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IOL News
7 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Controversial US bill targeting ANC leaders likely to pass, says former ambassador
Former South African ambassador to Portugal, Dr Kingsley Makhubela, believes the controversial bill sanctioning ANC leaders will pass in the United States. Image: AFP A former South African ambassador and seasoned diplomat believes the controversial bill introduced in the United States Congress, seeking to review relations with South Africa and to impose sanctions on some leaders of the African National Congress, will pass. IOL reported on Wednesday that a bill which seeks to re-evaluate the bilateral relationship between the United States and South Africa, and identify government leaders who should be subject to sanctions, was passed by a US House Committee on Foreign Affairs this week. The US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025 was introduced in April by Ronny Jackson, a congressman from Texas. The bill, to become a law, will need to be approved by the House and Senate before being signed by President Donald Trump. The bill accuses South Africa of undermining the United States' interests by maintaining close relationships with the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation, nations that are Pretoria's strong allies and key trading partners. Former South African ambassador to Portugal, Dr Kingsley Makhubela, on Thursday told Newzroom Afrika that the Democrats have the numbers, and they might even get support from some Republicans. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading "Quite honestly, this bill is likely to pass. If you look at the numbers, both in the House and in the Senate, currently, the House consists of about 435 members and the Republicans are having 219, and I think the Democrats have 217, so it is likely to pass. This time last year, when this bill was first discussed during the (Joe) Biden administration, 61 Democrats voted for the bill to go through, which has similarities with what we are seeing now. "The only thing that you see now is that there have been added issues on this bill. For instance, there are questions of the relations with Taiwan playing its role, the question of the tension that arose because of Rasool's (former South African ambassador to the United States Ebrahim Rasool) expulsion, it plays into this bill. So this bill is likely to pass," he said. Makhubela said the bill is also framed around the United States' national security, and Americans often close ranks across the political divide once concerns about their national security are raised. Dr Kingsley Makhubela Image: File Earlier, Ernst van Zyl, head of public relations at AfriForum, said the ANC's "years of reckless and extremist diplomatic actions and rhetoric" are now bearing bitter fruit. 'From AfriForum's side, I do not see why punishing corrupt politicians is going to destroy a country's economy. That is going to be left to the ANC to explain how those politicians who are pushing destructive laws, when they are punished for the human rights abuses or corruption. How is that going to destroy the South African economy or going to affect negatively the average man on the street?" Van Zyl also told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika. According to a report by IOL earlier this year, the bill mandates a comprehensive review to identify South African government officials and leaders of the African National Congress who may be subject to sanctions for their alleged support of American adversaries such as China, Russia, and Iran. Commenting on X about the committee's approval of the bill, Jackson said: 'South Africa made its choice when they abandoned America and our allies and sided with communists and terrorists. Today, my bill to fully review America's relationship with South Africa and give President Trump the tools necessary to hold their corrupt government accountable passed through committee. The days of allowing our so-called 'allies' to walk all over us are over!' The bill will now be debated and amended in the House of Representatives before a vote is held on it. The House of Representatives will then submit the approved bill to the Senate for final consideration. IOL News
The Hindu
20-07-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
BioEmu AI reveals protein choreography in biological conditions
Proteins aren't rigid sculptures. They twist, flex, and sometimes unravel — movements essential to understanding their function. Some proteins, like enzymes, open like clamshells to grab molecules. Others such as signalling proteins shift shape to control cell processes. Still others briefly reveal hidden gaps where drugs can bind. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools like AlphaFold have made structure prediction routine, but they typically yield just one stable form, a single frame from what is really a moving picture. A new deep learning system called BioEmu, developed by Microsoft and researchers at Rice University in the US and Freie Universität in Germany, predicts the full range of shapes a protein naturally explores under biological conditions. Known as the equilibrium ensemble, it allows high-resolution protein flexibility modelling at scale, unlike slower, more classical approaches. Described in Science, BioEmu is faster and cheaper, enabling large-scale predictions of protein function. To understand BioEmu's significance, it helps to see what it's up against. The gold standard for modeling protein flexibility is molecular dynamics (MD), which tracks atomic movements at millionths of a billionth of a second using tools like GROMACS or Anton. Despite its ultrafine resolution and accuracy, MD is slow and costly. Simulating motions over microseconds or milliseconds can take tens of thousands of GPU-hours, even on supercomputers. BioEmu sidesteps this bottleneck by relying on an AI diffusion model. To train BioEmu, researchers first fed it real protein structures, from millions of AlphaFold-predicted assemblies, 200 milliseconds of MD simulations spanning thousands of proteins, and half a million mutant sequences from experimental stability measurements. It's like dropping a sugar cube into a glass of water: the original structure, clear and defined, is gradually dissolved. BioEmu's real task is to learn how to run that process in reverse: from noise to a sugar cube. Once trained, it can generate thousands of plausible protein conformations from scratch. BioEmu excelled at benchmarks. It captured large shape changes in enzymes, local unfolding that switches proteins on or off, and fleeting cryptic pockets, temporary crevices that can serve as drug docking sites, like in the cancer-linked protein Ras. It predicted 83% of large shifts and 70-81% of small changes accurately, including open and closed forms of a vital enzyme called adenylate kinase. It also handled hard to predict proteins that don't have a fixed 3D structure and how mutations affect protein stability. Fast but not fully detailed While MD simulates how proteins move over time, including interactions with water and drugs, BioEmu quickly generates snapshots of all the stable shapes a protein is likely to adopt. It can produce thousands of these structures in minutes to hours on a single GPU. But it can't show how a process unfolds. 'If a researcher wants to understand how a drug reaches a hidden binding site, MD can reveal the step-by-step pathway,' says Kalairasan Ponnuswamy, bioinformatician and assistant professor at SRM Institute of Science and Technology. 'BioEmu shows the final shapes, not how the protein gets there.' MD also handles temperature shifts, membranes, and other conditions that BioEmu's static predictions can't yet model. BioEmu also can't model cell walls, drug molecules, pH changes or show prediction reliability like AlphaFold. It's also limited to single chains and can't model how proteins interact, a key part of most biological processes and drug targets. 'It's better seen as a hypothesis-generating tool than a source of final conclusions,' says Ponnuswamy. As the system grows to handle more complex proteins and chemical interactions, researchers may still need experiments or older simulation methods to validate what it proposes. Still, the conceptual advance is clear. If AlphaFold provided the protein world's blueprint, BioEmu sketches its choreography. By capturing flexibility quickly across thousands of proteins, it enables large-scale drug discovery and function studies with fewer resource constraints, Ponnuswamy notes: 'Tasks that took weeks will now take hours.' He does however emphasise the need for proper training and skill-set acquisition. 'Future scientists will not only need a deep grounding in physics and chemistry, they'll also need fluency in machine learning and physical modelling to unlock the true potential of such hybrid approaches.' The researchers see BioEmu and MD as complementary tools. BioEmu can quickly generate a range of plausible conformations, which MD can then explore in detail. This hybrid approach could greatly reduce simulation time while preserving fidelity. Anirban Mukhopadhyay is a geneticist by training and science communicator from Delhi.
Telegraph
19-07-2025
- Telegraph
Inside Crete's migration crisis manufactured by Libyan warlord
He walks over, a tall, rangy figure with a polite smile, to ask for an explanation. Having fled the war in South Sudan, 25-year-old Ras has been detained for the past week inside an abandoned exhibition centre on the Greek holiday island of Crete. The hall is hot and crammed with about 450 men, an odour of sweat and urine emanating from the row of portable lavatories lined against one wall. 'Look around,' he says. 'It's a bad place. Do you know why we are still here?' While every one of the migrants who lie on foam mattresses or scraps of cardboard will have arrived on a unique path, there is one unifying reason for their current predicament. Without their knowledge, they have become pawns, moved across the Mediterranean by smuggling gangs under the control of Gen Khalifa Haftar, the Libyan warlord. His aim is twofold: to extort money from the European Union and tilt the balance of power in a grand geopolitical struggle over oil-and-gas exploration in the sea's depths. From July 1 to 13, 2,619 migrants landed on Crete, a surge far beyond anything previously experienced on the idyll beloved by British tourists. Almost all of them – a mixture of Egyptian, Sudanese, Bangladeshi and Pakistani citizens – departed from the eastern coast of Libya, where smuggling gangs operate under Haftar's influence. 'Human-trafficking mafia' 'It was hell there,' says Rabi, a 22-year-old Bangladeshi man held in a disused warehouse on the outskirts of the northern city of Rethimno, one of several informal reception centres hurriedly set up across the holiday island. 'Every moment we were in Libya, our lives were at risk because of the human-trafficking mafia,' he says. The small, overloaded dinghy he was put on ten days ago by the traffickers ran out of fuel amid rough seas. Luckily, the men were rescued by another vessel and carried to port in Crete. But his arrival, along with thousands of others, has ignited a political firestorm in Greece and singed the international system of asylum that has been in place, despite growing pressure, since the end of the Second World War. On July 11, the Greek government took the unprecedented step of suspending the right to asylum for all migrants who cross the sea from North Africa. The move was fiercely resisted by the country's Left-wing politicians and sparked condemnation from the UN Refugee Agency as well as Europe's leading human rights official. But it was needed to counter an 'invasion', said Thanos Plevris, the new migration minister in Greece 's centre-Right government. Tourism fears Local officials fear the effect on the tourism industry – remembering the scene when a migrant boat landed on a beach in southern Agia Galini, scattering swimmers and sunbathers. Or the night when protesters fired flares at migrant tents set up on a football field in Rethimno, setting several ablaze. While the suspension is scheduled to last three months, Mr Plevris told The Telegraph it would continue 'as long as it is needed when we have a large influx of migrants.' Anyone who arrives after July 11 must either volunteer for deportation or face up to five years in prison – and that holds the same for a refugee from a war zone as an economic migrant whose only threat back home is the grind of poverty. International law forbids the maltreatment of asylum seekers and 'refoulement' into life-threatening situations. But the 1951 UN convention on refugees does not 'take into account the large migratory flows that exist' today, Mr Plevris said, nor the fact that many economic migrants pose as refugees to gain access to Europe's labour market. In a way, Ras is one of the lucky ones. Like everyone in the Agia Convention Centre, which still contains posters advertising 'Alternate Activities' tourists can enjoy on Crete, he arrived before July 11. Coming from South Sudan, he has a chance of gaining asylum and starting life anew in Europe. Around 100 migrants per day are taken by ferry to Athens, where they can begin the formal asylum process. The government has refused to use the navy to move more, and local ferry operators will not take large numbers during tourist season, says Eleni Zervoudakis, deputy mayor of the city of Chania, where the Agia centre is located. 'That means many are left waiting for days in these centres,' she adds. 'We could manage 300, but ten times that amount is impossible'. On a walk around the Agia centre, The Telegraph was allowed to take pictures but forbidden from interviewing the migrants. Many held up their wrists imploringly, tapping a wristband with the number indicating when they had arrived. In one corner of the room, a man washed himself down with a hose. In another, the room's only female occupant, a hijab-wearing mother-of-two, had set up a corner shelter using two covered guardrails. 'She asked for that,' said a coastguard official as he pointed to the makeshift barriers, 'for her own safety.' Tempers can flare in the hall: fights have broken out over pillows and bars of soap, he added. 'There are too many men.' Besides their own, deep-rooted desire for a better life, the reason these men are here stems from a battle over marine exploration rights between Turkey and Greece. In June, Athens offered a set of licences to drill for oil and gas reserves off the coast of Crete, in what is internationally recognised as its own exclusive economic zone (EEZ). But the move sparked a backlash from the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, which claims the waters as its own. For years, without any international backing, Ankara has claimed a stretch of water running from its coast past Crete to the eastern flank of Libya. But Mr Erdogan's cunning management of Libya's civil war has earned his position the backing of both Libya's official government in Tripoli and its reviled enemy, Gen Haftar's parallel administration in Benghazi. In 2019, Mr Erdogan came to the rescue of the government in Tripoli, providing them with drones and other weaponry to defeat the forces of Gen Haftar, who turned back from the capital and retreated east, where they now hold sway over the human-trafficking gangs that operate out of the port city of Tobruk. But the Turkish president then also 'seduced' the Haftar family, providing them with military supplies and training, says Jalel Harchaoui, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute. Shift from Italy to Greece The fruits of Mr Erdogan's efforts became clear on June 19 and 20 when, one after the other, Libya's two parallel administrations issued statements joining Turkey's condemnation of the Greek sea-mining plans. And they became clearer still when, in the ensuing days, boat after boat set sail from Haftar-controlled Libya to Crete, loaded with the men who now lie sweltering in the Agia Convention Centre. 'General Haftar is a terrorist,' curses Ms Zervoudakis, who blames him for striking a deal with Turkey to organise the sudden increase. 'He controls everything.' 'You can like Turkey, or dislike it,' says Mr Harchaoui, 'but it is very logical, and it is far, far better at foreign policy than the Europeans.' Greece, in particular, has been caught napping. In 2023, soon after Gen Haftar opened up Libya's north-eastern coast to the human traffickers who had already ran from the west, Italy faced a surge of arrivals. Giorgia Meloni, the country's prime minister, met with Gen Haftar to discuss the flows, which then shifted to Greece. In 2023, Crete had 800 arrivals. This year, the figure is more than 10,000. Belated efforts by Athens to negotiate with Gen Haftar ended acrimoniously on July 6, when a European delegation, including the Greek interior minister, was deported on a flight out of Benghazi. 'Italy did its homework, but Greece didn't,' says Mr Harchaoui. 'In other words, [Greece did not go] to Haftar and say, amongst gangsters, what kind of gifts can I give you?' Back in Crete's southern coastal town of Agia Galini, Constantinos Katzanakis looks out over the tables of Alikes Taverna at the sparkling waters of the harbour below. Over the past weeks, the restaurateur has seen the orange coastguard ships bring back load upon load of migrants. Mr Katzanakis is sympathetic to their plight. The West, with all its 'gold and diesel', should help them more in their own countries. But if they keep coming at this rate, 'there will be nothing left of the Cretan people,' he says, dusting his hands for emphasis. This weekend, the wind is due to change. That could herald a fresh surge of migrant crossings, as favourable conditions often do. Athens is hoping that its threat of years-long imprisonment for any arrival stops the boats, with migrants dissuaded from stepping on board. But it is in a game of chicken with a warlord who treats the men he transfers across the sea like so many carcasses, good for nothing but making him richer.
Business Upturn
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
Ninjago: Dragons Rising Season 3 Part 2: Release date, cast and plot details – Everything we know so far
The LEGO Ninjago franchise continues to captivate fans with its thrilling animated series, Ninjago: Dragons Rising . As Season 3 Part 1 has already landed, fans are buzzing with excitement for Part 2. Here's everything we know so far about the release date, cast, and plot details for Ninjago: Dragons Rising Season 3 Part 2, crafted to keep you in the loop and fuel your anticipation! Release Date Speculation for Season 3 Part 2 While Ninjago: Dragons Rising Season 3 Part 1 premiered on Netflix on April 17, 2025, the second half is highly anticipated. According to reports, Season 3 Part 2 is set to release on Netflix on September 4, 2025, with episodes 11–18 already streaming on Roku as of April 24, 2025. This aligns with the show's pattern of splitting seasons into two parts, as seen with Season 2, where Part 1 dropped in April 2024 and Part 2 in October 2024. Fans can expect a similar release window for Part 2, ensuring a full rollout on Netflix for global audiences by early September 2025. Expected Cast of Ninjago: Dragons Rising Season 3 Part 2 The voice cast for Ninjago: Dragons Rising Season 3 Part 2 brings back fan-favorite actors alongside new additions, delivering the charm and depth that make the series so beloved. Here's who you can expect to hear: Sam Vincent as Lloyd Garmadon Vincent Tong as Kai Kelly Metzger as Nya Brent Miller as Zane Michael Adamthwaite as Jay Andrew Francis as Cole Sabrina Pitre as Hantro Deven Mack as Gus Tabitha St. Germain as Gandalaria and Coconut Jennifer Hayward as P.I.X.A.L. Marci T. House as the Source Dragon of Flow Ashleigh Ball as Dr. LaRow and Imperium Guards This talented ensemble ensures emotional depth and action-packed performances, with new characters like the Source Dragon of Flow and returning favorites like P.I.X.A.L. and Morro adding fresh dynamics. Potential Plot Details for Season 3 Part 2 Ninjago: Dragons Rising Season 3 Part 2 picks up after the intense cliffhangers of Part 1, diving deeper into the ninja's quest to thwart the Forbidden Five and their chaotic plans. The story continues in the Merged Realms, a world reshaped by the cataclysmic Merge, where the ninja face new threats and uncover ancient secrets. Key Plot Points The Forbidden Five's Quest: The villainous Forbidden Five, secondary antagonists in Part 2, are hunting the Prismatic Blades to awaken Thunderfang, the legendary Chaos Dragon. Their pursuit intensifies, creating high-stakes battles as they seek to harness dark power. The Ninja's Mission: The ninja are divided, with Lloyd, Zane, and others searching for their missing teammate, Arin, who is training with the villainous Lord Ras in the Spectral Lands. Meanwhile, Kai, Nya, and Wyldfyre pursue Jay, now a bounty hunter known as Rogue, sparking old grudges and new alliances. Spectral Lands and New Realms: The Spectral Lands take center stage as a mystical, dangerous setting where Ras sends Arin to retrieve a healing elixir from the Well of the Lost. The Realm of Mysterium and Realm of Lee also reveal new lore, including a secretive underground town and a unique calendar system (AL). Character Arcs: Arin's complex journey involves nursing Ras back to health while grappling with his loyalties, guided by the returning Morro in the Spectral Lands. Sora and Frak's dynamic, alongside Kai, Nya, and Wyldfyre's side quest, adds emotional weight. Zane reunites with old friends, like P.I.X.A.L., while facing looters and the Forbidden Five. Themes and Highlights Season 3 Part 2 promises epic battles, shocking twists, and deeper exploration of the Merged Realms. The introduction of the Reveal Blades as collectible items and Sora as a mascot character alongside the Spectral Lands backdrop signals a shift in focus. Fans can expect intense showdowns, with the ninja racing against time to reunite their team and stop the Forbidden Five's dark ritual. The season also teases returning characters like Morro, whose role as Wu's former student adds nostalgia and intrigue. Ahmedabad Plane Crash
Web Release
24-06-2025
- Business
- Web Release
Manish Thapliyal – Executive Chef at Radisson Resort Ras Al Khaimah wins the Hotels Executive Chefs – Food Safety in Charge Award by the Ras Al Khaimah Municipality!
We are so proud of our Executive Chef, Manish Thapliyal for winning the Hotels Executive Chefs – Food Safety in Charge Award by the Ras Al Khaimah Municipality. This recognition is more than just an award – it is a testament to every checklist meticulously followed, every training session diligently conducted, and every standard consistently upheld behind the scenes. From the Heat of the Kitchen to the Honor of Recognition, Manish's love for food began with a simple curiosity – a desire to create, connect, and make people happy through what's on their plate. That passion flourished when he earned his B.A. (Hons.) in Culinary Arts from the University of Rhodesfield, UK, in 2010. He then began his culinary career with the Taj Group in India, and in 2010 and relocated to the UAE, where he had the privilege to advance his skills with renowned hospitality brands such as Le Meridien, The Westin, Madinat Jumeirah, and InterContinental Dubai Marina. Additionally, he played an integral role in the pre-opening phases of three major hotels – InterContinental Dubai Marina, Radisson Blu Dubai Waterfront, and Radisson Resort Ras Al Khaimah, contributing to the design and establishment of their culinary operations from the ground up. Today, as Executive Chef at Radisson Resort Ras Al Khaimah, he oversees six diverse outlets and lead a dedicated, high-performing kitchen, stewards and hygiene team. Together, they have launched guest-centric initiatives such as innovative F&B promotions, themed buffet nights, seasonal and personalized tasting menus, as well as impactful sustainability programs including food donations in collaboration with the UAE Food Bank. Manish Thapliyal comments: 'It's an honour to win the Hotels Executive Chefs – Food Safety In-Charge Award by Ras Al Khaimah Municipality. This recognition is more than just an award – it is a testament to every checklist meticulously followed, every training session diligently conducted, and every standard consistently upheld behind the scenes. Receiving this award filled me with immense pride, but above all, it reinforced the profound responsibility we carry as Chefs: to ensure not only exceptional taste and presentation but also the health and trust of every guest we serve. I remain committed to pushing boundaries, mentoring young talent, and delivering memorable experiences — one plate at a time.' Congratulations! Radisson Resort Ras Al Khaimah, Marjan Island's leisure facilities include a private beach, two swimming pools, a designated kids pool, an indoor fitness center with a fully-equipped gym, and a spa, as well as two meeting rooms and a ballroom perfect for larger corporate events and private events like weddings. The resort also offers a diverse selection of dining options across its six restaurants Read more about the hotel, on the hotel Website
