The senate has passed a bill seeking to increase the salaries and allowances of judges at all levels. The legislation, which represents a 300 percent increase, will ensure the chief justice of Nigeria earns N64 million annually. The president of the court of appeal will be entitled to N62.4 million, and justices of the supreme court will earn N61.4 million. The bill also makes provision for the retirement of judicial officers, with Senator Mohammed Monguno highlighting the long-overdue update to judges’ pay packages. This move aims to promote justice and fairness in the country’s judicial processes.
UBT Faction Claims BJP and Shiv Sena Paid Price in Thane Elections, India
Thane UBT accuses Mahayuti of foul play | Thane News – Times of India
THANE: The Thane UBT faction, Wednesday, claimed the BJP and Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde paid the price for allegedly playing foul in the state during the Lok Sabha elections as they had to settle for fewer seats as compared to their desired target of winning 45 constituencies here.
UBT Thane chief Kedar Dighe, Wednesday, lashed out at the Mahayuti blaming them for failing to concentrate on their own victory and failing to ensure a level playing field in the elections.
Dighe, in a statement, said the BJP was focused only on decimating the political presence of Uddhav Thackeray and his party boomeranged on its own performance as the BJP had to settle at just nine seats compared to 23 in the previous term. He alleged Shinde to have used muscle and money power for routing the MVA candidates in the state including UBT’s Rajan Vichare in Thane who single-handed managed to garner over five lakh votes in the absence of a single elected representative in the constituency.
Meanwhile, industries minister and Shiv Sena’s Uday Samant during an independent interaction with the media in Thane dismissed allegations of the UBT faction including that related to the Mumbai North West seat.
They (MVA and UBT) have the habit of blaming us for their defeat… Earlier they blamed the EVM and now are accusing the administration where their candidate won. So why are they silent in the seats where their candidates won? Are they asking for repoll there? They need to introspect on their defeat, he said.
Woman Arrested with $2.2M Meth Haul in Nebraska, US
SEWARD COUNTY, Neb — A 50-year-old woman was arrested after police discovered over two million dollars of methamphetamine during a traffic stop in Nebraska.
According to the Seward County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), a deputy with the Seward County Interdiction Task Force initiated a traffic stop on a 2023 Jeep Laredo for a traffic violation near mile marker 386 on eastbound I-80.
During the search of the SUV, the deputy located 62 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the rear of the vehicle. The approximate street value of the methamphetamine is over $2.2 million.
The driver, Maria S. Diaz, 50, of Joliet, Illi., was taken into custody without incident. The child was turned over to appropriate authorities.
Diaz was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver and Intentional Child Abuse/No Injury.
She was remanded to the Seward County Detention Center pending further court action.
Surge in First-Time Gun Owners in America Amid Rising Crime Rates, US
There has been a drastic surge in the number of Americans becoming first-time gun owners over the past four years according to a press release.
The National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF) pointed to data showing a major trend in gun ownership. The number of people who became first-time gun owners since 2020 has reportedly grown to over 22.3 million people, which is equal to the population of Florida.
The impetus behind the rapid increase in first-time gun ownership is attributed to numerous factors, including COVID-era lockdown measures, soft-on-crime prosecutors and skyrocketing violent crime rates, according to the NSSF.
The report highlights Chris Cheng, a competitive shooting champion who testified before Congress about the rise in gun ownership.
The past year-and-a-half or so with COVID-19 has been a pressure cooker … When you couple that with calls to defund the police and taking law enforcement officers off the street … it makes citizens like me less safe, Cheng said during his testimony, according to the report. If I can’t have law enforcement there, then it is a rational conclusion that individual citizens like myself would opt to utilize my Second Amendment right to purchase a firearm and use that firearm in lawful and legal self-defense.
More than 52% of American voters indicated that they or someone in their home owns a firearm, according to an NBC News national poll released in November 2023. Researchers also found that 48% of firearm owners were concerned that the government would not take enough action to restrict access to firearms while 47% worried that the state would go too far in regulating guns.
Telix Pharmaceuticals Plans $200M IPO in the US, Nasdaq Listing imminent, Australia
Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited, an Australian biopharmaceutical company, announced today its intention to raise $200 million through an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. The offering includes 17 million American Depositary Shares (ADSs), each representing one ordinary share of Telix. Telix specializes in the development and commercialization of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals and associated medical devices, with a focus on addressing significant unmet medical needs in oncology and rare diseases. The company operates internationally, with a presence in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Telix’s ADSs are expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol TLX, adding to its existing listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Key investment firms such as Jefferies, Morgan Stanley, Truist Securities, and William Blair are serving as joint book-running managers for the offering. As Telix prepares for its IPO, potential investors can explore valuable insights on the company’s financial health and market potential through InvestingPro data, offering a comprehensive understanding of Telix’s performance, market capitalization, and growth projections. It might be an opportune time for investors to leverage InvestingPro Tips to make informed decisions regarding Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited.
Cisco Launches $1 Billion AI Fund to Dominate Market at “Cisco Live” Event in Las Vegas
Cisco has announced the launch of a $1 billion fund aimed at investing in AI startups. The move, unveiled during the company’s event in Las Vegas, is part of Cisco’s strategy to strengthen its position in the AI sector. CEO Chuck Robbins highlighted the potential for co-development activities with startups to deliver innovative solutions in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. The firm has already started investing in established AI companies, with notable investments in Mistral AI, Scale AI, and Cohere. Additionally, Cisco is partnering with larger firms to introduce an AI cluster solution for data centers, allowing customers to focus on AI innovation rather than IT management. Cisco’s Chief Strategy Officer, Mark Patterson, emphasized the company’s commitment to supporting customers in the AI era and enhancing the broader AI ecosystem.
Florida Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on UF COVID Shutdown Refunds, US
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday about whether the University of Florida should refund money from when the campus shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The potential class-action lawsuit, filed by UF graduate student Anthony Rojas in April 2021, is one of numerous similar cases that were filed in Florida and across the country.
Attorneys for Rojas went to the Supreme Court last year after a divided panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal said an Alachua County circuit judge should have dismissed the lawsuit, which seeks refunds of fees paid for transportation, health care and athletics services that were not provided because of the 2020 shutdown.
In a 22-page brief, Rojas’ attorneys said the Supreme Court should overturn the appeals court ruling.
Reduced to its core, UF’s argument is that it did not have to provide any services in exchange for the fees it charged, because UF allegedly did not specifically put in writing that it would provide services in exchange for those fees, the brief said. This argument defies both common sense and Florida law.
A key issue is whether UF breached a contract with Rojas. The appeals court’s majority opinion concluded that assorted documents attached to the complaint do not constitute an express written contract.
As a result, it said UF is shielded by sovereign immunity, a legal concept that generally protects government agencies from liability. Under sovereign immunity, agencies can face breach-of-contract lawsuits if it is shown that contracts have been violated.
In a January brief, attorneys for the university supported the appeals court’s conclusion about a lack of a contract.
Petitioner’s (Rojas’) complaint alleges an ‘express’ contract for the payment of fees requiring the university to provide ‘specific on-campus services and resources,’ the UF brief said. The university does not deny that it must provide ‘educational services’ in exchange for tuition and fees paid, but petitioner does not present any document requiring on-campus services and facilities to be provided in the Spring and Summer 2020 semesters for the fees that were paid. Thus, there is no express, written contract for in-person services and resources as petitioner demands in his complaint.
Each side will have 20 minutes Wednesday to present their arguments.
Global Temperatures Hit Record High for 12th Consecutive Month: Urgent Climate Action Needed
Reacting to data from Copernicus Climate Change Service showing that last month was the warmest May ever recorded, and that global average temperatures have now broken records for 12 consecutive months, Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Climate Policy Advisor, said:
Recent floods in Brazil, Kenya and Germany, and record heatwaves in India, other parts of south Asia, and Mexico underline the imminent harm to come from continued global heating unless serious and meaningful action is taken. It is now more essential than ever that the finance required to prevent greater heating, and to allow communities to adapt to the realities of climate change, is significantly scaled up. Failing to act will only increase the costs – both to human rights and to economies.
People in low-income countries are worst affected by this crisis and have the least means to deal with it. The polluters must pay. This means the largest historical emitters of greenhouse gases, and others states which can afford to – including some major fossil fuel producing countries – providing more climate finance to lower-income states.
The only sure answer to tackling the root cause of global warming is to rapidly phase out fossil fuels, and to fund a fair, fast and forever phase out and shift to renewable sources of power. We are urging parties at the UN Climate Conference in Bonn this week to set a clear path to far greater provision of climate finance.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service, the European Union’s global climate monitoring service, recorded that May 2024 was the warmest May on record globally. The global average temperature for May 2024 was 1.52°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, marking the 11th consecutive month (since July 2023) at or above 1.5°C, which was the level countries agreed in Paris in 2016 to act to try and stay below. The global average temperature for the last 12 months from June 2023 to May 2024 is the highest on record, at 1.63°C above the 1850-1900 average. Even if countries were to implement the greenhouse gas reduction commitments they have already made, the planet is on track for almost 3°C of warming this century.
BJP’s Modi-Led Campaign Helps Sweep Madhya Pradesh in Lok Sabha Polls, India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity coupled with an aggressive campaign helped the BJP make a clean sweep of Madhya Pradesh in the Lok Sabha polls and wrest the Congress bastion Chhindwara, say political observers. Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah’s poll strategy also resulted in several Congress workers joining the ruling side and weakening the opposition camp, they said.
On the other side, the state Congress leadership failed to display strength, an effective strategy and aggressiveness to counter the BJP, the analysts said.
The BJP on Tuesday won all the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the central state, including Chhindwara from where Congress MP Nakul Nath, the son of former state chief minister Kamal Nath, was seeking a second term. MP has been the political arena of BJP stalwarts like former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Vijaya Raje Scindia and Kushabhau Thakre. The strong saffron surge this time resulted in the Congress even losing its bastion Chhindwara. This is the second time since Independence that the BJP has won Chhindwara. Before the polls, there were speculations that Kamal Nath and his son may cross over to the BJP as the duo camped in Delhi for a few days. Later, both of them denied such claims. But, according to poll analysts, such rumours demoralised the Congress cadres.
As part of the BJP’s aggressive campaign strategy, PM Modi addressed eight public meetings and led two roadshows in the state, which drew huge crowds.
MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav addressed more than 180 public meetings and held around 58 roadshows in the state, as per a party leader. On the other side, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed one public rally reach, while Rahul Gandhi held five rallies.
During a visit to Gwalior, Shah had asked BJP members at a meeting to facilitate the induction of local influential and disgruntled leaders and workers of the Congress, including from Chhindwara, into the saffron fold, a BJP leader said. The BJP had set an ambitious target to induct 1 lakh workers of Congress in Madhya Pradesh in its fold, including 50,000 in Chhindwara.
Before the polls, some close aides of Kamal Nath switched over from the Congress to the ruling side. In the November 2023 Madhya Pradesh polls, the Congress won all seven assembly seats in Chhindwara district. But later, some of its influential leaders, including Union minister Suresh Pachouri, joined the BJP, weakening the grand old party’s state unit.
Senior journalist and a visiting fellow with Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Rasheed Kidwai, told PTI on Tuesday that the Lok Sabha poll results in MP manifest the Congress’ weak state leadership. The state leadership failed to demonstrate bravery, strategy and aggressiveness to counter the BJP, he said. He claimed that Kamal Nath remained tied to Chhindwara to ensure his son’s win, but in vain, he said.
The Lok Sabha poll was a litmus test for the Congress which miserably lost in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections to the BJP in November 2023. The MP Congress should learn a lesson from the party’s showing in neighbouring Rajasthan in the general elections or the day is not far off when it will go the Gujarat way where the Congress stands decimated, Kidwai said. Political observer Jairam Shukla said Congress’ was a case of hit wicket.
Naths’ Delhi episode shook confidence of the Congress cadre is MP. Both paid a heavy price for it after the BJP slammed its doors on them, he said. Secondly, handing over of the Congress reign in the state to immature leader Jitu Patwari, who lost the 2023 assembly poll, came a cropper, Shukla claimed.
He has no standing. Senior leaders did not accept him as their leader, he said.
On the other hand, the BJP fought the elections aggressively and strategically with its well-oiled state machinery coupled with micro-booth management, Shukla added.
Putin to Meet with Global News Agency Chiefs at St. Petersburg Forum, Russia
The president will have a very important and meaningful event on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. He will communicate with the heads of news divisions of the largest international news agencies, Peskov said. There will be agencies from unfriendly countries, the world’s largest agencies, and also official state agencies of friendly and partner countries, Peskov added.
It will be a free discussion without a limited agenda and held in an open mode, Peskov said.
TASS has traditionally organized Putin’s meeting with the chiefs of world news agencies on the SPIEF sidelines for many years. This is going to be an eighth such rendezvous. The participants in the event have an opportunity to discuss with the Russian leader the most topical issues of Russia’s domestic and foreign policy without a fixed agenda and in an informal mode.
