In this March 6, 2016, file photo, well wishes are written on a wall of hope during a remembrance event for the ill fated Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Malaysia’s government has agreed in principle to accept a second “no find, no fee” proposal from a U.S. company to renew the hunt for flight MH370, which is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean more than 10 years ago, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Friday (December 20, 2024).

Loke said Cabinet ministers gave the nod at their meeting last week for Texas-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity to continue the seabed search operation at a new 15,000-square-kilometer (5,800-square-mile) site in the ocean.

“The proposed new search area, identified by Ocean Infinity, is based on the latest information and data analyses conducted by experts and researchers. The company’s proposal is credible,” he said in a statement.

The Boeing 777 plane vanished from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on a flight from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane deviated from its flight path to head over the southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.

Also read:MH370 probe: investigators say controls were likely deliberately manipulated

An expensive multinational search failed to turn up any clues, although debris washed ashore on the east African coast and Indian Ocean islands. A private search in 2018 by Ocean Infinity also found nothing.

Loke said the government will not be required to pay Ocean Infinity unless the plane’s wreckage is discovered, under the same “no find, no fee” deal. He said his ministry hopes to finalize negotiations for terms and conditions of the agreement with Ocean Infinity in early 2025.

“This decision reflects the government’s commitment to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of MH370 passengers,” he added.

Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Punkett earlier this year reportedly said the the company had improved its technology since 2018. He has said the firm is working with many experts to analyze data and narrow the search area to the most likely site.

A police officer stands, following a knife attack in a primary school, in Zagreb, Croatia, on December 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A 7-year-old girl died and a teacher and five other students were wounded in a knife attack at a school in the Croatian capital, Zagreb, on Friday (December 20, 2024), police said.

They said the attack happened at 9:50 a.m. at the Precko Elementary School in the neighborhood of the same name. They described the attacker as a “young male” and said he had been detained.

Health Minister Irena Hristic said the attacker was over 18, while media reported he was 19.

Video footage published by Croatian media showed children running away from the school building and a medical helicopter landing in the schoolyard.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at the start of the government session that he is “appalled” by the attack and that authorities are still working to determine exactly what happened. Plenkovic said several children have been taken to various hospitals in Zagreb.

State HRT television said the attacker entered the school and went straight into the first classroom he found and attacked the children.

School attacks are rare in Croatia. Last May, a teenager in neighboring Serbia opened fire at a school in the capital Belgrade, killing nine fellow students and a school guard.

Two people have been remanded and 32 others charged in connection with the alleged attack on police personnel at Marthoman Church, Mulanthuruthy, during the annual feast on Friday (December 19).

The historic church has been a source of contention for years but was handed over to the Orthodox faction of the Malankara Syrian Church following a 2017 Supreme Court verdict. The Jacobite group has its own place of worship near the old church, and a dispute over the procession during the festival sparked the clash between the group and police personnel posted to maintain order.

File image.
| Photo Credit: AP

A string of suspensions in the youth wing of Trinamool Congress has once again brought focus on the leadership debate in the party and calling for a larger role for party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

The Trinamool Congress on Friday expelled Monishankar Mandal, vice-president of the party’s professors’ cell West Bengal College and University Professors Association (WBCUPA) and Pritam Halder, acting president of Trinamool Teachers Association.

The development assumes significance as Mr. Mandal has been calling for a greater role for the party general secretary, including inducting them in the government. Mr. Mandal has also put up posters describing Mr. Banerjee as a “game changer” in the Lok Sabha polls. Sources in the party said that the remarks made by the professors’ union leader did not go down well with the party leadership.

“This is to inform you all that Shree Bratya Basu, Hon’ble MIC, Education department and the President, Education Cell of Party, has expelled Monishankar Mandal, Pritam Halder and other related persons from all their posts and organisations with immediate effect because of their indisciplined activities,” Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh said.

Mr. Ghosh said the decision of education cell chief Bratya Basu is approved by the Trinamool leadership. “There is no question of confusion. A section is trying divert the issue using distorted news and creating false narrative,” the Trinamool leader added.

Reacting to his suspension from the party, Mr. Mandal said that praising Abhishek Banerjee cannot be an “anti-party” activity in the Trinamool.

A few days ago, the party issued a show-cause notice to Bharatpur Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir for making similar comments and publicly endorsing a bigger role for Abhishek Banerjee including his inclusion in the West Bengal government.

In another development, the party suspended West Bengal Pradesh Trinamool Youth Congress Tarun Tiwary for “anti-party activities”. The party’s youth leader was arrested by Kolkata Police allegedly for extorting money. The complainant said the youth leader extorted money saying that he was close to Mr. Banerjee.

The developments come days after party chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had put an end to all the speculations about the leadership debate. On December 3, Ms. Banerjee had told her party MLAs that she was the final word in the Trinamool Congress.

“I am still there. I am the final word,” the party chairperson had said. While it is evident in the political circles that Abhishek Banerjee is the number two in the party. Occasionally there are voices from within the party who call for a greater role for the Diamond Harbour MP, both in the party and in the government.

President Joe Biden’s first attempt at mass cancellation was blocked by the Supreme Court, and his second attempt remains tangled in a legal battle brought by Republican states. File
| Photo Credit: AP

The Biden administration is canceling federal student loans for another 55,000 workers through an existing program known as Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

The Education Department’s announcement Friday (December 20, 2024) targets teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officials and others who’ve reached eligibility through the program, which promises to erase loans after 10 years of work in government or nonprofit jobs.

The $4.28 billion in relief is expected to be the final round of public service loan forgiveness before President Joe Biden leaves office in January. After failing to deliver his promise of widespread loan cancellation, Mr. Biden has instead focused on expanding loan relief through programs that were created before his presidency.

Under Mr. Biden, the Education Department loosened the rules for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which previously had a 99% rejection rate amid burdensome rules and widespread confusion over eligibility requirements.

With the latest round of relief, Mr. Biden has now canceled an unprecedented $180 billion in federal student loans through existing programs, covering 4.9 million Americans. That includes $78 billion for roughly 1 million borrowers through PSLF.

“From Day One of my Administration, I promised to make sure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “Because of our actions, millions of people across the country now have the breathing room to start businesses, save for retirement, and pursue life plans they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt.”

Still, the Democrat has fallen short of his goal to deliver widespread relief to millions of other Americans. Mr. Biden’s first attempt at mass cancellation was blocked by the Supreme Court, and his second attempt remains tangled in a legal battle brought by Republican states.

In October he proposed another rule that would cancel loans for people facing various kinds of financial hardship, though it’s unlikely to take effect.

President-elect Donald Trump hasn’t detailed student loan plans for his second term, but on the campaign trail he called Biden’s cancellation plans illegal and “vile.” Republicans in Congress have slammed Mr. Biden over his cancellation work, saying it unfairly transfers the burden to taxpayers who didn’t go to college or already repaid their loans.

One Station One Product stall set up at Sealdah railway station selling GI-tagged Joynagar Moa. Photo: Special Arrangement

The Sealdah Division of Eastern Railway is promoting West Bengal’s unique local products with the Geographical Identification (GI) tag through its ‘One Station One Product’ (OSOP) stalls.

One OSOP store in Sealdah station is selling Joynagar Moa, a traditional sweet made from palm jaggery and puffed rice. The unique product, which is prepared at Joynagar in South 24 Parganas district was granted GI in 2015.

At Phulia railway station in Nadia district an OSOP stall is selling traditional Santipuri sarees, which were awarded GI tag in 2009. At Krishnanagar railway station, another railway station in Nadia district, an OSOP stall is promoting traditional clay idols which are at the examination as GI registry.

“We are committed to provide our passengers with a memorable travel experience by promoting local products through OSOP stalls. We are not only supporting small-scale businesses but also showcasing the diverse flavours of our region,” said Deepak Nigam, Divisional Railway Manager, Sealdah Division.

Senior officers of Sealdah Division said that various local products such as wooden craft items are being sold at Durganagar railway station and jute craft are sold at Barasat railway station through OSOP stalls. Railway officials said that selling GI tagged and other local crafts through OSOP gives an assurance to passengers about the authenticity of the product.

There are 144 OSOP stalls across Sealdah Division of the Eastern Railway. ‘One Station One Product’ was introduced in the Union Budget 2022-23 with an aim to “vocal for local” vision of the Union government and providing a market for local indigenous products as an opportunity to railway passengers to experience the rich heritage of India.

The Greek Navy conducts a rescue operation after a migrant boat capsized off the island of Gavdos, Greece, December 14, 2024, in this still image obtained from a video.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A speedboat carrying migrants capsized Friday (December 20, 2024) morning off the eastern Greek island of Rhodes, leaving eight dead, Greek authorities said.

The coast guard said the incident occurred while the speedboat was carrying out “dangerous maneuvers” to try and evade a patrol vessel, causing migrants to fall into the sea. Eighteen of the migrants were rescued.

Rescue workers on three coast guard vessels and a helicopter were working near the resort area of Afantou Beach in the northeast of the island. It was unclear whether other passengers were missing, authorities said.

Eight of the survivors have been hospitalized, local officials said, with one of them in critical condition, according to state-run television.

Rhodes, one of several large Greek islands located near the coast of Turkey, is on a busy illegal smuggling route in the eastern Mediterranean.

At the main port of the island, police and ambulance workers held up sheets of gray tarp as the recovered bodies were carried into an ambulance.

It was the second deadly incident involving migrants in the past week, as authorities in Athens brace for a spike in arrivals as a result of wars in the Middle East.

Seven migrants were killed and dozens are believed to be missing after a boat partially sank south of the island of Crete over the weekend – one of four rescue operations during which more than 200 migrants were rescued.

The search south of Crete around the tiny island of Gavdos was called off Wednesday.

The number of migrants traveling illegally to Greece is expected to top 60,000 this year, with Syrians making up the largest number, followed by Afghans, Egyptians, Eritreans and Palestinians, according to government data.

It’s been a tumultuous month for France and its relationship with former colonies in Africa, as its influence on the continent faces the biggest challenge in decades. As Paris devised a new Military strategy that would sharply reduce its permanent troop presence in Africa, two of its closest allies struck a double blow.

The Government of Chad, considered France’s most stable and loyal partner in Africa, announced on its Independence Day it was ending defense cooperation to redefine its sovereignty. Hours later, in an interview published by Le Monde, Senegal’s new president said it was “obvious” that soon French soldiers wouldn’t be on Senegalese soil.

“Just because the French have been here since the slavery period doesn’t mean it’s impossible to do otherwise,” President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said.

The announcements came as France was making efforts to revive its waning influence on the continent. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot was completing a visit to Chad and Ethiopia, and President Emmanuel Macron for the first time had recognized the killing of as many as 400 West African soldiers by the French Army in 1944.

French authorities stayed silent for almost 24 hours after Chad’s announcement, finally saying they were in “close dialogue” on the future of the partnership.

“Chad’s decision marks the final nail in the coffin of France’s post-colonial Military dominance in the entire Sahel region,” said Mucahid Durmaz, a senior analyst at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, referring to the arid region south of the Sahara.

The decisions by Senegal and Chad “are part of the wider structural transformation in the region’s engagement with France, in which Paris political and Military influence continues to diminish,” Mr. Durmaz added.

They follow the ousting of French forces in recent years by Military-led Governments in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, where local sentiments turned sour following years of French forces fighting alongside local ones in the face of stubborn Islamic extremist insurgencies.

Jean-Marie Bockel, Mr. Macron’s personal envoy for Africa, presented to Mr. Macron his report last month on the evolution of the French Military presence in Africa.

It was part of the “renewal of our partnership with African countries” that Mr. Macron announced in a 2017 speech in Burkina Faso in the early days of his presidency.

The details of Bockel’s report have not been made public. But three French top officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks with the concerned countries, said France aimed for a sharp reduction of its Military in all its bases in Africa except the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti — where Mr. Macron is expected to travel in the coming days.

The officials said it doesn’t mean France would necessarily reduce Military cooperation but instead would respond to countries’ needs. It could mean providing more specific training in airspace surveillance or drones and other aircraft. France could also deploy troops on a temporary basis.

The officials declined to confirm numbers of troop reductions but called it significant.

The French army earlier this year also set up a command for Africa, similar to the U.S. AFRICOM. Newly appointed commander Pascal Ianni specializes in influence and information warfare — a need highlighted by Russia’s growing presence in Africa.

“You can carry on your Military cooperation like many countries do. But the idea of having permanent Military bases, which then can be used as political ammunition against you and spun up in kind of a disinformation war, is maybe not the best way of going about things,” said Will Brown, a senior policy fellow at the European Center for Foreign Relations.

Meanwhile, France is trying to boost its economic presence in Africa’s anglophone countries like Nigeria, analysts said. Already, its two biggest trading partners on the continent are Nigeria and South Africa.

At the time of Chad’s announcement, Mr. Macron was hosting talks with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.

Since the independence of French colonies in Africa, France has maintained a policy of economic, political, and Military sway dubbed Françafrique, which included having thousands of permanent troops in the region. France still has 600 troops in Ivory Coast, 350 in Senegal and 350 in Gabon, as well as around 1,500 in Djibouti. It has had 1,000 troops in Chad.

France’s Defense Ministry said the role of French troops in Africa is to train local soldiers and reinforce their capacities to fight extremism, mainly in peacekeeping, intelligence, and logistics. But critics say keeping boots on the ground also has allowed Paris to retain influence and protect political regimes favorable to France.

“The countries of Francophone Africa want a change in the nature of this relationship,” said Gilles Yabi, head of the West Africa Citizen Think Tank.

Growing anti-French sentiment has led to street protests in several West and North African countries, while Governments that gained power on pledges of redefining relationships with the West say ties with France have not benefited the population. They want to explore options with Russia, China, Turkey and other powers.

Chad’s President Mahamat Deby “would not have made this decision if he did not have security guarantees from another actor,” Will Brown said. “We know he’s received serious support from the United Arab Emirates, who are very interested in what’s going on in neighboring Sudan and Darfur. We know that Turkey also made some outreach.”

Chad borders four countries with a Russian Military presence. Mr. Deby traveled to Moscow in January to reinforce relations with the “partner country.”

Military leaders of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso who expelled the French Military have moved closer to Russia, which has mercenaries deployed across the Sahel who have been accused of abuses against civilians.

But the security situation has worsened in those countries, with increasing numbers of extremist attacks and civilian deaths from both armed groups and Government forces. Over the first six months of this year, 3,064 civilians were killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a 25% increase over the previous six months.

It is impossible to say whether the departure of French forces led to the increased violence. But it created a “huge security vacuum,” said analyst Shaantanu Shankar with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), adding that Russia cannot fill it. Troops from the Russian private Military company Wagner are being financed by the junta Governments with fewer financial resources, he said.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah speaks to the media. File.
| Photo Credit: ANI

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday (December 21, 2024) said his government will ensure that famed Pashmina shawls were not considered in the higher slabs of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and warned that such a move would be life-threatening to the Pashmina shawl industry.

Mr. Abdullah, who attended the 55th meeting of the GST Council in Rajasthan, said there were some things that were agreed on, some things were deferred during the meeting. “There had been a lot of speculation that GST on shawls, particularly Pashmina shawls, will be hiked, so we had come prepared to ensure that wouldn’t happen. Thankfully, it wasn’t taken up and we will ensure that in the future also, something like this is not considered because it would be life-threatening to our Pashmina shawl industry,” Mr. Abdullah said.

There were growing protests in Kashmir from political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and traders in the past few days against the proposed GST hike on Kashmiri shawls from 12% to 28%. Former J&K Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu also opposed the move. “The rate band of 28%, the highest band, is a punitive rate meant to reduce the consumption of what are called “demerit” goods. Indeed, a subset within the rate band is the “sin goods” category like cigarettes, for instance. By taxing Kashmiri shawls at 28%, the integrity of the GST rate regime is being impaired. The Kashmiri shawl seems to have been put in this bucket on the spurious notion that a Kashmiri shawl above ₹10,000 is a luxury product and hence to be taxed at the highest punitive rate to reduce the consumption in this category. But that is a flawed understanding,” Mr. Drabu said, in a write-up for a local daily. 

PDP leader and former Minister Naeem Akhtar said such a move was an “attempt to crush the artistic genius of Kashmir under the weight of excessive taxation.”

“The heavy taxation would make Kashmiri shawls unaffordable, threatening to collapse the centuries-old industry. This is akin to reviving the oppressive practices of the despotic Maharaja rule, where shawl makers were crushed under heavy taxation. Are we witnessing a deliberate attempt to plunge Kashmir into deeper crises,” asked Mr. Akhtar.

The latest development at the GST meeting on Saturday has calmed the nerves to some extent. “We thank Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the members of the GST Council for their considerate decision to not increase the GST rate on our traditional Kashmiri shawls. We are hopeful that incoming GST council meetings won’t see any hike on GST of Kashmir shawls,” said Faiz Ahmad Bakshi, secretary general of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI).

According to the KCCI, the shawl industry supports over 300,000 artisans and provides livelihood opportunities to many from marginalised communities. “The proposed hike would have dealt a catastrophic blow to the Kashmiri shawl industry, potentially categorising these cultural treasures under a ‘sin tax’ bracket. This classification would have been particularly harmful to the artisans who depend on this craft for their livelihood,” Mr. Bakshi said.