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Showing posts from May, 2020

US offered mediating role in 'raging border dispute' between China, India: Trump

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Sputnik 6:09 PM | May 27, 2020 The border dispute between India and China intensified earlier this month after the two neighbours became involved in a physical altercation over infrastructure development along the Line of Actual Control. US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to inform India and China about Washington's readiness to mediate their border dispute. This comes amid a standoff between India and China that has intensified in the past few weeks after New Delhi started construction of a key road along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. China accused the Indian Army of crossing into its territory and "attempting to unilaterally change the status" of the LAC in Sikkim and Ladakh. Both countries have reinforced troops on the border amid the ongoing standoff.  China's ambassador to India, H.E. Sun Weidong, has commented on the current escalation of tensions between the two countrie "We should adhere to the basic judgmen

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli vowed to battle their cases to trial. They had lots of reasons to plead guilty.

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Analysis: The corona virus pandemic is a bad time for the world, but a good time for those facing sentencing. "Full House" actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have agreed to plead guilty to charges for their part in a massive college admissions scandal, according to a government filing in the case Thursday. It was only a matter of time. Most federal criminal defendants don't go to trial, but those who do are often found guilty. It’s why so many people charged with white collar crimes rush to the courthouse to plead guilty immediately after they are charged. It’s not necessarily because they believe they are guilty; they usually believe they are innocent. More often, defendants want to avoid the prolonged agony of a trial, minimize their prison time, and get the whole thing behind them. Some defendants, such as Loughlin and Giannulli, vow to battle their cases all the way to trial. They say this in the beginn

Be Soothed by the Music of the Zimbabwean Mbira in Today’s Google Doodle

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By Helen Holmes • 05/21/20 12:56pm Today’s Google Doodle focuses on the mbira instrument.  Google Zimbabwe’s Culture Week is now ongoing, which is why today’s Google Doodlecelebrates the national instrument of the country: the mbira, a seemingly-straightforward device that consists of a flat board and several thin metal keys that nevertheless produces transcendent music. “I think anyone who has had more than five minutes with Zimbabwean mbira cannot forget the sound,” said Albert Chimedza, a musician, the founder of the Mbira Centre and a speaker in an explanation video filmed by Google to accompany the Doodle. “To me,” Chimedza continued, “it’s a cross between water and air.” SEE ALSO: Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s Google Doodle Depicts the Hawaiian Spots He Loved Most Today’s doodle is also accompanied by a game wherein the user can “play” the mbira using their laptop or handheld device. Over hundreds of years, the instrument has been a staple in Zimbabwean Shona ceremonies an