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sg777 casino real money Lake County District judge-elect resigns amid drug chargesShah Khursheed* Located 85 kilometers from Srinagar, the remote village of Jundinambal in Baramulla district, North Kashmir, is home to about 800 residents, who face daily struggles with poverty. The local economy relies on dairy farming, horticulture, and agriculture. While men are the main earners, women manage the household. Men work to provide for their families for seven months, but the seasonal slowdown during winter disrupts their income. During this time, freezing temperatures and impassable roads halt most agricultural activities, leaving many villagers without work. Additionally, limited healthcare facilities and poor connectivity make accessing even basic medical care difficult and costly. Amid these challenges, 29-year-old Rafiqa Begum, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) from Limber Tehsil, Boniyar, Baramulla, has become a vital figure in her community. After moving to Jundinambal following her marriage, Rafiqa, a postgraduate degree in Political Science, began working as the village’s only ASHA worker in 2019. She provides essential services to the community, especially to women, including healthcare, maternal and infant care, nutrition, hygiene education, and vaccinations. Rafiqa’s work has been particularly impactful in educating women about menstrual hygiene, a topic that remains stigmatized in many parts of Kashmir. Masrat Bano, a local woman, recalls how Rafiqa introduced sanitary pads in 2019, explaining their use and benefits. Previously, Masrat, like many others, used cloth for menstrual hygiene, which was challenging and uncomfortable to maintain. “Sanitary pads seemed like a luxury,” she admits, adding that using cloth made it difficult to manage hygiene, especially during school hours, leading some girls to miss school altogether. Rafiqa explains that financial constraints and social stigma often prevent girls from accessing menstrual products. “Many women can’t afford sanitary pads, and even if they can, they are often too shy to buy them from male-run stores,” she shares. To address this, Rafiqa distributes subsidized pads and holds educational sessions for young girls and the broader community. Her efforts have helped normalize menstruation and reduce the shame around it, allowing women to manage their periods with dignity. The challenge of accessing menstrual hygiene products is not unique to Jundinambal. In Kupwara, ASHA workers like Asiya Reyaz in Langate are also working to improve women’s health. “We’ve helped reduce urinary infections to zero,” she says. Yet, even in Kupwara, challenges remain. Jabeena Begum, President of the ASHA Union in Kupwara, highlights an urgent issue: “Since July 23, there has been a shortage of supplies, which affects the health and dignity of girls in our community.” Reyaz adds that a lack of supplies forces women to buy pads from male-run stores, which is uncomfortable and often humiliating. “These are personal needs, and no woman should feel ashamed just to take care of herself,” she explains. This struggle resonates with women like Zahida Ahanger, who recalls her first experience with menstruation in eighth grade. “I didn’t know what was happening to me,” she remembers. When she asked a friend for help, she received an old cloth, which led to rashes and pain. For years, Zahida continued using rags, enduring discomfort and shame. Determined to change this, Zahida and 37 other women started a women’s wing in their community to break the silence around menstruation and fight the stigma. In areas like Haril in Langate, ASHA workers such as Asha Begum create safe spaces for girls at Anganwadi centers. “These centers aren’t just for food and supplies—they’re places of hope,” says Asha. Here, girls receive not only food but also support, guidance, and education about menstrual health. Despite challenges in accessing resources, ASHA workers in remote parts of Jammu and Kashmir are making a difference. In Kupwara, girls often pay 6-7 rupees for a single sanitary pad packet, while in Baramulla, it’s slightly cheaper at 5 Rupees. Yet, these costs remain unaffordable for many families, especially those struggling financially. Jabeena Begum highlights the financial struggles of ASHA workers. “We earn only 600 rupees per delivery at a government hospital and 300 rupees for private deliveries,” she says. “It’s degrading, but the work remains the same.” Recently, ASHA workers gathered in Srinagar to demand fair pay and better working conditions. “We are the frontline of healthcare in rural areas, but the government needs to acknowledge our work and provide respect and fair compensation,” Jabeena asserts. Local stores sometimes step in to help fill gaps. Abdul Ahad, who runs a small grocery store in Jundinambal, stocks sanitary pads for emergencies. “While most women get pads from ASHA workers, I keep them for those who need them urgently,” he says. Zainab Wani from Delina, Baramulla, points out issues with the sanitary pads distributed by ASHA workers. “The government must improve their quality,” she says, explaining that low-quality pads can cause rashes and anxiety, especially among teenagers. Through grassroots efforts, ASHA workers like Rafiqa Begum are helping the next generation of girls in Kashmir overcome menstrual stigma. “More young girls, especially from marginalized backgrounds, are now enrolling in schools,” Rafiqa says proudly. “We’re working to ensure menstrual hygiene doesn’t hinder their progress.” Mohammad Ramiz, a health supervisor at the Sub-District Hospital in Baramulla, emphasizes the role of ASHA workers in improving rural health outcomes. “ASHA workers are vital for promoting menstrual hygiene, immunization, maternal care, and nutrition,” he says. In remote Kashmir, ASHA workers are not only providing essential supplies but also empowering women to take control of their health and dignity. Their work is a crucial step toward a future where no woman or girl has to face these challenges in silence and where menstruation is recognized as a natural part of life. (The author is a freelance writer from Kashmir) —–

An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump’s political coalitionPublished 5:00 pm Friday, December 13, 2024 by Thomas Howard Residents and visitors walking downtown will notice stars bearing the names of famous Mississippians embedded in the sidewalk. The Queen City has long been known for its recognition of the arts, and the stars are one of several projects paying homage to those whose efforts put the Magnolia State on the map. A number of events this past week, however, suggest significantly more stars will be needed in the near future. Events put on by both Meridian and Lauderdale County school districts highlighted the immense talent developing among our next generation of leaders and celebrated the effort students put into honing their craft. Email newsletter signup On Monday, Meridian High School students performed “Blue Christmas,” with both choir and band students participating in the concert. On Tuesday, Northwest Middle School held its annual Christmas concert, while at The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience, Lauderdale County School District held its Holiday Showcase highlighting musical, artistic, dance and stage acting talent from students at each of the district’s four campuses. Thursday, MPSD’s youth choir helped set a festive mood as they opened for Mississippi trio Chapel Hart, which brought its Hartfelt Family Christmas Tour at the Temple Theater. The arts are a vital part of Meridian’s community, but even if that were not the case, arts education would remain a critical part of students’ education. According to the University of Florida, arts education is linked to improved academic outcomes, better mental health, increased engagement, reduced disciplinary actions and more. While many students will likely go on to pursue careers other than art, the skills developed by the arts, such as critical thinking and social skills, are highly valued among employers across the board. Thank you to the teachers, administrators, parents, volunteers, sponsoring businesses and all others who had a hand in making this week’s events come to fruition. Let’s continue to celebrate our young artists and the positive impact they have and will have on Meridian. Gulfport among cities with least sustainable credit card debts Congressional politics of disaster funding revisited in the wake of Helene, Milton Carswell puts Center for Public Policy in attack mode Letter to the Editor: We have much to be thankful forNext Hydrogen Solutions Inc Announces Closing of Private Placement of Unsecured Convertible Debentures

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products , a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders with the United States. He said on social media last week that he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trudeau requested the meeting in a bid to avoid the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing like the U.S. southern border with Mexico . "The prime minister of course spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American friends the negative impact that those tariffs could have on their economy, on affordability in the United States as well," LeBlanc said in Parliament. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said last week that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned home without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. “The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc said. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. ... The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.” Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump, said Canada is not the problem when it comes to drugs and migrants. On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected those comments. “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She said Canada had its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” Flows of migrants and seizures of drugs at the two countries’ border are vastly different. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.Houthis Target Israel's Ben Gurion Airport In Overnight Ballistic Missile Attack

ISTANBUL – In the aftermath of Bashar al-Assad's ouster, Syria remains territorially fractured as the rebels who defeated Assad work to consolidate power. The country's uncertain future has raised questions about the fate of the U.S.-backed Kurdish coalition known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). This week, Syria's new leadership took steps to dissolve the different rebel factions and unite them under the new Syrian army. But the SDF did not join in. In a statement, SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami said the group wasn't opposed to joining the Syrian military in principle, but that the matter required negotiations with Damascus. The realities of the new Syria, however, have left the SDF with few options to maintain its status quo. The SDF controls a third of Syria's territory In 2014, the Islamic State extremist group began taking large pieces of territory in northeast Syria as the country was embroiled in a civil war. With the help of the United States, a coalition was formed of Kurdish militia groups to help fight ISIS and take back the territory. That's how the coalition came to control about a third of Syria, from the Euphrates River and eastward along the borders with Iraq and Turkey, according to Yerevan Saeed, director of the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace at American University. "The Kurdish control of these areas really came in a time when there was a vacuum of power. All of these areas were taken over by ISIS, and the local population was very happy to have the SDF clear ISIS elements from all of these areas," Saeed says. After the territorial defeat of ISIS in Syria in the spring of 2019, the SDF continued to guard the prisons and camps holding thousands of ISIS fighters and their families, something it still does now. A majority of the population living under SDF control are Arabs The Kurds are one of the world's largest ethnic groups without their own state. They are a minority spread mainly across several Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. For a long time, some Kurds and their allies had hoped that the area the SDF carved out in northeastern Syria would eventually turn into an autonomous Kurdish zone, similar to the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq. But that goal was unrealistic, according to Denise Natali, the director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University and expert on U.S.–Kurdish relations. "This was not in any part of the trajectory of Syrian history," Natali said. "And not sustainable from a perspective of local power dynamics, not from an economic perspective, not from a security perspective." Unlike in northern Iraq, a majority of the population in northeast Syria isn't Kurdish. They are Arabs. And while Kurds are living in the area, not all support the SDF, which follows a secular, libertarian socialist ideology that local Sunni Syrian Kurds do not share. The Kurdish towns and villages are also scattered and not contiguous, making it even more challenging to form a cohesive, autonomous region. Since the fall of Assad on Dec. 8, some Arab residents under SDF control in cities like Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa have been demonstrating and demanding to be governed by the rebels in Damascus instead. "With Assad out of the scene, local Arab communities in eastern Syria are uncomfortable with a sort of Kurdish militia group having ultimate authority in their areas," said Nicholas Heras, a senior director with New Lines Institute. "They have an alternative, another choice." NATO ally Turkey sees the Kurdish militia groups as a threat An even bigger challenge to the Kurdish coalition comes from Turkey – Syria's neighbor to the north. The rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who toppled Assad were supported by Turkey, giving the country significant influence over Syria and its new leaders. Turkey says the main militia force in the U.S.-backed Kurdish coalition is the Syrian arm of the Kurdistan Workers Party – an insurgent group better known as the PKK which it has been fighting in Turkey for decades. Both Turkey and the U.S. designate the PKK as a terrorist organization. The U.S. decision to arm the Syrian branch of the PKK – which is known as the YPG – in the fight against ISIS has been a sticking point in U.S.–Turkish relations for years, according to James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for the mission to defeat ISIS. "Because of the huge role the PKK has played since I was first in Turkey in 1984, the Turks can never formally accept what the U.S. is doing with the SDF," Jeffrey says, referring to Washington's support of the Syrian Kurdish coalition. Turkish officials made it clear soon after the fall of Assad that one of their strategic priorities in Syria is to see the YPG dismantled, either by the new Syrian leaders in Damascus taking control of all of Syria and uniting it, or by a major Turkish military offensive targeted on areas controlled by the YPG in Syria's northeast. In a speech to the Turkish parliament this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that the Kurdish militia groups "will either lay down their arms or will be buried with their arms in the lands of Syria." U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, have threatened sanctions against Turkey in case of a military offensive against the Kurdish fighters in Syria. Syria's new administration seeks to unite the country Last Sunday, during a press conference in Damascus with the Turkish foreign minister, Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said he would not allow any existing weapons in Syria to be outside state control, "whether from the revolutionary factions or from the factions present in the SDF region." As the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition is already due to be disbanded in Iraq , Turkish officials have been encouraging Syria's new leadership also to eventually take control of ISIS prisons and camps in Syria from the SDF. "The Syrian administration told us it is ready to take the necessary initiative to take over these prisoners," Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said in the press conference with Sharaa. Analysts expect a diplomatic agreement will eventually be reached between Damascus and the SDF, without a Turkish military offensive into SDF areas. "I think a more realistic prospect is some form of decentralized administration in which the Kurdish cities have local self-administration," Natali said. U.S. officials are concerned about ISIS resurgence, but Syria is not a strategic priority Natali, who served as assistant secretary of state for conflict and stabilization operations during President-elect Donald Trump's first term, says the United States' yearslong arrangement in Syria with the Kurdish coalition is no longer strategically viable, due to changes both in Syria and in Washington. "We are in a different situation," she says. "We have a new administration that has clearly identified what their priorities are, and Syria is not a priority." Instead, she says Trump's priorities are ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza . "And these types of priorities are going to need strategic partners, such as Turkey," Natali says. In his first term, Trump pushed but failed to bring back home the 900 U.S. troops on the ground in Syria. During his campaign this year, he made ending wars and not getting involved in other conflicts a big part of his message, and he is expected to want to withdraw troops from Syria again. But given the scale of destruction during Assad's violent reign on Syria's physical infrastructure and the fraying of social dynamics, many experts remain skeptical that Syria won't end up a fractured state. And U.S. officials are concerned about ISIS taking advantage of a vacuum and reemerging, making it all the more challenging for a full U.S. withdrawal from Syria. In an interview on Sunday with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, Trump's pick for National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said that while the U.S. did not need to have troops on the ground in Syria, it won't be able to turn away from what's going on there. "Tens of thousands of fighters and families that are sitting in prison camps guarded by our friends the Kurds, supported by us, and we can't have that unleash again," Waltz said.Preview: Arouca vs. Santa Clara - prediction, team news, lineups

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A quarterly survey by Japan’s central bank shows business sentiment has improved slightly, especially in major heavy industries such as automaking, fossil fuels and machinery, while services industries were less upbeat. The survey released Friday by the Bank of Japan, called the tankan, might influence the central bank's decision on whether to raise its benchmark interest rate next week. It shows the difference between companies saying they are optimistic about business conditions and those that are pessimistic. The latest survey's outcome undermined expectations for a rate hike, and the Japanese yen weakened, with the U.S. dollar trading at 152.90 yen on Friday, near its highest level in two weeks. Meanwhile, the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index fell more than 1%. “Expectations are for the BOJ to maintain its short-term interest rate at 0.25% next week, marking the fourth consecutive meeting with no change,” IG said in a commentary. Japan’s economy grew at a revised 1.2% annual pace in the last quarter, helped by sustained consumer spending. But the outlook ahead is uncertain, IG economists noted, given U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's vows to impose higher tariffs on imports from many countries, which could jolt both the regional and the global economy. “The mediocre increase in business conditions across all firm sizes in the latest tankan suggests that activity is unlikely to rebound meaningfully this quarter, following a slowdown in (the last quarter),” Toh Au Yu of Capital Economics said in a commentary. One of the biggest obstacles for Japanese firms is a severe labor shortage as the work force shrinks along with the overall population, Toh said. The tankan showed a negative 36 sentiment for employment, unchanged from the previous quarter. Still, overall business sentiment for both manufacturers and non-manufacturers edged up to 15 from 14 in the previous survey. The sentiment index for large manufacturers rose to 14 in December from 13 in September, partly due to automakers resuming production following certification scandals in the industry. Construction and real estate also improved. But while automakers and other big industries gained ground, sentiment among retailers and other service industries deteriorated, falling to 33 from 34, though it remained in positive territory. The index for retailers dropped sharply, to 13 from 28. The Bank of Japan began earlier this year to shift away from a negative interest rate policy aimed at keeping credit super cheap to support the economy as the country's population shrinks, sapping demand. The ultra-lax monetary policy was kept in place for years to counter a long spell of deflation, when demand was so slack that prices fell. But global price increases following the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with a weakening of the Japanese yen against other currencies, has pushed prices above the BOJ's target of about 2% inflation, enabling it to begin shifting to a more conventional stance. Japan racked up a trade deficit in October for the fourth month in a row, as the weak yen and rising energy prices kept import costs high. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has proposed raising Japan's basic tax-free income allowance, increasing take-home wages and paying subsidies to low-income families to help boost consumer spending. But his minority government is likely to struggle to gain support from the opposition on budgets and other legislation, raising the risk of political deadlocks that could stymie economic initiatives.