Spain, Ireland and Norway Recognise Palestine Statehood | Vantage with Palki Sharma

hello namaskar this is first post and you're watching vantage with me py Sharma [Music] it's a big day in Iran President R's funeral procession was in tan today world leaders traveled to pay their respects including men from the Taliban and Hamas the list itself is a story as is the turnout the Crowds Are a tool for political messaging meanwhile the succession battle has intensified with more names in the frey we'll tell you all about it in the western Camp The Divide over Israel is deepening thanks to the possibility of an arrest warrant against prime minister Netanyahu America wants to sanction the international Court in the other War Russia is flexing its nuclear muscle again carrying out tactical nuke drills as Europe decides to give Russian money to Ukraine in Vietnam they have a third president in two years we'll tell you what's going on there in Kenya the president faces backlash for hiring a luxury jet to fly to America turbulence hits a Singapore Airlines flight killing one passenger and injuring many others the images are scary Thailand gets back its looted treasure treasure a Thousand-Year old Shiva statue is returned by a museum a punishing Heatwave is sweeping parts of the world and disrupting life how can we adapt to this heat and images from the pet Gala I dare say they're better than the Met Gala all this and more coming up the headlines first in a tit fortat move China announces sanctions on us defense firms earlier this month Washington had sanctioned Chinese firms for supporting Russia's war in Ukraine Beijing has also been upset with the us over its armed sales to Taiwan Russia's defense Ministry proposes to change the country's Border in the Baltic Sea the plan talks of Moscow extending its territorial water from 2025 this will alter Russia's Maritime Border in the Baltic Sea with Finland and Lithuania and angry Lithuania summons moscow's diplomatic Envoy in India the office of the home Ministry in Delhi receives a bomb threat email nothing suspicious was found during the sech operation this incident is the latest in a Spate of hoax bomb threats sent to schools across the country hospitals and the airport in the national capital have also been targeted French president Emanuel macron heads to violence hit new calonia 9 days of riots there have killed six people and left hundreds injured this is the deadliest unrest in New calonia in four decades macron's surprise trip to the French territory is an attempt to diffuse the crisis J's prime minister submits his res destion to the newly elected hun Chief two weeks ago he was defeated by Hun leader mahmad debbi in the presidential election Debbie will be sworn in on Thursday in the capital and British lawmaker Craig McKinley receives a standing ovation in Parliament he was making his first appearance in the house after having his hands and feet amputated due to sepsis McKinley calls himself the bionic MP [Music] [Applause] I [Applause] [Music] it's a funeral SL spectacle A procession that is also a performance this is how Iran bids faval to its leaders massive crowds on the streets people weeping in public and chance of death to America yes there is grief but there is also political messaging let's show you the pictures first Ibrahim R's funeral procession is covering multiple cities yesterday it was in Tab and K today it was in tan and the residents of the capital did not disappoint tens of thousands of them turned up they swarmed the open truck that was carrying the coffins many of these people offered flowers others held up posters of the Dead officials supreme leader Ayatollah Ali K was also present he personally led the funeral prayers besides him was the acting president of Iran he was weeping as K repeated the prayers take a look [Applause] foreign dignitaries also attended although some of them do not deserve to be called that like Hamas Chief ISM hania and the Taliban foreign minister both men led delegations to tan hania got a personal meeting with supreme leader K he welcomed him with a hug Iran's partner countries also sent Representatives Russia's head of parliament turkey is Vice President the prime minister of Iraq the prime minister of Pakistan the vice premier of China and the vice president of India that's jagb dhankar he reached tan earlier today and paid his his respects to Ibrahim Ry of course Western countries stayed away most of them do not have diplomatic ties with Iran so they did not send any delegation even this short guest list is important it shows that Iran still has friends friends powerful friends but the regime will be more focused on the domestic attendees the people of Iran you've seen this before too funerals for top leaders attract thousands of people often Millions the first instance was in 1989 that's when Iran's first supreme leader Ayatollah Ki died guess how many mers turned up according to Iran 10 million people that was one sixth of Iran's population they turned up to bid farewell to the supreme leader and another instance was in 2017 former president hashimi rafsanjani died of a cardiac arrest he was a founding father of the Islamic Republic so the turnout was massive Reports say 2 million mers turned up for him he was buried next to KI the third third instance was in 2020 Iranian General kasim suani was killed killed by the US once again massive turnout around 1 million people attended his funeral now all these instances are different Ki was a supreme leader rafsanjani was a founding father and president sumani was killed by Iran's great Satan in the US so there was grief plus anger and these crowds matter for the Iranian regime it is not a real democracy it doesn't hold free and fair election so Western Country question its legitimacy and this is the regime's response it's like saying look at the crowd look at how many Iranians adore and weep for us but this time there are two questions one how big is the turnout Iran has not released a number yet but other countries will be watching closely because R's death is different from others he was not a career politician he was not killed by the United States he was not a founding father nor was he a charism charismatic cleric so what if MERS do not turn up in the millions that's a worry for the Iranian regime and question number two is this turnout genuine honestly it's hard to say ricey was a Hardline conservative politician and Iranian conservatives do turn up at such events they're loyal to the regime listen in it was a very tragic incident for everyone and especially for the people of the West Asia region because Mr REI was the symbol of service and devotion for the people there will not be a noticeable disruption in the system because of his absence even maybe the system can do better in political International and financial aspects due to this incident and the unity people showed but others may have attended out of curiosity or fear Iran has declared 5 days of mourning government offices and schools are shut so what do people do some may have thought might as well attend the funeral plus there is fear of repr rals some thran residents apparently got text messages saying what that everyone must attend the funeral and when you get a message like that in Iran you do not question it you just do it the regime has already given strong messages to dissidents they've been told do not celebrate if you do you will face charges so I guess the sentiment is mixed grief plus fear but the regime's job is not done yet the funeral is supposed to signal their popularity next they must signal their stability Iran's Parliament held a special session on Tuesday and K has said that operations will not be disrupted so the message is quite clear the regime is as strong as ever whether that's true or not is a different question altogether so in public the regime is presenting a united front their signal ing that the death of President RI has not weakened Iran's leadership or the regime's grip on power but behind the scenes it's a completely different story power Brokers are making Swift moves the infighting has begun some regime loyalists are positioning themselves to grab power and win support of the supreme leader I'm talking about Ayatollah Ali K he controls all the levers of power in Iran from the government to the parliament the Judiciary and Iran's foreign policy K controls everything in this country he also dictates the outcome of Iran's elections and yes there is an election but it's heavily heavily rigged for starters not everyone can contest you need a green light from the supreme leader he signs off on all the candidates the voting process is a mere formality the result is predetermined it will be the same for the next president he'll be picked behind closed doors before the voters reach the ballots so who are the contenders the list keeps getting longer every day these are the names we've already told you about [Music] now two more names have been added to this list Muhammad bager galiba the current Speaker of Iran's Parliament he takes the right boxes for the regime galiba is a hardliner he has administrative experience in the past he has served as Iran's police chief and teran's mayor more importantly he's believed to be close to the irgc the Islamic revolutionary God core irgc the powerful and influential Armed Force they protect the regime and its power they report to the Supreme Leader if these guards the irgc back kalib he has a good chance of becoming president another presidential Contender is Ali larani again a hardliner larani has served with the Revolutionary Gods he was also Iran's nuclear negotiator and the son of a famous Ayatollah Iran's conservatives may find that background appealing plus lar Jani has tried his luck in the past he was stopped from challenging Ibrahim RI in 2021 observers say the regime wanted to give Ry a clear field and larani lagged Charisma as a candidate but now that ricey is out of the picture will he get support this time guess we'll have to wait and see meanwhile one candidate seems to be losing support already that is s Jal we told you about him yesterday Jal has been a key player in shaping Iran's foreign policy like the rest of the candidates he to is a hardliner but the conservatives do not really like him some of them are trying to block him they've sent messages to the Supreme Leader according to reports they want to block s Jal from contesting but where does the Ayatollah stand well he can he's unlikely to spell it out in public especially when his own son is in contention I'm talking about maaba his name is being widely mentioned especially in the western press he's been called a potential successor not only to president Ry but also to his father the supreme leader however maaba K faces two significant obstacles first is his profile he's never held any public office he has largely remained away from public life so he's untested he may or may not be able to whip up the same level of support as his father the Second Challenge is this maa's nomination would go against the principles of the Islamic Republic in 1979 when the sh was overthrown and the hardliners rose to power in Iran they declared an Islamic rule they said it marks an end to the hereditary rule of the Sha now can those same men Elevate the son of their leader it would be very bad optics for the regime and at a time when they already face a crisis of legitimacy system is also uh suffering from a domestic legitimacy crisis they have just wrapped up their parliamentary election ctions and there was record low public turnout in the second round of voting in ton only 8% of the population voted uh so um this the political establishment is uh going to put on a brave phase so it won't be an easy choice for the supreme leader of Iran he must navigate a tricky mindfield he has to demonstrate stability and ensure a smooth transition and to complicate matters the Ayatollah does not have a lot of time the election is barely 6 weeks away we'll be tracking the story for you let's turn to Israel now their Western allies are deeply divided over what the arrest warrant for Benin Netanyahu the warrant has been issu has not been issued yet but prosecutors at the ICC are asking for it that's the international criminal court the ICC if issued this warrant would put Western nations in a tough spot some of them do recognize the ICC like France Germany and Italy so technically they must arrest nanahu on their soil but the question is will they this is where the divisions emerge France and Germany have supported the ICC so have countries like Sweden and Denmark they say rule of law must be followed but the old anglosphere gang is against it I'm talking about Britain and the US Joe Jo Biden has already rejected the warrant bid and now Rishi sonak has joined in the British prime minister says it's an unhelpful development deeply unhelpful development of course it's still subject to final decision but it remains deeply unhelpful nonetheless there is no moral equivalence between a democratic State exercising its lawful right to self-defense and the terrorist group Hamas it's not a problem for the for the US they do not accept the ic's jurisdiction so warrants do not matter to them in fact us Republicans are are looking to host prime minister Netanyahu they want him to address the US Congress but for the UK it's different they do accept the icc's jurisdiction so if a warrant is issued they will face a tough choice and Rishi sunak may have rejected the warrant but he's not taking on the ICC he's choosing his words carefully the us though is in full attack mode there Congress is considering punitive action against the international criminal court in other words they want sanctions but any such move will need President Biden's support will the president give it his top Diplomat was asked this question listen to his response we want to work with you on a bipartisan basis to find an appropriate response I'm committed to doing that um as you say the devil's in the details so let's see what uh what you got and uh and we can take take from there it's not a yes but it's also not a no and that is a worrying response from blinken he's talking about sanctioning a court and not just any Court a global Court recognized by more than 120 countries it would be a very dangerous move although not an unprecedented one let me take you back to 2002 the US Congress passed a similar legislation it was nicknamed the hag Invasion Act the he is where the ICC is located and what did this law say that the US must use and I'm quoting any means necessary to free us leaders from the hag suppose a US politician is arrested or a US general is being prosecuted then Washington can even use Force to free him hence the nickname the ha Invasion act so the US does have bad blood with the ICC but this time it's a lot more complicated for starters the ICC is not Prosecuting American leaders they're chasing Israeli leaders secondly many Americans agree with the warrant or the warrant bid let me show you what happened at a congressional hearing Senator Lindsay Graham was speaking to Anthony blinkin he said if warrants are issued for Netanyahu then the us then us leaders would be next listen to how the crowd responded we hopefully to get together we'll find a way to uh rest our displeasure with the IC CU if they'll do this to Israel we are next this group tried to come after our soldiers yeah you can clap all you want to they started clapping it tells you what US public opinion is and that should worry Benin Netanyahu in the short run this warrant bid could benefit him Joe Biden is supporting him again even his domestic Rivals have offered support but what about the long run just look at the charges against Netanyahu starvation of civilians intentional attack on civilians and murder slash extermination these are crimes against humanity if proven it could further destroy Israel's cred credibility it could make Israel a paraya in fact it's already happening three European nations have decided to recognize Palestine as a country Ireland Spain and Norway the announcement was made today it will be implemented on the 28th of May listen to how the Spanish leader Justified his move and if one thing is clear to me it is that prime minister Netanyahu has no peace project for Palestine fighting the terrorist group is legitimate and necessary after the events of October 7th but Netanyahu is creating so much pain and so much destruction and so much ranker in Gaza and the rest of Palestine that the viability of two-state solution is in serious Danger does this change anything on the ground no Palestine still doesn't have its own territory so by extension it's not a country but politically this is significant it shows how isolated Israel is becoming they're lashing out at these three countries Israel's ambassadors have been recalled from there so Netanyahu is in no mood to climb down but can he afford this isolation the us too has carried out many crimes against humanity but the US has a huge economy and a big military so no one wants to isolate them Israel cannot risk that it's not America it's a point that we' made before in Russia's context a war is not just about military wins it's also about political wins right now Israel is winning on the battlefield but it's losing the political war speaking of Russia Vladimir Putin has ordered new drills not your routine ones this drill involves tactical nuclear weapons so the stakes are very high and so are the political implications the drills are taking place in Russia's Southern military District it shares a border with Ukraine yesterday was the first stage of the drill the preparation this involves a lot of important steps like loading fake Warheads to launch Vehicles driving to the launch site and also loading missiles on war planes take a look at this [Music] [Applause] a couple of questions here one what are these tactical nukes and two why is Russia practicing with them now there are two types of nuclear weapons tactical and strategic strategic weapons are your big bombs they can destroy entire cities but tactical weapons are like mini nukes powerful but targeted they cannot wipe out an entire city but they can cause considerable damage most of these tactical weapons were built during the Cold War Russia is said to have around 2,000 of them and the US less than 200 the Americans gradually sto making tactical nukes but Russia is still holding on to them which brings us to the second question why is Moscow holding this drill now this is what the defense Ministry is saying and I'm quoting to ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignity of the Russian state in response to provocative statements and threats of individual Western officials against the Russian Federation it's not a surprise Putin has always timed his nuclear rhetoric first in late February 2022 Putin placed his nuclear forces on high alert this was just after the invasion began so the idea was to deter any Western intervention in March 2023 that is last year he did it again Putin said he would Place nuclear weapons in Belarus again the timing was key it came just before Ukraine's counter offensive and finally this tactical Nuclear drill some 3,000 Russian soldiers are part of it they're mainly using two Russian missiles isander and kinel both can carry tactical nuclear warheads so it's a clear warning to the West we've heard some escalatory comments from European leaders especially from France and Britain president macron keeps talking about sending troops to Ukraine he said the same thing earlier this month the UK too is stepping up the rhetoric their foreign secretary made an important statement this month he said Ukraine can use Western weapons to strike inside Russia and this is a shift because initially the West only allowed defensive use but now they say you can attack inside Russia plus you have new weapons coming the US has finally approved a new military package for Ukraine it's worth almost $61 billion those weapons could hit the battlefield soon which explains Vladimir Putin's decision it's very unlikely that he will actually use tactical nukes but the threat itself is enough the question is how will the West respond they've criticized the nuclear drills but they're not in the mood to back down in fact they have found new ways to fund Ukraine's war how by making Russia pay for it let me explain how this works when Putin invaded Ukraine the G G7 froze Russian assets the G7 is the group of seven Western economies they froze Russian assets like gold and foreign exchange it was worth almost $300 billion this is Russian money now these assets are generating money either through profits or through interest $300 billion so the European Union is giving these profits to Ukraine 90% of it for military aid 10% for other demands and how much money would that be between 16 and 21 billion by 2027 the first payment is expected by July Russia is obviously fuming at Europe a Kremlin spokesperson called it theft even this reduced option is nothing more than expropriation because all those revenues are revenues from our assets and transferring them to other purposes is also a violation of all the rules and Norms of the International Financial economic system hard to argue with that this money is not Putin's personal wealth it belongs to the Russian people so what gives Europe the right to appropriate it the United Nations has not approved this move neither has any Global body it's a unilateral decision by Brussels so Russia is responding in kind they have seized assets of two German banks Deutsche Bank and Commerce Bank both these moves will undermine trust in the Global Financial system it will weaken investor confidence but Russia and the West don't seem to care about that at the moment they're going by the old adage alls fair in war our next story is from Vietnam the country has a new president his name is to lamb now Vietnam is a one party state so there are no elections the country is run by the Communist party it's a lot like China the main leader is the party General Secretary no one is above him not even the country's president the main decisions are taken by a polit bureau it has 16 members to Lam was nominated by the Communist party then there was a secret ballot lamb was the only candidate on this ballot the National Assembly voted on his nomination it unanimously approved his election it's basically standard procedure here then why is this election making so much news it's because of Vietnam's politics tolam is the third president in two years the third in two years the other two had to to resign because of an anti-corruption drive it was ordered by the Communist party over the years it has involved thousands of officials from low-level bureaucrats to even presidents no one was spared the first president to fall was nagan Shuan fuk there were rumors that he would be sacked but he resigned before that then came V van tuong he was the youngest president in Vietnam's history he was quite close to the party chief he looked like the perfect choice but he did not last the anti-corruption drive got to him he had to resign and now we have to lamb who also happens to be the man who led the anti-corruption drive he was the deputy head of that committee he has played a central role and that seems to have propelled him to a top position now the question is can he go further I asked because Vietnam has four main political positions like I told you the first and the most important one is the General Secretary the be all and end all of the system the party General Secretary then there's the Prime Minister the president and the speaker they are all called four pillars of Vietnam's politics and among these the position of the president is mostly ceremonial it's like a rubber stamp leader but it's also a stepping stone to become the chief of the Communist party right now the Secretary General is nagan Fu trong he's 80 years old he took the position in 2011 this is his third 5-year term it ends in 2026 he may even step down before that so the Communist Party in Vietnam is looking for a successor the previous president V van Tong was seen as a top Contender but now with his downfall the race is wide open and the new president lamb can capitalize on that he can try for the party Chief's job but internal political drama aside this musical chair in politics is new for Vietnam traditionally this has been a CAU ious Nation there are no sudden changes political transitions are well planned the focus has always been on stability so three presidents in two years is quite strange for them and it is Raising concerns among investors you see in 1986 Vietnam was one of the poorest nations in the world then came economic reforms the country focused on growth it soon became a middle inome economy and that turned it into a prominent investment destination as companies move move away from China their first choice is becoming Vietnam that has been the case for years now it had a fast growing middle class salaries were lower than China it was also politically stable and the government was investing heavily in manufacturing so Vietnam ticked all the right boxes but the recent political turmoil could derail that there could be bureaucratic paralysis it could spook investors businesses may think twice before moving to the country these are all real concerns so while an anti-corruption Crackdown sounds good on paper it could also potentially work against Vietnam the country has some lofty goals Vietnam wants to become a developed Nation by 2025 but it cannot do that by driving away business now let's tell you about a night nightmare at 37,000 ft yes we're talking about that Singapore Airlines flight where chaos erupted you may have seen the videos already it was sheer horror the plane was flying from London to Singapore it suddenly encountered extreme turbulence within 3 minutes the aircraft dropped over 6,000 ft the freak weather tore through the pl's interior bags were falling out the overhead cabins one passenger died on the flight and dozens of others were injured here is the full story This Plane looks like it's been through an earthquake the entire cabin is in disarray the ceiling has been ripped open masks are dangling overhead compartments have DSE there's blood on a passenger's face as well as on some of the seats these passengers have lived through a nightmare they were cruising at 37,000 ft when suddenly their plane was hit by extreme turbulence I think the entire thing happened within the span of like less in 10 seconds like it was really really quick that's zafran azmir he was on board this flight when the plane took off from London everything seemed fine but about 10 hours into the flight all hell broke loose if I remember correctly like I think the seat belt signs were off there were a lot of there were people within the Laboratories and the crew that were working but I I saw people from across the aisle just like like going completely horizontal hitting the ceiling and Landing back down in like really awkward positions people like uh getting massive gashes in their head concussions there were over 200 passengers on board turbulence is quite common while flying but no one can prepare for a freak incident like this one the passengers were having breakfast that's when the plane took a dive it dropped by over 6,000 ft in just 3 minutes the flight was supposed to land in Singapore but the severe turbulence forced the pilot to divert the plane to Bankok everyone realized the full extent of the damage only after the plane landed passengers were thrown out of their seats many of them had gashes on their heads 73-year-old Jeff kitchen was among those passers sto unfortunately he didn't survive the ordeal an imate kind of disbelief at first and then the plane was very felt very level and it was obvious that gentleman needed some help so I got up and um helped some other passengers get him out of his seat and we laid him on the floor near the bulkhead so that the Medics on the Aeroplane there were some passengers who thankfully were Medics could administer CPR um to the gentleman on the a plane they they gave CPR for I think about 20 minutes or so kitchen died on the plane presumably after he suffered a heart attack the airline has issued an apology and the government of Singapore has started a probe on behalf of Singapore Airlines I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased we are very sorry for the traumatic experience but everyone is looking for answers how could this have happened while turbulence goes hand inhand with flying such extreme cases are quite rare but experts say that they're becoming more frequent and they are blaming climate change over the last 40 years severe turbulence has increased by 55% moderate turbulence by 37% and slight turbulence or light turbulence by about 177% so as the weather changes certainly it is getting more turbulent aircraft are capable of withstanding extreme weather but the weather is an unpredictable Force Singapore's report will help bridge some of our knowledge gaps but until then the best thing passengers can do is to keep their seat belt on throughout the flight our next story is about Kenya about their president William Ruto who is on a state visit to the US it's the first state visit by a Kenan president in over two decades the first since 2003 it's also the first time in 16 years that an African leader is on a US state visit so it is quite significant but that's not what's what it's making news for president Ruto is being slammed not because he's in the US but because of how he chose to get there he decided to fly in a luxury jet he chartered a boing 737-700 business bus jet from an emirati company the Royal jet group he hired it for about 200 million Kenyan shillings that's 1 and A2 million us doar Ruto pulled out all the stops he brought along an Entourage of more than 30 people which includes a famous Kenyan comedian everyone traveled to the US in style on the Kenyan taxpayers dime and this more than anything else has triggered the backlash now some of you may wonder what is the big deal here after all world leaders travel all the time it's part of the job description they need to travel to build relations and to negotiate trade deals in the long run the trip should more than pay for itself and all of this may be true and it's exactly what Ruto is using as his defense but that has not helped quell public anger why because of ruto's policies he's been tough on Kenyan taxpayers he became president in 20122 and he has been increasing taxes ever since Ruto has increased the tax rate on salary he has doubled the sales tax on fuel he has introduced a housing Levy a hospital Insurance Levy and a turnover tax on small businesses If It Moves Ruto taxes it all in the name of fiscal responsibility Kenya has a mountain of national debt it is worth over it was rather worth over $51 billion as of last December Ruto had pledged to fix this that is why he keeps raising taxes and obviously this is not a popular move puts an added burden on Kenan citizens who are already struggling with the cost of living crisis and the rising cost of essential food items in this situation imagine hearing that your president is flying around in an emirati jet the same president who's been raising your taxes who's been preaching austerity that same president is taking more than 30 people including a comedian to the us so you can see why the the Kenan people are angry and this is not the first time apparently a few months ago Ruto was dubbed Kenya's flying president he's been on more than 50 foreign trips since he took office in 2022 more than three every month on average in the year up to July 2023 he spent about $9.2 million us on travel both domestic and international 9.2 million now this latest us trip alone will cost Kenya $1.5 million for all the talk about austerity ruto's expenses just seem to be growing so to calm the public down he needs to have something to show for all of this which is why this us trip needs to bear fruit Roto will have his official meeting with Joe Biden tomorrow they're supposed to discuss a number of issues ranging from Troop deployments in Haiti to extending a Free Trade Agreement Kenya's trade Minister says that they have prepared more than 30 bankable projects they're worth over $20 billion Ruto will pitch the Le to American investors if he can land a big deal people may forget about the luxury jet if not he could be in trouble now let's turn to Thailand yesterday there was a celebration because two ancient Thai statues made their way home one of them is a 4ot tall bronze figure believed to depict the Hindu god Shiva it is known as The Golden Boy or the standing sh sha the other Statue is called the kneeling lady both these figures are about 1,000 years old they're both considered masterpieces but about 50 years ago they were looted and smuggled out of Thailand it may not surprise you to learn that there was some British involvement in this looting the statues eventually made their way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York where they've been for decades but finally the Met decided to do the right thing yesterday they actually returned the statues to Thailand our next report has the details the guilt bronze figure of the Hindu god Shiva um displayed before you here today is without doubt a singular Masterpiece one of the most important religious sculptures of its kind to survive from Mainland southeast Asia that was John guy curator in the department of Asian art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City he was in Thailand yesterday bringing back some long lost treasures two Bronze Statues both almost a thousand years old one of them is called the kneeling lady it depicts a woman with her hands folded in prayer the other Statue the one the Met curator was talking about is called the standing shiver or the Golden Boy it is about 129 CM or 4T tall it has two names because there are two theories about what the statue depicts the met and most others believe that the statue depicts a God the Hindu god Shiva a thousand years ago Hinduism was a dominant religion in Southeast Asia the region is home to numerous ancient Hindu temples and statues the standing Shiva statue may be one of them the second theory is that the statue depicts a king the Kare King ja verman I 6 he reigned between 1080 ad and 11 7 ad approximately when the statue was created so it's possible that it depicts him as well whatever the case the statue is still a masterpiece a Priceless artifact that belongs to the people of Thailand but about 50 years ago the statue was taken from them a woman said she found the figure in 1974 while digging for sweet potatoes she says she took it to the police who directed her to Thailand's Capital Bangkok there she sold the Priceless statue to a foreigner for about $33,000 eventually the statue wound up at the Met Museum a few years later the Met had the statue in their collection from 1988 till last year that's when they decided to return it the Met initiated the return of these two objects after reviewing information and established that the works rightly belonged to the kingdom of Thailand this return followed the launch of the Met's cultural property initiative last year an initiative driven by the Met's commitment to the responsible collecting of Antiquities and to the shared stewardship of the world's cultural heritage the Met discovered that the statue was linked to a man called Douglas latchford he was a British antique collector and dealer over the years he sold numerous South Asian artifacts to museums around the world he was accused of smuggling artifacts for years but he wasn't forly charged or indicted until 2019 but before the case could progress latchford died in 2020 his family still denies any wrongdoing but the Met Museum seems to have seen the light on behalf of the Thai government and all Thai people I'd like to Express gratitude that these two important artifacts have returned home these artifacts that Thailand has received from the Met are the National Assets of all ties while the story has a happy ending it still took far too long for justice to Prevail and there are still thousands of artifacts lying around in Western museums Priceless Heritage which was stolen by colonizers Thailand's story should be an inspiration to the rest of the global South because there's still a lot of loot left that needs to be returned now let's turn our attention to to India where millions are huddling indoors during the day and entire neighborhoods are turning into ghost towns India is sizzling under one heat wave after another today the weather bureau issued a fresh warning a red alert across North India where temperatures May breach the 47° C Mark that is shockingly hot enough to roast parer or Crackers In The Sand yet it is not surprising extreme heat has has become The New Normal not just in India but the world over and reality check we are not prepared for this kind of heat so we are definitely not prepared for the heat of tomorrow let me explain for thousands of years climate has fluctuated within a narrow band on average somewhere around 13° C humans have learned to live with it so have crops and livestock crucial systems like our infrastructure have been designed within those constraints but now temperatures are rising the 8 years between 2015 and 2022 were the hottest on record then 2023 broke that record in all likelihood so will this year 2024 so humans plants animals or systems none of them are functioning normally and heat is distorting daily life it is changing the way people live and the way they work people who work Outdoors are the worst affected so they're working shorter shifts or working overnight which is dangerous in itself employees who work indoors are relatively safer but their routines are changing dramatically companies are increasingly reducing work hours such a shift is important but at a society-wide level that means productivity takes a hit projects are taking longer to get done and doing anything else like working a second job or taking care of family is getting more difficult because personal life is also affected in more ways than you can imagine life is moving indoors so children rarely play outdoor doors athletes are altering their training and people are jogging inside malls even animals in zoos are moving inside air conditioned cages but most animals do not have that luxury and face a fate similar to these monkeys in Mexico they're falling dead from trees due to the heat because heat is a selective killer and the inequality is not limited to humans even so heat can affect everyone in Hidden ways it kills crops making it if not difficult then very expensive to put food on the table heat is hampering sleep hot nights are associated with high mortality and this is hardly the only health risk heat is a silent and deadly killer heat waves kill more people than any other natural ha Hazard people are dying of dehydration and organ failure which is the worst case of course then there are the less obvious problems dizziness nausea burning eyes confusion irritability heat is also altering ing your brain health it is hampering everything from memory to language to formation of identity and exacerbating brain disorders plus life-threatening diseases like Dy and malaria they're spreading faster extreme heat affects every single aspect of your life but before you envisage a dystopian future with famines conflicts and mass migrations let's ask ourselves this what can we do about this heat is there a way to cope scientists have a two- tiered answer their first solution is mitigation undoing the damage reversing the clock this is important and it must continue but this is also a long-term process so right now we can focus on the second approach adaptation meaning accepting the new reality and shifting gears adapting to a warmer world it is different from surviving other ales of climate change you can run from hurricanes you can buy Wild fire insurance but heat is different it blankets all of us but affects each one of us differently so the solutions have to be tailor made like building heat tolerance getting fitter changing school and work timings dipping our feet in cold water or painting our roofs white big or small we need to get cracking on Solutions both at a personal and at a Civic level because we cannot change the past so the very very least we can be present to avoid a future of cats on hot bricks for our last story let's talk about Fashion's biggest night I'm not talking about the Met Gala I'm talking about the pet Gala furry four-legged fashionist Stars strutting down the red carpet in bespoke outfits what's not to like but pet fashion is not just limited to one event it's a booming industry and leading the wave are pet parents it seems they will invest anything from customed in anything from customized Scholars to luxury Tiffany feeding bowls it's A5 billion industry our next report tells you more the first Monday in May is an important day in fashion it's the day of the Met Gala from a glittering display of aard fashion to celebrity sightings on the red carpet It's a grand event but for those who know it's not the true Pinnacle of Couture that happens on the third Monday the day of the pet Gala imagine Chic Kines strutting on the red carpet each Dawning a dress that's a meticulous Recreation of a look from the 2024 Met Gala from French bulldogs and feathered frocks to Pomeranians in sequent suits these four-legged models were ready to strut and the poparazzi howled in Delight clearly the event is a bark in the right direction I made 15 garments uh celebrating because I want people to understand that we're not making fun of the metgala we're not mimicking the metgala we're elevating and appraising and appreciating the wonderful um designs that were presented at the metgala by the most talented designers of the world and the man behind this is Anthony Rubio he's a renowned figure in the world of pet fashion back in 2013 Rubio embarked on a whimsicle photo project each year he would recreate some of the most iconic looks from the Met Gala his models would be furry fashionistas but this year the project has leapt from Instagram fame to the Gilded Halls of a museum transcending M internet Whimsy to become a Bonafide event I've been working on them tirelessly um it started off with 15 and then in the last few days a few more came in and um all the garments were already sold and and um that money is all going to finance the Museum of the dog but it's not just the pet Gala that's championing pet fashion it's the new IT thing the pet clothing Market is worth around $5 billion by 2030 it will be worth more than $7 billion and the reason behind that are pet parents they are buying it all from bow ties to luxury harnesses and fashion brands are jumping on this trend from H&M to heres everyone has a pet line since 2019 the sales of pet clothes have grown by 21% owners now spend 9% more than they used to on pet clothes so which animal has the biggest closet well it's dogs they make up for 60% of the market so it's not surprising that the pet Gala showcased that looks like the joy of fashion can be shared by all even our four-legged friends so here's to the inaugural pet gala where fashion at least for one glorious night truly goes to the dogs wonderful note to end on and now it's time for Vantage shots images that tell the story the UK erects sand sculptures of soldiers on a beach ahead of D-Day Landings in the United States billions of buzzing sadas emerged thanks to a rare event not seen in centuries and welcome aboard bark air a canine friendly flight that transports dogs from New York to Los Angeles finally we're taking you back in history on this day 1972 Richard Nixon landed in Moscow for a summit with Soviet leaders he was the first US president to visit the Soviet Union it was a step towards conciliation during the Cold War during this trip America and the USSR the Soviet Union reached a number of agreements on Space cooperation we're leaving you on that note thanks for watching we'll see you tomorrow loves it up here [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Firstpost

Views: 143,393

Keywords: firstpost, vantage, palki sharma, vantage palki sharma, first post, firstpost palki sharma, spain palestine news, ireland palestine news, norway palestine protest, spain palestine statehood, ireland palestine statehood, norway palestine statehood, palestine statehood, palestine statehood news, israel palestine war, israel palestine conflict, palestine state news, palestine statehood spain, palestine statehood norway, palestine statehood ireland, gaza war, war in gaza, palestine

Id: ZAIImDmvmwM

Length: 56min 21sec (3381 seconds)

Published: Thu May 23 2024