,” Chapo said when asked if the outcome called into question his legitimacy to govern. Frelimo denied it rigged the vote. Besides the unrest, Chapo will take over a government struggling to pay its bills. He plans on restoring peace as a priority to getting the economy back on track. He also committed to policy and legal stability for companies operating large projects in the country, including natural gas, telling investors: “Don’t worry about it.” “Mozambique remains a land of immense opportunity,” said Chapo. “It is very important to maintain the contract situation with these companies, our law.” More From Chapo Interview: You can follow Bloomberg’s reporting on Africa on WhatsApp. Sign up here. --With assistance from Borges Nhamire and Ntando Thukwana. (Updates with more from Chapo interview at end of story.) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
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