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Gender equality in science essential to building better future for all: Guterres
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed that gender equality in science is essential to building a better future for all.
"Sadly, women and girls continue to face systemic barriers and biases that prevent them from pursuing careers in science," he said in a message on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated on 11 February.
The Secretary-General believes that it is essential that women and girls participate equally in scientific discoveries and innovations, whether in the field of climate change, health or artificial intelligence". "This is the only way to ensure that science benefits everyone," he said.
Today, women make up only a third of the global scientific community and, compared to men, they get less funding, are underrepresented in publications and hold fewer senior positions in major universities.
In some places, women and girls have limited or no access to education. Guterres described this situation as not only harmful to the societies concerned, but also a terrible violation of human rights.
"Addressing gender inequalities requires overcoming gender stereotypes and promoting role models that encourage girls to pursue scientific careers, developing programmes that encourage the advancement of women in science, and creating work environments that nurture women's talents. especially those of women from minority groups," he added.
"Women and girls belong in science. It is time to recognize that inclusion fosters innovation, and let every woman and girl fulfil her true potential," the UN chief concluded.
Furor over Messi no-show in Hong Kong game deepens with Argentina's tour of China canceled
The fallout from Lionel Messi’s failure to play in a club exhibition match in Hong Kong has spread with both of Argentina’s friendly matches as part of a tour of mainland China next month canceled by local football authorities.
The Beijing Football Association said on Saturday it would not organize Argentina’s scheduled friendly against Ivory Coast in Beijing in March, reportedly saying to local media: “Beijing does not plan, for the moment, to organise the match in which Lionel Messi was to participate.”
The news comes a day after Chinese sports authorities canceled Argentina’s scheduled exhibition match against Nigeria.
World Cup champion Argentina, captained by Messi, last month scheduled a tour of China during the international break from March 18-26 with games lined up against Nigeria in Hangzhou and Ivory Coast in Beijing.
But Messi, on tour with his Inter Miami club, outraged fans in Hong Kong when he didn’t play against a local selection last Sunday and remained on the bench. Messi said he had a groin injury. But his excuse didn’t wash in Hong Kong after he played for 30 minutes on Wednesday in Tokyo against Vissel Kobe.
ECP announces the complete results of Pakistan's General Election 2024
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday announced the complete results of the country's General Election 2024 held on Feb. 8.
According to the election results announced for the National Assembly (NA), or the lower house of the country's parliament, independent candidates got 101 seats, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif got 75 seats and the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians of former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari got 54 seats.
Read: Pakistan's ex-PM Sharif says he will seek coalition government after trailing imprisoned rival Khan
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan got 17 seats, the Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan got four seats, the Pakistan Muslim League got three seats, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party and Balochistan National Party got two seats each, while Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League (Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed), Pashtoonkhwa National Awami Party Pakistan, Balochistan Awami Party, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party and the National Party got one seat each.
Read: Pakistan votes for a new parliament as militant attacks surge and jailed leader's party cries foul
The ECP announced the result of 262 out of 266 seats for the NA after the country held general elections on Feb. 8 to elect a government for the next five-year term.
The election body of the country postponed voting for one seat due to the death of a candidate and withheld the result for one seat and announced partial re-voting for it.
Jeff Bezos sells nearly 12 million Amazon shares worth at least $2 billion, with more to come
Jeff Bezos filed a statement with federal regulators indicating his sale of nearly 12 million shares of Amazon stock worth more than $2 billion.
The Amazon executive chairman notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of the sale of 11,997,698 shares of common stock on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8.
The collective value of the shares of Amazon, which is based in Seattle where he founded the company in a garage about three decades ago, was more than $2.04 billion, according to the listed price totals.
Read: US-Bangla Airlines welcomes first Airbus, another Boeing to expanding fleet
The stocks were grouped in five blocks between 1 million and more than 3.2 million.
In a separate SEC filing, Bezos listed the proposed sale of 50 million Amazon shares around Feb. 7 with an estimated market value of $8.4 billion.
Bezos stepped down as Amazon's CEO in 2021 to spend more time on his other projects, including the rocket company, Blue Origin, and his philanthropy. His address on the stock filings is listed as Seattle, although he reportedly has relocated to Miami.
Read more: February 2024 Amazon Prime Originals: Most-Hyped Shows, Series, and Movies
Pakistan's election: Who's running, what's the mood and will anything change?
Pakistan's 127 million voters are choosing members of a new parliament Thursday. The election is the 12th in the country’s 76-year history, which has been marred by economic crises, military takeovers and martial law, militancy, political upheavals and wars with India.
On the eve of the election, bombs struck two political offices in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 30 people.
Forty-four political parties are vying for a share of the 266 seats that are up for grabs in the National Assembly, or the lower house of parliament, with an additional 70 seats reserved for women and minorities.
Pakistan's former premier Imran Khan and wife convicted of marriage law violation in a fourth case
After the election, the new parliament chooses a prime minister. If no party wins an outright majority, then the one with the biggest share of assembly seats can form a coalition government.
WHO IS IN THE RACE?Pakistani politics are dominated by men and three parties: the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
The top contender is PML-N and on its ballot are two former prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif.
Their ally the PPP, led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a member of a political dynasty, has a power base in the country's south. Though it's unlikely to get enough votes to get him the premiership, he could still be part of a Sharif-led coalition government.
However, it is the absence from the ballot of PTI's founder, cricket legend turned Islamist politician Imran Khan, that's at the forefront of public discourse in Pakistan.
Twin bombings at Pakistan political offices kill at least 26 a day before voting begins
Though it's become the norm for corruption allegations and court cases to dog prime ministers — many of Pakistan's leaders have been arrested, disqualified or ousted from office — the intensity of the legal action against Khan is unprecedented.
Khan is in prison and with four criminal convictions so far, three of them handed down last week, he is barred from running in elections or holding public office. He's been sentenced to three, 10, 14 and seven years, to be served concurrently, and has more than 150 other legal cases pending against him. His party says it’s not getting a fair chance to campaign.
Smaller, religious political parties that appeal to a section of the conservative Muslim country have no chance of getting a majority but could still be part of a coalition government. The Pakistani military isn't on the ballot but is the real power behind the scenes — it has ruled the nation for half of its history and calls the shots in most government decisions.
A bombing at an independent candidate's election office kills 14 in Pakistan ahead of elections
WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISSUES?The next government will have a long to-do list: fixing the economy, improving relations with the neighboring, Taliban-run Afghanistan, repairing crumbling infrastructure and resolving year-round power outages. Last but not least is containing religious and separatist militant groups.
Pakistan has been relying on bailouts to prop up its foreign exchange reserves and avoid default, with the International Monetary Fund and wealthy allies like China and Saudi Arabia financing the country to the tune of billions of dollars. The IMF, which last July approved a much-awaited $3 billion bailout, has warned of sustained high inflation this year, around 24%, and a rise in poverty levels.
Like many others, Pakistanis grapple with a soaring cost of living. They endure gas outages overnight and hourslong electricity blackouts — no government has so far been able to resolve the power crisis.
Ties with Afghanistan and its Taliban rulers nosedived after Pakistan began arresting and deporting foreigners living in the country illegally, including around 1.7 million Afghans. The two neighbors regularly blame each other for cross-border militant attacks and skirmishes often close key crossings.
Pakistan was devastated by floods in the summer of 2022 that killed 1,700 people, at one point submerging a third of the country and causing billions of dollars in damage. According to the U.K.-based Islamic Relief charity, only an estimated 5% of damaged and destroyed homes have been fully rebuilt.
The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are again waging war to overthrow the government and impose an Islamic caliphate. In southwestern Baluchistan province, where the Pakistani Taliban also have a presence, Baloch separatists have staged a yearslong insurgency seeking independence and a greater share of resources.
A pair of powerful bombings struck separate election offices in Baluchistan, killing at least 30 people and wounding more than two dozen others on Wednesday. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings.
WHAT'S THE MOOD LIKE?Most Pakistanis are fed up after years of political infighting and no improvements in their living standards. People on the street are quick to tell you they don't believe things will be different after this election.
Khan’s disqualification from running has infuriated his supporters, who have pledged to show their loyalty at the ballot box. But the intense legal and security crackdown on Khan and his followers may have worn them down.
Also, there is no guarantee that PTI voters will turn out in sufficient numbers to give the party a win — or that their votes will be fairly counted. The Foreign Ministry says there will be 92 international election observers, including from the European Union and foreign embassies.
Another factor shaping public sentiment is the return last October of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who came back to Pakistan after four years in self-imposed exile abroad to avoid serving prison sentences at home.
Within weeks of his return, his convictions were overturned, leaving him free to seek a fourth term in office. Despite the years of controversies, he enjoys immense popularity and seems to have a pretty straight path to the premiership.
The sharp contrast in the treatment of the two front-runners — Sharif, with his speedy and smooth comeback, and Khan, with his seemingly insurmountable legal hurdles — have led many to believe Sharif's win is all but certain.
Rights groups say the election is unlikely to be free or fair. Experts have warned that all the political shenanigans underway since Khan's 2022 ouster have fueled anti-establishment sentiment.
That in turn has fed a growing apathy among voters and threatens a low turnout, which would further undermine the credibility of the election. Amid the discontent and divisions, getting a strong coalition to agree on and work for meaningful changes in Pakistan will be difficult.
A week of peak Taylor Swift — from Grammys to Tokyo shows to Super Bowl
She’s everywhere, and the world is merely her backup band.
This is Taylor Swift's week. It's hard to remember a star of Swift 's stature straddling so many roles, spanning so much of the globe, covering so many corners of the culture and doing so much of it in the spotlight she will have between Sunday's Grammy Awards and the coming Sunday's Super Bowl — with four Tokyo concerts in between.
It represents a packed pop-culture moment — a sort of perfect storm of fame, exposure, art and excellence for a woman who has become one of the planet's most recognizable names. And every moment of it will be dissected — with adulation and criticism alike.
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Is this the apogee of modern multimedia stardom? It might actually be more of a throwback, to a time of a less segmented, less subcultured society, when a star could be a household name across continents and generations, taking part in events that people actually follow together as they happen.
“She’s at the center of these moments that we don’t have very often anymore,” said Shilpa Davé, a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia.
HOW THIS TAYLOR SWIFT MOMENT IS A THROWBACKYou have to look far into the past, and well past music, to find someone with Swift's cultural power. You might have to look to a time when media wasn't so fragmented, when the pipelines to people's eyes and ears were fewer and slower.
“She’s Walter Cronkite. She is the most trusted name, the most trusted voice in America," said John Baick, a history professor at Western New England University who examines the intersection of popular culture with broader society. “I just can’t think of anyone in our politics, in our culture, in our society who we know across more generations. Maybe Oprah, but, I think Oprah had a smaller appeal in some respects.”
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For many from young generations, splintered by social media, “Taylor Swift offers a vocabulary — a shared language,” Baick said.
Swift's whirlwind week began with a record-breaking fourth win for album of the year at the Grammys in Los Angeles, where she may have made even bigger waves with her surprise announcement that her next album is ready to drop in April. Nearly 17 million people watched, a huge and surging number for a modern awards show that no doubt owed much to her.
Then it’s off to Asia for four concerts at the Tokyo Dome in an echo of her seismic stadium shows in North and South America last year.
If all goes as expected, then she’ll turn back the time zones and hustle back to the U.S. to play the role of fan-in-chief to her Kansas City tight end boyfriend Travis Kelce at the the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, and will likely be seen in a suite with Kelce's family and friends during the game by an audience far bigger than the Grammys'.
DON'T WORRY — SHE'LL MAKE IT EVERYWHEREFollowers concerned with the plausibility of her tightly timed itinerary have been assuaged by the Japanese embassy in Washington, which said in a statement that “if she departs Tokyo in the evening after her concert, she should comfortably arrive in Las Vegas before the Super Bowl begins.”
Swift seems to embrace the whole storm, if her album of the year acceptance speech is any indication.
“I would love to tell you this is the best moment of my life. But I feel this happy when I finish a song, or when I crack the code to a bridge that I love, or when I’m shortlisting a music video, or when I’m rehearsing with my dancers, or my band, or getting ready to go to Tokyo to play a show,” she said from the stage. “For me, the award is the work. All I want to do is keep being able to do this.”
While she says little publicly about her relationship with Kelce (he didn’t get thanked during her two Grammy speeches and wasn't at the ceremony), she’s clearly aware of the visual story she’s telling.
“She obviously didn’t have to go to the games. She could have watched from home,” Baick said. "She didn't have to go to these boxes where she would be perfectly framed with family members and friends. But her career matters. And this is someone who is unapologetic about that. In that sense, she’s also like Madonna. Everything she does is in the public eye. And why not?”
PART OF SWIFT'S APPEAL IS THE CULTURAL MOMENT WE'RE INKelce weighed in on the phenomenon Monday from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas that “she’s rewriting the history books herself” and she's “definitely brought a lot of new faces to the game.”
The secret to her culture-defying appeal that may be reaching its peak this week comes in part from the particular glow of positivity she is able to bring — a positivity that the pandemic, political turmoil and social erosion have created a hunger for.
“We don’t have many very big moments where we’re celebrating just the joy of music and culture," Davé said. "She brings that with her. ... And I think we need it in this moment as well.”
Baick agrees. “I don’t think we, as a country, have ever needed someone as much. With the sole exception of after John F. Kennedy was killed. I mean, Beatlemania was in part because of that terrible vacuum, a terrible sense of loss and that desire for young people to give themselves up to, to cut loose. And like this, it was female-driven.”
This moment was also made possible by the unmatched connection she is able to make with her followers, and her dedication to serving them and centering them. Part of that connection might be her willingness to be a big fan herself, an essential role at the beginning and end of her big week.
At the Grammys, as she often does at awards shows, she stood un-self-consciously and sang along with everyone from Tracy Chapman to Olivia Rodrigo. And she'll play the fan at the Super Bowl as she has for much of Kelce's and the Chiefs' season, a role she appears comfortable in, with no fear of her own job or identity being eclipsed.
BUT THE ADULATION HAS COME WITH CRITICISMThere could never be unanimity around someone so prominent, and those appearances have brought out detractors. Some football fans have griped about the attention she is given during games, though her actual screen time can be counted in seconds. She's also been slammed for the private jets she should be making liberal use of all week.
And she has been the subject of utterly unfounded rumors ranging from claims she's part of Pentagon psychological operations to the notion she and Kelce are assets in a plot to help President Joe Biden get reelected.
“There’s some genuine fear about what she and tens of millions of people who follow her could do in an election that’s probably going to be close,” Baick said.
Of course, plenty simply don't care for her or her music. And her appeal does run deeper in some communities than others.
“It is, predominantly, a white middle class phenomenon,” Baick said. “But it cuts deeper than that. It is more than that. It is not monochrome. And it is geographically broad. The world — which may not like our politics, which may not like our foreign policy — still loves our pop culture. And she is a proud ambassador."
It will be a week she'll have a hard time topping. Yet she's transcended what seemed like previous peaks.
“In her victory lap, I’m curious to see where it will take her," Davé said. "Because these things don’t last and so how does she just become this big commercial success, or does she leave a legacy?”
The death toll from Chile's wildfires reaches 131, and more than 300 people are missing
The death toll from wildfires that ravaged central Chile for several days increased to 131 on Tuesday, and more than 300 people were still missing as the blazes appeared to be burning themselves out.
The fires in Valparaiso are said to be Chile's deadliest disaster since an earthquake in 2010. Officials have suggested that some could have been intentionally set.
President Gabriel Boric during a visit to the region announced that furniture used for the 2023 Pan American Games will be donated to victims. He said the government also will forgive the water bills for 9,200 affected homes.
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The fires began Friday on the mountainous eastern edge of Viña del Mar, a beach resort known for a festival that attracts the best in Latin music. Two other towns, Quilpé and Villa Alemana, also were hit hard as the fires spread quickly in dry weather and strong winds.
The Viña del Mar Festival canceled its opening gala as a sign of mourning. Many participating singers including Alejandro Sanz, Pablo Alborán and Maná sent messages of solidarity and announced donations.
Chile’s Forensic Medical Service has said many bodies recovered from the fires were in bad condition and difficult to identify, but forensic workers would take samples of genetic material from people reporting missing relatives.
18 bodies found in Greece as firefighters battle wind-driven wildfires across the country
“My parents’ and my sisters’ house burned, and my neighbors — the people who knew me when I was little — died,” said Gabriel Leiva, 46, going through debris in Viña del Mar. He said his neighbors were “family that is not of blood but of the heart.”
The United Nations in a statement offered its condolences and announced assistance. Meanwhile, Boric, in a tweet, thanked U.S. President Joe Biden for “his important support" following the disaster.
At least 28 people died when shelling hit a bakery in Russian-occupied Ukraine
Moscow-installed officials say Ukrainian shelling killed at least 28 people at a bakery in the Russian-occupied city of Lysychansk.
At least one child was among the dead Saturday, local leader Leonid Pasechnik wrote in a statement on Telegram. A further 10 people were rescued from under the rubble by emergency services, he said.
Ukrainian officials in Kyiv did not comment on the incident.
Read: Ukraine says corrupt officials stole $40 million meant to buy arms for the war with Russia
Both Moscow and Kyiv have increasingly relied on longer-range attacks this winter amid largely unchanged positions on the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line in the nearly 2-year-old war.
The military administration for Ukraine’s Sumy region said Sunday that Russian forces had shelled the region in 16 separate attacks the previous day, firing on the border communities of Yunakivka, Bilopillia, Krasnopillia, Velyka Pysarivka, and Esman.
Read: Russian transport plane crashes near Ukraine with 65 Ukrainian POWs on board
16 killed, 25 injured in U.S. airstrikes in W. Iraq: spokesman
The Iraqi government said Saturday that the U.S. airstrikes on the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces in western Iraq killed 16 people, including civilians, and injured 25 others.
Calling the airstrikes "blatant aggression," government spokesman Basim al-Awadi told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) that "the U.S. administration violated Iraq's sovereignty when its aircraft conducted airstrikes on the positions of our security forces in the Akashat and al-Qaim areas, as well as neighboring civilian places."
Read: 150 people are killed in Gaza in 24 hours, Health Ministry says
Al-Awadi also denied reports that claimed there was coordination between the government and the U.S. administration about the airstrikes, stressing that these reports are "a false claim aimed at misleading international public opinion and evading legal responsibility for this crime," according to the INA.
He also said that the government believes that the presence of the international coalition forces on Iraqi soil has become a threat to security and stability in Iraq and a justification for involving Iraq in regional and international conflicts.
Al-Awadi warned that the recent airstrikes put security in Iraq and the region on the brink of the abyss, adding, "Iraq renews its refusal to make its lands an arena for settling scores."
Read: A person killed in attack on Catholic church in Istanbul, 2 ISIS members detained
The U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Friday that the U.S. forces conducted airstrikes on more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militia groups.
The U.S. airstrikes came in response to recent attacks by Iranian-backed militias that caused the first U.S. fatalities since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023.
More than 100 Rohingya flee a Malaysian detention center
More than 100 Rohingya immigrants have escaped from a detention center in Malaysia after a protest, with one confirmed killed in a road accident, officials said Friday.
This was the second time in two years that such a breakout occurred. In 2022, 528 Rohingya refugees staged a protest and escaped from detention in northern Penang state. Six were killed while trying to cross a highway, and most of the others were rearrested.
Read: Urgent action needed to address dramatic rise in Rohingya deaths at sea: UNHCR
Immigration Department Director-General Ruslin Jusoh said in a statement that 131 detainees escaped from a center in Perak state late Thursday. He said one of the detainees was killed in a road accident. Nearly 400 personnel were deployed to hunt them down, he added, without giving details on what sparked the breakout.
District police chief Mohamad Naim Asnawi was quoted by national Bernama news agency as saying that the immigrants escaped from the men's block after a riot broke out at the center. The suspects included 115 Rohingya and 16 Myanmar nationals, all males, he said.
Malaysia, which has a dominant Muslim population, is a preferred destination for Muslim Rohingya fleeing from Buddhist-majority Myanmar or those seeking to escape misery in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Read: Out of options, Rohingya fleeing Myanmar and Bangladesh by boat despite soaring death toll
Malaysia doesn’t grant refugee status, but it houses about 180,000 refugees and asylum seekers accredited with the United Nations refugee agency, including more than 100,000 Rohingya and other Myanmar ethnic groups. Thousands stay in the country illegally after arriving by sea.