International

Meta announced that Instagram is adding optional live location sharing within direct DM chats.The feature allows users to share their live locations with friends during conversations for up to one hour.To take advantage of the feature, the "+" button can be clicked in the right corner below the screen, then select the location, and besides, a specific location can be installed on the map to coordinate arrival times or locate places in crowded events, such as outdoor events.Live location can only be shared privately in DMs, either in a 1:1 or group chat, will expire after 1 hour, and is off by default. When sharing, only those in the specific chat can see your location and your location can't be forwarded to other chats.Instagram says that there will also be a prominent indicator at the top of your chat to ensure you don't forget that you're sharing your live location."You can stop sharing your location any time. Remember to always be mindful of your privacy and only share your location with people you know in real life," it said.Besides the location sharing feature, Instagram offers 17 new sticker packs with more than 300 stickers, which can be shared in DMs.The platform added nicknames, which allow users to select aliases for themselves and their friends in conversations, where titles can be assigned by clicking on the conversation name at the top, then selecting "Nicknames" and selecting the desired username to change.Nicknames appear only in conversations, and do not affect the general username that appears in the app.The company confirmed that the direct site sharing feature is currently available in some countries only, with expectations that it will soon be available in all countries to reach all users.

The death toll from floods in four provinces of Indonesia's Sumatra Island has risen to 20 people.The Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency reported Tuesday that flash floods and landslides have affected four provinces on Sumatra Island, including Karo, Deli Serdang, South Tapanuli and Padang Lawas.The death toll from the floods has so far reached 20, with two people still missing.Indonesia has faced a series of extreme weather conditions during the rainy season, which climate scientists believe are becoming more frequent due to climate change.

Thousands of protesters calling for the release of Pakistan’s jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan defied roadblocks and tear gas to march at the gates of the nation’s capital late night.The government said one police officer had been killed and nine were critically wounded in two days of clashes with demonstrators as they closed in on Islamabad.Khan was barred from standing in February elections that were marred by allegations of rigging, sidelined by dozens of disputed legal cases which he claims were confected to prevent his comeback.His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has defied a government crackdown with regular demonstrations aiming to seize public spaces in Islamabad and other large cities.The capital has been locked down since late Saturday, with mobile Internet sporadically cut and more than 20,000 police flooding the streets, many armed with riot shields and batons.Last week, the Islamabad city administration announced a two-month ban on public gatherings.But PTI convoys travelled from their power base in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the most populous eastern province of Punjab, hauling aside roadblocks of stacked shipping containers.In the early hours of today protestors were clashing with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets at a western motorway entry to Islamabad.“We are deeply frustrated with the government, they do not know how to function,” 56-year-old protestor Kalat Khan told AFP earlier in the day. “The treatment we are receiving is unjust and cruel.”The government cited “security concerns” for the mobile Internet outages, while Islamabad’s schools and universities were also ordered to shut yesterday and today.“Those who will come here will be arrested,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters late yesterday at D-Chowk, the public square outside Islamabad’s government buildings which PTI aims to occupy.PTI’s chief demand is the release of Khan, the 72-year-old charismatic former cricket captain who served as premier from 2018 to 2022 and is the lodestar of their party.They are also protesting alleged massive tampering in the February polls and a recent government constitutional amendment giving it more power over the courts, where Khan is tangled in dozens of cases.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has come under increasing criticism for deploying heavy-handed measures to quash PTI’s protests.“From the scale of preparations, one wonders if the Islamabad Police is preparing for war,” said an editorial in the English-language Dawn newspaper last week.“The city administration may have intended to demonstrate strength by sharing the plans it has made, but instead, it looks like it is panicking.”The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said “blocking access to the capital, with motorway and highway closures across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has effectively penalised ordinary citizens”. Authorities have enforced a security lockdown for the last two days to block the protesters, while highways into the city have been barricaded.The government has used shipping containers to block major roads and streets in Islamabad, with patrols of police and paramilitary personnel in riot gear. Officials and witnesses said all public transport between cities and terminals had also been shut down in the eastern province of Punjab to keep away the protesters, led by members of Khan’s party.“We wouldn’t let them storm the capital,” said provincial Information Minister Uzma Bukhari, adding that about 80 of Khan’s supporters had been arrested.One police officer was shot and killed and at least 70 others were injured in clashes just outside Islamabad, she told a press conference. There were reports of several other clashes elsewhere in the province, she said.Khan’s party said scores of its workers were also hurt.The capital added an extra layer of security for the arrival of the president of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, yesterday, for a three day visit, a Pakistan prime minister office statement said. A delegation led by its foreign minister arrived on Sunday.Khan’s party accused the government of using violent tactics to block the protesters, saying it had arrested hundreds of workers and leaders.“They are even firing live bullets,” one of Khan’s aides, Shaukat Yousafzai, told broadcaster Geo News TV.Khan was ousted by a controversial no-confidence vote after falling out with the kingmaking military establishment, who analysts say, engineer the rise and fall of Pakistan’s politicians.But as opposition leader he led an unprecedented campaign of defiance, with PTI street protests boiling over into unrest which the government cited as the reason for its crackdown.PTI won more seats than any other party in this year’s election but a coalition of parties considered more pliable to military influence shut them out of power.Khan has been jailed since August 2023, facing a procession of legal accusations.

US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said that significant progress has been made towards reaching a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.Speaking at a news briefing, Miller said "We believe we're close to an agreement. We believe that we have narrowed the gaps significantly. But there are still steps that we need to see taken.""Hopefully we'll get there with an agreement. We are pushing as hard as we can to get a diplomatic resolution that would allow these tens of thousands of people in Lebanon and Israel to return home. But ultimately that's up to the parties, not to us," he said.Regarding the upcoming nuclear talks that will be held by France, UK and Germany with Iran, Miller said "We are closely coordinating with our E3 partners regarding Iran's full implementation of its nuclear safeguard obligations.

President-elect Donald Trump promised that he will impose an additional 10% tariff on goods coming from China and a 25% tariff on all products entering the country from Mexico and Canada."On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.He also said that the US will be imposing an additional 10% tariff on China, on top of any additional tariffs, on all its numerous products coming to the United States.Trump will be inaugurated as President of the United States on January 20, 2025.

Cargo jet was flying to Lithuania from GermanyOne dead, three injured aboard Boeing 737-400Plane made forced landing, broke into piecesInvestigation ongoing, no sign so far of sabotageGermany has been probing several fires caused by incendiary devices hidden in parcels meant for DHL deliveryA DHL cargo plane crashed as it came in to land at Lithuania's Vilnius airport on Monday morning, killing one person in what Germany's foreign minister later said could be an accident or a hybrid attack in "volatile times".The three other people onboard were injured, and at least one of them was in critical condition. Flames and smoke engulfed the wrecked plane as fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze.Lithuanian officials said there was no indication of sabotage so far, though Germany is investigating several fires caused by incendiary devices hidden inside parcels at a warehouse in Leipzig for delivery by DHL earlier this year. German authorities were investigating Monday's crash as well.European countries have repeatedly expressed concerns about the vulnerability of civilian infrastructure -- misgivings which also reared their head after the unexplained severing of two fibre-optic cables in the Baltic Sea last week."The fact that we, together with our Lithuanian and Spanish partners, must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident or, after last week, another hybrid incident shows what volatile times we are currently living in, even in the centre of Europe," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said."The German authorities are working very closely with the Lithuanian authorities to get to the bottom of this," she added.The Boeing 737-400 jet, which went down at 0330 GMT, was operated by airline Swiftair on behalf of DHL, a German logistics group, and had left Leipzig, Germany at 0208 GMT, according to Flightradar24.Lithuanian counter-intelligence chief Darius Jauniskis told reporters: "We cannot reject the possibility of terrorism...But at the moment we can't make attributions or point fingers, because we don't have such information."A senior European intelligence official added that nothing was being ruled out.In a statement, DHL said the plane, which was arriving from Leipzig, "made a forced landing" about one km from VNO airport and that the cause of the crash was still unknown.Lithuanian officials meanwhile said there had been no signs of anything extraordinary from the pilots during radio contact with the aircraft."In the recording of the conversation between the pilots and the tower, the pilots until the very last second did not tell the tower of any extraordinary event," said Marius Baranauskas, head of the Lithuanian National Aviation Authority."We need to examine the black boxes to know what was happening in the aircraft."Vilnius resident Kotryna Ciupailaite said the aircraft flew low over her car as she was driving to work."The right wing of the plane turned down before it crashed, as if it was trying to turn. There was something shiny coming out of the right side of the plane, like sparks or a flame, before it hit the ground," said Ciupailaite.She shared a video with Reuters shot through her vehicle's windshield, which she said was filmed shortly after the crash, showing a big fire beyond a range of trees."Oh my God," she was heard crying out in the video.Swiftair said the plane went down in a residential area near Vilnius airport, and that it had set up a call centre to assist the relatives of those affected.Security camera footage showed an aircraft descending behind a warehouse after which the night sky was lit up in bright red and orange, followed by plumes of thick dark smoke.Rescue services said the plane hit the ground, split into pieces and slid over 100 metres. Some debris hit a house, whose 14 occupants were later evacuated."Only these investigations will answer questions on the real reasons of the incident. Speculations and guesses will really not help to determine the truth," Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said in a statement.A Lithuanian police spokesperson said one person onboard, a Spanish citizen, was killed, and three others - Spanish, German and Lithuanian citizens - were injured.DHL has launched its own investigation into the crash, a spokesperson for the company's Lithuanian arm said."The aircraft (carried) regular parcels. We do not have any information that any of them were suspicious," she said.The aircraft was 31 years old, according to a Flightradar24 database. Boeing was seeking more information and would provide any support, a Boeing spokesperson said.Apart from the German investigations, British police are probing a warehouse fire in Birmingham in July caused by a package catching alight, and liaising with other European law enforcement agencies to see if there was a connection with similar incidents elsewhere.

Russia is expected to export 55-60 million tons of grain in the current agricultural season from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev said."The total grain harvest will reach 130 million tons, including 83 million tons of wheat. This volume will enable Russia to export 55-60 million tons of grain this season," Patrushev said, according to Russian News Agency (TASS).According to Patrushev, Russian farmers faced challenging weather conditions this year, including spring frost damage in several regions, summer droughts, and heavy rains during the harvest season."Nevertheless, given the advanced technological capabilities of our agricultural producers, we anticipate a decent harvest this year which will fully meet domestic market demand and sustain a high export potential in terms of raw materials and processed food," Patrushev stressedIn the previous agricultural season, Russia exported 72 million metric tons of grain, including 54.1 million metric tons of wheat.

China's meteorological authority issued a yellow alert for snowstorms on Monday, with blizzards expected to hit parts of the country's northeast.From Monday to Tuesday morning, snowstorms will lash parts of Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, the National Meteorological Center said.Parts of Liaoning will see 20-25 millimeters of snow during the period.The center also renewed a yellow alert for a cold wave on Monday, as most parts of central and northern China will see temperatures plunge by 6-10 degrees Celsius over the next four days, according to (Xinhua) news agency.China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

The engine of a Russian plane with 95 people on board caught fire after landing at Antalya airport in southern Turkey. All passengers and crew were safely evacuated.The Sukhoi Superjet 100 type aircraft run by Azimuth Airlines had taken off from Sochi and was carrying 89 passengers and six crew members, Turkiyes Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure said in a statement.The pilot made an emergency call after the aircraft landed, and airport rescue and firefighting crews quickly extinguished the fire, according to the statement.No one was hurt, the statement added.The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Seventeen people were killed when a bus fell into a ravine in the state of Alagoas, northeastern Brazil.The state governor Paulo Dantas said in a statement that the accident, which occurred in a ravine more than 20 meters deep, resulted in 17 fatalities and several others injured.Brazilian media reported that the bus was carrying 40 passengers, and that the crash took place in a remote mountain area known as Serra da Barriga.Brazil witnesses deadly traffic accidents, often caused by road conditions and unpredictable weather, particularly during rainy seasons.

Canada plans to rapidly expand its nuclear power sector to contribute heavily to the countrys energy demand.Nuclear power contributes around 15% of Canadas energy at present. However, with plans to develop several new nuclear facilities, this figure is expected to grow significantly in the coming decades.The 2023 Federal Budget showed strong support for nuclear power, including a refundable Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for clean electricity and a 30% ITC for clean technology manufacturing.The budget also backed nuclear power through several other initiatives, including an extension of reduced tax rates, funding from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, cash for the regulatory authority, and half a billion dollars in SMR project investment.Meanwhile, the Canadian energy firm, NexGen, is developing a project that could make Canada the worlds biggest producer of uranium over the coming decade.NexGens mine in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan is now valued at almost $4 billion.

Pakistan’s capital was put under a security lockdown on Sunday amid protests by supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan calling for his release.Highways leading to Islamabad through which supporters of Khan, led by members of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, approached the city, have been blocked.Most major roads of the city have also been blocked by the government with shipping containers and large contingents of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in riot gear, while mobile phone services have been suspended.The PTI reported multiple arrests and the use of tear gas and shelling by government forces in Islamabad as part of ongoing efforts to suppress protests. According to PTI sources, security agencies have detained numerous protestors advocating for political reforms and opposing the current administration.The PTI alleged that the government employed heavy-handed tactics, including the use of tear gas canisters and live ammunition, to disperse demonstrators gathering in key areas of the capital. These actions have heightened tensions between the opposition party and state authorities, with PTI accusing the government of undermining democratic freedoms and the right to peaceful assembly.In response to the escalating situation, government officials have issued a firm statement pledging to halt the protests “no matter what.” The administration has called for an end to what it describes as unlawful gatherings that disrupt public peace and safety.Human rights organisations expressed concern over the reported use of force against protestors, urging both the government and opposition parties to engage in dialogue to resolve differences peacefully. They called for an independent investigation into the alleged abuses to ensure accountability and protect citizens’ rights.As the situation unfolds, Islamabad remains on high alert with increased security presence in major protest hotspots. The international community is closely monitoring the developments, with several foreign observers advocating for restraint and the protection of democratic processes.Global internet watchdog NetBlocks said on X that live metrics showed WhatsApp messaging services had been restricted ahead of the protests.A key Khan aid, Ali Amin Gandapur, who is the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and was expected to lead the largest convoy into Islamabad, called on people to gather near the entrance of the city’s red zone, known as “D Chowk”.Islamabad’s red zone houses the country’s parliament building, important government installations, as well as embassies and foreign institutions’ offices.“Khan has called on us to remain there till all our demands are met,” he said in a video message on Saturday. The PTI’s demands include the release of all its leaders, including Khan, as well as the resignation of the current government due to what it says was a rigged election this year.Khan has been in jail since August last year and, since being voted out of power by parliament in 2022, faces a number of disputed charges. He and his party deny all the charges.“These constant protests are destroying the economy and creating instability...we want the political leadership to sit together and resolve these matters,” Muhammad Asif, 35, a resident of Islamabad said in front of a closed market.

His neighbours have cats and dogs, but when 72-year-old Philippe Gillet settles down to watch television there is usually an alligator dozing beside him.His bungalow in western France is also home to a venomous Gabonese viper, a spitting cobra, a python, alligator turtles that can bite off a finger, tarantulas and scorpions.When someone unfamiliar enters Gillet’s living room, Gator, a two-metre-long (6.5 feet) alligator, growls from under a coffee table.“Calm down,” said Gillet and Gator went back to his snooze near Alli, another dozing alligator.“When there is a storm he comes to sleep in my bed,” said Gillet. “People think I am mad.”Videos of such episodes and other everyday tales of his deadly menagerie of 400 animals have made Gillet a social media star. They also promote his Inf’Faune charity which aims to educate people about the animals he is so passionate about.Gillet lived in Africa for 20 years, working as a hunting guide. He said he would often catch crocodiles there to keep them away from villages.Back in France, he became a herpetologist — a specialist on reptiles and amphibians. He made his base in Coueron, west of Nantes, with his partner, their children, and the animals.In the garden is Nilo, a Nile crocodile, who Gillet said was “one of the most dangerous species”. Chickens wandered by scratching for food.Most of the animals were bought or given to him by people who could no longer care for them. France’s customs department has also sometimes turned to him.“You cannot just free them,” said Gillet. “With global warming, freed cobras could reproduce and spread. Is that what we are going to leave our kids?” Financing his passion has become a problem since the Coronavirus epidemic however. His association could no longer organise fund-raising open days to show off the animals to the public. That used to bring in €100,000 ($105,000) a year.Now his social media videos are the main way he gets the conservation message across. He chooses a different animal for each video, mixing education and humour “to demystify the legends and preconceptions about wild animals”.Inf’Faune built up 100,000 YouTube followers in its first four months and now has 200,000. Gillet also has 700,000 TikTok followers. The revenues allow Gillet and the 20 volunteers who help him feed the animals.But Gillet is still concerned about the future as he ages.“Alligators can live up to 100 on average and Allia and Gator are about 30. The volunteers will have to take over,” he said.He is already training the volunteers on looking after the animals and wants to set up a specialised refuge for reptiles far from the suburbs where there would be less need for cages and pens.With his internet following, Gillet has already raised €15,000 for the centre. “There are refuges for dogs and cats, why not for these unloved” species.

Pro-European Social Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu was leading in Sunday’s first round of Romania’s presidential election, according to two exit polls released soon after the end of voting.Ciolacu scored 25% of the vote while the centre-right former journalist turned small-town mayor Elena Lasconi was on 18%, according to the polls. Two far-right candidates scored 15% and 16% .Voting finished at 9pm.In the absence of an outright winner in the first round — scoring more than 50% — the top two candidates go through to a second-round run-off on December 8.Romanians voted on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election amid a surge in inflation and fears over the war in neighbouring Ukraine that could favour far-right leader George Simion.The vote kicks off two weeks of elections in the poor Nato member country, including a parliamentary vote and a December 8 presidential run-off.Social democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is leading a field of 13 contenders in the race to take over from President Klaus Iohannis in the largely ceremonial post. Ciolacu has about 25% support in opinion polls, followed by AUR leader Simion on 15% to 19% .Ciolacu, whose Social Democratic Party (PSD) has shaped the country’s politics for more than three decades, promised stability and a “decent” standard of living as he voted on Sunday.Simion, 38, has seen his popularity surge by tapping into voter anger over record inflation — 10% last year and 5.5% predicted for 2024 — while promising more affordable housing.Looking for a new election breakthrough for European far-right parties, he warned of possible “fraud” and “foreign interference” when voting. But he added: “I am happy that we are giving Romanians hope and the prospect of a better future.”Simion is targeting people like Rodica, a 69-year-old who was among the first to vote in Bucharest’s chilly sunshine. The pensioner, who would not give a family name, was afraid of the Ukraine war and wanted “better living conditions and peace”.Andrea Irimie, a 29-year-old teacher, was also concerned about Ukraine and said she wanted “change”.The stakes are high for Romania, which has a 650-kilometre border with Ukraine and has become more important since Russia invaded its neighbour in 2022.The Black Sea nation now plays a “vital strategic role” for Nato — as it is a base for more than 5,000 soldiers — and the transit of Ukrainian grain, the New Strategy Center think tank said.Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election has further “complicated” Romania’s choice, political analyst Cristian Pirvulescu told AFP.Known for his fiery speeches, Simion is a Trump fan who sometimes dons a red cap in appreciation of his idol.Simion opposes sending military aid to Ukraine, wants a “more patriotic Romania” and frequently lashes out against what he calls the “greedy corrupt bubble” running the European Union.Having campaigned hard to win over Romania’s large diaspora working abroad, he said the country has only had “minions and cowards as leaders”.Analyst Pirvulescu predicted that if Simion reaches the second round his AUR party would get a boost in the December parliamentary election.“Romanian democracy is in danger for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989,” he added.”I’m really afraid we’ll end up with Simion in the second round,” 36-year-old IT worker Oana Diaconu told AFP, expressing concern about the far-right leader’s unpredictable nature and attacks on the European Union.The campaign has been marked by controversy and personal attacks, with Simion facing accusations of meeting with Russian spies — a claim he has denied.Ciolacu has been criticised for his use of private jets.Polling in third place is former journalist Elena Lasconi, who became mayor of the small town of Campulung and head of a centre-right opposition party, who some tip as a potential surprise package.Lasconi said she wanted a future “where no one has to pack their suitcases and leave” the country and for “institutions that work”.

When Zainab Ferozi saw Afghan women struggling to feed their families after Taliban authorities took power, she took matters into her own hands and poured her savings into starting a business.Two-and-a-half years after putting 20,000 Afghanis ($300) earned from teaching sewing classes into a carpet weaving enterprise, she now employs around a dozen women who lost their jobs or who had to abandon their education due to Taliban government rules.Through her business in the western province of Herat, the 39-year-old also “covers all the household expenses” of her family of six, she told AFP from her office where samples of brightly coloured and exquisitely woven rugs and bags are displayed.Her husband, a labourer, cannot find work in one of the poorest countries in the world.Ferozi is one of many women who have launched small businesses in the past three years to meet their own needs and support other Afghan women, whose employment sharply declined after the Taliban took power in 2021.Before the Taliban takeover, women made up 26% of public sector workers, a figure that “has effectively decreased to zero”, according to UN Women.Girls and women have also been banned from secondary schools and universities under restrictions the UN has described as “gender apartheid”.Touba Zahid, a 28-year-old mother-of-one, started making jams and pickles in the small basement of her home in the capital Kabul after she was forced to stop her university education.“I came into the world of business...to create job opportunities for women so they can have an income that at least covers their immediate needs,” Zahid said.Half a dozen of her employees, wearing long white coats, were busy jarring jams and pickles labelled “Mum’s delicious homecooking”.While women may be making the stock, running the shops in Afghanistan remains mostly a man’s job.Saleswomen like Zahid “cannot go to the bazaar to promote and sell their products” themselves, said Fariba Noori, chairwoman of the Afghanistan Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI).Another issue for Afghan businesswomen is the need for a “mahram” – a male family member chaperone – to accompany them to other cities or provinces to purchase raw materials, said Noori.After 40 years of successive conflicts, many Afghan women have been widowed and lost many male relatives.Despite these challenges, the number of businesses registered with tha AWCCI has increased since the Taliban takeover, according to Noori.The number went “from 600 big companies to 10,000” mainly small, home-based businesses and a few bigger companies, said Noori, herself a businesswoman for 12 years.Khadija Mohammadi, who launched her eponymous brand in 2022 after she lost her private school teaching job, now employs more than 200 women sewing dresses and weaving carpets.“I am proud of every woman who is giving a hand to another woman to help her become independent,” said the 26-year-old.Though businesses like Mohammadi’s are a lifeline, the salaries ranging from 5,000-13,000 Afghanis, cannot cover all costs and many women are still stalked by economic hardship.Qamar Qasimi, who lost her job as a beautician after the Taliban authorities banned beauty salons in 2023, said that even with her salary she and her husband struggle to pay rent and feed their family of eight.“When I worked in the beauty salon, we could earn 3,000-7,000 Afghanis for styling one bride, but here we get 5,000 per month,” said the 24-year-old.“It’s not comparable but I have no other choice,” she added, the room around her full of women chatting as they worked at 30 looms.The closure of beauty salons was not only a financial blow, but also removed key spaces for women to socialise.Zohra Gonish decided to open a restaurant to create a women-only space in northeastern Badakhshan province.“Women can come here and relax,” said the 20-year-old entrepreneur. “We wanted the staff to be women so that the women customers can feel comfortable here.”However, starting her business in 2022 at age 18 was not easy in a country where the labour force participation for women is 10 times lower than the world average, according to the World Bank.It took Gonish a week to convince her father to support her.Aside from helping their families and having space to socialise, some women said work has given them a sense of purpose.Sumaya Ahmadi, 15, joined Ferozi’s carpet company to help her parents after she had to leave school and became “very depressed”.“(Now) I’m very happy and I no longer have any mental health problems. I’m happier and I feel better.”The work has also given her a new goal: to help her two brothers build their futures.“Because schools’ doors are closed to girls, I work instead of my brothers so they can study and do something with their lives.”

Uruguayans voted yesterday with the leftist alliance of celebrated ex-president Jose “Pepe” Mujica hoping to reclaim the country’s top job five years after a right-wing victory driven by concerns over crime and taxes.Former history teacher Yamandu Orsi of the leftist Frente Amplio (Broad Front) is going head-to-head with ex-veterinarian Alvaro Delgado of the National Party, a member of outgoing President Luis Lacalle Pou’s centre-right Republican Coalition.“As long as things improve here in Uruguay and it stays afloat, that’s enough for me,” said one voter, 34-year-old meat industry worker Nicolas Clavijo.Orsi, 57, is seen as the understudy of 89-year-old Mujica, a former guerrilla lionised as “the world’s poorest president” during his 2010-2015 rule because of his modest lifestyle.Orsi had garnered 43.9% of the October 27 first-round vote – short of the 50% cutoff to avoid a runoff but ahead of the 26.7% of ballots cast for Delgado, 55.The pair came out on top of a crowded field of 11 candidates seeking to replace Lacalle Pou, who has a high approval rating but is barred constitutionally from seeking a second consecutive term.Ahead of yesterday’s election, opinion polls suggested the runoff promised to be razor tight, with fewer than 25,000 votes potentially separating the two contenders, and Orsi only marginally ahead in stated voter intention in South America’s second-smallest country.Although Clavijo voted for the Frente Amplio, he said “both (coalitions) have good and bad proposals”.Mujica, who is battling cancer and had to use a cane to walk into his polling station to vote, said yesterday: “Personally, I have nothing more to look forward to. My closest future is the cemetery, for reasons of age.”“But I am interested in the fate of you, the young people who, when they are my age, will live in a very different world,” he added.A smiling Orsi cast his ballot in the rural Canelones region, to applause from supporters.Delgado shook hands with polling station officials as he cast his vote in Montevideo.Other parties within the Republican Coalition have thrown their support behind Delgado since the first round, boosting his numbers.A victory for Orsi would see Uruguay swing left again after five years of centre-right rule in the country of 3.4mn inhabitants.The Frente Amplio coalition broke a decades-long conservative stranglehold with an election victory in 2005, and held the presidency for three straight terms.It was voted out in 2020 on the back of concerns about rising crime blamed on high taxes and a surge in cocaine trafficking through the port of Montevideo.Polling numbers show perceived insecurity remains Uruguayans’ top concern five years later.A 72-year-old retiree who voted, Juan Antonio Stivan, said he just wanted the next government to guarantee “safety – to be able to go out in the street with peace of mind, as an old person, as a young person, as a child”.Another voter, Aldo Soroara, 60, said he expected whoever is elected as president to do “the best he can for the people”, adding: “You can’t ask for much more in these difficult times.”Voting is compulsory in Uruguay, one of Latin America’s most stable democracies, with comparatively high per-capita income and low poverty levels.Neither coalition has an absolute majority in the lower house following October’s elections.However, Orsi’s Broad Front won 16 of 30 Senate seats.He says that his Senate majority puts him in a better position to lead the next government.

Raging orange flames and thick black smoke billowed into the sky yesterday as fire ripped through hundreds of houses in a closely built slum area of the Philippine capital Manila.Manila Fire District said around 1,000 houses were burned in the blaze that is thought to have started on the second floor of one of the homes.There were no immediate reports of casualties.Drone footage shared online by the city’s disaster agency showed houses in Isla Puting Bato village of Manila razed to the ground.The structures housed around 2,000 families, according to the fire department.Village resident Leonila Abiertas, 65, lost almost all her possessions, but managed to save her late husband’s ashes. “I only got the urn with the ashes of my husband,” a crying Abiertas said. “I really don’t know how I can start my life again after this fire.” Fire and disaster services deployed 36 trucks and four fire boats while the country’s air force sent in two helicopters to help extinguish the fire.

Protesters clashed with police yesterday with at least two people killed in riots sparked by a survey investigating if a 17th-century mosque was built on a temple.Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP-led government of orchestrating the unrest to distract from allegations of electoral malpractice in recent bypolls.“Two persons were confirmed dead,” Pawan Kumar, a police officer in Sambhal in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, said, adding that 16 police officers were “seriously injured” during the clashes.The Press Trust of India news agency quoted officials saying three people had died.Street battles broke out when a team of surveyors entered the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on orders from a local court.Protesters yesterday hurled rocks at police, who fired tear gas canisters to clear the crowd.“The Supreme Court should immediately take cognizance of the conspiracy to spread tension in the name of survey and a case of disturbing peace and harmony should be registered against those who took sloganeers with them with the aim of disturbing social harmony and the Bar Association should also take disciplinary and punitive action against them. There was no hope from the UP government and administration, nor is there any now,” read a rough translation of another of Yadav’s posts on X. SP MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq also criticised the survey, citing the Places of Worship Act, 1991. “The Jama Masjid of Sambhal is a historic site. The Supreme Court had ruled that religious places as they existed in 1947 must remain unchanged,” Barq said.

The world approved a bitterly negotiated climate deal Sunday but poorer nations most at the mercy of worsening disasters dismissed a $300bn a year pledge from wealthy historic polluters as insultingly low.After two exhausting weeks of chaotic bargaining and sleepless nights, nearly 200 nations pushed through the contentious finance pact in the early hours in a sports stadium in Azerbaijan.But the applause had barely subsided when India delivered a full-throated rejection of the "abysmally poor" deal, kicking off a firestorm of criticism from across the developing world."It's a paltry sum," thundered India's delegate Chandni Raina."This document is little more than an optical illusion. This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity of the challenge we all face."Sierra Leone's climate minister Jiwoh Abdulai said it showed a "lack of goodwill" from rich countries to stand by the world's poorest as they confront rising seas and harsher droughts.Nigeria's envoy Nkiruka Maduekwe put it even more bluntly: "This is an insult."But at protests throughout COP29, developed nations -- major economies like the European Union, the United States and Japan -- were accused of negotiating in bad faith, making a fair deal impossible.Developing nations arrived in the Caspian Sea city of Baku hoping to secure a massive financial boost from rich countries many times above their existing pledge of $100bn a year.Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, said she would return home with only a "small portion" of what she fought for, but not empty-handed."It isn't nearly enough, but it's a start," said Stege, whose atoll nation homeland faces an existential threat from creeping sea levels.Nations had struggled at COP29 to reconcile long-standing divisions over how much developed nations most accountable for historic greenhouse gas pollution should provide to poorer countries least responsible but most impacted by Earth's rapid warming.The meeting also saw stalling on the promise to "transition away" from fossil fuels, the main driver of global heating.That pledge, a key achievement of COP28 in Dubai, was scrubbed from the final Baku deal.The Least Developed Countries bloc of 45 nations slammed the COP29 outcome as a "travesty", adding that it failed to make progress on curbing warming, or deliver enough cash to protect the most vulnerable."This is not just a failure; it is a betrayal," the group said in a statement.Nations have agreed to try to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times. Currently the world is on track for devastating warming of between 2.6C and 3.1C this century, according to the UN.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had "hoped for a more ambitious outcome" and appealed to governments to see it as a starting point.Developed countries only put the $300 bn figure on the table on Saturday after COP29 went into extra time and diplomats worked through the night to improve an earlier spurned offer.Bleary-eyed diplomats, huddled anxiously in groups, were still polishing the final phrasing on the plenary floor in the dying hours before the deal passed.UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband hailed "a critical eleventh-hour deal at the eleventh hour for the climate".At points, the talks appeared on the brink of collapse.Delegates stormed out of meetings, fired shots across the bow, and threatened to walk away from the negotiating table should rich nations not cough up more cash.In the end -- despite repeating that "no deal is better than a bad deal" -- developing nations did not stand in the way of an agreement.US President Joe Biden cast the agreement reached in Baku as a "historic outcome".EU climate envoy Wopke Hoekstra said it would be remembered as "the start of a new era for climate finance".The agreement commits developed nations to pay at least $300bn a year by 2035 to help developing countries cut emissions and prepare for worsening disasters.It falls short of the $390bn that economists commissioned by the United Nations had deemed a fair share contribution by developed nations.The US and EU pushed to have newly wealthy emerging economies like China -- the world's largest emitter -- chip in.Wealthy nations said it was politically unrealistic to expect more in direct government funding at a time of geopolitical uncertainty and economic belt-tightening.Donald Trump, a sceptic of both climate change and foreign assistance, was elected just days before COP29 began and his victory cast a pall over the UN talks.Other countries, particularly in the EU -- the largest contributor of climate finance -- saw right-wing backlashes against the green agenda, not fertile conditions for raising big sums of public money.The final deal "encourages" developing countries to make contributions on a voluntary basis, reflecting no change for China, which already provides climate finance on its own terms.The deal also posits a larger overall target of $1.3 trillion per year to cope with rising temperatures and disasters, but most would come from private sources.

St. Petersburg is the second largest industrial, scientific, cultural and business center in Russia. The city is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful in the world, and its historical part is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Known as the ‘Northern Capital’ of Russia, St. Petersburg attracts millions of Russian and international tourists each year. In 2023, 9.4 million people visited the city, drawn by its stunning palaces and canals, rich museum collections, and vibrant cultural scene. The list of St. Petersburg attractions is constantly expanding, and objects of the "New Tourist Geography" are being added to it — modern creative spaces that are so popular among residents of the city.In addition to its cultural and educational offerings, St. Petersburg is embracing unique forms of tourism. Visitors can now enjoy unconventional experiences, such as tours of industrial facilities, relaxing weekends at health resorts, or even a romantic wedding getaway in the enchanting atmosphere of the City on the Neva River.St. Petersburg can be an ideal starting point for a trip to Russia. For instance, the project "Two Cities — a Million Impressions" offers tourists to combine visits to St. Petersburg and Moscow in one trip. And as part of the routes of the "Silver Necklace of Russia," guests can get to know the rich history and culture of the Russian North.Much attention is paid to the service in St. Petersburg. There are 1,200 hotels in the city with a huge selection of the star-ratings, comfort levels, and pricing policies. Guests will be pleasantly surprised by the variety of restaurants, many of which are firmly established in the top lists of domestic and international ratings. St. Petersburg also offers a wide range of amenities to cater to the needs of tourists from the Middle East. These include mosques and prayer rooms, English-speaking staff in the tourism and hospitality sector, halal dining options, and concierge services that can arrange personalized leisure experiences.For event organizers, the city offers unique exhibition and congress venues, hotels of various formats and categories, well-developed transport links, and numerous sightseeing programs. Hundreds of business forums of various sizes are held annually in the Northern Capital of Russia. In particular, St. Petersburg has extensive experience in holding international rotating events. The Congress and Exhibition Bureau is engaged in promoting the city on the Neva River in the field of business tourism.Discover the latest tourist offerings in St. Petersburg by visiting their booth at the Qatar Travel Mart 2024, scheduled to take place from November 25 to 27 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.