Tag: continue

DeSantis admin and College Board continue fight over African American studies course

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“If Florida or any state chooses not to adopt this course, we would regret that decision, and we believe educators and students would as well,” officials with the College Board wrote in a response to Florida.
The back-and-forth illustrates an attempt by both sides to claim victory in an episode that has garnered national attention and a backlash for everyone involved. DeSantis and Florida education officials have used the African American AP course as an example of how “wokeness” has infiltrated high school curriculum and rejected the lessons from being taught in the state. Black leaders and others, however, accused the governor and state of whitewashing history.
The College Board previously denied that Florida — or any other state — played a role in reshaping its new AP course on African American studies, which will launch in the 2024-2025 school year, contending that tweaks to the program were already made before objections by the DeSantis administration.
But that didn’t stop a wave of pushback from Democrats and groups criticizing the College Board’s revisions, contending the nonprofit caved to conservatives by removing aspects of the course tied to Black Lives Matter, Black feminism and queer studies.
The organization, however, maintains that the topics under scrutiny were secondary or derivative sources included in the pilot phase of the course and would never be included in its official framework. And on top of that, the College Board argued that its revisions were completed by Dec. 22, which the nonprofit said came “weeks before Florida’s objections were shared.”
But now, the Florida Department of Education claims that state officials had been in contact with the College Board since January 2022 regarding the course and first questioned if it was legal under state law in July.
Florida’s education agency, in its letter this week to the College Board, wrote that the state’s Office of Articulation in September told the nonprofit that the course could not be accepted without revision, which would have been months before the issue rose to the national spotlight.
“That FDOE and the College Board have been communicating since January 2022 regarding the proposed course is remarkable,” Florida education officials wrote in a letter Tuesday that was first reported by the Daily Caller. “We do appreciate the regular, two-way verbal and written dialogue on this important topic.”

Florida officials noted they were “grateful” that the College Board removed some 19 topics from the African American Studies framework, which the state said included “discriminatory and historically fictional topics.”
In response, the College Board defended its course curriculum that has faced heavy scrutiny.
“We are confident in the historical accuracy of every topic included in the pilot framework, as well as those now in the official framework,” College Board officials wrote Thursday.
The Florida Department of Education is expected to review the AP course for consideration in schools starting next fall.
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#DeSantis #admin #College #Board #continue #fight #African #American #studies
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 10, 2023
Turkey-Syria quake toll nearing 8000, searches continue

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Ankara/Damascus: As desperate searches continued to find more survivors under the rubble in both Turkey and Syria, the death toll from the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the two nations earlier this week has increased to 7,926, authorities have confirmed.
In an address to the nation early Wednesday, Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay said at least 5,894 people have been confirmed dead so far, while 34,810 others were injured, CNN reported.
A total 16,139 teams were currently continuing with the search and rescue operations, with additional international teams to be deployed in the coming days, he added.
In Syria, the death toll has increased to 2,032.
In its latest update, the Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, said the number of fatalities in rebel-held areas in northwest Syria stood at 1,220 and the number of injured people rose to 2,600.
Those figures are “expected to rise significantly due to the presence of hundreds of families under the rubble”, CNN quoted the group as saying.
“Our teams continue search and rescue operations amid difficult circumstances,” it said, describing a tally of more than 400 collapsed buildings, more than 1,300 partially collapsed buildings and thousands of others that were damaged by the early morning quake.
According to Syria’s state news agency SANA, at least 812 deaths were confirmed in government-controlled parts of the country.

Freezing weather conditions are further endangering survivors and complicating rescue efforts, as more than 100 aftershocks have struck the region since the initial tremor on Monday.
More than 60 countries have pledged support and sent humanitarian aid to the affected regions, while there are about 20 international government search and rescue teams on the ground presently.
The devastating 7.8 tremor struck Turkey’s southern province of Kahramanmaras at 4.17 a.m. on Monday morning, which was followed by a 6.4-magnitude temblor a few minutes later in Gaziantep province.
The epicentre of the 7.8-magnitude quake was 23 km east of Nurdagi in Gaziantep, at a depth of 24.1 km, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
At around 1.30 p.m, a third 7.5-magnitude tremor hit Kahramanmaras, which officials said was “not an aftershock”.
Turkey’s southern province of Hatay and Syria’s northern Aleppo city suffered the biggest loss of lives, while Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus also felt the tremor.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency on Tuesday in 10 of the country’s hard-hit provinces.
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#TurkeySyria #quake #toll #nearing #searches #continue
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 8, 2023
RBI to continue or hit the pause button on rate hike?

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Chennai: With the retail inflation down, if the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) pause on the policy rate hike or increase it by 25 basis points to 6.50 per cent will be known on February 8.
The RBI’s MPC will be meeting on February 6-8 to decide on the rates.
“Inflation has come down substantially over the last three months and showing further downward momentum. External conditions have also eased with slower rate hikes in the US. The RBI’s foreign exchange reserves have also increased over the last few months. All these developments should provide comfort to the RBI. We expect the RBI will pause the rate hiking cycle in the February meeting and will maintain the repo rate at 6.25 per cent for extended period. It might also change the policy stance to neutral,” said Pankaj Pathak, Fund Manager- Fixed Income, Quantum AMC.
According to Pathak, the bond market should react positively. “We expect bond yields to go down gradually though elevated bond supply will limit the downside of yields.”
Retail inflation for December 2022 fell to a year’s low of 5.72 per cent, mainly due to low food prices, especially those of fruits and vegetables.
This was the second consecutive month when it has remained within the RBI’s tolerance band of 2 per cent to 6 per cent.
However, economists are worried as the core inflation remains on the higher side.
The consumer price index (CPI) based inflation was at 5.88 per cent in November 2022, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Thursday. In October 2022, it was at a higher band of 6.77 per cent.

Food inflation stood at 4.19 per cent in December 2022, lesser than 4.67 per cent level of November 2022, as per the official data.
Apart from fruits and vegetables, prices of oils and fats as well as meat and fish also fell in December 2022 compared to November 2022.
On the inflation numbers Rajani Sinha, Chief Economist, CARE Ratings had told IANS: “Retail inflation has eased more than expected in December, bringing the headline print below the RBI’s upper tolerance for the second straight month.”
The softening is largely attributed to the decline in prices of vegetables, which helped offset the rise in costs of other products of the food basket such as cereals, milk and meat. However, the concern is that core CPI inflation remains sticky above 6 per cent, with evidence of high inflation in the services sector. “From the policy perspective, we believe that RBI’s move at the February MPC meeting will be a close call with core CPI inflation remaining sticky,” she had added.
At the MPC meeting held during December 5-7, 2022 Prof. Jayanth R. Varma, a member voted against the resolution to hike the repo rate by 35 basis points to 6.25 per cent.
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#RBI #continue #hit #pause #button #rate #hike
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 6, 2023
Encroachments: Bulldozers Continue Rolling in Kashmir and Jammu

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SRINAGAR: The demolition drive has picked its pace in Srinagar and Jammu. There were scores of spots where the revenue officials, cops and bulldozers remained active for part of the two.
For different reasons, the two spots proved to be very distinct.
Malik Market
In Jammu’s Malik Market where the MG Hactor showroom is built on a piece of state land, at least four bulldozers came and started demolishing it. They damaged the frontal facade and part of the basement as hundreds of people were watching.
All of a sudden, the people of the area got furious and they reacted. They resorted to stone pelting as a result of which the demolition squad left the machinery behind and fled. It was a brief spell, however.
The showroom owner, Ghulam Mohammad Baig, a resident of Srinagar, has said that he has purchased the land in 1990 and he has papers. One report said he is willing to offer land in exchange so that his more than Rs 2.5 crore investment survives unscathed.
The demolition came against the background of continued protests by the inhabitants of the Sunjwan and Bathindi area of Jammu where at least six residents have received notices that they have constructed their homes on state land. A protest was also reported from the Sidhra area.

Reports reaching from Jammu said that the twin localities shut down normal life for almost four days. Though the government has been conveying that the drive is against the influentials only, the residents seemingly are unwilling to believe. Those who have got notices include at least three individuals having some political connection.
In Jammu, the authorities have already retrieved land from BJPs Kavinder Gupta, DDC Chairman from Kathua, and a former minister – all from BJP, and lot many have received notices including a few from Apani Party.
Padshahi Bagh
There were very disturbing visuals coming from Padshahi Bagh where an old woman was pleading that her relative’s property may not be damaged because he is a very poor man. Some people even said the property that was damaged is owned and there are documents to prove that. Residents claimed they received no notice and the bulldozer’s arrival was a shocking surprise.
A group of women attempting to block the bulldozer from demolition the space, they call ‘home’. The area witnessed an early morning demolition drive on February 4, 2023. KL Image: Special Arrangement
Besides, there was a man – apparently, a non-native, who was crying claiming he has been living on the spot for 20 years and had never been touched. He claimed he received no notice so that he could have arranged some alternative. It was not immediately known to which place he belonged.
There was a very disturbing visual showing two small girls crying near the bulldozers in a tight embrace. It was not immediately known whether they belonged to the native or the non-native.
Other Spots
The demolitions are taking place at such a scale that is impossible to report every single act. It is happening in all the districts.
Near Srinagar’s RTO office, authorities sealed a 4-storey complex but the owner; a lawyer briefed the media and showed his ownership details and the amount that SMC has already received more than 15 years ago. He also talked about the division bench’s direction that the property should not be touched at all. Besides, he claimed he has building permission as well. Barring the construction costs, he gave details of payments worth Rs 60 lakhs that different government agencies have already received.
The bulldozers remained active in Humhama where the outer compound wall of a former DC Budgam was demolished. This is the most prized housing settlement in Srinagar, perhaps the only one that is not served by any public transport service. Today’s demolition in the area was a follow-up to an earlier operation in which a police officer’s encroachments were retrieved.
Bulldozer was also found operating in the Nishat area where a lawyer – a relative of a politician, lives and her compound wall was destroyed. Authorities later raised a board saying it is state land.
Ghulam Nabi Azad had a meeting with Home Minister, Amit Shah in which the issue was raised. A day later, LG Manoj Sinha flew to Delhi and returned to Jammu the same day. Later that evening he told a gathering that the operation of retrieving the state land will continue.
The government has earlier said that they have retrieved more than 600 thousand kanals of land that was encroached upon across Jammu and Kashmir. The operation is likely to continue and intensify in the coming days.

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#Encroachments #Bulldozers #Continue #Rolling #Kashmir #Jammu
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 4, 2023
‘Turkey won’t approve Sweden’s NATO bid as long as Quran-burning protests continue’

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Ankara: Turkey will not approve Sweden’s bid to join NATO as long as it continues to allow Quran-burning protests, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, adding that his country looks positively on Finland’s application for membership of the military alliance.
“Sweden! Don’t even bother to try. We cannot say ‘yes’ to your joining NATO as long as you continue to allow burning and tearing of my sacred book, the Quran,” Erdogan said in an address to Parliament on Wednesday.
“Our view on Finland is positive, but not for Sweden,” he added.
Ankara’s backlash against Stockholm’s NATO bid comes after the latter’s permission for recent protests involving Quran burning in the Nordic country, as well as the issue of extradition of people affiliated with anti-Turkey groups.
The Swedish police allowed a protest in which a far-right politician burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm in January.
Sweden and Finland submitted their formal requests to join NATO in May 2022, which were initially opposed by Turkey, an alliance member, citing their support for anti-Ankara Kurdish organisations and political dissidents.
A month later, Turkey, Sweden and Finland reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) ahead of the NATO summit held in Madrid.
Under the MoU, Turkey agreed to lift its veto on the NATO bids by Finland and Sweden, which in return pledged to support Ankara’s fight against terrorism and address its “pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly”.

The Turkish parliament has not ratified the Nordic countries’ NATO bids so far, citing that they have yet to meet Ankara’s requests.
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#Turkey #wont #approve #Swedens #NATO #bid #long #Quranburning #protests #continue
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
Govt to continue 50-year interest-free loans to states for another year: Sitharaman

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New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced that the Centre will continue 50-year interest-free loans to state governments for one more year.
She also said the enhanced capex of Rs 10 lakh crore for infrastructure development is at 3.3 percent of the GDP.
Presenting the Budget for 2023-24, she said the newly established infrastructure finance secretariat will assist in attracting more private investment.
An expert committee will also be set up to make infrastructure classification and financing framework suitable for Amrit Kaal, she added.
On October 13 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Gati Shakti – National Master Plan, aimed at developing an integrated infrastructure to reduce logistics costs.
All logistics and connectivity infrastructure projects, entailing an investment of over Rs 500 crore, are routed through the NPG, constituted under the PM Gati Shakti initiative.
She also informed that the PM Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Group scheme would benefit 3.5 lakh tribals.

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#Govt #continue #50year #interestfree #loans #states #year #Sitharaman
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 1, 2023
Rain, Snow In Kashmir To Continue For Next 24 Hours

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SRINAGAR: The Meteorological office on Wednesday predicted light to moderate rain/snow in Valley and cloudy sky with chances of light rain in Jammu division during the next 24 hours.
“Light to moderate rain/snow is expected to continue in Valley and cloudy sky with chances of light rain in Jammu division during the next 24 hours,” MeT department official said.
Srinagar recorded zero degree Celsius, Pahalgam minus 2.6 and Gulmarg minus 4.6 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature.
In Ladakh region, Kargil registered minus 9.5 and Leh minus 11.5 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature.
Jammu had 8.5, Katra 7.2, Batote 1.5, Banihal 0.3 and Bhaderwah 0.8 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature.
Rain, snow lashed J&K during the last 24 hours.( IANS)

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#Rain #Snow #Kashmir #Continue #Hours

( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

January 25, 2023
Dozens injured and police stations attacked as protests continue in Peru

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Dozens of Peruvians were injured when tensions flared again on Friday night as police clashed with protesters in anti-government demonstrations that are spreading across the country.
In the capital, Lima, police officers used teargas to repel demonstrators throwing glass bottles and stones, as fires burned in the streets, TV footage showed.
In the southern Puno region about 1,500 protesters attacked a police station in the town of Ilave, said the interior minister, Vicente Romero. A police station in Zepita, Puno, was also on fire, he said.
Health authorities in Ilave reported eight patients hospitalised with injuries, including broken arms and legs, eye contusions and punctured abdomens.
By late afternoon, 58 people had been injured nationwide in demonstrations, according to a report from Peru’s ombudsman.
Teargas fired at Peru protesters as thousands try to ‘take Lima’ – video report
The unrest followed a day of turmoil on Thursday, when one of Lima’s most historic buildings burned to the ground, as President Dina Boluarte vowed to get tougher on “vandals”.
The destruction of the building, a near-century-old mansion in central Lima, was described by officials as the loss of a “monumental asset”. Authorities are investigating the causes.
Romero on Friday claimed the blaze was “duly planned and arranged”.

Thousands of protesters descended on Lima this week calling for change and angered by the protests’ mounting death toll, which officially stood at 45 on Friday.
At the beginning of the Friday’s protests, the demonstrators seemed more organised than the previous day and they took over key roads in downtown Lima.
Police appeared more combative than the day before and after standing watch over protesters that had been blocked into downtown streets, they started firing volleys of teargas.
Firefighters work outside a historic mansion devastated by fire during the protests in downtown Lima. Photograph: Paolo Aguilar/EPA
Protests have rocked Peru since Pedro Castillo was ousted as president in December after he attempted to dissolve the legislature to prevent an impeachment vote.
Boluarte has dismissed calls for her to resign and hold snap elections, instead calling for dialogue and promising to punish those involved in the unrest.
In the Cusco region, Glencore’s major Antapaccay copper mine suspended operations on Friday after protesters attacked the premises – one of the largest in the country – for the third time this month.
With Reuters and Associated Press
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#Dozens #injured #police #stations #attacked #protests #continue #Peru
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

January 21, 2023