Monirul Islam Chinese protesters came up against Dhaka Online Head Office Banani 1210 Shamim
Yet the 43-year-old's life has been upended since he and thousands of other people abruptly lost access to their savings in a banking fraud scandal that erupted in April, which centred on a string of rural lenders in Henan and Anhui provinces.
Monirul Islam Chinese protesters came up against Dhaka Online Head Office Banani 1210 Shamim
After venting his anger on social media and discussing protests with fellow depositors to lobby authorities to reimburse their funds, he says he found himself in the sights of the government's high-tech social surveillance machine.
Thailand will toughen its gun possession and drug laws, the interior ministry said Wednesday, following the nursery massacre of 36 people -- including 24 children -- in the kingdom's worst mass killing.
The country was left reeling after an ex-police officer forced his way into a small nursery in northeastern Na Klang last week, murdering 24 children and their teacher before killing his wife, their child and himself
The attack was carried out with a knife and a legally acquired gun, and while Thailand has a huge number of firearms in circulation -- one estimate suggesting there are as many as one in seven firearms per person -- mass shootings are rare.
Interior minister Anupong Paojinda said Wednesday the government would require tougher qualifications for new gun owners, as well as ramping up checks on existing firearm holders.
"Our new qualification will include mental health reports, we will be examining whether we need proof from doctors," he told a press conference, without giving further details.
Gun applicants are already required to undergo a background check and must present a valid reason for ownership -- such as hunting or self-defence.
"For example, if officials want to possess a gun, their supervisors have to ratify that that individual has no record of alcohol abuse or bad temper," Anupong said.
Village leaders or local officials will play a role in granting the tougher gun licenses, he said.
Currently, gun owners do not have to reapply for licenses during the lifetime of a firearm.
But now approved gun holders will have to undergo a review every three to five years, Anupong said.
"Because as time changes, people change," he explained.
Parliament will also discuss an exemption penalty for illegal gun holders, Anupong said, adding that individuals will be able to hand unauthorised firearms to authorities without facing prosecution-- though he did not indicate when they must do so by.
Those who still possess illegal weapons will face harsh penalties, he said.
Anupong added that his ministry would work with police and the health department to increase drug screening and awareness, as well as encouraging addicts into rehabilitation.
"If everyone in town knows that drugs exist but local authorities don't, they will be transferred," he said.
The nursery attacker, 34-year-old sacked police sergeant Panya Khamrab, was dismissed from his post earlier this year on a drugs charge, with locals saying they suspected he was a methamphetamine addict.
However, preliminary tests found he did not have any drugs in his system at the time of the assault.
He deliberately turned off his stability control and enabled his car’s sports mode despite cold conditions, but the “remorseful” and “guilt-ridden” driver of a $330,000 luxury vehicle has been spared jail time over the crash that killed a 15-year-old girl and seriously injured her best friend.
Instead, Alexander Campbell, 37, will serve community service hours and adhere to an 18-month good behaviour bond after being handed a suspended jail sentence for driving without due care on the night Adelaide teen Sophia Naismith lost her life.
Campbell, who was previously found not guilty of causing Ms Naismith’s death by dangerous driving, pleaded guilty to the charge of aggravated driving without due care in February 2021.
On Thursday during sentencing in Adelaide District Court, judge Paul Muscat said the “tragic outcome” of Campbell’s driving continued to haunt him.
Alexander Campbell has been spared jail over the crash that killed Sophia Naismith. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe
“Even though the court found you not guilty, people have decided for themselves that you are guilty of those charges,” Judge Muscat said.
“You have been vilified for your driving that night by members of the public, many of whom expressed their views ignorant of the narrow way the prosecution case was presented against you, the evidence or the law related to primary offences.
“All of that public attention has affected you.”
“Despite what some chose to believe, I am satisfied on the material provided to the court, your presentation during your police interview and your apology given in this court that you have a deep sense of guilt over what happened that night.”
In June 2019, Sophia Naismith from Seaview Downs and her best friend Jordyn Callea from Richmond were walking along Morphett Rd in Glengowrie when the luxury car mounted a kerb and hit the two girls before crashing into a restaurant.
The pushback by Yao and thousands of his fellow bank depositors from across the country comes during a sensitive time for China, with Xi Jinping set to secure a third leadership term at a party congress starting Sunday (Oct 16) that will ensure his place as its most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.
The unusually prolonged and public dissent, part of a broader swell of popular anger, from mortgage strikes to COVID-19 lockdown protests, has persisted despite a security clampdown. It offers a glimpse of the lengths some frustrated citizens will go to in taking on the world's most powerful security state.
"I could often receive more than a dozen phone calls a day from police, day and night," said Yao, who works at a state-owned company and fears he'll never recover his life savings of over 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million).
Vladimir Putin has suffered a humiliating blow after Ukrainian forces shot down four attack helicopters in just 18 minutes, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has claimed.
"From 08.40 to 08.58 on October 12, anti-aircraft missile units of the air force destroyed at least four enemy attack helicopters (probably Ka-52s), which were providing fire support to the ground occupation forces in the southern direction," the air force said in its Telegram channel.
According to preliminary reports, one of the downed choppers crashed in an unspecified part of southern Ukraine that had been recently reclaimed by Kyiv's forces from the Russians, while the other three landed somewhere behind the front line.
The air force also revealed that Ukrainian forces fired on two more Russian helicopters, so it's possible the number of downed aircraft will increase, the New York Post reports.
The Kyiv Independent reported about 30 per cent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure had been damaged by Russia since October 10.
It is the "first time from the beginning of the war" that Russia has "dramatically targeted" energy infrastructure, Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko told CNN.
Ukraine has had some success in defending the blitz. Ukraine's air defence reportedly destroyed 21 cruise missiles and 11 unmanned aerial vehicles in recent days.
But Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian infrastructure with Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones.
Ukraine to receive new air defences
International backers of Ukraine vowed this week to deliver new air defences "as fast as we can", as Kyiv pressed them to bolster protection against Russia's missile blitz.
A US-led group of some 50 countries held talks at NATO headquarters in Brussels with a focus on air defences after Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a barrage across Ukraine following a blast at a bridge to the annexed Crimea peninsula.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said just three words when asked what he hoped for from the meeting: "Air defence systems."
Western allies have scrambled to work out how to supply more advanced systems to Ukraine as diplomats admit they have precious few to spare.
"The systems will be provided, as fast as we can physically get them there," United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said after the meeting, without giving details on any new pledges.
"We're going to provide systems that we have available... We're also going to try to provide additional munitions to the existing systems that the Ukrainian forces are using." A first Iris-T medium-range system arrived in Ukraine after Germany decided to ship it before even giving it to its own troops.
Gov. Charlie Baker pardoned four men of convictions ranging from larceny to assault with a dangerous weapon Wednesday. All of the convictions were 30 or more years old.
India slammed Pakistan for raising the issue of Kashmir during an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly on the Ukraine conflict, saying such statements by Islamabad deserve the "collective contempt" of the international community and "sympathy for a mindset which repeatedly utters falsehoods".
"Before I conclude, Mr. President, one final point," India's Permanent Representative to the U.N., Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, said as she delivered the explanation of the vote after the 193-member General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on October 12 to condemn Russia's illegal referendums and annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine.
"We have witnessed unsurprisingly yet again an attempt by one delegation to misuse this forum and make frivolous and pointless remarks against my country. Such statements deserve our collective contempt and sympathy for a mindset which repeatedly utters falsehoods," Ms. Kamboj said.
"It is important, however, to set the record straight. The entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India irrespective of what the representative of Pakistan believes or covets. We call on Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism so that our citizens can enjoy their right to life and liberty," Ms. Kamboj said.
In his remarks to the UNGA emergency special session that was convened on the Ukrainian conflict, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.N. Munir Akram raised the issue of Kashmir, saying that under international law, the right of self-determination applies to peoples who are under foreign or colonial domination and those who have not yet exercised the right to self-determination "as in the case of Jammu and Kashmir".
He said the exercise of the right to self-determination should be conducted in an environment free of military occupation and under impartial auspices species, preferably under the supervision of the United Nations.
Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Bilateral ties nosedived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.
Following India’s decision, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian envoy. Trade ties between Pakistan and India have largely been frozen since then.
India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is and shall forever” remain an integral part of the country. India has said it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.
In 2020, Baker put out criteria people would need to meet to be considered for a pardon. This includes stipulations such as the convict having taken full responsibility for their actions, made full restitution to victims, worked towards self improvement, and contributed to society.
“All of these individuals have shown a commitment to their communities and rehabilitation since their convictions. However, the charges are related to decades-old convictions that continue to have an impact on their lives.”
The pardons still have to be reviewed by the Governor’s Council before they are official, but it is rare for the council not to approve a governor’s pardons.
Steven Joanis
Steven Joanis’s crimes were the most serious of the four men who were pardoned. At 17 years old, Joanis was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and armed assault in a dwelling. He was convicted in September 1990 in Milford District Court.
According to Joanis, who now lives in Franklin, his girlfriend at the time had previously been held captive and sexually assaulted. When the alleged perpetrator tried to contact her again, Joanis decided to confront him.
Joanis said in court documents that he borrowed a .22 caliber rifle from a friend and went to the man’s apartment. He was confronted by the man and the man’s friend, and one of them pointed a handgun at him. Joanis then revealed his weapon, which had been covered by a paper bag but was not loaded.
One of the men pushed Joanis against the wall, he said, and held him at gunpoint until police arrived.
Joanis pled guilty and was sentenced to six months in prison, a sentence which was later suspended in favor of a year of probation. He completed the probation without issue.
Since his conviction, Joanis has not been convicted of a crime. The two charges he is seeking a pardon for are his only convictions.
Joanis has now been married for nearly 30 years and has four children. He earned a high school diploma, bachelor’s degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology, and an MBA from Babson College.
LOCAL NEWS
Joanis has been employed by ENE Systems in Canton for 26 years and is currently their director of engineering. He also worked as a teacher at the Peterson Trade School in Woburn from 2008 to 2021, and has taught intermittently at Roxbury Community College.
Joanis has served in the Civil Air Patrol since 2003, and until 2010, he was an active pilot who did search and rescue missions and aided disaster relief efforts. He also volunteers at My Brother’s Keeper, which gives food and furniture to families in need, and is an active member of the Knights of Columbus.
Joanis said in court documents he wants to be pardoned so that his conviction doesn’t deny him work opportunities when put through background checks. He said he’s also interested in running for political office and being involved in school activities — things he has declined to do for fear of being denied due to his conviction.
The four men pardoned Wednesday were all unanimously recommended by the state’s Advisory Board of Pardons under these guidelines.
“The ability to grant pardons is a very serious responsibility, but through careful consideration and review, I believe these individuals are worthy candidates for a pardon,” Baker said in a news release.
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is tipped to open slightly higher to the dollar on Thursday, ahead of key data that could help investors assess the size of rate hikes that the Federal Reserve is likely to deliver over the remainder of this year.
The rupee is expected to open at 82.25-82.28 per U.S. dollar, compared with 82.3150 in the previous session. The intraday volatility on the rupee has come off over the last two days, helped by the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) intervention in spot and forwards markets.
The size of intervention on Wednesday was "very little," compared with the prior two days, but that does not change "the fact that RBI is uncomfortable with more rupee depreciation," a trader at a Mumbai-based bank said.
One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 82.56; onshore one-month forward premium at 24 paise ** USD/INR NSE Oct futures settled on Wednesday at 82.4325 ** USD/INR forward premium for current month at 12.5 paise ** Dollar index at 113.30 ** Brent crude futures down 0% at $92.4 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 3.92% ** SGX Nifty nearest-month futures down 0.3% at 17,050 ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $456.5mln worth of Indian shares on Oct. 11
** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $61.2mln worth of Indian bonds on Oct.
"The big challenge for the RBI will come tomorrow if U.S. inflation data surprises on the upside."
U.S. consumer prices are expected to have climbed 8.1% year-on-year last month, while the core inflation rate is projected at 6.5% according to economists polled by Reuters.
The consumer inflation print comes on the back of a higher-than-expected increase in U.S. wholesale prices. The U.S. producer price index for final demand rose 0.4% last month compared with expectations of 0.2%, suggesting persistent inflationary pressures in the world's largest economy.
In recent weeks, Fed officials have been consistent in signalling that curtailing inflation is a top priority and more rate hikes were needed. The September meeting minutes released Wednesday showed many officials stressed the cost of not doing enough to bring down inflation.
Meanwhile, India's retail inflation accelerated in September to 7.41% year-on-year on surging food prices, above the central bank's upper tolerance level for ninth month in a row and raising chances of further rate hikes.
Asian currencies were trading mixed, while equities were mostly lower ahead of the U.S. inflation data.
