Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: A sharp spike in Delhi's air pollution was witnessed in the past 24 hours with 30 out of 36 monitoring stations reporting a severe air quality index.

US President Joe Biden will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Peru on Saturday for the last of three in-person sit-downs between the leaders during the US president's term in office.

The Bharat NCAP crash tested the AX5 L and the MX3 variants of the Thar Roxx

Technology executive Bob Lee's accused killer told a jury he acted in self-defense after Lee tried to attack him with a knife on a San Francisco street a year and a half ago, saying "he went crazy on me" after losing his temper.

Umbria's Castle of Antognolla will soon transform into a Six Senses luxury resort.

The world's longest nonstop commercial flights are getting a major upgrade. Singapore Airlines (SIA) recently announced a multi-year program worth 1.1 billion Singapore dollars (about $821 million).

Donald Trump is set to return to the White House after his victory over Kamala Harris in the November 5 US presidential elections. The 78-year-old leader Republican has secured all seven swing states.

A pregnant woman and her family in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district had a close shave on Wednesday evening after the engine of an ambulance caught fire and an oxygen cylinder exploded minutes later.

Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: A sharp spike in Delhi's air pollution was witnessed in the past 24 hours with 30 out of 36 monitoring stations reporting a severe air quality index.

The screenshot read, "Hii Sir & Ma'am I will be coming tomorrow at 11.30 am Because I am currently leaving office at 8.30 pm."

1. Vikrant Massey says older brother Moeen ‘compromised’ in life, father ‘lived a life of affluence’ before losing it all: ‘I didn’t want to do that’  The Indian Express
2. Did You Know Vikrant Massey’s parents were neighbors of the Kapoor family? Actor reveals they stayed in godowns  PINKVILLA
3. This actor's mother is Sikh, father is Christian, brother is Muslim, wife Hindu, she used to lend...  Bollywood Life
4. 7 must-watch investigative thrillers on OTT ahead of Vikrant Massey’s The Sabarmati Report release  OTTplay
5. Vikrant Massey Compares Early Years Struggle To A Classic Hindi Film: 'Family Fued, Living In Godowns, Mother Doing...'  ABP Live

If you happen to break or damage the screen of your Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, know that its replacement display won’t be cheap.

The post The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s replacement display will not come cheap appeared first on Phandroid.

It's a bit more affordable than its already wallet-friendly retail price.

The post Save up to 25% when you buy the Samsung Galaxy A35! appeared first on Phandroid.

The company's EV has become one of the most talked-about electric cars this year.

The post Xiaomi Finally Hits a Major EV Sales Milestone appeared first on Phandroid.

[GroundUp] The department confirmed there is a grant backlog but declined to give details

The Nigerian Railway Corporation has expanded its train operations on the Abuja-Kaduna route, increasing the number of services from four to six during weekdays, specifically from Monday to Friday. A statement signed by the Deputy Director, Public Relations, Yakub Mohmood, on Wednesday, disclosed the new update. This expansion is aimed at meeting the growing demand

Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, on Wednesday, warned that if Nigeria refused to do away with the 1999 Constitution, it would be hard for anyone to fix the country. He described Nigeria as a pluralistic country that needed to address its diversity with true federal constitutions. “To those who think that the trouble with

Nairobi — As African farmers struggle with unpredictability caused by climate change, some are looking into contract farming, which involves growing a certain crop for a price set in advance. About 400 people attended the International Conference on Contract Farming in Nairobi this week to learn more about the practice.  Peris Wanjiku, the conference director, said such agreements can help solve the challenges that many smallholder farmers face in Africa.  "It's always important to farm with a plan. I believe it's not enough to simply plant a crop, whatever it is, without knowing where it will end up," Wanjiku said. "Farmers should know beforehand what to grow and where to sell. This is why contract farming is so important, as it provides the framework for certainty and sustainability. "But it's not only about the traditional farmer. I believe we can extend the benefit of contract farming to those who may not be farmers themselves right now, but they own a piece of land."    Experts say the growing interest in contract farming is associated with increasingly complicated systems in food production, marketing and distribution, which has made it difficult for farmers to meet consumers' demands.  Contract farming, experts say, is an instrument that manages and reduces production risks for both parties.  Wilson Milito Ole-Rampei, a vegetable farmer in Kenya, is attending the conference and is optimistic that the practice would help him.   "I will benefit because if, for example, I am growing vegetables, we will arrange with them to get a market. They will give me their technical advice, then our arid land will be used. Because of [a] shortage of rain, we will do irrigation. I would have knowledge of what I am growing," Ole-Rampei said.    An economist for the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, Lan Li, said contract farming is often a good deal for small-scale farmers.   "It sets the agreements on what products to produce, quantity, and price," Li said. "As such, it helps secure more stable income and better production planning for producers. It can improve access to inputs for small-scale holder farmers, technical assistance training, and financing solutions."  African farmers have seen reduced harvests due to global warming and drought. For many, a lack of knowledge and skills also contributes to low food production.  In areas where farmers can produce enough food, they sometimes face obstacles such as bad roads or insecurity that prevent them from getting to market.   Carole Kariuki, head of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, said the private and public sectors need to collaborate to improve the agriculture sector.  "The private sector is doing its best. It's filling that gap where it can, but we cannot do it all, and we need the government to be able to go back and say we can get agriculture extension officers helping out small farmers and all the farmers in the country. Contract farming holds immense potential to transform African agriculture,” she said.  Contract farming can have drawbacks, such as making farmers less able to sell to alternative buyers when produce prices increase. In addition, there are environmental risks from growing only one crop for a long time.   Buyers, meanwhile, can face high transaction costs from contracting with many farmers.  But Kariuki believes the benefits outweigh the risks. She called contract farming a model to lift up small-scale farmers, boost food production, and drive sustainable growth.

Russian exiles plan a march Sunday in Berlin demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, the prosecution of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, and the release of all political prisoners. Ricardo Marquina reports. Narrator: Elizabeth Cherneff.

Saddex nin oo Ciraaqi ah ayaa magdhaw u helay $42 milyan dhaawacyadii ka soo gaaray gacanta…

The post Ciraaqiyiintii lagu xadgudbay Abu Ghraib waxay heleen magdhow $42 milyan ah appeared first on Horseed Media.

Maanata oo taariikhdu tahay 13 Nofeembar 2024 waxaa deegaanada Somaliland ka bilowdey Doorashooyinka isku idkan ee…

The post Codbixinta doorashada Somaliland oo si rasmi ah u bilaamatey appeared first on Horseed Media.

Madaxweynaha la doortay ee dalka Maraykanka Donald Trump ayaa u magacaabay xoghayaha gaashaandhiga Pete Hegseth, oo…

The post Trump oo weriye ka tirsan Fox News u magacaabey xoghayaha gaashaandhigga appeared first on Horseed Media.

Seplat Energy Plc has confirmed that the below currency exchange rate is applicable in determining Q3 2024 interim dividend to shareholders that will receive the dividend payment in Naira (NGN): The exchange rate for the Naira amounts payable is the NAFEM closing rate for November 11, 2024 Exchange Rate: 1 USD = 1,681.42 NGN

The post Seplat Energy announces currency exchange rates for Q3 2024 interim dividend first appeared on Business Hallmark.

Multichoice Group has announced that its Nigerian subsidiary lost 243,000 subscribers across its DStv and GOtv services between April and September 2024. The pay TV platform in its financial result for the year ended September 30, 2024, published on Tuesday, said the high cost of food, electricity, and petrol has forced many of its customers […]

The post MultiChoice Nigeria loses 243,000 subscribers in six months first appeared on Business Hallmark.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet November 16 on the sidelines of the 2024 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC summit in Lima, Peru, the White House announced Wednesday. The meeting follows the leaders' last in-person engagement a year ago on the sidelines of the APEC summit in California, and their 2022 meeting in Bali on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Biden and Xi are expected to revisit areas of cooperation, particularly the resumption of military-to-military contacts, efforts to combat the global fentanyl crisis and nascent work to deal with the risks of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, a senior administration said in a briefing with reporters Wednesday. The U.S. president will also express "deep concern" over Beijing's support for Moscow's war against Ukraine, and the deployment of North Korean troops to aid Russia, said the official, who requested anonymity to speak on the upcoming meeting. The official said Biden will also reiterate his "longstanding concern" over China's "unfair trade policies and non-market economic practices" that hurt American workers. The official added Biden will raise Chinese cyber-attack efforts on U.S. civilian critical infrastructure as well as Beijing's increased military activities around Taiwan and the South China Sea while also underscoring the importance of respect for human rights. The meeting is likely to be the last between Biden and Xi ahead of the incoming administration of Donald Trump in January. The president-elect has appointed ardent China critics in key foreign policy positions that could lead to a more confrontational U.S. posture toward Beijing. They include Republican Congressman Mike Waltz as Trump's pick for national security adviser and Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state. Whatever the next administration decides, they're going to need to find ways to manage the "tough, complicated relationship" between the U.S. and China, the official said in response to a question from VOA. "Russia, cross-strait issues, the South China Sea and cyber are areas the next administration is going to need to think about carefully, because those are areas of deep policy difference with China, and I don't expect that will disappear," the official said. Xi is also likely anticipating what the Trump administration plans to do about global trade, particularly whether he will enact promises to impose steep tariffs on all Chinese goods.

LAS VEGAS — Former “Dances with Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse is set to stand trial early next year in Las Vegas on charges that he sexually abused Indigenous women and girls, a significant development in the sweeping criminal case after more than a year of stalled court proceedings while he challenged it. His trial in Clark County District Court is currently scheduled to begin on Jan. 13, court records show. He pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to 21 felonies, including sexual assault, kidnapping and producing and possessing videos of child sexual abuse, KLAS-TV in Las Vegas reported. Prosecutors are […]...

Keep on reading: Nevada trial set for ‘Dances with Wolves’ actor in newly-revived sex abuse case

Amid the anticipated increase in revenues this coming Christmas season, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued a warning to online marketplaces to pay the right taxes, saying that they are closely monitoring them this Yuletide season. “If retail or physical stores are registered and paying their taxes, online stores should do the same. In the coming months, we are expecting an increase in revenue of online businesses due to the holiday spending spree,” BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said in a statement. The government’s tax agency said that they can block website access, similar to their “oplan kandado program” […]...

Keep on reading: BIR reminds e-commerce platforms to pay right taxes this holiday season

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for "real and extended pauses" in the Gaza war to allow aid delivery to residents. During a visit to Brussels, Belgium, Blinken told reporters the United States wants to see "real and extended pauses in large areas of Gaza, pauses in any fighting, any combat, so that the assistance can effectively get to people who need it."  He said Israel has taken steps to address the humanitarian problem, and it has also "accomplished the goals that it set for itself," he said. "This should be a time to end the war." Earlier, six people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in an area south of Beirut Wednesday, and the Israeli army issued another warning for people in parts of the southern suburbs to leave. Lebanon's health ministry said an additional 15 people were wounded in the airstrike, which followed heavy pounding by Israel on Tuesday.  Overnight attacks in Lebanon were "intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and command centers in the Dahieh area, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut," Israel Defense Forces stated in a post on the Telegram messaging app Wednesday. The Israeli military said before the strikes, "numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk to civilians, including issuing advance warnings to the population in the area." IDF also stated Wednesday that several Hezbollah field commanders have been killed in recent strikes in Lebanon. "At the beginning of the month of October, the IAF struck and eliminated Hezbollah's Commander of the Khiam area, Muhammad Musa Salah, in the area of Khiam," IDF posted. "Salah directed many terror attacks against the State of Israel, and was responsible for the launches of more than 2,500 projectiles toward the areas of the Golan Heights, the Upper Galilee, the Galilee Panhandle, and toward IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon." On Sunday, the commander of an anti-tank missile array in Hajir was killed, and field commanders of the Ghajar and Tebnit areas were also killed "during additional precise strikes," IDF stated. Russia's request in Syria Russia asked Israel to avoid launching airstrikes near one of its bases in Syria, Agence France-Presse reported.  In October, Israel reportedly hit the port city of Latakia, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad, who is supported by Russia and backs Hezbollah. Latakia, is close to the town of Hmeimim, which hosts a Russian air base. "Israel actually carried out an airstrike in the immediate vicinity of Hmeimim," Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy in the Near East, told the RIA Novosti press agency. "Our military has of course notified Israeli authorities that such acts that put Russian military lives in danger over there are unacceptable," he added. US response to aid in Gaza The United States said Tuesday that Israel has made limited progress on increasing the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as Washington requested, so the Biden administration will not limit arms transfers to Israel. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters that "we at this time have not made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of U.S. law." The administration told its ally on October 13 that it had one month to increase aid to Gaza, where the situation after 13 months of war between Israel and Hamas militants has unleashed a catastrophic humanitarian situation, or face a reduction in military aid. The deadline was Tuesday. "We are not giving Israel a pass," Patel said, adding that "we want to see the totality of the humanitarian situation improve, and we think some of these steps will allow the conditions for that to continue to progress." At the United Nations, U.S. envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council that Israel has taken some important steps, including restoring aid deliveries to the north, but that it must ensure its actions are "fully implemented and its improvements sustained over time." "And we continue to reiterate, there must be no forcible displacement nor policy of starvation in Gaza, which would have grave implications under U.S. and international law," she said. A senior U.N. human rights official said at the same meeting that the entry and distribution of aid into Gaza has fallen to "some of the lowest levels in a year" and criticized Israel's conduct of military operations in the north. Israel denies it is limiting aid to Gaza, blaming the U.N. and aid agencies for slow distribution and Hamas for stealing it. The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, although about one-third of them are believed to be dead. Israel's counteroffensive has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to local health authorities. The Israeli military says the death toll includes thousands of Hamas militants. The war spread to Lebanon in mid-September, after months of rocket fire from Hezbollah into Israel and drone and airstrikes by Israel's military in south Lebanon escalated. More than 3,200 Lebanese have been killed, most of them in the past six weeks. Both Hamas and Hezbollah have been designated as terrorist organizations by the United States.

Iran hanged a 26-year-old man for a second time Wednesday months after a previous execution was halted half a minute in, an NGO said. Ahmad Alizadeh was arrested in October 2018 on a murder charge, which he denied, and was sentenced to death, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), which tracks executions in Iran, said in a statement. His death sentence was carried out on April 27 in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj outside Tehran. But just 28 seconds into the hanging he was brought down from the gallows when the victim's family suddenly shouted "forgiveness." His "lifeless" body was successfully resuscitated and the execution was halted, IHR said. Under Iran's sharia law, a victim's family can ask for blood money to spare the life of the perpetrator or also decide to forgive. However, in many cases the family of the condemned person cannot afford the sum set and the execution goes ahead, according to activists. Alizadeh remained under the threat of the death penalty in the absence of any deal with the victim's family for blood money. He was executed again in the Ghezel Hesar prison on Wednesday morning, IHR said. "Ahmad Alizadeh, a talented student, was hanged for the second time on charges of murder, which he denied and claimed he confessed to under torture," said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, denouncing the "execution machine of the Iranian regime." Activists accuse Iran of using the death penalty to instill fear throughout society, particularly in the wake of 2022-2023 nationwide protests which shook the Islamic authorities. According to IHR, 2024 is seeing a new surge in executions, with at least 166 executions recorded in October alone, the highest number recorded in a single month since the group began documenting executions in 2007. Activists including Amnesty International say Iran carries out more annual executions than any country other than China, for which no reliable figures are available.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Iran has made plans to sustain its oil production and exports and is ready for possible oil restrictions from a Trump administration in the U.S., Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Wednesday, according to the oil ministry's news website Shana.  In 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear pact with Iran and re-imposed sanctions that hurt Iran's oil sector, with production dropping to 2.1 million barrels per day, or bpd, during his presidency.  "Required measures have been taken. I will not go into detail but our colleagues within the oil sector have taken measures to deal with the restrictions that will occur and there is no reason to be concerned," Paknejad said.  In recent years, Iranian oil production has rebounded to around 3.2 million barrels per day according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Iran is a member.  Iranian oil exports have climbed this year to near multi-year highs of 1.7 million bpd despite U.S. sanctions.   Chinese refiners buy most of its supply. Beijing says it doesn't recognize unilateral U.S. sanctions.  

Taipei, Taiwan — Chinese President Xi Jinping departs on a nine-day diplomatic tour to Latin America on Wednesday, during which he will inaugurate a Chinese-financed megaport in Peru and attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Lima and the G20 Summit in Brazil. Analysts say the trip is part of China’s attempt to expand its global influence and present itself as “a responsible global power” at a time when countries around the world brace for uncertainties following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory on November 5. “The trip is especially significant since Latin America is viewed as ‘the backyard’ of the United States; and [since] the next U.S. president is likely to return to a unilateral approach in world affairs, it provides China with the opportunity to expand its influence around the world as a champion for global development and multilateral cooperation,” said Zhiqun Zhu, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at Bucknell University. During his state visit to Peru, Xi will inaugurate the $3.5 billion Chancay port with his Peruvian counterpart Dina Boluarte on Thursday. Situated 80 kilometers north of the Peruvian capital Lima, the port has a maximum depth of 17.8 meters and is expected to become a major trading hub between Latin America and China. “The port will become the largest deep-water port in South America and it will drastically reduce the time needed to ship products from Peru to China,” Leland Lazarus, associate director of national security at Florida International University, told VOA in a video interview. China’s state-run Cosco Shipping Corporation has a majority 60% stake in the port and a 30-year concession to operate the terminal. According to China’s official data, the port can handle up to one million containers and 160,000 vehicles in the first year of operation.  The port is among 17 ports globally where China holds a majority stake, according to the Council on Foreign Relations and is one of more than 100 port projects built globally under China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative. The port is expected to become a major hub for exporting critical commodities such as lithium, copper, iron and soybeans to China more efficiently. Latin American countries including Peru, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador, which had a combined export of $135 billion to China in 2023, could all benefit from the launch of the Chancay Port.  “There is a huge gap in infrastructure development in Global South countries and Western powers are not active in helping [to] fill the gap. [As a result,] China’s investments in such large infrastructure projects are welcomed by host countries,” Zhu at Bucknell University told VOA in a written response. While Latin American countries will likely welcome the inauguration of the Chancay Port, the U.S. has warned about the potential for the port to be used for military purposes by China. That Washington claims could threaten its interests in Latin America.  “It could be used as a dual-use facility, it’s a deepwater port,” said Laura Richardson, the outgoing chief of the U.S. Southern Command told the Financial Times in a recent interview, adding that the Chinese navy could use the port in a scenario that, she said, fits “Beijing’s playbook.” Some experts say it’s difficult for China to deploy its naval vessels to Latin America in the near future and that Peru is unlikely to let Beijing militarize the Chancay port. “Currently, the Chinese navy is not capable of projecting its power across the Pacific, and since Peru still needs to maintain its relationship with the U.S., Peruvian authorities won’t allow the port to be militarized,” Kung Kwo-Wei, an expert of Latin American affairs at Tamkang University in Taiwan, told VOA by phone. However, Lazarus told VOA that Beijing’s activities in other ports around the world suggest it could still use the Chancay port for military purposes in the future. “When looking at Chinese behaviors [at other ports around the world], such as the Port of Bata in Equatorial Guinea and the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia, Chinese state-owned enterprises would promise to expand the ports for commercial purposes, yet there have been allegations that there’s been construction for what looks like military purposes on these areas,” said Lazarus. In addition to the Chancay Port, Peruvian Foreign Minister Elmer Schialer told Reuters news agency in an exclusive interview that Beijing and Lima plan to sign around 30 agreements, including an updated free trade agreement, during Xi’s visit.  Kung in Taiwan said these developments show that China’s investment in Latin America is now focusing on logistical infrastructure and access to minerals from Latin America. “China relies heavily on ports and logistical infrastructure to ensure it can export and import commodities at a steady pace, and as Beijing continues to expand its renewable energy industries, its appetite for minerals from Latin America will also grow,” Kung told VOA. As the U.S. could possibly adopt a more isolationist foreign policy approach during Trump’s second term, Lazarus said Xi will use the upcoming APEC and G20 summits to amplify the message that China is a more consistent global power than the U.S. “While the U.S. is going to potentially look inward with another Trump administration, [the summits] are Xi’s big opportunities to show that China is playing a much more global role,” he told VOA. However, some experts say it remains unclear whether China will achieve its intended goals. “Beijing will double down on the image of being the leader of the Global South and some countries will be attracted by that message,” said Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore. “But others who are more clear-eyed and who have followed developments from the Belt and Road Initiative and other Chinese projects will recognize that China is just another great power,” he told VOA in a phone interview. 

mexico city — Legislators from Mexico's ruling party reelected the head of the National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday despite widespread opposition and her failure to call out the government for abuses.  The reelection of Rosario Piedra Ibarra in a party-line Senate vote appeared to be another example of the ruling Morena party's attempts to weaken independent oversight bodies. Morena has proposed eliminating a host of other oversight, transparency and freedom-of-information agencies, claiming they cost too much to run.  Mexico's civic and nonprofit rights groups have been almost unanimous in their criticism of Piedra's reelection.  "This is an undeserved prize for a career marked by inaction, the loss of independence and the weakening of the institution," the Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez human rights center wrote on social media.  Piedra is a committed supporter of former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who left office on September 30. She once affirmed that none of the deaths caused by the armed forces under his administration were illegal or unjustified, and she shared the former president's delight in attacking and criticizing other independent human rights groups.  Commission issues few recommendations Since her first election in 2019, Piedra has done little to investigate allegations of massacres or extrajudicial killings by soldiers and members of the militarized National Guard, to whom Lopez Obrador gave sweeping powers.  Despite receiving over 1,800 citizen complaints against the armed forces between 2020 and 2023, her commission issued only 39 recommendations, and most of the few military cases her commission did follow up on involved abuses committed under previous administrations.  The rights commission has the power to make non-binding recommendations to government agencies. If they do not agree to follow the recommendations, they are at least required by law to explain why.  Piedra has almost exclusively focused the commission's work on issuing recommendations in cases where people have not received proper health care at government-run hospitals. Those recommendations accomplish little, because they don't address the underlying problem of underfunded, poorly equipped hospitals forced to handle too many patients.  At times Piedra acted as if human rights violations no longer existed under Lopez Obrador. In 2019, she expressed disbelief when asked about the killing of journalists, despite the fact that almost a dozen were killed in Lopez Obrador's first year in office.  "Are they killing journalists?" she said with an expression of disbelief.  'Her actions appear to support impunity ' Piedra comes from a well-known activist family: Her mother founded one of Mexico's first groups to demand answers for families whose relatives had been abducted and disappeared by the government in the 1960s and '70s. But even her mother's group, the Eureka Committee, did not support Piedra's reelection.  "Her actions appear to support impunity for the perpetrators of governmental terrorism, and the government's line of obedience and forgetting" rights abuses, the committee wrote in a statement.  Piedra broke with two important traditions: she was a member of the ruling party up until she was elected to her first term in 2019. The job has usually gone to nonpartisan human rights experts.  And she has openly endorsed and supported government policies and actions. Previous heads of the commission had a more critical relationship with the government.  Piedra also failed to make the final cut for candidates for the post this year in a congressional examination of their qualifications, but was put on the ballot anyway.  That's important because similar evaluation committees will decide who gets on the ballot in judicial reforms that make federal judges stand for election next year. Activists worry that the same kind of favoritism will come into play in the election of judges.  "This decision comes after a selection process in which she (Piedra) wasn't found to be the most qualified," a coalition of rights groups said in a statement. "That reveals the political, partisan considerations that put her onto the ballot."  She also apparently falsified a letter of recommendation; a bishop and human rights activist said a letter she presented to support her reelection had not been signed by him.  Piedra will serve under new President Claudia Sheinbaum, another devoted follower of Lopez Obrador, who took office October 1. On Sheinbaum's first day in office, the army killed six migrants near the Guatemalan border; 10 days later, soldiers and National Guard killed three bystanders in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo while chasing suspects.  Sheinbaum's third week in office was capped by the killing of a crusading Catholic priest who had been threatened by gangs, and a lopsided encounter in northern Sinaloa state in which soldiers killed 19 drug cartel suspects, but suffered not a scratch themselves. That awakened memories of past human rights abuses, like a 2014 incident in which soldiers killed about a dozen cartel suspects after they had surrendered.  The purportedly leftist government has been quick to criticize human rights groups and activists who expose abuses.  In June, an outspoken volunteer advocate for missing people found an apparent body dumping ground with human remains in Mexico City, embarrassing ruling party officials who had done little to look for such clandestine grave sites. City prosecutors lashed out at her, claiming "the chain of custody" of the evidence had been manipulated, which could lead to charges. 

Jerusalem — Israel suffered one of the deadliest days of its ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon on Wednesday when six of its soldiers were killed in combat near the border.  The soldiers "fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement. Their deaths brought to 47 the number of Israeli troops who have been killed in combat with Hezbollah since September 30, when Israel sent ground forces into Lebanon.  The army's announcement came after Israel Katz, Israel's new defense minister, said there would be no easing up in the war against Hezbollah.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X shared an image of the "Golani" Brigade symbol, the unit the soldiers who were killed belonged to, a green olive tree against a yellow background, with a broken heart emoji.  Since September 23, Israel has stepped up its bombing campaign in Lebanon, mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut and in the east and south of the country. On September 30, it sent in ground troops.  The offensive came after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges of fire, launched by Hezbollah in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.  Strike at Aramoun Earlier on Wednesday, an Israeli strike hit Aramoun, a densely packed area south of Beirut that is outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds. The health ministry said the strike killed six people.  Lebanese state media on the same day reported a third wave of Israeli raids on Hezbollah's south Beirut bastion in 24 hours.  The Israeli army, meanwhile, said it had intercepted some of the "five projectiles" that had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory.  Katz told senior military commanders on his first visit to the border region since his appointment last week that Israel would "make no cease-fires, we will not take our foot off the pedal, and we will not allow any arrangement that does not include the achievement of our war objectives."  Katz added: "We will continue to strike Hezbollah everywhere."   Israel's objectives include disarming Hezbollah and pushing the militants beyond the Litani River, which flows across southern Lebanon.  After Katz's address, another airstrike hit a Beirut suburb Wednesday evening after a warning by Israel's military for residents to evacuate.  Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had fired ballistic missiles at the Israeli army's headquarters in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv, which also houses the defense ministry.  Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army spokesperson's unit said it would "not to react to Hezbollah's allegations."  Lebanese authorities say more than 3,360 people have been killed since October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah and Israel began engaging in cross-border clashes.  Rocket fire from Lebanon on Tuesday killed two residents of the northern Israeli city of Nahariya. The deaths brought to 45 the number of civilians killed in northern Israel as a result of rocket fire from Lebanon.  Israeli hostage The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, an ally of Hamas, released a video earlier on Wednesday of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza, identifying himself as Sasha Trupanov.  Trupanov's mother, Lena, in a statement published by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group, urged the hostages' immediate release.  When Hamas militants staged their October 7, 2023, attack, they killed about 1,200 people and about 250 hostages into the Gaza Strip. Of those, about 100 remain held hostage, while about a third of them are confirmed dead. Their bodies remain in Gaza.  In the more than 13 months of war, Israel’s offensive has killed nearly 44,000 people, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Wednesday. The health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of those killed were women and children. 

SAO PAULO — Two explosions outside Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday killed a man and forced the justices and staff to evacuate the building in the capital of Brasilia. The court said in a statement that two very strong blasts were heard at about 7:30 p.m. local time, shortly after Wednesday's session had finished. It added that all the justices and staff left the building safely after the incident. A police statement had said earlier that an artifact exploded outside the court. Local firefighters confirmed that one man died at the scene but did not identify him. Local media reported that the second explosion occurred about 20 seconds after the first. The incident took place in Brasilia's Three Powers Plaza, where Brazil's main government buildings, including the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace, are located. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not in the neighboring presidential palace at the time of the blasts, spokesperson José Chrispiniano said. Police blocked all access to the area, and the presidential security bureau was conducting a sweep of the grounds around the presidential palace. Brazil's federal police force said it was investigating and did not provide a motive. The Supreme Court in recent years has become a target for threats by far-right groups and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro due to its crackdown on the spread of false information. Justice Alexandre de Moraes in particular has been a focus for their ire. Earlier, another explosion was heard outside Brazil's Congress, but it apparently did not cause damages. 

Makovsky called Trump's Defense Secretary selection of Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and Army combat veteran, a "curious appointment."

Yisrael Hasson also condemned the decision to prioritize safeguarding the Prime Minister's son's reputation over national security.

1. Kanguva Twitter Review: Netizens LAUDS Suriya's Performance But Call Film's Execution 'Clumsy'  Times Now
2. Kanguva Movie Review: An earnest Suriya gives his all for a Siva film that doesn’t give him enough  The Indian Express
3. Kanguva Movie Review: Suriya's Visually Superlative Film Has Grand Vision But Fails To Realise It  News18
4. Kanguva first reviews: Suriya ‘shed his blood and sweat’ but the movie ‘is tiring’, say fans  Hindustan Times
5. Kanguva: Here's how much Suriya, Bobby Deol and Disha Patani got paid for Siva's directorial  TOI Etimes

1. Best camera phones under ₹20,000: Samsung Galaxy A16, Moto G85 and more | Mint  Mint
2. Best smartphones under 20,000 with good cameras: Redmi Note 13 Pro, Vivo T3 5G and others  Hindustan Times
3. 5 Affordable Camera Phones To Consider For Vlogging  Times Now
4. Vivo T3 to Redmi Note 13 Pro: Top 5 budget camera smartphones under Rs 20,000  Asianet Newsable

1. SENSEX rises over 100 points, NIFTY50 trades above 23,600; Eicher Motors climbs over 6%, Swiggy up 5%  Upstox
2. Stock Market LIVE Updates: Sensex, Nifty erase gains, trade flat; mid, samllcaps shine  Moneycontrol
3. Sensex Today | Stock Markets Live Update: Sensex, Nifty turn red after giving up opening gains, Eicher up 7%  CNBCTV18
4. Stock Market LIVE Updates: FMCG, Oil, financial stocks drag Sensex 200pts to 77,500; Nifty at 23,500  Business Standard
5. Eicher Motors leads Indian shares higher at the open  Mint

The Limassol art scene is about to welcome a new exhibition. The Larnaca-born artist, Nikolas Antoniou, returns to Lumiere Gallery in Limassol for the second time to present his exhibition titled Vibrations of Being. The showcase will run from November 20 to December 7, inviting viewers into the artist’s vivid creative journey of expression. “Antoniou’s […]

U.S. Senate Republicans elected John Thune to lead the chamber next year, opting for a well-regarded insider and shrugging off a public pressure campaign by supporters of Donald Trump to pick a loyalist to the president-elect. The South Dakota senator’s victory is a sign the Senate could retain some degree of independence from Trump next […]

The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Prometheas, which will form part of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project at he, will set sail for Cyprus from Shanghai at the beginning of December, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said on Wednesday. Speaking at a meeting of the Nicosia chamber of commerce and industry (Evel), he said […]