Latest news with #Ebrahim
GMA Network
17-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Regional party UBJP backs special elections for Bangsamoro seats
A regional parliament political party running in the 2025 Bangsamoro elections on Thursday expressed openness on the conduct of a possible special election to fill vacancies for the seven seats originally assigned to Sulu. Members of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) on Thursday arrived at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Intramuros, Manila to meet with poll chief George Erwin Garcia regarding the status of the first-ever parliamentary elections. UBJP president Alhaj Murad Ebrahim said Garcia reassured them that the Comelec is ready to hold the elections on October 13 despite the pending decision on the reapportionment of the Sulu seats. 'We're very happy that the Chairman officially assured us na talagang matutuloy na ang elections sa October,' said Ebrahim. The Bangsamoro polls was reset from May 12 to October 13, 2025 after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. in February signed into law the measure postponing the first-ever parliamentary elections. The suspension came months after the Supreme Court (SC), in September 2024, upheld the validity of the Bangsamoro Organic Law but declared that Sulu was not part of BARMM. The Court denied motions seeking the reversal of the decision in November 2024. The SC ruling necessitated the redistribution of the seven vacated seats originally allocated to Sulu under the Bangsamoro Electoral Code. However, the Bangsamoro government has yet to issue a decision on the reallocation. 'We will try our best na ma-comply namin, but 'yun na nga kung hindi na talaga ma-comply… baka magkaroon nalang ng special elections,' Ebrahim added. (We will try our best to comply, but if we cannot comply, there may be special elections.) Mohagher Iqbal, member of the parliament and UBJP vice-president, said the report may be submitted and deliberated by the parliament next week. 'In terms of legislation, we are ready for the committee report and once na ma-submit sa parliament, syempre id-discuss ang committee report, there will be an interpellation at pagbo-botohan. Every district, kailangan pag-botohan yan eh. We cannot lobby together and decide once and for all. Kailangan isa-isahin po yan,' said Iqbal. (In terms of legislation, we are ready for the committee report and once submitted, there will be interpellation and voting. That is for every district. We cannot lobby together and decide once and for all.) 'We can expect by next week, may official submission sa parliament ang mags-start deliberations,' he said. (We can expect that by next week, there will be an official submission.) The Comelec previously said it will continue with the preparations for the BARMM polls with 73 seats. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Found a Part of Human Cells We Never Knew Existed
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Hemifusomes are fused vesicles, or sacs of fluid, that were previously unknown to exist inside cells. They were discovered using cryo-electron tomography, which literally freezes them in time, and confirmed to be actual organelles and not just background noise. Because hemifusomes collect and recycle junk proteins, they could mean more effective treatments for diseases caused and aggravated by protein plaque buildup, such as Alzheimer's. Back in high school biology, most of us learned about the innards of a cell, or its organelles, from ribosomes to mitochondria to the endoplasmic reticulum, and probably had to identify them on our midterms. Now, an unexpected discovery will probably soon rewrite those textbooks. The hemifusome is the new organelle that high school students (much to their chagrin) will have to remember. Biophysicist Seham Ebrahim of the University of Virginia and her team of researchers were observing mammalian cells when they discovered hemifusomes, which previously eluded detection because they are even smaller than mitochondria and can easily blur or be mistaken for background noise. These nano-orbs, which look like they have, noses bear an uncanny resemblance to BB-8 or the profiles of certain Muppets. Pop culture references aside, their function of organizing, cleaning up, and recycling proteins could potentially unlock new treatments for genetic and neurodegenerative diseases. Hemifusomes consist of two vesicles, which are membrane sacs filled with liquid and formed by hemifusion, meaning that the smaller of the two is fused to the larger one like a hemisphere, almost as if its other half is missing. This occurs when the outer layers of two membranes merge first while the inner membrane layers stay open until a thin connection between them forms a new vesicle. The attached vesicles are sometimes found on the outside of the organelle and sometimes on the inside, and though where exactly these vesicles originate is still unknown, hemifusomes are thought to facilitate the formation of new vesicles that transport materials throughout the cell. This is probably how they take out cellular trash. Ebrahim used cryo-electron tomography, or cryo-ET, to observe and image hemifusomes. The cells, which were kept at cryogenic temperatures, were imaged in two dimensions using an electron microscope. Superfast cameras then took multiple photos of the frozen cells and their organelles. From these photos, single images were created using algorithms, upgrading the 2D images to 3D. 'Our observation of hemifusomes in four different cell lines originating from various species and tissues and frozen as close as possible to their native state suggests that they may be common components of the cell periphery in a wide range of cells and tissues,' she said in a study recently published in Nature Communications. Something else the researchers wanted to explore was what kind of relationship hemifusomes had with endosomes, which are vesicles that transport extracellular material into the cell via the process of endocytosis. The cell's plasma membrane will fold inward to surround matter, such as food molecules, in the surrounding fluid. These molecules are then taken in by the cell, whose plasma membrane pinches off to create an endosome that carries them into the cytoplasm. Endosomes can also form through the fusion of vesicles that already exist within the cell. Ebrahim traced the activity of endosomes and hemifusomes, but they did not appear to work together. What makes hemifusomes so important is how they collect and recycle junk proteins. Many studies have shown that the buildup of protein plaque in the brain can cause and aggravate neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's, and more understanding about how these organelles operate could lead to the development of treatments that work with them. 'Future research should focus on determining whether hemifusomes and compound hemifusomes are present in other cellular regions,' Ebrahim said, 'and on elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying their formation, stability, and function, as well as their broader implications for cellular physiology and pathology.' You Might Also Like Can Apple Cider Vinegar Lead to Weight Loss? Bobbi Brown Shares Her Top Face-Transforming Makeup Tips for Women Over 50
Daily Tribune
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Tribune
Call for licence reform as road offences rise
Handbrake turns, redlight runs and emergency-lane dashes are now everyday sights on Bahrain's roads, says MP Hassan Ebrahim, who wants tougher laws, driver retraining and road-sense lessons in schools. He warns that these habits have moved from scattered lapses to a shared pattern. 'These are no longer single mistakes,' he said. 'We need rules with real bite and courses that teach repeat offenders how to behave behind the wheel.' Crash data and day-to-day observations from the General Directorate of Traffic point to a steady rise in sudden swerves, lane-straddling and haphazard parking, especially at rush hour. Compulsory courses Ebrahim praises the UAE, where fines come with compulsory courses. 'The UAE's record shows stronger penalties work, yet the ticket on its own is only half the cure,' he said. 'Change comes when the driver's attitude is fixed as well.' Reckless driving, he insists, cuts across the board. 'You see it among citizens and expats, men and women alike. It shows up most among the young, so our first task is to reach them,' he said, urging a joint push by the education, interior and youth ministries. Problem Stress, poor time-keeping and simmering frustration feed the problem, he added. Crowded districts and scarce parking worsen it. 'When a driver can't find a legal place to leave the car, he stops wherever he can,' he noted. Penalties He wants the Traffic Law rewritten so penalties rise with each repeat and unpaid fines block licence or insurance renewal. He also backs a secure digital channel for anonymous public reports of dangerous driving. 'Road safety belongs to all of us,' he said. 'Law, learning and public vigilance must pull together. Only then will our roads feel safe again.'
Egypt Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Iran's supreme leader says US-Iran talks unlikely to succeed
CNN — Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he does not expect negotiations with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program to 'reach a conclusion' as Washington toughens its conditions for a deal. 'During (former President Ebrahim) Raisi's time there were also indirect negotiations that didn't result in anything, and now we also doubt we will reach a conclusion, and we don't know what will happen,' he was cited as saying on his website. Khamenei called the US demand that Iran not enrich uranium a 'big mistake,' saying that Tehran won't wait for American permission. Addressing American negotiators, he added: 'Try not to talk nonsense.' American officials have sent mixed signals about whether they will allow Iran to enrich uranium domestically under a nuclear agreement. Uranium is a nuclear fuel that can be used to produce a bomb if enriched to high levels. Iran insists it has a right to enrich under the United Nations' Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and says it will not relinquish that right under any circumstances. US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran if it doesn't agree to a nuclear deal, but he did not explicitly rule out its right to enrich uranium when reiterating that threat during his Middle East trip last week. But US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the American delegation to the talks and had previously suggested Iran could be permitted to enrich uranium, told ABC over the weekend that Washington 'cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability' under an agreement. 'We've delivered a proposal to the Iranians that we think addresses some of this without disrespecting them,' he said. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi was cited as saying by Iran's Nour News on Monday that nuclear talks with the US 'will not actually get anywhere' if Washington insists that Tehran abandon enrichment. Iran and the US held their fourth round of talks in Oman earlier this month, aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The Iranian foreign ministry described those talks as 'difficult.' Witkoff said the next round of talks may take place in Europe this week. 'We hope that it will lead to some real positivity,' he added. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that Iran has been offered a date for the next round of talks, but that it has yet to accept it. Asked how negotiations were going so far, he jokingly said the two sides are still tussling.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iran's supreme leader says US-Iran talks unlikely to succeed
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he does not expect negotiations with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program to 'reach a conclusion' as Washington toughens its conditions for a deal. 'During (former President Ebrahim) Raisi's time there were also indirect negotiations that didn't result in anything, and now we also doubt we will reach a conclusion, and we don't know what will happen,' he was cited as saying on his website. Khamenei called the US demand that Iran not enrich uranium a 'big mistake,' saying that Tehran won't wait for American permission. Addressing American negotiators, he added: 'Try not to talk nonsense.' American officials have sent mixed signals about whether they will allow Iran to enrich uranium domestically under a nuclear agreement. Uranium is a nuclear fuel that can be used to produce a bomb if enriched to high levels. Iran insists it has a right to enrich under the United Nations' Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and says it will not relinquish that right under any circumstances. US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran if it doesn't agree to a nuclear deal, but he did not explicitly rule out its right to enrich uranium when reiterating that threat during his Middle East trip last week. But US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the American delegation to the talks and had previously suggested Iran could be permitted to enrich uranium, told ABC over the weekend that Washington 'cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability' under an agreement. 'We've delivered a proposal to the Iranians that we think addresses some of this without disrespecting them,' he said. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi was cited as saying by Iran's Nour News on Monday that nuclear talks with the US 'will not actually get anywhere' if Washington insists that Tehran abandon enrichment. Iran and the US held their fourth round of talks in Oman earlier this month, aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The Iranian foreign ministry described those talks as 'difficult.' Witkoff said the next round of talks may take place in Europe this week. 'We hope that it will lead to some real positivity,' he added. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that Iran has been offered a date for the next round of talks, but that it has yet to accept it. Asked how negotiations were going so far, he jokingly said the two sides are still tussling. CNN's Leila Gharagozlou contributed reporting.
