Author: Trevor Patterson

For many years, Tajikistan has been gravely affected by drug trafficking. At least 15-20 tons of opium and between 75 and 80 metric tons of heroin are smuggled into the country each year from Afghanistan either for local consumption or for transfer to Russia and Europe. Despite an official Tajik government policy to fight illicit drug trafficking in cooperation with foreign governments and international organizations, trafficking continues to increase. The volume of drug transit through Tajikistan is now equivalent to 30 percent of the country’s GDP. So far, the success of domestic Tajik policies and international assistance has been minimal. Trafficking is a product of numerous complex…

Two thieves in Colorado, United States, were convicted of theft for stealing goods worth $2000 from a departmental store. However, in an amusing instance, the men argued for a lesser punishment for their felony because the items they stole were on sale, as per a report in The Guardian. Michael Green aged 50 and Byron Bolden, 37, were sentenced this month after being convicted of retail theft at a Kohl’s store located in Parker. Kohl’s dubbed the pair the “KitchenAid Mixer Crew” as they stole brand-name shoes, clothing, and numerous high-end kitchen appliances. The two were identified by the store’s CCTV…

Elon Musk steered X, formerly Twitter, into further controversy over the weekend when he brought back the accounts for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his InfoWars website, and then appeared in an audio chat with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.  Jones, whose accounts were restored after Musk conducted a public poll from his own X account about the decision, is known for spreading conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, where 20 children and six adults lost their lives in 2012. The far-right radio host show still owes families of victims more than $1.5 billion in defamation penalties. The highly controversial decision to…

Valencia, Turin, Madrid (28/11 – 25) Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia retained his MotoGP world title with many records; there are nevertheless signs that the Ducati rider will face sterner competition next season. The Italian rider won the 2023 season-ending MotoGP Grand Prix in Valencia on Sunday to clinch his second world title in a row. The protege of Valentino Rossi becomes the third rider to take back-to-back MotoGP titles since the introduction of the class in 2002. Only Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez previously managed to do that. Bagnaia is the first rider to successfully race and defend #1 in the…

A third former lawyer to Donald Trump has pleaded guilty in an election subversion case in the US state of Georgia. Jenna Ellis is the fourth of 19 co-defendants to plead guilty in a deal with Fulton County prosecutors. She is accused of drafting a letter intended for top Georgia officials declaring that the state’s election results were illegitimate. Ms Ellis is the second person to plead guilty in less than a week. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Trump is also among those charged in the case. He has pleaded not guilty. Ms Ellis pleaded guilty to one felony charge of aiding and…

An armed man demanding to speak to the Wisconsin governor was arrested in the state capitol, posted bail, and returned – only to be arrested again. The shirtless man, who had a holstered handgun, was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon for illegally carrying a firearm in the building. But he posted bail and returned that evening with an assault-style rifle. Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, was not in his capitol office at the time, according to a state official. But the governor’s office itself declined to comment, telling the BBC “we do not comment on specific security threats or…

President Joe Biden is under fire from both Republicans and Democrats after his administration announced new border wall construction in Texas. Mr Biden said he was unable to stop the work because the funding was signed off while Donald Trump was president. Members of his Democratic Party said walls did not work, while rival Republicans accused him of hypocrisy. Some 20 miles (32km) of barriers will be built in a sparsely populated stretch of the Rio Grande Valley. While campaigning for president in 2020, Mr Biden promised he would not build another foot of wall if elected. He said it…

The number of babies born with syphilis in Mississippi has increased more than tenfold since 2016, amid US-wide growth in cases of the potentially fatal but entirely preventable disease. Rates of congenital syphilis, which occurs when a mother transmits the infection to the fetus, have more than doubled over the past five years, with the largest spikes in southern and western states, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Mississippi, the number of newborns hospitalized with congenital syphilis surged between 2016 and 2022, from 10 to 110, according to a study by public health researchers from the John D Bower…

Every September, the annual UN general assembly session offers global leaders a prime opportunity to publicize their top priorities to an international audience – precisely what President Joe Biden did on the conclave’s opening day this week. As Biden approached the podium, the representatives of China and Russia may have braced for an earful: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has produced Europe’s deadliest war in more than 70 years; and tensions over Taiwan, the South China Sea and trade have made blame-laden volleys between China and the US routine. As it turned out, however, Biden’s half-hour speech barely mentioned the US’s two biggest…

The mother of a 6-year-old student who police say intentionally opened fire on his first-grade teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday in a Virginia court in connection with the shooting in January. Deja Taylor, 26, was charged with felony child neglect and could serve up to six months in state prison based on a recommendation by the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney. A judge could decide to go beyond the guidance when he sentences her on Oct. 27. As part of a plea deal, a separate charge — a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child — was dropped,…