Sri Lankan parties agree to form all-party govt after President's resignation; New Delhi says, India stands with people of Sri Lanka

Jul 11, 2022 ,  8:24AM @DDIndialive Sri Lanka's main opposition parties have agreed to form an all-party interim government after the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday. Opposition parties held talks to seek ways to steer the country forward in the current unprecedented economic crisis after Rajapaksa's resignation. Wimal Weerawansa of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party's breakaway group said that this will be a government where all parties are represented. President Rajapaksa informed Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Saturday that he will resign on Wednesday after the country's opposition parties demanded his resignation. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has also offered to resign. The protesters who have occupied the key administration buildings since Saturday's mass protests said they would not leave until Rajapaksa resigns.   The cash-starved island nation witnessed a tumultuous day on Saturday when protesters broke into Rajapaksa's official residence in Colombo. Protesters did not spare Prime Minister Wickremesinghe despite his offer to resign and set on fire his private residence in an affluent neighborhood in the capital. Meanwhile, India has extended unprecedented support of over 3.8 billion US dollars this year itself for ameliorating the serious economic situation in Sri Lanka. In response to media queries on the situation in Sri Lanka, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, India will continue to follow closely the recent developments in Sri Lanka. He said, India stands with the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realize their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values.  Mr Bagchi said, India is Sri Lanka’s closest neighbour and the two countries share deep civilizational bonds. He said, India is aware of the many challenges that Sri Lanka and its people have been facing, and we have stood with the Sri Lankan people as they have tried to overcome this difficult period.

England beat India by 17 runs in third and final T-20 International in Nottingham; India clinch three-match series 2-1

England beat India by 17 runs in third and final T-20 International in Nottingham; India clinch three-match series 2-1

Jul 11, 2022 ,  8:21AM @BCCI In Cricket, England beat India by 17 runs in the third and final T-20 International of the series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham last night. India has won the 3-match series 2-1. Chasing a victory target of 216 runs, India made 198 for the loss of nine wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. For India, Suryakumar Yadav with 117 runs in 55 balls was the top scorer. Suryakumar Yadav scored a splendid hundred from 48 balls, as he became the fifth batsman from the country to breach the three-figure mark in the shortest format of the game. He also now holds the record of the second-highest individual score by an Indian batsman in T20Is. He also became the second-fastest Indian to reach 100 runs after KL Rahul achieved the milestone in 46 balls against West Indies. For England, Reece Topley scalped three wickets while David Willey and Chris Jordan took two wickets each. Richard Gleeson and Moeen Ali also picked a wicket. Reece Topley was declared Player of the Match. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was declared Player of the series.   Batting first after winning the toss, England scored 215 runs in the stipulated 20 overs with the help of a scintillating 77 run off 39 balls from David Malan. Liam Livingstone also played the role of cameo. For India Spinner Ravi Bishnoi and Hrshal Patel scalped two wickets each while Avesh Khan and Umran Malik also claimed a wicket each.

 Japan's ruling coalition heading for victory in Parliamentary polls

Jul 11, 2022 ,  8:18AM Tweeted by @AIR Prime minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling coalition is heading for a clear victory in elections for Japan’s upper house of Parliament, presenting a historic opportunity to revise the country’s pacifist constitution. State broadcaster NHK’s exit polls last night suggest that the LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, won 73 of the 125 seats up for grabs. The vote came two days after the country’s longest-serving prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated by a lone gunman while giving a campaign speech in the western city of Nara. Analysts had initially expected voter turnout to be a historic low. But projections from NHK suggest that more people voted than in the 2019 election after political parties united in condemning Abe’s shooting as “a challenge to democracy”. The strong outcome gives Prime minister Kishida a chance to revise Article 9, which stipulates that land, sea, and air forces will never be maintained. This was a life-long ambition for former PM Abe.

 Fed: Sharply higher rates may be needed to quell inflation

Federal Reserve officials were concerned at their meeting last month that consumers were starting to anticipate higher inflation, and they signaled that much higher interest rates could be needed to restrain it

ByChristopher Rugaber Ap Economics Writer

July 07, 2022, 1:23 AM

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday, June 23, 2022 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve officials were concerned at their meeting last month that consumers were increasingly anticipating higher inflation, and they signaled that much higher interest rates could be needed to restrain it.

The policymakers also acknowledged, in minutes from their June 14-15 meeting released Wednesday, that their rate hikes could weaken the economy. But they suggested that such steps were necessary to slow price increases back to the Fed's 2% annual target.

The officials agreed that the central bank needed to raise its benchmark interest rate to “restrictive” levels that would slow the economy’s growth and “recognized that an even more restrictive stance could be appropriate” if inflation persisted. After last month's meeting, the Fed raised its key rate by three-quarters of a point to a range of 1.5% to 1.75% — the biggest single increase in nearly three decades — and signaled that further large hikes would likely be needed.

The Fed has been ramping up its drive to tighten credit and slow growth with inflation having reached a four-decade high of 8.6%, spreading to more areas of the economy. Americans are also starting to expect high inflation to last longer than they had before — a sentiment that could embed an inflationary psychology and make it harder to slow price increases.

And with midterm elections nearing, high inflation has surged to the top of Americans’ concerns, posing a threat to President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress.

 Investigator: DNA could identify 2 Tulsa massacre victims

Investigators seeking to identify victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre have found enough usable DNA for testing on two of the 14 sets of remains removed from a local cemetery a year ago

ByKen Miller Associated Press

June 23, 2022, 1:09 AM

3:31

On Location: June 22, 2022

Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.

Investigators seeking to identify victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre have found enough usable DNA for testing on two of the 14 sets of remains removed from a local cemetery a year ago, a forensic scientist said Wednesday.

Danny Hellwig with Intermountain Forensics in Salt Lake City, which is examining the remains, told The Associated Press that it's a promising step toward identifying the people whose remains were removed from Oaklawn Cemetery.

“We have two (sets) that we’re very excited about,” Hellwig said. “It doesn’t guarantee us a result, but it gives us hope” for learning the names.

The key, Hellwig said, is having descendants of those individuals provide DNA to a database so a match can be made when DNA sequencing is complete.

The sequencing is expected to begin in July or August, Hellwig said. A match to a family member could be made within days if the descendant is in Intermountain Forensics' DNA database.

4 inmates who escaped federal prison camp back in custody

 4 inmates who escaped federal prison camp back in custody

The U.S. Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Prisons say all four inmates who escaped a minimum-security prison satellite camp in Virginia over the weekend are now back in custody

ByThe Associated Press

June 23, 2022, 12:52 AM

3:31

On Location: June 22, 2022

Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.

HOPEWELL, Va. -- All four inmates who escaped a minimum-security prison satellite camp in Virginia over the weekend are now back in custody, the U.S. Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Prisons announced Wednesday.

The inmates were discovered missing from the satellite camp of the Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg in Hopewell, Virginia, around 1:45 a.m. Saturday, the bureau said in a news release Saturday.

Tavaraes Lajuane Graham, Corey Branch, Lamonte Rashawn Willis and Kareem Allen Shaw left the minimum security camp around 10 p.m. Friday and it was a couple of hours before their absence was detected, Senior Inspector Kevin Connolly of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force said.

Graham returned to the camp and surrendered early Sunday and Branch and Shaw surrendered Tuesday, officials said. Willis surrendered at Petersburg’s medium security facility on Wednesday, officials said.

Bureau officials did not release any details about the escape but said Saturday that an internal investigation has been initiated. According to the bureau's website, its minimum-security satellite camps have dormitory housing and limited or no perimeter fencing. They provide inmate labor to the main institution and to off-site work programs.

The U.S. Marshals Service and the bureau continue to investigate and will relay findings to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Richmond, Connolly said in a statement.

Graham, 44, was sentenced in the Eastern District of North Carolina to 10 years for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Branch, 41, was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to more than 13 years for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and felon in possession of a firearm.

Willis, 30, was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to 18 years for possessing and concealing a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Shaw, 46, was sentenced in the Western District of Virginia to more than 16 years for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a measurable quantity of heroin.

Jury: Construction company retaliated against immigrant

 Jury: Construction company retaliated against immigrant

A federal jury has awarded $650,000 in damages to a Massachusetts construction worker who said his employer retaliated against him after he was injured on the job by sparking an immigration investigation that led to his arrest

ByThe Associated Press

June 23, 2022, 1:12 AM

BOSTON -- A federal jury has awarded $650,000 in damages to a Massachusetts construction worker who said his employer retaliated against him after he was injured on the job by sparking an immigration investigation that led to his arrest.

The jury on Tuesday ordered Tara Construction to pay $50,000 in compensatory damages for emotional distress and the company and its owner to pay a total of $600,000 in punitive damages to José Martin Paz Flores, who is referred to as Paz in court documents.

The U.S. Department of Labor sued on behalf of Paz in March 2019, alleging the company and owner Pedro Pirez retaliated against him in violation of federal law.

Even though Paz was allegedly in the U.S. illegally, federal labor law prohibits retaliation against employees for exercising their workplace rights, regardless of immigration status, the agency said.

Paz, a drywall taper, broke his leg when he fell off a ladder in March 2017, according to court records.

Pirez contacted Boston police, who with the help of federal immigration officials, initiated an investigation into Paz. About two months after the injury, Pirez asked Paz to come to his office to pick up some money, where he was arrested, according to court records.

Pirez was concerned because there was some confusion over Paz's name and didn't envision the arrest, his lawyer said Wednesday, noting that his client is also a Latino immigrant who “cares deeply for people in Mr. Paz’s situation.”

“He needed to know Paz’s real name because the hospital was pressing for information, and he never foresaw what would ensue,” Daniel Dwyer said in a statement. “Later, ICE discovered information on its own that led to its decision to arrest.”

Pirez feels he was “misjudged” by the jury and is considering an appeal, Dwyer said.