Mediaboss Marketing

THE National Sheep Association (NSA) says it welcomes any strengthening of legislation on livestock worrying by dogs, however, the sheep farming association believes that strengthening police powers to seize dogs should have been further backed up by a significant increase in the maximum fines that could be imposed.

The views come following the announcement that stricter measures to crack down on livestock worrying were to be introduced in England and Wales through the Kept Animals Bill introduced to Parliament earlier this week. NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: This was an opportunity to create a major deterrent to this antisocial behaviour by substantially increasing the maximum applicable fine alongside more proactive measures to prevent attacks occurring. Defra and Ministers responsible for English legislation are missing a trick in not taking the opportunity to increase fines in line with what the Scottish Parliament has done.

The provisions of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021, which received Royal Assent on May 5, 2021, includes imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, a fine not exceeding 40,000, or possibly both. A person who commits a similar offence in England under this new proposed Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill is liable to a summary conviction and a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale currently 1,000.

Mr Stocker added: There are significant and very welcome improvements contained in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill to support the police and rural crime teams after an offence has occurred, but very little to reduce the number of incidents that are increasing year-on-year. In fact, the lack of clarity in defining under close control puts farmers and dog owners in a difficult, potentially conflicting position.

Recent reports of out-of-control dogs causing harm to livestock including a Highland cow being chased over an embankment leading to its death and an MP being fined for his dog chasing deer in Richmond Park, London, underline a significant increase in the number of incidents that have come with increased dog ownership and more people using farmland for leisure. The results from NSAs own sheep worrying by dogs survey also revealed a concerning increase in dog attacks on sheep over the past year.

NSA believes these incidents all point to an urgent need for simple, straightforward and effective measures to radically reduce the number of cases. NSA urges ministers to avoid any ambiguity by legislating for non-working dogs to be on a lead when around or likely to come into contact with livestock.

DEFRAs Action Plan for Animal Welfare highlights the UKs long tradition of protecting animals and outlines its ambitions to raise welfare standards further with tougher penalties for animal cruelty, raising the maximum prison sentence from six months to five years, and a new range of (unlimited) fines to be applied to those who are cruel to animals. NSA believes that the injury and stress involved when sheep and other livestock are attacked results in serious animal cruelty and should be subject to similar maximum penalties and deterrents.

While the NSA would like to see legislation strengthened beyond what appears to be proposed it will also continue to campaign to improve attitudes to responsible dog ownership, to protect its members livelihoods and reduce stress and anxiety. NSA looks forward to working with DEFRA and other organisations to improve responsible dog ownership and a better situation for all involved.

Read more here:
Higher fines needed for sheep worrying cases, sheep association says - Craven Herald

Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham) made an unexpected exit during the NCIS Season 18 finale. If Bishops exit has you puzzled, well explain what happened. Heres the real reason Bishop left the NCIS team.

Bishop was accused of leaking classified NSA documents about a secret operation where Syrian refugees were used as bait to lure an Al-Qaeda leader out of hiding. The information leak, which occurred 10 years ago while she was still working with the NSA, appeared to get into the hands of arms dealers.

Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) tried to defend Bishop. He told her to go home until things settled down. However, she came back to the office and said she was responsible for the information leak. Bishop then quit and left the building. McGee goes after her to ask her what happened.

At first, Bishop says she doesnt want to talk about what happened with the NSA leak, but McGee (Sean Murray) refuses to back down. You and I have been through too much together for you to box me out like this, says McGee. Bishop decides to talk, telling McGee she wasnt in agreement with the NSAs treatment of Syrian refugees. However, McGee doesnt understand how capturing Al Qaeda leaders could be wrong.

Bishop explains capturing the leaders wasnt what was wrong. She didnt agree with the methods used for making the captures. Using innocent people as pawnsthats wrong, says Bishop. However, McGee says he dug deeper into the NSA intel and found that some of the refugees were foreign fighters using civilians as a cover. Bishop says the information is just from one source and it was unreliable.

McGee asks Bishop if she has regrets about the leaked documents. She says her only regret is not releasing the documents sooner. However, McGee says she should have thought about filing a whistleblower report. McGee goes to Gibbs house to talk about Bishop. Hes upset because Bishop could face up to 20 years in prison for what she did. He asks Gibbs how he can help her, but he says theres really nothing he can do.

Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) has a difficult time with the investigation into Bishop. He was in denial, not wanting to believe the accusations. Torres insists shes being framed.

When Torres tracks Bishop down, he learns the truth. Odette planted the leaked documents in the arms dealers bag. Now, Bishop is on her way to continue training with her. The information leak was all part of an operation led by Odette. Bishop needed to be a disgraced NCIS agent to move on to wherever shes going next. Torres assumes her next step is probably CIA or Homeland Security.

When Torres asks Bishop why she pushed him away, Bishop explains it was all about doing what was best for her. She was given an opportunity to join Odette and work with her, so she took it. If we worked regular 9-5 jobs, things could be different, she tells Torres. I didnt mean for us to happen. With that, Bishop kisses Torres and walks away.

Follow Sheiresa Ngo on Twitter.

Here is the original post:
'NCIS': The Real Reason Bishop Quit the 'NCIS' Team - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi lashed out at Afghanistan's National Security Advisor for allegedly calling the former's country a 'brothel house'. Shah Mehmood Qureshi's remarks come a month after Afghanistan's NSAHamdullah Mohib allegedly made the remark during a public speech in Nangarhar province nearly a month ago. Asking NSAHamdullah Mohib to listen carefully, the Pakistan Foreign Minister threatened him that no Pakistani would shake hands if the former did not desist himself from making such remarks & levelling accusations.

As per ANI, Pakistan has conveyed to Afghanistan that it would no longer conduct official business with NSAHamdullah Mohib due to his outburst against Islamabad. A statement issued by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry called the NSA's allegations baseless and added that such remarks undermine trust and mutual understanding between Islamabad and Kabul. Qureshi said that Pakistani officials from the prime minister to the army chief to the foreign minister had visited Kabul for peace yet the NSA had still likened Pakistan to a "brothel house".

"You should be ashamed and you should be guilty at your words and my blood is boiling ever since your speech in Nangarhar," he added.

"Correct your behaviour and reflect on it. I say this to the international community that if this behaviour continues, then this person, who calls himself the national security adviser of Afghanistan, will actually be playing the role of a spoiler [for peace]."

President Biden in April announced that all American troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 11 this year, thus bringing to end the country's longest war, spanning across two decades. The US and the Taliban signed a landmark deal in Doha on February 29, 2020, to bring lasting peace in war-torn Afghanistan and allow US troops to return home from America's longest war. Under the US-Taliban pact, the US has agreed to withdraw all its soldiers from Afghanistan in 14 months.

There are currently 2,500 American troops left in Afghanistan, the lowest level of American forces in the war-torn country since 2001. Since the US-led invasion that ousted the Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks, America has spent more than USD 1 trillion in fighting and rebuilding in Afghanistan. About 2,400 US soldiers have been killed, along with tens of thousands of Afghan troops, Taliban insurgents, and Afghan civilians.

The rest is here:
Pakistan FM threatens to not shake hands with Afghanistan NSA over brothel house remark - Republic World

By PTI

ALIGARH:The BJP on Monday expelled Rishi Sharma, the alleged kingpin in the hooch tragedy case, from the party.

District president of BJP Rishipal Pal Singh has cancelled Rishi Sharma's primary membership, a party press release said.

Aligarh Police has started the process of charging all the five main accused including Sharma, who was arrested on Sunday, under the stringent National Security Act and the Gangster Act, Senior Superintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani said.

The accused are being interrogated and are expected to reveal the entire network of the liquor mafia, police sources said.

They said Rishi Sharma was in disguise and was hiding among a group of sadhus at an ashram at Garhmukteshwar near Hapur to evade the police.

Police had managed to trace his whereabouts from the video footage of one of his close associates with whom he was last seen when the news of the liquor tragedy, which has claimed at least 35 lives, started trickling on the night of May 27.

During the past week, police raided the premises of several of Sharma's associates in different states including Himachal Pradesh.

After they traced him to Garhmukteshwar Ashram on Saturday evening, a police party rushed there only to discover that he had escaped.

With the help of some informers, he was tracked down at the Aligarh-Bulandshahr border where he was ultimately nabbed after a manhunt lasting nine days.

Read the original:
BJP expels hooch tragedy accused from party; NSA to be invoked against five arrested - The New Indian Express

International

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

| Published: Tuesday, June 8, 2021, 10:59 [IST]

Washington, June 08: The United States in coordination with the international community will continue to press China to be transparent and forthcoming with information on the origins of COVID-19, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said.

He also said that at the same time, the US will also launch its own review and process.

"We are going to continue to press in coordination with the international community, China to be transparent, to be forthcoming with data and information, we're not going to just stand by and accept that they've said they're not going to participate," Jake Sullivan told a White House news conference on Monday.

This would be also one of the topics of discussion with foreign leaders as President Joe Biden departs on his maiden overseas trip -- after assuming office -- this week, he said.

Biden is scheduled to leave on his maiden official overseas trip on Wednesday during which he will hold discussions with top global leaders, including at the G-7 summit in the UK and the NATO meetings.

Meanwhile, at a Congressional testimony, Secretary of State Tony Blinken said that there are two possible scenarios on the origins of the coronavirus.

One is that it emerged from a laboratory and the other is that it was naturally occurring, he said.

"President Biden has ordered a comprehensive government-wide review to try to get to the bottom of what happened," Tony Blinken said in response to a question from Congressman Steve Chabot, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"He initiated an initial review back in March. The results concluded that it was likely to be one of these two scenarios. He's now asked on a 90-day basis for the entire government to really dig into everything we have, including working with experts to see if we can make a determination," he said.

Tony Blinken said that at the same time, the US is pressing the World Health Organization to move forward with its phase two study to understand the origins.

Congressman Chabot said the COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that the economic interdependence with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) threatens American lives and prosperity.

The CCP is continuing to poison economic ties that were previously thought to be benign, he said.

"They're degrading Hong Kong's legal and financial system, contaminating supply chains with Uyghur forced labour and extracting technology from corporations as the cost of admission to China's market," Chabot said.

Tony Blinken alleged that since the beginning of this crisis, China has failed to meet its basic responsibilities in terms of sharing information, providing access and doing that in real-time with transparency.

"That was true at the start. It remains true, unfortunately, today," he said.

"What you're seeing is, through the work that's being done, for example, at the WHO, the work that we're doing, and the concerns expressed by countries around the world that there is a strong chorus insisting that China will make good on its responsibilities to provide the information," Tony Blinken said.

He exuded confidence that there is going to be an increasing international demand that countries, including China, meet their responsibilities when it comes to providing information, access, and transparency on global health, including Covid.

"There are just many in Congress who are skeptical of whether or not China is going to grant access to the labs, and we're trying to understand what the next up is going to be if and when China says that lab access won't be granted," Congressman Lee Zeldin asked.

Congresswoman Ann Wagner said that as the US continues to combat the Covid pandemic, it must be united in ensuring that the Peoples' Republic of China cannot use this time of uncertainty to further undermine global prosperity, stability, and the rule of law.

"We should have acknowledged that right from the onset of this devastating crisis. The Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, suppressed, they misrepresented and they falsified information necessary to prevent a pandemic," she said.

Holding the CCP accountable is the only way to deter the release of another deadly virus on the global community in the future and to ensure that the communist party stops violating international law and provide compensation to millions of Americans who suffered tragic unthinkable losses over the course of this pandemic, Ann Wagner said.

Ann Wagner had introduced the Compensation for Americans Act in the 116th Congress, which establishes a compensation fund for those affected and allows the president to freeze Chinese assets to bring the communist party to this negotiating table.

"It also gives the United States a comprehensive toolbox of punitive measures to further incentivise China's cooperation. I will again be introducing this legislation in the 117th Congress and I hope my colleagues will support my efforts to ensure that the United States leads the way in holding the CCP accountable," she said.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates

Allow Notifications

You have already subscribed

Story first published: Tuesday, June 8, 2021, 10:59 [IST]

Go here to see the original:
US NSA says will push China to be more transparent on COVID-19 - Oneindia