Lok Sabha polls 2024: Union Home Minister Amit Shah takes swipe at AAP-Congress alliance for Delhi, says ‘zero plus..’
The AAP and the Congress have no Lok Sabha seat from Delhi where the BJP won all seven seats in the 2019 and 2014 elections. ”You can keep forming alliances but Prime Minister Modi will return to power with over 400 seats,” Shah asserted.
3 in 4 US teens say they are happy or peaceful without their smartphone
Survey by the Pew Research Centre comes amid growing push to regulate children’s access to digital platforms. Nearly three out of four teenagers in the United States say they feel happy or peaceful when they do not have their smartphone with them, a survey has found, underscoring concerns about the effects of digital media on minors. But despite their positive associations with putting their smartphone away, only 36 percent of teens reported cutting back on using their devices, the survey by the Pew Research Centre showed on Monday. Overall, 38 percent of teens reported spending too much time on their smartphone, compared with 51 percent who said their time spent was “about right,” with girls more likely than boys to consider their use excessive. Teens reported similar experiences with social media, with 39 percent saying they had reduced their exposure and 27 percent reporting their use was excessive. When it came to learning social skills, 42 percent said that smartphones had made it harder, compared with 30 percent who said they helped. The survey also found that a significant portion of teens experience negative emotions when they are without their device. About four in 10 teens said not having their smartphone made them feel anxious, upset or lonely at least sometimes. The findings come amid a growing push by policymakers in the US and elsewhere to regulate the use of digital platforms by minors. More than 40 US states last year announced a lawsuit against Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, accusing the tech giant of harming children’s mental health by building addictive features into its platforms. During an appearance before the US Senate in January, Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg offered an apology to families who said their children had been negatively affected by the company’s platforms. US states, including Texas and Florida, the United Kingdom and the European Union have passed legislation aimed at reducing children’s exposure to harmful content online. Last month, Canada became the latest country to move towards greater regulation of tech companies with the unveiling of the Online Harms Act, which would require platforms to introduce features to protect children, such as parental controls and safe search settings. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 748
As the war enters its 748th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Fighting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the situation along the front line in the east was “much better” and that Ukraine had “recovered” its strategic position with Russian troops no longer advancing after their capture last month of the eastern city of Avdiivka. The Kremlin declined to comment on Russian media reports that it had sacked Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the commander-in-chief of its navy, after losing a string of warships to Ukrainian attacks in the Black Sea. Several news outlets including the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper reported over the weekend that Yevmenov had been replaced by Northern Fleet commander Alexander Moiseyev. Ukraine said its air defences shot down 15 out of 25 Russian drones launched in an overnight attack on the southern Odesa region but an infrastructure facility and some commercial buildings were hit. Ten of the Shahed drones were destroyed in the skies above the Black Sea port of Odesa. The United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation (UNESCO) said more than 1,400 buildings belonging to scientific institutions in Ukraine had been damaged in Russia’s invasion and their restoration would cost $1.26bn. Politics and diplomacy Pope Francis’s call for Ukraine to “show the courage of the white flag” and begin talks to end the war continued to create ructions. Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, said the call was “quite understandable” while NATO, a Ukraine ally, said it was not the time to talk about “surrender”. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, summoned the Vatican ambassador, known as the papal nuncio. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that former US President Donald Trump had told him he would “not give a penny” to the war in Ukraine. Orban met Trump, who is running to become US president again, in Florida. He added that it was “hard not to agree with” Trump’s position. 20 Days in Mariupol took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Associated Press journalist Mstyslav Chernov captured the brutal siege and fight for the Black Sea city in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Hailing the win, the first ever for Ukraine, Zelenskyy said the documentary showed “the truth about Russian terrorism”. Russian lawmakers submitted a draft bill to the State Duma that would rewrite a chapter of history by nullifying the 1954 Soviet decision to transfer Crimea from Russia to Ukraine. The draft describes the handover as arbitrary and illegal. Weapons The US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines urged lawmakers to approve more military assistance for Ukraine, telling a key Senate committee it was “hard to imagine how Ukraine” could hold territory it has recaptured from Russia without more assistance from Washington. Adblock test (Why?)
Boeing whistleblower John Barnett found dead
Coroner’s office in US state of South Carolina says 62-year-old former Boeing employee died on Saturday. A former Boeing employee who blew the whistle on alleged safety problems at the aircraft manufacturing giant has been found dead. John Barnett, 62, died on Saturday from an apparent “self-inflicted” wound, a coroner in South Carolina in the United States said on Monday. “Charleston City Police Department is the investigating agency. No further details are available at this time,” the office of Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal told Al Jazeera in a statement. Boeing, where Barnett worked for more than three decades until his retirement in 2017, expressed condolences at the news of his death. “We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends,” the Seattle-based aircraft manufacturer told Al Jazeera in a statement. The BBC, which first reported the news of Barnett’s death, said the former employee had been giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the company in recent days. In 2019, Barnett was quoted by the BBC alleging that Boeing had deliberately fitted planes with faulty parts and that passengers on its 787 Dreamliner could be left without oxygen in the event of a sudden decompression. Boeing denied Barnett’s claims at the time, insisting that it adhered to the highest safety standards. Boeing, which dominates the market for commercial aircraft along with Netherlands-based Airbus, has been under intense scrutiny over its safety record since two fatal crashes involving the Boeing 737 MAX in 2018 and 2019. On Monday, dozens of people suffered injuries, most of them minor, when their Boeing aircraft en route to New Zealand from Australia experienced what airline officials described as a “strong movement” caused by a “technical event”. The incident was the latest in a series of safety-related events since the beginning of March, including an engine fire that forced a Boeing 737 to make an emergency landing in Houston, Texas shortly after takeoff. On Saturday, US media outlets reported that prosecutors had opened a criminal investigation into January’s mid-flight blowout of a Boeing 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines. A preliminary report by the US National Transportation Safety Board into the incident found evidence suggesting that four key bolts designed to hold the door in place had been missing. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said last week it had given Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to correct problems in its production and shortage procedures following an audit that identified “non-compliance issues”. A separate FAA report released last month found serious problems with Boeing’s safety culture, including fears of retaliation among employees with safety concerns. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, these organisations may be able to help. Adblock test (Why?)
PM Modi to unveil railway projects worth Rs 85000 crore in Ahmedabad today
PM Modi will also dedicate to the Nation 50 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras at Railway Stations. These centres would offer affordable and quality generic medicines to the people.
Citizenship Amendment Act: Citizenship won’t be revoked, nothing to do with religion, says Centre
The BJP had pledged to implement the CAA to safeguard persecuted religious minorities from neighboring countries in its 2019 election manifesto.
Biden hints he won’t take executive action to secure border, wants Congress to find a fix
President Biden said he doesn’t plan on taking executive action to address the record numbers of migrants coming into the United States through the southern border after indicating that he might, following failed efforts to find a legislative fix. Biden was asked Monday about the possibility of unilaterally adding safeguards to the U.S.-Mexico border, a move that would be reminiscent of controversial actions taken by former President Donald Trump when he took office. “I’m counting on the border action happening by itself, them passing it,” he told reporters on Air Force One after visiting New Hampshire, referring to a legislative fix to the problem. MIGRANTS CAUGHT ON NEW VIDEO STREAMING DOWN REMOTE CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINSIDE TO ILLEGALLY CROSS THE BORDER Biden appeared to be considering executive action to tackle the ongoing border crisis after a bipartisan Senate bill failed to gather the proper support. An administration source previously told Fox News that the president was considering executive action to restrict the ability of migrants to claim asylum, but that it’s one of “several” plans being looked at. On Monday, when a reporter reminded Biden that Congress can’t come to a bipartisan agreement, he said: “Well they haven’t yet, they haven’t yet. I’m helping them.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG TREN DE ARAGUA SETS UP SHOP IN US AS BORDER AUTHORITIES SOUND ALARM Upon taking office, Biden revoked dozens of executive orders issued by Trump to secure the southern border and issued his own executive actions regarding the border. At the time, the moves were praised by immigration activists and Democrats. The president has repeatedly blamed Republicans for the border bill’s failure, accusing the GOP of putting partisan politics ahead of national security. “No executive action, no matter how aggressive, can deliver the significant policy reforms and additional resources Congress can provide and that Republicans rejected,” White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said last month. “We continue to call on Speaker [Mike] Johnson and House Republicans to pass the bipartisan deal to secure the border.” Nearly 7.3 million migrants have illegally crossed the southwest border under President Biden’s watch, a number greater than the population of 36 individual states, a Fox News analysis found. Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
Statewide legal sports betting underway in North Carolina
Mobile and online sports wagering across North Carolina took off on Monday, as several licensed gambling operators started taking bets nine months after legislation to authorize such activity statewide became law. Some of the interactive sports wagering operators, which include big names in the growing field of legalized gambling, and their affiliates held special events to highlight the new gambling options in the nation’s ninth-largest state. North Carolina is now the 30th state, along with the District of Columbia, to offer mobile sports betting, according to the American Gaming Association. Registered customers within the state’s borders can bet on professional, college or Olympic-style sports. LEGAL BATTLE UNDERWAY IN FLORIDA OVER SPORTS BETTING AS SUPREME COURT PETITION CHALLENGES TRIBAL AGREEMENT “North Carolina is a state that we’ve been really dying to get into for a couple of years now,” DraftKings Chief Commercial Officer Jeremy Elbaum said at a public event at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, where retired Carolina Panthers player Greg Olsen placed a ceremonial first online bet. “The way the sports calendar works here, the love for college, the love for NASCAR specifically and obviously the other major sports, has made this a key state for us.” The North Carolina State Lottery Commission, directed in the June 2023 law authorizing the games to license operators and set rules, announced several weeks ago that wagering on mobile devices and computers would begin at noon Monday. The start date — on the eve of the popular Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament — was not lost on sports enthusiasts. Gov. Roy Cooper, who signed the sports betting bill approved by the General Assembly into law and an ardent fan of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, said he placed a bet on the team to win the Stanley Cup later this year. He said any monetary winnings would go to the team’s charitable foundation. “The legalization of sports betting will provide a significant boost to North Carolina’s economy and will allow our thriving sports industry to continue to grow,” Cooper said while releasing a video, pre-filmed before the noon start, of him walking onto the ice at the team’s PNC Arena in Raleigh. The commission announced the eight initial licensees on Feb. 29. The day after, these operators began setting up accounts for players age 21 and over and receiving monetary deposits. That’s prompted an array of television and social media advertising by gambling operators trying to attract customers with financial incentives. In addition to DraftKings, the initial sport wagering licenses went to BETMGM and Underdog Sports Wagering; companies doing business as FanDuel Sportsbook, Fanatics Sportsbook, bet365 and ESPN BET; and Caesars Sportsbook, which is associated with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and already operates in-person sports gambling at the tribe’s two casinos in western North Carolina. All eight operators were running Monday, the lottery commission said. A late adjustment to the 2023 law said that most interactive wagering company applicants had to enter an agreement with an in-state professional team, or certain pro golf or automobile racing venues or governing bodies, to obtain a license. For example, DraftKings has an agreement with NASCAR, while Fanatics Sportsbook is associated with the Hurricanes. The law also authorizes in-person betting at future sportsbooks that would have to be located at or near certain large sports or racing venues. The commission has said those will open on a case-by-case basis as operators meet requirements. Provisions in the law for the commission to regulate betting on horse races and to set rules for live horse racing also will be implemented in the future. The legislation will tax sports wagering at a rate equal to 18% of gross betting revenue minus distributed winnings. The revenues could exceed $100 million annually within five years, according to a legislative branch analysis. The government’s share will go in part to athletic departments at 13 University of North Carolina system schools, amateur and youth sporting events and gambling addiction education and treatment programs. Some licensees have talked up the “responsible gaming” features on their betting apps.
CIA, intel director struggle to say if Israel is actually ‘exterminating’ Palestinians
When questioned by Sen. Tom Cotton on Monday, national security officials grappled with whether they believe Israel is engaged in the systematic destruction of the Palestinian people. During the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s annual Worldwide Threats hearing — which was interrupted several times by protesters demonstrating for a ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas — Cotton asked both CIA Director William Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines if Israel was “exterminating” Palestinians in Gaza. SENATE REPUBLICANS HAMMER BIDEN’S $7.3 TRILLION BUDGET REQUEST AS ‘LIBERAL WISH LIST’ “Some of our audience members are accusing you of pretty serious conduct,” Cotton said, referencing the protesters. DEMOCRAT SEN WARNER CEDES ‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT’ ON TIKTOK BEING ‘ENORMOUS’ NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE “I want to give you a chance to respond to what’s been said,” he continued. “Is Israel exterminating the Palestinian people?” Burns responded: “I think there are a lot of innocent civilians in Gaza who are in desperate conditions right now.” He added that there are also hostages in “desperate circumstances.” When pressed by Cotton, Burns said, “No,” and said he understands Israel’s need to respond to the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. But, he said, “I think we also have to be mindful of the enormous toll that this has taken on innocent civilians in Gaza.” HOUSE GOP LEADERS TEAR UP BIDEN’S NEW $7.3T BUDGET PROPOSAL: ‘RECKLESS SPENDING’ The Arkansas Republican then turned the question toward Haines, asking her opinion. “I really don’t have anything to add to what Director Burns has said,” she explained, adding that she fully endorsed his response. When Cotton asked Burns if Israel was starving children, as protesters claimed, the CIA director said, “I think the reality is that there are children who are starving.” SPEAKER JOHNSON SLAMS BIDEN FOR ‘REGRET’ ON CALLING LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT ‘ILLEGAL’ The senator pressed him as to whether this was Israel’s doing, to which Burns didn’t respond. “They’re starving,” Burns reiterated. Cotton then stated for the record that he doesn’t believe Israel or any of the national security witnesses are either “exterminating the Palestinian people or starving Palestinian children.” The senator told Fox News Digital afterward that he was “disappointed” by their answers.
Ohio Gov. DeWine makes endorsement in uber-competitive Senate race
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio parted ways with Donald Trump on Monday and endorsed state Sen. Matt Dolan over Trump-backed businessman Bernie Moreno in the state’s three-way GOP primary for a U.S. Senate seat. In breaking ranks with the former president, DeWine called Dolan the party’s best shot at defeating Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown in November. Brown is viewed as one of the Senate’s most vulnerable Democrats seeking reelection this fall, while Dolan has cast himself as a moderate Republican and the only candidate in his primary who didn’t actively seek Trump’s endorsement. OHIO GOP SENATE CANDIDATE TOUTS KEY PRO-2A GROUP’S ENDORSEMENT: ‘ONLY CANDIDATE’ VOTERS ‘CAN TRUST’ ON GUNS In a letter to fellow Ohioans, DeWine and his wife Fran urged them to vote for Dolan. They praised Dolan for his “service, experience, and integrity,” and wrote: “He listens. He fights. And, he knows how to get results for Ohio.” DeWine’s decision highlights continued divisions between establishment Republicans in the one-time battleground state and the party’s increasingly dominant pro-Trump flank, which twice chose him for president by strong margins. Ohio’s state GOP was the first in the nation to endorse Trump for president this year. Only about two weeks ago, DeWine told reporters he didn’t plan any endorsement in the GOP primary, which also features Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, his fellow state officeholder. But that was before the March 19 primary edged ever closer with no apparent runaway leader and a large swath of Republican voters still undecided. Moderate former U.S. Sen. Rob Portman similarly weighed in late in the contest, endorsing Dolan on Friday. DeWine’s move is less likely to hurt Moreno, who has campaigned heavily on the Trump endorsement, than LaRose, a former Green Beret and second-term state officeholder who has been working to carve out a winning lane in the race. LaRose frequently points out that Moreno and Dolan are millionaires, having self-funded their campaigns to the tune of a combined $10 million, while he is merely a “thousandaire.” Moreno made his fortune in Cleveland, first building a luxury auto sales business and later in blockchain technology, which generates “blocks” of information or transactions into ledgers that are secure and transparent. Dolan’s family owns baseball’s Cleveland Guardians. Moreno campaigned Monday throughout central Ohio with Trump-backed South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. He’s also enjoyed support on the campaign trail from other big-name Trump allies, including Donald Trump Jr. His endorsements also include Ohio’s Trump-backed Republican U.S. Sen. JD Vance, pro-Trump fighter U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. But DeWine’s decision suggested such conservative backing may not be enough against Brown, a three-term senator who’s been one of the state’s most reliably elected politicians for decades. DeWine, too, has such a legacy — having served as a former state legislator, congressman, U.S. senator and lieutenant governor. He won reelection by a 25% margin in 2022, carrying 85 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Republicans view Brown, among the most liberal members of the Senate, as particularly vulnerable this year because of the unpopularity of the same-party president, Joe Biden, and Ohio’s tack to the political right in recent years.