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Diwali 2024 / Tips And Decor Ideas For The Festival Of Lights
How to reuse a candle jar instead of throwing it out
Have you ever wondered what to do with decorative candle jars once they’re empty? There are plenty of creative (and practical) ways to upcycle the containers instead of just tossing them in the trash. So next time you finish burning a scented candle, here’s how to reuse the candle jar around the home. How to remove candle wax from a jar The first and most important step to reusing candle jars is to remove the leftover wax. According to the National Candle Association (NCA), you should stop burning candles when half an inch of wax is left in the container or jar. Freezer method The most common way to remove candle wax from a jar is to place it in the freezer and leave it there overnight — a day or two is even better. This will shrink the wax so that it’s easier to remove. If the wax doesn’t come right out when you flip the jar over, you can use a spoon to gently remove it. (Breaking the wax into smaller pieces can also help.) Boiling water method In a rush? You can remove leftover wax from a jar much faster with boiling water. As someone who has cleaned and reused plenty of candle jars, this is my preferred way to remove wax. Simply boil water in a kettle and pour it into the candle jar, leaving at least an inch of space at the top. The wax will melt and rise to the surface as it cools down. Then, once the wax has solidified (be patient!), you can easily scoop it out with a spoon. How to clean candle jars Even after following the instructions above, it’s normal for there to be some wax along the walls of the candle jar. Luckily, you don’t need any fancy cleaning tools to get it looking spotless. We suggest using warm water, dish soap and a sponge to help remove any leftover residue — a damp paper towel works wonders for cleaning up wax too. The NCA says you can also try running hot water over the exterior of the candle jar and then wiping away the melted wax. Whether you use the freezer or boiling water method, the candle wick should ideally come out along with the wax. “If not, try running hot water over it to release the adhesive,” the NCA says. “Remember, avoid using knives or sharp tools for this as it could damage the jar and cause injury.” If you want to remove the label (some are pretty enough to keep on), you can soak the jar in hot water. Goo Gone can also help with any sticky adhesive that gets left behind. How to reuse candle jars Once you have a clean jar, there are so many ways to reuse it. Here are some of my favorite ideas, but the potential uses are pretty much endless. As a storage container The most straightforward way to reuse a candle jar is as a storage container — I have old candle jars holding things all over my apartment. They can be used to store small items like cotton balls and cotton swabs in the bathroom or to organize office supplies at your desk. (Taller jars are great for pens and pencils, and smaller jars for holding paper clips and rubber bands.) And if your vanity is a mess, try using an old candle jar to corral your makeup brushes. As a cocktail glass If your candle jar is made of food-safe materials, you can even use it as a cocktail glass. Not many candle manufacturers advertise their containers as food-safe, so you may have to do some digging. I’m a big fan of the candles in Paddywax’sLa Playa collection, which are designed for this — they even come with a fun cocktail recipe! As a catchall in your entryway You can also use empty jars as a catchall in your entryway for keys, headphones, and hand sanitizer — large, shallow containers work best for this. Candle jars are perfect for holding spare change too — you’ll know exactly where to go when you need a coin to scratch off a lottery ticket or the back of a gift card. As decor If you host often, you can fill empty jars with things like seashells, pine cones, or battery-powered fairy lights for an easy centerpiece idea. Candy would be a great option too. One of my favorite ways to reuse a candle jar is as a flower vase — Homesick candles, for example, are the perfect size for small bouquets. You can also reuse candle jars as decorative planters and build mini terrariums in them. (For plants that require drainage, you can keep them in their nursery pots or drill holes in the jar.) As a new candle Feeling crafty? You can refill old jars with wax to make a new candle. It’s a lot easier than it sounds! Some brands even offer refillable candle kits that come with pre-scented wax, a wick, and a wick holder.
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Turkey: 110 arrested over alleged Kurdish militant links
Turkish police say they have arrested scores of people over suspected links to the outlawed PKK militant group. The detentions come just weeks before major elections. Turkish police on Tuesday detained 110 people in an operation targeting people accused of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group, security sources said. The operation extended over 21 provinces but was focused on the Kurdish-majority town of Diyarbakir in the southeast, the sources said. A pro-Kurdish lawmaker said politicians, lawyers, journalists and artists were among those arrested in the raids, which come before presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14. Why is the PKK being targeted? Security sources referred to the raids targeting people with suspected links to the PKK as a "counterterror" operation. The PKK, a militant group that has long fought for increased autonomy for Kurds in Turkey, is designated as a terror group not only by Turkey, but also by the US and the EU, among others. However, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has twice ruled that the group received its EU designation without due process. The Turkish government blames the PKK for nearly 40,000 deaths since the group launched an armed struggle for a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984. However, both sides have been accused of atrocities since the start of the uprising. Instrumentalizing arrests? Pro-Kurdish lawmaker Tayip Temel of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) claimed that the operation was motivated by fears that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AK Party could be defeated in the upcoming elections. "On the eve of the election, out of fear of losing power, they have resorted to detention operations again," he wrote on Twitter. He said tens of politicians, including top members of his party, journalists, artists and lawyers were among those detained in Diyarbakir on Tuesday morning. In a statement on its website, the organization Reporters Without Borders says: "As the 2023 election approaches, the Recep Tayyip Erdogan 'hyper-presidency' has stepped up its attacks on journalists in a bid to deflect attention from the country's economic and democratic decline and to shore up its political base." Erdogan and his AK Party have dominated the political landscape in Turkey since 2002.
Russia to cut Poland, Bulgaria gas over Ukraine
Russia will halt gas shipments to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday, after blasts in a breakaway region of neighbouring Moldova led Kyiv to accuse Moscow of seeking to expand the Ukraine war further into Europe.    The Russian energy giant Gazprom told Poland and highly dependent Bulgaria that it would cut off supplies, in Moscow's latest use of gas as a weapon in a conflict that has now dragged into its third month and claimed thousands of lives.    Explosions this week targeting the state security ministry, a radio tower and military unit in neighbouring Moldova's region of Transnistria -- occupied by Moscow's forces for decades -- followed a Kremlin commander's claims Russian speakers in the country were being oppressed.    That triggered alarm that Moldova could be Russia's next target in its push into Europe, with Moscow having exploited similar fears after launching its bloody invasion of Ukraine on February 24.    "Russia wants to destabilise the Transnistrian region," Mykhaylo Podolyak, a Ukraine presidential aide, wrote on Twitter.    "If Ukraine falls, tomorrow Russian troops will be at Chisinau's gates," he said, referring to Moldova's capital.    The United States echoed similar concerns -- though stopped short of backing Kyiv's contention that Russia was responsible.    "We fully support Moldova's territorial integrity and sovereignty," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.    - 'Heaven and earth' -    Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has been lobbying for heavier firepower to push back the Russian advance now focused on the eastern region of Donbas.    Western allies are wary of being drawn into an outright war with Russia, but Washington pledged Tuesday at a summit to move "heaven and earth" to enable Ukraine to emerge victorious.    "Ukraine clearly believes that it can win and so does everyone here," US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told 40 allies gathered at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.    With arms flowing into Ukraine, Germany announced Tuesday it would send anti-aircraft tanks -- a sharp U-turn dropping its much-criticised cautious stance.    Britain will also on Wednesday urge Kyiv's allies to "ramp up" military production including tanks and planes to help Ukraine, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss set to call for a "new approach" to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin.    "We must be prepared for the long haul and double down on our support for Ukraine," she is set to say, according to pre-released remarks.    "Heavy weapons, tanks, aeroplanes -- digging deep into our inventories, ramping up production. We need to do all of this," she will add.    "There must be nowhere for Putin to go to fund this appalling war."    Truss will also urge Europe to cut off Russian energy imports "once and for all" -- a move that would deprive Moscow of a key source of leverage over its dependent western neighbours.    Underlining that precarity, Bulgaria -- which is almost completely dependent on Russia for its annual consumption of gas -- said it had received word from energy giant Gazprom that supplies would be suspended from Wednesday.    Poland's PGNiG gas firm, too, announced that Moscow would turn off the taps -- though its prime minister said gas storage facilities were 76 percent full and that the country was ready to obtain necessary supplies from other sources.    - On the brink -    Fighting continues to rage across Ukraine's east, Kyiv's defence ministry said, with Russia shelling Kharkiv city and its troops launching an offensive on the town of Barvinkove.    Russia said it had carried out high-precision missile strikes against 32 Ukrainian military targets including four ammunition depots on Tuesday.    It also launched air strikes against 33 targets, as well as 100 artillery and rocket strikes.    In the south, two Russian missiles struck the industrial city of Zaporizhzhia, which has welcomed many civilians fleeing Mariupol, regional authorities said.    Russian forces are expected to soon advance on the city, which is located near Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant.    And at the site of the world's world-ever atomic disaster, Chernobyl in northern Ukraine observed the 36th anniversary of the meltdown back under Kyiv's control.    The sprawling complex fell into Russian hands on the day Moscow's troops began their invasion in February, suffered a power and communications outage that raised alarm about a possible new calamity at the site.    That put the world "on the brink of disaster", Zelensky said at a press conference with UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi, adding that Russian troops' conduct showed that "no one in the world can feel safe."    "For the Russian military, the Chernobyl zone and the plant was like a normal battleground, territory where they didn't even try to care about nuclear safety," he said.    To the east, at the entrance to Barvinkove, six Ukrainian soldiers were ready at any moment to dive into their trench, which they dig every day with a shovel.    "Otherwise, we're dead," said Vasyl, 51, who serves with his 22-year-old son Denys.    Ukraine officials said there was fighting all along the frontlines in the Donetsk region, and that resistance in the Azovstal factory in the besieged port city of Mariupol was still holding out.    The country's best-known singer Sviatoslav Vakarchuk made a morale- boosting visit to the eastern front, where a military press officer admitted the situation was difficult.    "It's far from rosy," Iryna Rybakova, of the 93rd brigade, told AFP.    "Of course, we were prepared for this war, especially the professional army, but for those who've been recruited, it's more complicated."    The UN's refugee agency said it now expects more than eight million Ukrainians to eventually flee their country, with nearly 5.3 million already out, and that $1.85 billion would be needed to host them in neighbouring countries.    In a meeting with Putin, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for Moscow and Kyiv to work together to set up aid and evacuation corridors in war-torn Ukraine.    He also called for an independent investigation into "possible war crimes" in Ukraine.    "I am concerned about the repeated reports of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and possible war crimes," Guterres said.    "And they require independent investigation for effective accountability." Source: AFP/BSS AH
PM opens National SME Fair-2021
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Sunday) inaugurated the National SME Fair-2021 in the city aiming to help small and medium entrepreneurs and promote market hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.    The premier opened the 8-day fair at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC), joining virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban in the capital this morning.    The Small & Medium Enterprise Foundation (SMEF) is organizing the annual event after a break of 19-month due to the deadly virus situation.   For the first time, 10 banks, financial institutions and Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) are participating in the fair to be continued till December 12.    In the 9th edition of this year's SME fair, all categories of entrepreneurs, financiers, and trainers will come under one roof targeting to provide all necessary support to help them recover businesses of SME products.   The foundation held the last SME Fair in March 2020 which was quickly wrapped up after the first few cases of Coronavirus infections were detected in the country.    This edition of the fair has been designed to support the SME sector players in all aspects so that they get confidence back in doing businesses.    Due to space constraint, the foundation is allowing 325 entrepreneurs in the venue after selecting them considering product categories.    Sources said 325 entrepreneurs, of which 60 percent are females, have been selected from remote and micro level of entrepreneurs, on traditional to new and diversified products.    This year's fair includes seminars, training for newcomers, networking, skill development in technology and cluster base product development.    Brac Bank, Eastern Bank, Bank Asia, Janata Bank, Dhaka Bank, Mutual Bank, BSCIC, BITAC, BSTI, JDPC and BCSIR are joining the fair.    The products to be on the display include jute, jute items, leather and leather products, handicrafts, cane products, potteries, ceramics, artificial flowers, jewelry, boutiques, food processing, Jamdani, agro processing etc.    Besides, products from light engineering, plastic, electronic and electrical, agro machinery and IT and courier sector will also be there at the fair.    Moreover, four seminars on financing mechanisms, women entrepreneur development, technology development and the 4IR, and cluster development will be organized during the 8-day fair.    Later, on behalf of the prime minister, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, MP handed over crests, certificates and cheques to four National SME Award winning entrepreneurs.    The fair will remain open from 10am to 8pm for all every day. Source: BSS AH
Superb Tamim helps Victorians lift BPL title
Tamim Iqbal's ton proved to be the title-deciding performance in the final of the sixth season of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as Comilla Victorians beat Dhaka Dynamites by 17 runs on Friday at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium to clinch the title for the second time.  The Dynamites won the toss and sent the Victorians to bat first. They posted a mammoth total of 199 in 20 overs with the help of Tamim Iqbal’s unbeaten 141 off 61 balls with 10 fours and 11 sixes.  While replying to Victorians’ 199, the Dynamites tumbled for 182 in 20 overs for nine wickets. Rony Talukdar struck 66 off 38 with six fours and four sixes while Upul Tharanga made 48 off 27 deliveries but their efforts went in vain as they lost the match.  In the league stage of the tournament, the Dynamites played two matches against the Victorians and lost both of them. In the third chance in the final, they failed to overcome the challenge of the Victorians once again.  Wahab Riaz was the best bowler for the Victorians as he bagged three wickets, including Shakib Al Hasan and Kieron Pollard, who can single-handedly change the fortune of the match at any time. Thisara Perera and Mohammad Saifuddin also took two wickets each for the Victorians.  Earlier, the fiery Tamim struck unbeaten 141 to propel Victorians to 199 in 20 overs for three wickets. Later, he was adjudged man of the final. Dynamites captain Shakib Al Hasan was adjudged player of the tournament for his all-round performance. Shakib scored 301 runs apart from taking 23 wickets in the BPL. The Victorians lost the first wicket in nine runs. But Tamim was in a mood to smash the bowlers over the boundary this evening. He hit his fifty in 31 balls and reached the ton in the next 19 deliveries. The Victorians posted 40 in the powerplay losing the wicket of Evin Lewis. The Carribean batting star fell prey to Rubel Hossain. Lewis went to drive him through the cover but failed to go to the line of the delivery. Rubel appealed for an lbw but the on-field umpire decided against the dismissal. Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of the Dynamites, reviewed against the decision and got the wicket of Lewis.  During the eighth over of the innings which was bowled by Qazi Onik, the Dynamites missed two chances to remove Anamul Haque and Tamim Iqbal respectively.  In the second ball of the over, Anamul drove to the cover and Rubel missed a catch. Three balls later, Nurul Hasan Shohan missed another catch from Tamim. In the last ball of Rubel’s next over, Tamim got another life when Andre Russell failed to grab a catch before it landed.  In the very next over, Tamim got his fifty in 31 balls with five fours and two sixes. But the Victorians lost Anamul and Shamsur Rahman in a span of three deliveries, though the dismissal of Anamul was controversial. TV replays showed the ball kissed the bat of Anamul before hitting the pad. But the umpire called it out. After Shamsur’s dismissal, Tamim and Imrul Kayes made the partnership in the fourth wicket stand. They have added 100 runs in just 46 balls. Imrul added 17 off 21 deliveries while Tamim struck the rest of the runs.  Tamim finished on 141 off 61 balls with 10 fours and 11 sixes to his credit. It was the best T20 innings by a Bangladeshi cricketer. It was the highest individual innings by a Bangladesh in the BPL as well. Along the way, Tamim surpassed Sabbir Rahman’s 122 which he struck against Barishal Bulls while playing for Rajshahi Kings back in 2016.  Shakib and Rubel took one wicket each for the Dynamites while the other bowlers were clueless to do their job in front of the imperious Tamim. Shakib conceded 45 runs while Rubel gave away 48 runs. With this, the month-long cricketing extravaganza of Bangladesh came to an end. Source: UNB AH
How Mr. Fakhrul passed if voting was not fair: Quader
In reaction to the comments of United Nations over eleventh national parliament election Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said, UN did not say about dialogue, they said- election was not accurate. How BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir passed if the voting was not fair. He said these while discussing with journalists at Bridges Division at Banani in the capital on Sunday. Criticizing BNP’s wrong politics and Mirza Fakhrul the Awami League General Secretary said, BNP needs change in their leadership. At present the own party members are calling Mirza Fakhrul as middle man. Much rhetoric may rise also. About UN pressure for dialogue over voting he said, UN did not say about dialogue, dialogue may take place in a democratic country. The matter will be considered if it is needed. Obaidul Quader said, UN said that the election was not accurate. They said about dialogue. My question is- can you show me such a country where voting takes place accurately. Defect always remains in election. Informing about government’s firm stance against corruption the minister said to the officers of the ministry, the development trend of the country has to be continued. The mega projects have to be implemented. For that reasons we have to be transparent, corruption free and clear. There are big challenges for the government after the big win. You have to work neutrally. You have to maintain zero tolerance for corruption, otherwise the mega projects cannot be completed. AH