President Joe Biden and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto met Tuesday at the White House to strengthen U.S.–Indonesia ties. The meeting came days after Jakarta signed a maritime agreement with Beijing that critics say could lend credibility to China’s “nine-dash line” that reflects its expansive claims in the South China Sea. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report

CATARROJA, Spain — Thousands of students in Spain's eastern Valencia region returned to classes on Monday, two weeks after floods killed over 200 people and devastated towns in the area. Controversy over the regional government's handling of the floods still rages, and a teachers' union accused it of exaggerating the number returning and leaving the clean-up to teachers and pupils. Twenty-three people remain missing in the Valencia region after heavy rains caused rivers to overflow, sending tides of muddy water through densely populated city suburbs, drowning people in cars and underground car parks, and collapsing homes. A total of 47 schools in 14 affected municipalities reopened to more than 22,000 children on Monday, the region's education department said. Last week, it said it expected around 70% of students in the worst-affected areas to return this week. "The schools that have opened their doors today have followed cleaning and disinfection protocols to ensure maximum safety for students, teachers and staff," it added. But the regional teachers' union STEPV said it believed that the numbers returning on Monday were lower, without providing an alternative figure. Spokesperson Marc Candela said many schools were not ready to resume lessons, adding: "Teachers and parents are cleaning the schools with their own materials such as brooms." Educators wanted professional cleaning crews to sanitize facilities, as was done during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. Parents are also worried about their children's emotional states, said Ruben Pacheco, head of the regional federation of parents' associations, FAMPA: "Families are exhausted, suffering psychologically, and nothing should be decided without consulting them so as not to generate more discomfort than they've already suffered." Candela said the department had held an online course for teachers last week with recommendations for psychological care, but had not dispatched additional counselors. Carolina Marti, head teacher at a school in Castellar-Oliveral, said it had received 60 children from neighboring towns, while five teachers were on medical leave. She said children and teachers were struggling to reach the school as many roads remained impassable.

In a tragic incident in Rawalpindi’s Shah Khalid Colony, three siblings, 2-year-old Zohan, 6-year-old Saira, and 7-year-old Faria, lost their lives after being confined in a box. The children were left alone at home, intensifying the sorrow of the situation. According to reports from a Rescue spokesperson, the parents, who were employed in different jobs—the ... Read more

The post Tragedy Strikes as Three Siblings Found Dead Locked in Box appeared first on Pakistan Tribune.

BUENOS AIRES — Three people have been charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction who died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last month, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday. Prosecutor Andrés Madrea charged the three suspects, whose identities were not revealed, with the crimes of "abandonment of a person followed by death" and "supplying and facilitating the use of narcotics," the prosecutor's office said. Madrea also requested their arrest to judge Laura Bruniard, who ruled the three cannot leave the country. Payne fell from his room's balcony on the third floor of his hotel in the upscale neighborhood of Palermo, in the Argentine capital. His autopsy said he died from multiple injuries and external bleeding. Prosecutors also said that Payne's toxicological exams showed that his body had "traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant" in the moments before his death. Investigators said hours after Payne's death that he was by himself when he fell. But the prosecutors' office said Thursday that one of the people charged was often with the singer during his time in Buenos Aires. The second is a hotel staffer who allegedly gave Payne cocaine during his stay between October 13 and 16. And the third is a drug dealer. The charges in Payne's case bear some resemblance to the U.S. cases stemming from the death of Friends star Matthew Perry a year ago. The actor's personal assistant and a longtime friend are among those charged with helping supply him with ketamine in the final months of his life, leading up to his overdose on the anesthetic. Three young men were similarly charged in the opioid-overdose death of rapper Mac Miller in 2018. Local authorities gathered, among other pieces of evidence, Payne's cellphone records, material for forensics and testimonies. They are yet to unlock the singer's personal computer – which is damaged – and other devices that were seized. Payne's autopsy showed his injuries were neither caused by self-harm nor by physical intervention of others. The document also said that he did not have the reflex of protecting himself in the fall, which suggests he might have been unconscious. Prosecutors in Argentina also ruled out the chances of Payne dying by suicide. One Direction was among the most successful boy bands of recent times. It announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016 and Payne — like his former bandmates Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson — pursued a solo career. The singer had posted on his Snapchat account that he traveled to Argentina to attend Horan's concert in Buenos Aires on October 2. He shared videos of himself dancing with his girlfriend, American influencer Kate Cassidy, and singing along in the stands. Cassidy had left Argentina after the show, but Payne stayed behind. 

A Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency vehicle and its motorcycle escort were apprehended yesterday by the Department of Transportation for using the exclusive EDSA bus lane in Santolan, Quezon City.

DOHA, Qatar — A top Qatari official involved in the country's World Cup organization has put the number of worker deaths for the tournament "between 400 and 500" for the first time, a drastically higher number than any other previously offered by Doha. The comment by Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary-general of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, appeared to come off the cuff during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan. It also threatened to reinvigorate criticism by human rights groups over the toll of hosting the Middle East's first World Cup for the migrant labor that built over $200 billion worth of stadiums, metro lines and new infrastructure needed for the tournament. The Supreme Committee and Qatar's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. In the interview, portions of which Morgan posted online, the British journalist asks al-Thawadi: "What is the honest, realistic total do you think of migrant workers who died from — as a result of work they're doing for the World Cup in totality?" "The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500," al-Thawadi responds. "I don't have the exact number. That's something that's been discussed." But that figure hasn't been discussed publicly by Qatari officials previously. Reports from the Supreme Committee dating from 2014 through the end of 2021 only include the number of deaths of workers involved in building and refurbishing the stadiums now hosting the World Cup. Those released figures put the total number of deaths at 40. They include 37 from what the Qataris describe as nonwork incidents such as heart attacks and three from workplace incidents. One report also separately lists a worker death from the coronavirus amid the pandemic. Al-Thawadi pointed to those figures when discussing work just on stadiums in the interview, right before offering the "between 400 to 500" death toll for all the infrastructure for the tournament. Since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010, the country has taken some steps to overhaul the country's employment practices. That includes eliminating its so-called kafala employment system, which tied workers to their employers, who had say over whether they could leave their jobs or even the country. Qatar also has adopted a minimum monthly wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals ($275) for workers and required food and housing allowances for employees not receiving those benefits directly from their employers. It also has updated its worker safety rules to prevent deaths. "One death is a death too many. Plain and simple," al-Thawadi adds in the interview. Activists have called on Doha to do more, particularly when it comes to ensuring workers receive their salaries on time and are protected from abusive employers. Al-Thawadi's comment also renews questions on the veracity of both government and private business reporting on worker injuries and deaths across the Gulf Arab states, whose skyscrapers have been built by laborers from South Asia nations like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Mustafa Qadri, the executive director of Equidem Research, a labor consultancy that has published reports on the toll of the construction on migrant laborers, said he was surprised by al-Thawadi's remark. "For him now to come and say there is hundreds, it's shocking," he told The Associated Press. "They have no idea what's going on."  

The current conflict in the Middle East will leave a lasting environmental impact, prompting calls for urgent restoration and cross-border cooperation.

Trump also said he will nominate Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense.

In its recent defense technology deal with the U.S., India has laid the groundwork for creating a robust long-term defense industrial base.

Solar power is now priced competitively with traditional forms of energy, which makes new nuclear power plants financially unviable.

The most solemn and terrifying words ever uttered are those inscribed over the gateway to Hell in Dante’s Inferno: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!” Hope is essential for human survival both as individuals and as nations. Surveying the history of the seemingly endless series of wars and counter-wars between Israel and its foes […]

When the United Nations imposes sanctions or penalizes a member state – be it the General Assembly or the Human Rights Council – the resolutions are “non-binding” and often remain unimplemented. But the Security Council resolutions are “binding” – and still openly violated by countries such as North Korea—because all these UN bodies have no […]

For religious, humanitarian, and scientific reasons, Israel’s increasingly apparent plan for the de facto colonization of the Northern Gaza Strip is a bad idea. When that program was rejected recently by Israel’s own Defense Minister Yoav Galant, he was summarily fired by Prime Minister Netanyahu. However, the founding document of the worldwide Jewish community, the […]

Sullivan laid the blame squarely on Hamas, clarifying that the issue was that the group simply didn’t want to make a deal under any terms.

Thousands of Serbians demand prime minister's resignation following deadly roof collapse

The eastern region of Baalbek, Lebanon was believed to be a “safe zone” for residents, and refugees who had been displaced by the increased hostilities across the country. That changed on October 29, when an Israeli airstrike on the region resulted in over sixty casualties, including two children. On October 30, the Israeli Defense Forces […]

The ongoing, escalating violence in Lebanon forces millions of Lebanese civilians to face daily bombardment, repeated orders of evacuation, routine destruction of critical infrastructure, and limited access to basic services. With the death toll and rates of displacement on the rise, humanitarian organizations fear that the upcoming winter season is expected to exacerbate these harsh […]

Inadequate controls on hazardous chemicals contributed to the death of the six children in Soweto

The Jonas Brothers left Directioners in tears during their recent concert.During their Sunday night concert at Highland, California, the Jonas Brothers covered One Direction’s Night Changes in what appeared to be a tribute to the late Liam Payne. On November 11, Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas...

Mariska Hargitay on mother Jayne Mansfield's deathMariska Hargitay got candid on “dealing” with the death of her mother, Hollywood diva, Jayne Mansfield at the age of 3.“I lost my mother when I was 3 years old, and I grew up in a house of people dealing with the tragedy in...

“It’s been horrible; I’ve been sick on and off for the last 10 days,” said 29-year-old asthmatic Natasha Sohail, who teaches A-Level students at three private schools in Lahore. Last week, her condition worsened with a vertigo attack and fever. “It’s criminal what is happening here,” said an incensed Sohail, referring to the “band-aid measures” […]

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties on climate change has officially kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan, with the promise of striking yet another historic global climate deal and finance adaptation, gender responsive action and financing, and forgotten issues such as food waste are top on the agenda as every action is as […]

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will not be able to ignore its arch-foe the United States and needs to “handle its enemies with forbearance”, state media reported on Tuesday, a week after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. “Whether we like it or not, we will have to deal with the U.S. in […]

What should the transitional economies of Southeast Asia do, if anything, to address their multiple currency situations?

An estimate of annual bird fatalities due to building collisions in the US brings the figure to more than 1 billion – it is the first to include deaths from injuries after the strike

Invasive cane toads have decimated native freshwater crocodile populations in northern Australia, as the predators don't know they should avoid the toxic amphibians

Feeding bees edible bits of hydrogel increases their odds of surviving pesticide exposure by 30 per cent

Strange solids called temporal metamaterials finally make it possible to investigate the controversial idea of quantum friction – and push special relativity to its limits

Recent fossil finds suggest that big brains weren't an evolutionary asset to our ancestors but evolved by accident – and are likely to shrink again in the near future

What life is and how the mind works fall within the compass of one bold concept. But critics say that by attempting to explain everything, it may end up explaining nothing

Strange solids called temporal metamaterials finally make it possible to investigate the controversial idea of quantum friction – and push special relativity to its limits

ITER, a €20 billion nuclear fusion reactor under construction in France, will now not switch on until 2035 - a delay of 10 years. With smaller commercial fusion efforts on the rise, is it worth continuing with this gargantuan project?

A mathematical study finds that three definitions of what it means for entropy to increase, which have previously been considered equivalent, can produce different results in the quantum realm

The stratosphere seems to be full of aluminium particles and other metals that come from spacecraft burning up in the atmosphere, and those particles could mess up polar clouds

Climate change is making extreme cold upwellings more common in certain regions of the world, and these events can be catastrophic for animals such as bull sharks

Experts predict that the number of cancer cases around the world will skyrocket, resulting in millions more fatalities by 2050

In the foundations of a Maya temple, researchers found the charred bones of royal individuals – possibly evidence of a fiery ritual to mark the end of one dynasty and the beginning of another

Recent fossil finds suggest that big brains weren't an evolutionary asset to our ancestors but evolved by accident – and are likely to shrink again in the near future