We are closer toestablishing peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Turkish ForeignMinister Hakan Fidan said during a discussion of the 2025 budget ata meeting of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, reports. The minister noted that there is hope that peace will beestablished in the South Caucasus region, which is important forTürkiye. "We are getting closer to establishing peace between Azerbaijanand Armenia. Achieving peace will contribute to the development ofthe region and open up new opportunities. Türkiye supports allefforts in this process," Hakan Fidan.
Homer’s Epic Poem ‘The Odyssey’ To Be Christopher Nolan’s Next MovieExcelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 23: The State Investigation Agency (SIA) today took a significant stride in the fight against cyber-terrorism by filing a charge sheet against key operatives behind the notorious “Kashmir Fight”, a social media handle. The platform, operated by The Resistance Front (TRF)-a proscribed terrorist organization-was used to issue chilling online threats to migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees with a view to spread fear and unrest among them. The charge sheet was filed before the 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu, today. In February 2024, a series of threatening posts were published on social media by the terror outfit’s social media handle, following which an investigation was initiated by the SIA Jammu. During the course of investigations, the SIA apprehended Farhaan Muzaffar Mattoo, a resident of Srinagar, for his alleged role in gathering and sharing sensitive information about targeted employees. Investigations further revealed that Mattoo acted as a conduit, using encrypted communication platforms to pass critical data about migrant employees to handlers based in Pakistan, who then issued threats through the “Kashmir Fight” platform. The charge sheet has also named Sheikh Sajjad Ahmad, alias Sajjad Gul, a Srinagar resident now operating from Pakistan, as the mastermind of this plot. Sajad is accused of coordinating the campaign to intimidate migrant employees and disrupt communal harmony in the UT. “The exposing of terror plans to disrupt peace underscores the determination of Jammu and Kashmir Police to protect its citizenry and provide a peaceful environment to them,” an official statement issued here this evening said. There have been reports that the terrorists and Over Ground Workers (OGWS) were using Social Media to lure the youth into terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Some of the Social Media accounts are operating from across the border including Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK).
In December 1978, Jimmy Carter – who has died aged 100 – outlined his belief that American strategic decisions abroad should be shaped by an adherence to human rights. “ Human rights is the soul of our foreign policy ... because human rights is the soul of our sense of nationhood.” In the sphere of foreign affairs, Jimmy Carter’s one term as US president (1977-1981) had some notable achievements. The most significant was the 1978 Camp David accords . Carter, Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat signed an agreement that saw Begin agree to relinquish the entire Sinai Peninsula, captured by Israel in the 1967 six-day war, in exchange for peace and full diplomatic relations with Egypt. This exemplified Carter’s belief in the power of American diplomacy and why US presidents should courageously assume the difficult task of peace-making . Twenty-five years later, and against the backdrop of the build-up to the second Gulf war, Carter was recognised for his role in the accords and awarded the 2002 Nobel peace prize. The Nobel committee said that while President George W. Bush was planning an invasion of Iraq: “former President Jimmy Carter was awarded the Peace Prize for undertaking peace negotiations, campaigning for human rights, and working for social welfare”. They added that the prize was in recognition of “his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development”. On leaving office in January 1981, Carter sought to use his status as a former president to engage in the issues and causes that mattered to him most. He established the Carter Center to pursue his own course of personal diplomacy. Starting in 1982, the centre has monitored more than 110 elections in 39 countries. Ahead of the 2020 US presidential election and as then president Donald Trump on refused to commit to a peaceful transition should he lose, the Carter Center took the extraordinary step of designating the US as a “backsliding” democracy . Devout diplomacy Carter, a devout Christian, maximised his personal relationships with former world leaders to promote democracy and human rights, support scientific work on eliminating diseases, and to mediate where possible to prevent conflict. His activism was not always appreciated by some of his White House successors, both Republican and Democrat. Randall Balmer , professor of religion at Dartmouth College, said that the former president’s personal brand of diplomacy could often complicate and even contradict contemporary US diplomatic initiatives. Carter was a member of The Elders , an independent group of global leaders working on peace promotion, social justice, climate change and global human rights. During his years of active membership Carter dedicated significant energy to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict , visiting the region on a number of occasions to support the Elders’ work. In the early 1990s the former president became involved in mediation work between the US State Department and several rogue states including North Korea and Libya. In 1994, Carter supported the US government’s diplomatic efforts to resolve an increasingly tense nuclear weapons’ situation with North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. Carter met with Kim in June 1994, becoming the first former US president to visit the country. The trip laid the groundwork for an eventual bilateral deal between North Korea and the US. The agreement saw North Korea pledge to freeze its plutonium weapons programme, while the US agreed to offer aid. Continued work in his 90s Carter continued to weigh-in on contemporary geopolitical events well into his 90s. He was openly critical when Trump announced in May 2018 that he was withdrawing the US from the Iran nuclear agreement , which had been negotiated by the Obama administration in 2015. He called Trump’s move a “serious mistake” . Carter felt that an international agreement made by an American president needed to be binding on all their successors and that by walking away from the Iran deal the US was signalling a “message to North Korea that if the United States signs an agreement, it may or may not be honored”. One of Carter’s major accomplishments since leaving office was his centre’s work in health care, and specifically the eradication of Guinea-worm disease. This is a parasitic infection caused by drinking contaminated water. The consequences of the illness , while not fatal, can incapacitate the sufferer and lead to permanent disability. The Carter Center committed to training over 100,000 village-based health care workers, invested in education programmes and provided water filters to protect people from swallowing the parasite. The results have been highly successful. According to the centre: “incidences of Guinea-worm disease have been reduced from an estimated 3.5 million in 1986 to 13 in 2023 , with the disease being eliminated in 17 countries”. Jimmy Carter’s commitment to human rights never went away and his concept of a human-rights focused foreign policy has become permanently encoded in the global conversation . The former president’s work brought him international acclaim, and illustrated why the nation’s leaders should reject short-sighted calculations that risk the US being complicit in human rights violations . Richard Hargy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.NFC’s No. 1 seed comes down to Vikings-Lions showdown at Detroit in Week 18BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A far-right populist took the lead in Romania’s presidential election Sunday, electoral data showed, and will likely face leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in a runoff in two weeks, an outcome that rocked the country's political landscape. Calin Georgescu, who ran independently, led the polls with around 22% of the vote, while Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party, or PSD, trailed at 20.6%. Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party, or USR, stood at about 17.4%, and George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, took 14.3%. After polls closed at 9 p.m. local time (1900GMT), 9.4 million people — about 52.4% of eligible voters — had cast ballots, according to the Central Election Bureau. Thirteen candidates ran for the presidency in the European Union and NATO member country, and will go to a second round on Dec. 8. The president serves a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security, foreign policy and judicial appointments. Georgescu, 62, ran independently and was not widely known. He outperformed most local surveys, sending shockwaves through Romania's political establishment. After casting his ballot on Sunday, Georgescu said in a post on Facebook that he voted “For the unjust, for the humiliated, for those who feel they do not matter and actually matter the most ... the vote is a prayer for the nation.” Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, told The Associated Press that Georgescu’s unexpected poll performance appears to be a “large protest or revolt against the establishment.” “The mainstream political parties have lost the connection with regular Romanians,” he said. “You don’t have strong candidates or strong leaders ... there are weak candidates, weak leaders, and the parties in general are pretty much disconnected.” Georgescu lacks an agenda, Andrei added, and has a vague and populist manifesto with positions that are “beyond the normal discourse." His stances include supporting Romanian farmers, reducing dependency on imports, and ramping up energy and food production. He also has a rapidly growing on the social media platform, TikTok. Ahead of Sunday's vote, many expected to see Simion, a vocal supporter of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, face Ciolacu in the second round. He campaigned for reunification with Moldova, which this year renewed a five-year ban on him entering the country over security concerns, and he is banned for the same reason from neighboring Ukraine. Ecaterina Nawadia, a 20-year-old architecture student, said she voted for the first time in a national election on Sunday and hopes young people turn out in high numbers. “Since the (1989) revolution, we didn’t have a really good president,” she said. “I hope most of the people my age went to vote ... because the leading candidate is not the best option.” Romania will also hold parliamentary elections on Dec. 1 that will determine the country’s next government and prime minister. Andrei, the political consultant, said Romania's large budget deficit, high inflation, and an economic slowdown could push more mainstream candidates to shift toward populist stances amid widespread dissatisfaction. Ciolacu told the AP before the first-round vote that one of his biggest goals was “to convince Romanians that it is worth staying at home or returning” to Romania, which has a massive diaspora spread throughout EU countries. Other candidates included former NATO deputy general secretary Mircea Geoana , who ran independently and obtained about 6%; and Nicolae Ciuca, a former army general and head of the center-right National Liberal Party, which is currently in a tense coalition with the PSD — who stood at 9.3%. Geoana, a former foreign minister and ambassador to the United States, told the AP before Sunday's vote that he believed his international experience would qualify him above the other candidates. Lasconi, a former journalist and the leader of the USR, said she sees corruption as one of the biggest problems Romania faces and that she supports increased defense spending and continued aid to Ukraine.
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CLEVELAND (AP) — Myles Garrett was in no mood to celebrate his birthday or making history. Garrett recorded two sacks to become the first NFL player with 14 sacks in four straight seasons, but the Cleveland Browns couldn't do anything on offense during a 20-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Garrett turned 29 and turned in another stellar performance in this dreadful season for the Browns (3-13), who had hoped to take another step after making the playoffs a year ago. But nothing has gone right in Cleveland, and now the team is facing another offseason of change. Garrett has 14 sacks this season and 102 1/2 in his eight-year career. He's making the case for a second consecutive NFL defensive player of the year honor. But there isn't any award that will ease the pain of his fourth double-digit loss season. “At the end of the day, we play for wins,” Garrett said. “The individual stuff is great. It's nice, you want to be remembered for all of the above. But cities remember you for wins and bringing championships back home. “That's always been my intention. So, I want to get back on track, want to get back to winning, whether it's the last one or whatever's in store next season.” Garrett recently made it clear that he does not want to be part of another rebuild in Cleveland, saying he wanted to see the team's plans to improve the roster. His comments opened the possibility that he could ask for a trade if he isn't satisfied with the Browns' outlook. After the Browns dropped their fifth in a row to finish 2-6 at home, Garrett said he never considered that it might be his last game in Cleveland. “I don't think about that kind of stuff,” he said. “My mission is to go out there and try to help this team win as a leader, as a brother, as a teammate. That's what I solely focus on. I'm not looking into the future. Next thing on my mind is recovery, looking at film, how can we improve going to the Ravens and try to play spoiler for them.” Garrett hasn't given up. For the second week in a row, he displayed extraordinary effort while chasing a scrambling quarterback without getting a sack. He won't quit. “He's the best pass rusher in the game,” Browns guard Joel Bitonio said. “You could ask all the players, all the coaches. He's probably the guy they fear going up against the most. He's dynamic. He's a special player. He's doing his thing. I hope we can get some stuff around him so he can win some games around here.” Garrett twice went into the medical tent during the game. He slowly walked to his locker to get dressed before turning on some music that brought a little life into an otherwise somber Cleveland locker room. Garrett laughed when asked if he's pushing himself to the end. “I'm just old,” he said. “I'm 29. I'm not going to be dragging myself through the finish line. I'll be fine by Friday, Saturday and be ready to go. I always am." ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Tom Withers, The Associated Press
'Murderous' Kentucky sheriff is hit with new charge after executing judge in his court house By MELISSA KOENIG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 23:51 GMT, 25 November 2024 | Updated: 23:54 GMT, 25 November 2024 e-mail View comments A former Kentucky sheriff accused of fatally shooting a judge inside his chambers was arraigned Monday on a new criminal charge. Shawn 'Mickey' Stines, 43, did not speak or show any emotion during the hearing at the Letcher County Courthouse - the same one where he is accused of gunning down Kentucky District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, in his chambers on September 19, CNN reports. Instead, his attorney entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his shackled client to a new charge of murder of a public official. Stines had also previously pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges, for which a grand jury indicted him last week and a special judge appointed to preside over the case said he could face the death penalty. But on Monday, defense attorney Jeremy Bartley claimed Stines has a 'compelling defense' for the shooting, which he has previously called a crime of passion carried out while Stines was experiencing an 'extreme emotional disturbance.' He claimed that a deposition his client gave just days prior to the shooting 'is part of that defense,' according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. The former sheriff, who stepped down from his role following his arrest, was one of several parties sued in federal court in 2022 over allegations that Ben Fields, then a Letcher County deputy sheriff, exchanged favorable treatment to a woman on home incarceration for sexual favors inside Mullins' private courthouse office. Stines is not accused of taking part in the exchange, for which Fields spent several months in jail, but plaintiffs have argued he failed to property train and supervise the deputy. Shawn 'Mickey' Stines, 43, did not speak or show any emotion during Monday's hearing at the Letcher County Courthouse, as his attorney entered a not guilty plea to a new charge of murder or a public official Stines is accused of shooting dead Kentucky District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, in his chambers on September 19 He was scheduled to give a deposition on September 16 - just four days before he allegedly waltzed into Mullins' chambers in Whitesburg, spoke with the judge and opened fire eight times. Bartley noted that the timing of the deposition is 'certainly something that's going to be crucial in this case. 'I do believe that that is a piece,' he said. 'This is a large story. It's a story that, in some ways, is difficult to tell. 'We look forward to sharing a more complete version of that as we go through this judicial process.' Police have said Stines walked into the judge's outer office, told court employees he needed to speak to Mullins alone, then proceeded to shoot him once they entered the inner office. Video of the incident, played in court at Stines' previous hearing in October, showed a man identified by police as Stines pulling out a gun and shooting the judge as he sat at his desk. The man walked around the desk, pointed the gun at the judge - who had fallen to the floor - and fired again. A detective who testified at the hearing also claimed that Stines tried calling his daughter - whose number have been saved on Mullins ́ phone - just before the fatal shooting. Stines had been the Letcher County sheriff at the time of the shooting, and was apparently good friends with the judge Footage of the shooting showed a man, identified by police as Stines, pulling out a gun and shooting the judge as he sat at his desk Mullins, who had held the judgeship for 15 years, died at the scene of multiple gunshot wounds, and Stines surrendered without incident. He was later seen walking out of the courthouse with his hands raised and surrendering to officers, who placed him in handcuffs. Stines is said to have told the cops to 'treat me fair' as he was arrested. He also allegedly told police, 'They're trying to kidnap my wife and kid,' the detective testified. Investigators found no weapon on Mullins or in his chambers, the detective said. Stines will remain behind bars in Leslie County after a judge denied him bond on Monday A motive for the shooting remains unclear, especially as DailyMail.com revealed Stines and Mullins were once good friends. They even shared an outside table at the popular Streetside Grill & Bar on Main Street for lunch only a few hundred yards from the courthouse, just hours before the shooting. The pair were lunchtime regulars together at the sports bar and on that fateful Thursday ordered their usual – both having the $13.99 wings with salad. Stines will now remain behind bars in Leslie County ahead of a potential trial, after a judge denied him bond on Monday - citing concerns with security, community safety and the severity of the charges against him. CNN Kentucky Share or comment on this article: 'Murderous' Kentucky sheriff is hit with new charge after executing judge in his court house e-mail Add comment
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