MOSCOW - Russia on Monday officially registered incumbent Vlad­imir Putin as a candidate for the presidential election in March, a vote that he is all but certain to win. The 71-year-old has led Russia since the turn of the cen­tury, clinching four presi­dential ballots and briefly serving as prime minister. The election will be held over a three-day period from March 15 to 17. Pu­tin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told Russian media on Monday the longtime leader would not take part in pre-election debates.

BERLIN - Ger­man union Verdi called a public transport strike across Europe’s biggest economy on Friday, in an escalating dispute over pay and working condi­tions. More than 90,000 workers at over 132 lo­cal companies operating buses, trams and under­ground services are ex­pected to join the walk­out. Long-distance and regional trains operated by Deutsche Bahn, which went on strike last week, will not be affected. Fri­day’s walkout is the latest in a spate of strikes and protests to hit commuters in the last weeks. Verdi’s deputy chair Christine Behle said the union was seeking a 35-hour work week with no losses in wages, in a bid to make jobs more attractive to workers.

The Iranian foreign minister was upbeat and insisted that Iran considers Pakistan’s security as its own. Foreign Minister of #Iran, HE Amir Abdollahian called on General Syed Asim Munir, NI (M) #COAS, at GHQ today. “In this backdrop, the foreign minister renewed an invitation to honourable President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi to undertake a visit to Pakistan,” it added. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Monday called on Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and discussed matters of mutual interest. Underscoring close relations between Pakistan and Iran, the prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further consolidate bilateral ties.

By John Goolsby, Prep Sports EditorHOOVER – The Hewitt-Trussville Middle School Dance Team turned in a strong performance at Spain Park this past weekend. The team competed in the Dance Team Union Alabama State Championship. The Lady Huskies took first place in the Middle School Game Day competition and runner-up in the Middle School Pom competition. Individual awards went to Emma Claire Womack, first place, Junior Solo; Olivia Gay, second place, Junior Solo; and Maya Amari, fourth place, Junior Solo. Team members:Maya AmariJillian BenzaiaHarper BreasealeSarah Kate ClarkEmma DorrLayne ErwinEmily EubanksOlivia GayAdalina GillesHadleigh HancockAvery HopperClaire MalchusAlexa MatthewsHadley McLaughlinOlivia MillingtonKailey MuthAvery OliveLauren PhillipsElla RodriguezReese RollinMacie SnuggsShelby StewartLilly TennysonChloe WilliamsEmma Claire Womack

With no methods currently available to completely eradicate the feral swine populations, ADCNR staff spend a great deal of time and money working to reduce feral hog populations on ADCNR and Forever Wild properties. Forever Wild Board Members are very dedicated to identifying needs and pursuing tract enhancements. In my mind, this is to maintain that land.”“Management of ADCNR and Forever Wild lands is a priority for us,” said Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of ADCNR and Chairman of the Forever Wild Land Trust. I appreciate the Forever Wild Board recognizing this and authorizing a ramp-up in feral hog removals. An effort to use sodium nitrite bait to reduce feral hog populations is still under development, according to Green.

Additionally, during the intraparty election process under section 209 and section 215 of the Election Act in December 2023, an admission was made before the Election Commission regarding such serious violations of the Party Constitution, appointment of federal election commissioner and, consequently, of the Election Act 2017. Second, the Elections Act mandates that party affiliation be the basis for general elections, acknowledging the significance of political parties. The Elections Act requires all political parties to organize intra-party elections in order to fortify them even more. Section 215 of the Election Act prohibits the party from using its election insignia, as one of these consequences and further law is still infield. Political parties are always required to take legal safeguards and abide by the law especially section 215 of the Election Act; otherwise, there may be severe legal ramifications which including the Election Commission shall not grant an election symbol to any political party or combination of political parties in subsequent elections.

ISLAMABAD - Nearly 2,000 participants, including both local and international runners, took part in the Islamabad Marathon that began on Sunday. FAIZAN, ENUB BAG TOP SPOTS IN ISLAMABAD MARATHONFaizan Zulfiqar and Enub claimed top spots in the Islamabad Marathon 2024 organized here at the Trail 3 Parking on Sunday. In Half Marathon, male category, Naveed, Irfan and Naghman took first, second and third positions, re­spectively. In the Half Marathon female category, Jennie, Chris­tina Vezel and Huma Rehman took first, second and third positions, respectively. Then there was a half marathon of 21.1km, 10km run, 5km run and also a race kept for children.

In a press briefing on Friday, the White House expressed deep concern over the alarming surge of fake explicit images featuring pop singer Taylor Swift circulating on various social media platforms. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the issue during the news briefing, stating, "This is very alarming. I'm happy they're taking action but it should not have taken a famous white woman to do that. Taylor Swift gets harassed and The White House puts out a statement. taylor swift gets harassed and the white house puts out a statement.

Felipe Nasr, in the #7 Porsche Penske 963, held off the #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Tom Blomqvist, a two-time and defending race winner. In fact, the Penske team set a closed-course speed record at Talladega Superspeedway with a Porsche 917 in 1975. The German manufacturer’s last Daytona win came in 2010, and its last overall win came in 2003. Porsche claimed its 23rd Daytona win and a record 19th overall Daytona 24-hour victory. The #77 AO Racing Porsche took second while the #1 Paul Miller BMW finished third.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf released its election manifesto on Sunday in Islamabad with party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan saying that they have been denied a level playing field. The party chairman also lamented the ‘harassment’ of the party’s candidates. “A country cannot have two laws.”Revealing the party’s manifesto, Barrister Gohar said if PTI comes into power again, they will make constitutional amendments to change how the prime minister is elected. Reiterating the party’s mantra of bringing change, he added that a glorious future and getting rid of the inadequacies of the past is the new manifesto of PTI. But the manifesto is silent on the questions of the new IMF bailout package and the treatment of a mounting public debt.

If you ever look up at a full moon at night, you will see a large halo of light around it. This halo is not an indication of poor eyesight, but a result of ice particles or ice crystals. According to experts from Columbia University, tiny ice particles scatter the moonlight. These are mainly pure ice clouds that exist in the upper atmosphere 31 miles above the Earth’s surface. In simple words, the light from the moon reaches our eyes through ice particles and that is why we see the glowing halo around the moon.

PESHAWAR - Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar on Sunday organ­ised the Centralised Admission Make-Up Test (KMU CAT MAKE-UP) at its main campus, facilitat­ing admissions to undergraduate programmes including DPT, BS Nursing, and other allied health sciences. The purpose of the make-up test was to accom­modate candidates who missed previous KMU CAT tests due to various reasons. VC KMU Prof Dr Zia-ul-Haq said that participation of 1317 candi­dates in this test not only under­scored their confidence in KMU but also reflected the merit and quality of Allied Health Sciences education. Dr Zia said that healthcare was a multifaceted system wherein doctors, as well as departments of pharmacy, physiotherapy, nursing, and allied health sciences, play pivotal roles. The results of the test will be de­clared within two days and made available on the official website of KMU (http://cat.kmu.edu.pk).

Indian stand-up comedian Manoor Farooqui, who is popular among the young generation, has won the title of the reality show Bigg Boss 17 while Abhishek Kumar was declared the runner-up. For winning the title of Bigg Boss 17, Manoor Farooqui received Rs 50 lakh, a car and the Bigg Boss trophy. This season of Indian reality show Bigg Boss started from 16th October 2023 in which Ankita Lokhande, Abhishek Kumar, Munawar Farooqui, Manara Chopra and Arun Mishetti were among the top 5 contestants of the show. Talking about Manoor’s journey in Bigg Boss 17, many contestants and even Salman Khan himself termed his game as boring, not many people were seen to point out his mistakes. The top 5 finalists of Bigg Boss 17 were Ankita Lokhande, Abhishek Kumar, Manoor Farooqui, Manara Chopra and Arun Mashetti, among them Manoor and Abhishek reached the top 2 positions while Manoor won the trophy of the season.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, that aired on "Face the Nation" on Jan. 28, 2024. President Biden came in to the table with us and worked with us to save that community and bring back not just Belvidere, but a second plant. We return to our conversation with the president of the UAW, Shawn Fain. Sir, back in 2016, your former UAW president said an estimated 28% of members voted for Donald Trump. I know President Biden's also been invited as well.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Amos Hochstein, a White House envoy and top energy adviser to President Biden, that aired on "Face the Nation" on Jan. 28, 2024. AMOS HOCHSTEIN: Well, I think we should all be very concerned about another front. AMOS HOCHSTEIN: Well, I think that we've seen a reduction of attacks. AMOS HOCHSTEIN: But also make sure that we can look at the global markets and make sure they're not affected. AMOS HOCHSTEIN: So first, no, it is totally, I don't know who's saying that I oppose that, I did not oppose it.