Focus

Moscow, Dec 25 (IANS) A fire that had erupted on Russia's nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput was put out, authorities said.

No one was injured in the incident, which occurred in one of the cabins of the vessel and affected an area of some 30 square meters, the emergency department of Murmansk region said in a statement, Xinhua News Agency reported.

There was no threat to the nuclear plant of the container ship, it said.

Sevmorput is the world's only icebreaking transport ship with a nuclear power plant. It can navigate through ice fields up to one meter thick at a speed of about two knots.

--IANS

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Islamabad, Dec 25 (IANS) Pakistan witnessed highest number of suicide attacks since 2014 during this year, with nearly half of them targeting the security forces, media reports said.

According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) -- regarding suicide attacks in 2023 -- the country experienced a disturbing surge in such attacks, reaching the highest level since 2014, Dawn reported.

At least 48 per cent of deaths and 58 per cent of injuries were inflicted upon security forces personnel. “A staggering 29 suicide attacks were reported, resulting in the tragic loss of 329 lives and leaving 582 individuals injured.

“This marks the highest death toll since 2013 when 683 people lost their lives in 47 suicide bombings,” Dawn reported.

Comparing the data to the preceding year, 2022, report reveals a distressing 93pc increase in the number of suicide attacks, a shocking 226 per cent rise in resultant deaths, and a troubling 101 per cent surge in the number of injured individuals.

Furthermore, the share of suicide attacks in the total number of attacks escalated from 3.9 per cent in 2022 to 4.7per cent in 2023, underscoring the severity of the situation.

Delving into regional specifics, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) bore the brunt of these attacks, reporting 23 instances that resulted in 254 fatalities and 512 injuries. Within KP, newly merged districts or erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) experienced 13 suicide attacks, leading to 85 deaths and 206 injuries. Baluchistan faced five attacks, causing 67 deaths and 52 injuries, while Sindh witnessed one suicide attack resulting in eight deaths and 18 injuries.

The data further reveals that security forces were the primary targets of these attacks, with civilians constituting the second-largest victim category, Dawn reported.

A visual representation in the form of pie charts illustrates that 48pc of deaths and 58pc of injuries were inflicted upon security forces personnel.

Examining the historical trajectory, PICSS’s militancy database indicates a notable decline in suicide attacks from 30 in 2014 to a mere three in 2019. There was no significant surge in 2020 and 2021, as both years witnessed only four attacks each, Dawn reported.

The year 2022 witnessed a sudden and significant surge, recording 15 attacks resulting in 101 deaths and 290 injuries and this worrisome trend persisted into 2023.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 25 (IANS) The revenue collected by Bitcoin miners as transaction fees averaged about $2 million per day in 2023, registering a whopping 400 per cent increase year-on-year.

The Bitcoin miners earned more than $10 billion in 2023, according to Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Bitcoin self-custody platform Casa.

“Bitcoin miners earned over $10 billion in 2023, a significant addition to the $57 billion total over the past 15 years. This number assumes they instantly sell for fiat, which is most certainly not the case,” he posted on X.

As reported by crypto.news, Bitcoin miners earned more than $44 million in block rewards even as mining difficulty increased by 3.55 per cent to an all-time high.

Messari, a leading provider of crypto market intelligence products, posted that BTC miners attracted significant venture capital investment in November.

“This past month in crypto fundraising was led by BTC miners, with Northern Data and Phoenix Group raising $600 million and $370 million, respectively.

“Those deals aside, the rest of the crypto venture market did $750 million in volume on 98 deals,” Messari wrote on X.

The developments have led market watchers to make predictions regarding Bitcoin’s price in 2024, with some claiming it could go as high as $160,000.

Bitcoin saw 160 per cent growth this year, adding nearly $530 billion to its market capitalisation.

According to an analysis by BanklessTimes.com, the Solana digital coin market has spiralled by 627 per cent since January 2023, a new yearly high for any cryptocurrency.

--IANS

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Kolkata, Dec 25 (IANS) Two persons died while six other were rescued in critical conditions inside a storeroom of a popular sweetmeat outlet at Durgapur in West Bengal’s Burdwan district on Monday.

The deaths occurred due to the gas leak from a cooking LPG cylinder which was also stored at the same storeroom. The bodies of the two deceased were recovered while six others have been rescued under critical conditions on Monday morning.

The two deceased persons have been identified as Bidhan Mondal (21) and Atanu Ruidas (22). All the dead and sick are residents of the Beliatore in Bankura district of West Bengal.

The sick persons are currently under treatment at a local hospital. Local police sources said that the mishap probably happened sometime between late Sunday night and early Monday morning.

“One of the employees, before falling unconscious, had sent a SOS call to the owner of the sweetmeat outlet, who immediately reached near the storeroom. However, he found the door of the storeroom locked from inside and his repeated banging of the door failed to evoke response,” said a local police official.

Thereafter the owner with the help of his associates broke open the door and also informed the local police station. The bodies of the two deceased victims were recovered and six others were shifted to the local hospital.

Initial investigation revealed that gas leak, in a sparsely ventilated storeroom, was the main reason behind the mishap.

--IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 25 (IANS) As part of the 2021 agreement between the various partners of the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front ( LDF), two Ministers in the Pinarayi Vijayan government have quit and their replacements would be sworn in on Friday.

The two ministers -- Antony Raju and Ahamed Devarkovil -- resigned on Sunday

In May 2021, when the second Pinarayi Vijayan government took office, there was an in-principle decision to share cabinet posts among the parties having single MLAs.

Under that formula, Antony Raju was given the Transport portfolio and Ahamed Devarkovil took over the Ports department and both on Sunday submitted their resignations to Chief Minister Vijayan.

As per the agreement, after the completion of 30 months in office, the two ministers had to make way for film actor-turned-politician K.B. Ganesh Kumar (to replace Raju) and veteran Kadanapally Ramachandran ( to replace Devarkovil).

But speculation is rife that there might be a reshuffle of the portfolios of existing ministers, especially the CPI(M), but that is being held as a closely guarded secret and it will be decided by none other than CM Vijayan, who is the final word not just in the government but also party and the LDF.

The talk of the rejig arose after Ganesh Kumar, who shifted his loyalty from the Congress-led UDF to the LDF ahead of the 2016 Assembly polls, had said that he did not want the Transport portfolio.

Ganesh Kumar as a Minister in the 2001 A.K. Antony government handled Transport, and according to sources he has expressed his desire that if possible he would like to get a different portfolio, as the state run Transport Department is having a hand to mouth existence, with salaries and pensions never paid on time.

Kumar, 57, has been a legislator since 2001. He was a minister in the cabinet of Antony in 2001, but made way for his father after a few years. Then again in the Oommen Chandy cabinet in 2016 and following a domestic issue with his then wife, Kumar quit and since had been upset with the Congress-led UDF. Finally, he along with his father moved their party -- Kerala Congress(B) -- to the Left fold.

Now Vijayan has to take the final call on the change in portfolios.

The Congress-led opposition has already announced that they will boycott the swearing in as Ganesh Kumar was largely instrumental in attacking the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the Solar scam case (2014) and in which Ganesh Kumar is facing a case filed by a Congress worker close to Late Chandy.

--IANS

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Melbourne, Dec 25 (IANS) Wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed makes way for Mohammad Rizwan as Pakistan on Monday announced a twelve players squad for the Boxing day Test against Australia from December 26-30.

The Final XI will be announced on Tuesday.

Pacer Khurram Shahzad was ruled out of the series because of an injury Mir Hamza or Hasan Ali are likely to replace him, while Faheem Ashraf will also miss out the second Test.

Sajid Khan is also set to feature, with Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed both injured. With Khurram Shahzad also injured, Mir Hamza or Hasan Ali are likely to replace him.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood suggested that they want to give Sarfaraz a break and said, as quoted by cricket.com.au:

"We think Rizwan is ready and we can give Sarfaraz a little bit of a break to recoup and come back. It was more of a tactical decision in terms of the conditions and getting the best out of each player in those conditions,” said Shan Masood to cricket.com.au.

In the first Test, Australia defeated Shan Masood's team by a margin of 360 runs within four days. Australia have named an unchanged squad.

Pakistan 12-players squad: Imam-Ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamir Jamal, Sajid Khan.

Australia playing XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

--IANS

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Los Angeles, Dec 25 (IANS) Singer Dolly Parton revealed about some procedures that she regrets.

"Every now and then you'll get a hematoma, or sometimes with fillers and Botox you can get too much and have to wait till the swelling goes down to look normal again," Parton told Saga Magazine for its January 2024 issue, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"It means that instead of being back at work in two weeks, it's a month."

Parton also divulged when she would go under the knife.

"If something is bagging, sagging or dragging, I'll tuck it, suck it or pluck it," she declared.

In November, Parton stated on SiriusXM's 'The Howard Stern Show' that she tries not to "overdo" plastic surgery in case things go wrong.

"I always say, 'Just find the best doctors. You've just got to be very careful not to overdo it because you never know, anytime you go under the knife you could come out looking not good," she said.

"I try to do just little bits at a time - I don't do like really big stuff," the music icon continued. "I do fillers, Botox … only when I have to do something a little more, and even then, I try to be careful."

--IANS

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Los Angeles, Dec 25 (IANS) Pop star Joe Jonas has been spotted in London after bringing his daughters to their mother Sophie Turner earlier this month.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ, the British actress gets to spend time with the kids on Christmas and the New Year holiday in the UK.

Thus, the Jonas Brothers member brought the children overseas on December 17, reports aceshowbiz.com.

The children will be with the 'Game of Thrones' alum through January 7, when they will have to return to New York City.

Instead of flying back to the U.S. before the holidays, Joe apparently stays in England after leaving his kids with their mother as he was recently seen at London hot spot Chiltern Firehouse.

It remains to be seen if Joe and Turner will reunite for the holidays or if the 34-year-old father of two will at least get to see his children on Christmas. Per their temporary child custody agreement, the estranged couple is splitting holiday duties with Joe having spent Halloween and Thanksgiving with his two little girls.

Joe filed for divorce from Sophie in September after four years of marriage. The actress then sued her ex for alleged "wrongful detention," accusing him of refusing to allow their daughters to return to England. In October, they reached a temporary custody agreement that will run until January 7.

"After a productive and successful mediation, we have agreed that the children will spend time equally in loving homes in both the US and the UK. We look forward to being great co-parents," they said in a joint statement in October.

Following the custody agreement, a source told Us Weekly: "They're on the path to healing and to being healthy co-parents. They're both on the same page. They spoke recently and it was amicable, and that triggered a quicker resolution."

--IANS

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Mumbai, Dec 25 (IANS) Pop star Dua Lipa is spending her holidays in India and is currently in Rajasthan, going by a motley of pictures she has shared on social media.

Taking to Instagram on Sunday, she posted pictures as she travelled in the state. In the first image, Dua posed on her bed wearing a blue shirt and striped pants.

She then shared another photograph, where she is seen sporting a red dress and posed near a cabinet. The singer was seen posing in a black outfit in the next picture as she travelled around in Rajasthan.

She captioned it: "Happy Holidays from me to you sending love light health and happiness for the year ahead x."

This is not the first time Lipa visited India, a few years ago she was in the country and posted pictures.

She had captioned the image: "At the Ganesh Temple in Jaipur. A lady outside the temple helped me and taught me how to put on my sari before I entered. We joined in with the locals and offered sweet treats to the Gods and the people inside."

--IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 25 (IANS) Delhi grappled with a thick blanket of dense fog on Monday, causing visibility to plummet to zero and leading to significant disruptions in flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a report indicating that very dense fog had descended upon the airport early in the morning, with the Runway Visual Range (RVR) on all runways registering between 125 to 175 metres.

This compelled the implementation of CAT IIIB operations for both takeoffs and landings.

“Very Dense fog with zero Visibility prevailing at Delhi IGI Airport since 0530 hrs IST today. RVR at all RWYs 125 to 175m and Operations are under CAT IIIB, IMD in a post on X.

"While landings and take-offs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted," the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said in an advisory for passengers.

In response to the challenging weather conditions, airlines, including SpiceJet, issued warnings to passengers about potential disruptions to departures and arrivals.

“Due to bad weather in Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status,” SpiceJet said in a tweet on Monday morning.

As per sources, several flights were delayed and diverted due to poor visibility.

Fog enveloped Delhi on Monday morning and the minimum temperature in the national capital dipped to 7.8 degrees Celsius, seasonal average.

According to the weather department, the maximum temperature is likely to hover around 25 degrees with mainly clear sky and shallow to moderate fog.

--IANS

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