Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy to join the Nasdaq 100 and heavily traded ‘QQQ' ETFAn ethnic minority army in northeastern Myanmar says that it is willing to hold talks with the country’s military junta, acknowledging the Chinese government’s efforts to broker a settlement. In a statement released on Telegram late on Monday, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) said that it wanted a halt to the military’s air strikes in regions under its control. It also expressed its desire for negotiations and its appreciation for Beijing’s effort to bring the two sides together. “Our civilians are suffering from air strikes and other difficulties. So, we need to find a way out,” TNLA spokesperson Lway Yay Oo said, according to Reuters . The TNLA is a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armed groups, which last year launched a coordinated offensive known as Operation 1027. In the year since, the Alliance has succeeded in seizing large swathes of territory in northern Shan State, as well as in Rakhine State in the country’s west. This has included long stretches of the border between Shan State and China, as well as major conduits of the overland trade between the two nations. In early August, the TNLA’s partner, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), succeeded in capturing Lashio , the de facto capital of northern Shan State and the seat of the Myanmar military’s Northeast Regional Command. The loss of the Regional Command was unprecedented in the history of Myanmar’s armed forces and marked the junta’s most humiliating defeat since the February 2021 coup. These advances brought the Alliance and allied People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) one step closer to launching large-scale attacks into Myanmar’s central dry zone. In the months since, as the Myanmar military’s battlefield fortunes have declined further, Beijing has intensified its pressure on the TNLA and MNDAA to halt their attacks and return to the negotiating table. It has closed border gates adjoining territories controlled by the two groups and also used its considerable influence with the United Wa State Army, arguably the most powerful ethnic armed group in Myanmar, to deny these other groups access to electricity, water, internet connections, and other supplies. Earlier this month, reports emerged that Chinese authorities had detained the MNDAA’s commander , Peng Daxun, and placed him under house arrest in Yunnan, in a bid to force him to withdraw his forces from Lashio. At the same time, fearing that the junta’s collapse would be deleterious for China’s economic and strategic interests in the country, Beijing has stiffened its support for the military regime. Last month, China took the notable step of inviting coup leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to China for the first time since the February 2021 coup. This month brought reports that China has proposed the establishment of a “joint security company” with the military junta in order to ensure the safety of Chinese projects and personnel in the country. Chinese officials have also thrown their support behind the junta’s planned “election” as a potential mechanism for the resolution of the civil war. On November 22, Myanmar Now reported that China was preparing to lend 1 billion yuan ($138 million) to the military regime, a portion of which is earmarked for a national census ahead of the election, which the military administration hopes to hold sometime in 2025. The remainder will support infrastructure projects and surveillance systems. The Chinese goal appears to be to end the fighting and create a stable compact that will allow trade to start flowing again, and for progress to resume on China-backed infrastructure projects. Such a goal would foreclose both the country’s descent into anarchy and the possibility of the National Unity Government (NUG), which Beijing reportedly views as aligned with the West, establishing itself in a position of prominence. Yesterday, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said that the Chinese government opposed any outbreak of war and chaos in Myanmar and urged all parties to cease fighting and resolve conflicts through dialogue. “China will continue to actively promote peace talks and provide support and assistance to the best of its ability to the peace process in northern Myanmar,” the spokesperson said, Reuters reported. The TNLA’s announcement that it is willing to put down its weapons, at least for now, suggests that the Chinese effort to alter the trajectory of Myanmar’s conflict is having some effect. But it remains unclear how far, and for how long, this influence can keep the conflict at bay. While they have established relationships with Chinese officials across the border in Yunnan, neither the MNDAA nor TNLA are Chinese proxies, and both have their own political goals to which they presumably remain committed. In September, under apparent Chinese pressure, the MNDAA issued a statement dissociating itself from the NUG and said that “it would cease fighting immediately and cooperate with China to solve Myanmar’s conflicts through negotiation.” At the same time, the statement said that the MNDAA reserved its right to maintain its autonomy and ensure its self-defense, and has since resisted Chinese insistence that it withdraw from Lashio, the occupation of which provides a thick security buffer around its core territories to the north. Beijing clearly has enough leverage to bring these various factions to the table. But can it make them negotiate in good faith?vegas wild casino review 。

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Russian authorities to immediately release Russian journalist Nika Novak, who was sentenced by a court in the far-eastern city of Chita on Tuesday to four years in prison on “confidential cooperation with a foreign organization” charges. “Nika Novak’s four-year prison sentence handed behind closed doors in the Russian Far East demonstrates that the Russian authorities are continuing their relentless, silent crackdown on journalists,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s program coordinator for Europe and Central Asia. “Russian authorities should not contest Novak’s appeal and immediately release her and all other jailed journalists.” Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) regional branch accused Novak of cooperating with a foreign media outlet, alleging that she was paid to help prepare inaccurate materials discrediting the Russian army and state authorities. Novak was detained on December 25, 2023, and ordered held under arrest until February 24, 2024, under “confidential” cooperation charges. The law, adopted in July 2022, imposes a prison sentence of up to eight years in jail, under Article 275.1 of Russia’s criminal code. Novak is the first journalist to be sentenced to prison under this law, according to investigative news outlet Agentstvo. She plans to appeal her sentence, a source close to her case told CPJ under condition of anonymity. “We condemn today’s unjust conviction and sentencing of RFE/RL journalist Nika Novak in Russia. These politically motivated charges are intended to silence individual reporters and cause a chilling effect,” RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement shared with CPJ via email. Novak is the former editor-in-chief of local outlet ChitaMedia and former editor-in-chief of the local news portal Zab.ru. Since 2022, she has been a freelance correspondent for the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which authorities have banned as undesirable in February 2024. CPJ emailed the branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee in Zabaykalsky Krai, where ChitaMedia is located, for comment but received no response. CPJ called the press service of FSB branch in Zabaykalsky Krai, but nobody picked up the phone. Russia is the world’s fourth-worst jailer of journalists, with CPJ’s most recent prison census documenting at least 22 journalists, in prison on December 1, 2023.

Power Management IC Market to Observe Prominent CAGR of 6.8% by 2031, Size, Share, Trends, Demand, Growth, Challenges and Competitive Outlook 12-13-2024 07:36 PM CET | Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance Press release from: Data Bridge Market Research (DBMR) Power Management IC Market The global power management IC market was valued at USD 35.11 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 62.01 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period of 2024-2031. Market Definition: A power management integrated circuit (PMIC) refers to an array of combined microchips used to manage energy flow between transistors and capacitors in electronic devices. PMIC is commonly utilized in battery-operated electronics, including smartphones, portable media players, wearable devices and healthcare equipment. It performs various operating functions, such as power and battery management, system control, voltage regulation, audio and interface functions, and other application-specific tasks. Owing to this, PMIC finds extensive applications across electronics, automotive, computing devices, communication, and healthcare industries. Browse More About This Research Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-power-management-ic-market Texas Instruments Inc. (U.S.), Analog Devices, Inc. (U.S.), Infineon Technologies AG (Germany), STMicroelectronics NV (Switzerland) NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Netherlands), Renesas Electronics Corporation (Japan), On Semiconductor Corporation (U.S.), ROHM Co., Ltd. (Japan) Power Integrations, Inc. (U.S.), Dialog Semiconductor plc (U.K.), Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation (Japan), and Microchip Technology Inc. (U.S.) Competitive Landscape and Power Management IC Market Share Analysis: The market is segmented on the basis of voltage regulators and power management units. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, global presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, and application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies' focus related to the market Browse More Reports: https://articles9555.blogspot.com/2024/12/breathable-antimicrobial-coatings.html https://articles9555.blogspot.com/2024/12/polyurea-market-size-industry-trends.html https://articles9555.blogspot.com/2024/12/carbon-felt-and-graphite-felt-market.html About Data Bridge Market Research: An absolute way to predict what the future holds is to understand the current trend! Data Bridge Market Research presented itself as an unconventional and neoteric market research and consulting firm with an unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are committed to uncovering the best market opportunities and nurturing effective information for your business to thrive in the marketplace. Data Bridge strives to provide appropriate solutions to complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process. Data Bridge is a set of pure wisdom and experience that was formulated and framed in 2015 in Pune. Contact Us: - Data Bridge Market Research US: +1 614 591 3140 UK: +44 845 154 9652 APAC: +653 1251 1629 Email: - sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com This release was published on openPR.

Myanmar Resistance Group Says It Is Willing to Negotiate With JuntaBut alongside his stark warning of the threats facing Britain and its allies, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said there would be only a “remote chance” Russia would directly attack or invade the UK if the two countries were at war. The Chief of the Defence Staff laid out the landscape of British defence in a wide-ranging speech, after a minister warned the Army would be wiped out in as little as six months if forced to fight a war on the scale of the Ukraine conflict. The admiral cast doubt on the possibility as he gave a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) defence think tank in London. He told the audience Britain needed to be “clear-eyed in our assessment” of the threats it faces, adding: “That includes recognising that there is only a remote chance of a significant direct attack or invasion by Russia on the United Kingdom, and that’s the same for the whole of Nato.” Moscow “knows the response will be overwhelming”, he added, but warned the nuclear deterrent needed to be “kept strong and strengthened”. Sir Tony added: “We are at the dawn of a third nuclear age, which is altogether more complex. It is defined by multiple and concurrent dilemmas, proliferating nuclear and disruptive technologies and the almost total absence of the security architectures that went before.” He listed the “wild threats of tactical nuclear use” by Russia, China building up its weapon stocks, Iran’s failure to co-operate with a nuclear deal, and North Korea’s “erratic behaviour” among the threats faced by the West. But Sir Tony said the UK’s nuclear arsenal is “the one part of our inventory of which Russia is most aware and has more impact on (President Vladimir) Putin than anything else”. Successive British governments had invested “substantial sums of money” in renewing nuclear submarines and warheads because of this, he added. The admiral described the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers on Ukraine’s border alongside Russian forces as the year’s “most extraordinary development”. He also signalled further deployments were possible, speaking of “tens of thousands more to follow as part of a new security pact with Russia”. Defence minister Alistair Carns earlier said a rate of casualties similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would lead to the army being “expended” within six to 12 months. He said it illustrated the need to “generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis”. In comments reported by Sky News, Mr Carns, a former Royal Marines colonel, said Russia was suffering losses of around 1,500 soldiers killed or injured a day. “In a war of scale – not a limited intervention, but one similar to Ukraine – our Army for example, on the current casualty rates, would be expended – as part of a broader multinational coalition – in six months to a year,” Mr Carns said in a speech at Rusi. He added: “That doesn’t mean we need a bigger Army, but it does mean you need to generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis.” Official figures show the Army had 109,245 personnel on October 1, including 25,814 volunteer reservists. Mr Carns, the minister for veterans and people, said the UK needed to “catch up with Nato allies” to place greater emphasis on the reserves. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Defence Secretary John Healey had previously spoken about “the state of the armed forces that were inherited from the previous government”. The spokesman said: “It’s why the Budget invested billions of pounds into defence, it’s why we’re undertaking a strategic defence review to ensure that we have the capabilities and the investment needed to defend this country.”

Homes 4 the Homeless Announces Arrival of VESSEL Housing Units at Fulton HeadquartersChance of direct attack by Russia ‘remote’, says UK armed forces chiefKyiv claims ‘crazy’ Russia fired nuke-capable missile

Ten of thousands of Syrians have been celebrating after the first Friday prayers since the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. or signup to continue reading The lightning victory by an opposition rebel alliance, which took control of Damascus last weekend, ended more than 53 years of rule by the al-Assad family. Clapping, raising victory signs and waving flags of the Syrian opposition, people in major squares across the country on Friday chanted "God bless Free Syria". "Raise your head up high you are a free Syrian now," said the crowds who gathered after the traditional weekly prayers. According to eyewitnesses, tens of thousands of people gathered at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus alone. "All the doors were open for the first time to allow everyone to do Friday prayers inside the mosque," a resident of the capital told the DPA news agency. The leader of the Islamist insurgency alliance Ahmed al-Sharaa - still widely known by his nom-de-guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani - earlier called on Syrians to celebrate peacefully. "Celebrate without firing celebratory gunfire and do not terrify people," al-Sharaa said in a video message where he was dressed with a white shirt, rather than his previous military fatigues. Eyewitnesses in various cities told DPA that strict security measures were being taken to monitor the celebrations. "Public security will deal firmly with anyone proven to be involved in shooting during the celebration," a statement from the Syrian opposition groups said. "We call for adherence to peaceful behaviour during demonstrations to preserve everyone's safety," the statement added. Khaled al-Imam, a resident of the Daraya suburb of Damascus, said he was going out "to celebrate the victory over the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who killed two of my brothers and more than 15 of my family members". Until his ouster, al-Assad had been in power in Syria for 24 years and had fought a brutal civil war against rebel groups for more than 13 years. The war seemed to have been at a stalemate, with the rebels beaten back in most areas, until a lightning offensive spearheaded by jihadist groups at the end of November revealed that the government's hold on power was far weaker than many thought. Al-Sharaa's force, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and its allied insurgents have been working to establish security and start a political transition after seizing the capital early on Sunday. At the same time, they have tried to reassure a public that is both stunned by the fall of the state that had long ruled with an iron hand and concerned over extremist jihadis among the insurgents. The Friday prayers have a particular symbolism because in the early days of the anti-government uprising-turned-civil-war in Syria in 2011, protesters would turn out en masse after going to the mosque. "Unified Syria to build Syria," the crowd gathered in Damascus' Umayyad Square chanted. Some shouted slurs about the former president and his late father, calling them pigs, an insult that would have previously led to offenders being hauled off to one of the feared detention centres of Assad's security forces. As the gathering took place, the top US diplomat was in the region discussing the United States view on the developments in Syria with regional powers. In the Turkish capital Ankara, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was "broad agreement" between Turkey and the United States on what they would like to see in Syria. That starts with an "interim government in Syria, one that is inclusive and non-sectarian and one that protects the rights of minorities and women" and does not "pose any kind of threat to any of Syria's neighbours," Blinken said during joint statements with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The insurgent groups that toppled Assad in Syria have not made clear their policy or stance on Israel, whose military in recent days has bombed sites all over the country. Israel says it is trying to prevent weapons from falling into extremist hands and has seized a swath of southern Syria along the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, calling it a buffer zone. with AP DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. 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