Category: World affairs

What is St. Patrick’s Day about? Why are we celebrating it? The Irish holiday explained

In America, St. Patrick’s Day may be viewed as a pot of gold on the calendar – an opportunity to dress in green while swigging jade beer and looking for an ounce of Irish heritage with the persistence of a four-leaf clover. According to experts, the day, which began in America, is a source of pride for Irish and Irish Americans, since it celebrates their origins.To get the inside scoop on the occasion, USA TODAY spoke with Elizabeth Stack, executive director of Albany’s Irish American Heritage Museum, and Brian Witt, cultural displays supervisor for Milwaukee Irish Fest.

Who was St. Patrick, and why do we celebrate?

St. Patrick is Ireland’s patron saint, having been abducted and enslaved before arriving there. Despite his final escape, he returned and spread Christianity over the island. He is honored on March 17, the day he is said to have died.

Witt says the day allows Irish and Irish Americans to “celebrate their heritage,” and Stack agrees that parades in the United States and England convey “that the Irish people have made a contribution to society – that they were sort of welcomed, that they were accepted as citizens.”

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Is St. Patrick’s Day a religious holiday?

Witt points out that certain parades in the United States are preceded by Catholic masses. According to him, “Most people have no idea of any religious significance.”

Stack claims the day is a religious holiday in Ireland, citing the island’s large Catholic population.”It’s a holy day of obligation for Catholics (in Ireland), which means they are supposed to attend mass,” she said.

Was St. Patrick Irish?

No, Saint Patrick is said to have been born in Britain in 386. When Stack was 16, he was kidnapped by pirates and taken to Ireland, where he was sold as a slave, he previously told USA Today. He fled to France in 408 and was anointed a bishop in 432. Pope Celestine I then dispatched him to Ireland to encourage and preach Christianity.

‘He returns to Ireland’: St. Patrick, the guy behind the St. Patrick’s Day festival, was not even Irish.

How did St. Patrick’s Day become into a drinking holiday?

Stack claims that alcohol was “really not much not part” of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Ireland until lately.”It was a family celebration, but there was no alcohol available. Because it was a Lenten holiday, you couldn’t buy alcohol on that day,” she explains. (Some websites indicate the restriction was lifted in the 1960s,

while others suggest it wasn’t until the next decade.) Stack is surprised as to how the day became connected with drinking, because she believes “the Irish community, in particular, has been very careful about the image that they portrayed on this day.” She observes that the Irish “are sort of famous” for their “socializing culture, but it’s a little bit of a tragedy, that (the day) has been overshadowed.”

According to Witt, “people have always associated the Irish with drinking.” Nonetheless, he emphasizes “not every stereotype is completely true.”He feels that the number of pubs in cities with big Irish populations, such as New York City, Boston, and Milwaukee, might be the solution.

Is Saint Patrick’s Day popular in Ireland?

Stack describes the occasion as a huge deal and a family day.”Now it’s a bank holiday so everybody gets the day off school and most of the businesses are closed.”

Why do people wear green on St. Patrick’s Day?

A fun fact: St. Patrick is associated with the color blue. So, why do individuals disguise themselves in green?”The Irish Americans would wear the green as a reminder that they were nationalists first and foremost,” said Witt. “The colors of the Irish flag are green, white and orange, the green symbolizing the Irish nationalism, the orange symbolizing the Orangemen of the north and the white symbolizing peace.”

Stack discusses the legendary concept that wearing green can “make you invisible to leprechauns,” which originated in America.

What do traditional Irish people eat on St. Patrick’s Day?

“We eat bacon and cabbage, not corned beef and cabbage,” said Stack. “The corned beef comes from America when the immigrants came over.” According to her, the spread may also include griddle potato farls and soda bread (most likely without raisins).

Is Saint Patrick’s Day a government holiday?

Saint Patrick’s Day is not a federal holiday in the United States. Post offices, banks, and most businesses and retailers will be open on Friday, despite parades and other festivities.

Sophia Leone, an adult star, died at the age of 26. She was “found unresponsive” at home.

Adult movie star Sophia Leone was found “unresponsive” at her residence, according to her stepfather, Mike Romero.

Sophia Leone, an adult film star, died at the age of 26 after being discovered “unresponsive” at her residence earlier this month, her stepfather Mike Romero said on Saturday.

Sophia was found “unresponsive” in her residence in the United States on March 1 by her family, Romero said on GoFundMe, where he was raising cash for her memorial.”On behalf of her mother and family, it is with a heavy heart that I have to share the news of our beloved Sophia’s passing,” she stated.

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“Sofia’s untimely death has left her family and friends saddened and shocked. In addition to the arduous process of grieving and seeking justice for Sophia, the family is dealing with an unexpected financial burden,” Romero said.

He also stated that a local police inquiry regarding the cause of death is still continuing.Her modeling agency, 101 Modeling, confirmed the news, stating that their “hearts are broken by the untimely and tragic passing of our beloved Sophia Leone”.”A wonderful spirit who moved many of us. RIP, darling angel, and know how much we loved you. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched for her family,” 101 Modeling wrote on X.

They also stated that she did not commit suicide and that her death was being examined as a “home invasion homicide”.

Sophia Leone Entered Adult Industry Aged 18

Sophia Leone was born on June 10, 1997, in Miami, United States.Listen to the newest songs only on JioSaavn.com.She allegedly started working in adult entertainment at the age of 18 and has a net worth of more than $1 million.

Her death is the fourth tragic death in the adult business this year, following Kagney Linn Karter, Jesse Jane, and Thaina Fields.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif becomes the first female chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

The PML-N leader defeated Rana Aftab of the PTI-backed SIC to win the chief ministerial elections for the strategically significant Punjab province, which has 120 million people.

Intro of Maryam Nawaz Sharif

Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the daughter of three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, became Pakistan’s Punjab province’s first female chief minister on Monday.Maryam, the 50-year-old senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, won the chief ministerial elections despite a walkout by parliamentarians from former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party-backed Sunni Ittehad Council.

The PML-N leader defeated Rana Aftab of the PTI-backed SIC to win the chief ministerial elections in Punjab, a politically important province with a population of 120 million.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif made a visit to her mother’s tomb at Jati Umra before proceeding to the Punjab Assembly, where the chief minister election was held.

In a post on X, the PML-N stated that Maryam Nawaz Sharif also visited her paternal grandparents’ graves.

“For the first time in our country’s history, a woman would be elected chief minister of Punjab. Maryam Nawaz Sharif will be the first woman to take the oath as Chief Minister of Punjab,” the PML-N said in a post on X before to the election.

Beloved NYC owl ‘Flaco’ dies; followers grieve

Falco rose to fame after he was spotted on a Fifth Avenue sidewalk the night after he escaped the Central Park Zoo.

‘Flaco’, a Eurasian eagle owl which fled the Central Park Zoo, has died. According to the New York Times, the bird became a local sensation after fleeing the Zoo when someone ripped off his netting. He had made Manhattan his new home.Flaco perished on the night of February 23rd after’striking’ a building on Upper West Side.

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The Wildlife Conservation Society issued an official statement stating that Falco was discovered on the ground, after which the building residents contacted the Wild Bird Fund, who confirmed him dead.According to the New York Post, the 4.1-pound celebrity bird experienced “substantial hemorrhage under the sternum and in the back of the body cavity around the liver” according to the necropsy report.

Fans grieve Flaco Owl’s death

Flaco’s admirers quickly flooded social media with tributes and condolences upon his demise. Manhattan Bird Alert shared a stunning video of Falco on X, stating, “Listen to one of Flaco’s hooting sessions in Central Park’s North Woods. We’ve always found his hoots comforting, a means for him to communicate his existence and vitality—and, in recent months, the only way to find him at night. “Hoot on, Flaco!”

Check out the post here

Another admirer posted a sequence of images from Falco’s monument at 104th and East Drive, captioned “02/24/24 Today at Flaco’s Memorial on 104th and East Drive.”

See here:

“Before his untimely death, my mom (@doreenkassel) memorialized Flaco on one of her hand-painted ceramic pinch pots,” the third member of the public commented. “At Flaco’s Memorial!” “What a stunning photo of Flaco by JacquiUWS,” said another admirer, lamenting Falco’s passing.Falco got to prominence after he was discovered on a Fifth Avenue sidewalk the night after fleeing the Central Park Zoo.

US Air force Soldier Protests Gaza War by Lighting Himself on Fire in Front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington

Sunday, outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, a US Air Force member set himself on fire. He is currently in serious condition. He recorded himself standing before the Israeli embassy’s gates and identifying himself as a member of the US Air Force.

He then live broadcast the self-immolation incident on Twitch.”I refuse to participate in the genocide occurring in Gaza.” The man reportedly said, “I am going to engage in an extreme act of protest,” before lighting himself on fire and yelling, “Free Palestine!” several times.

https://twitter.com/krassenstein/status/1761876419414523960?t=Z931UBlD6ONvHjFuQL7yaA&s=19

Although the man’s identity was kept private, the New York Times and the New York Post reported that it matched the LinkedIn profile of a Texas-based active-duty Air Force officer. His identity is still unknown.Three fire extinguishers were used by the neighboring law enforcement officials to put out the flames in response. According to a Task and Purpose report, during the encounter, law officials also pulled a revolver on the man who was on fire.

Also Read|Northeast is seeing a norovirus outbreak, according to CDC statistics.

The man was originally heard pleading for assistance from the authorities, “May I help you, sir?” but as soon as he was enveloped in flames, they began shouting at him to get down on the ground. Before anybody forced them to acquire fire extinguishers to put out the flames, they even pulled their firearms on the man who was on fire.The disturbing video was swiftly pulled by Twitch due to its violation of the broadcasting app’s policies. The man’s reported status as an active duty member could not be confirmed, the Air Force informed US major media agencies.

Northeast is seeing a norovirus outbreak, according to CDC statistics.

the Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Getty Images via Bloomberg

Norovirus

The Northeast has had the greatest rates of norovirus circulation since April of last year throughout the last month.Since late January, the average number of positive norovirus tests in the region has been above 13%, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although it is less than the region’s rate at same time last year, it is still a larger percentage than in any other region of the country at the moment.Cases of the norovirus tend to peak during the colder months (late fall, winter, and early spring). Since early January, the national percentage of norovirus positive has been ranging between 10% and 12.5%. In contrast, mid-March peak rates from the previous year were more than 16%.

The second-hardest impacted states are the Western ones; as of Saturday, their three-week optimism rate was 12%.Although norovirus is sometimes referred to as the “stomach flu,” influenza is unrelated to Norovirus. Symptoms of the extremely infectious virus that often affect the gastrointestinal tract include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach discomfort. A little temperature and pains are also possible.A person can become ill with norovirus with just a few particles on their hands or surfaces, and those who have the sickness excrete billions of virus particles in their feces and vomit. Days or even weeks might pass while the virus remains on materials and objects.

The CDC states that an infected individual can continue to spread the norovirus even after feeling well, possibly for as long as two weeks.Because the virus can potentially spread through contaminated food, it is frequently called “food poisoning.”

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The most common cause of foodborne disease in the nation is norovirus. Fruits and vegetables that are cultivated or cleaned in polluted water might contaminate food.If oysters are collected from tainted water, they can potentially transmit the norovirus. As of right now, the FDA is warning customers, merchants, and eateries not to serve or ingest certain oysters that come from Sonora, Mexico, and Baja California.

At least 241 individuals were afflicted by a norovirus epidemic in December that was connected to a sushi restaurant in North Carolina.In the United States, norovirus epidemics often occur between November and April. The nation sees about 20 million cases annually on average.The virus has no known cure, so the CDC advises staying hydrated by consuming lots of fluids. Usually, the disease clears up after a few days.

Moon landing: The United States Celebrated its First Touchdown in 50 Years.

Moon landing:On Thursday, a spacecraft constructed and operated by Texas-based business Intuitive Machines landed near the moon’s south pole, marking the first U.S. touchdown on the lunar surface in more than 50 years and the first by the private sector.NASA, which had numerous research equipment aboard the vehicle, welcomed the landing as a significant step toward its goal of sending a squad of privately operated spacecraft on scientific scouting trips to the moon ahead of astronauts’ anticipated return later this decade.

However, early communication issues following Thursday’s landing fueled concerns that the spacecraft had been hindered or impeded in some manner.The unmanned six-legged robot lander, named Odysseus, landed at around 6:23 p.m. EST (2323 GMT), according to the firm and NASA commentators in a joint webcast of the landing from Intuitive Machines’ (LUNR.O) mission operations center in Houston.

https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1760811461943722132?t=UVJ5tIxDPrbCAcPGA2KE_Q&s=19
Watch: There were celebrations at the Texas business Intuitive Machines.

The landing followed a nail-biting final approach and descent, during which a malfunction with the spacecraft’s autonomous navigation system forced engineers on the ground to use an experimental workaround at the last minute.It also took some time after an anticipated radio blackout to re-establish connections with the spacecraft and assess its destiny 239,000 miles (384,000 kilometers) out from Earth.

According to the webcast, when communication was eventually restored, the signal was feeble, confirming that the lander had touched down but leaving mission management completely confused of the vehicle’s precise state and position.

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“Our equipment is on the surface of the moon, and we are transmitting, so congratulations to the IM team,” Intuitive Machines mission director Tim Crain was heard addressing the operations center. “We’ll see what more we can get from that.”Later that evening, the corporation issued a message on the social networking site X, stating that flight controllers “have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data.”

Moon Landing:QUESTION OF OBSTRUCTION

Nonetheless, the faint signal suggested that the spacecraft had landed near a crater wall or something else that hindered or impinged on its antenna, according to Thomas Zurbuchen, a former NASA science head who led the development of the agency’s commercial lunar lander program.

“Sometimes it could just be one rock, one big boulder, that’s in the way,” he told Reuters over the phone.According to Zurbuchen, such a problem might hinder the lander’s core goal of deploying payloads and accomplishing scientific objectives.Accomplishing the landing is “a major intermediate goal, but the mission’s goal is to do science, get pictures back, and so on,” he said.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson instantly praised Thursday’s accomplishment as a “triumph,” stating, “Odysseus has taken the moon.”According to the webcast, the spacecraft was expected to land in a crater called Malapert A near the moon’s south pole.

The spacecraft was not planned to broadcast live footage of the landing, which occurred one day after reaching lunar orbit and a week after its launch from Florida.Thursday’s touchdown was the first controlled descent by a US spacecraft to the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972, when NASA’s last crewed moon mission landed with astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt.

To date, only four other countries’ spacecraft have landed on the moon: the former Soviet Union, China, India, and, most recently, Japan. The United States is the only country to have ever sent humans to the lunar surface.

Odysseus is carrying a package of scientific equipment and technological demos for NASA and numerous commercial clients, planned to run on solar power for seven days until the sun sets over the arctic landing location.The NASA payload investigates space weather interactions with the moon’s surface, radio astronomy, and other features of the lunar environment for future landing missions.

Moon Landing:The Dawn of Artemis

Its arrival was the first “soft landing” on the moon by a privately produced and operated vehicle, as well as the first under NASA’s Artemis lunar program, as the United States raced to return men to Earth’s natural satellite before China landed its own crewed spacecraft.

NASA intends to land its first crewed Artemis in late 2026 as part of long-term lunar exploration and as a precursor to future human missions to Mars. The program focuses on the moon’s south pole in part because it is thought to have a large amount of frozen water that may be utilized for life support and rocket fuel manufacturing.

A slew of tiny landers, including Odysseus, are planned to pave the way for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which aims to carry experiments and gear to the moon at a cheaper cost than the agency’s conventional technique of manufacturing and launching those spacecraft.Leaning more heavily on smaller, less experienced private companies carries its own hazards.

Just last month, another company’s lunar lander, Astrobotic Technology, had a propulsion system leak on its trip to the moon shortly after being launched into orbit by a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket on January 8.The breakdown of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander was the third attempt of a private business to accomplish a lunar touchdown, following unsuccessful efforts by companies from Israel & Japan.

Although Odysseus is the newest addition to NASA’s CLPS program, the IM-1 trip is classified as an Intuitive Machines mission. Stephen Altemus, the former deputy director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and current president and CEO, co-founded the firm in 2013.

Moldova claims that new EU sanctions have targeted those who undermine stability.

On Thursday, Moldova’s prime minister congratulated the European Union for slapping penalties on officials and veterans related to Russian attempts to disrupt the nation through “hybrid warfare.”The European Council announced the punitive measures in Brussels, targeting “six individuals and one entity responsible for actions aimed at destabilising, undermining, or threatening the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova”.

Ex-Soviet Moldova, located between Ukraine and EU member Romania, has been buffeted by the Kremlin’s two-year invasion of Ukraine. Fragments of Russian drones have landed in the nation, and President Maia Sandu has identified Moscow as the single most serious danger to Moldovan security.

Sanctions

“The sanctions that have been adopted are a signal that we have unreserved EU support in the fight against Russia’s hybrid war and attempts to undermine the rule of law and the security of our country,” Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on social media.

The EU imposed sanctions on five Moldovan citizens and one Russian national.They include two media officials: Arina Corsicova, who is affiliated with the outlawed party of fugitive pro-Russian tycoon Ilan Shor, and Dumitru Chitoroaga.

They also include two people connected to the leader of Moldova’s volatile southern province of Gagauzia, where Shor operates from exile in Israel.Dmitry Milyutin, a senior official in the Russian spy organization FSB, was also sanctioned.The punitive measures extended to a group of Moldovan veterans known as Scutul Poporului, or The People’s Shield, who assisted in organizing 2022 protests against Sandu, which were supported by Shor from exile.

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Dmitry Milyutin, a senior official in the Russian spy organization FSB, was also sanctioned.The punitive measures extended to a group of Moldovan veterans known as Scutul Poporului, or The People’s Shield, who assisted in organizing 2022 protests against Sandu, which were supported by Shor from exile.

Shor was sentenced to 15 years in jail in absentia last year for his part in the 2014 “theft of the century,” which saw $1 billion vanish from Moldova’s financial system. The Constitutional Court of Moldova later outlawed a party carrying his name.According to the EU statement, Josep Borrell, the bloc’s top diplomat, stated that Moldova was “one of the countries most affected by the fallout of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine” and that the measures demonstrated “the EU’s unwavering support”.

Thousands of AT&T customers in the United States suffer from a cellular outage.

On Thursday, hundreds of users reported issues with telecom services, including AT&T, across the United States due to a widespread cellular outage.Around 4:30 a.m. ET, more than 32,000 outages were recorded with AT&T’s service, according to data from outage tracking website Downdetector.com.

According to Downdetector.com for AT&T

According to the website, impacted cities included San Francisco, Houston, and Chicago.Users of Verizon, T-Mobile, and UScellular experienced faults with their services, according to Downdetector.The firms did not immediately react to Reuters’ requests for information on the cause of the disruptions.According to a post on social media site X by the San Francisco Fire Department, the outage was affecting people’s ability to phone 911 for emergency services.

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Users of Verizon, T-Mobile, and UScellular experienced faults with their services, according to Downdetector.The firms did not immediately react to Reuters’ requests for information on the cause of the disruptions.According to a post on social media site X by the San Francisco Fire Department, the outage was affecting people’s ability to phone 911 for emergency services.

“We are aware of an issue impacting AT&T wireless customers from making and receiving any phone calls (including to 911),” the fire department tweeted on the site formerly known as Twitter, adding that it was “actively engaged and monitoring this.”

United kingdom (UK) extends visas for Ukrainians amid turmoil in Europe

The United kingdom (UK) government has announced an extension of its visa policy for Ukrainians seeking asylum in the nation owing to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.


Ukrainians will be able to stay for another 18 months on their current terms under the arrangement.

The Home Office indicated that beginning in early 2025, all persons in the UK on one of the Ukraine visa schemes will be able to request for an extension, allowing them the same rights to work, benefits, healthcare, and education during their stay.

The UK minister for legal migration and the border, Tom Pursglove, stated, “This new visa extension scheme provides certainty and reassurance for Ukrainians in the UK as this war continues, and we will continue to provide a safe haven for those fleeing the conflict.”

He also thanked families in the United Kingdom for their kindness in welcoming Ukrainian refugees into their homes.
Following the intensification of the Russia-Ukraine crisis in February 2022, the UK launched three visa schemes: Homes for Ukraine, the Ukraine Family Scheme, and the Ukraine Extension Scheme.
The Home Office’s decision to extend the visas for another 18 months meets the government’s long-term commitment to Ukraine as the world approaches the two-year milestone since Russia’s invasion.

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According to the government, around 283,000 Ukrainians have sought refuge in the United Kingdom since the implementation of Ukraine visa schemes. Eduard Fesko, Charge d’Affaires at Ukraine’s Embassy in the UK, thanked the UK for its support and help to displaced Ukrainians.
Ukrainians can apply for a visa extension within the last three months of their current visa validity.

The Ukraine Extension Scheme allows Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family members to apply for permission to remain in the UK.
Overall, the UK’s decision to prolong the visa scheme brings much-needed certainty and support to Ukrainians affected by the ongoing violence, underlining the country’s commitment to offering a safe haven for those in need.

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