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Hans India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Hans India
Velammal Vidyalaya wins gold medal
Chennai's Velammal Vidyalaya, the alma mater of the youngest reigning world champion D Gukesh and Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa, has won the gold medal at the World Schools Team Chess Championship in Virginia, USA. The Velammal Vidyalaya, located in the Mogappair neighbourhood, has been lauded as the force behind the chess revolution in Chennai as it provides expert training to hundreds of budding chess players. 'After eight exciting rounds, the 2025 World Schools Team Championship wrapped up today in Alexandria, Virginia,' global chess governing body FIDE announced in a press release on Thursday. Velammal Vidyalaya's Pranav KP, who played reserve on board five, along with Imangali Akhilbay (Kazakhstan NSPM) on board two and Edisa Berdibaeva (Kazakhstan NSPM) finished with perfect scores (eight out of eight). In all, Velammal Vidyalaya ended their eight games with 16 points. 'Rising above the rest with a perfect score, Velammal MHS School from India claimed the gold medal, winning all eight of their matches,' the FIDE stated. FIDE said the triumph for Velammal School adds another chapter to India's 'growing collection' of titles in chess. 'With India continuing to make waves across all levels and formats of chess, this victory adds yet another title to the country's growing collection,' it said. 'Velammal MHS is no stranger to success—former students include Grandmasters R. Praggnanandhaa and Leon Mendonca. So it came as little surprise when the team entered the final round with the top spot already secured,' FIDE added. The Velammal School has produced several Grandmasters over the years including SP Sethuraman, Mendonca, K Priyadharshan, B Adhiban, Vishnu Prasanna, Visakh NR, Vignesh NR, M Karthikeyan, C Aravindh, Karthik Venkataraman, V Pranav, S Bharath, Arjun Kalyan, P Karthikeyan and N Srinath. Among the Women Grandmasters from the school are R Vaishali, a Grandmaster and sister of Praggnanandhaa, Varshini S, R Rakshitta and B Savitha Shri. 'They also have a champion like Anand to look up to,' the school's chess co-coordinator S Velavan had told PTI in December last year. 'Since most of the children coming here have a genuine interest in chess, we don't have to push them. They combine studies and chess well, and, in fact, the students who play chess have done even better in their studies,' he added. Velammal Vidyalaya, which won the FIDE World School Teams Championship for five consecutive years in the past, follows the '7 to 17 programme' which was introduced by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2013. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's National School of Physics and Mathematics won the silver medal as they had the same number of match points as The Harker School from the USA, but 'edged them out on tie-breaks'. The Harker School finished third ahead of Astana 2 RSPM.
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
United Airlines Suspending Major Route
The travel industry has been on a wild ride this year, and travel, in general, has been lower than expected. Looking at U.S. airline traffic data for April 2025 from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, "U.S. airlines carried 80.4 million systemwide scheduled service passengers in April 2025." They add that "when adjusted for seasonality, April enplanements are down 2.2% from March and down 4.0% from the all-time high reached in December 2024." So, travel is down, and that means routes are getting adjusted. Other routes are getting changed not due to lack of demand but because of other reasons, too. Now, United Airlines is planning to suspend a route starting this September. According to a piece published on July 23 by Luke Diaz of Simply Flying, "As politics increasingly influence the global aviation network, United Airlines has notified the United States Department of Transportation that it will suspend its sole service route between Cuba and the U.S. this September." Diaz adds that the move comes after the current administration's signing of the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM), signed on June 30, 2025. 'The hardline travel policy states intent to 'restore and strengthen' the U.S. government's position against Cuba," reversing the previous administration's policy that eased restrictions, according to Diaz. Flights between Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Havana's José Martí International Airport (HAV) will officially stop on September 2, 2025, according to Aviation Week. "In a filing to the DOT, United said that it would use seasonal flexibility already granted by the department to pause service through the end of the winter 2025-26 season," David Casey of Aviation Week states in a July 22 feature. "However, the airline also requested a formal waiver of dormancy conditions—if deemed necessary—to preserve its rights to resume the route no later than the start of the summer 2026 season." So, United Airlines wants the right to resume the route at some point, but so far, it's just being cut without a return Airlines Suspending Major Route first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 24, 2025 Solve the daily Crossword
United News of India
01-07-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Cuban FM calls new tightening of US sanctions 'criminal policy'
Mexico City, July 1 (UNI) US President Donald Trump's memorandum on tightening Washington's policy towards Havana demonstrates a criminal policy that violates the rights of the entire Cuban people, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said. "The presidential memorandum against Cuba, released today by the US government, intensifies the aggression and economic blockade that punishes the entire Cuban people and is the main obstacle to our development. It is a criminal policy that violates the rights of an entire nation," Rodriguez Parilla said on X. According to a statement on the White House website, the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) signed by Trump restores and strengthens the hard line towards Cuba that was in effect during his first term, reversing the normalization steps taken under the Biden administration. The document prohibits any direct or indirect financial transactions with companies controlled by the Cuban military, including the GAESA conglomerate and its subsidiaries. Exceptions are allowed only for transactions that contribute to the achievement of US foreign policy objectives or support the Cuban population. The memorandum strengthens control over tourist travel: the ban on tourism from the United States remains in place, mandatory audits and requirements for storing financial documentation related to travel to Cuba for at least five years are introduced. At the same time, Trump confirmed the abandonment of the policy previously aimed at stimulating migration from Cuba to prevent illegal migration. The document also assumes the continuation of the blockade and countering attempts to lift it within the UN and other international organizations. It also talks about supporting a "free Cuba," the development of an independent private sector and human rights — including through expanding access to the Internet, freedom of the press and association. According to the memorandum, the United States plans to conduct a comprehensive review of human rights violations in Cuba, including cases of illegal detentions and ill-treatment of prisoners, as well as compile a list of persons hiding from US justice and sheltered by the Cuban authorities. UNI SPUTNIK GNK 0821
IOL News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Iran blames the US for Israeli airstrikes amid escalating tensions
Iran facing Israeli airstrike over the allegation of developing nuclear weapons. Image: Independent Media Archives The Iranian government has blamed the United States of America for the Israeli airstrike on its country this week. In a statement released on Friday through its embassy in Pretoria, Iran's Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Zionist regime's aggressive actions against Iran could not have happened without US coordination and approval. 'Consequently, the US government, as the primary patron of this regime, will also bear responsibility for the dangerous repercussions of the Zionist regime's reckless actions,' read the statement. In February, US President Donald Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM), calling on Iran to be stopped from engaging in any nuclear programmes. He said Iran should be denied a nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missiles, and that its terrorist network should be neutralised and its aggressive development of missiles, as well as other asymmetric and conventional weapons capabilities, be countered. The memorandum read: 'In 2020, President Trump declared that as long as (he is) President of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.' International media reported on Friday that the Israeli military attacked Iran's nuclear and military sites, killing senior military officials and nuclear scientists. According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), among those who were killed in the early hours of Friday in Tehran, Iran's capital, was Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major-General Hossein Salami. In another statement released on Thursday, the Iranian government said the country only has a 'peaceful nature of its nuclear programme'. It said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s Board of Governors had been misled by France, the UK, Germany, and the US to cast doubt about the nature of its nuclear programme. The Ministry stated that Israeli attacks on Iran constitute a violation of Article 2(4) of the United Nations (UN) Charter. 'In accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, Iran reserves the legitimate and legal right to respond to this aggression. The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to defend Iran's sovereignty with full strength and in the manner they deem appropriate,' read Friday's statement. The Ministry also called on the UN to carry out its mandate of preventing aggression, breach of peace, and threats to peace. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran underscores the Security Council's obligation to take immediate action against this violation of international peace and security, stemming from the Zionist regime's blatant aggression. 'We call upon the President and members of the Council to act without delay in this regard,' the Ministry said. FDD said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the airstrike on Iran through the operation 'Rising Lion' as aimed at rolling back the Iranian threat to Israel's survival. FDD said Netanyahu said the strikes will 'continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat'. It said Netanyahu stressed his gratitude to Trump 'for his steadfast stance', against Iran's nuclear weapons. In defence of Israeli action, FDD Chief Executive Officer Mark Dubowitz said the Israeli inaction would have had a far greater cost. 'Israel did what had to be done: defend itself, the West, and ultimately the Iranian people from the genocidal ambitions of the mullahs. 'Nuclear talks were heading to collapse under Tehran's defiance, and sanctions alone couldn't stop Iran's race toward multiple nuclear weapons,' said Dubowitz. However, South Africa's former member of the IAEA Board of Directors, Dr Abdul Samad Minty, told the International Union of Scientists publication early this year that the IAEA had previously found no evidence that Iran was developing nuclear weapons. 'When I was on the board of the IAEA, I was able to expose in many cases that Iran was complying with the peaceful requirements of the IAEA, but the Western countries continued to support Israel's case that Iran was developing nuclear weapons. 'There was no evidence at that time that Iran was developing nuclear weapons, but they thought that all nuclear cooperation with Iran should be stopped, because it had the potential in the end to develop nuclear weapons,' the publication quoted Minty.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iran's currency plummets amid Trump's 'maximum pressure' plan
Iran's currency hit a new low on Saturday with $1 costing 1,043,000 rials, and it could fall even further as global tensions rise. The country had just finished celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, during which stores were closed and only informal trading on the streets took place, according to the Associated Press. The outlet noted that this put additional pressure on the market. Iranian money exchanges and traders have turned their electronic signs amid uncertainty over the value of the rial, the Associated Press reported. Trump Sent A Final Warning To Iran, Gop Lawmaker Says International sanctions, on top of immense pressure from the U.S., have taken a toll on Tehran and its economy. Prior to its new record low, the rial had already dropped to nearly half its value since President Masoud Pezeshkian took office in July 2024, Reuters reported. The White House announced on Feb. 4 that President Donald Trump was restoring maximum pressure on Iran, with a focus on blocking the Islamic Republic from getting a nuclear weapon. The National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) on Iran called for the countering of Tehran's influence abroad, in addition to the blocking of Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Read On The Fox Business App Trump Sends Letter To Iran On Nuclear Program: 'Make A Deal' Or Face Us 'Militarily' Secretary Marco Rubio addressed the threats emanating from Iran when speaking to reporters in Israel less than two weeks after Trump signed the NSPM. He also acknowledged that the Iranian people are victims of the regime in Tehran. "It is the single greatest source of instability in the region. Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home, is Iran," Rubio said during the joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As part of the Trump administration's crackdown on Iran, the Treasury Department targeted a network that it said was working to ship millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil to China. The Treasury Department also noted that Iran uses its oil sales to fund terrorist groups, such as Hamas and Trump imposed sanctions on Tehran during his first term, 55,000 rials was equivalent to $1, according to article source: Iran's currency plummets amid Trump's 'maximum pressure' plan
