Noida Authority imposes Rs 5000 fine for plastic sale, use; check what’s banned and what’s allowed
In 2022, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) ordered a nationwide ban on single-use plastic items from July 1, prohibiting their manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use due to their low utility and high littering potential.
Trump did on live TV what other US presidents would just do in private
Psst. Over here. Over here. You want to hear a trade secret? The bulk of journalists who cover the so-called “halls of power” in Washington, Ottawa, Canberra, London, Paris and beyond prefer routine over spontaneity. You see, predictability is easy. It’s comforting because most capital cities are mundane places where boring is not only an agreeable fact on the ground, but also a prevailing state of mind. That is why the overwrought reaction to the lively dressing-down US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was so in keeping with the White House press corps’ stubborn fondness for the veneer of practised civility over the impulsive truth. Unlike so many other pundits and columnists who rushed instantly and almost universally onto the familiar cable news networks to express their disbelief and shock over the “embarrassing spectacle” of America’s tactless commander-in-chief “humiliating” his “wartime hero” guest, I was mesmerised by the remarkable scenes unfolding live on my computer screen. Advertisement Rather than watching an orchestrated, forgettable set piece featuring smiling foreign dignitaries and heads of state visiting an ever-so-polite president in the Oval Office, it was refreshing to witness a blatant exhibition of the crudeness, rudeness, and brutishness of power politics that usually occurs far, far away from the cameras and, hence, reporters and the public. They will be loath to admit it, but the sea of scribes who stood like mute mannequins while Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy traded rhetorical blows for several bruising rounds, expected another tame, pedestrian day at work like so many other tame, pedestrian days at work. They know the predictable role they play during these choreographed pantomimes. Step 1: Go to the Oval Office. Step 2: Record the foreign head of state saying nice and sweet stuff about the US president. Step 3: Record the US president saying nice and sweet stuff about the foreign head of state. Step 4: Report that the US president and the foreign head of state said nice and sweet stuff about each other. Step 5: Later, call sources who say that, in private, the US president and the foreign head of state did not say nice and sweet stuff about each other. Step 6: Report, quoting anonymous sources, that despite having said nice and sweet stuff about each other publicly, privately, truth be told, the US president and his grinning guest cannot stand one another. That was, in effect, the formulaic arc of much of the reporting after French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer made their pilgrimages to Washington last week to massage and mollify Trump. Advertisement True to his unorthodox nature – to put it charitably – Trump and his clawing vice president – upended that traditional script, either by design or instinctively, with Zelenskyy. Reporters and pundits came away confused and disoriented. This is not supposed to happen the way it has happened, they moaned – disappointed, apparently, at having to act as journalists rather than stenographers. A lot of the hyperbolic outrage being directed at Trump is the product not so much of what he said to Zelenskyy – since his antipathy towards Ukraine and its president has been plain – but how and where he said it: in the Oval Office before TV cameras. That’s what America’s genteel chattering class considers so rank and appalling – Trump did his berating and bullying openly, when more discreet and “diplomatic” presidents do their berating and bullying behind closed doors. The glaring irony is that American networks and the personalities who populate them leverage broadcasting “live” to draw audiences tempted by the urgency of now and the prospect that, at any moment, real, not manufactured, drama and conflict might erupt. Newsworthy drama and conflict did erupt in the Oval Office on Friday, but instead of embracing it, those same networks and personalities recoiled from it and labelled it as unseemly and unbecoming of the office of the presidency and the United States itself. Here’s a bit of news for the yapping ostriches: Aside from lying with a pathological ease and ordering others to kill without a scintilla of regret or remorse, being rude, crude, and a brute is a job prerequisite of any US president – Democrat or Republican. Advertisement Trump is not the exception. He is the rule. The administration of pretty boy, Harvard-trained President John F Kennedy enlisted the Mafia to try to murder Cuba’s young and charismatic leader, Fidel Castro, and gave its tacit approval to a coup in early November 1963 that saw the overthrow of South Vietnam’s government and the assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem. Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon Johnson, was a six-foot, four-inch boor who physically assaulted much smaller public servants who angered him. In 1965, a livid Johnson summoned Canada’s diminutive prime minister, Lester Pearson, to Camp David for a stiff talking to after the Noble Peace Prize winner denounced the US bombing of North Vietnam. Johnson reportedly grabbed Pearson by the shirt collar, twisted it, and lifted the prime minister by the neck, shouting: “You pissed on my rug.” That same year, an enraged Johnson shoved then-Chairman of the Federal Reserve William Martin against a wall for having raised interest rates against the president’s wishes. “Boys are dying in Vietnam, and Bill Martin doesn’t care,” Johnson thundered. That avatar of presidential probity, Richard Nixon, ordered the CIA to block, thwart, undermine, and destabilise Chile’s democratically elected Socialist president, Salvador Allende. And Nixon’s obscene anti-Semitism makes Trump’s fiery remarks to Zelenskyy seem rather temperate, in comparison. He complained on tape that Washington “is full of Jews” and that “most Jews are disloyal”. Whether the wailing pundits and TV personalities are prepared to acknowledge it or not, Trump was right. The sensational Oval Office fireworks made for great television. Advertisement This time we were privy to the astonishing, history-making words and deeds of another “gangster” president in real-time, as it happened. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do
Will the US withdraw its support for Ukraine?
A public meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy descended into a spat. A visit that Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelenskyy hoped would secure US support in the face of Russia’s invasion, instead ended in a very public argument. The meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House was supposed to be about signing over rights to some of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. Kyiv hoped that would keep US assistance coming, despite not containing any guarantees of security against Russian aggression. Instead, President Zelenskyy got a dressing down from Trump and his Vice President JD Vance, who accused the wartime leader of showing disrespect and ingratitude. Now Trump is threatening to pull support from Ukraine. What does this mean for the war in Ukraine? And will Washington force a settlement with Moscow? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Michael Bociurkiw – Global affairs analyst and senior fellow at Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center Scott Lucas – Professor of US and international politics, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin Glenn Diesen – Professor of international relations at the University of South-East Norway and associate editor of Russia in Global Affairs Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
At least 37 people killed and 39 wounded as two buses collide in Bolivia
The crash happened on the route between the cities of Uyuni and Colchani, when one of the vehicles swerved into the oncoming lane. At least 37 people have been killed and dozens more injured in a crash involving two buses in the western Potosi region of Bolivia, police and local authorities have said. The accident happened on Saturday at 7am local time (11:00 GMT) on the route between the cities of Uyuni and Colchani, when one of the vehicles swerved into the oncoming lane. Uyuni is the gateway to the Salar de Uyuni, a major tourist attraction and the world’s largest salt flat at more than 10,000sq km (3,900sq miles). “As a result of this fatal accident we have 39 people injured in four hospitals in the town of Uyuni, and 37 people have lost their lives,” a spokesperson for the Departmental Police Command of Potosi told reporters. Police personnel are working to identify people who were killed and those who were injured and hospitalised, the spokesperson added. People inspect the wreckage of a bus involved in the collision [Bolivian Police/AFP] One of the buses was heading to Oruro, where one of the most important carnival celebrations in Latin America is currently taking place. Advertisement Police officers removed survivors from the steel wreckage, according to images shot by Radio Uyuni, which showed several bodies covered in blankets strewn across the high Andean flatlands. A police spokesperson said one of the two drivers, who both survived the crash, was spotted by passengers consuming alcohol. Bolivia’s mountainous, under-maintained and little-supervised roadways are some of the deadliest in the world, killing an average of 1,400 people every year. Adblock test (Why?)
Asaduddin Owaisi criticises UP CM Yogi Adityanath over Urdu remark, BJP reacts: ‘Opposition is against…’
Owaisi said on Saturday that Urdu is not just the language of Muslims but a part of India’s cultural and historical heritage
Federal judge rules Trump’s firing of head of special counsel was unlawful, will maintain his job
A D.C.-based federal district judge ruled late Saturday evening that President Donald Trump’s firing of the head of the Office of Special Counsel was unlawful, keeping him in his post. The Trump administration filed their notice of appeal shortly thereafter. Hampton Dellinger, appointed by former President Joe Biden to head the Office of Special Counsel, sued the Trump administration in Washington, D.C., federal court after his Feb. 7 firing. SUPREME COURT PAUSES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S EFFORT TO FIRE HEAD OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION AGENCY D.C. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in the Saturday filing that the court’s ruling that Dellinger’s firing was “unlawful” is consistent with Supreme Court precedent. The Trump administration filed its notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shortly after Jackson’s ruling. Jackson wrote that the court “finds that the elimination of the restrictions on plaintiff’s removal would be fatal to the defining and essential feature of the Office of Special Counsel as it was conceived by Congress and signed into law by the President: its independence. The Court concludes that they must stand.” FEDERAL JUDGE HINTS SHE WILL CONTINUE BLOCKING TRUMP FROM FIRING HEAD OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION AGENCY Jackson enjoined the defendants in the suit, including Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, ordering them to recognize Dellinger’s post. Jackson did not enjoin Trump. “It would be ironic, to say the least, and inimical to the ends furthered by the statute if the Special Counsel himself could be chilled in his work by fear of arbitrary or partisan removal,” Jackson wrote. Jackson’s decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court paused the Trump administration’s efforts to dismiss Dellinger. The Trump administration had asked the high court to overturn a lower court’s temporary reinstatement of Dellinger. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Trump signs executive order making English official language of US
President Donald Trump on Saturday signed an executive order making English the official language of the U.S. The order revokes an executive order issued by former President Bill Clinton in 2000, “Improving Access Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency,” that required federal agencies and recipients of federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. However, Trump’s order notes it does not “require or direct” any change in services provided by any agency. It will be up to agency heads to decide if any changes should be made. TRUMP TO MAKE ENGLISH OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF US IN NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER While English has been used as the country’s national language — seen in every historic governing document — the U.S. has never had an official language. “A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exhange ideas in one shared language,” Trump wrote in the order. The U.S. is one of just a few countries without an official language. About 180 of the 195 countries across the globe have made the distinction. GOOGLE MAPS, FAA OFFICIALLY ACKNOWLEDGES GULF OF AMERICA AFTER TRUMP DECLARATION: ‘ISN’T IT BEAUTIFUL?’ Trump has been outspoken about designating English as the nation’s language, specifically in 2024, as he criticized former President Joe Biden‘s immigration policies. “We have languages coming into our country. We don’t have one instructor in our entire nation that can speak that language,” Trump said while speaking before the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2024. “These are languages—it’s the craziest thing—they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It’s a very horrible thing.” The order states it is intended to “promote unity” and “cultivate a shared American culture for all citizens,” while ensuring consistency in government operations and creating a pathway to civic engagement. First lady Melania Trump speaks at least five languages, including English, French, Italian, German and Slovene, Fox News Digital previously reported. Trump has signed at least 76 executive orders since reclaiming the Oval Office in January, Fox News Digital previously reported. Executive orders and actions included renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and signing an executive order to restore the Obama-named Mount Denali to its original Mount McKinley. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Former GOP Rep. Mia Love’s brain cancer no longer responding to treatment: daughter
Former U.S. Rep. Mia Love’s family is focusing on enjoying the time they have left with her after her cancer stopped responding to treatments, the Utah Republican’s daughter, Abigale, said Saturday. “Hello Friends, I’m Mia’s daughter Abigale. Many of you are aware that Mom has been fighting GBM brain cancer,” Abigale wrote on her mother’s X account. Love was diagnosed in 2022 with glioblastoma, a brain tumor, and revealed her diagnosis in August 2023. Abigale added, “Sadly her cancer is no longer responding to treatment and the cancer is progressing. We have shifted our focus from treatment to enjoying our remaining time with her.” KAT TIMPF REVEALS BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS WHILE ANNOUNCING THE BIRTH OF HER SON Love became the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress when she won a redrawn district near Salt Lake City in 2014 that had previously been represented by a Democrat. She was also the first Black Congress member from Utah. “I wasn’t elected in Saratoga Springs because of my race or my gender or my heels,” Love said in 2013 of her time as mayor of the Utah city. “I was elected by the people there because I had a plan and a vision to get us financially stable.” The 49-year-old served two terms in Congress, working on the Financial Services Committee, and she was the only Republican in the Congressional Black Caucus. She was defeated by a Democrat in 2018. COMMON CANCER TREATMENT CAN HAVE THIS PAINFUL SIDE EFFECT Love last posted about her diagnosis in May, writing, “These past few years have not been easy, but I have found strength and solace in my faith and constant support and love in my family. Together, they have given me hope! Whatever challenges you are facing now, keep fighting and know that there is hope.” Love told a church youth group in 2023 that when she went on a vacation in 2022, headaches she’d been having started to get worse. “As soon as we landed, I felt a headache come on,” she told the group, according to KSL Radio. “When we went to the beach, the reflection of the sun on the water made the headache worse. My husband took me to the hospital.” Doctors found a tumor, and she underwent surgery to remove 95% of it. After the tumor was revealed to be malignant, Love began chemotherapy, radiation treatments and, eventually, immunotherapy. Love, who had previously converted from Catholicism to the Church of Jesus Church of Latter-day Saints, told CNN last year she was “looking for a cure in my faith and science.” Late Sen. John McCain was also diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2017. He died in 2018. Despite her diagnosis, Love remained politically engaged over the last election cycle, denouncing an assassination attempt on President Trump in July on X. “Political violence is despicable,” she wrote. “There is not, nor will there ever be, a place for it in our Republic. If you find yourself supporting or wishing for violence, know you are wrong. May we recommit to civility, reasonable discourse, and proper civil engagement rather over anger and hatred.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A week later, she posted, “After this past week, I’m all in on team Trump/Vance! They have a passionate vision of an American revival that enables all Americans to pursue their dreams.” After her daughter’s announcement Saturday, Love received an outpouring of support. “Mia Love is a dear friend. I pray for her and her family,” Sen. Mike Lee of Utah posted on X. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wrote, “Mia Love has served Utah with integrity, and her strength and grace continue to inspire us. Our hearts are with Mia and her family during this difficult time. Utah stands with you.” “I’m so sorry,” Love’s former colleague, former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, wrote.
JD Vance’s visit to Vermont ski resort interrupted by pro-Ukraine demonstrators after Zelenskyy exchange
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Vermont Saturday to protest Vice President JD Vance’s visit to a local ski resort, less than 24 hours after his explosive exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Vance, who brought his family to Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont, was greeted by a half-mile gauntlet of protesters holding pro-Ukraine signs Saturday. There appeared to be hundreds in the crowd. The protesters carried signs calling Vance “Nazi scum,” accusing him of being a “traitor” and telling him to “go ski in Russia.” Other signs said “Trump serves Putin,” “Theocracy is not freedom” and “Stand with Ukraine.” ZELENSKYY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP, VANCE, SAYS DUSTUP ‘BAD FOR BOTH SIDES’ But not all Green Mountain State skiers were upset with Vance’s visit, and one local skier complained about the demonstrations to Fox News Digital. “Those people protesting Vance are f—ing morons,” the skier said. Fox News was also told Vance and his family planned to stay at a four-star inn near the resort, but they moved to an undisclosed location after seeing the ruckus. Vance and his family later skied on one side of a mountain to avoid crowds, but protesters gathered there as well. The demonstrations came less than a day after Vance and Zelenskyy had a tense argument in the White House, which began when the Ukrainian leader balked at signing a mineral rights deal that President Trump said would pave the way for a peace deal. TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE IS READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE “Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance told Zelenskyy. “Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.” Later, Vance implied that Zelenskyy, who was visiting Washington, D.C., to sign a rare earth minerals deal that has since been dropped, was ungrateful again and asked if he’d “said ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting.” “You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country,” the former Ohio senator said. The Ukrainian leader replied that Vance was speaking “loudly” before President Donald Trump jumped in to support Vance, telling Zelenskyy that his country was “in trouble.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Sugarbush Resort for comment. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Trump reports illegal immigrant encounters at historic lows during first full month in office
President Donald Trump took to social media Saturday afternoon to declare “The Invasion of our Country is OVER” after his first full month in office, which saw only 8,326 apprehensions of illegal immigrants by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), a record-setting low. In a post on Truth Social, Trump relayed the apprehensions of illegal immigrants by Border Patrol at the southern border, all of whom were “quickly ejected from our Nation or, when necessary, prosecuted for crimes against the United States of America.” The Trump administration’s apprehension numbers in its first full month represent a 96% drop from Biden administration highs in December 2023, when CBP reported 301,981 encounters at the southern border. ‘HE IS DELIVERING’: TRUMP’S FIRST MONTH FLIPS SCRIPT ON RADICAL BIDEN-HARRIS BORDER POLICIES “This means that very few people came – The Invasion of our Country is OVER,” Trump wrote in the post. “In comparison, under Joe Biden, there were 300,000 Illegals crossing in one month, and virtually ALL of them were released into our Country. Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants.” In fiscal year 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported 271,484 removals, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported about 700,000 removals and returns, more than any prior fiscal year since 2010. The Biden administration repeatedly had single days when apprehensions approached 10,000 illegal immigrants, surpassing the new administration’s monthly total. The Trump administration’s accomplishments come solely from executive action and tougher messaging after no border bill was signed. “Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation,” the president wrote. TRUMP FREEZES APPLICATIONS FOR BIDEN-ERA MIGRANT PROGRAMS AMID FRAUD, NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS After heavily campaigning on border security and cracking down on illegal immigration, Trump signed executive orders that declared a national emergency at the border and deployed the U.S. military to combat the surge. He also signed orders ending birthright citizenship, suspending refugee admissions, ending the use of an app at the southern border to admit migrants via humanitarian parole and resuming border wall construction. The Pentagon stepped in, deploying troops to the southern border and opening up Guantánamo Bay to migrants. ICE restrictions previously put in place by the Biden administration were overturned by the DHS, allowing law enforcement to go into “sensitive” places, conduct expedited removal and review the parole status of migrants brought in under parole. According to DHS data obtained by Fox News Digital, there were 11,791 interior ICE arrests from Jan. 20 to Feb. 8, compared to 4,969 during the same period in 2024, a 137% increase. A number of high-profile raids in “sanctuary” cities yielded more than a thousand daily arrests, including those of violent criminals and gang members. The country has also benefited financially from the new Trump border policies, with tens of millions of dollars taken back from New York City designated for hotels where migrants are being housed. A recent order directed all federal agencies to identify all federally funded programs providing financial benefits to illegal immigrants and “take corrective action.” The goal of the order is to make sure federal funds will not be used to support sanctuary policies or assist illegal immigration. Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Bill Melguin contributed to this report.