Captain Powell Powers Windies To Win In Rain-Hit 1st T20I vs South Africa

New West Indies captain Rovman Powell thrashed five sixes as he led his team to a three-wicket victory over South Africa in a rain-shortened first T20I at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Saturday. The match was reduced to 11 overs a side but produced 263 runs and 15 wickets in a frantic contest. Powell, who took over from Nicholas Pooran last month, hit 43 not out off 18 balls as the West Indies chased down a South African total of 131 for eight with three balls to spare.

He said the reduction in overs suited several of his players. 

"A lot of the guys in the team are used to the T10 format," he said.

"We know the ball travels so much here, so 130 was gettable."

Opener Brandon King hit 23 off eight balls and Johnson Charles slammed 28 off 14 deliveries as the West Indies made an explosive start, scoring 84 for four in the first six overs.

David Miller clubbed 48 off 22 balls in South Africa's innings.

Wickets fell almost rapidly as boundaries were hit but Miller ensured a competitive total, hitting four fours and three sixes.

He and burly fast bowler Sisanda Magala smacked 47 off 13 balls for the seventh wicket.

Left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell took two wickets for seven runs in his first two overs but conceded 24 runs in the tenth over as Miller and Magala went on the rampage.

Magala hit a four and two sixes in an unbeaten 18 off five balls.

South African captain Aiden Markram said his team had started badly with both bat and ball. 

"To take it to the last over was a great effort from the bowlers," he said.

Anrich Nortje took one for 17 in three overs of high-class fast bowling and Magala took three for 21, including two wickets in the penultimate over. 

But spinners Bjorn Fortuin and Tabraiz Shamsi conceded a combined 69 runs off four overs.

The teams meet at the same venue on Sunday.

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Russia Will Deploy Tactical Nuclear Weapons In Belarus, Says Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday he would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighbour and ally Belarus.

Putin has repeatedly issued thinly veiled threats he could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, reviving Cold War-era fears.

He also said he would deploy depleted uranium ammunition if Kyiv received such munitions from the West following a British suggestion that it could supply Ukraine.

"There is nothing unusual here either: the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long placed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies," Putin said.

Putin said he spoke to Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and said "we agreed that we to do the same."

On the question of how Moscow would respond if the West supplied Ukraine with depleted uranium shells, following a suggestion by Britain it could supply Kyiv with the munitions, Putin said Russia had vast quantities of the weaponry.

"Russia of course has what it needs to answer. Without exaggeration, we have hundreds of thousands of such shells. We have not used them yet," Putin added in an interview on Russian television.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has warned nuclear threats were creating a dangerous sense of uncertainty around their possible use.

The longer Russia's operation in Ukraine grinds on, the greater the nuclear strike risk, ICAN warned last month ahead of the offensive's first anniversary.

Putin announced last month that Moscow would suspend its participation in New START, the last remaining arms control treaty between the world's two main nuclear powers Russia and the United States.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg slammed Russia for suspending the nuclear weapons limitation treaty with the US, saying it marked the end of Europe's post-Cold War arms control architecture.

The announcement came after Moscow last August suspended US inspections of its military sites under New START.

'Dirty Bomb' Claims

Putin previously said at a Kremlin meeting that "such a threat is rising" on the use of nuclear weapons but has been evasive on Russia's policy.

US officials have voiced fears that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it feels routed on the battlefield and could plant a fictitious story to justify its actions.

Russia has already spoken of supposed Ukrainian attempts to detonate a "dirty bomb," drawing strong denials from Ukraine and a sharp rebuke from the United States, which had rare direct communication with Moscow to warn against nuclear use.

Neither the United States nor Russia -- by far the largest nuclear weapons powers -- officially has a policy of no first use of the ultra-destructive arms.

A recent US posture review by President Joe Biden concluded only that nuclear weapons should only be used in "extreme circumstances."

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Kanye West Returns To Instagram, Reveals What Changed Him About Anti-Semitism

American rapper Kanye West, who goes by the name Ye, has returned to Instagram and claims that Jonah Hill's performance in "21 Jump Street" was what finally caused him to change his views about anti-semitism.

In a post, he shared a poster of the film and wrote, "Watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump street made me like Jewish people again."

"No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people. No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew. Thank you Jonah Hill I love you," Ye added. 

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A post shared by Ye (@kanyewest)

The rapper's Instagram and Twitter accounts were restricted last year over anti-semitic posts. The restrictions were imposed after the artist stirred controversy by wearing a "White Lives Matter" T-shirt during the Paris Fashion Week, in a misappropriation of the slogan "Black Lives Matter." The phrase "Black Lives Matter" became a rallying cry for protests against racism and police brutality sparked by the 2020 murder of George Floyd.

Mr West had posted screenshots on Instagram of a conversation with rapper Diddy, who called out West over the T-shirt and its message. "Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me. I told you this was war. Now gone get you some business," he wrote. The posts have since been deleted from the platform but images can still be found online.

The American Jewish Committee had also slammed Mr Ye for having "fomented hatred of Jews." "Kanye West should figure out how to make a point without using antisemitism," the organisation said.

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Donald Trump Warns Of "Death And Destruction" If Charged With Crime

Former US President Donald Trump warned of potential "death & destruction" if he faces criminal charges, hours after New York prosecutors probing his hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels said they would not be intimidated.

The early Friday post on Trump's Truth Social media site was the latest in a string of verbal attacks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg since last Saturday when Trump wrongly predicted he would be arrested three days later.

Trump falsely claims his defeat in 2020 was the result of fraud - a claim that inspired his followers to launch a deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying the election of Democratic President Joe Biden, who bested the Republican Trump by more than 7 million votes.

"What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?" wrote Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Bragg's office, in a letter to Republican committee chairmen in Congress on Thursday, challenged their standing to investigate his office and said Trump had "created a false expectation that he would be arrested" in his Saturday post.

The letter called the chairmen's request for communications, documents and testimony an "unlawful incursion into New York's sovereignty."

Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress and director whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received the money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump has denied ever having an affair with Daniels, and has called the payment a "simple private transaction." He has said he did not commit a crime and has called the investigation politically motivated.

The Manhattan grand jury probing Trump is not due to reconvene until next week.

In other cases, Georgia prosecutors are looking into Trump's attempts to overturn his election defeat there, and a federal special counsel is investigating both his attempts to overturn his loss and the removal of classified documents from the White House after Trump left office.

On Saturday, Trump will hold a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, 30 years after a raid on the Branch Davidians religious sect there by federal agents resulted in 86 deaths, including four law-enforcement officers.

The event has become a symbol of government overreach for some and is a seminal moment for some right-wing extremist groups.

In an e-mail, a Trump campaign spokesperson said Waco was chosen because it is situated between several major population centers and has the infrastructure needed to host a large event.

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Drama in the courtroom as Gwyneth Paltrow testifies

From jaw dropping comments to questions about Taylor Swift, Paltrow's court testimony wasn't shy of drama.

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US Says 'Hotel Rwanda' Hero Rusesabagina Freed From Rwandan Jail

Paul Rusesabagina, the hero of "Hotel Rwanda" detained after criticizing the government, was freed late Friday, the United States said, offering gratitude to Kigali.

Rusesabagina, a Belgian citizen and US permanent resident, arrived shortly before midnight at the residence of the Qatari ambassador in Kigali, a US official said.

He will likely stay "a couple of days" before flying to Qatar, which helped broker his release, and then to the United States, another US official said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement welcoming the release, although US officials said there were no promises made to Kigali beyond public recognition of their move.

"It is a relief to know that Paul is rejoining his family, and the US government is grateful to the Rwandan government for making this reunion possible," Blinken said.

"We also thank the government of Qatar for their valuable assistance that will enable Paul's return to the United States."

Rusesabagina, who is credited with saving some 1,200 lives at a hotel he managed during the 1994 genocide, became a critic of President Paul Kagame and was sentenced to 25 years in prison on terrorism charges.

In a carefully worded statement, Blinken rejected political violence without backing Rwanda's accusations against Rusesabagina.

"The United States believes in a Rwanda that is peaceful and prosperous," Blinken said.

"We reaffirm the principle of seeking political change in Rwanda and globally through peaceful means. There is simply no place for political violence."

A US official said that the release did not change US concern about Rwanda's role in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Blinken has backed accusations that Kigali supports rebels.

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Pakistan In "Critically Water Insecure" Category: UN Report

A report published in the United Nations Institute of Water, Environment, and Health has placed Pakistan and 22 other countries in the "critically water insecure" category, Dawn reported.

The UN University on Thursday released the Global Water Security 2023 Assessment, which stated that 33 countries from three different geographic regions have high levels of water security. Nevertheless, all regions also featured countries with low levels of water security.

In a press release announcing the report, it was stated that the most recent assessment of the world's water resources, conducted by United Nations water experts, revealed that access to managed drinking water and sanitation was "still a pipe dream for more than half of the global population, as more than 70 per cent, or 5.5 billion people, do not have safe water access, with Africa having the lowest levels of access, at only 15 per cent of the region's population."

The press release said, "Three out of four people currently live in water-insecure countries. More people die from a lack of safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services than water-related disasters."

According to a Pakistan-based English daily, the experts found that the majority of the world's population presently lived in water-insecure countries such as the Solomon Islands, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Vanuatu, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Haiti, Papua New Guinea, Somalia, Liberia, St Kitts and Nevis, Libya, Madagascar, South Sudan, Micronesia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Yemen, Chad, Comoros, and Sri Lanka.

The press release reads, "This is a cause for major concern because water security is fundamental to development."

Along with other European countries like Denmark, Luxembourg, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Iceland, Ireland, France, Lithuania, Greece, Germany, the UK, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, and Portugal, the report ranked Sweden as the country with the highest level of water security.

It was noted that the only countries to qualify for the water-secure category in the Americas were Canada and the United States, whereas the water-secure countries in the Asia Pacific region included New Zealand, Cyprus, Australia, Japan, Israel, Kuwait, and Malaysia, according to Dawn.

The report's findings revealed that "abundant natural water availability did not necessarily ensure water security," according to the news release.

The press release added, "Many countries in Africa, the Asia-Pacific and the Americas with abundant freshwater resources has high rates of WASH-attributed low economic value despite potentially high economic losses due to floods or droughts."

The global assessment, which was conducted halfway through the Water Action Decade (2018-2028) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, provided a "multidimensional comparison" of the state of water security affecting 7.8 billion people across 186 countries, according to the report's additional findings.

The press release stated, "The report provides some very alarming statistics, arguing that the world is far from achieving 'clean water and sanitation for all' known as sustainable development goal (SDG) number six."

According to the statement, the UN report examined water security in 10 areas to give a more "realistic understanding of the water security status around the world": drinking water, sanitation, good health, water quality, water availability, water value, water governance, human safety, economic safety, and the stability of water resources.

According to the press release, "The results were worrying: 78 per cent of the world's population (6.1 billion people) currently reside in nations with water scarcities."

According to the report, the lack of clean WASH services in Africa contributed to the region's poor water security. In 54 African countries, including 33 of the least developed and six Small Island Developing States (SIDS), it was said that about 31 per cent (over 411 million) of the population lacked access to a basic water supply.

The press release adds, "Only 15 per cent of people have access to safely managed drinking water. In the case of sanitation services, 82 per cent still live without access to a safely managed sanitation service."

Subsequently, it said that more people died from a lack of safe WASH services globally than those who died in water-related disasters. "And, alarmingly, this situation is not improving: 2019 saw increased rates of WASH-attributed mortality in 164 countries compared to previous 2016 WHO estimates."

The press release also mentions the comprehensive and precise water quality assessment at the national level remained a hurdle.

The press release also noted, "The level of domestic wastewater treatment, assessed by WHO using household sanitation statistics, remains very poor (below 30pc) in Africa and large parts of the Asia-Pacific, and poor (below 50 per cent) in most South American countries, though there are exceptions in all regions," Dawn reported.

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