India Reaffirms Commitment to Trade Relations with Afghanistan Through Iran
Tehran, IRAN (DT) – India has reiterated its keen interest in fostering trade ties with Afghanistan through the strategic route of Iran, emphasizing the significance of regional economic cooperation.
During a press conference in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart Amir-Abdollahian, Jaishankar stated, “I emphasized India’s keen interest in leveraging Iran’s distinctive geographical location to gain access to markets in Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Eurasia. Our discussions included exploring the potential revitalization of the International North South Transport Corridor.”
The diplomat also said that the two countries will continue their dialogue about Afghanistanโs stability.
Trade Connectivity:
India has restated its commitment to bolstering trade relations with Afghanistan, recognizing the crucial role of Iran as a key transit route for fostering regional economic connectivity.
Strategic Partnership:
The reaffirmation of interest underscores the strategic importance India places on strengthening economic partnerships with neighboring countries, fostering mutual growth and development.
Regional Stability:
Enhancing trade through Iran is seen as a pathway to bolstering regional stability, creating a positive environment for economic collaboration and shared prosperity.
Diplomatic Channels:
India’s reiterated commitment comes as a result of diplomatic efforts to sustain and strengthen economic ties, emphasizing the potential benefits for both India and Afghanistan.
Strategic Geopolitical Importance:
The trade corridor through Iran holds geopolitical significance, offering a secure and efficient route for trade activities and contributing to the overall economic stability of the region.
As India reaffirms its dedication to trade relations with Afghanistan, the focus on leveraging the Iran route highlights a commitment to regional economic cooperation and the strengthening of diplomatic ties. Stay tuned for further developments on this crucial trade initiative.
Jaishankar also announced that India has decided to include Farsi (Persian) as one of the nine classical languages in India under the New Education Policy.
In a tweet, the Indian Foreign Minister shared details of his meeting with the Iranian counterpart.
Held wide ranging discussions today in Tehran with Iranian FM @Amirabdolahian.
Our bilateral discussion focused on the long term framework for Indiaโs involvement with Chabahar port and the INSTC connectivity project.
The bilateral discussion primarily centered around establishing a long-term framework for India’s engagement with the Chabahar port and the INSTC connectivity project. Addressing concerns about threats to maritime shipping in the region was highlighted as a crucial and urgent matter.
The agenda also encompassed discussions on the Gaza situation, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and fostering cooperation within the BRICS framework.
Dense fog disrupts hundreds of flights, trains in New Delhi
New Delhi, INDIA (EFE).- Dense fog in the Indian capital, New Delhi, led authorities to cancel and delay hundreds of flights and trains on Tuesday.
Indian farmers work in their field during a cold and foggy morning in the outskirts of New Delhi, India, 09 January 2024. EFE-EPA/HARISH TYAGI
Thirty-four flights were cancelled and 193 were delayed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, according to Flightradar24, an online portal that tracks air traffic in real-time.
Arrivals in the capital were also disrupted, with 27 flights cancelled on Tuesday and over 70 delayed.
The Delhi airport said on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday that โwhile landing and take-offs continueโ on its runways, flights without the CAT III landing system, which helps planes land in low visibility conditions, โmay get affected.โ
Northern India is experiencing a cold wave and fog that reduced visibility to zero at the capitalโs airport.
Visibility was a maximum of 50 meters in New Delhi at 10:30 am, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The thick fog also delayed 30 trains heading to the capital on Tuesday, local news agency ANI reported.
On Monday, Indian aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the capitalโs airport had been asked to โimmediately expedite the operationalization of the CAT III-enabled fourth runwayโ to prevent delays in the future.
The countryโs civil aviation regulatory body, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, will also issue guidelines to airlines to facilitate communication with affected passengers, he added in a post on X.
Guatemala City (EFE/AP)- Bernardo Arevalo de Leon was sworn in early Monday as the new president of Guatemala for the next four years at the National Theater of the Guatemalan capital.
Firewrks explode over the National Palace as incoming Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo and Vice President Karin Herrera wave to supporters from the balcony on their inauguration day in Guatemala City, early Monday, Jan.15,2024. Photo: Santiago Billy/AP
The ceremony was held after a ten-hour delay following a haphazard transition amid allegations by the new president of an attempted coup since his electoral victory in August.
โThe people of Guatemala have shown their wisdom, and institutions such as the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Electoral Court have protected Guatemalansโ sovereign desire to live in democracy,โ Arevalo said in his first address after being sworn in.
Arevalo, a 65-year-old academic was appointed head of state shortly after midnight amid delays in the transfer of power by outgoing President Alejandro Giammatei.
Incoming Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo speaks during inauguration ceremony in Guatemala City, early Monday, Jan.15,2024. Photo: Santiago Billy/AP
In his inauguration speech, Arรฉvalo quickly acknowledged the countryโs large Indigenous population, citing โhistoric debts … that we must resolve.โ About 40% of Guatemalans belong to one of about two dozen Indigenous groups, and they are generally poorer and have less access to services of all kinds.
โThere cannot be democracy without social justice, and social justice cannot prevail without democracy,โ Arรฉvalo said in his first speech as president, referring to the young and Indigenous Guatemalans.
In his first act as president, Arรฉvalo visited the site outside the Attorney Generalโs Office where Indigenous protesters kept vigil for more than three months, demanding authorities respect the will of voters and for Porras to step down. He applauded the protesters for defending the countryโs democracy.
Giammattei did not appear at the National Theatre for the handover ceremony but sent his secretary instead, stressing that he had to hand over his position to the Congress by midnight as required by law.
In the absence of the outgoing president, Arevalo received the presidential sash from the president of the Congress, Samuel Perez Alvarez, who had just assumed office.
Following his electoral success, Arevalo and his โMovimiento Semillaโ party have been persecuted by the Public Prosecutorโs Office and the Supreme Electoral Court.
The delay in the ceremony was caused by obstacles posed by the several outgoing legislators, ministers and judges, which were cleared with the constitution of the new Congress.
Arรฉvaloโs supporters were forced to wait hours for a festive inauguration celebration in Guatemala Cityโs emblematic Plaza de la Constitucion, but spirits remained high. For many Guatemalans, the inauguration represented not only the culmination of Arรฉvaloโs victory at the polls, but also their successful defense of the countryโs democracy.
People celebrate as they watch the inauguration ceremony of Incoming Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo on a screen outside the National Palace in Guatemala City, early Monday, Jan.15,2024. Photo: Santiago Billy/AP
โNo more authoritarianism,โ said the new president after his appointment and thanked the youth and the indigenous peoples for defending Guatemalaโs democracy.
Arevalo has come to power with an anti-corruption agenda, and his party emerged from the 2015 demonstrations โ riding on a similar discourse โ that led to the fall of President Otto Perez Molina.
The newly inaugurated president has promised a โnew spring,โ like the one when his father, Juan Jose Arevalo Bermejo, served as Guatemalaโs first democratically elected president (1946-1951).ย
Arรฉvalo got early and strong support from the international community. The European Union, Organization of American States and the U.S. government repeatedly demanded respect for the popular vote.
Washington went further, sanctioning Guatemalan officials and private citizens suspected of undermining the countryโs democracy.
Taiwan’s new president-elect will face China’s ire
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s new president-elect, Lai Ching-te, is likely to face his toughest task yet when he takes office in May and has to deal with the ire of China which has repeatedly denounced him as a dangerous separatist.
Lai, who won Saturday’s election, repeatedly said during the campaign that he wanted to keep the status quo with China, which claims Taiwan as its own, and offered to talk to Beijing.
“We don’t want to become enemies with China. We can become friends,” Lai, widely known by his English name William, told a Taiwanese television station in July.
But in Beijing’s view, Lai, 64, is a separatist and “troublemaker through and through” for comments he first made in 2017 as premier about being a “worker” for Taiwan’s formal independence – a red line for Beijing.
The next year he told parliament he was a “practical worker for Taiwan independence”, causing one Chinese newspaper, the widely read Global Times, to call for China to issue an international arrest warrant for Lai and prosecute him under China’s 2005 Anti-Secession Law.
Lai maintains he simply meant Taiwan is already an independent country. On the campaign trail he stuck by President Tsai Ing-wen’s line that the Republic of China – Taiwan’s formal name – and the People’s Republic of China are “not subordinate to each other”.
Under Taiwan’s constitution the Republic of China is a sovereign state, a view shared by all Taiwan’s main political parties. The Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists, who set up the People’s Republic.
What worries Beijing is the idea that Lai could try to change the status quo by declaring the establishment of a Republic of Taiwan, which Lai has said he will not do.
“I think China hates him, really hates him,” said Wu Xinbo, an international relations professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University. “It is because if he is elected as the leader of Taiwan, he may come to advance his goal of Taiwan independence, which will provoke a crisis across the Taiwan Strait.”
Still, while China has announced sanctions on several senior Taiwanese officials, including Lai’s running-mate Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s former de facto ambassador to the United States, it has not done so for Lai, perhaps indicating Beijing does not want to totally shut the door to one day having talks with him.
LAI URGED CHINA’S XI TO ‘CHILL OUT’
During the campaign, Lai said he would stick to President Tsai’s path of proffering talks with China and maintaining peace and the status quo, while also pledging to defend the island and reiterating only its people can decide the island’s future.
Stephen Tan, managing director of the International Policy Advisory Group in Taipei, said Lai’s platform was similar, if not identical, to that of Tsai, who is barred from seeking re-election after serving two terms.
“I would not envision from his policy and administration a big change in direction for both domestic and foreign policies,” Tan said.
Lai is from a humble background in northern Taiwan, the son of a coal miner who died when the president-elect was a small child. A physician, the younger Lai specialised in spinal cord injuries.
He became Tsai’s vice president in 2020 when they won in a landslide warning of the threat to Taiwan from China given Beijing’s crackdown on anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
Since then, China has massively ramped up military drills near Taiwan and held war games in August 2022 and last April in response to Taiwanese engagement with the United States.
Taiwan officials said this week they expected China to attempt to put pressure on the incoming president, including with military drills near Taiwan, before Lai takes office.
In May, at a question and answer session with students at his alma mater, National Taiwan University, Lai said the head of state he would most like to have dinner with is Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he would advise to “chill out a little”.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said his comments were “weird” and “deceitful”, given that his “Taiwan independence nature” had not changed.
Beijing has demanded Taiwan’s government accepts that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to “one China,” something Tsai and Lai have refused to do.
Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by William Mallard and David Holmes
Climate change is shrinking snowpack in many places, study shows. And it will get worse
DENVER (AP) โ River basins around the world that were once regularly snowbound are increasingly seeing their snowpack shrink and climate change is to blame, a new study found.
โMany of the worldโs most populous basins are hovering on the precipice of rapid snow declines,โ concluded the study of snow amounts since 1981 in Wednesdayโs journal Nature.
Thatโs because the study found a key threshold for the future of snowpacks in the Northern Hemisphere: 17.6 degrees (-8 degrees Celsius). In places where the winter temperature average is colder than that, the snowpack often survives because itโs cold enough. But areas warmer than 17.6 degrees for a winter average tend to see their winter wonderland dreams melt like the wicked witch of the west. And itโs happening fast.
โYouโre potentially in this regime of just really rapid and accelerating losses with warming,โ said lead author Alexander Gottlieb, an Earth systems scientist at Dartmouth College.
Most past studies have looked at snow cover, which is a simple measurement of whether the ground has snow or not. This latest research examined snowpack, a more encompassing measurement that includes depth and amount, at its general peak in March. Spring snowpack is critical for delivering a steady supply of drinking and irrigation water to billions of people, with bigger and earlier melts causing problems.
University of New Hampshire Earth systems scientist Elizabeth Burakowski, who wasnโt part of the research, said the study shows โbeyond a reasonable doubt that humans are responsible for the decline in snowpack in dozens of river basins across the Northern Hemisphereโ and melting of the snow โwill ratchet up with each degree.โ
In this photo provided by the California Department of Water Resources, the snow level on a mountain peak is seen near the meadow where the first snow survey of the year took place in Phillips Station, Calif., Jan. 2, 2024. (Fred Greaves/California Department of Water Resources via AP, File)
โThe study demonstrates that our snow future depends on the path we take to act on climate,โ Burakowski wrote in an email.
Gottlieb and Dartmouth climate scientist Justin Mankin examined 169 northern hemisphere river basins, finding a significant 40-year downward trend in 70 of the river basins, an increasing trend in a dozen and no trend in the others.
In 23 of those shrinking snowpacks, Mankin and Gottlieb, using variations on standard scientific techniques, were able to show that climate change clearly contributed to the melt. In eight river basins, all in chilly eastern Siberia, they found climate change helped build snowpack as precipitation increased but temperatures stayed cool enough to preserve it.
Europe and North America are getting some of the biggest spring snowpack losses, they found, including the Great Salt Lake, Merrimack, Connecticut, Susquehanna, Hudson, Delaware, Neva, Vistula, Dnieper, Don and Danube river basins.
A good example of shrinking snowpack is the upper reaches of the Colorado River basin in Colorado and parts of Wyoming, Gottlieb said. There, the winter temperature averages around 23 degrees (-5 degrees Celsius), seemingly cold enough for snow because itโs below freezing, but not really, he said.
โThis is a place where weโve started to see these kinds of accelerating losses start to emerge,โ Gottlieb said. โWe see this really clear picture of anthropogenic forest snow loss over the last 40 years or so.โ
Gottlieb and Mankin documented fingerprints of human-caused warming by using the standard climate attribution method of comparing what happened in the last 40 years of a real warming world to thousands of computer model runs showing what would happen to these river basins on a fictional planet with no climate change.
New York City is visible in a haze-filled sky due to wildfires in Canada, photographed from the Staten Island Ferry, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Places chillier than 17.6 degrees account for 81 percent of the Northern Hemisphere snowpack, but they donโt hold many people, only 570 million, Mankin said. More than 2 billion people live in areas where winter averages between 17.6 and 32 degrees (-8 and zero Celsius), he said.
Whatโs key, especially for water supply, is that โas warming accelerates, the snowpack change is going to accelerate much faster than it has,โ said Daniel Scott, a scientist at the University of Waterloo who wasnโt involved in the study.
Thatโs because whatโs happening is not gradual. Above a certain temperature, melt gets moving fast. Below that 17.6 degrees mark, itโs cold enough that the extra moisture in the air from climate change may result in more snow and increase snowpack, something Gottlieb and Mankin said they saw in eastern Siberia.
That 17.6-degree threshold โtells us more clearly how much risk there is and where,โ said University of Colorado ice scientist Waleed Abdalati, a former NASA chief scientist who wasnโt part of the study.
The ski industry โ with sometimes stark visuals of manufactured snow on an otherwise brown landscape for winter revelers to enjoy โ has long been an easy to understand example of an economy that will suffer from the lack of snow.
Sweat covers the face of Juan Carlos Biseno after dancing to music from his headphones as afternoon temperatures reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius) July 19, 2023, in Calexico, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Many ski areas wait anxiously every year for Mother Nature to bring enough powder to start running their lifts. Others have closed altogether after their seasons got too short.
Larger corporate-run mountains, such as Coloradoโs Aspen Snowmass, are able to operate consistently despite less snow and shorter winters.
โOpening and closing days remain constant due to snowmaking, which shows how important that is,โ said Auden Schendler, senior vice-president of sustainability at Aspen One, the parent company of Aspen Skiing Company.
They also invested in building new ski runs at higher elevations where snow is more reliable than at the base, insulating them from substantial economic loss โ for now.
โThat in no way reduces the urgency of the need to act with force and at scale,โ Schendler said. Aspen Snowmass is among a growing handful of ski areas that are embracing climate activism as the new industry standard, recognizing an urgent need to lobby for climate-friendly policies if they want to exist well into a warming future.
โ Peterson reported from Denver, Borenstein from Kensington, Maryland.
Who is Crown Prince Frederik, Denmarkโs soon-to-be king?
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) โ As a teenager, Denmarkโs Crown Prince Frederik felt uncomfortable being in the spotlight and wondered whether there was any way he could avoid becoming king.
Such doubts have been swept aside as the 55-year-old takes over the crown on Sunday from his mother, Queen Margrethe II, who is breaking with centuries of Danish royal tradition and retiring after a 52-year reign. The crown prince will become King Frederik X.
An athlete, decorated military officer and rock music fan, Frederik has a more informal style than his mother but is equally popular in the Scandinavian country.
Margrethe stunned the nation when she announced during her traditional New Yearโs Eve speech that she would step down, citing health reasons. A royal palace spokeswoman told the Berlingske newspaper that the queen informed her sons about her decision only three days before the announcement.
The crown prince, whose full name is Frederik Andrรฉ Henrik Christian, was born on May 26, 1968, as the first child of Margrethe and her husband, Prince Henrik, who died in 2018. His younger brother, Prince Joachim, was born in 1969.
Shy and reserved as a child, Frederik felt uneasy about the idea of ascending the throne, and the intense attention and scrutiny that come with it. In a 1996 interview with Berlingske Tidende, the crown prince said that in his teens he sometimes wondered whether he could escape his fate.
FILE – Danish Crown Prince Frederik, second from left, meets with the Mondavi family in Oakville on Friday, Jan. 20, 1989. (AP Photo/David Weintraub, File)
โI thought it was too uncomfortable,โ Frederik said. โYou knew you were going to be so public, so known, so accessible to everyone and so depicted. I didnโt like that.โ
As an adult he grew more comfortable with his position as heir to the throne and prepared himself for it. Frederik, who in addition to Danish speaks English, French and German, graduated from Aarhus University with a masterโs degree in political science. His studies included two semesters at Harvard University.
He received military training in several branches of Denmarkโs armed forces including as a frogman in an elite naval unit. Frederik got the nickname โPingoโ because of an episode when his wetsuit was filled with water and he waddled like a penguin, he said in a 2010 interview with Danish public broadcaster DR.
He learned about diplomacy during postings at the Danish Embassy in Paris and at Denmarkโs United Nations mission in New York. Like Britainโs King Charles III, he has shown a special interest in climate change and other environmental issues.
FILE – Denmarkโs Crown Prince Frederik and his fiancee Mary Donaldson, center, speak with Denmarkโs Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik as they appear on the balcony of the Christian IX Palace at Amalienborg Castle, in Copenhagen, Wednesday, Oct.8, 2003. (AP Photo/Heribert Proepper, File)
At home in Denmark, Frederik is known for being informal and down-to-earth. While he attends official functions in medal-studded uniforms, he can occasionally be spotted blending in with the crowds riding a bicycle with his bodyguards in tow or high-fiving teenagers.
A keen sportsman, Frederik has participated in six marathons, one Ironman triathlon and a dog-sled expedition in northern Greenland. For several years he was Denmarkโs member of the International Olympic Committee.
Some Danes feel so comfortable around the crown prince they address him without his royal title.
Lars Hovbakke Sรธrensen, a historian and expert on the Danish royal house, said Frederik has a more contemporary style than his mother, effortlessly engaging in casual conversation with regular people, though he is less astute than the queen in delivering formal speeches.
FILE – Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik walks on stage, during the opening of the United Nation’s new Climate Centre, The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. (Martin Sylvest/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, File)
While Margrethe is known for her appreciation of classical music, ballet and art, Frederik is more into rock music and sports, and younger generations find him relatable, Hovbakke Sรธrensen said.
โPeople expect the monarchs to be more informal, to be more like themselves. They donโt want this very large distance to the royal persons as we have seen before,โ he said.
Laura Larsen, a 27-year-old social housing employee in Copenhagen, said she believes Danes will like the new king.
โHe is going to be quite a relaxed king compared to our current monarch, compared to what weโre seeing,โ she said.
FILE – Denmarkโs Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary wave from the tugboat โSvitzer Marysvilleโ during its naming ceremony in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Nov 24, 2011. (Scott Barbour, Pool Photo via AP, File)
Like many of his contemporaries in Europeโs royal houses, Frederik found his spouse outside the aristocracy. He met Australian-born Mary Donaldson, the daughter of Scottish immigrants, in a bar during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. They married four years later.
The couple have four children: Prince Christian, 18; Princess Isabella, 16; and 13-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
Once Margrethe has abdicated, Christian will take over the title of crown prince and become first in line to succeed his father.
Mary will become queen of Denmark. Her unlikely journey from the island of Tasmania to become the worldโs first Australian-born queen on the other side of the world has captivated Danes and Australians alike.
At a Jan. 3 reception for foreign diplomats in Copenhagen, Australiaโs ambassador to Denmark, Kerin Ann Burns Ayyalaraju, said Australians are โincredibly proudโ of Mary, who often has been described in magazines as a fashion icon.
โIt is incredible to see how she has become such a significant part of Danish society,โ the ambassador said.
When Frederik turned 50, Mary praised her husband in a witty and romantic speech in fluent Danish.
โYou have always pushed the boundaries, and you have insisted on shaping the world around you to fit the person and have not allowed the structures in that world to define you,โ Mary said.
Associated Press reporter Anders Garde Kongshaug contributed to this report.
Guntur Kaaram Movie Review: Mahesh Babu’s Dedication Shines, but Trivikram’s Direction Curbs the ‘Jai Babu’ Enthusiasm
HYDERABAD (DT)- After a prolonged hiatus, the dynamic duo of Trivikram and Mahesh Babu reunites in the much-anticipated ‘Guntur Kaaram,’ marking their collaboration in a mass drama. Contrary to the typical Trivikram movie vibe, the trailer hints at an ultra-mass spectacle led by Mahesh Babu. The talented Sreeleela takes the stage as the female lead, with Meenakshi Chaudhary making a noteworthy appearance in a brief role. As the movie hits theaters, fans are eager to witness if ‘Guntur Kaaram’ lives up to the expectations built over the years. Let’s delve into the review from one of the US premieres to uncover the verdict.
The film witnesses Mahesh Babu’s unwavering commitment to his role, with a performance that radiates his star power. His portrayal adds depth to the character, keeping audiences engaged.
Mahesh Babu is super impressive in the role of โRamana Gaduโ. The man gets into that mass character and does full justice to the role. It is the thin plot and clueless narrative from Trivikram that wasted Maheshโs efforts.
Sreeleela was given a role without substance, yet she scored marks where she is good at, dancing. Sreeleela impresses with her dance moves, like always. Meenakshi Chaudhary has got a very brief role and she is alright. Ramya Krishna, Prakash Raj, and Murli Sharma are usual. Jayaramโs character appears repetitive. Jagapathi Babu appears in a so very ordinary role which we donโt expect at all. Ajay, Vennela Kishore, and Eeswari Rao did their job.
Trivikram’s Directional Choices
Despite Babu’s stellar efforts, the review emphasizes that Trivikram’s directorial decisions cast a shadow over the overall cinematic experience. Some directional choices are noted for hindering the expected ‘Jai Babu’ moments.
Plot Dynamics
The storyline of “Guntur Kaaram” is highlighted for its intriguing plot dynamics, offering a mix of emotions and suspense. Babu’s efforts to elevate the narrative are evident, but certain directorial elements dilute the impact.
Cinematography and Soundtrack
The technical aspects, including cinematography and the soundtrack, receive positive mentions, contributing to the film’s visual and auditory appeal. However, these strengths are somewhat overshadowed by the directional challenges.
Audience Expectations
The audience’s expectations for a resounding ‘Jai Babu’ experience are met with a nuanced response, with the film showing flashes of brilliance amid moments where the direction appears to restrain the full potential.
While Mahesh Babu’s performance remains a standout, Trivikram’s directorial approach emerges as a point of discussion among both fans and critics. As the reviews unfold, the film’s reception becomes a topic of anticipation for cinema enthusiasts.
Superstar Mahesh Babu and his family enjoyed a special screening of #GunturKaaram with fans today at Sudarshan 35MM ๐ฅ The overwhelming response and love they received were truly electrifying.
Stay tuned for further insights and audience reactions as “Guntur Kaaram” continues to make waves in the cinematic landscape.
Guntur Kaaram disappoints as both the director and music director deliver substandard work. The film struggles in every aspect, marred by a lackluster plot filled with forced comedy and a tedious narrative.
The background music lacks vitality, failing to enhance the impact of any scene. While songs like Dum Masala and Kurchi Madathapetti manage to pass muster, the remaining songs fail to leave a lasting impression, merely passing through without making a significant mark.
Analysis:
“The much-anticipated collaboration of Trivikram and Mahesh Babu in Guntur Kaaram, though awaited with excitement, seems to follow a familiar pattern. While their earlier ventures Athadu and Khaleja were distinct, Trivikram appears to be stuck in a routine formula, often revolving around the theme of a ‘separated wife’ and a protagonist’s efforts to set things right, now with a new mass appeal in Guntur Kaaram.
The film introduces a resilient woman, driven by self-respect, who walks away from her husband and son without looking back. Excluding Aravind Sametha, Trivikram’s last four films follow a similar template, and Guntur Kaaram fails to offer anything fresh or extraordinary.
The first half of Guntur Kaaram struggles to rise above average, with a singular narrative thread focusing on obtaining a ‘signature’ dragged out until the interval. The rationale behind seeking a signature to sever ties for political gains seems illogical and lacks sense. Neither the comedy nor the dialogues manage to resonate in the initial half, with Vennela Kishore’s attempts at humor falling short in most instances. While the interval promises a significant high, it disappointingly falls flat. Additionally, each character in the movie seems reminiscent of those from the director’s previous works.”
Global economy will slow for a third straight year in 2024, World Bank predicts
WASHINGTON (AP) โ Hobbled by high interest rates, persistent inflation, slumping trade and a diminished China, the global economy will slow for a third consecutive year in 2024.
That is the picture sketched by the World Bank, which forecast Tuesday that the world economy will expand just 2.4% this year. That would be down from 2.6% growth in 2023, 3% in 2022 and a galloping 6.2% in 2021, which reflected the robust recovery from the pandemic recession of 2020.
Heightened global tensions, arising particularly from Israelโs war with Hamas and the conflict in Ukraine, pose the risk of even weaker growth. And World Bank officials express worry that deeply indebted poor countries cannot afford to make necessary investments to fight climate change and poverty.
โNear-term growth will remain weak, leaving many developing countries โ especially the poorest โ stuck in a trap: with paralyzing levels of debt and tenuous access to food for nearly one out of every three people,โ Indermit Gill, the World Bankโs chief economist, said in a statement.
In recent years, the international economy has proved surprisingly resilient in the face of shock after shock: the pandemic, Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine, resurgent global inflation and the burdensome interest rates that were imposed by central banks to try to bring price increases back under control. The World Bank now says the global economy grew half a percentage point faster in 2023 than it had predicted back in June and concludes that โthe risk of a global recession has receded.โโ
Leading the way in 2023 was the United States, which likely registered 2.5% growth last year โ 1.4 percentage points faster than the World Bank had expected in mid-year. The World Bank, a 189-country anti-poverty agency, expects U.S. growth to decelerate to 1.6% this year as higher interest rates weaken borrowing and spending.
The Federal Reserve has raised U.S. interest rates 11 times since March 2022. Its strenuous efforts have helped bring U.S. inflation down from the four-decade high it reached in mid-2022 to nearly the Fedโs 2% target level.
Higher rates are also taming global inflation, which the World Bank foresees sinking from 5.3% last year to 3.7% in 2024 and 3.4% in 2025, though still above pre-pandemic averages.
Chinaโs economy, the worldโs second-largest after the United States, is expected to grow 4.5% this year and 4.3% in 2025, down sharply from 5.2% last year. Chinaโs economy, for decades a leading engine of global growth, has sputtered in recent years: Its overbuilt property market has imploded. Its consumers are downcast, with youth unemployment rampant. And its population is aging, sapping its capacity for growth.
Slumping growth in China is likely to hurt developing countries that supply the Chinese market with commodities, like coal-producing South Africa and copper-exporting Chile.
The World Bank expects the 20 countries that share the euro currency to eke out 0.7% growth this year, a modest improvement on 0.4% expansion last year. Japanโs economy is forecast to grow just 0.9%, half the pace of its 2023 expansion.
Nearly 10,000 died from COVID-19 last month, fueled by holiday gatherings and new variant, WHO says
GENEVA (AP) โ The head of the U.N. health agency said Wednesday holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries โ mostly in Europe and the Americas โ that shared such trend information.
โAlthough 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable,โ the World Health Organization director-general told reporters from its headquarters in Geneva.
He said it was โcertainโ that cases were on the rise in other places that havenโt been reporting, calling on governments to keep up surveillance and provide continued access to treatments and vaccines.
Tedros said the JN.1 variant was now the most prominent in the world. It is an omicron variant, so current vaccines should still provide some protection.
Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead at WHO for COVID-19, cited an increase in respiratory diseases across the globe due to the coronavirus but also flu, rhinovirus and pneumonia.
โWe expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the northern hemisphere,โ she said, while noting increases in COVID-19 in the southern hemisphere โ where itโs now summer.
While bouts of coughs, sniffling, fever and fatigue in the winter are nothing new, Van Kerkhove said this year in particular, โwe are seeing co-circulation of many different types of pathogens.โ
WHO officials recommend that people get vaccinated when possible, wear masks, and make sure indoor areas are well ventilated.
โThe vaccines may not stop you being infected, but the vaccines are certainly reducing significantly your chance of being hospitalized or dying,โ said Dr. Michael Ryan, head of emergencies at WHO.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Instituteโs Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Blast at historic Texas hotel is being investigated as a natural gas explosion, no suspect is being sought
CLAIM: A 44-year-old migrant named Sahil Omar was identified as the suspect of an explosion at a historic hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday.
APโS ASSESSMENT: False. No such suspect is being sought in relation to the explosion, a police spokesperson told The Associated Press. Authorities say the blast โhas the characteristics of a natural gas explosion,โ but that the cause is still under investigation. The same name and description was used to make a similar erroneous claim about a shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, last month.
THE FACTS: Following a massive explosion at the Sandman Signature Hotel in downtown Fort Worth, social media users began falsely pinning the blast on a 44-year-old migrant.
โBREAKING: The suspect of the #explosion at the Sandman Signature Fort Worth Hotel in Texas, USA, has been identified as 44 year-old migrant Sahil Omar,โ reads one post on X, formerly Twitter. โAuthorities have yet to find a motive.โ
As of Tuesday, the post had received more than 4,900 likes and shares.
Other posts also suggested that the explosion was a terrorist attack. For example, another X post asks: โIs this the first Biden illegal to be a terrorist blowing up buildings in America?โ
But no suspect had been identified in relation to the explosion as of Tuesday afternoon. Jimmy Pollozani, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth Police Department, told the AP that โno suspect is being sought as of this email.โ
Rather, authorities are characterizing the blast as a natural gas explosion.
โWe are working with officials to confirm the cause of the explosion,โ the Fort Worth Fire Department wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday morning. โWe have stated that it has the characteristics of a natural gas explosion and continue to state that until a confirmation of cause can be determined.โ
The department wrote in an X post early Monday evening that the explosion was โlikely causedโ by a โgas leak.โ
In its Facebook post, the department confirmed that โthere have been NO comments or statements by the Fort Worth Fire Department or the Fort Worth Police Departmentโ suggesting that โcriminal activity or terrorismโ was at play.
โThere is NO THREAT to the public safety in the wake of yesterdayโs incident,โ it reads.
Social media users also falsely blamed a shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, last month on a 44-year-old migrant named Sahil Omar. The actual suspect, who died in a shootout with law enforcement, was identified by police as Anthony Polito, a longtime business professor who had unsuccessfully applied for several jobs at various colleges and universities in Nevada.
The Fort Worth explosion blew doors and sections of wall into the road in front of the 20-story hotel, where rescuers found several people trapped in the basement, the AP has reported. The blast injured 21 people, including one critically. On Tuesday, the fire department said that no more victims had been found.
This is part of APโs effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
