World
Rescuers Search for Iran President Ebrahim Raisi After Helicopter Crash
A helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister, and other dignitaries crashed in the mountainous northwest on Sunday, sparking a large rescue attempt in a foggy forest as the population was asked to pray.
The apparent crash occurred as Iran, led by Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, launched an unprecedented drone and missile offensive on Israel last month and enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
Iran has also endured years of large protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and women’s rights, making the situation even more sensitive for Tehran and the country’s future as the Israel-Hamas conflict rages across the Middle East.
Raisi was heading through Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State television reported a “hard landing” at Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of Tehran. Later, state television moved it farther east, near the hamlet of Uzi, but reports remained inconsistent.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan region, and other officials and bodyguards accompanied Raisi, according to the Associated Press. One local government official used the term “crash,” while others mentioned a “hard landing” or a “incident.”
Iran’s state TV Silent
In the hours that followed, neither IRNA nor state TV reported on Raisi’s condition. However, hardliners urged the population to pray for him. State television broadcast footage of hundreds of believers, some with their hands raised in supplication, worshiping at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad.
One of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines, as well as in Qom and other cities across the country. The primary channel of state television broadcast the prayers nonstop. In Tehran, a group of men kneeling on the side of the street held strands of prayer beads and watched a video of Raisi praying, with some clearly crying.
“If anything happens to him, we’ll be heartbroken,” one of the men, Mehdi Seyedi, stated. “May the prayers work and may he return to the arms of the nation safe and sound.”
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi stated on state television that “the esteemed president and company were on their way back aboard some helicopters, and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to bad weather and fog.”
“Various rescue teams are on their way to the region but because of the poor weather and fogginess it might take time for them to reach the helicopter.”
Poor weather conditions
IRNA referred to the area as a “forest,” and it is also known to be mountainous. Poor weather conditions, including heavy rain and wind, hampered SUVs racing through a wooded region, according to state TV. Rescuers were visible walking through the fog and mist.
A rescue aircraft attempted to land in the region where authorities believe Raisi’s chopper was, but was unable to do so owing to heavy mist, emergency services spokesperson Babak Yektaparast told IRNA.
Late in the evening, Turkey’s defense ministry reported that it had sent an unmanned aerial vehicle and was prepared to send a helicopter with night vision capabilities to assist with the search and rescue efforts.
Long after the sun had set, Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said that “we are experiencing difficult and complicated conditions” throughout the search.
Raisi, 63, a hardliner who formerly commanded the country’s court, is seen as Khamenei’s protégé, and some observers believe he may succeed the 85-year-old leader after his death or retirement. Raisi had gone on the border with Azerbaijan early Sunday to inaugurate a dam alongside President Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third that the two countries have built on the Aras River.
The visit occurred despite strained relations between the two countries, including a shooting attempt on Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran in 2023 and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic connections with Israel, which Iran’s Shiite theocracy regards as its principal regional adversary.
Iran pilots a variety of helicopters, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain spare parts. Its military air fleet predates the 1979 Islamic Revolution. IRNA reported images showing Raisi taking off in what seemed to be a Bell helicopter with a blue-and-white paint scheme similar to that seen in prior photographs.
Raisi won Iran’s 2021 presidential election, which had the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. The US has sanctioned Raisi in part because of his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political detainees in 1988, at the close of the horrific Iran-Iraq war.
Source: CTN News
World
Americans Set Financial Resolutions For 2025, Survey Finds
(VOR News) – According to a survey that was conducted not so long ago, more than half of the Financial Resolutions people living in the United States are considering making financial resolutions for the new year.
When inflation is a large role, this is because holiday spending leaves little money in wallets. This is especially true during times when inflation is a significant factor.
All of us are familiar with the traditional resolutions that people make for the New Year, such as increasing the amount of time spent exercising and making improvements to one’s diet.
They are, however, reevaluating the significance of those resolutions in this day and age, when rising costs are at the forefront of the minds of a great number of people.
With regard to the outcomes of the 2025 Financial Resolutions Study that was carried out by Fidelity Investments, it was discovered that over sixty-five percent of the individuals who took part in the study said that they are considering making Financial Resolutions for the New Year.
The findings of the study show that the year 2025 is expected to be the year of “living practically.” This is one of the most significant discoveries.
When compared to the previous year, the majority of Americans who have taken the decision to save more money are more concerned with short-term savings goals in the future year (55% versus 45%). This figure represents a significant increase from the previous year.
In comparison to the prior year, this is a change. Unanticipated costs are at the top of the list of individuals who are anxious about their Financial Resolutions situation for the coming year, and a whopping 79% of those who participated in the poll revealed that they aim to raise the amount of money they have set aside for situations that require immediate attention.
Issues that are at the top of the list for the year 2025 include:
Expenses that weren’t expected to arise
The effect that inflation has on daily savings and expenditure levels
Uncertainty about the economy and the impending recession
Most people who create goals for themselves claim to have a plan in place that will help them achieve their objectives. They replied that it would benefit them in the long run to have a goal that is both attainable and easy to sustain, with small benchmarks to help them along the way. Those who had failed to meet their financial objectives in the past year brought this up.
According to the survey’s results, younger generations are more inclined to make financial decisions and think they are more likely to be in a better financial position than earlier generations.
The vast majority of Americans believe that their financial situation will improve during the next 12 months. They state that the two main factors they mention as being significant are living a life free of obligations and feeling more at ease.
The Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Financial Institutions (DFI) recommends the following financial resolutions be put into effect.
These financial resolutions are as follows:
Put some additional money aside for your retirement income.
The goal is to improve your credit score.
Establish a reserve fund to cover any unforeseen costs.
A debt management strategy that is successful
Making a budget with your own money is a good idea.
Some examples of the kinds of security measures that, according to DFI, are effective ways to secure the money that you have worked so hard to acquire include changing your passwords and enabling two-step verification. Both of these are instances of security measures
SOURCE: WKBN
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World
The Goal Of Donald Trump’s Transition Team Is To Withdraw The US From WHO “On Day One.”
(VOR News) – The transition team led by Donald Trump is reportedly planning to remove the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the first day of the next government, according to experts.
This would have a “catastrophic” impact on people’s health all throughout the world, these experts warn.
On January 20, the day the president-elect becomes office, these individuals want to announce their desire to depart the global health agency, Donald Trump’s team members informed analysts.
If the World Health Organization were to depart, it would lose its most significant source of funding, which would hinder its ability to respond to public health emergencies such as the Coronavirus pandemic.
Donald Trump’s leadership and funding for global health are noteworthy.
The United States of America is most likely to leave a significant void. According to Georgetown Law professor of global health Lawrence Gostin, “I see no one that is going to fill the breach.” He went on to say that the withdrawal “on day one” will have “catastrophic” effects on people’s health all around the world.
Trump’s nomination of several allies, including vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy, for important health positions in the incoming government has led to a disagreement over US relations with the World Health Organization (WHO). Nevertheless, Gostin expressed doubt that Donald Trump would prioritize a prompt withdrawal as much as some of his colleagues.
The United States of America was the largest single donor to the World Health Organization (WHO), accounting for almost 16 percent of its funding in fiscal years 2022–2023.
In 2020, President Donald Trump began the process of disbanding the World Health Organization (WHO) after accusing it of being under Chinese control.
However, the process has never been completed, and his vice presidential replacement, Joe Biden, resumed relations with the agency on the first day of his administration in 2021.
Experts have seen that after initiating the process immediately, some Donald Trump administration officials are keen to proceed much more quickly this time.
Ashish Jha, a former White House Covid response coordinator for Biden and the director of Brown University’s school of public health, stated that the transition team wanted Donald Trump to withdraw on the first day because to the “symbolism” of reversing Biden’s own inauguration-day decision.
He remarked, “Many individuals within the administration’s inner circle lack trust in the WHO and wish to symbolically demonstrate their disassociation from it on the first day.”
“If you do not actively participate in these Donald Trump institutions.
You will not be able to respond quickly when the next outbreak happens,” he stated. Gostin predicted “very lean years for the WHO,” which would mean the organization would have to substantially cut back on its scientific workforce and struggle to respond to health emergencies.
If the United States withdrew, he said, European countries would likely not increase their contributions to the World Health Organization (WHO), and China might try to strengthen its influence. He claimed that since leaving would give China more authority, it would not be a smart move.
Questions concerning the possible withdrawal were not immediately answered by the Donald Trump transition team. “Is this the same WHO we left in place for the initial administration?” a person familiar with the arrangements told the Financial Times. Right now, we don’t appear to care all that much about what they have to say.
There was no response from the World Health Organization. The group’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called it a “unique organization” earlier this month and said it aimed to collaborate with U.S. officials.
He continued, “From our end, we are prepared to collaborate with one another.” “I believe that the leaders of the United States of America are aware of the fact that the United States cannot be safe unless the rest of the world is safe.
SOURCE: FT
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World
Do Microplastics in the Atmosphere Endanger Your Fertility?
(VOR News) – It is quite possible that the presence of small microplastic particles in the air may be a contributing factor to a wide variety of health problems, including malignancies of the lungs and colon.
This is something that needs additional research to be determined. There is one more item to take into consideration, and that is the potential that this is the exact circumstance.
A recent study found that tires and debris that are decomposing shed minute fragments of plastic that go airborne, so creating a form of air pollution that is not particularly widely known. This type of pollution is caused by the degradation of plastic. An example of this type of pollution is that which is discharged into the atmosphere.
The industry refers to microplastic as “air pollution.”
According to the findings of a researcher named Tracey Woodruff, who is a professor of obstetrics, gynaecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, “These microplastics are basically particulate matter from air pollution,” and it is common knowledge that this particular type of air pollution is particularly hazardous.
The researchers who supplied background notes stated that the size of microplastics is less than 5 millimetres, which is smaller than a grain of rice.
This information was provided, according to researchers. These details were supplied by the researchers who conducted the study. These particulars were provided by researchers who were responsible for carrying out the study.
The amount of plastic that is created on a yearly basis by enterprises all over the world is roughly 460 million tonnes, as indicated by the data that were provided by academics all over the world. The forecasts indicate that by the year 2050, this quantity is anticipated to have increased to 1.1 billion tonnes.
Driving is a substantial contributor to the amount of plastic that is floating around in the atmosphere, according to the conclusions of the experts who conducted the study about the phenomenon. When tires are worn down to the point where they scrape against the surface of the road, they allow microplastics to be released into the environment.
As a result of the tires wearing down, this occurs. This impact is brought about as a consequence of the inevitable amount of wear and tear that tires are subjected to.
A study that was published on December 18 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology was the result of researchers conducting an examination of data collected from over 3,000 previous investigations.
The paper was published as a consequence of this procedure. The review was constructed with the help of this analysis that was carried out.
Microplastic used this analysis to put together the review.
A number of diseases, such as cancer, lung problems, and infertility, may be influenced by the presence of microplastics in the air, according to the data, which led to the conclusion that this may be the case.
Despite the fact that the vast majority of the studies that were incorporated into the study were carried out on animals, the researchers claimed that it is very certainly plausible that the findings can also be applied to people. The fact that the majority of investigations were conducted on animals does not change the reality that this is the case.
“We urge regulatory agencies and policy leaders to consider the growing evidence of health harms from microplastics, including colon and lung cancer,” stated Nicholas Chartres, the principal investigator and senior research fellow at the University of Sydney.
The organisation reported this comment. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) issued a press release on behalf of the organisation that contained this statement. The news release was disseminated to the public. We are convinced that state officials will act quickly to make sure that no leaks of this kind occur, which is of the highest importance.
SOURCE: USN
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