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Early footfall data gathered by MRI Software indicated that footfall on UK high streets is down 6.2% on 2023 while shopping centres saw a 4.2% fall in visitors. The slump has been attributed to several factors such as cautious spending in the wake of the cost of living crisis, online shopping and Black Friday sales being not that long ago. READ MORE: WATCH: Barrow BID releases 'Live Aid' video featuring local businesses READ MORE: Shop Barrow Day 2024 hailed as 'best trading day of the year' READ MORE: Furness Coastguard appeal after vessel drifting in Walney Channel Boxing Day sales can also be tricky for smaller or independent businesses which usually run on tighter margins. Even many major retailers such as Next, M&S and John Lewis chose not to open the majority of their stores this year to give staff a break over the festive period. This is the case for many of Barrow's smaller shops that run on smaller numbers of staff. Jenny Stitches Fabrics shop on Dalton closed on Saturday, December 21and opened briefly on Saturday December 28 for anyone needing bits. The store will fully re-open Thursday, January 2. Marshal Lea Bridal Studio on Cavendish Street is also enjoying a well-deserved rest and will re-open on January 3. Footwear and Fascinators at Portland Walk opened briefly after Christmas however had to close due its owner coming down with a nasty bout of the flu. Owners Shelagh Morrall and John Hambler outside their shop Crafty Hobbies (Image: Crafty Hobbies) A store that closed on Boxing Day but chose to re-open on Friday, December 27 was Crafty Hobbies on Cavendish Street. Co-owner Shelagh Morrall said: "We don't really have a Boxing Day sale as such. We tend to reduce stock as and when needed throughout the year. "Since we re-opened it's been quite busy which is great - particularly on Saturday as we had people from all over come in - one man from as far as Birmingham - so it's nice to know people are coming in from outside to shop in Barrow. "We sold a number of vouchers before Christmas too so we'll be expecting an influx of those soon." Also enjoying a brisk trade was Expressions gifts, clothes and piercing shop. Expressions shop on Portland Walk in Barrow (Image: Newsquest) A spokesperson said: "We have plenty of reduced items in our sale at the moment with 20 - 25% off clothing and 50% off other bits. "It's gone very well after Christmas, especially in terms of piercings. We've seen more people over the past few days who have had Christmas money to spend and have been eager to get something pierced." The Lazy Days Home Furnishings store when it first opened on Dalton Road (Image: Lazy Days Home Furnishings) Lazy Day Home Furnishings has enjoyed its new location in the old Sports Direct unit on Dalton Road for just on a year now. The store is currently closed until January 4 when it will hold its own 'Genuine January Sale', however it has been enjoying a traditional Boxing Day sale online. Owner Rebecca Hill said: "We have £1m worth of stock to clear at cost and even less than cost prices in our January sale - until then we are only running a Boxing Day sale online until New Year's Day where customers can get 25% off. "In terms of our online Boxing Day Sale, sofas have been really busy so far and everything else has kept going steady."

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian leader pardoned 20 more people that rights activists describe as political prisoners, a statement on the president's website said Saturday. The announcement came amid persistent in the run-up to presidential elections next month that are likely to extend Lukashenko's decades-long rule. Belarusian officials did not provide the names of those released, but the statement posted on the website of the president said that all of them had been convicted of “crimes of an extremist nature." The statement said the group included 11 women and 14 of those pardoned suffered from chronic illnesses. “All of those released repented for their actions and appealed to the head of state to be pardoned,” the presidential administration said in a statement, using wording familiar from a series of previous group pardons in the past six months. Saturday’s announcement marks the eighth such pardon by Lukashenko since the summer of 2024. In all, 207 political prisoners have been freed, according to Belarus’ oldest and most established human rights group, Viasna. Most were jailed following mass anti-government protests in 2020, when Lukashenko secured his sixth term in a vote widely condemned as fraudulent. According to Viasna, over 1,250 political prisoners remain behind bars. No prominent opposition figures, many of whom have not been heard from for months on end, have been released. They include Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Viasna founder ; Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who planned to challenge Lukashenko at the ballot box in 2020 but was jailed before the vote; and Viktar Babaryka, who was also imprisoned after gaining popularity before the election. The mass pardons come amid a new wave of repression, said Viasna activist Pavel Sapelka, as Minsk prepares to hold new presidential elections in January 2025 that are likely to hand Lukashenko a seventh term in office. “Lukashenko is sending contradictory signals (to the West), pardoning some but jailing twice as many political prisoners in their place,” Sapelka said. “Repression is intensifying and authorities are trying to root out any signs of dissent before the January elections.” Belarusian authorities engineer for political prisoners, denying them meetings with lawyers and relatives, and depriving them of medical care. At least seven political prisoners have died behind bars since 2020, according to Viasna. , who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for more than 30 years, is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, allowing Russia to use his country’s territory to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and to deploy some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Yuras Karmanau, The Associated Press

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Shaquil Barrett is rejoining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs signed the two-time Super Bowl champion on Saturday, while also announcing safety Jordan Whitehead was activated from injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s home game against the Carolina Panthers. Barrett spent five seasons with Tampa Bay from 2019 to 2023. He led the NFL with a franchise-record 19 1-2 sacks in his first year with the Bucs, then helped the team win its second Super Bowl title the following season. In all, Barrett started 70 games with Tampa Bay, amassing 45 sacks, 15 forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and three interceptions. He was released last winter in a salary cap move, signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins in free agency, then abruptly announced his retirement on social media before the start of training camp in July. Barrett, who also won a Super Bowl during a four-season stint with the Denver Broncos, decided to unretire last month. He signed with the Bucs after clearing waivers earlier in the week. Whitehead has missed the past four games with a pectoral injury. His return comes of the heels of the Bucs placing safety Christian Izien on IR with a pectoral injury. On Saturday, the Bucs also activated rookie wide receiver Kameron Johnson from IR and elevated punter Jack Browning to the active roster from the practice squad. NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflSullinger leads Kent State past Div. III-Heidelberg 84-80

A 15-year-old girl’s courageous stand against child marriage recently has initiated reforms in her village in Rajasthan’s Karauli district. Tula Ram, the father of Shivika (name changed), burdened with debt and joblessness, had planned to marry off his four daughters, aged 17, 15, 14, and 13, on the same day. The four were in school and wanted to continue their education, but when their father expressed his helplessness due to poverty, they seemed to have no choice. Ram had found the “perfect match” for the eldest and was on a mission to fix the marriages of his three other daughters. Shivika, however, was not ready to accept this fate. Ram’s house would earlier ring with the infectious laughter of the four girls, who shared dreams and made their modest home feel alive. Their laughter disappeared with pressure building up for marriage. High prevalence For Ram, getting his daughters married on the same day would have meant saving a lot of money. He was planning four marriages in a single ceremony in the village of Karauli district, where the prevalence of child marriage is 33.5%, far exceeding the national average of 23.3%, as per the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), released in 2022. NFHS-5 showed that 28.3% of women in the 20-24 age group in rural areas of Rajasthan were married before 18 years; the figure in urban areas was 15.1%. Though child marriage in the State is a traditional custom that enjoys religious and cultural sanction, children often find such alliances mismatched when they grow up. Desperate for a solution, Shivika turned to her teachers, who, though unsure how to intervene directly, directed her to an NGO that had recently conducted an awareness session in their school. When Shivika called the group’s representatives, they promptly responded and asked her to visit their office. They sensed that she was extremely disturbed and needed help. Accompanied by a friend almost her age, Shivika visited the office of Gramrajya Vikas Evam Prashikshan Sansthan a week before the planned marriages. The office, lined with posters on child rights and against child marriage, felt like a sanctuary. Shivika clutched her friend’s hand, her voice barely above a whisper as she explained her plight. ‘Unexplainable relief’ “We assured Shivika that no one would know about her visit or that she had informed us about it. We also told her that we would take up the matter from here. The relief on her face was unexplainable when we said from here on stopping the marriages was our responsibility, not hers,” Sansthan director Chhail Bihari Sharma told The Hindu . Sansthan is a partner of the Just Rights for Children Alliance and has been working in various districts of the State to protect child rights. It was instrumental in getting a direction from the Rajasthan High Court recently, which stated that panchayats and village heads would be held responsible for any child marriages in their villages. The group’s members, accompanied by Child Line officials, met Shivika’s parents immediately. “When confronted, the parents denied the information. But the daughters mustered the courage to stand up to their father. They told the officials that the marriages were fixed and would take place in less than a week,” Sharma said. The team explained to Ram the legal and social consequences of child marriage. He conceded and signed an undertaking that he would not allow the marriages of his daughters before they turned 18. The girls are back in school now. Shivika wants to become a social worker and save other girls from unwanted marriages. Sansthan also helped Ram find a job so that he is not swayed by circumstances to marry off his daughters. Shivika’s fight is a reminder to the villagers that knowledge, courage, and community support can rewrite the future of girls. “Her dream to save her sisters is proof that even one voice can spark a revolution,” Sharma said. Holistic approach Just Rights for Children Alliance convener Ravi Kant said its partners are tirelessly working at the grassroots level in the State to combat child marriages. By collaborating closely with the State government and district authorities, they are also connecting vulnerable families with government schemes. According to Kant, this holistic approach will ensure immediate prevention and long-term safeguards against child marriage. Published - December 29, 2024 01:43 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit children / parent and child / marriage / social issue / poverty / family planning / family / right to education / higher education / Rajasthan

Kawhi Leonard is close to returning for the Los Angeles Clippers. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are further away from returning to the New Orleans Pelicans. Both teams will continue without key players when they meet Monday night in New Orleans. Leonard hasn't played this season because of knee inflammation, but he returned to practice more than a week ago and reportedly could play as soon as Jan. 4, though he won't be on the Clippers' three-game trip that begins in New Orleans. The Clippers also played without Terance Mann (finger), Kevin Porter Jr. (illness) and Kobe Brown (back) in their most recent game, a 102-92 home victory against Golden State on Friday. In the absence of the six-time All-Star, Los Angeles has compiled the fifth-best record in the Western Conference (tied with the crosstown Lakers). Head coach Tyronn Lue said believing that they can win without Leonard has been "half the battle." "When you step on the floor, no matter who's on the court, having that mindset that we can win games has been our model for the last five years or so," Lue said. "We talked about just holding it down until Kawhi was able to get back, and our group has been doing a good job of that." The Clippers had six double-figure scorers against Golden State, led by 26 points from Norman Powell, who has emerged as the team's leading scorer (24.2) in Leonard's absence. Center Ivica Zubac had his seventh straight double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds). They built a 21-point lead, watched the short-handed Warriors get within three with 2:30 left, then held on. Los Angeles committed 12 of its 23 turnovers in the fourth quarter. "It was a big win for us however you look at it," Lue said. "In three days, though, I won't remember how we won. I'll just know that it was a W." The Pelicans would be happy with any kind of win after losing their last nine games and 18 of their last 19. And no return date has been set for either of the team's top two players. Williamson has missed 26 games and Ingram has missed 14. New Orleans has not led in either of its last two games -- home losses against Memphis (132-124) on Friday and Houston (128-111) the night before. "(We have to) try to execute from the beginning, play hard from the beginning so we aren't always playing out of a hole," said forward Trey Murphy III, who led the Pelicans with a season-high 35 points against the Grizzlies. Murphy is averaging a career-best 20.2 points per game and he has averaged 26.2 in the last five games. He is New Orleans' most prolific 3-point shooter, but in the absence of Williamson and Ingram he has had to expand his scoring repertoire. "(Against Memphis) he played the right way the whole game," coach Willie Green said of Murphy. "When the ball came to him, he made good plays. He was solid, he shot the cover off the ball. He got to the basket, he got to the free-throw line. This is a great opportunity for Trey, and he took complete advantage of it." --Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Eagles ruled wide receiver DeVonta Smith out for Sunday night's game at the Los Angeles Rams due to a hamstring injury. Smith did not practice all week and will miss his second game of the season and just the third of his four-year NFL career. He was inactive in a Week 4 loss at Tampa Bay due to a concussion. Smith, 26, leads the Eagles with 41 receptions and four touchdown catches ands ranks second with 516 receiving yards in nine starts this season. The former Heisman Trophy winner has 281 catches for 3,694 yards and 23 scores in 59 games (58 starts) since the Eagles drafted him with the 10th overall pick in 2021. NFC East-leading Philadelphia (8-2) takes a six-game winning streak to Los Angeles (5-5), which has won four of its last five games. --Field Level Media

US expected to send £1 billion in weapons to Ukraine before Trump takes officeMikaela Shiffrin's bid for a milestone 100th alpine World Cup victory was on hold after the US superstar crashed out of the Killington giant slalom won by Sweden's Sara Hector on Saturday. Shiffrin, already the owner of the most World Cup victories in history, was poised to claim a once unimaginable century after topping the first-run times. She looked on course for the win when she crashed heavily in the second leg and Sweden's Olympic gold medaallist Hector emerged with the victory with a total of 1min 53.08sec. Shiffrin, whose mistake rounding a turn caused her to lose her balance and slide through a gate, lost one ski and careened into the catch-fencing. She was taken from the course on a sled, offering a wave to fans on her way. The extent of any possible injuries she might have suffered was not immediately known. "Mikaela took the sled down and is currently being evaluated," USA Ski & Snowboard said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. "More info to come, but take solace in the fact that she asked about her splits." Shiffrin, 29, already has 13 more World Cup wins than the most successful man, Ingemar Stenmark, and 17 more than the second woman, compatriot Lindsey Vonn. Needing three wins to hit 100 to start the season, she bagged her 98th and 99th career titles with back-to-back slalom wins in Levi, Finland, and Gurgl, Austria. That gave her a chance to complete her century in front of home fans in Killington, not far from where she attended Burke Mountain Academy as a youngster. Shiffrin -- who has won six slaloms at Killington but never a giant slalom -- was greeted by ecstatic cheers as she crossed the finish line of the first leg atop the times. She was 17-hundredths of a second ahead of Hector after the second sector of her second run. But her day ended not in celebration but in the 21st "Did Not Finish" in her 274 career starts. Vonn, who has just announced plans to come out of retirement, posted on social media: "Hope @MikaelaShiffrin is OK." Hector was delighted with her win, while sympathetic to Shiffrin. "I'm very happy, after going through a difficult period," she said. "Obviously, I'm very sad for Mikaela who was skiing so well. "I saw her fall. My heart goes out to her," she added. Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic finished second, 54-hundredths of a second behind Hector, and Switzerland's Camille Rast was third, 1.05 seconds back. The women are scheduled to race a slalom on Sunday. bb

Former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III MANILA, Philippines — A faction of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) distanced itself on Monday from a rival group of the once-ruling political party, which had called on the public to go to Edsa Shrine to support those calling for the resignation of President Marcos. “We urge the public to discern truth from manipulation and to avoid being swayed by those who exploit our nation’s political landscape for their gain,” the faction led by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and former Sen. Manny Pacquiao said in a statement. “The actions of this rogue faction are neither representative of PDP-Laban’s ideals nor the aspirations of its founding members and loyal supporters,” it added. The statement was signed by Pimentel as chair and Pacquiao as president. READ: Comelec recognizes Cusi wing as ‘true, official’ PDP-Laban The statement was issued after the rival PDP-Laban faction led by former President Rodrigo Duterte urged the public to join Vice President Sara Duterte’s supporters who had been gathering at the historic Edsa Shrine since Tuesday last week. The Pimentel-led faction denounced what it described as “reckless actions and inflammatory statements of the self-serving faction falsely claiming to represent our political party.” “Their call for public disturbance and their misuse of the party name for selfish political motives is a betrayal of the principles upon which the PDP-Laban was founded—principles centered on justice, peace and the rule of law,” it said. “We emphasize that the PDP-Laban stands firmly behind the Constitution, the rule of law and the democratically elected government. The Philippines [is facing] enough challenges and the last thing our nation needs is division and destabilization at the hands of those who prioritize personal agendas over the welfare of the Filipino people,” it added. Pimentel’s group reiterated its commitment to “genuine public service, nation-building and advancing the interests of every Filipino not to sow discord, but to foster unity and progress.” “Let us move forward in solidarity, respecting our institutions and focusing on solutions that uplift our people,” it said. On Sunday, the PDP-Laban faction of Duterte and his close allies called on Filipinos to express their opinion regarding the supposed political oppression under the Marcos administration. “Go out! Let’s go to Edsa Shrine!” the group said in a Facebook post. “Let’s awaken those whose eyes are closed and those who pretend to be deaf ... We are not Filipinos for nothing! Let’s show the strength and courage of ordinary people,” it added. Established in 1983, the party was a coalition between PDP, founded by Pimentel’s father and namesake, former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and the Laban party of the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. The elder Pimentel and Aquino were both opposition leaders during the martial law regime of the President’s late father, dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. In the run-up to the 2016 presidential elections, the PDP-Laban fielded Duterte, then Davao City mayor, as its standard-bearer and party chair. It became the ruling party in the country after Duterte won the presidency. But the party was divided into two groups after the Pimentel-led faction chose Pacquiao as its standard-bearer for the 2022 presidential elections while Duterte’s group supported the candidacy of then former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Commission on Elections resolved the leadership issue when it recognized Duterte’s faction as the “true and official” members of PDP-Laban in a decision it issued in May 2022. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Pimentel’s faction then elevated the dispute to the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the matter.Donna the elephant, who moved from the Oakland Zoo to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee in 2023, died on Christmas Eve. The Oakland Zoo said on social media Friday morning that, after eating normally that morning, staff noticed a subtle change in Donna's demeanor. Veterinary and elephant care managers were immediately called to her side. Donna died at approximately 9:30 a.m. while under medical observation and evaluation. > Watch NBC Bay Area News 📺 Streaming free 24/7 The Oakland Zoo said Donna was a beloved member of the Oakland Zoo family. After her companions M'Dunda and Lisa died, Donna moved to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee in 2023, where three female African elephants of similar age (Flora, Tange, and Sukari) provided companionship. The Oakland Zoo's last elephant, Osh, was moved to the Tennessee sanctuary just a few months ago. While Donna and Osh did not get to reunite at The Sanctuary (the construction project to connect their habitats is not yet complete), the Oakland Zoo said Osh continues to thrive, getting to know his new friend Artie, as well as two female residents, Nosey and Edie, over a shared fence line. "Our hearts go out to everyone who cared for Donna, knew Donna, or had Donna touch their lives in any way," the Oakland Zoo said. "She was a beautiful soul, and though we miss her deeply, her spirit will live on with all of us." The Elephant Sanctuary said on social media "Donna had been in good health, other than age-related arthritis, which was well managed. A necropsy was conducted on Dec. 25; findings will be shared as they become available." The sanctuary said staff has shared stories of Donna's preference for rolling in the mud, noting that she was often covered in it. She is remembered as mastering the art of digging wallows and joyfully coating herself whenever possible. "Donna was deeply loved by her care staff and by everyone who had the privilege of knowing her," says Janice Zeitlin, the sanctuary's CEO. "Her sudden passing has left us heartbroken. We remain committed to understanding the cause of her passing and to honoring Donna's memory."

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey will not need surgery on his injured right knee but he will miss the rest of the regular season. Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that McCaffrey will be out at least six weeks after injuring his posterior cruciate ligament in a loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night . McCaffrey will be placed on injured reserve for the second time this season after previously missing the first eight games with Achilles tendinitis. “I just feel for him,” Shanahan said. “It was a real frustrating year for him. He worked his ass off to get back to this point and I think he was really feeling good and about to take off and just had that real unfortunate injury last night. I know he’s as crushed as anyone, but he’ll get through this. He’s a hell of a player, a hell of a person and an unbelievable 49er. He’ll be back stronger than ever next year to help us.” San Francisco (5-7) sits alone in last place in the NFC West standings, two wins behind division-leading Seattle, and in jeopardy of missing the playoffs a year after losing to Kansas City in the Super Bowl. The 49ers also lost McCaffrey's backup to an injury with Jordan Mason also set to go on injured reserve after suffering a high ankle sprain in the game against the Bills. It has been a frustrating season for McCaffrey, who won the 2023 AP Offensive Player of the Year then signed a lucrative contract extension in the offseason. McCaffrey injured his Achilles tendon early in training camp and missed the first eight games of the season. He rushed for just 149 yards on 43 carries in his first three games back as he struggled to get back to form. He looked much better early Sunday night with seven carries for 53 yards, including a 19-yarder that was his longest of the season. He appeared to hurt his knee on an 18-yard run in the second quarter. He then went down immediately on his next carry on a sweep to the left on a snow-slicked field for a 5-yard loss. Mason had played well as McCaffrey's replacement, rushing for 789 yards and averaging 5.2 yards per carry this season. San Francisco will now turn to rookie Isaac Guerendo and promote Patrick Taylor from the practice squad. Shanahan said the team will also look to add another running back to the mix. In other injury news from the game, defensive lineman Kevin Givens tore his pectoral muscle and will be out for the rest of the season. Shanahan said cornerback Deommodore Lenoir should be back at practice Wednesday after missing the game with a knee injury and that stars Nick Bosa (hip, oblique) and Trent Williams (ankle) will be evaluated as the week goes on. Bosa and Williams have both missed the last two games. Williams has also been dealing with family tragedy as his wife announced on Instagram that she gave birth to stillborn Trenton O’Brien Williams Jr. on Nov. 24. Sondra Williams also wrote that she was initially pregnant with twins and lost the other child earlier in the pregnancy. Shanahan said Williams spent time with his family last week but is trying to get back to play. “He was there at the hospital with her and got to meet him and say bye,” Shanahan said. “Then he had to cremate him on Friday. So he’s been dealing with that and he’s working through it. We’re all just trying to be there for him through it all.” NOTES: OL Aaron Banks and DT Jordan Elliott remain in the concussion protocol. ... LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) is day to day. ... LB Dre Greenlaw will get more work this week after his practice window was opened last week for the first time since he tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl. ... S Talanoa Hufanga (wrist) will have his IR practice window opened this week. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl25 years ago, it was hard to escape talk of the 'Y2K bug'

Galgotias University inaugurated a three-day 12th International conference on Library and Information Science. During the event, the Chief Guest, Shri Yogendra Upadhyay, Higher Education Minister of Uttar Pradesh, emphasized the significance of education in nurturing morality and imparting knowledge and wisdom. He stated, "The primary foundation of education is to instill good values and strengthen our understanding through technology. I urge students and youth of our country to master modern technologies and establish new milestones for the welfare of the world. Always remember that hard work, reflection, and contemplation yield immense rewards." Mr. Suneel Galgotia, Chancellor of Galgotias University, Honors Shri Yogendra Upadhyay, Minister of Higher Education, UP, at the International Conference The Chief Guest commended Galgotias University for its excellent infrastructure, smart classrooms, cleanliness, and well-functioning laboratories in various departments. He praised the university for providing students with a platform for holistic development. He further lauded Chancellor Shri Suneel Galgotia for revolutionizing the education sector by offering affordable and high-quality education. Shri Upadhyay also appreciated CEO Dr. Dhruv Galgotia for playing a pivotal role in creating a world-class and student-centric education system at the university. Highlighting the Indian government's ONOS (One Nation, One Subscription) initiative, he described it as a significant step forward. The conference has attracted over 300 participants from countries like France, Germany, the UK, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Bangladesh. A total of 84 research papers will be presented during the event. The conference is being organized in collaboration with Gautam Buddha University and with the support of the Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. In his address, Chancellor Shri Suneel Galgotia remarked that libraries are the heart of any institution and a vital part of the education system. He highlighted the conference's alignment with India's Make in India and Digital India initiatives. Discussions during the conference will cover topics like the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Blockchain Technology, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data Analytics, Innovation and Knowledge Management, and Research Data Management in library services. These sessions aim to provide students and participants with opportunities to learn cutting-edge technologies and establish new benchmarks in their respective fields. MENAFN30112024003630003220ID1108941692 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.Home entertainment holiday gift ideas at a discountPLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter’s in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter’s path, , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That’s a very narrow way of assessing them,” Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn’t suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he’d be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter’s tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter’s lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor’s race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival’s endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King’s daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters’ early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan’s presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan’s Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —-A Free-Market Guide To Trump's Immigration Crackdown

New buildingswill be opened at Karabakh University, Azerbaijani Minister ofScience and Education Emin Amrullayev told journalists, reports. The Minister announced that work on renovating the building ofthe educational and medical research center will begin in the nearfuture. "Preliminary work on the construction of two new buildings hasalready been completed. The buildings of the School of Economicsand Business and the Faculty of Social Sciences will be ready inthe near future," the minister noted.

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