US officials closed schools and canceled flights, with much of the country battered by winter storms. Millions are now bracing for another harsh weekend. The extreme weather in the United States has led to scores of weather-related deaths in the past week, many of them from hypothermia or traffic accidents, officials and US media reported on Friday. Relentless storms have battered much of the US with low temperatures, heavy snow, ice storms, freezing rain and high winds. Affected regions include the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Plains, South and Northeast.   Freezing temperatures, blizzard conditions and thick ice have closed schools, knocked out power to thousands and disrupted air travel. More than 1,100 flights were canceled on Friday and another 8,000 were delayed, according to the website Flightaware.com.   Deadly winter in the US Extreme weather conditions caused at least 55 deaths across the country, according to the AP news agency. The southern state of Tennessee alone recorded 19 deaths.  They included five women returning home after a pilgrimage to Mecca who died Tuesday in a tractor-trailer crash on a Pennsylvania highway, police said. In Kentucky, in the southeast, there were five weather-related deaths, Governor Andy Beshear said in a statement on Friday. In northwestern Oregon, three people were electrocuted when a live power line fell on their parked car during an ice storm Wednesday. Deaths were also reported in Illinois, Kansas, New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin and Washington state, where five people are believed to have succumbed to exposure, local media reported, citing Seattle officials.   Cold weekend in Midwest and South Millions of Americans are bracing for another harsh weekend as the extreme cold extends into the southern United States, a region not used to cold weather. Temperatures are expected to drop as low as -26 degrees Celsius (-15 Fahrenheit) over the weekend in much of Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Kansas, the National Weather Service predicted on Friday. "Another Arctic blast will bring cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills to the Plains and the Mississippi Valley to the eastern US," the service said.  

Anti-cultist Steven Hassan and fellow travelers of the Chinese Communist Party, joined forces against the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance summit—and our magazine. From November 28 to 30, Prague hosted the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) conference, which followed similar inter-ministerial meetings in Washington DC and London. It was hailed throughout the democratic world as one of the largest and most successful gathering of governments to promote freedom of religion or belief and denounce its violations.    As reported on the website of the U.S. Department of State, IRFBA gathers 37 countries, with others in process of joining and five participating as “friends.” The United Nations attends IRFBA meetings as an “observer” through the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). Not surprisingly, China was mentioned in the Prague meeting as the first country in the sad list of those violating religious liberty  Contrasting with the international acclaim for such a massive effort to promote religious liberty, a tiny group of pro-China activists met in Brussels on November 22 to denounce the IRFBA conference even before it started. They organized a hybrid seminar called “Misuse Freedom of Religion—SECTS—Twisted Belief—Destructive Cults—Pseudo FORB” (capitals in the original).   The seminar was presented on Facebook as featuring presentations “by Steven Hassan, Sven Aerts & Roland Delcour [sic].” Readers of “Bitter Winter” probably have heard of two of these three characters. Steven Hassan, a former American deprogrammer, is one of the most fanatical international anti-cultists. Roland Delcourt is a Belgian journalist who also spells his own last name Delcour, Delacore, and Delacourt, perhaps because he machine-translates articles written by his Chinese handlers without even re-reading them. Delcourt is married to a Chinese and has lived in Shenzhen for “at least 20 years.” He gives interviews and writes propaganda letters in favor of the CCP that are published in the Chinese regime’s official organs, including the People’s Daily and the news agency Xinhua.    Delcourt is also a “cyberwarrior” and posts on social media to defend the CCP, with a language that parrots, but goes beyond, the “wolf warrior” Chinese diplomats. For instance, he likes to play on the phonetic similarity between “Biden” and the French word “bidon” (phony), and calls the U.S. President, when he criticizes China, “a false democrat,” “the Yankee Gauleiter” (suggesting a comparison with Nazi war criminals), and “the cholera (as Trump was the plague).” Delcourt was also involved in an unfortunate story about producing a false document against Chinese asylum seekers in Europe.   Delcourt protesting on Facebook Biden’s visit to Belgium and a Belgian Parliament’s vote condemning China’s genocide of the Uyghurs: “We know that the visit of the Yankee Gauleiter, a false democrat, is to unite the vassals of the United States in a fight against China.” The third promoter of the hybrid seminar, Sven Aerts, appears to be active in various capacities in Brussels, inter alia as representative of the European Spas Association, no doubt a worthy and useful organization. The problem is that Aerts is also chairman of something called FAE-FAE, the Federation of Asian Communities in Europe. If one looks at its Facebook page, it would seem that one of the activities of FAE-FAE is promoting overweight escorts, but we all know that social media pages can be hacked. However, we have been watching the FAE-FAE Facebook profile for a while and would respectfully recommend to Aerts some housekeeping. It gives a strange impression to see the fat escorts’ promotion messages alternating with defenses of China and other Asian governments and attacks against “cults” and FoRB-promoting organization, including “Bitter Winter.”   Be it as it may be, we learn from the press release of the November 22 event that it was opened by Aerts, who attacked the Prague intergovernmental IRFBA meeting on these terms: “These pseudo FORB Summits are known to experts. They are clever propaganda manipulations, utilizing paper tigers, funnels, logical fallacies, making you look in one direction to get something at an entirely other side and hiding in plain sight. A very easy way to see if one has to deal with them is to observe their reaction when one intends to send some independent journalists who are not on the pre-approved list or real experts such as Dr. Steven HASSAN.” We understand that Hassan’s name deserves to be written in full capital, and he also spoke at the Brussels anti-IRFBA event via the Internet. Perhaps it was an opportunity to promote Aerts too from an expert on spas to an expert on religious liberty and “cults.”   It is unclear whether the following statement in the press release summarizes Hassan’s remarks or is a conclusion by the organizers, but it shows a curious idea of religious liberty: “The United States in opposition to many European member countries has a total absence of agency regulating beliefs and undoubtedly set a bad example for the world as it has for long allowed the development and growth of cults and various emerging new religious groups.” An “agency regulating beliefs” of course only exists in totalitarian countries or in Orwell’s novels, although the French MIVILUDES tries its best to approach the Orwellian model.   Hassan was certainly not ashamed of joining forces with the pro-China crowd, as he posted on Facebook about the event: “I am looking forward to having the opportunity of sharing my life work with those in Europe looking to better understand how destructive cults are using ‘religious freedom’ to deny people religious freedom.” His fellows travelers, however, were not there to “understand destructive cults” but to protect Chinese interests and badmouth in advance a high-level international meeting expected to condemn China. Steven Hassan’s Facebook post on the Brussels event. He even received one like. Delcourt also spoke, and a certain “Mr. Lacroix, a Belgian independent writer,” confirmed that “we do not advocate to vigorously promoting the so-called freedom of religious belief”—not that anybody had ever accused them of such advocacy—and rather called for more “political control” of religion.  The event left to us at “Bitter Winter” a certain expression of déja vu. Aerts, Delcourt, and Lacroix also spoke at the Brussels event launching the bizarre pro-Chinese “documentary movie” against “Bitter Winter.” From recent propaganda of the movie on Chinese media, we learn that at the event “Aerts introduced Steven Hassan,” but it is unclear whether he attended via video or his theories were just summarized.  We exposed a few days ago the ridiculous lies of the so-called documentary. I would just add here three lighter notes. The first is that one of the speakers at the launching of the anti-Bitter-Winter movie was Anne-Catherine Girard, from Reconquête-Benelux, a branch of the French extreme right and Islamophobic party Reconquête. She was an interesting speaker at an event accusing (falsely) “Bitter Winter” of promoting right-wing policies. A proposal by Reconquête-Benelux: “Abolish welfare benefits (family allowances, housing subsidies, RSA, etc.) and free healthcare (AME, etc.) for foreigners.” From X. These are the people accusing “Bitter Winter” of supporting “right-wing policies”—really? Second, whoever wrote the press release of the anti-Bitter-Winter event included the statement that “The Church of Almighty God is a ‘Cult’ that for most first appeared in the media due to its tentacular influence in the Japanese government and its direct link with the assassination of the late Japanese Prime Minister Shizo [sic] Abe.” It seems that the “world leading experts on cults” who organized the event confused The Church of Almighty God, a Chinese movement that has nothing to do with Japanese politics, with the Unification Church/Family Federation. The latter’s “link” with the killing of Shinzo Abe was that the killer hated the Unification Church and wanted to punish Abe for being sympathetic to it. Third, somebody brought to my attention that an occasionally funny but not particularly bright anti-cultist who sits in the board of the notorious anti-cult organization FECRIS some time ago wrote that “doubts about the reliability of ‘Bitter Winter’ have also been expressed by sources completely unconnected with the Chinese government, which may have an advantage in discrediting the magazine. For example… the FAE-FAE Federation of Asian Communities in Europe, which produced a video on the subject.” The FAE-FAE “completely unconnected with the Chinese government”? Funny, in fact—but not bright.

After weeks of rain and flooding, a dry spell and frost are welcome, but the problems are not over yet. And it seems unlikely that the already squeezed government budget will be able to help. The German Weather Service (DWD) announced the arrival of frost in the north of the country on Saturday as large areas of land remain covered in flood water. While the below-freezing temperatures are expected to help the overloaded dykes hold back the water, experts have warned of the long-term impacts. For already-flooded houses, in particular, standing water freezing and expanding can seriously exacerbate damage. Frost to protect the dykes Whether the frost has a positive or negative effect depends on the individual case, Anne Rickmeyer, director of the Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency (NLWKN), told the German press agency DPA. Frost can firm up the dyke, making it more stable and impermeable to water accumulation. However, in many places, the water level is still too high and water is pressing against the dykes. "If relatively warm water is already behind the dyke, then the part of the dyke under the water level won't be able to freeze" meaning that the frost will have no positive effect, Rickmeyer said.   Longer-term problems A further problem, especially for the farmers who have already been battling weeks of high water, is that the flooding prevents the frost from reaching the ground. "Frost is normally a blessing for the ground," Christoph Tebbe from the Thünen Institute for Biodiversity in Brunswick told DPA. The frost normally loosens up the soil, but not if it's underwater. "The ground can't regenerate over winter is too tight" meaning that it cannot take in any more water in the spring which can in turn have a negative impact on crops. Of course, flooding can also damage buildings, but the frost adds an extra danger. "When water freezes, it expands by 10%," Norbert Gebbeken, an expert in structural analysis at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, told DPA. "And this expansion can create such a high pressure that material or building parts can really be destroyed," he explained. Why has the flooding been so devastating? The cause of the intense flooding seen throughout Lower Saxony and other parts of northern Germany goes back to the draining of the floodplains along the rivers, according to Christian Wolter from the Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Berlin. "More than 70% of the wetlands along the rivers practically don't exist anymore," he told German public broadcaster Tagesschau. "That of course also means that more than 70% of the historical retention areas, which the water had been able to flow into, are no longer there." Besides the disappearance of the wetlands, Wolter also pointed to the straightening of waterways, especially the upper reaches of rivers that were straightened to carry rainfall away from the mountains as quickly as possible. "The straighter the small tributary streams, the faster the water flow downstream," Wolter said. "And when it's very fast, those downstream don't really have a chance to react."   How to stop future flooding Wolter suggests that instead of building ever bigger and stronger dykes to control the water, instead, it would be preferable to let the rivers and wetlands revitalize and focus on protecting the human infrastructure. One problem here is that environmental protection and adaption requires money, but Germany's coalition government — which includes the Green Party — recently cut funding for climate protection from €5 billion ($5.48 billion) to €3.5 billion in an attempt to plug the holes in its reduced budget.   This money was earmarked for the protection of ecosystems in forests, moors and wetlands which are also able to store large amounts of CO2, the main driver of man-made climate change which itself is responsible for the more frequent and extreme weather such as wildfires, flooding and drought seen over the past few years.    Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, from the pro-market Free Democrats (FDP) has also ruled out lifting Germany's infamous "debt brake" to free up funds for those farmers hit by the recent flooding. This can be done if the government declares an emergency situation, as it did following major flooding in the Ahr Valley in particular in 2021 — although Buschmann cited a recent constitutional court ruling and said he was no longer certain whether that decision had been justified based on the court's findings.   "The requirements set by the Federal Constitutional Court are strict. We must not take any legal risks here," he told German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag. "It's not about being stingy, it's about intergenerational justice."  

Japan's summer this year was the hottest since records began 125 years ago, the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on Friday. Based on measurements at 15 locations around the country from June through August, the average temperature deviation was +1.76 degrees Celsius. According to JMA, that exceeded the previous record of +1.08 degrees in 2010. Average temperatures were considerably higher in the northern, eastern, and western parts of the country, the agency added. Hot and dry weather in India And in India, the world's most populous country, this August was not only the hottest but also the driest since national records began more than a century ago, officials said. The month falls in the middle of India's annual monsoon, which typically brings up to 80% of the country's annual rainfall. But despite heavy rains that caused deadly floods in the north of the country earlier in the month, total rainfall fell well below average. August saw an average of just 161.7 millimeters, 30.1 mm lower than the previous August record in 2005, the India Meteorological Department said. That has left the country baking in unrelenting heat. Warmest winter Down Under While countries in the northern hemisphere are reporting summer temperature records, Australia, in the southern hemisphere, experienced its warmest winter on record. The June-August season's national mean temperature was 1.53 centigrade above the 1961 to 1990 average, and the highest since records began in 1910, the country's Bureau of Meteorology said. Winter rainfall across the country was meanwhile 4.2% below the 1961 to 1990 average. The end of an unseasonably hot southern hemisphere winter sets the stage for the potential declaration of El Nino, which is associated with extreme weather phenomena, from wildfires to tropical cyclones and prolonged droughts. The World Meteorological Organization said last month that El Nino had emerged in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years.

Winter sports are breaking down barriers and becoming a national movement in India, according to Olympic legend Shiva Keshavan of India. Keshavan, a special visitor at the third Khelo India National Winter Games in Gulmarg, has represented India six times at the Olympics and was the first Indian to compete in the sport of luge there. He is presently a member of the committee set up by the Union Sports Ministry to promote winter sports and is regarded as a legend in Indian winter sports. While enjoying the colourful atmosphere during the Khelo India National Winter Games at Gulmarg, Keshavan said that Government should be hailed for popularising winter sports in the country. “I am personally too happy to see such an atmosphere during the winter games. I always dreamt about it and it is truly turning into reality now,” Shiva said.  Around 1500 athletes representing 29 States, Union territories and other Institutional teams participated in the 3rd edition of the Games in Gulmarg. “Important thing is that in this Khelo India Games, there are participants and teams from all over India. Those who were thinking that Wintersport has no following, no athletes in India, have to change their thoughts,” the Olympic legend said. For Shiva Keshavan seeing winter sports getting popular and having such huge gatherings is personal dream come true moment. “When I started winter sports, it had very little following in India. Only athletes from certain places used to compete and had to endure a lot to even do that. Now all that is changing and these games are making winter games popular. The wintersport in India is now turning into a true pan India sport and for me, it is dream come true,” he said. Keshavan who is a member of the Union Ministry to develop a wintersport in the Country said that he will try to give his input and help Government to take this sport to other parts of the Country. “Government is serious and committed in the promotion of wintersport. They want to develop other wintersport destinations as well and don’t want to confine this sport to traditional places only. We will give our suggestions and share our experience in that regard. We will also try to hold future Khelo India Games in a better and smooth way,” he said. Source: Greater kashmir

The third Khelo India National Winter Games 2023, the biggest winter sports competition the nation has ever seen, came to an end on Thursday at the ski resort of Gulmarg. The wintersport carnival that started on February 9 saw more than 1500 athletes representing 29 States, Union Territories and Institutional teams participating in 10 sports disciplines Alpine Skiing, Nordic Skiing, Snowboarding, SnowShoe, Ski Mountaineering, Ice Hockey, Ice Skating, Ice Stock, Curling, Bobsledge and Bandy. The concluding ceremony of the event turned out a huge success, which was held on Tuesday with Union Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Youth Affairs and Sports NisithPramanik as chief guest while as Secretary to the Government, Youth Services and Sports Department SarkarHafeez, Commandant HAWS, Secretary Sports Council NuzhatGul were among other guests present. Terming the event a huge success that has paved way for the popularisation of wintersport in the Country, NisithPramanik said, “ Congratulations to Sports Council and especially LG ManojSinha and all those who made this event possible and a great success. I personally welcome and thank all the athletes and officials who have come from all over India to make this event a success. It has been only because of you and history has been created”. Nisith Pramanik said that Khelo India Winter Games are held under the direction of PM NarendraModi and this year it has broken all previous records. “The 3rd Edition of Khelo India that has just been held isn’t just winter games but it is greater than that. Khelo India Winter Games was initiated under the directions of the PM who has the vision to promote and develop wintersport in the Country,” he said. “PM has a vision that our athletes have potential and can excel in Wintersports as well. This edition of the games has broken all previous records. It had more participation and also more events,” he said. The Union Minister pointed out that J&K nowadays remains in news for all the positive reasons which wasn’t the case previously. “We know for what reasons J&K was always in news. But now, through PM’s vision and guidance, J&K remains in news because of Sports and other activities proving that J&K youth are not behind anyone. They are winning medals and making Country proud,” he said. Nisith Pramanik said that during the last three to four years massive sports infrastructure development has taken place in J&K. “In every district of J&K Indoor stadium has been developed. The vision is to develop a playing field in every village of the Union Territory. It is only after that we will see more players like Arif Khan coming out from J&K”. “Next year the event will be held in a bigger and better way. It is my promise to you as we are focused on making Wintersports as popular in the country as Summer sports. Khelo India is the flagship scheme of the Sports Ministry through which basic sports talent is nurtured. He said that currently, Indian athletes are shining on bigger stages and arenas. Since PM Modi took oath in 2014 he has made sure that Sportspersons receive the respect and facilities they deserve. “Soon after assuming office in 2014, schemes like target Olympics were launched. Whenever any athlete brings laurels for Country, PM sends a personal message to the player and even interacts with them,” he said Union Minister congratulated Secretary Sports Council NuzhatGul for the successful conduct of the event. He again mentioned that next time the event will be held in a bigger and better way that even in foreign countries it will be spoken off. Minister after his speech declared the Games as closed. Earlier Sarmad Hafeez in his address had termed Gulmarg as the Winter Wonderland which has no match. “I must thank Union Minister for being present during the closing ceremony. This is the biggest Khelo India Winter Games that we had and we have been conducting this for three straight years now. Grateful to Ministry for the support and thanks to all the visiting athletes who made this possible at this winter wonderland we call Gulmarg,” SarmadHafeez said. “This was a great event and I hope you were taken care of well. It wasn’t not just about sports, it was about sharing ideas, sharing warmth and cultural values,” Hafeez said. Sarmad said that with the announcement of establishing a centre of excellence in J&K, our athletes can make the Country proud at the International level. Sarmad said that he hopes that J&K turns into the centre of winter sports for the entire country. “It was not just about sports but much larger than that. It was to convey a message to the rest of the World where we are and bring attention towards our beautiful slopes and natural beauty. Gulmarg has the highest skiing point in the World. Next year winter sports would be expanded to more areas of J&K and even to Jammu. Later Nuzhat Gul gave a vote of thanks and thanked everyone for making the event possible. Source: ANI

Officials warned of "life-threatening" conditions as temperatures dropped as low as -50 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas. More than 4,000 flights planned for the Christmas weekend were canceled. The US National Weather Service (NWS) on Thursday warned of "dangerous cold" for much of the country, with a snow storm expected from late Thursday night into Friday morning. The weather service warned that an Arctic blast would bring heavy snowfall to the Midwest, the Great Lakes and the Northeast through at least Saturday. This means that more than 200 million of the country's 335 million inhabitants will remain under varied weather advisories during the Christmas weekend, which is set to be the coldest the country has seen in decades. What's the latest? Temperatures plunged dramatically on Thursday, with one area in the state of Montana, which shares its northern border with Canada, having recorded temperatures as low as -50 degrees Fahrenheit (-45 degrees Celsius). Besides Montana, North and South Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming were among states experiencing biting cold. With the snowy part of the storm still to come, NSW predicted that the heaviest snow would likely be seen in the Great Lakes, near the US-Canada border, with 2 to 4 feet (61 to 122 centimeters) of snow in total expected to fall. Blizzard conditions in some areas and "dangerous" wind chills could become life-threatening if people found themselves stranded outdoors. How has travel been impacted? Holiday plans during one of the year's busiest travel periods are set to be impacted, with thousands of flights were canceled through Friday. More than 2,350 flights had been canceled on Thursday, and another 2,120 flights on Friday have been canceled too, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Another 8,450 flights were delayed Thursday, according to the website. Amtrak, which is America's passenger rail system, canceled dozens of trains through Christmas, disrupting travel for tens of thousands. Authorities have raised concerns that power could be cut due to the storm and asked people to postpone travel. More than 112 million people are estimated to travel 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more during the holiday season. This year's holidays travel chaos comes after the same period in 2021 was marred by COVID outbreaks among airlines' staff that forced thousands of flight cancellations.  What is expected to happen? Forecasters are expecting a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — to develop near the US-Canada border. The NSW forecast that "record-breaking cold and life-threatening wind chills over the Great Plains [would] overspread the eastern half of the Nation by Friday." The weather agency warned that temperatures would drop between -40 to -70 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 to -56 degrees Celsius), with strong gusts and heavy snow expected to cause damage to infrastructure and disrupt travel.  "Wind chills of this magnitude can cause frostbite in less than five minutes if precautions are not taken, with hypothermia and death also possible from prolonged exposure to the cold," it said. US President Joe Biden urged people across the country to take the weather warnings seriously. "This is not like a snow day when you are a kid," Biden warned Thursday after a briefing with federal officials. "This is serious stuff," he said.

Who would have known 'The Niagara of Kashmir' would one day host the Winter Carnival in the Kulgam district of J&K? The small hill station of Aharbal, 70 km from Srinagar, has recently gained popularity amongst the tourists who are swarming to this lesser known treasure of Kashmir.   Aharbal's attraction is its waterfall, which is formed when the Vishav River (tributary of River Jhelum) falls 25 meters on a rocky gorge of granite boulders. It is populated with pine and fir trees that accentuate the sound of waterfall making it seem right out of a fairytale. Under the Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha 75 offbeat tourist destinations are being promoted under the banner of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahostav.   Aharbal hosts the First Winter Carnival in Kashmir Valley. The Carnival began on February 14 on the snow-covered dreamy grounds of Aharbal. It is organised by the District Administration in collaboration with Aharbal Development Authority, Tourism Department, and Forest Division Kulgam.   The main attractions of the Winter Carnival are the trekking expeditions, snow sports activities, and adventure camps. The trekking routes have been finalised by the Department and suitable arrangements have been made to make the journey smoother and safer. The UT's best trekkers are present to lead the way on this rugged terrain that leads to spectacular lands of Chiranbal, Yadipathri, Panchanpathri, Nuspathri, and Kongwatan.   The expert trekkers claim Aharbal has far more daring slopes in comparison with Gulmarg, perhaps the best in the Valley. It has the potential to come up as an extreme sports destination. Aharbal-Kounsarnag Trek expedition is the sole major trek in the Pir-Panjal Mountain range, a sub-mountain range of the Himalayas. The trek begins at Aharbal Falls and ends at the breathtaking Kounsarnag Lake.   The games at the carnival include Snow Rugby, Snow Volleyball, and Snow Runs for Peace, Snow Skiing, Tug of War, etc. The congregation overwhelmed the authorities and they had to expand their systems to incorporate the youngsters who witnessed such a Carnival for the first time in a hamlet like Aharbal. Today's tourist is an explorer and a backpacker; they seek adventure, scenic beauty, less settlement and more authentic vibe in a destination. And that's why Aharbal tops the charts in Kashmir because it offers that enthralling experience preserved in the originality of nature.   To make the holiday experience more wholesome, local holidaymakers and service providers are working in collaboration with hotel associations and private home-stays in such destinations to cope with the enthusiastic tourist turnout. People from all over India including Pune, Kolkata, Delhi, Ahmadabad, and Mumbai are participating in the event.   Mission Youth volunteers are mobilizing such events by being ambassadors of peace, prosperity, and socio-economic growth through systematic interventions across domains. The MUMKIN scheme and Mission Youth together facilitate unemployed youth of Kulgam district to establish sustainable livelihood sources.   Kulgam as a town is fast developing to support tourism. The government has successfully built major roads under the PMJSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna) connecting Kulgam, Shopian, Pulwama through National Highway 444. The estimated cost of construction of the 13.6 km bypasses in Pulwama and Kulgam stand at Rs 62.98 crore.   Aharbal will be developed at par with other popular destinations in Kashmir. Hardly 30 per cent of Kashmir has been capitalised for tourism. Kulgam's Aharbal is a goldmine for true nature lovers; its mighty waterfall against the snow-clad mountains is a sight for sore eyes.   Film contracts are also underway given the infrastructure expansion and political stability in the UT. J&K Film Policy will allow filmmakers to exploit unexplored locations and help encourage artists given the subsidies provided by the government.   With the influx of tourists, employment is also on the rise. Every tourist employs 16 people -- from travel transport, lodging and hospitality industry, to the craftsmen. If only 20 per cent of the Mata Vaishno Devi (Katra, Jammu) tourists would visit Kashmir, there would be a five-fold increase in tourism in Kashmir.   Palpable excitement is bubbling in the rural areas as well. Rural tourism will also be heavily pushed under the same agenda, in the rural circuits of Hokersar- Parihaspora-Gohan in Gulmarg, Waderbala, Nowgam Mawar-Lolab in Kupwara, Chari-Sharief-Doodhpathri-Yousmarg in Budgam, Saderkoot-Payeen-Watlab in Bandipora, and Bani-Basohli-Sarthal and Billawar Duggan in Kathua, to name a few.   The UT government is enthusiastic about its 75 new and exclusive tourist spots with infrastructure having provisions for recreational activities, eateries, and other amenities. The tourism department of the Valley is prepared to provide the best facilities and hospitality to visitors as Kashmir is seeing its greatest revival post Article 370. J&K is witnessing this tourist upsurge after decades of militancy and the government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure maximum footfall in the region.   Source: prokerala.com

CCECC Bangladesh Limited, the Contractor Company, donated blankets and winter cloths (Men, Women & Children) to Dulalpur Village in Brahmanpara Upazila, Cumilla. The Program titled “Winter Relief Programme-2020” is a part of Corporate Social Responsibity (CSR) of CCECC Bangladesh Limited to share the love and affection to stand beside disadvantaged People in this Winter season amid Pandemic. CCECC Bangladesh Limited distributed the relief among 2,000 disadvantaged poor People of Dulalpur village through this Programme. The Village representatives, Personnel from CCECC Bangladesh Limited, Social workers and disadvantaged poor villagers together with local community attended the Programme. From the Guests panel, Advocate Md. Mominul Haque Bhuiyan, Senior Vice President of Human Rights Commision, Cumilla City said “The donation in Winter amid Pandemic to disadvantaged poor vilagers of Dulalpur is really great support by CCECC Bangladesh which will be remembered by Villagers. I hope this kind of support to local community will be continued by CCECC”. Mr. Anisul Haque Bhuiyan (Ripon), Union Parishad Chairman of Dulalpur said, The kind guestures made by our Chinese friends made all the disadvantaged People so happy. I would like to express gratitudes to your kind contributions and I hope in the future more people can join programmes of such kind to make our underdeveloped communities cozy places for all disadvantaged to live in. All kind of necessary administative support shall be provided us”. Mr. Joynal Abedin Bhuian, Senior Social Worker of Dulalpur has closed the Program through delivering his valuable speech, he said “The Donation means a lot to our community and the initiative amid Pandemic by Chinese Friends of CCECC really made our villagers smily. I am thankful to CCECC on behalf of my Villagers”. On behalf of CCECC Bangladesh Limited, Mr. Shahjalal Rashid Chowdhury and Mr. Shahnewaz Hossain Chowdhury represented the whole Programme. The also mentioned “We take it as our corporate social responsibility to contribute to the improvement of infrastructure connectivity, facility availability and beneficiaries’ livelihood.”  The local support to conduct the Programme been provided by “Rafiq Chairman Foundation” which established after the die of Mr. Rafiqul Haque Bhuiyan, the First Upazila Chairman of Brahmanpara. The reprentative of the Foundation, Mr. Ariful Haque Bhuiyan supervised the Program. Please note that, As one of the ENR-listed top 100 global contractors for consecutive nineteen years with a global business network in 103 countries and regions, CCECC has been engaged in a wide spectrum of infrastructure projects worldwide in diverse fields such as railway, road, elevated expressway, bridge, marine works including dredging, and housing projects in the capacity of an EPC Contractor or a private investor. Since its incorporation in Bangladesh from 2015, CCECC has been engaged in 10 no.s infrastructure development projects totaling more than 2.0 Billion US Dollars in the domains of railway engineering, dredging and marine works, and roads and highways.  

If coronavirus vaccinations are rolled out widely, life could return to “normal” by next winter, one of the scientists behind the front-running coronavirus vaccine told British television on Sunday. Ugur Sahin, the Turkish co-founder of German firm BioN, told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show that “this winter will be hard” without any major impact from vaccinations. Together with US giant Pfizer, BioN is developing the leading candidate in the worldwide chase for a vaccine, “If all goes well, we will start to deliver the vaccine at the end of this year, or beginning of next year,” Sahin said. “Our goal is to deliver more than 300 million doses by April next year, which could already have an impact,” he said. The infection rate will then go down in summer, he predicted, adding that it is essential that there is a high takeup of the vaccination by autumn. “I’m confident that this will happen, he said. A number of vaccination companies are working to increase the supply, he said: “so we could have a normal winter next (year).” Sahin and his wife Ozlem Tureci founded BioNTech in the western German city of Mainz in 2008. Having identified promising vaccine blueprints, the company formed a partnership in March with American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The announcement on Monday that their vaccine was more than 90 percent effective in trials led news bulletins around the world and sent stock markets and hopes soaring. BioNTech is now worth $25.8 billion (21.8 billion euros), more than Germany’s largest lender Deutsche Bank. Source: AFP/BSS AH