Ayesha Mehta, Author at Texas43

Iowa became a tumultuous curtain-raiser for a tumultuous political year

15Jan

By Ayesha Mehta1 Comment

News

Iowa became a tumultuous curtain-raiser for a tumultuous political year

Nothing like this has ever occurred in the illustrious history of the Iowa Caucuses. As the nation's first state shivers under a blast of perishing cold weather, a momentous election year that will likely put the nation's institutions to the ultimate test begins on Monday. Nevertheless, Donald Trump continues to urge his supporters to punish opponents he has labelled as "cheaters" and "liars" and to get out and caucus even if they are "sick as a dog." The former president, who resigned from office in January 2021 amid a scandal, is aiming for a big victory to put him in the running for a third consecutive GOP nomination and perhaps even a run for the presidency. Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, believes that a surge in support is necessary before next week's primar...

Allies upset by Trump’s embrace of far-right activist Laura Loomer

15Jan

By Ayesha Mehta1 Comment

News

Allies upset by Trump’s embrace of far-right activist Laura Loomer

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was accosted by a lady as soon as he entered a hotel in Iowa on Friday. The woman followed him around with a video and asked him a series of questions, including when he would "drop out" of the campaign and if he had "already wasted enough of people's money." The interaction was later shared on social media. Cut to a moment in which the lady, far-right social media celebrity Laura Loomer, said DeSantis "looked petrified," adding that she thought "his soul left his body when he saw me." In a video recorded outside the hotel, Loomer—a self-described “proud Islamophobe” and twice-failed congressional candidate—stated, “He’s going to lose.” "On Monday, January 15, President Trump is going to kick his ass. That's all Ron has to say. Your political career was ...

Last Letters of Young Kamikaze Pilots Japan’s Feared Special Attack

15Jan

By Ayesha MehtaNo Comments

News

Last Letters of Young Kamikaze Pilots Japan’s Feared Special Attack

When one imagines a kamikaze pilot, one most often pictures a screaming pilot taking a fatal drop while wearing goggles. Or maybe there would be no face at all, just a fighter jet slamming into a cruiser. Most likely, it's not a youngster sobbing with his bedsheets drawn up over his head in a musty, partially subterranean bunker. And most definitely not a group of happy high school students cuddling a dog a few hours before they were supposed to burn to ashes while sinking a US aircraft carrier. However, the walls of the Chiran Peace Museum and the Kanoya Air Base Museum, both situated on the island of Kyushu in Japan, display some of the actual faces of the kamikaze. They number in the hundreds. Their final words, frequently written in letters to their moms, are seen in man...

King Frederik X of Denmark abdicated the throne

14Jan

By Ayesha MehtaNo Comments

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King Frederik X of Denmark abdicated the throne

Following his mother Queen Margrethe II's resignation, Denmark's King Frederik X assumed the throne. He waved to the thousands of people assembled in the country's capital, Copenhagen, to commemorate the beginning of a new era, appearing visibly sad. His mother, Margrethe, was the only monarch many Danes had ever known. However, her son, the former Crown Prince Frederik, was able to replace her due to her shocking abdication after more than 50 years in power. The formal transfer of the throne to Frederik took place during a cabinet meeting in Christiansborg Palace in the Danish capital when Margrethe signed a declaration of her abdication. Despite the bitter cold, sizable throngs of people flocked to Copenhagen's streets, with sporadic melodies resonating throughout the throng as ...

Taiwanese voters rejected China’s warnings

13Jan

By Ayesha MehtaNo Comments

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Taiwanese voters rejected China’s warnings

Taiwan's governing Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency for the third time in history on Saturday, defying China's cautions that their reelection would heighten the likelihood of hostilities. Taiwan's vice president at the moment, Lai Ching-te, announced his triumph on Saturday night after the two leading opponents against him both gave up. “I want to thank the Taiwanese people for writing a new chapter in our democracy. We have demonstrated to the world how much we value democracy. Lai informed the journalists, "This is our unwavering commitment." He also revealed that he had taken congratulations from his two opponents over the phone. Taiwan's governing Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency for the third time in history on Saturday, defying China's cautions ...

Award winning reveals the hidden wonders of nature

12Jan

By Ayesha MehtaNo Comments

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Award winning reveals the hidden wonders of nature

The winning pictures from the Close-up Photographer of the Year 2023 competition include captivating pictures of ants spewing acid, a prawn floating above a mosaic sea star with colors ranging from rainbow to purple, and a butterfly peeking in during a wedding celebration. In its fifth year, the competition honors macro and micro photography to reveal the hidden treasures of the natural world, ranging from magnificent creatures to minute fungi. Macro refers to taking close-up pictures of bigger topics, whereas micro is used to take pictures of microscopic items that need to be magnified. The competition's co-founder and jury member Tracy Calder told CNN that the images show odd relationships between plants and animals, illustrating how everything in the natural world is interdependen...

American tennis star Ben Shelton doesn’t want to ‘put a ceiling’ on it

12Jan

By Ayesha Mehta1 Comment

News

American tennis star Ben Shelton doesn’t want to ‘put a ceiling’ on it

Ben Shelton was a young tennis player traveling abroad for the first time when he made this journey last year. Shelton had only been a professional for six months, therefore he was somewhat unknown on the circuit shortly after graduating from college. But things were set to change quickly since he had a deadly serve and youthful recklessness. Shelton tells CNN Sport, "I feel like it went from nobody knowing me to a lot of people knowing me kind of overnight." "It felt incredibly fast." Proceed ahead of time After a year, the twenty-one-year-old American is in Australia getting ready for his second grand slam at Melbourne Park. Shelton has had great success so far in his young career. He advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open the previous year and then faced Novak Djo...

Biden Announces Early Student Loans for Borrowers

12Jan

By Ayesha MehtaNo Comments

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Biden Announces Early Student Loans for Borrowers

President Joe Biden declared on Friday that some students who took out modest loans and have been making payments for the previous ten years will have their federal student debt forgiven. In February, Biden stated in a statement, "borrowers who received less than $12,000 in federal loans and have been paying off their balances for at least 10 years will get their remaining student debt cancelled immediately." He stated that the action is "nearly six months ahead of schedule" and that it affects borrowers who are registered in SAVE, the new income-driven repayment plan that administration officials have been promoting as a means of assisting borrowers in reducing their monthly payments. Although 30 million individuals are eligible for the SAVE plan, 6.9 million people are registere...

12Jan

By Ayesha Mehta1 Comment

News

Taiwan presidential election

On January 13, voters in Taiwan will cast ballots to choose a new parliament and president amid escalating hostilities between the self-governing island and China, which has increased its military posture in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait in recent years. After Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female president finishes her second term in office after winning elections in 2016 and 2020, the people of Taiwan will select a new leader to replace her. Tsai belongs to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is despised by the Communist authorities in China because it sees Taiwan as a separate country rather than as an extension of China, as Beijing claims. Term constraints prevent her from running again. Three contenders will compete for the presidency in this election. Hours befo...

12Jan

By Ayesha MehtaNo Comments

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US and Britain attack Iran in Yemen

Following the Biden administration's and its allies' warning that the Iran-backed militant group would suffer the consequences of repeated drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, On Thursday, the armed forces of the US and the UK began attacking several Houthi locations in Yemen that they control. This marked a significant response. "In direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea," according to President Joe Biden, he ordered the strikes. "Today, under my command, U.S. military forces—along with the United Kingdom and with assistance from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands—successfully carried out strikes against several targets in Yemen that the Houthi rebels were using to jeopardise free...