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Paris 2024: China gives table tennis legend Ma another shot at Olympic gold

Paris 2024: China gives table tennis legend Ma another shot at Olympic gold

Ma Long’s inclusion in China’s table tennis squad gives the 35-year-old a chance to win gold in his fourth consecutive Olympics. China’s Ma Long will get a shot at winning a sixth Olympic gold medal in Paris in August despite having been denied the chance to claim a third straight singles title at his fourth Summer Games. The 14-time world champion, now 35, won team golds at all three of his previous Olympics and back-to-back men’s singles titles in Rio and Tokyo to become the most successful table tennis Olympian of all time. Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong, who lost to Ma in the Tokyo final, were named as China’s entries for the singles last week but Ma was confirmed by the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) on Tuesday as the third player for the team tournament. There were no surprises in the women’s team who will seek to continue China’s domination of the sport with the lineup for Paris identical to that which swept the board in Tokyo. Reigning champion and world number two Chen Meng and world number one Sun Yingsha will again compete in the women’s singles and join up with world number three Wang Manyu in the team event, where China are also defending champions. China have won 32 of the 37 golds and 60 of the 155 total medals since the sport was introduced to the Summer Olympics in 1988, and the competition for a spot on the national team is fierce. The mixed doubles, a new event in Tokyo, was the one gold medal China missed out on three years ago and Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, who top the world rankings, will pair up to try and end that anomaly in Paris. World number four pair Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi will be the substitute players for the men’s and women’s teams, respectively, the CTTA said in a statement. The 2024 Olympic table tennis events will take place at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from July 27 to August 10. Adblock test (Why?)

Number of internally displaced people hit new record in 2023: Report

Number of internally displaced people hit new record in 2023: Report

Conflicts in Sudan and Gaza drove millions from their homes in 2023. The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) around the globe hit a record 75.9 million in 2023, an NGO monitor has found. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) said in a report released on Tuesday that 7.7 million people were displaced by disasters and 68.3 million by conflict and violence. The wars in Sudan and Gaza helped push the numbers to the new record. “Over the past two years, we’ve seen alarming new levels of people having to flee their homes due to conflict and violence, even in regions where the trend had been improving,” IDMC director Alexandra Bilak said. “Conflict, and the devastation it leaves behind, is keeping millions from rebuilding their lives, often for years on end.” While refugees are those who have fled abroad, internal displacement refers to the forced movement of people within the country in which they live. The end-of-year record was a significant increase from 71.1 million recorded at the end of 2022. Over the last five years, the figure increased by more than 50 percent, the IDMC said. Conflict-driven The number of IDPs resulting from conflict increased by 22.6 million last year, with the two biggest increases in 2022 and 2023. Sudan has the highest number of IDPs recorded for a single country since records began in 2008, the monitor said, with an estimated 9.1 million people displaced. Almost half of all IDPs live in sub-Saharan Africa. Fighting in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Palestinian territory accounted for nearly two-thirds of new movements of people due to conflict in 2023. In the Gaza Strip, 1.7 million Palestinians were internally displaced by the end of 2023, after Israel launched a war following an attack by Hamas on October 7. The monitor, which also keeps track of each new forced movement of a person within their borders, said there were 3.4 million new movements as people were displaced several times over in the enclave. Of the 26.4 million forced movements due to disasters, a third were in China and Turkey as a result of severe weather events and strong earthquakes. The report warned that displacement often lasts for long periods due to infrastructure damage and institutional disruption. In Syria, the number of internally displaced people reached a peak of 7.6 million in 2014. However, the number still stood at 7.2 million last year, despite a significant reduction in violence. The IDMC was created by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in 1998. Jan Egeland, NRC’s chief, said the monitor had never recorded so many people forced away from their homes and communities. “It is a damning verdict on the failures of conflict prevention and peace-making,” Egeland said. “The lack of protection and assistance that millions endure cannot be allowed to continue.” Adblock test (Why?)

Unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir: What’s behind the recent protests?

Unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir: What’s behind the recent protests?

Islamabad, Pakistan — Protesters in Pakistan-administered Kashmir have called for shutdowns and the declaration of a “black day” on Tuesday after blaming paramilitary forces for killing three young men and injuring several others on Monday evening. A protest convoy, led by a group called the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), has been marching towards Muzaffarabad since May 11, the capital of the autonomous region bordering India, over demands including subsidised flour and electricity. However, on Monday evening, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved a 23 billion rupee ($82m) subsidy programme, drastically reducing the price of wheat and flour. Shaukat Nawaz Mir, the chairman of the JAAC, said the group had planned to turn their protest in to a celebration after the government’s decision to meet their demands, but will now protest against the killings. “Our protesters were completely peaceful but the government’s decision to call in rangers meant that they wanted to use force against us, and now we see that three people were killed,” he told Al Jazeera. The regional government also issued a notification ordering the closure of government offices and all educational institutions in the region. The protests, which started over the weekend, also saw the partial suspension of mobile internet services as well in some regions. Pakistani government officials have hinted, on social media, at “enemy propaganda” fanning the tensions — an apparent allusion to India, with which Pakistan has fought three wars over Kashmir. But officially, Islamabad has not blamed India for the crisis it faces in Pakistan-administered Kashmir just yet. On Sunday, Sharif expressed “deep concerns” over the situation, saying that while protest is a democratic right, no one should take the law into their own hands. “Unfortunately, in situations of chaos and dissent, there are always some who rush in to score political points. While debate, discussion and peaceful protests are the beauties of democracy, there should be absolutely no tolerance for taking the law in one’s own hands and damaging government properties,” he wrote in a message on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). Deeply concerned about the situation in AJK. Unfortunately in situations of chaos and dissent there are always some who rush in to score political points. While debate, discussion and peaceful protests are the beauties of democracy , there should be absolutely no tolerance for… — Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 12, 2024 Here is a look at what the protesters have been demanding and how the government has responded so far. What are the protests about? The Kashmir valley is the picturesque, but contentious Himalayan region over which Pakistan and India have fought multiple wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. The region is claimed in full by both, but each governs parts of it. With a population of more than four million, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, locally known as Azad Jammu Kashmir, has a semiautonomous government with its own prime minister. According to Imtiaz Aslam, a senior leader of the 31-member JAAC which includes labour leaders, traders, transporters and other civil society members in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, their demands go back a year to May 2023. “Our movement began last year when there was a massive wheat crisis leading to increased prices of flour, and after that there was a major increase in electricity rates, following which we began our protests and made demands to reduce the prices,” he told Al Jazeera. Aslam, who was speaking from the region’s Bagh district while leading a convoy of hundreds of people to the regional capital, Muzaffarabad, roughly 75km (46 miles) north, said the protesters were also urging the government to rein in spending on officials. The protesters allege that slashing the bureaucracy of Pakistan-administered Kashmir could ensure it has more resources to spend on the public. “’Civil society people are protesting all over the world. The problem here is that as soon as you make any demands, you are accused of being an agent and silenced,” he said. What are the protesters’ demands? According to Aslam of the JAAC, the residents put forward 10 demands before the government, nine of which the government agreed to in February but has failed to deliver. The demands included the provision of subsidised flour, the provision of electricity at its production cost, and improved financial integration with the rest of Pakistan, allowing the bank in the region to open branches in other parts of the country. The JAAC says the government agreed to all of the demands except for reducing electricity prices. Protesters say the people of Pakistan-administered Kashmir should get electricity at cost since it is generated locally, through Mangla Dam, situated in the Mirpur district of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Aslam, the senior leader, said three months later, the government is yet to meet any of those demands. “On February 4, we were told by the government representatives that our demands will be met except the electricity rate and promised to deliver on them within a month. Yet here we are, when instead of fulfilling our demands, they have unleashed brutal violence on our peaceful demonstrations,” the leader said. However, Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, commissioner of Mirpur, says under Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, the prime minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the regional administration had already reduced prices of electricity and flour. But protesters say the reductions do not go far enough. “The protesters are only shifting goalposts, as they keep coming up with new demands,” Ali said, suggesting that the demand to lower electricity prices to production cost was new. “This is not how it is done.” Kashmiris in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi rallied to support the protests in Pakistan-administered Kashmir [Shahzaib Akber/EPA] What is the latest situation? As tensions grew during protests over the last few days, the regional government called in paramilitary forces and deployed extra police. The JAAC claims some of its leadership was arrested pre-emptively by law enforcement officials, prompting them to call for a general strike on May 10. That was followed by a call for protests

Contentious primaries in 3 states set up crucial general election matchups in House, Senate – What to know

Contentious primaries in 3 states set up crucial general election matchups in House, Senate – What to know

Voters in Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia head to the polls on Tuesday in some competitive and contentious Democrat and Republican primaries that in a couple of cases will tee up crucial general election showdowns that may decide the House and Senate majorities. The most high-profile of the May 14 primary contests is in Maryland, where Republicans are aiming to flip a Senate seat long held by the Democrats in one of the bluest states in the nation. Popular former two-term Gov. Larry Hogan is considered the overwhelming front-runner for the GOP Senate nomination in a field of more than a half dozen Republican candidates. “We like where Larry’s at,” Senate Republican campaign committee chair Sen. Steve Daines of Montana told Fox News Digital last week. “We know that’s going to be a tough race because Maryland is a blue state, but it’s a Hogan state first and foremost.” WHY SENATE GOP CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE CHAIR IS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT WINNING BACK MAJORITY With Democrats hoping to protect their fragile 51-49 majority in the Senate, Hogan’s late entry into the Maryland Senate race in February gave them an unexpected headache in a state that was previously considered safe territory. As Hogan cruises toward the GOP nomination, the Democrat Senate primary in the race to succeed retiring longtime Sen. Ben Cardin is grabbing the spotlight. It’s a battle between big bucks and high-profile endorsements between the two leading contenders in the 10-candidate field, and it’s also a fight over whether electability outweighs diversity. “If Larry Hogan wins,” three-term Rep. David Trone, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, says in his closing campaign commercial, “we lose more than the majority. We lose a woman’s right to choose – could lose Social Security. And with Trump knocking on the door, lose democracy itself.” THIS SENATE CANDIDATE CAUGHT ON CAMERA SCREAMING AT REPORTER Trone, the co-founder and co-owner of Total Wine and More, has dished out more than $50 million of his own money to his campaign. “The polls say I’m the only candidate who can beat Larry Hogan. And I intend to use every ounce of my energy to do just that. The stakes are just too damn high,” he said in one of his final ads. Trone has massively outspent Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a Black woman who steers Maryland’s second-most populous county, which is located in suburban D.C. But he’s also sparked controversy with a couple of verbal miscues. Meanwhile, Alsobrooks enjoys the backing of much of the state’s Democrat establishment, including endorsements from Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Chris Van Hollen and five House members. Alsobrooks, pushing back in a recent ad on insinuations from Trone that she’s not experienced enough to handle the Senate, argued that “while my opponent focuses on fighting, I’ll focus on working for you.” Pointing to Alsobrooks and Trone, Hogan told Fox News’ Mark Meredith on the eve of the primary that “I don’t know which one’s going to limp out of that primary. But we’ll be ready.” While Democrats control the Senate now, Republicans are looking at a favorable election map this year with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. TRUMP EDGES BIDEN IN THESE KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES Three of those seats are in red states that former President Trump carried in 2020: Ohio, Montana and also West Virginia, where Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election. “The first state that we know that we’re going to win at this point is West Virginia,” Daines said. “There’s one pickup seat right there.” Republican Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia, who is term-limited, is the favorite to win Tuesday’s GOP Senate primary. A billionaire businessman who owns the state’s famed Greenbrier Resort and a Democrat who became a Republican seven years ago, Justice is part of a crowded field of GOP candidates where conservative Rep. Alex Mooney is his main competitor. The Republican nominee will be considered the overwhelming favorite in November to flip the Democrat-held seat. Don Blankenship, a former coal company CEO who was convicted of conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards, is running in a field that also includes Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, who has Manchin’s endorsement, and Marine Corps veteran Zach Shrewsbury, who has the backing of progressive groups. While Republicans aim to recapture the Senate majority for the first time in four years, Democrats are looking to take back control of the House, which they lost by a razor-thin margin in the 2022 midterms. And one of the Republican-held seats they are eyeing is Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, which is anchored by Omaha and its surrounding suburbs. Four-term Republican Rep. Don Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general, is one of 16 Republican members of Congress representing a district that President Biden carried in the 2020 election. He’s facing a challenge from his party’s right flank from candidate Dan Frei, who is backed by Nebraska’s state GOP. A primary victory by Frei would be considered a political gift to Democrats as they aim to flip the district in November. In a very rare occurrence, both of Nebraska’s Republican senators are up for election this year and both face nomination opposition in Tuesday’s primary. Sen. Deb Fischer is seeking a third six-year term in the Senate. Sen. Pete Ricketts, a former governor, is running to finish the remaining two years of the term of former GOP Sen. Ben Sasse, who stepped down in 2023 to become University of Florida president. In West Virginia, with Justice term-limited and running for the Senate, the GOP gubernatorial primary is taking center stage.  State attorney general Patrick Morrisey, the 2018 Republican Senate nominee, former state Rep. Moore Capito (the son of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and grandson of the late Gov. Arch Moore Jr.), auto dealer Chris Miller (son of Rep. Carol Miller), and West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner are among the candidates. Huntington Mayor Steve Williams is unopposed for the Democrats’ gubernatorial nomination.