Feature
Donald Trump warns US may have to ‘destroy’ North Korea
United Nations: President Donald Trump warned leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly today that the United States may have to destroy North Korea if Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear-armed regime threatens its neighbours.
In an unprecedented warning delivered at this world forum, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened North Korea with total destruction if his country is forced to defend itself and its allies against the threats from Pyongyang.
Delivering his first address to the high-level meeting of the General Assembly, Trump said that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un “threatens the entire world with unthinkable loss of life” and if the US was “forced to defend itself and its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea”.
“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.
“Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime,” he said, using his new nickname for the North Korean leader. “The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary.
North Korea has issued a threat that “we will strike a merciless blow at the heart of the US with our powerful nuclear hammer, honed and hardened over time”.
“Rocket man is on a suicide mission,” Trump said, with a derisive reference to Kim.
But he said that he hoped the UN would be able to stop North Korea. “That’s what the United Nations is for. Let’s see how they do.
“If the righteous many don’t confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph,” he said.
United States may have to destroy North Korea: Donald Trump:
Trump’s other target was Iran and in a statement aimed more at his domestic base, he said the denuclearisation agreement with Tehran was “an embarrassment to the United States”.
He threatened to revisit the agreement reached with Iran by the administration of former President Barack Obama and five other UN members.
He called Iran a “rogue nation” and accused it of destabilising the Middle East.
Trump, who took office in January, also focussed on himself.
He opened his address by saying that the US had done well since he entered the White House. The stock market was at an all time high and unemployment in the US was at its lowest level.
Trump told the world leaders at the UN that terrorists were gaining strength everywhere but insisted that peace was possible.
“To put it simply, we meet at a time of both immense promise and great peril. Terrorists and extremists have gathered strength and spread to every region of the planet.”
The US, he said, was prepared to combat global instability through military might. “Our military will soon be the strongest it has ever been.”
He underlined that he would always put American interests above all else. And he quickly urged other nations to do the same.
“In America, we do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to watch.”
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.